—Phew— Shoun sighed as he watched the vestige's body disappear— That's the first brute I've actively killed.
—Great job, everyone!— Sein exclaimed while floating. Despite having no energy left in his core, he still maintained his cheerful attitude.
—For your second fight against vestiges, you did pretty well— Deuz complimented as he began to float. Unlike the others, he hadn't used much of his energy. After all, he only had to manifest his arrows and bow, and even when he made larger arrows, it barely made a dent in his reserves.
—Let's rest now. I don't think it's a good idea to keep hunting, especially since it'll get dark soon— Unlike Deuz, the others didn't thrive in low-light environments, so no one protested. Kaze summoned the base, and everyone went inside to rest.
Inside the base, there were numerous facilities designed to make life as comfortable as possible for its inhabitants. After all, within the base, any effects of the mirror world were nullified, so things like eating, breathing, etc., were necessary.
The first thing the four of them did was head to the showers. The battle hadn't been too grueling, but they had still worked up a sweat. Each individual section had different water settings, and there was soap, shampoo, and conditioner of unknown origins, but everyone agreed they smelled nice.
After that, they tried out the laundry room with Kaze's uniform. Not because it was dirty, but because Kaze hadn't washed it since he got it. It was a mystery why it had only started to smell bad now. While his clothes were being washed, the masked man wore a blue shirt and cotton pants. These were stored in a closet in the laundry room, and curiously, there were pairs in the sizes of each group member.
Once the hygiene issue was sorted, everyone headed to the kitchen. It didn't differ much from the general design of the base. There was a round wooden table with chairs around it, and along the walls were various appliances like an electric stove, an oven, a refrigerator, and a microwave.
—Okay... where did all this stuff come from?— Shoun checked inside the refrigerator and found various ingredients like meat, vegetables, milk, etc. He also checked the shelves and, apart from finding utensils, he found dry ingredients and spices.
—The base provides all the ingredients for sustainable living. However, I must warn you, Secondary Administrator, that the provided ingredients cannot be taken outside the base. But if it's a prepared meal, there's no issue— Shoun didn't try to question this. It was already too good to be true to have essentially infinite food, and he didn't want to tempt fate by having it restricted.
—What do you all want for dinner?— Shoun asked as he looked at his companions, who were watching him expectantly from the table. For some unknown reason, he had naturally been chosen to cook.
—Cheese toast!
—Pancakes.
—A bit of coffee, please, along with some buttered bread. I'm easy to please.
—Phew— With a sigh, Shoun started cooking. It didn't take him long to finish the meal and serve it: cheese toast for Sein, pancakes for Kaze, and coffee with buttered bread for Deuz. Despite the simplicity of the meal, everyone enjoyed it. As he watched the others eat, Shoun, who had no appetite, went to check his status window.
[Name: Shoun Foster»
«Age: 17»
«Rank: Seeker»
«Title:...»
«Ascension Points: 45/100»
«Abilities»
«Electric Flow: Your very essence has been touched by electricity since birth, allowing you to control and use it to your advantage»
«Basic Electric Core: It is a part of your being, existing and not existing, in both your physical and spiritual body. It is where all your electricity is stored and generated, and it also allows the user to absorb electricity from other sources»
«Visa: Congratulations! You are now able to enter and exit the other world.]
—(45 points! I'm almost halfway to becoming an apprentice!)— Shoun thought excitedly as he looked at his status window— (I had 33 before. Three of the new points must be from the grunts I killed. That means the remaining nine must be from killing a brute. It's really profitable to kill vestiges above my rank.)
Vestiges gave fragments depending on their rank. Grunts of rank 1 gave 1 point, wretches gave 2, and so on. The difference came when killing a vestige of a higher rank than your own. This was called the "difficulty bonus," which gave additional points depending on the rank difference.
For example, as a seeker, if Shoun killed a grunt, he got 1 point. But if he killed a wretch, he got 4 points—2 base points plus 2 more due to the rank difference. The brute they had just faced gave Shoun 9 points—3 usual points and 6 for the two-rank difference.
Additionally, if the vestige was of the "Alpha" class, it gave an extra point. For example, an Alpha wretch would give Shoun 5 points—2 for killing it, 2 for the rank difference, and 1 more because it was an Alpha.
This was why it became harder to keep ascending as you climbed the ranks. Kaze and Deuz, the two apprentices in the group, only received 6 and 10 points respectively, while Shoun and Sein received 12 and 17 (the boy had helped in all stages of the battle, so he also received points for the other kills). The difficulty bonus became harder to achieve and less profitable.
Of course, apprentices could try to kill an executor of rank 4 to get 12 bonus points, but they would inevitably end up dead. It wasn't possible to kill a rank 4 as an apprentice—there was no comparison. Everyone was aware of this. Even dominators of rank 3, who had all possible points within their rank, had little chance of defeating an executor. Only the most talented and skilled could cross that barrier. This was one of the reasons why there were relatively few humans of rank 4, even fewer of rank 5, and none of the theoretical rank 6.
—(Even though I'm halfway to becoming an apprentice, I don't feel that strong. Sure, my physical strength and speed have improved, but I clearly lack technique. It's not enough to have a lot of points. I need to practice my abilities and combat style. I can't rest on my laurels... not again. There's no excuse for being weak when I have everything I need to avoid it within reach)— With determination, Shoun tasked his companions with washing the dishes and headed to the training area.
This would be the first time the young man had been in that place. When he opened the door at the end of one of the many hallways, he found a room similar to where Sein had his first fight, except this one was entirely white. It measured about 200 square meters. At the end near the door were seats, and in front was a complex silver panel. When Shoun approached, he realized it was used to customize the training experience.
—Gravity increase... targets... moving targets... combat holograms... temperature increase or decrease. This place is really well-equipped— Shoun wasn't sure what the facilities were like at the guild or the government, but he thought it was likely that the base wasn't far behind— There are also training tools, weights, wooden swords... damn, this place is pretty big. I feel really lucky to be able to train here.
Shoun quickly set the option for stationary targets. A designated shooting area lit up on the floor, and in front of it appeared holographic targets, each one farther than the last until the end. Shoun stood in the designated area and took aim.
—Secondary Administrator, if you wish, I can change your training configuration for you at any time. Just say it out loud.
—Alright, Liam, thanks— Shoun wasn't surprised that the AI was watching him, nor did he care, so he continued with his task. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, aiming his thumb at the target 10 meters away— (I didn't have the confidence to hit a target at 10 meters before. I want to see if it was luck or if I can actually hit a target at that distance.)
The young man briefly gathered electricity in his hand and fired. Unfortunately, the bolt missed the target.
—I knew it... ugh, it's not the end of the world— After a sigh, Shoun aimed and fired again. It took him a few more attempts, but he finally managed to hit the 10-meter target— I needed to adjust how I aim. My electricity isn't bullets; I don't need to account for drop. It seems I just need to consider that at some point, it'll disperse after traveling too far through the air.
Thinking about that, he realized he didn't know exactly how far his projectiles could travel. So that became his next task. After asking Liam to help by expanding the training room a bit and measuring the distance, Shoun fired the same bolt he had used earlier at the targets. It traveled about 50 meters. Then he tried a more charged shot, one with enough electricity to kill a specter grunt without any issues. That shot traveled faster but dispersed at around 70 meters.
Finally, he tried an even more charged shot, using about 20% of his total electricity. When he fired, he noticed the bolt was much more "unstable" than the previous ones, but it was also much faster. It easily reached 100 meters in the field but seemed capable of traveling even farther.
—What are you doing?— Deuz asked as he entered the training room.
—I'm practicing my shots.
—I see— The beret-wearing boy started looking around the training room while Shoun continued practicing with the targets. Eventually, Deuz approached the young man and asked— Do you only use your ability in those two ways?
—Huh? Well, mostly I use my electricity to enhance myself, and the shots are necessary for situations like today. Trying anything else would probably drain too much electricity to be worth it.
—Tsk tsk tsk, that's just a lack of imagination on your part. You're limiting yourself too much and only seeing the simplest uses of your ability.
—What do you mean?— Deuz's comment might have sounded a bit dismissive, but it was clearly meant to help, so Shoun didn't mind.
—Your ability lets you shape electricity the way I can shape shadows. Sure, I can't enhance myself, but that doesn't make me any less lethal, nor was I any less lethal when I was a seeker... let me teach you, and you'll become a killing machine.