Chapter 32: Training Again
The next morning, Akira woke up slightly later than usual. When he opened his eyes, he saw Alice sitting in the corner, floating in the air while reading a strange-looking book. As soon as he turned toward her, she closed the book with a smile, and it vanished from her hands immediately afterward.
"Good morning."
Akira replied, rising sluggishly: "Good morning."
She floated closer to him: "Eat your breakfast quickly. We have a lot to do today."
"Sure…"
Akira hurriedly ate his breakfast at the inn's tavern downstairs, then left, heading toward the lower district, specifically the commercial area.
As he navigated the alleys, he asked:
"Alice, aren't we supposed to go to the Wastelands for training today?"
She answered calmly:
"We'll go later. But now that you're officially a Hunter, your priority is to get a communication device."
"A communication device?"
"It's used by Hunters to contact the Hunter's Office and other members. It's one of the essential tools for any Hunter."
Akira arrived at a specialized shop and presented his Hunter ID to the clerk. Since he didn't know how to set up the device, the clerk prepared it for him and explained how to use it.
The device was one of the latest models developed by the corporate government. Durable, long-lasting battery, high wireless connectivity. Its screen displayed an interface exclusive to Hunters:
A list of missions announced by the Hunter's Office or union members.
Personal Hunter information: rank, level, specialization.
A record of completed, failed, and ongoing missions, all officially logged.
Akira stood outside the shop for a moment, gazing at the device in his hand. It felt like holding a key to a new world… a world larger than the poor districts and more dangerous than anything he had faced before.
He headed back to the inn, playing with his device:
"The task section only has one mission."
Alice replied sharply:
"That's normal. The Hunter's Office evaluates Hunters' performance, ranks them, and rank is a basic requirement for taking any mission."
Akira asked:
"Wouldn't it be better to rely on the ranks set by the system?"
Alice replied:
"That's impractical. Some individuals have powerful abilities that don't match their normal rank, or some fail to complete tasks properly, or their abilities are frozen. So the system alone is insufficient."
At the inn, Shryl was waiting near the door.
"Good morning," she greeted as he approached.
"Good morning. Make it quick, I'm heading to the Wastelands."
"Nothing, just wanted to check on you."
"I'm fine. You can go."
She added, softly:
"By the way, we found some bodies in front of the base."
"That's normal. There are always corpses in the poor districts. Is that all?"
"Yes."
Akira added:
"I'm leaving now. Don't forget to dispose of the bodies."
Shryl stood there, thinking:
"I'm sure it was him. They died with a single sword strike and weren't stripped of their belongings."
She whispered to herself:
"Thank him… at least we gained something, even if only for a while."
Akira left the inn without a word, a small bag on his back, katana swinging at his side. The sun hadn't fully risen yet, and gray mist blanketed the sky.
Alice floated beside him, wearing a dark flowing robe, a teasing smile on her face.
"All right, then. Let's start with the basics. What's the first skill on your list?"
"Shadow Manipulation."
Akira moved toward an open space amid the ruins and stretched out his arms. The shadow in front of him trembled from the shifting light behind the buildings. He closed his eyes and slowly directed his mana toward the shadow, attempting to shape it as he wished.
"This skill relies primarily on intelligence," Alice said, standing atop a broken wall, watching him.
"You don't command the shadow… you make it obey your will."
He continued for several minutes. Mana flowed, and the shadow writhed on the ground until it began to take a form closer to Akira's body. Movement, bend, arm following arm, then leg after leg… the shadow mirrored every detail.
The result wasn't perfect, but it was satisfactory.
"Not bad. You're a quick learner," Alice remarked.
"Now… Shadow Spikes."
Akira focused on a dark spot beside him, pointed at it with his finger, and envisioned a black spike emerging. At first, nothing happened. His mana was unstable, or perhaps insufficient.
"Visualize the spike, but don't stop at its image… feel its weight, the tip, its eruption from the ground," Alice whispered calmly.
He closed his eyes again and concentrated all his energy. A moment of silence… then Fwoosh — a sharp black spike erupted from the shadow, rising over half a meter before stabilizing.
"Its thickness is light," Akira observed.
"That depends on the amount of mana you channel. The more, the stronger and deadlier the spike… but be careful, overdoing it will exhaust you quickly."
He repeated the attempt two, three, five times… with each try, the spikes became more consistent and balanced.
"Now… the shield."
Fatigue was creeping into his muscles, but his eyes remained sharp. This time he focused on lifting the shadow beneath his feet, forming a wall to shield him from danger.
The first attempt barely raised the shadow. The second formed a half-curved fragile arc. The third produced a wavy, dark barrier—not solid, but capable of deflecting a medium attack.
"Its defenses are weak."
"Yes, but it's not a long-term combat shield, and the shadow element isn't good for defense anyway."
Akira muttered coldly as he watched the faint shadow shield dissipate:
"It doesn't matter… this era isn't suitable for defense anyway. If I had the Earth element, I'd just need a proper skill, like a rock wall or something similar."
He raised his eyes to Alice, as if his words were directed at her from the start.
She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head, speaking playfully:
"Oh? Does this mean you finally appreciate me?"
He let out a slight sarcastic sigh, then replied without looking away:
"What are you talking about? Since the moment you saved me, I've been thinking about you."
She blushed slightly, her smile trembling, and whispered softly:
"R… really?"
"Yes."
A short silence fell before she burst into a light laugh, then suddenly approached him, dancing lightly as if she were a living shadow.
"I'm happy to hear that, and now that you finally started appreciating me, here's my gift."
She placed her finger on his forehead, a light touch yet infused with a strange power.