Anna glared at him. "And what about you? You ran away from your responsibilities. How are your dreams and goals any different from your brother's?" she asked furiously. In a sense both Kyle and Kiyro had the same goals and dreams; they always liked the same things, went to the same school, took the same martial arts, thought the same ideas, and even fought over the same girl they had crush on. But there were subtle differences. Kyle was more outgoing and adventurous. He was always trying new things. Kiyro was a bit more reserved and lazy. Kyle was the one who always dragged him around places and made him do things. But not anymore.
"My dream is better than Kyle's," said Kiyro vehemently. This was not the time to compare him with his brother.
"Being a play tester? Lazing around? Not even having a goal. That's not a dream. That's a waste of your life. You and Kyle were the best in school and in DanketsuRyu Academy. You guys were always competing with each other over the top spot. Where has that drive gone? Why are you living like this?" she cried out in between hiccups and tears.
"Being a play tester is my first step to achieving where I want to go in life, and that is to explore the world." Kiyro couldn't take it anymore. Being near his sister any longer would drive him insane. Already he could feel his blood pressure rising, his emotions overflowing with anger, and the start of a splitting headache. He loved his sister very dearly, but he couldn't stand her mood swings.
Kiyro stormed out the living room and slammed his bedroom door shut behind him. He leaned back on the door and slid down onto the floor. He clenched his clothes over his heart as he felt as if his heart were being squeezed. Memories of Kyle flashed in his mind. The good old times, childhood memories, and bickering over a girl. No one else knew him like Kyle did. His best friend. The one whom he shared all his secrets with. In reality, he didn't really have a final goal. He lost it when his brother left them all.
"He betrayed me," Kiyro quietly muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes. A thought drifted into his head. No. Instead I'll find him and give him a piece of my mind. I'll become so well known that I'll have all the connections I need. Yes. He nodded, satisfied. That is what I will do. He opened his eyes, which sparkled with dedication.
#####
Tuesday. July 7, 2054. 5:00 pm.
Day became night and vice versa in the game of Growth, and Zero was zealously working on copying the book. He did not have time to think of the small bout with his sister, and instead he focused on what he had to do. Every day Silver delivered food to them exactly as the bell tolled three. Copying the book was a tedious task for Zero. At times his patience ran thin as he wished he could just be done. Other times the stories and legends were interesting enough and kept him writing for hours.
It had been three days in real time and nine days in game time since his quest at the Mansion. He had taken breaks here and there whenever he had the chance to. Kept himself well fed, and even did short exercise in-between each break. He wasn't going to fall back into unhealthy habits. Warmth fell upon Zero's hands where he held his copy of the book. He was finally finished. Stretching, he looked around the room. It was even messier than usual from littered papers, half-eaten food, and blankets and pillows from taking small naps.
Leaning back on his chair, a satisfied grin marked his face as he was done with this outrageous task. Bishop Etran quietly picked up the stacks of papers that Zero had finished and began binding them into a book.
Zero watched with interest at what Bishop Etran was doing. A couple of hours ago, he had noticed Bishop Etran personally drawing something on the leather cover. It was an engraved etching of a large oak tree inside a Celtic circle.
"Well, now. You have stuck till the end," Bishop Etran said, amused. "Here, keep it. This shows your dedication to single handedly go after the goals that you have set yourself. Be proud of what you have done." Bishop Etran handed the book over to Zero.
Grabbing it with both hands, he lightly brushed his hands on leather. Its soft and rough texture rubbed his hands. The smell of freshly tanned cowhide wafted through his nose. He ran his fingers over the smooth engravings.
Ding!
A secondary job has been given.
Apprentice scribe.
Working under Bishop Etran, you have begun the study of the ancient art of words. Translating and deciphering different works of arts, books, and texts will increase your knowledge and skill.
Zero was appalled. What kind of joke is this? he thought as he reread the message. It wasn't the special job he was looking for, nor was it a job worth keeping, in his opinion. He thought he was arriving to the possibilities of learning some kind of sorcery type of a job. Who would want to sit and write for hours in front of a dim light?
"I, uh—" Zero was cut short as Bishop Etran handed him a very thick leather journal and a fancy pen.
"Take this with you. Your next task is to fill this journal. Whenever you go out in your adventures, write down or draw what you see, what you feel. Record as many things as you can. Try not to fill it up with useless or mundane information." Bishop Etran looked at him seriously. "I don't like scribbles. Write it neatly and keep it on you at all times. Don't wet it. Got it?"
Carefully Zero picked up the book from Bishop Etran. His mouth opened in bewilderment.
Quest has been updated.
Learning the ancient art of wordsBishop Etran has given you the task to fill the book with knowledge of your adventures.
Difficulty Level: E
Requirement: Must gain the quest through Bishop Etran.
Reward: Depending on how Bishop Etran feels.
Failure: You will not learn the art of words. Bishop Etran and Bishop Sanya will be wary around you and not listen to what you have to say. The Church of Infinity will close its door to you.
Zero felt like this was a trap. It was a constant cycle of extra work given by Bishop Etran. He was not even trying out for the position of the Disciple of Infinity, so he had no reason to accept the quest. Even if he accepted, he had no idea when he'd learn about the ancient songs that Bishop Sanya had sung. At the rate he was going, it might take forever. Writing was not his specialty. He always got a C or B in language arts and didn't go into accelerated or AP classes in high school. This was like school all over again.
"A task is a task, especially because it's a chain quest. Usually you get something really good at the end. I'll just get this over with," Zero muttered under his breath. He sighed, dejected, but once he got his mind set on things, he finished them. There was nothing that he considered impossible when given a task. It always nagged at the back of his mind when things were left uncompleted. Unique challenges piqued his interest, and this was something he had not done before.
Slowly getting up, Bishop Etran had one last word. "Zero, good job." Bishop Etran briefly smiled and went back to his work. Zero did not expect to hear a word of acknowledgement and almost literally skipped out the door. He had to stop himself before he did something embarrassing. He put away his book into his ring accessory.
Sighing with happiness, he walked out the door. Today after completing the quest he had finally leveled up to level one hundred. Already he felt like his body was ready for a growth spurt. There were a couple of pains here and there, especially in his joints. He had aged slowly up till now—since the beginning of the game, when he'd looked like a five-year-old, he had grown to look about thirteen, just ready to hit puberty. He'd gotten taller and lost the baby fat from his face.
"Ow. My joints are creaking." As he looked at his fingers, he noticed they seemed longer than usual. Even his feet felt larger. He wondered how tall he would be and remembered he inputted his regular height for the character.
From his adventure at the mansion, to death, and now to his quest he had fifty levels to go until he hit the requirements for the job offer, and the deadline was getting near. Leveling was going to be a challenge. His goal by the end of this month was to pass the preliminary test and get the job. Things were going to get difficult, but he didn't worry much. There were many possibilities that life had to offer, but this was one job he wouldn't mind getting.
Zero stepped out into the warm light of the summer heat. Agnis was waiting with her back towards him, sitting underneath a tree quietly meditating. It was like an artist had painted a beautiful picture of Agnis sitting.
As he looked up, he noticed ravens flew overhead, their cries sounding like mocking laughter. Soft wind tickled his cheeks. He stepped onto the stone pathway that separated Agnis and him from the lawn. With quiet steps, trying not to disturb her, he slinked up behind the tree, tiptoeing over without making a sound. Even when stepping on branches and leaves, he shifted his weight to silence the sound of crunching leaves.
Jumping silently out with drawn flint knife, he slashed down at her. In that moment Agnis dodged and rolled out of harm's way before the knife landed on the ground. As dirt and grass flew, Zero closed in towards her and threw in a couple of quick slashes towards her body. She dodged with a hairbreadth away from his knife and sprang towards him.
A heavy gasp of air escaped Zero as she slammed into him. They struggled in each other's joint locks. He got the upper hand and weaseled his way into a leg lock. He was starting to run out of breath. Her face contorted in pain as it turned beet red. She stifled her scream and instead moved her hands onto a pressure point. His eyes cringed closed as he felt a shockwave of pain. Finally, Agnis tapped out. Crawling away from him and catching her breath, Agnis shook her head in annoyance.
Zero rubbed at the pressure point and brushed off the grass that was on his clothes.
"You've gotten better." Zero grinned at her. Her abilities to sense danger and dodge had increased exponentially over time. The leg lock was always the move that got her to tap out when they had their sparring lessons. He noticed that she still hadn't mastered how exactly to escape it.
When it came down to training, he showed no favoritism or mercy towards her or anyone who wanted to learn. If one wanted to learn it right, they had to experience it firsthand. The game also gave them a perfect chance to push their limits without breaking.
There were other arts he knew like Brazilian Jiu-jitsu that he had learned for a couple of years. He did not use much of his main Ninjitsu form, and instead used other techniques he knew. His main art was not something to be used in sparring. The same went for Agnis's Krav Maga. It was too dangerous to use casually. Many times he had held back and reminded himself not to use certain moves. In his child form he had a lot of disadvantages, but now it was getting easier to outmaneuver her.
Agnis huffed out in annoyance at herself. She knew that she needed more practice; she especially hated how she couldn't use Krav Maga. All she had left was aikido, which did not have much use in grappling. The sparring rules they'd agreed on were no eye gouges, head strikes in certain areas, throat strikes, and strikes to private areas. Those, unfortunately, were the areas where both Ninjitsu and Krav Maga liked to aim for defense and attacks against enemies.
Zero extended his hands out towards Agnis and helped her up. She dusted herself off.
"Don't beat yourself up. You have to use your strengths against an opponent, and brute force isn't your thing. Overpowering others is not the smart way to go when your body is not made for that. Remember that using more power will just cost you energy. Outlast them instead. Then you can strike when the moment is right."
Zero smiled as he knew the feeling that she was going through. His sensei had outmaneuvered and drilled this into him constantly. Only through constant training had he honed his abilities into his muscle memory. He already saw potential in the gift that she had when using her body as weapon: control, agility, flexibility, and best of all her appearance.
"You know, no woman needs to be outstandingly beautiful to get the job done." But your looks will definitely be a great benefit, he silently thought. "It is the understanding of and confidence in one's body, mind, and self: how to use it, when to use it, and where to use it. Confidence and charisma draw in male targets, and each gender play off the strengths and weaknesses of one another." He continued to explain. Agnis listened carefully to his words.
Agnis nodded. It was the same concept she was taught in aikido to direct the force of the opponent and double it with hers in synchronicity. To be like water, but unmovable like earth, to keep her body balanced and stable.
"Zeraph will be meeting us at the Royal Library."
"Sure. Let's get going and get this over with." They both headed towards the Royal Library, which was only a few blocks away. The city of Terra was famous for having the largest collection of books known to man. Players and residents of Noriene traveled to the City to search the library for information that couldn't be found elsewhere.
There were a couple of things that each one of them had to do.
"I need to finish my main job quest." Agnis stated.
"What is it?"
"It talks about some kind of Legend of the Lotus masters. I'm supposed to find them to finish my training. They continued onwards.
"I dislike libraries," complained Zero. "They're boring."
"Agreed," Agnis replied as she nodded her head.
"It smells like old books, you need to be absolutely quiet, there are too many people, and all you do is read."
"Mhmm." Agnis agreed again. He would rather see moving pictures that told him stories than use his imagination. Call it lazy, but that's how his mind worked. Logic outweighed his creative side, and reading fantasy books consumed too much time. It was a miracle that he had finished copying Bishop Etran's book so quickly.
Upon arriving at the Royal Library, they looked like small ants compared to its enormous size. The path to the entrance was guarded by a large lion statue. Its paws rested on a globe of the world of Noriene. The lion's ferocious demeanor could even scare off monsters. Its golden mane sparkled in the sunlight as its royal stature glared down upon the oncoming visitors. Solid white columns held up the library's dome, and large pearly white doors were open for visitors to enter and exit. The building's structure had similarities to Roman architecture.
Numerous royal guards in purple clothes zealously surrounded the building, protecting its precious wealth of knowledge. Thousands of visitors walked in and out of the buildings carrying books. Groups of children, told to hush their normal chattering, followed after their teachers to study in the library.
"It might take a bit of time to find what we are looking for." Zero looked up in wonder.
"Yeah…" Agnis agreed with Zero's statement. What they had imagined was a small library similar to what they usually visited back in the real world, but what they saw was absolutely colossal.