Not even the light of a new dawn made Ethan forget about his worries. He also tried to exercise a little bit to change his mood, but it didn't work. At the breakfast table, Ethan tried to act as normal as possible. Unfortunately, he wasn't a good actor. Besides, the bag under Ethan's eyes was as clear as day.
"You look tired, son," Michael said. "Didn't you sleep well?"
"Just a little bit," Ethan forced a smile. "Maybe it is due to the heat of summer."
"Why didn't you turn on the AC, then?" Evelyn asked.
"Nah, sweating a little bit at this time of the year isn't half bad," Ethan replied. "Anyway, I'm off to school, and I will try to return as soon as possible."
Ethan had barely eaten his breakfast when he said that. He also didn't wait to hear his parents reply, but it was better that way. Nothing good would come out of making those around him worry about his problems. Ethan just had to focus on solving his problems because he was the only one who could do it, anyway.
"I have to confirm if what happened was a coincidence or not. Today I will train as hard as possible. If I had some other dream like that, then tomorrow I won't come to the school, and if nothing happens, then… I will be in deep waters."
As if that kind of occurrence was atypical, some students were still whispering while Ethan passed by them. He couldn't hear exactly what they were talking about, but the atmosphere today seemed a bit more serious than of the day before. However, Ethan ignored all that and went straight to the fourth floor. Still, before entering one of the rooms, he decided to do some research about the topic that he couldn't shake from his head.
"Mmm… Apparently, it is quite common for returnees to have intense dreams about the things they experienced in other worlds. However, those who lost their powers never recovered them while having those dreams… or at least they didn't mention it to anyone."
It wasn't that surprising. Even among the heroes, that class and ???? were by far an anomaly. Probably the biggest one that can exist. After all, it can grant powers to its use without a cost and even decrease the strength of those who he may touch. In the hands of the wrong person, that power could even cause the destruction of the universe. It wasn't surprising since Ethan managed to defeat millions of demons in less than one year.
"That certainly is an interesting topic," Ethan suddenly heard a voice coming from behind. "Are you having a hard time falling asleep?"
When Ethan turned around, he saw Ian reading the screen he had opened. However, Ethan ignored that. Instead, he raised his guard against that guy. He managed to hide his presence from Ethan completely while he approached. He could have killed him if he wanted, and Ethan wouldn't have noticed. That was something that only the best assassins could pull off.
"… For a summoned hero, you certainly have impressive stealth skills," Ethan glared at Ian. "What do you want?"
"Don't look at me like that," Ian forced a smile. "Moving like this is second nature for me. If anything, it is your fault for reading a text like that with too much focus. I tripped a few times while I approached, and you didn't even notice."
"Yeah, right…" Ethan frowned. "Now answer my question."
"Calm down, dude," Ian shrugged. "I just came to talk. It is about yesterday, and even though you managed to surprise me, you looked a bit impressed by my movements. It is all thanks to Miss Lyla, so I wanted to invite you to join our course."
"I'm not interested," Ethan said.
"Come on, man," Ian tried to put his hands around Ethan's shoulders, but Ethan jumped back and glared at him. "Oops… my bad. It looks like you don't like human contact. Well, it can't be helped since you just returned. In any case, joining our course will help you with that. We have a lot of pretty girls on that course, after all."
Ethan sighed. Ian was a pain in the ass, much worse than he thought. He was the type who couldn't accept a no as an answer. So, Ethan decided to ignore him. After selecting the free mode, Ethan entered one of the simulator rooms. He prepared himself, but he couldn't help but frown when he turned around and saw Ian still inside.
"You are starting to piss me off," Ethan glared at Ian again, this time without hiding his killing intent. "I didn't have a good night of sleep, so don't blame me if I snap at any moment."
"Calm down, bruh," Ian smiled. "I'm just here to talk, you can do whatever you want here, and I won't interfere. Just relax. Truth be told, yesterday's mock battle left Miss Lyla a bit depressed, so I thought if you joined our course, she would feel better."
"If you weren't so dumb, you wouldn't have got taken by surprise by my attack, and she wouldn't feel depressed anyway," Ethan said. "So, I can say that she is more depressed than me, thanks to you. So, don't involve me with your bullshit."
"Well, you aren't completely off the mark," Ian scratched the back of his head. "However, even if that is true, it doesn't change the fact that I need your help to raise her spirits."
The slimes finally appeared, and Ethan had a real reason to ignore Ian. Since he was quite stressed, he used the poor slimes to relieve his stress. So, in the blink of an eye, forty of them died. Only ten or so red slimes were still alive. Those were the ones that could use Fireball. He had left them alive for a reason: to train his Water Balls.
Ethan thought he would be able to play with them for a while, but the slimes didn't last long. Since his MAG increased, his Water Balls could decimate them with ease. There was also the matter of elemental compatibility, but Ethan didn't count on that.
Congratulations! You completed the first stage of the VR simulator!
You received 100 coins!
Congratulations! The skill Water Ball has leveled up!
Congratulations! For leveling up the skill you learned by yourself, you obtained ten coins.
Do you wish to proceed to the next stage? Y/N
"It looks like you got a bit stronger since yesterday," Ian said. "You don't look like an ordinary magic type, but your accuracy is more than decent."
Ethan knew that sooner or later, he would find someone as annoying as Ian, but he had prayed a lot that it wouldn't be so sooner. Regardless, his intentions were obvious. Even though he didn't look like it, Ian was a hero who had the skills of an assassin. He probably had the patience of one, so he would pester Ethan until he gave up. He was exactly the type of person who Ethan hated the most… aside from criminals.