We relocated to a new location. It appeared to contain some sort of locker.
'Has the time finally come? Please hand it on to me. Even though he lives alone, he would have saved the money regardless. He didn't have any friends or family. As a result, everything in this room is mine. This is a huge win. I can pay off all of my debts at once. Hehe'
"As I previously stated, I had no family, students, or anything of the sort. As a result, some money would be leftover. You can have it now that you've passed the trial." I was informed by the Grandmaster.
'Hehe,' I began to drool as I imagined it.
"Even if I used to spend the majority of my money on drinking, there should be plenty left for you to take."
He then slid the locker open.
"..."
"..."
Silence filled the room.
'Wait a minute, did my eyes make a mistake?' I rubbed my eyes and counted how much was inside once again.
'You must be k-kidding me?'
"Oops, I guess I spent most of the money. There are only 10 million U left here. Maybe I used up the majority of it. Anyway, at your age, you can comfortably spend this much money. You didn't appear to be a wealthy kid, to begin with. Haha..."
"Isn't it true that you're joking? I'm aware of it. So there's a second locker tucked away somewhere. Take it out already."
"What exactly are you talking about, kid? That's all there is to it."
My heart was broken by the grandmaster.
"Fuck," I exclaimed aloud.
That is why one should not have unrealistic expectations. My hope is currently falling from a 200-story skyscraper without a parachute.
"What's wrong? Wasn't it enough?" The grandmaster had inquired.
"Really? Are you implying that this isn't enough? Do you know how much a G rank skill is worth? It's more than 20 million U."
"What?" The grandmaster has been taken aback.
"Do you have any idea how much debt I have? Tsk, it's 500 million U."
After hearing the amount, the grandmaster opened his mouth. Who wouldn't want that?
"500 m-million? Kid, What exactly are you? At this age, a 500 million debt? Holy shit."
Even the Grandmaster is taken aback when he hears that figure.
"Oh, my poor soul. On my last day, what kind of guy am I spending time with?" With pity, the grandmaster stared at me.
'This is because of you, old man. You are the one who raised my expectations.'
"Let me see what is left there to give you. What a poor bastard you are kid. Haha..."
'Tsk, this fucking old man.'
"Oh, I remember now. Where is it? I believe I have it somewhere. That's right, it's there."
The grandmaster threw something at me.
My eyes were about to pop out of my face after seeing that.
"A-Assimilation?"
"This skill activation time is determined by your body's mana capacity. You will have a high mental fortitude for a brief period of time if you utilize this skill. For that amount of time, you will be emotionless. Your battle senses will develop in the same way as mine have. Simply said, the body will belong to you, but the intellect will belong to me."
'Wow! This is completely insane. What else could one possibly hope for? No amount of strength can compare to the grandmaster's fighting intellectual prowess.'
'I'm truly lucky.'
"As I previously stated, this is a technical skill, not a powerful one."
"No, everything is OK. It appeals to me." Despite the fact that this is an E-rank skill, I believe it is at least as good as an A-rank skill. Even though one has more might, if he is unable to think clearly in a battle, he will undoubtedly perish. In a battle, one's battle senses are also important.
This is much beyond my expectations. This is the most ideal skill one could dream of. There's no way a neophyte like myself can match the fighting IQ of a battle-hardened grandmaster.
"I'm warning you yet again. Only reveal it if you are in a life-or-death situation or if you have the power to defend yourself. When you display your strength, you attract a lot of attention from all over the world. Remember this." I was warned by the grandmaster.
"Ok, ok, I know. Don't be concerned. I have no intention of attracting any attention." I was giggling uncontrollably.
This instills in me the desire to improve my rank. As he stated, I must exercise extreme caution when employing his abilities in public. Who knows how many foes he has on his hands? Who knows where they'll appear once I've revealed it? As a result, I must use extreme caution.
"That weird smirk you have on your face, kid. Anyway, that's all I've got to offer you right now." The grandmaster began to fade away gradually.
"Kid, I believe my time has come to an end." The grandmaster smiled as he spoke to me.
In my heart, a flurry of emotions began to rise. I'm not sure if it's because of the short days I spent with him, or because his trial allowed me to spend time with my parents, and the regret I'd felt for all these years has evaporated, or because of my gratitude for the sword art I got. I'm not sure why, but my heart is heavy as he fades away.
I promptly knelt and offered my respects.
"Thank you so much. I will make sure to carry on your art and disseminate your fame throughout the world."
He gave me a friendly smile before disappearing.
****
After the grandmaster's soul had vanished, I got up.
I took a glance around the magnificent location where I was alone.
"Does this place belong to me as the Grandmaster's successor?" I began to mutter.
Then the entire building shook as if there had been an earthquake.
"What's going on?" I was completely perplexed.
I immediately took the money from the locker and kept it in my spatial pocket.
When I came out of the room to see what was going on, I was taken aback by what I saw. Everything is crumbling and the whole place is shaking.
"Holy shit."
I gathered my belongings and began sprinting to the entrance at the end of the path.
Everything behind me is gradually disintegrating.
I began to run even faster after seeing that.
I promptly opened the door and leaped outdoors after reaching the conclusion. I was standing at the cave's entrance, where the first trial took place.
Everything was collapsed when I looked behind me as if the location I was before had never existed.
"That fucking old man, Can't he gives some heads up what will happen after he left? That was close. Tsk." Here I was feeling sorry for him since he left like that, but it's all gone now.
Sigh.
Maybe this was maintained by the grandmaster's soul that's why this collapsed after his soul left. That is the only explanation I can think of.
I rose up and walked out of the cave, clearing the dust from my body.
It's bitterly cold outside. It's still early in the morning. I didn't even get a good night's sleep. I have no idea how many days had gone since I arrived here.
When I looked at my watch my face became pale.
"Fuck" cusses started to flow out of my mouth.
Three days have passed since I came here.
Today is the first day of the practical training classes.
Professors in Horizon will not tolerate students who arrive late to class. Jane Doherty, in particular. She has a nasty attitude toward disobedient students, and I was already on her bad side.
If she found that I was late then I would be definitely kicked out of Horizon. She has a lot of clout at the institute.
I grabbed my belongings and began running. I don't need to take the same path I did to get here because I've already accomplished my objective. Another village can be found around the location on the map. However, there is only one train that departs from there in the morning. If I miss that train, I'll have to wait until the evening to catch another.
"Fuck"
I started to run quickly.