[17 April 2023, 12:05 PM]
[Cafeteria]
Zaiden and the others were sitting in the cafeteria and eating their lunches. Usually, they would joke with each other, but today's atmosphere was unusually gloomy.
The cause of such gloominess was Zaiden. He was only poking at his meal with a spoon without saying anything. But, since this morning, he had been strange, and the girls didn't know why. They looked at each other confusedly before finally, Lily couldn't take it anymore.
Bam!
She slammed the table with her hand and shouted, "Oh, for god's sake! Zaiden! What's wrong with you?"
The other students glanced at them momentarily before continuing to eat their meals. They were interested in a matter concerning Zaiden, but they didn't want to be involved in it. The relationship between Zaiden and the girls was complicated; only a fool would concern themselves with them.
And that fool skipped the classes again; that was the main reason why Zaiden feeling down. He wondered whether what he asked yesterday was the reason why Vincent didn't go to the Academy today. He was worried about spoiling their friendship because he asked such questions to him.
Zaiden looked at Lily with the best smile he could muster.
"What do you mean, Lily? There is nothing wrong with me."
"Cut out the crap, Zaiden! There is no way nothing is wrong with you! Look! You didn't even touch your favorite food!" She pointed at the plate of curry in front of Zaiden. "Also, wipe that fake smile off your face. Do you think you can fool me with that?"
After she pointed it out, the smile on Zaiden's face was gone, and he scratched his cheek.
"My bad… there is still something in my mind."
"Is it about Vincent?" Asked Ao.
His body flinched when he heard the name. Ao sighed because her intuition was correct.
"As expected, huh? So what did that guy say to you?"
"Nothing. It's just… I thought. Why did that guy not show up in the Academy today?"
"Isn't it normal for him to skip the class?" Asked Mirana curiously. "I mean… I did know that he's not a delinquent, but didn't he skip a class a lot?"
"T-That's right! I-I think it's normal? Eh, wait? Is skipping a class a normal thing to do?" Shina was confused by herself. She only went with the flow, but skipping a class was not normal at all when she thought about it again.
"It's not normal at all, Shina. It's only normal for Vincent." Said Lisa.
"Eh, is that so?" For a 17-years-old girl, Shina was really clueless and gullible. She believed things told by her friends easily.
"Yeah, it's only normal for Vincent." Said Ao. She then turned to Zaiden. "So you did or said something to him, right?"
"Yes…" Answered Zaiden shortly as he put the spoon on the plate. "Actually…"
Zaiden began to tell the girls about what happened at his spar with Vincent yesterday. He told them everything, even his question that made him distracted today. He was afraid that his question was the one that made Vincent skip the classes today.
"I see." Nodded Lily. "Are you stupid, Zaiden? Of course he wanted you to go pursue your career and get stronger, idiot. Think about it a little. What would you do if you were in his position? What if he suddenly asked you about it?"
He tried to put himself in Vincent's place. What if Vincent suddenly asked him whether he should stay at the academy or should he go pursue his career as an Awakener when he was Awakened? After trying to imagine it, Zaiden understood what Lily meant.
"Yeah, my bad. I now understand why he said that."
If Vincent suddenly asked him, he would surely ask him to pursue his career, to get stronger. He knew about the future, about what would happen to the world. He knew he needed to get stronger. And yet, he asked such a stupid question to his friend, who was willing to spar with him even though he sacrificed his training time.
"Good. Also, I don't think that guy is the one who would be offended by your question. I mean… Wasn't Mirana saying a lot of bad things about him, and he wasn't even offended by it?" Lily smirked at Mirana as she said it.
"Ugh… I have learned my lesson already…" Mirana grumbled after getting a light jab in the form of words from Lily. "Also, I never said bad things about him!"
"Classroom." Mentioned Lisa.
"… Fine! Maybe one or two bad things!" Accepted Mirana.
The girls giggled together while Mirana blushed in embarrassment. Zaiden also chuckled a little after he realized that it was not his fault that Vincent didn't attend the Academy today.
'Right… It's normal for Vincent not to go to the Academy. So why did I think too deeply about it? Also, today is Friday. Maybe he wanted to have a long break? I don't know, but I shouldn't be too worried about it.' Thought Zaiden.
"M-Maybe he's still on a date with his… roommate? Ha-hahaha…" Asked Shina, trying to add a joke to liven the atmosphere.
However, the result was not what she expected. Everyone froze at the same time and looked at Shina in surprise.
"…Just kidding?" Shina quickly added, but she was too late.
"That's…" Lisa thought deeply while rubbing her chin. "Actually possible."
"So all this time, when he skipped classes, he actually went on a date?!" Exclaimed Mirana.
"Actually, that's really a possible reason for him to skip classes. She even revisited him a few days later, and I had a chance to see her. The girl that was waiting for him that day was really beautiful." Said Lily.
"I see…" Ao muttered as she had a serious face.
"Eh…. Eh?" Shina, who started the conversation, was confused. She intended to start a joke, but everyone was reacting to it seriously.
"Come on, girls. There is no way he would skip the classes to go on a date." Zaiden laughed the conversation off as a joke, but then Ao retorted.
"No, Zaiden. There is a chance that guy will skip the classes to go on a date."
Lily nodded her head, agreeing with Ao's words. "That's right, Zaiden. Do you know what the girl who lived with him looked like?"
"Uh… no?" Answered Zaiden.
"Haa- This was why you said that." Lily sighed. "Listen. The girl who lived with him… I hate to admit it, but she's more beautiful than any girls in this Academy."
The other girls, including Shina, nodded their heads in agreement. Even the most beautiful girls in the Academy praised the beauty of the girl who lived with Vincent.
'Huh?' Zaiden was confused. At first, he thought that Vincent was different from the one that he remembered from the novel. But, now, he found the reason why Vincent acted differently from the novel. 'So he wasn't womanizing because he has a girlfriend?'
"Is she really that beautiful?" Asked Zaiden.
"Yes." A quick answer from Lily. "Her name is apparently Chloe, similar to the Hero. However, she has big eyes, and her face is different from hers. If I must describe her, then she looked like a girl version of Vincent?"
"That's right. Even their eyes' color is similar!" Added Mirana.
The girls loved rumors. They had heard and talked about the newest rumors, the girl who waited for Vincent at the entrance gate, and they all knew the girl's features.
That was why they responded to Shina's joke seriously. Even though there were rumors that the girl was Vincent's sister, the girls didn't want to believe that, especially Lily.
"She's no way Vincent's sister. He's an orphan who grew up at an orphanage. So the only option left is… She's his girlfriend!"
"That makes sense." Zaiden nodded his head. "I really should've not felt bad, huh. Thanks for cheering me up."
"No problem!" Exclaimed Lily. "Rather… let's continue this talk about Vincent's girlfriend hypothesis. I am interested in it." She continued.
The girls nodded their heads excitedly.
"I am also interested." Answered Ao.
Zaiden looked at them with a wry smile. Even though he managed to cheer up again after hearing about the possibility of Vincent skipping classes to go on a date, he felt bad that his friend became the topic of the gossip between the girls.
Four more days until his Awakening. His determination now couldn't be changed.
'In the end, nothing has changed. I will follow the Main Story for now, and I will change them later to save them.'
***
[20 April 2023, 09:00 AM]
[Forest Wolves Field]
"And, done!" I shouted excitedly as the last Mana Arrow that I released killed the last Forest Wolf.
It had been three days since then, and we visited the field every day to hunt the Forest Wolves. After hunting crazily for three days, from dawn to dusk, I had finally advanced to D-Rank.
-----
Status
Name: Vincent Dihart
Rank: D
Strength: D-
Agility: D
Endurance: D
Mana: C-
Luck: S
Talent:
- Sharpshooting (S)
- Enhancement (S)
- Swordsmanship (A)
- Magic (A)
Trait:
- Deceitful
-----
To reach D-Rank, the four statuses should have an average of D. The way they worked was simple. I assigned a point for the stat. D- was 1 point, D was 2 points, D+ was 3 points, and then C- was 4 points. If the average of the four statuses were 2 points, then an Awakener's Rank would advance. It worked like that until an Awakener reached S-Rank, and then they would be stuck without any means to advance, as S was the highest Rank a Human could reach.
My strength was slightly behind my agility and endurance because I wasn't using my strength too much. All this time, I always stayed behind and sniped some monsters from a distance. The sword in my Magic Bag was still untouched; it was not the time yet to use it.
Chloe was more than enough to be the vanguard, so I could rest easy and leave everything to her.
"Did you advance to D-Rank already, Rai?" Chloe asked as she approached me after pulling out the wolves' fangs.
"I am."
"Congratulations. I still need a few more days before advancing, but… do we need to go back today?"
"Yeah, tomorrow is a special day, and I want to be present at it."
"A special day, is it? Can I ask what the day is about?"
"The day where the savior is Awakened," I answered Chloe with a playful tone.
I intended to crack a little joke, but I didn't expect her reaction. I forgot that in this world, Hero was kind of being praised as the savior of the world.
"The savior? Vincent, what are you talking about?... No, who are you talking about?" Her voice mixed with a hint of curiosity as she looked at me seriously. She even called me by my name.
"Someone who will save this world…" I put Arash Bow back in my magic bag. "…But I can't tell you yet, Chloe. You will meet him in the future; trust me for now."
"I have always trusted you, Vincent. But… This one, I can't let it slide. Do you want to make this Savior save the world in my place? You know that I don't like that idea."
I see. So that was the problem. She misunderstood what I said.
I shook my head at her question. "No, Chloe. He can't beat the Demon King. He has his own enemy that he must face in the future."
"…" Her face turned grim.
Demon King could only be defeated by the Hero, Chloe. She thought that this Savior, Zaiden, was destined to kill the Demon King to take over her place. That was what I got from her expression.
But, his enemy was not the Demon King. His enemy was far more terrifying compared to the Demon King.
"As I said, please trust me. The help that I asked from you was not limited to killing the Demon King. It's to save the world."
She gritted her teeth at the realization. "So the danger that threatens the world in the future is not limited to Demon King. That's what you wanted to say, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes. And, this guy is the only one who can save the world."
"Then, tell me, Vincent. Tell me the name of this guy and what kind of enemy that he will face. At least… We are going to help him, right? I wanted to know the name of the man who shoulders the fate of the world like me."
"Well, if you insist." I looked at her seriously and said his name. The name of the protagonist of my novel, the depressed savior. "Zaiden Archman. He's the only one who can save this world."