The next instant, I was no longer submerged in the water under the ship's ruins, but I was back in my room.
"w-what t-the hell just happened...?"
The mission was over just like that?
Should I be mad or happy?
Why did I go through all that planning and work to complete the dream when the Sea Serpent did it for me in less than 10 seconds?
To be fair, if I hadn't sacrificed those mundanes to him, it would be possible that he instantly killed me, assuming that I was a sacrifice.
But, then again, I doubt the time of a mythical deity is worth only 4 mundane humans.
So then, what price will I have to pay to that serpent?
Now, I owe a debt to a one-of-a-kind mythical creature that is at least an S-rank beast!
Getting off my bed, I walked to the bathroom to examine my body.
Sure enough, my clothes were completely dry, and all the injuries I had received from the battle with the captain were gone.
It was as if my body were brand new!
Before examining my system menu, I immediately pulled out my smartwatch and clicked on a search browser.
[Originating from the Southern continent, the legend of Leviathan has risen in popularity rapidly during the past 30 years. Described as a jade-green serpent with a body spanning over 50 meters, many claim to have spotted the mythical entity, but no evidence remains. 5 years ago, a party of A-ranked adventures traveled to the originating city of the legend to investigate; however, their week-long expedition revealed nothing.]
Jade-green serpent and over 50-meter body.
That's precisely what I saw.
So, then, can mythical creatures invade dreams now?
Or, did I see a fake version of Leviathan made by the dream?
Putting my worries aside, I finally caved into my curiosity as I looked at my new and improved stat's menu.
===Menu===
User : Ren Montclair
[Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 0%) ]
-> Stealth : E+
-> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 15%
-> Arts: (N/A)
[Stats]
-> Rating : E+ {Ready for Rankup}
-> Strength : E-
-> Agility : E+
-> Stamina : E+
-> Magic Power : D-
-> Luck: G-S {Conditional}
-> Intelligence : E
-> Charm : G+
[Traits]
-> Passive: Dragon's Will [1 / ?]
---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.
[Skills]
-> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user's speed until they move 10 meters.
=======
"All of that, and I didn't even get to D Rank."
Although I completed the dream requirement to advance to D rank, my stats aren't high enough to qualify me for D rank.
If all goes as planned, Liam will complete his dream and advance to D rank a week from now, so it's not as if I'm falling behind.
However, it's an entirely different story after Liam's ascension to C rank, as he'll be leagues ahead of me despite our closeness in overall rating.
That just goes to show what getting overpowered skills and traits can do.
To be fair, I'm not doing terribly in the overpowered traits department, but still, it can't come close to comparing to what Liam will get.
Despite all that, I'm not even jealous of Liam; I somewhat pity him!
That guy has to take on all the evils in the world with close to zero breaks.
Imagine killing one villain just for ten more to pop up and that loop repeating until your eventual death.
He can have the hero role; I'm good on that, not gonna lie.
Getting up, I decided to head to the training room to check out my new skill. Of course, if I were in the top 2 ranks, I would have my room, but here we are.
If I had to estimate my current ranking, I would say I'm a bit stronger than my assigned rank of #97, but at the same time, I am still a distance away from the top 10.
Those named characters are a completely different beast.
Speaking of named characters, a surprising sight awaited me as I entered the training hall.
Irene was training.
That wasn't surprising as she was a hard worker despite the kinks in her personality; however, what was surprising was that she was alone.
Isn't she kinda obsessed with Kevin?
Usually, this wouldn't be bad but rather good, as one of the named characters getting stronger means the hero's party is getting stronger.
However, Irene isn't a future hero party member! She's the opposite, a future villain, one of the most powerful.
Simply by existing, I'm making Liam's life harder.
Well, that's in the future; I can just find a solution when the time comes!
Maybe because of the fatigue I accumulated during the dream, a yawn slipped out of my mouth as I watched Irene train.
This seemed to catch her attention as mid-spell casting, she abruptly turned around and glanced around before pausing her gaze on my figure.
"Got something to say!?"
"..."
"Spit it out. You're not even a full noble anymore. Who do you think you are looking at me like that?"
"..."
"Pfft, you're just a loser now. It's an honor for someone like you even to have the privilege of looking at me."
"..."
Didn't I just look at her?
What is all this for?
I was at a loss for words.
A simple late-night training session has turned into me getting flamed!
"Can't even speak now? Good, someone like you shouldn't even dare speak to me."
With those last words, Irene stormed out of the training center.
Problem solved... I guess.
A tear rolled down my face as I headed to the AI bot room.
After grabbing my two daggers, I configured the system panel and assumed a ready stance.
[Stage 2 Dummy Selected]
As the dummy charged at me, I remained still. The current goal was to test the limitations of my new skill, Dash, not beat the dummy as fast as possible.
When the dummy's sword was only a few meters from my body, I activated Dash.
However, nothing happened.
The next second, the dummy's sword struck me, and I was flung against the wall of the training room.
[Stage Failed.]
This wasn't even close to teleportation!
Sighing, I got up and got ready for another battle.
This skill testing was going to leave my rebuilt body in shambles...
After 3 hours, with my body barely in one piece, I stepped out of the training room with some conclusions.
There was a way to make dash similar to teleportation!
The only problem with my current dash is the delay. I can't move instantly; I must activate the dash and move in my desired direction. It takes me around 1 second to do that, meaning it's barely better than me just dodging normally.
However, I found a decent solution.
After activating dash, I have 5 seconds to move before my speed returns to normal, so if I activate dash at least 5 seconds before the attack; I could instantly move forward without delay.
With my entire body still aching from my testing session, I stepped out of the gym and welcomed the cold breeze of the air.
Despite the darkness of the night, the full moon shined brightly, illuminating the path back to the dorm.
Only after looking at the moon did I realize I had no clue what day or time it was.
How long had I been dreaming for?
After taking out my smartwatch and checking the time, I relaxed, realizing that it was Sunday night.
I hadn't missed any days of school!
My 0 merit points were safe...!
Since I woke up about 4 hours ago, I wasn't even close to being ready to sleep, so I opted for a detour.
After making my way to the edge of the island, I put my hands on the cold, steel railing and took in the view of the capital city surrounding the academy. With my dragon eyes, I could see almost everything.
To the very left of the city stood the royal palace, and to the very right of the city stood the slums.
The contrast between the two was clear.
The royal palace had multiple buildings spread throughout its large area, all adorned with intricate decorations.
On the other hand, the slums had buildings cramped together; each building had some fault, whether it was broken windows or, in some cases, the building even tilting, causing it to be in danger of collapsing.
Only a few nights ago, I had stared from this exact place and admired the city, but now, with my heightened eyesight, every fault was apparent to me, and sight even somewhat disgusted me.
By all means, I was not a saint or even close to one, but the stark contrast in lifestyle still somewhat sickened me.
"hah... who am I to complain? I'm one of those nobles, after all."
Turning my head downwards, I stared into the sea, but a surprising sight awaited me there as well.
Everything in the sea was visible to me.
The fishing swimming deep below the surface of the water, the green algae swaying back and forth at the bottom, and even the caves that seemed to stretch for miles.
Was this a reward from the dream?
Considering that nothing changed in my system menu, it was improbable for this to be a direct reward from the dream, but then what else could it be?
Turning away from the view of the ocean and the capital city, I had only one thought.
Is there a way to turn his off?
The view of the capital, tainted by its many flaws, and the view of the ocean, degraded by its complexities, was ruined for me.
Glasses, maybe?
I have to look into that.
As I turned my head to the side, I noticed another person standing a few feet away from me.
The Elven Princess, Alya.
The moon illuminated her figure as her silver hair sparkled in the moonlight. Her beauty was simply unmatchable, even considering Irene.
There was also another beauty, but I didn't dare think of her, considering the way the old Ren emerged last time.
Alya's aloof personality only added to her beauty.
People often desire what they can't have.
Later this week, Alya would become acquainted with Liam, and her negative view of humans would change, but currently, she detests all humans
Of course, this would happen due to another incident, this time happening at the school.
Alya would be a great resource for Liam as her connections and power as a princess would allow her to obtain anything Liam desired.
That connection would also be helpful for me as I desperately needed dagger art, new daggers, and even glasses.
Jolting me out of my thoughts, a voice sounded from her direction.
"...What do you think?"
Turning my head, I scanned my surroundings to find the source of this voice.
Surely, it couldn't be Alya, as she despised humans, right?
But there was no one else there; the source of the voice was undoubtedly her.
After realizing that, a thought popped into my head.
Why don't I build a connection with her, too? Surely, she can help both Liam and me, right?
Didn't I make this mistake before, caring too much about the plot?
With that in mind and some of my personal feelings, I responded.
"A false hope. What point is there in protecting an empire? It is useless if it is already corrupted."
What better way is there to bond than to share common interests?
We both hate humans!
The royal family was so focused on raising heroes that they forgot about the normal commoners, which led to the slums being this way.
In reality, my words about corruption were also somewhat true, as the academy and government are already corrupted by djinns.
I mean, the proof was her.
In the upcoming incident, she would be attacked and captured by djinns, who infiltrated the academy.
Maintaining her distant expression, she responded.
"It's too late for someone like you to say that. Now that you've lost that privilege, you complain."
Ah, she knows I used to be a noble.
That must make me look hypocritical.
All this time, I've been sitting back and enjoying the wealth supplied by the terrible government, but as soon as I lose it, I start to whine.
With those parting words, Alya turned around and left.
Well, there goes that connection...