Upon returning home, the group immediately checked their progress. Mase was ecstatic to discover that his Pawn skill had leveled up to Level 2, enabling him to summon two pawns simultaneously. However, his elation was short-lived as he soon realized that his mana pool might not be large enough to support this upgrade.
On the other hand, Albert was fortunate as his party function was still active passively, otherwise he would have forgotten to create one before the last fight they had.
[Ding! 42 Low class crawlers have been defeated. Player contribution 0%, 4200 XP awarded you have leveled up to level 4, You have been awarded 2 status point and 2 skill points XP to level up 1319/3403]
Albert lost himself in dangerous thoughts, he couldn't help but feel like a clown. 'Look at me,' he thought. 'I order them around, but when it comes to actual combat, my contribution is nonexistent.'
Lele noticed that Albert looked depressed so he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Is everything okay?"
With a newfound resolve, Albert replied "Yeah, don't worry. I won't be a burden for much longer."
Then he opened his Status menu and allocated three points to Perception, as it would be the most advantageous stat for his archer class. Next, he utilized his three available skill points, purchasing [Piercing Arrow] with one point and [Arrow Gatling] with the remaining two."
[Name: Albert Bianchi][Mana Density:???]
[Class: MMO Grandmaster, Archer]
[Passive: Gamer Grindset]
[Skills: MMO System Interface LV1, Bow Mastery LV 0, Piercing Arrow LV1, Arrow Gatling LV1]
[Equipment: Standard Clothes, Common Bow]
[0 Status point and 0 Skill point Available]
[Stats: Strength: 5, Intelligence: 5, Mana Pool: 5, Perception: 8(5+3), Vitality: 5, Stamina: 5, Agility: 5]
[Piercing Arrow: Using a portion of the user mana it applies a piercing effect to an arrow allowing it to bypass shields and armor. The effect grows stronger as the skill levels up.
Arrow Gatling: Using a portion of the user mana you can shoot 5 arrows in rapid succession. The amount of arrows increases as the skill levels up.]
Finn and Lele didn't see any improvement in their skills.
"Man, I really wish we could have harvested those crystals." Mase said.
"Yeah me too, it's all because of that girl. If only she didn't take our rift none of this would have happened." Finn added.
"Actually, I'm happy that she stole our spot. If we didn't go to the rift hundreds of people might have died." Lele replied.
It was already 9 PM and the boys had completely skipped launch. To relax from the nightmarish day, instead of cooking they ordered a bunch of junk food from a famous fast food chain. After devouring their meal, Albert made a proposal.
"I've already found someone to train Lele, but I think we need someone to train us as well. Our weapon masteries are at Level 0 and that's for a good reason. While our weapons are the most suitable for us, I've never shot an arrow with a bow, and Finn and Mase have never used their weapons before today." Albert explained.
Finn nodded in agreement "I'm completely fine with finding a teacher. I don't know any form or technique to use with my spear."
"But here's the catch," Albert continued. "If I want to learn archery, I could just go to an archery ground and learn without raising any suspicion. After all, archery is an Olympic discipline. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for you two." He looked at Finn and Mase.
Mase added "Right. There are almost no practitioners of ancient weapon disciplines left, and even if we find one, given what's happened in the last few days, they'll probably connect the dots and assume we're Awakened."
"Argh! Enough for today! We can figure out a solution tomorrow! Now I want to play some games!" Lele exclaimed, feeling frustrated with the discussion.
"I agree, we could use a break. We are on vacation, after all." Mase added, trying to diffuse the tension.
With that, the group settled in for a night of video games and cooperative board games, enjoying their time until they eventually fell asleep around 3 AM.
[A few hours prior, inside Hino Kohaku mansion]
"Miss, I've received the CCTV camera recordings of the town square. Could you please point out the boy you're looking for?"
"Sure, go back a few minutes before I entered the rift." She scrutinized the footage until she found who she was looking for. "That's him!" She pointed at the laptop screen.
Thanks to an advanced facial recognition program, the assistant easily linked his picture to social media profiles. After some digging, she found his full name and address.
"Miss, I found him and his location, but there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"Well, on his profile, it says he's 15..."
"No way!"
"I know it's hard to accept, but you shouldn't be chasing someone so young."
Kohaku became red with anger and shouted at the top of her lungs, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
The assistant ignored her outburst and continued fantasizing in her thoughts. "Anyway, he actually lives pretty close to the mansion. It should take less than 20 minutes by car."
Still infuriated, Kohaku replied, "Then we'll go there first thing in the morning."
[Early morning Albert's house]
A persistent ringing sound pierced through the room. "Ugh, seriously? It's only 7 AM, who's pulling a prank this early?" Finn grumbled with a groggy morning voice. But there was no response except for the incessant ringing of the doorbell. "What the heck." he muttered to himself, getting up from bed to investigate. He checked on his friends, but they were all still sound asleep. 'Maybe it's the neighbors coming to complain about the noise we made last night.' he shrugged.
He walked over to the intercom and asked in a sleepy voice, "Who is it? If this is about the noise last night, I apologize."
"I am Kohaku of the Flame's assistant. Can we have a chat?" came the response.
Finn's mind immediately flashed back to the events of the previous day and the worried expression on Albert's face. 'Oh, shit.' he thought.
"Please hold on a moment." he said into the intercom.
As soon as the assistant heard the response, she relayed it to Kohaku, who promptly threw a tantrum. "Asking me to wait? Don't they know who I am?" she fumed.
Finn hurriedly woke up the rest of his friends. "Guys, we have a problem. The girl from yesterday is at our doorstep!" he exclaimed.
It took Albert a few seconds to process the information since he just woke up, but he then seriously replied "Let me handle this." He then took over the intercom.
"What exactly do you want to talk with us about? I think it's inappropriate to show up to a stranger's house asking to be let in."
"Miss, this guy seems to be a tricky one."
Unable to hold herself anymore Kohaku personally replied."I'm Hino Kohaku, I'm sure that you heard of me aren't you excited to meet a celebrity?"
"No, I never heard of you, if that's all I'm going back to sleep."
The assistant froze in fear and looked at Kohaku, her veins almost popping with anger and humiliation.
"Listen here you little shit, If you don't let me in I will burn your house down."
"Is that a treat? If you were actually going to do so, you will be charged with arson, assault and attempted murder. I'm sure that's great publicity for a celebrity."
Before she could completely snap, her assistant stepped in and defused the situation. "Let's try to keep things civil here. We understand that you might feel uneasy having strangers show up at your doorstep, but we have no intention of causing any harm. We simply wish to have a conversation with you."
"And why should I believe you, after you just threatened to burn my house?"
"You don't have to but, we know that there is at least one unregistered awakened. I'm sure you don't want us to post on the miss social media profile that there is a guy she is interested in inside this building. I think we both know how crazy internet people can be."
After a brief silence Albert gave his answer.
"Fine, you can come in, but give us ten minutes to dress up. We are still in pajamas."