[Day 1]

[Requirements fulfilled… You have acquired a new skill: Basic Polearm Mastery]

[Requirements fulfilled… You have acquired a new skill: Basic One-handed Weapon Mastery]

Within the first twenty minutes of his training session, Asahi had mastered the techniques for each of his chosen weapons. His success was significantly attributed to Klyscha’s guidance, coupled with his semi-divine intellect.

He wiped the sweat from his brows. “Concentrating really takes a toll on me.”

(Of course. Using a helicarrier’s engine in a two-wheeler will have its consequences.)

‘Yeah.’

He took a look into the skills’ details.

[Basic Polearm Mastery (Common) (Passive): The user has foundational  knowledge of wielding a polearm. Passive Effect: Grants +3 Dexterity and 10% movement speed when using polearm-class weapons. Skill Mastery: F]

[Basic One-handed Weapon Mastery (Common) (Passive): The user has foundational knowledge of wielding one-handed weapons such as sword, ax, daggers etc. Passive Effect: Grants +2 Dexterity, +2 Strength, and 1% chance to deal double damage when using weapons classified for one-handed use. Skill Mastery: F]

The supplementary perks of increased damage potential and higher movement speed served as an invaluable bonus atop the free attribute points.

“Dagger and ax were combined in the second skill. Will the same happen if I learn all the weapon types? Something like All Weapon Mastery?”

(Yeah, it should combine into one skill of higher rarity. The skill might also provide higher bonus attributes per mastery level.)

‘Yosh, time to grind.’

Driven by the allure of free stats, he dedicated himself to relentless practice with the wooden replicas until exhaustion took hold on him.

[Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery (Common) (Passive): The user has foundational  knowledge of wielding blunt weapons such as mace, warhammer etc. Passive Effect: Grants +5 Strength and 20% reduction in stamina consumption when using heavy/blunt weapons. Skill Mastery: F]

[Basic Dual Wielding Mastery (Common) (Passive): The user has foundational  knowledge of wielding a weapon in each hand. Passive Effect: Grants +2 Dexterity and 20% movement speed when dual wielding weapons. Skill Mastery: F]

He managed to acquire a couple of skills but he was far from achieving his ambition. After all, he had yet to master whips, firearms, ranged weapons like bow and crossbow, and defensive weapons such as shields.

Becoming a master of every weapon was a must in integrating all the mastery skills into one.

‘I’ll continue later.’

(It’s better if you practice in my realm. You won’t get tired or run out of stamina.)

‘Sounds good. Now, where to store all these equipment? Is there any spatial equipment?’

(I can create them using your KP. Which form do you want?)

“Rings are easier to carry.”

(Here you go.)

[List of Spatial Rings (Xianxia Edition)] Spatial Ring Prototype (Rare): The first storage ring created by the Monarch of Eternity on his first day of comprehending the Dao of Space and Time. Within its slender circumference lies an interspatial void, a two-meter cube of extradimensional space. This space is only accessible to the bearer of the ring, allowing them to store and withdraw items with a mere thought. (Price - 250  KP) Better than Trash Spatial Ring (Rare): Monarch of Eternity forged this storage ring after leaving his closed door cultivation of twenty hours. The storage inside has been upgraded to a five meter cube, but for Monarch it was only a grade above the garbage in his bin. (Price - 500 KP) Celestial Dog Spatial Ring (Epic): An upgraded variant of ‘Better than Trash Spatial Ring’, now carrying a twenty meter cube of space. Monarch of Eternity gave it a dog-grade for its average performance among other gods. The gods who were only worthy to be his dogs. —Dog Whistle (Active Skill): Using your mana as a catalyst, summon an Illuminated Beast to do your bidding. (Price - 1250 KP) Sacred Cat’s Treasure (Legendary): After a year of training, Monarch of Eternity made another attempt to forge a spatial ring. With better control over the laws of space and time, he upgraded the storage to a 100 meter cube and added some of his long-desired features. He named it after the Heavenly Title of his mother-in-law for reasons he never disclosed. —Nine Lives Resurgence (Active Skill): The bearer of this ring can recover from any injury and ailment. This recovery is accompanied by an enhancement of physical and magical strength by ten percent. The effect can only be triggered nine times and one use takes fifteen days to recover. —Feline Hoard (Active Skill): The ring sends out a spiritual wave to collect items as per the wearer’s intent. —Mommy’s Sass and Grace (Passive Skill): The ring grants the bearer a +5 attribute bonus in Charisma and Dexterity. —Fresh for a Millennium (Passive Skill): The items stored inside the ring are classified into two categories as per the bearer’s desires. One side stores the items in stasis while the other side maintains the flow of time. (Price - 9999 KP)

The whimsical narrative woven through these descriptions elicited a laugh. “This guy wanted to bang his mother-in-law. Respect. Did he succeed?”

(Let me check the records for his world.) Klyscha forgot to mute her mic as he could hear her furious typing in the background. (Oh, interesting. He had a couple of oyakodon with his mother-in-law and wife. His mother-in-law’s friend, who also loved him, grew jealous of their relationship. Instead of sorting things out, she invited them to a lavish party… and poisoned them.)

‘Damn. My guy didn’t deserve that.’

(There is more. None of them died from poisoning but it weakened their cultivation… She murdered his mother-in-law and wife in cold blood and trapped him in her personal dimension. You can guess how the rest of his life played out in captivity.)

Asahi cleared his throat, recalling the yandere contained in his goddess’ personal dimension.

“Aimi would never do that.”

(The first stage is denial...)

‘...I’ll take the legendary ring.’

While he liked the concept of having a powerful dog by his side, he preferred the ease of collecting items without running around. Plus, the ring gave free attribute points to Charisma and Dexterity.

(And… done!)

A peculiarly designed silver ring materialized on his ring finger, making him chuckle. The ring was like a Ouroboros symbol but with a cat eating its tail instead.

He tapped the ring and every weapon in the room disappeared. With another thought, the items reemerged.

‘Convenient.’

(It’s a legendary item for a reason.)

‘Agreed.’

***

After a quick shower in the school’s facility, Asahi could be seen pacing outside the faculty office. Students rarely wandered the place where the teachers and staff spent their time. Thus, it was quite the revelation for him to encounter Rei Miyamoto and Hisashi Igou advancing towards him, their demeanors uncharacteristically serious.

“Fancy running into you here,” Hisashi said with a handsome smile. “Don’t act like you haven’t seen us before. We are in the same class.”

It seemed Hisashi didn’t take well to Asahi’s blank expression.

Rei nudged Hisashi for his mean remark. “Marikawa-kun, I’m Rei Miyamoto from your class,” Rei introduced herself, not realizing that everyone at the Fujimi Academy knew her and her boyfriend. “Are you waiting for your Onee-san?”

Asahi nodded. “Yup. Why are you guys here?”

Rei and Hisashi exchanged a meaningful glance, communicating through gaze like the lovebirds they were.

“Actually,” Rei spoke. “I have to consult your Onee-san, Marikawa-sensei, on a personal matter.”

Asahi frowned, intuiting the favor Rei had everything to do with the ‘curse’ plaguing her life — a certain politician’s son messing with her and her father both inside and outside of the school’s walls. She sought Shizuka with the intention of finding a solution to her ‘curse’.

Hisashi rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile. “We have to ask her some questions. That’s all.”

“Well, I—”

“Yo, Asahi-kun!” Shiori strode up to him, hugging his arm as if they were lovers. “What’s my fancy little boy toy doing outside the faculty room? Wait, you are stalking your Onee-san again!”

Hisashi cast a puzzled, somewhat jealous glance at Asahi, while Rei appeared taken aback by the notion of Saeko’s sibling having any form of association with Asahi, who typically maintained a low profile in class.

“Absolutely not,” Asahi retorted with a blank gaze. “I’m here to pick her up for a special occasion.”

“Oh. What about me? Am I not invited?”

“As long as you bring Saeko to keep your darkness in check. I can’t let you taint my pure Onee-san.”

Shiori smirked. “We need your sister on the dark side. How else will you start her route?”

(She knows too much!)

“No, she must stay holy. Bring Saeko or no deal.”

Shiori clicked her tongue. “Saeko won’t let any of this slide. You just blew your chance to bang a baddie.”

“Where is the baddie you speak of? I only see a high school girl desperate for a hookup.”

[–Shiori Busujima: Affection +6]

Shiori apparently enjoyed the slander — the rise of affections was the proof.

‘Is she an M?’

Given Saeko’s well-known thing for sadism, it wouldn’t be surprising if her twin sister possessed the opposite kink. Shiori’s visibly heightened blush, more intense than the deepest red, seemed to confirm his suspicions. If not for that, there had to be a more intricate explanation behind her fondness for slander.

“Asahi-kun—”

“It was a joke. Don’t take anything I said to heart.”

“You and I both know you meant that...” Shiori pointed two fingers at her own eyes before pointing them at his. “The Council will be watching you, young man.”

With an ominous but chunni message, reminiscent of a Disney movie villain, she walked away.

Rei and Hisashi observed Asahi with puzzled looks, unable to pinpoint the nature of his connection with Shiori. They would be astounded to learn that the roots of his and Shiori's interactions traced back to merely a few hours ago.

“I didn’t think Busujima-senpai was like that…” Rei whispered. “Well, are you two dating?”

“I don’t think so,” Hisashi replied. “But they are close enough to joke around.”

Asahi chuckled. “You can say that.”

[–Hisashi Igou: Respect +5]

(Are you happy or sad it’s respect, not affection?)

‘Klyscha, you of all people should know my preference.’

(Fufu.)