I Died on The First Day of the Tutorial

Chapter 108 - A favor!


Apatia lay face down, her breathing ragged, vision blurred. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she was alive or dead.

Her master sat a few meters away, not even winded, watching her with that same unreadable expression.

He scoffed. "Not bad. In just a year, you've unlocked your Aura paths, and understood how to navigate them. Not bad at all."

Apatia did not have the energy to answer.

'No, seriously… isn't she kind of a genius..? I heard the average spearman took months, maybe even a year or two, just to feel the Aura moving within them…but to take control of it and increase her proficiency in four stances of the Nine Hells in just a year…. I'd be jealous if I didn't have so many cheats!!'

Apatia pivoted to her back with much difficulty. "I'm…huff huff…I'm nothing compared to you, Master….! You told me you managed to unlock yours in just a day!!"

Her Master laughed awkwardly. "Haha… well, that's true, but we all move at our own pace…!"

That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

The only reason he had been so quick was because his master was one of the most powerful Spearmen in existence. She simply forced his Aura paths open and gave him no choice but to feel the Aura move inside of him.

A shortcut made possible only by her prowess.

Suddenly, the man's expression changed, and he stood.

Apatia straightened immediately. '...Demons? We are pretty deep within their territory after all…!"

But the man planted his spear in the ground, and he sat back down. "You've gotten much better at stealth. I didn't notice you until you had your blade at my throat."

From the darkness, a figure emerged.

Apatia immediately rose to her feet, although with difficulty, and she stiffened. "D-Dea- no, Madam Edge of Revelation!! I-It's an honor!!"

The Edge of Revelation, Felicia Harbridge, walked with even steps. She wore a black suit with a porcelain white cape bearing the crest of the Dreaming Forest Guild flowing behind her. A pale blue wolf's eyes centered on a majestic tree.

She flicked her hair back. "Ah, if it isn't Apatia. Shouldn't you be resting for tomorrow's qualifiers?"

Apatia slowly turned her head toward her master, who only shrugged, and Felicia chuckled.

"I see. It's because of you, Verity, or should I call you the King of Fools?"

Verity cringed at his own Alias. "Why are you here, O great Edge of Revelation?" He asked coldly.

Felicia placed her hands on her hips. "You're no fun at all. We haven't seen each other in months and this is how you treat me." She stepped closer to them, no hurry in her stride.

Apatia, on the other hand, was having difficulty remembering how to breathe. The Edge of Revelation was more of a legend than a person. She was highly active in the public eye… but even so, those who could claim to have seen her in person like this could be counted on one hand.

It made her unbelievably nervous to be in the presence of someone so great.

No matter how many times it happened.

It was just last month that her Master had been visited by the All-mother herself.

'Well, it was only an avatar, but still…!!'

She was still the All-mother. She wasn't just someone you could talk to. All the way in the UAS, she was essentially a living goddess. Yet, she had casually shown up here to talk to her Master.

Then, it was the Twilight Radiance, the Martial Emperor, and though he didn't seem to like him much, her Master even seemed to know the Sword of Providence!

She held back a smile. 'He's so cool!!'

She briefly remembered their first encounter, exactly one year ago, in the Southern passage that traversed central America. At the time, it had been in the process of being reconquered from demon occupancy by both the south American, and north American forces.

It was her end of year exam as a student of Nexia academy. The exam was simple.

Investigate vestiges of re-claimed demon civilization and write a report on your findings. Not dangerous, not difficult.

Plus, they were to be accompanied by a registered B-rank Protector. S-ranks were seen as anomalies, A-ranks were thought of as the Elite, and B-ranks were widely regarded as seasoned Protectors of great strength and insight, so she was more than safe.

The end of year exam had been planned so that it would proceed without a hitch.

But as the saying said.

Predicting a demon's actions was like guessing where lightning would strike.

Against all odds, Apatia's group found itself face to face with a demon. A lone demon, left behind by his peers. Either too weak to escape, or too stupid to understand the situation.

Still, a demon was a demon. In front of those who carried those horns, and that golden marking, a B-rank Protector was nothing more than a plaything.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She, her friends who came with her, and their escort, would die without being able to fight back if they engaged in battle.

Apatia knew, because she had been face to face with one before.

If you don't want this to happen again, grow stronger.

She grit her teeth, clenched her trembling hands around her spear, but before she could do anything, a spear lodged itself through the demon's skull, and it promptly burst apart.

"Ah… If she saw me using Aura like this, I'd get a beating…" He muttered half to himself, half to the ghost of someone he held dear.

The B-rank protector, a blonde woman who wielded the sword, stepped in front of the students. "Y-you're…!!"

Strange tattoos all over his body, dark hair, and eyes like fire. For some reason, his facial features were difficult to make out, but the rest was undeniable.

One of the students gasped. "I-It's the King of Fools…!! H-He's real!!"

Apatia, for her part, recognized him instantly. It was the man from that time. From three years ago.

The demon's head regenerated, and he tried to flee. Verity's reputation preceded him.

"Hm, demons are such cowards. Strong in front of the weak, weak in front of the strong."

Verity threw his spear upward, and it impaled the demon right through the chest. Then, a rune shimmered on his palm, and the spear seemed to be pulled by an attraction force, bringing the demon alongside it.

The demon tried to plead. "W-Wait human..!! I have much I cou–"

Verity's spear began to glow a bright fire-like color. The Aura fluctuated around the spear, gathered at the blade, and then—

BOOM

It exploded, taking the demon with it.

The B-rank protector, Alicia, gasped. "Did you just… detonate your Aura..? I've never seen such a thing before…!" she said, baffled.

Verity yawned, and he turned his head. "Protectorate uniform… but you all look young. Students? He stroked his chin. "From the academy? Hm, an exam, right?"

Alicia nodded. "Y-yes… that's right. This was supposed to be an exam… but we couldn't have possibly guessed that there would be demons this close to WHDC territory."

Verity agreed. "Yeah, demons are unpredictable." He then looked toward the horizon. "Anyway, be careful from now on, and if you run into another one, try screaming. I might hear you."

Alicia bowed deeply. "Thank you for saving us, sir King of Fools!!"

Verity cringed at the name. "Uh, yeah… sure."

He was on the verge of departing, when a young girl appeared in front of him. She had emerald eyes, and wavy auburn hair tied in a bun atop her head. "S-Sir! P-Please take me in as your disciple!" She said without so much as introducing herself.

Verity scoffed. "Pretty straightforward, huh. Sorry, I don't ta–"

He stopped himself mid-way. "...What's your class?"

He couldn't tell since those under B-rank were not permitted to carry personal weapons unless given authorization.

The girl smiled. "S-Spearman, sir!!"

Verity clicked his tongue. 'Damnit. I need to pass down my master's style eventually, so I'll need a disciple at one point… but I was really hoping she wasn't a spearman…!!'

Verity's lips parted again. "...What's your name?"

"Apatia, sir!"

Verity clicked his tongue again. "...Weird name."

He had made the eccentric vow that if he was ever to take a disciple, it would be someone with a strange name, just like his.

It seemed that so far, Apatia checked all of Verity's boxes.

Apatia lowered her head even more. "My father was a fan of Greek Mythology, sir!!"

"So he named you after the Goddess of deceit?"

"He used to say that a better way to think of her was as clever, and cunning!! Honesty leads people to disappointment, or so he thought, sir!!"

Verity could only scoff. How ridiculous. "I see."

"Please take me as you–"

Verity ran his hand through his hair. He didn't especially want to, but just as his master had given him a chance, he would give this girl a chance as well. "Yeah, yeah. Come find me at the south gate of Nexia a week from now, at sunrise. I'll see what you're made of, and then I'll decide."

Apatia hardly held her joy from overflowing.

—-

And now here she was. She'd been learning under him for a year. Training, chasing demons, then training, then some more demon chasing, and then…

'Well, that's really all we did… but I did grow much strong–'

"Become a teacher at the academy!"

Apatia's eyes widened. "Huh?"

Verity's eyes narrowed. "...Huh?"

Felicia sat on a makeshift chair formed of rocks and leaves. "One of ours defected to the ECDA, so we're short on staff."

Verity scoffed. "The ECDA? They were probably a mage then. How am I supposed to replace them?"

Felicia smirked as she turned her head toward him. "Hmm~ Aren't you our resident rune sorcerer? Isn't that close enough?"

"That's not the–"

Felicia waved her hand dismissively. "In any case, Nexia isn't like the Cradle or the Golden Magic tower. It's about teaching the young ones how to kill and not be killed, not how to swing their weapons or chant better spells. It doesn't matter what you are."

There was a moment of silence.

But Verity ultimately shook his head. "I already have my hands full with this one. I'll have to decline."

Apatia felt a wave of relief wash over her. 'Knowing him… He'd ask for me to be in his class… and then I'd have to undergo his training even at the academy…!!'

Felicia, however, did not let that deter her. "You can't refuse. You owe me, remember?"

Apatia felt her chest tighten, and sweat rolled down her temple.

Verity raised an eyebrow. "I owe you?"

"Yes, you do! Don't you remember our race? Back at Plamodel?"

It took a moment for Verity to recall something that had happened so long ago, but when he did, his jaw dropped. "...There's no way. After all this time?"

Felicia grinned. "Well, yes… I never used my winner's prize, did I?"

Indeed, more than four years ago, he had raced Felicia, and he had lost. In all fairness, she had technically cheated, but since they hadn't specified the rules beforehand, it had undeniably been Verity's loss.

And the prize was a single favor from the loser, no matter what that favor was. Until now, Felicia had never even brought it up, and Verity had completely forgotten about it.

Right, until now.

Verity clicked his tongue. "Can I convince you to keep your favor for something else?"

"No~"

"How long?"

"One year."

Verity let out a sigh of exasperation. "This is going to cut into demon killing time… Fine, I'll do it."

"Shame, I was planning to force you into a duel if you had refused!" a sinister grin crept up her lips. "I'm really, really disappointed that you didn't resist a bit more…"

Verity's eyes widened. "Apatia. We need to go, now." He turned to Felicia, who was halfway through unsheathing her sword. "I'll uh, I'll see you tomorrow, Felicia!"

Apatia packed her bags at lightning speed, and in the next instant Verity had holstered her onto his shoulder. A rune circle on his back shimmered, and quicker than the time it took to blink, he had disappeared with Apatia.

Felicia chuckled, and she sheathed her sword. "Is that what I've been hearing about? It must be a modified version of the teleportation circle we used back in that cave. I guess he's finally completed it." She turned around, and she stepped away. "Impressive. I'll see you tomorrow, Verity."

Her figure disappeared into the night, as if carried away by the wind.

--

In a secluded alley way of Nexia, Verity and Apatia materialized from thin air above a shimmering circle of runes.

Verity placed Apatia on the ground, and he turned around to vomit abundantly. He wiped his mouth before speaking. "T-This one still needs some work… but hey, it workrs!"

Apatia crawled away to barf into a dumpster. "M-Master…please never do that aga—" She barfed some more.

The nausea only dissipated after ten minutes or so. Verity pulled a set of clothes from his storage bag, and he quickly put them over himself. A simple white shirt and classy black pants. Right there and then, he fixed his hair, brushed his teeth, and took one sniff of his armpits before generously applying deodorant.

He turned to Apatia. "You go home, and make sure to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at the qualifiers."

Apatia frowned. "...Where are you going?"

Verity allowed a sleazy smile to find itself on his face. "Don't concern yourself with that."

"...A date?? You have a date??? Oh my, you really have a date!!!" Apatia exclaimed.

"No! Just meeting with a friend!" He placed his bag over his shoulder and walked ahead. "Kids like you shouldn't even talk about things like that."

'...A friend?'

Apatia's eyes beamed with excitement. "Who is it at this time of the night? Is it… Madam Edge of Revelation!!? It is, isn't it!? It totally is!!"

Verity's expression suddenly hardened. His smile disappeared, and his whole demeanor seemed to have turned more sombre. "...No, it's not, and I've already told you to not mention her in that way again."

Apatia felt a chill run down her spine, and she dropped her head. "I-I'm sorry… I got ahead of myself…"

She felt a hand land on her head and ruffle her hair. "It's fine, just go home. We'll see each other soon."

With that, Verity vanished.

Apatia slowly walked home. "They seem to get along so well though… but every time we get to that topic… it's almost like… hmm…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.


Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter