Scarlet and I dash at each other and clash our wooden swords. After pushing each other switching between who is winning, we distance ourselves from each other again. We do this on and off, doing quick clashes, someone backs off, and the other chases. It seems we are rather equal in skill and technique. We did this for a while before I decided to try changing tactics and do what I told her to do.
I then take a deep breath and try to focus. Instead of worrying about my next move, I just watched hers. I continue our dance for a bit as I just watch her movements. Eventually, I am able to start getting the upper hand. I start pushing her back and pressuring her, as she tries to plan out her next moves in reaction to me. Surprisingly she manages to still keep up pretty well. As things went on, I kept putting more pressure on her, forcing her to take certain steps and maneuvers to just not get hit by me. Scarlet then takes a wrong step, allowing me to knock her over and hold my sword in front of her.
"Enough! Adrian is the winner." Mr. Fang announces.
Scarlet then looked up at me while out of breath. I then reached out for Scarlet to take my hand, and helped lift her. She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.
"You did well Scarlet!" I smiled and patted her on the back.
"How did you start getting the upper hand?" Scarlet asked with questioning eyes.
"I simply stopped worrying about my own attacks, and just focused on yours," I explained.
"You guys are really something!" Kara joined in.
I laugh at her apparent excitement. "It's nothing that we can't all do in our own way." I shrug. "Now that we had some practice, remember what we talked about," I explained to the two. "Try and practice it. We will try again another time."
With that, we all packed up and Scarlet and Kara left. Just as I was about to leave, Mr. Fang stopped me by grabbing my shoulder.
"Did you notice what you did wrong?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Hm? No? I won, didn't I? I thought I did pretty well." I responded confused.
"I see." Mr. Fang said thoughtfully. "You need to learn how to improve yourself."
"Improve myself?" I asked. What is he talking about? I have improved a ton since I first started! "You know Mr. Fang, I have improved quite a bit since I came here, wouldn't you agree?"
"You certainly have." He said calmly. "But how much were you able to figure out yourself?"
I stammer a response but then pause and think. Now that he mentions it...most of my improvements have been because he explained it to me. Mr. Fang then chuckles, I assume because I went silent.
"I saw you analyze the others." Mr. Fang continued. "But maybe you should try to do the same for yourself. Watch your movements, if you will"
I look at him confused expecting him to elaborate. Instead of elaborating, Mr. Fang then walks off toward the school building waving as he left. I stood there for a little while as I thought about it. 'Watch my movements, huh?' I thought to myself. I guess there are things I am not noticing. I should go check out the library for a bit, there is something I want to know more about. After a little while of thinking, I then make my way to the library. It seems this is a good place for information and to just think. I walk in, and still, the same library girl is sitting at the desk reading her own book.
"Excuse me," I said, lightly knocking on the table, which caused her to jump a bit. "I was wondering if you have any books on systems?"
"Ha-have you tried looking around" She stammered.
"No," I smile. "Honestly, I know you know where things are, so I just skip that whole part."
She does a slight sigh. Maybe I am pushing her to her limits by asking her all the time. Though she did choose to be a librarian.
"What about systems are you looking for?" She asked. Seems she might be getting more comfortable...kind of.
"Just general information of magic systems." I smiled.
"I see, please follow me." She said as she got up and started to walk away.
I followed her past a few aisles until she stopped at one aisle.
"Down here, you can find books on the magic of systems" She explained.
"Ah, thanks..." I trail off as I realize...I don't know her name! Would it be rude to ask for it now? Nah, who cares!
I open my mouth to ask her for her name but she briskly walks past me. 'Man, she is quick to get away from people...' I thought, slightly disappointed. Well, there is no point in dwelling on it. I go further into the aisle and pick out a few books. I then go to an empty table and take a seat. I opened a book called The Mysteries of the System. I looked at the first words written in the first chapter and just stared.
It read - "No one knows them." I continued to stare at the words for a moment, questioning why the writer would put that in. Especially with the book called The Mysteries of the System! I continued reading, and although it didn't really hold too much information, it did have some stuff on the basic knowledge of the systems. It seems no one really knows what started them or what they can fully do but have slight alterations that are purely based on the user. However a lot of what it explains as 'known limits' don't seem to apply to mine. Like - 'Your system can't gain skills unless it's from a magic skill sheet,' when I gained one from fighting a boss.
'Hey system, what other things can you do that other systems can't?' I ask in my head.
"I can speak with you, I can be upgraded for new abilities and possibilities, you have other means of gaining skills, and I can learn." The system informs me.
'Wait, what was that second one?' I asked.
"I can be upgraded for new abilities and possibilities." The system repeats.
Woah, that is nice! The system can be upgraded huh?
"That is what I said." The system chimes in.
Forgot it talks like that. Well, how does one upgrade it? I wait for the system to respond but in the end, it doesn't. 'System? How do I upgrade you?' I asked more formally in my head.
"A new mission has been assigned to you!" The system chimes.
A new mission? The system has never offered that before.
"Mission: Win Rank D guild tournament. Rewards - Upgrade knowledge." The system informs me.
'Are there no drawbacks to failing?' I thought to myself.
"Would you like one?" The system asks.
'Nope!' I quickly think. I am okay with no failing drawbacks. Though, I might not get another chance like this in over a year...So I guess that would be a drawback. After that, I decided to continue reading the rest of the book and the other books along with it. Once I finally finished reading all the books, I put them all away. I then made my way towards the exit and saw the library girl still in her chair but it seemed she was fast asleep. 'Even she gets tired while reading huh?' I laugh to myself. I peek my head over the desk and see a few blankets neatly folded on the floor.
'She helped me with the books each time...I can help her out this time.' I sigh as I go behind the counter and grab one of the blankets. After unfolding it, I wrapped it around her. Before I left, I noticed her book on the table. A Friend's Hope, and Lover's Dream. I opened the cover and saw that the book was owned by 'Eve Adva' so that's her name huh? Eve then rustles a bit and startles me. Without wasting much time, I use blink to get out of the library.
While walking down the hallway, I take a deep breath and sigh. That was a little too close to being awkward. Well, I have done my good deed for the night! Since the tournaments are coming up, I should go back into the dungeon and get some practice in. After settling on that idea, I then changed course and made my way over to the dungeon. Once there I stare back and forth between the Sword dungeon and the Dagger dungeon. For now, it might be best for me to work on my Katana. That is what I will be using during the tournament. I take a deep breath and make my way over the the sword dungeon.
Once there, I then summon my Katana and use the Crystal to get me to floor 20.