[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 131]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 143]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 163]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 138]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 169]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 171]

…

I watch as each monster dies one after the other, their hearts pierced by a small orb of mana that’s been boosted with kinetic energy.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 159]

[Lvl 215 > Lvl 216]

My leveling is getting slower, and these monsters aren’t cutting it. Should I go and try to hunt the Veil Guardian? The asshole is probably close to 300, but with some planning and a few well-placed traps, I should be able to kill him.

There is only one problem with that.

My disciple walks into the room from behind me, and with her tiny feet, she kicks one of the corpses.

She looks up at me, “I want to be strong enough to do that too.”

“As I said, there is one word the ancient half-demon used to say after every sentence, earning the respect of…”

“I'm not going to say that word!”

Tsk, my opinion on lynthari is going down and down.

Taking a more serious stance, I return her gaze, and even though she is trying to act like she’s mad, I can see that she’s taken a liking to our banter.

Damn you, system, just how bad did she have it before to enjoy this.

“Minion, it's time to decide.”

“I'm not a minion, I'm a disciple.”

I continue, “This is up to you, and I want you to consider it very carefully, so listen closely.”

I take a seat on the ground and gesture for her to do the same, she takes a moment to dust off a section of the floor before plopping down across from me. She takes great care not to dirty her new clothes.

Surrounded by corpses, in a basement deep under one of the skyscrapers, I finally bring myself to ask a question I’ve been putting off for a while. I have had this silly disciple for 5 days, and just over two weeks remain, so it's time I asked it.

“There are multiple ways we can go about your training,” I lift one of my fingers, “First, we can continue what we are doing now. Some leveling, some hunting, and when the time is ready, you will return to your world much stronger than when you came, with some nice memories.”

She pulls her light brown hair out of her face, and her deep red eyes are glued to me.

“Second, we take a more aggressive approach. You will sleep a bit less, we will hunt more, I will force you to train more and expect more of you. You will be tired, and you will get hurt.”

The mood turns more serious.

“Third and last, I will put you in danger, and at times you will risk your life. It will hurt, you will sleep less, and I will take a much harsher approach. With this option, you will leave this place the strongest, but the memories you take back with you will with a lot of pain, and blood, and there is a chance that you will hate me in the end.”

Gradually, I let my words die away, and the silence ensues, interrupted only by the eerie sounds of a quiet room.

The little half-demon opens her mouth to say something, but I jump into her words, “Think carefully because when you pick one of the options, I won't change my mind later.”

I know it's a hard decision to make for someone so young, but I trust that she can decide for herself. Meanwhile, I also believe that I will finish this floor well no matter which one she picks.

At the same time, I can’t help but wonder what she will choose.

"What would master pick if you were in my place?"

"Third," I answer without hesitation.

“Third,” she replies. Just a single word and a determined expression.

"You can think about it some more if you like."

"I don't need to."

“Okay.”

My disciple is currently level fifteen, so I release a level 20 Veilshrieker, and minion jumps to her feet at the same moment the monster rushes her.

The first attack throws her against the wall, a painful groan escaping her lips. The second attack barely misses her head, and the monster’s third attack painfully bruises her shoulder and cracks the wall behind her. Before the fourth attack can land, she glances at me.

And I just sit there, practicing my Mana Cycling as usual and observing the fight.

The fourth attack draws blood and she rolls on the ground, the new clothes I bought for her getting dirty and torn. Only then does the expression on her face change. It becomes more distant, and she grabs the dagger, lowering her stance and moving her foot the way I taught her.

When the monster charges at her, she waits, changing her grip on her dagger. The little girl and the monster crash against each other, the monster’s attack only landing because she allows it to.

And then my disciple shows me the ferocity she learned in her homeland. The anger she’s kept hidden and controlled the entire time we’ve been together.

The dagger keeps moving up and down, stabbing the monster as she takes on some of the weaker attacks on purpose only so she can continue to attack.

All while her red eyes seem to glow with the same hatred as the monster’s.

When she is finally thrown off, she rolls a few times to escape the monster’s reach and jumps back to her feet. Her mana moves through her body, and she charges again, dodging and stabbing without hesitation.

With a last hateful screech, the monster finally dies and falls down with a dagger lodged in its neck.

With bloodied hands, a bruised body, and a wild look in her eyes, my disciple turns to me. She is breathing heavily, dead on her feet after such an intense fight, and yet there she stands.

So, I release another monster from my [Redistribution].

For that short moment, shock flashes across her face. Then there is a short moment of fear and anger.

As the monster gets closer, all of that disappears, replaced by a strange mask of calm settling over her face. I can sense her erratic heartbeat through the kinetic energy.

Her hand stops shaking and she falls to the ground, rolling and using the corpse of the monster she just killed to block a few attacks from the monster I just released.

While the Veilshrieker continues to bite and scratch the corpse that separates it from my disciple, she pulls the dagger from its neck, more blood soaking into her new clothes.

With a scream, she attacks.

The exchange that follows takes even longer than before. She is slowing down, her mana is dropping lower, and she gets wounded more often, yet even then she wins.

Falling to her knees, she turns towards me, looking for acknowledgment. The dagger drops from her hands and her chest moves heavily up and down.

She smiles at me proudly.

I lift my hand and show her three fingers, "You picked the third option." Then I release the third monster.

Even though I can see the pain in her eyes, she reaches out and grabs the dagger again. Her fingers are slippery with blood, it takes her two attempts, but she soon wields it again and immediately rolls behind the monster, barely avoiding its attack.

My disciple, with sheer force of will, pushes herself back to her feet, and for a moment I can see the rage in her red eyes, as her demonic heritage makes itself known.

That rage is not directed at the monster only, no, it's directed at me as well.

Before the monster can launch its offensive, she attacks.

 

---

 

“What's wrong with you!” The granny screams and rushes to take my disciple from my arms and starts healing her immediately.

The moment she does so, the little half-demon's face grows less pale, and her breathing calms down.

“She lost so much blood and she barely has any mana inside her body. Why is she so battered!” The granny complains.

“A little bit of training,” I say.

“Training? TRAINING!? Are you insane?” she screams.

I didn't expect such a show of emotion. I guess she must have a weakness for hurt kids, perhaps that's why she helped before. Well, I'm sure my disciple would be fine even without healing; the problem is that it would take too long for her to get back into form. If I use the granny, I can have her train more.

To cut off the stream of curses directed at me, I take out one of my bags and put it on the table, “For your current and future healing of my disciple,” I say simply.

“What a goddamn asshole you are, do you think…” Even though she is saying that she opens the bag and peeks inside, and that makes her words stop as if cut off.

She looks between me and the bag and then starts pulling out its contents.

Multiple bottles of water, plenty of food, a small bar of chocolate, a few of my smaller mana stones, and lastly an upper rare item - a cape that allows the creation of a realistic, but illusory image of its wearer with a duration determined by the amount of mana used. The illusion even duplicates one’s mana signature, heat, and smell. Out of the rare upper items, it's one of the better ones, even though situational.

“Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal,” she says, still annoyed.

We leave the cottage on the rooftop an hour later, and my disciple is following me on her own two feet. Her last fight gained her a level and even more levels in her skills.

After a few hours, we find ourselves in a secluded place inside one of the fallen skyscrapers, and I set traps around our perimeter and some anchors in the event of an emergency. Surrounded by a few thermal orbs, I sit down to eat.

Unlike before, my disciple doesn't move to me, putting pieces of cloth in front of us. No, for the first time after a few days, she doesn't ask me to eat with her and does everything she can to avoid my eyes.

After dinner, I put a tiny mana stone in front of her with a new set of inscriptions. This one is meant to replicate [Oscillation], and even without being asked, she immediately grabs it and starts her attempts. A minute later, her posture becomes less awkward as she forgets about me and she focuses her attention on the puzzle in front of her.

Hearing the sound of rain, I leave an anchor near her, and with constant monitoring, I leave the room, heading towards a room with a view of the outside.

As I enter, the sound intensifies, the sound of rain constantly drumming on the stone and the road below. The rain is beautiful, and droplets filled with light blue mana shine under a sky full of dark clouds. The myriad shining blue droplets light up the dark day. Reminding me of the mana rain on the first floor. Yet this one doesn't seem to be quite as deadly given that it doesn't damage the building or the vegetation outside.

Curious, I put my hand outside, and immediately a dozen or so raindrops pierce right through, and fall to the ground, which they do not damage at all.

I pull my hand back, and for a moment I observe it while the blood flows through it, my hand pierced with a dozen holes that go through the entire arm

Well, it was silly to expect the tutorial to have normal rain.

I generate some thermal energy and send it through my body, healing my hand nearly immediately.

Then I pull the transmitter from my pocket, (Darren, so where did you say you are?)

It takes only a few seconds to get an answer.

(Oh, the guy with Owen's transmitter. Darren is sleeping. I'm Nina.)

(Hello Nina, does the offer still stand?)

(Sure, here is the location. We can specify the exact time of the meeting later. See you soon.)

Nina must be less talkative than Darren, given that the connection cuts off after she describes the location.

Well, it's time to start working on side quests and find out what this floor is about.