[03:00 PM]

[Academy]

After I noticed the Demon this afternoon, I kept my guard inside the classroom.

I tried to find who the Demon was, but it was useless. I even stayed awake in the classroom, which confused my classmate and the teacher.

The Demon's disguise was almost perfect. Unfortunately, D-Rank Awakener like me couldn't see through it without using any item. Even Chloe didn't notice the Demon in front of her even after she hit the Demon and sent it to prison.

If only the Demon let out some Mana or acted unnaturally, I would definitely be able to see through it. However, the Demon was intelligent and cautious. It even infiltrated the Academy after the Sparring Competition, knowing that Jack would be too busy to even stay in the Academy.

He surely only judged me by sending his killing intent, thinking that I was only a student who had just been Awakened due to my Faker Earring. He surely thought that the Mana he felt from me was me being Awakened in the classroom.

That meant I made a mistake when I hurriedly left the cafeteria earlier. But it didn't seem like the Demon actually cared about me. Due to Faker Earring's effect, I appeared to be like a normal person.

The Demon may have judged that I wasn't a threat and ignored me.

'It's actually perfect if that's the case.'

Then I disappeared from the Academy in a week and would surely keep him in check. He would just stay silent and keep doing what he planned to do.

'For now, I should focus on my training.'

I took my bag and left the classroom.

***

[Waterflow Training Facility]

[03:30]

After stopping in the nearby wine shop, I arrived at the training facility, bringing a gift for Smith so he would train me seriously for the next week.

From the setting that I wrote for him, he loved wine. So I purposely brought the decent one. Although it cost more than a grand, it would be a good investment for me.ᴘᴀ ɴ ᴅᴀ n ᴏ ᴠᴇʟ

I knocked on the door and shouted.

ραꪒⅆα-ꪒꪫꪥꫀ​ꪶ​ "Master, I am here!"

"Oh, enter! I am at the usual place." He shouted from inside like usual.

I opened the door and went inside, going to the training room where Smith was waiting. As I reached the training room, I noticed that the room had been repaired.

The floor looked brand new and shiny. Even the wooden sword that I destroyed earlier seemed to be replaced by a new one on the shelf.

Inside, Smith was sitting in the middle of the room on his knees. I recognized the position he was in was called Seiza in Japan.

"Sit in front of me, lad." He said seriously.

He called me 'lad' again… But I followed his instruction and sat in front of him, imitating his posture. It was hard to sit like this.

"Is there something, Master?" I asked curiously.

It was unlike him to be serious all of a sudden. Usually, someone like him turned serious because there was something important he wanted to tell me about.

"Indeed. There is something I must ask before you start your training." He looked straight into my eyes.

"Yes, Master."

"It sounds cheesy, but I must ask this if you really want to learn my Swordsmanship. What is your reason for getting stronger?" He asked seriously. The aura inside the training room turned heavy and serious.

Did he say it correctly? He would teach me his Swordsmanship if I answered his question? If he would teach me his Swordsmanship if I answered his question, what did I learn all this time? Swordplay?

But, because Smith asked seriously, then I answered seriously too. My only reason for getting stronger.

"I want to survive."

It was not a grand desire like the protagonist of a novel or a goal like Zaiden. My only reason for getting stronger was simple. To survive. pᴀɴda nᴏvel

This world was messed up. Dangerous Demons lingered among humans. A Demon even infiltrated the Academy that was supposed to be safe when the Headmaster was away.

If danger could get close to me, I couldn't depend on another person or the protagonist of this world, Zaiden.

Keeping Chloe close to me was also to survive. I would do anything to increase my chance of survival.

"I don't want to die. That's why I need to get stronger." I answered seriously while looking back at Smith's eyes.

"Need, not want, huh? That's a good answer, lad. That's right. You need to be strong to survive. You can't get stronger if you want to get stronger. That mentality is not enough. You need to push yourself and think that strength is a necessity to get stronger." Smith smirked as he stood up slowly.

His figure was big for an old man, and a strong aura seemed to radiate from his body. His veins swelled all over his arms. He seemed to be different from Smith, whom I met this morning.

'What happened?' I asked inside my mind.

"Alright. I will teach you my personal Swordsmanship. It will be hard training. Are you ready?" He smirked, provoking me.

I rose up and straightened my posture, mirroring his smirk as I answered. "Yeah. Bring it on."

***

[06:00 PM]

[House]

Because the day was short, Smith only gave me a sheet of paper with my training menu written on it.

I was expected to follow the training menu in the morning, then go to the Training Center to be taught his technique at 01:00 PM in the afternoon. I answered him confidently, but when I saw the training menu, I was about to scream out of anger.

'What the fuck with that training menu? Is he trying to kill me?'

The menu written on the paper he gave me was filled with nonsense.

'1000 swing with Brahmastra. It was continued by a 30 KM run with full speed. Then a 30-minute spar with Chloe. After that, the usual body training of 500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, 500 squats, and 500 times weight-lifting with at least 150KG weight.'

All of that was still doable. However, the note written below the list of the training menu made me think Smith had gone insane.

'Double it on the second day while using your Mana to do all of that. Is he fucking gone senile? Even with Mana, my stamina wouldn't be able to hold up if I doubled those kinds of training. I would be exhausted after sparring with Chloe.'

Grumbling inside my mind, I opened the door of my house. "I am home."

Usually, at this moment, Chloe would say welcome back. However, there was no answer at all, and it made me rather confused.

'Is she away?' I thought as I walked down the hallway to the living room.

When I entered the living room, hell was the only thing I thought of.

"What the fuck happened here?" I accidentally raised my voice out of surprise. I thought that a tornado had hit the house or something.

Female clothes were lying around the living room. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was no underwear, just casual clothes, and some dresses.

I surveyed the room a bit more and noticed Chloe was sleeping on the couch with Tina with a blissful expression. They wore a similar white t-shirt and short pants. It was the so-called matching outfit, I guess.

They looked rather satisfied, and somehow they were sleeping against each other's shoulders.

'What happened while I was in the Academy?'

I recognized some of the clothes on the ground belonged to Chloe, and they fit her size, but some clothes were a size lower, which obviously belonged to Tina.

From the situation, I could somehow conclude one thing.

'They were comparing their clothes? Or Chloe asked for Tina's opinion on fashion. I remember that Chloe really takes attention to her appearance.'

I approached the two of them, who slept on the couch. When I stopped near the couch, Chloe moved slightly and then opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and rubbed them before looking at me groggily.

"Umm, Vincent?" She asked, still rubbing her eyes. "You're back." Her lips curled up slightly as she tilted her head, and her hair fell to the front.

Tina, who lost something to lean her head at, jolted up and looked around. Finally, her gaze met mine, and she raised her voice. "Brother, you're back!"

"Yeah. Anyway, what happened here?" I pointed at the mess behind me with my thumb.

Chloe and Tina looked at each other before smiling wryly and turning at me simultaneously.

"About that…" Chloe spoke first, then Tina continued.

"We went too far matching our outfits…" Tina scratched the back of her head as her lips curled up into a shy smile.

"Then both of you fell asleep?" I asked, to which they answered with a nod.

"Haa…" I sighed. "It's not like I can get angry about that. But… At least tidy them up. I will go to the underground room to train."

"Aye sir!" Tina jumped from the couch and saluted before running past me, picking all her clothes on the ground and putting them in her magic bag.

Her movement was swift, thanks to her Talent. She had finished 1/5 of the mess when I turned around.

Chloe also began to move and tidied the mess. Seeing them begin moving, I went to the entrance that led to the underground area. However, before I opened the door, Chloe stopped me.

"Ah, Vincent. What about dinner?" She asked.

"Just cook me whatever, Chloe. I will eat it after training."

"Alright." She nodded, and I opened the door to go downstairs.

'Let's get an hour of basic training and some target training. I can't slack off anymore.' Thinking so, I arrived at the end of the stairs and entered the underground training room.

***

[07:00 PM]

[Underground Training Room]

It had been an hour. I did some basic training such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups using the equipment in the training room.

I also did some target training using the square wall of the training room. I tried to hit the same place a few times using Mana Arrow created by [Arash Bow], and I missed only two out of 99 shots. It was a satisfying result.

I aimed at the wall with the three holes because I missed two shots and aimed at the middle hole. It was my last shot for today, and I released the bowstring without hesitation.

Swoosh–!

The arrow flew like a bullet. But, no, it was faster than a bullet and embedded right into the middle hole before disappearing into a mote of blue light.

"Fuu…" I sighed as I lowered my bow, and the bowstring disappeared as I stopped the supply of Mana. "Alright. I can do it consistently." I smiled in satisfaction as I put [Arash Bow] back into my magic bag.

My training for today was enough. So I went back upstairs and was greeted by the smell of soup.

Naturally, I went to the kitchen, thinking that dinner would be served shortly. However, when I entered the kitchen, Tina, who helped Chloe to set the table, frowned at me and shouted.

"Hey, shitty brother! Don't come here while being drenched in sweat! Wash yourself first! Take a shower!"

"Hah?" I raised my voice against her. But then, I looked at my body, which was drenched in sweat. Because I didn't change earlier, my uniform was wet and nasty.

"You're right. I will take a quick shower and change." I took my shirt off and turned around.

Tina didn't say anything and was frozen in her place, holding a plate, when I suddenly took my clothes off. I guess that even my little sister couldn't handle my ripped body, huh? It didn't work for Chloe, though. She didn't even glance at me.

I shrugged my shoulders, disappointed for not getting her reaction, and went upstairs. Before going downstairs to eat dinner, I took a quick shower and changed my clothes into my usual home wear, black track pants and a white shirt.

Next, I went back to the kitchen to eat dinner. When we ate together, Tina berated me a bit for suddenly taking off my clothes. I only smirked at her and called them a child for blushing when seeing her brother's body.

Her face went red when I replied. However, all in all, it was a peaceful dinner.

"It's delicious as usual," I said as Chloe tidied the table.

"I'm glad. Let me wash the dish. You are tired, no?" She replied.

"Yeah, thanks," I answered her as I looked at her walking to the kitchen.

"I will help, Chloe." Tina rose from her seat and was about to go to the kitchen, but I stopped her.

"Wait, Tina. I have something to talk about."

She stopped and turned at me. "Huh?"

"It's about what we were talking about yesterday. There is a slight change in the plan."

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