《Otaku Card System》 1 Albino Widow VS Tiger ROOAR!! A white tiger paced around the enclosed space, eyes trained on the young woman twirling daggers in her hand. They sized up each other, one wary the other lazy. On the other side of the wall, a small crowd gathered, observing the fight. A new recruit turned to his mentor. "Why is she sparring with a tiger?" Most people in the training room practiced against dummies or sparring partners. If they used guns, there was a specialized target range. He had never seen someone in the Organization practice with ferocious beasts before. The mentor sighed. "That''s Albino Widow." The young recruit paled. "She''s the poison expert who ranked number one in solo assassination?" His eyes showed a trace of reverence. "I heard she mentored Blackbird and the miracle doctor of the Omega Team!" He stared inside the glass with a worshipping gaze. His mentor nodded solemnly. "She is the only ace in the Organization who refused to join a team. Though with a 100% mission rate and her status, it''s no wonder she could put in such a request." The recruit scratched his head. "But why is she fighting a tiger?" The mentor coughed awkwardly. "The senior members of the Organization have another codename for her." He avoided looking at the young recruit whose idol image was about to be destroyed. "Lazy Potion Master." "Ehh?" "Although she excels in chemistry and poison ¡ª that''s the potion part ¡ª she is obsessed with anime and manga. She often spends most of her time away from the lab, shut within her so-called ''otaku lair''." The mentor looked helpless. " . . . " "Initially, the higher ups wanted to make her part of Team Omega, but she refused on the grounds that teams missions go on for many days, taking away her anime and gaming time!" " . . . " "I heard she refused to use guns and decided to train with daggers and swords instead. It took half a year for them to convince her to drop swords. Now, although she is proficient in guns, she mainly uses daggers. Moreover she always requests the train with beasts so the Organization started to breed tigers and wolves every year. Many suspect it''s because she loves hunting beasts in games . . . " The recruit looked depressed. "The famous Albino Widow is actually has a chunni complex?" The mentor wacked his head. "So what? If you''re strong, who cares what quirks you have? Hurry up and train harder if you want privileges like her!" In the cage, the tiger finally lost its patience and pounced toward the woman with a roar. The woman rushed forward as well. Just when it looked as if the two were to collide, she twisted to the left. Her daggers flashed, leaving two deep wounds in the side of the tiger. Immediately, she rolled over its back, leaving more marks. A wicked smile bloomed on her face. The woman eyed the tiger like she was the true predator. Half a dozen slashes later, the tiger fell down, bleeding profusely from its wounds. Barely alive. The woman blinked, tossing the daggers aside. She left the room expressionless as aides rushed in to save the tiger. As the woman walked down the corridor toward her lab, her smartwatch blinked. "Hana, your shipment of novels has arrived." Despite her moniker as the infamous Albino Widow, the codename Lazy Potion Master was definitely more fitting at this time. Hana grinned, immediately switching directions. The indifferent face switched into that of a cheerful teenager. Her new books have arrived! Spending a part of her commission on advance shipping was so worth it! A large box sat at her foot of her door. Hana immediately unlocked the door and pushed the box inside. Tearing open the box, she immediately grabbed a stack of volumes and jumped onto her bed. Immediately, she lost herself in another world for the next few hours. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Around midnight, the lights in her room flickered, then went out. "What the hell!" Hana cursed. She was in the middle of the climax! Her room was entirely black since she lived in the basement level. "I knew I should have petitioned those old bastards to move to a higher floor." Wait, why weren''t the backup generators working? Hana felt around for her daggers, a sense of unease filling her. The room was eerily quiet. Her room was soundproofed as part of her privileges, but now she couldn''t hear anything outside. Was headquarters under attack? Hana''s eyes darkened. Ever since Team Omega died on their S ranked mission months ago, many forces had been eyeing the Organization. Without their trump card, they had been marked as weakened force. She held up her smartwatch. "I want all visuals within headquarters now!" "Apologies Hana, the central system has been overridden. Access to visuals denied." Hana narrowed her eyes. It seems like there was an inside job. The system that controlled headquarters was designed by that person. Only someone within the Organization would be able to gain control of the system. She checked the door. Locked. Hah, she snorted. Sheathing her daggers behind her, she felt around for the vent. With her familiarity of her room, she was in the ventilation system in minutes. She crawled forward quickly. Through other vents, she could see the halls were bathed in blood. Those in their own rooms where probably unaware due to the soundproofing walls, although the more senior agents would have guessed what was happening. Hana navigated though the maze before she found the main control center. Dark, except the bright computers. She could see dark blood splattered across the screens. Looks like they targeted this room first. Removing the grate, she dropped down silently into the room. She glanced around, then launched a knife into a dark corner. "Your breathing is noisy." "An ace of the Organization lives up to reputation." A man slipped out of the shadows, her knife in hand. He smirked coldly. "The Albino Widow, Zhao Hana. The mentor of the Omega team sure lives up to her prestige." Hana drew two gleaming daggers, twirling them easily. She smiled, her gait carefree."It seems like you did your research. Then you must also know." Her eyes turned cold and she launched forward. "My kill rate is 100%." Clang! He countered her blade with her own, drawing a metal bo staff with the other hand. He leapt back, tossing her knife aside. "I would also like to see the skills of the assassin who trained the legendary 7 geniuses." He smirked as he twirled his staff expertly. Hana eyed him expressionlessly, a whirlwind of slashes dancing from her daggers. He parried effortlessly and struck her shoulder. Hana twisted, the staff grazing her as she launched a kick toward his temple. Her dagger shot forward like a snake, drawing blood from his cheek. He hissed, flipping backward. He tried to strike her thigh. Hana arched back and snagged the staff with the crook of her knee. Pivoting she slashed up at his wrists, severing the arteries. He groaned and released the staff. Hana threw the staff behind her, flipping gracefully back into position. The man sneered at her, clenching his wrist tightly. "You truly are skilled Widow." He smirked. A dagger appeared next to his neck. "Who sent you?" she demanded coldly. She didn''t recognize him so he wasn''t the mole. Meaning he was part of the invaders. "Heh, the Organization is no more. The deaths of Team Omega in Siberia was your reckoning day. We have already eliminated everyone else. Now, it''s only you." Hana''s icy mask cracked slightly. "Impossible." The Organization had 24 elite teams and over ten thousand operatives and trainees around the world. They wouldn''t simply disappear overnight. The man smiled savagely. "Our mission was only to keep you all in." Hana''s heart trembled. "Without your networks, it means you lose air and space detection." He looked at her in glee. "Checkmate." Hana widened her eyes. "Above ¨C" A loud explosion rocked her ears and she fell into the darkness. 2 Transmigration Beep. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Beep. Beep. Hana vaguely heard the sound of a heart monitor. She opened her eyes slowly. The white ceiling and smell of disinfectant assaulted her. Hospital? How in the world did she survive the air raid? She was certain the enemies would have used nukes at least to finish them off. How did she end up in a hospital? If the one at headquarters was destroyed, the closest one was 1000 miles away. She glanced around the small room. No windows. A single droopy plant in the corner. She lied on a white bed. What she heard as a ''heart monitor'' was actually a clock. It seemed like it was evening. She checked herself. Her arms were unscathed, with only a few scratches. However, she was skinnier than she remembered. She felt relatively tired. Had she been in a coma? No way. So strange. Actually, this place didn''t seem much like a hospital. Except the smell, there was no equipment. The door opened and a nurse walked in. "Finally awake?" Hana blinked. "Ah?" The nursed clucked. "You''re too reckless. Entering a dungeon with your level of power is suicide. You''re lucky your scrapper team sent you to a hospital. Most just leave them to die." Hana stiffened. Dungeon? Apparently she had a level of power? So she had a power? Scrapper? She smiled politely. "Elder sister, do you have a mirror?" From the nurse''s genuine behavior, Hana immediately had a thought. Her heart trembled. The nursed paused, then laughed. "Here," she handed over a mirror, "don''t worry, there wasn''t much harm to your face. The healers had more trouble with your legs than anything. If they were any more shattered, you would have been crippled." She smiled. "Although I can''t blame you, your looks are stunning. I''ll let you rest for a bit more. Your sister will be here to pick you up shortly." Hana clenched the mirror tightly. Obsidian black hair fell behind her, bangs framing a stunning face. Porcelain white skin and pouty pink lips. Big purple eyes. Young, should be a teenager. Not her face. She pieced together the information. New terminology. She had powers. A sister. A foreign face. "Transmigration is real," she muttered, "It''s actually real." All the light novels she read. Anime she watched. She finally experienced transmigration! [Detecting new host. System binding . . . ] Hana straightened at the sound. System?!?! [Binding complete. Welcome Host to the Otaku Card System! Due to the detection of a new soul within the host, host has been granted 30% luck on draws and a 2 draw feature with each level increase. Host has also received a newbie package.] Hana laughed. Transmigration and a cheat! A system! "Describe the system!" [The Otaku Card system was created from the powerful devotion of many to anime. It has hosts across multiple worlds and dimensionsAs host increases her level, she will have the chance to draw cards which grant skills and tools from anime. Would host like to open the status window?] "Yes." A console like image appeared before her. Name: Hana Zhao Level: 1 Cards in Storage: 10 Draws Available: 2 "So simple?" Hana muttered. Then she saw a few more icons on the side that were greyed out. Only two were outlined in blue. "System, what are those." [Features you have yet to unlock. At your current level, you only have access to Card Storage and Drawing Wheel] "Ok, I want to see my card storage." Immediately, a series of cards appeared before her in her mind. They sort of looked like Pokemon cards, with a small image and a description under. She selected the first one. Name: Zorua Type: Creature Anime: Pokemon Note: The mini master of shadows, isn''t in cute? "Interesting." Hana smiled. "System, how come there''s no move set description?" [System cannot provide host with knowledge of how to use her cards.] "Huh?" Hana frowned. This system was kind of useless. Who ever heard of a system that refused to help the host?! "Ok then, can you describe the summoning process?" [Host is able to summon her cards in the real world. Due to this world being different from an anime world, aspects of cards may be altered. When host summons a card in the real world, there is no time limit unless if the card sustains heavy damage. Cards will return to the Card Storage if damaged excessively and there will be a one day cool down time. Host may also return cards to the storage at will.] Hana decided to test it out. "Summon Zorua!" In a flash, a Zorua appeared by her bedside. The card in the system vanished. "Return!" The Zorua disappeared and the card appeared in storage. Just when she was about to test out some more cards, the door slammed open. "Sister!" A young girl ran in, hugging her tightly. Hana froze. This should be the sister of her predecessor. It seemed like she couldn''t see the system. . . [Only Host could see the system. Also, the System suggests the Host use the system mentally rather than verbally lest she be labeled as a lunatic]. Heh, looks like the system can be snarky at times. Hana cleared her throat. "Um miss, who are you?" Regretfully, it seemed like she transmigrated without retaining the memories of her predecessor. Since it was only a matter of time before people would discern that she was different, it would be better to fake amnesia. The young girl stiffened, peering at her. "You don''t remember me?" Hana shook her head. The young girl teared up. "Sister, I''m Rina." "Rina?" Hana patted her head. "You''re my little sister right?" The girl nodded her head vigorously. In fact, she did look like her. The black hair and purple eyes. Around twelve. Hana sighed. "Don''t worry, I''ll slowly regain my memories." The girl was calmed by those words. She tugged her hand. "Home," she muttered. Hana let the young girl lead her away. Now that she thought of it, it seemed strange that her little sister came rather than her parents. "Why the hurry?" Hana asked. "The longer we stay, the more money." Rina said softly. She paid at the counter, before tugging her out of the hospital. Hana inwardly noted. It seems like money was an issue in the family. She let Rina lead her down the streets. Hana glanced around, it seemed like a normal city. Evening was about to fall, and the street lamps were on. People around them hurried on the streets. Through the window, she caught a glimpse of fire blooming in a chef''s hand. Above her, a few people levitated in air as they adjusted the sign on a tower. It''s seems like powers did exist here. Eventually, the two moved toward the edges of the city. Hana could see a forest in the distance. Finally, they stopped before a small apartment building. Rina moved up the stairs. Hana glanced at the slightly dusty rail and faded walls. "Here," Rina dug around for a key, before unlocking the door. Hana stepped inside her new home. 3 Dreams and Memories The living room held sparse furniture, a couch and a small TV. A desk full of books and a lamp sat in the corner. Hana could see a small kitchen. A narrow hallway branched from the side, leading to a bathroom and two rooms. A simple apartment. Hana turned to Rina. "Our parents aren''t home?" Rina turned her head. "Threw away," she mumbled, "you said we are orphans." Hana blinked. It sounded like they were abandoned by their parents. She scratched her head awkwardly. "Ah, you probably have homework right? It''s getting pretty late. I''ll make us something quick while you get started?" Rina looked at her cautiously. "Cook?" Hana nodded. Rina blinked. "You can''t cook." "Eh?" "You almost burned down the kitchen before." Hana coughed. "So you usually cook?" Rina shook her head. "Takeout." Hana walked to the kitchen. "Isn''t takeout expensive? We''re tight on money right? I''ll just make something. I''ve been practicing." She gave her a confident smile. Rina nodded slowly and turned to the desk. Hana looked around the kitchen. Mostly cup noodles and instant food. She sighed. There wasn''t even a stove. She dug around, before finding an induction plate. In the fridge, she found a few eggs, tomatoes, and carrots. She went through the shelves, pulling out rice, curry and seasonings. Hana sighed. She didn''t understand how people can live off instant food. Life without home-cooked meals is no better than life as a salted fish. She chopped up the vegetables and whisked the eggs. She steamed the rice with the curry. Sizzle! She swirled the eggs in the pan, before gently tapping it. Minutes later, two steaming plates of curry omurice sat on the counter. Hana slid over a plate to Rina, who was staring doubtfully at the plate. Rina looked at the kitchen, then back at the plate. And repeated. "You made this?" Rina swallowed. The egg wrapped around the rice like a blanket, tiny curds still sliding down. Green onions were garnished on top. It smelled amazing . . . but from past experience . . . Hana smiled and held out a spoon. "Try it!" Rina cut into the omelet, before shoveling it into her mouth. "Yummy," she mumbled, eyes shining. Hana laughed. This sister of hers was so adorable! The food disappeared at a fast rate. Hana yawned. "We''ll talk in the morning ok?" She needed to find out more about this world, but she had a strong urge to sleep. Hana went to the room that was hers and fell onto the bed. The last few hours were taxing. She died, came back to life in a new world with powers. Hana quickly drifted off. In the darkness, Hana stood before a mirror. A reflection of her new body stared back at her. "Who are you?" "I am Hana Zhao." "You''re the predecessor then?" Same name as her. The reflection stared back. "I wanted to die." Hana said calmly, "And I wanted to live." The reflection glanced her over. Her eyes seemed to glimmer in approval. "Protect my sister well please." She reached forward and tapped Hana''s forehead. Immediately, a rush of information flooded into her brain. Millions of years ago, 10,000 humans were transported into the first floor of the Tower Between Worlds.They battled beasts and monsters, managing to clear the first floor to open the very first Tower Portal. Many people died, but many survived. Over the next millennia, humanity managed to clear all 100 floors. Then came the Golden Age, 1000 years from the present. Humanity''s population grew. They settled across all the floors and civilization flourished. Technology advanced. Each floor began to specialize and become independent. Only a Tower Portal connected all the floors. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. However, 500 years ago, the Dark Ages happened. Across all floors, dungeons began to appear. Dungeons were gates into a demiplane. Normal dungeons required humans to defeat the main boss to clear it while puzzle dungeons required humans to solve the main puzzle. If dungeons remained uncleared after a period of time, they would break and the monsters within would flood out. Humans were unable to comprehend such dangers after 500 years of peace. As a result, the bottom 10 floors were lost to monsters from the dungeon breaks and their Tower Portals sealed. The next 10 floors were found to be uninhabitable due to the numerous battles that devastated the land. Slowly, humanity evolved to be strong enough to counter dungeons. In the New Age (present day), humanity lived from the 21st to 100 floors. The higher the floor, the more wealth and power represented. Dungeons appeared in increasing number, so it became a normal part of life. Many people became dungeon hunters, plundering the resources within demiplanes. Many new occupations appeared and overall life flourished. Hana Zhao had been born into a wealthy family on the 70th floor. However, her father had been forced to marry her mother so he often neglected her. When she was five, Hana underwent the ability test, resulting in her classification as an F-ranked. Meanwhile, her father revealed that he had a mistress on the outside who had a child the same age as Hana. The girl had an top ranked ice ability. She was immediately allowed into the family and granted the status as heir. The mistress married Hana''s father and became her stepmother! Hana''s mother had died giving birth to Rina. When Rina came of age, she was tested, but she turned out also to be F-ranked. By the time, Hana turned ten, she and Rina were sent down to Crosswind City on the 45th floor, basically exiled from the family. Hana had taken up part time jobs to support her sister who attended a good academy on the 60th floor. However, 5 months ago, the Zhao family stopped sending them money. Thus, she quit school to work full time. Under the pressure of Rina''s school fees and living expenses, Hana decided to risk it by taking a job as a scrapper on a freelance team. Scrappers usually followed hunter teams into dungeons. They were tasks with gathering materials from dungeons while the hunter fought the monsters. Hana had reasoned that scrappers were paid a decent amount of money. Even if she died, the life compensation money would end up with Rina. And so she entered the dungeon and paid with her life, allowing the new Hana to cross over. 4 Testing Out the System Hana opened her eyes. The early morning rays fell on her as she lied in bed, thinking. Of course, the first thing to take care of was money. Hana had no desire to return to school. Frankly, high school education was useless to her since she was an adult. However, becoming a hunter . . . now that was interesting. The minimum age to enter a dungeon was sixteen, meaning she qualified this year. And she had a system cheat. Hana moved to the living room where the sole computer in the house was at. She needed more information about this world. "Morning Rina," Hana greeted. "Good morning sister." Rina sat at the table, sleepily rubbing her eyes. A small piece of toast lied before her. Rina blinked. "Sister, where is Blackie?" Hana started. "Blackie?" She searched through her memories. Ah right, it seemed like her predecessor had an Zorua summon. It accompanied her everywhere like a pet. Now that she recalled, the girl didn''t know how to use the system so the Zorua was always out. Hana suddenly had a thought. "Rina, is there anime here?" Rina blinked. "What''s anime?" Hana''s face blackened. Such a godly cheat is wasted here. No wonder her predecessor didn''t know how to use the cards in the system! The system couldn''t directly tell users how to use cards. It was likely that it was up to the user''s creativity and memory, meaning prior knowledge of the anime was required. After Rina left for school, Hana decided to head toward the forest near their apartment to test out the system. ''Open Card Storage'' Immediately, all the cards she had currently displayed in her vision. She already knew she had an Zorua, but she wanted to look at all of her cards. Hana scanned through all of them. (A/n now the long list of cards) Name: Pecha Berry Type: Special Anime: Pokemon ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Evolution Type: Special Anime: None Note: Upgrades a creature ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Chimchar Type: Creature Anime: Pokemon ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Eevee Type: Creature Anime: Pokemon ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Oran Berry Type: Special Anime: Pokemon ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Luck Draw Type: Special Anime: Additional 10% luck on the next draw ________________________________________________________________________________________ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Name: Hyorinmaru Type: Weapon Anime: Bleach ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Speech Type: Special Anime: Grants creatures the ability to speak ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Fire Dragonslayer Body Type: Innate Anime: Fairytail ________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana beamed. It seemed like the cards she started off with were pretty good. So far, she could see that there was 4 types in the cards she had. Weapon and creature were self explanatory. ''Special'' seemed to mean many different things, almost like a miscellaneous category. As for innate . . . she asked the system. [Innate type cards directly affect the host body constitution. They are permanent and will vanish upon use] "Ok, use Fire Dragonslayer Body!" The card shone, then vanished from the storage. Immediately, Hana felt strength pouring into her body. Her eyesight sharpened. She could hear even the slight gurgling of a river 50 miles away. She could smell a fruity scent from the east, most likely wild berries. "Amazing!" She threw a punch, hearing the wind break as her fist tore through air. Her body was now more similar to her previous one. She ran forward, through the forest. Leaping over shrubbery and roots, she easily sprinted across at high speed for 15 minutes. Eventually, Hana slowed down in a clearing. "Summon all creature cards!" Immediately, a Zorua, Chimchar, and Eevee appeared before her. "Zor!" The Zorua immediately ran forward, rubbing against calves. The Chimchar and Eevee crowded around cheerfully. "You''re Blackie huh?" Hana rubbed the Zorua''s head. It was so cute! She wanted to squish it to death! "Today, we''re gonna test out your powers." Hana announced. The three Pokemon looked shocked. The Chimchar even rolled its eyes doubtfully. Hana patted its head sadly. Her predecessor didn''t know that her summons had powers, only treating them as pets. If she had used them correctly, maybe she wouldn''t have died. "Alright, Chimchar, Flame Wheel on that tree!" Hana yelled with a smile. Almost everyone watched Pokemon as a kid. She was super eager to battle with them like on screen. The Chimchar gaped for a moment. It''s eyes widened, and almost teared slightly. "Chimchar!" It''s body exploded into a flaming wheel, rocketing toward the tree. The blazing force smashed through the tree easily, creating a large boom as it collapsed. The stump was now charred in top, but cut through. "Nice!" Hana exclaimed. "Chimchar!" Chimchar rushed forward, even more excited than her. It''s owner finally allowed it to battle after all these years! For the next few hours, Hana had tested out all the Pokemon. She couldn''t exactly remember all their move sets, but it seemed like they could perform the general moves fine. As evening came, she fell into a dilemma. She had an evolution card that likely should evolve a Pokemon, but which one should she use it on? She didn''t know how rare it was to get one, but she only had two draws left. "System, evolve Eevee." Hana decided. Currently, she couldn''t remember much moves Eevee could use. It was better if it evolved into one of the elemental types. [Please select the evolution pathway] Hana widened her eyes slightly. Nice, she had her pick. "I want Glaceon." In her card storage, the Eevee and Evolution cards combined together. Eevee''s body glowed, turning multicolor. The form enlarged until she changed into a Glaceon. "Glaceon!" A new card appeared. Name: Glaceon [evolved] Type: Creature Anime: Pokemon Note: How elegant! But sadly it''s wasted on you. . . Hana returned Glaceon and Chimchar into her storage space. Checking her status, it didn''t seem to change, except her card number dropped. "Blackie, let''s go home!" She scooped up Zorua, heading toward the apartment. Entering, it seemed like Rina was already home. She was quietly doing homework on the desk. Her eyes lit up as Hana walked in. Hana smiled. "I went to the forest today and caught some fish. Let''s have that for dinner." Rina''s eyes lit up when she saw Blackie. "Ok." 5 Combat Classification Examinations Name: Hana Zhao Age: 16 Ability Rank: F Combat Classification: 1.5 Stars Residence: Floor 45 Licenses: Student, Scrapper After dinner, Hana looked at her ID in order to determine how to earn money. Everyone was required to register for a license to determine their occupations. Hana had to become a hunter to enter dungeons. Hunters lived a high risk life, but the return was good. And they really needed money. Her account balance was at a pitiful 900 credits. Rent already took 3,000 credits. Then there was Rina''s school fees adding up to 15,000 credits. Ugh, a dignified assassin such as her actual fell to have money problems. Hana scowled, and pulled up information about hunter licenses. According to the site, ability rank didn''t matter, but a combat classification of 3 stars was required. In this world, all people were born with ability cores. At age 5, abilities are tested in schools and officially recorded. Abilities rank from S to F, with S as the highest magical energy output. Higher ranking abilities indicated a more purified core, allowing for abilities to be easily controlled and having high magical output. Higher ranking abilities also absorb more energy from monster cores, allowing them to develop a lot faster. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. However, combat classification was different. Combat classifications were determined by dungeon runs, clears, and overall battle performance. It could be said that letter ranking measured potential while star classification represented one''s actual strength. Currently, her combat classification was at 1.5 Stars, barely a combatant. She would have to take a tests to upgrade her classification before applying for a hunter license. So, Hana found her way to the local Hunter Association branch in the city the next day. The Hunter Association had branches in every floor, with headquarters located at the Floor 100. The Crosswind City branch was a large building in the center of the bustling city. "I''m here for a combat classification test." Hana said to the lady at reception. The woman gestured casually down the hall. "Two doors down. Only Lei Feng is available today." Hana walked down the hall and pushed open the doors, revealing a large gym area. Weapons crowded the walls, leaving a enormous open space. In the middle, a large empty platform stood. A middle-aged man stood inside, polishing arrowheads. He looked up as she entered. "Combat test right?" Lei Feng sized up the girl. A young teenager, should be in school. He inwardly groaned. Another brat who wanted to bit off more than they could chew. Hunters were a popular job nowadays, especially with the growing number of dungeons. With the young age limit, many kids were trying to ditch school to become hunters. Many thought they could handle it, with their high ranking abilities. However, the combat class requirement disqualified many. Even if you had a strong ability, it would be useless if you couldn''t fight with it. Lei Feng grimaced. "Scan your ID here." He stared dumbfound at the girl''s stats. F¡ªranked ability. And the last combat test taken 3 weeks ago. 1.5 stars. Not to mention she was only sixteen. "You want to become a hunter?" He asked. Hana nodded. "Kid, I''m gonna tell you honestly. Your ability rank is already . . . aishh. And you only took this test 3 weeks ago. You''re barely qualify as a combatant. With your age, you should be studying in school rather than running out to play in dungeons." "I want to take this test." Hana smiled lightly. "You''ll might be surprised Uncle." Black lines fell down Lei Feng''s face. What part of him looked like an uncle?! He was barely 27, little brat. Lei Feng shrugged. "Alright, you know the rules. No artifacts or elixirs allowed. You may choose weapons from this room and you can use your ability. Step onto the platform when you''re ready." Hana headed straight for the dagger section. Balancing a few in her hand, she grabbed two that were most similar to the ones she was used to. She twirled them. Not bad. Lei Feng eyed her as she got use to the weapons. To his shock, she looked pretty comfortable with them. Interesting. Hana jumped onto the platform. "How many stars do you want to test for?" Lei Feng asked. "The maximum is 5." Any high scores would factor actual dungeon runs rather than the simulation. The simulation assessment consisted of the challenger fighting virtual dungeon monsters. Depending on the stars the challenger wanted to test for, the monsters numbers and difficulty levels would vary. "Three Stars," Hana decided. Lei Feng tapped the control screen. "Prepare yourself then." The lights in the room dimmed. Translucent walls rose up, encasing the platform into a sealed space. Laser appeared, flickering around the space. Hana raised her daggers in a reverse grip, tightening her hold. Immediately, four white wolves appeared. Black lightning sparked around them as they paced forward, baring their fangs. Hana marveled at the animals. They looked so realistic. The lightning shrouded their bodies like a dangerous spider web. The crackling and snapping sound was clear with her heightened senses. She met the dark pupils of the wolves, stilling as they observed her. Interesting. Hana''s gaze turned cold. She radiated a murderous aura that plunged the room into darkness. The wolf in the lead snarled. Throwing his head back, he let out an ominous howl. Hunt. The fours wolves lunged forward. 6 Dancing with Wolves Her fondest memory of assassination was that of a wild tiger. Memories of a promise in the past stung her. The snow that was colored in blood. The pale hand that grasped her tightly as blood dripped from slash wounds. She should hate animals. She hated animals. The kill is the proof. Hana watched the wolves pounce toward her, readying her daggers. Her eyes tracked their every detail, rippling black lightning across snowy white fur. Their muscles shifting and contracting as they lunged. The smallest drip of saliva running off a fang. Even their steps rang in different notes as they moved closer. The padded feet muffled and yet the claws scraped against the ground. Realistic. And like true beasts. Hana darted forward. A wolf jumped, claws in front. She smoothly slid under, lightning crackling inches from her face. Hana slashed upward, thrusting the blade deeply beyond the ribs . The wolf screamed in pain. A burst of red stained its fur, stark against the impeccable white. It took a step before collapsing. Its body vanished into particles. Hana spun and launched herself toward the second wolf. Her knife pierced the head smoothly, courtesy of her newfound strength. A fist slammed into eye of the other wolf who lept at the sight of his companion. Hana followed up with a direct stab through the eye. She stood, running for the one wolf left. The leader wolf immediately turned tail and ran. Hana blinked. There was even a function like this? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She spun the dagger in her hand and launched it. Like a dart, the blade pierced the wolf''s back. Lei Feng watched agape as the teenage girl massacred through the next two waves of lightning wolves.Fuck, even though lightning wolves were only level 3, it was unheard of for one person to kill them so quickly. Especially since they hunted in packs. Lightning wolves were actually common dungeon monsters. However, despite the rating as a level three, they were a nightmare in large droves. Sharp claws and fangs coupled with fast speed, a group of them would be trouble for even a peak C ¡ª ranked hunter. Especially since contact with their lightning induced paralysis and even death in weaker hunters. However, the girl danced between them with freakish familiarity. Her dodges, mere inclinations, were inches away from the lightning. Expertly skillful. Very experienced. Hell, she even had an aura of a killer. His eyes gleamed. Fast judgement. Unwasted and fluid movements. Her ability may by the physical enhancement type judging from the strength in her stabs. Why was she an F ¡ªranked? Lei Feng shook his head in wry amusement. The younger generation would surpass the old. "You didn''t try in your first test right?" He asked as she stepped off the platform. Hana shrugged. "So did I pass?" "With flying colors. With your skills, you might as well take the five star test." Lei Feng gave her an approving look. "You''ll make a fine hunter. Innate ability aside, your physical capabilities alone would benefit a dungeon team." Hana grinned and waved. "Thanks, but I''ll pass on another exam." She immediately applied for a hunter license before leaving the building. Hana went to the local library to look up a dungeon to enter. The closest dungeon that was available was three miles away. Cleared roughly a year ago, the Blood Garden dungeon was not as popular due to its low mineral drop rates. From known data, it consisted of a vast field of giant roses. The only known monster within was the Rosalian, a plant type monster which often camouflage itself among the roses to take its victims by surprise. It would wrap its thorny stem around the victim like a snake, sucking blood like a vampire. Within the first expedition that cleared it, 3 members lost their lives to Rosalians. The dungeon was thus named the Blood Garden for the vampiric blood-red roses that dotted the landscape. Overall, few hunters booked the Blood Garden run so it was not surprising little was known about the dungeon. Hana immediately booked the dungeon for two hours. Since she never entered a dungeon before, she might as well try it. Hana stayed at the library for several hours, reading through more information about the world. As she shelved back Introduction to Monsters, a hand reached over and grabbed the book. A grumpy voice huffed. "So this is where you''ve been." A teen stood before her, hands on her hips. From the look in her amber eyes, she was evidently irritated. "You haven''t been at school for months. You haven''t called, visited, or even messaged me. Just vanished into thin air. Hana Zhao, do you really consider me your best friend?" Her eyes looked hurt. Hana blinked, slowly matching up the face and name. "Good to see you . . . Renae?" Renae was incensed. "What''s with that tone huh?! Don''t tell me you forgot about me in just five months? What kind of freaking ¡ª " Hana interrupted. "Sorry, I have slight amnesia due to an accident so it takes a while to recall old friends." If anything, Renae looked even angrier. She yelled, "You signed up as a scrapper didn''t you! Hana, I warned you that it was dangerous. If you need money, just borrow some from me. Aren''t I your best friend? I told you I would help you so why didn''t you listen?!" Her shout echoed through the silent library. Around, people sent them disapproving looks. The librarian was frowning. Renae shot them a glare and cursed. "Come with me." She grabbed Hana''s hand and dragged her to an outdoor cafe across the street. Hana observed Renae as she ordered two coffees. Maybe a remanent of the old Hana still remained with her because she felt close to this girl. Like they would be friends. "How much do you need?" Renae handed her an iced green tea latte. Her favorite, something she and the old Hana shared. Hana smiled. "It''s fine." Renae slammed her cup on the table. "If you treat me as a friend, then let me in." A glimmer of hurt flashed in her eyes. "Even though I''m not rich, I can still afford to give a few thousand credits." Hana shook her head. "I''ve got a solution for the money problem." Renae narrowed her eyes. "Dungeons are not child''s play Hana. Even though scrappers are protected by hunters, they can still die. You lost your memories from an accident in the dungeon you entered didn''t you? Are you going to give up your life the next time?" Hana waved her hand. "I''ll be perfectly fine, trust me." She held Renae''s gaze. "Sorry for worrying you these last few months." Renae bit her lip. "Fine, but I''m coming with you." Hana shook her head. "Seriously, I''ll be fine. So go back to the cheerful and happy best friend that I know." 7 Blood Garden Renae pursed her lips. Once Hana made up her mind, she never gave an inch. Her best friend was fearless and prideful, but that was also something she really admired. "If you die, I won''t let your ghost off." Hana grinned. "Make sure to burn money for me." Renae scowled. "Only you would joke about dying." She swirled her blueberry coffee. "But I really would die from boredom if you don''t come back to school." She ran a hand through her dark red locks and pouted. "Classes are so boring. I rather spend time battling on Skynet." In the Tower Between Worlds, Skynet linked all the tower floors. It was the internet of this world, and its most famous feature was the virtual battle platform. While originally serving as a practice ground for aspiring hunters, it became a competitive platform for combat. "Actually, if you need money, why not live stream on Skynet? Sky Corporation commissions for views you know." Hana shrugged. "I''ll consider it. As for school . . . " She honestly didn''t want to go back to school. Waste of time. Good thing she was in her last year of academy, so she might as well take the final exams and be done with it. "I''ll come back in two weeks." Renae widened her eyes. "But that only leaves you two weeks before finals. If your ranking falls any lower, you won''t graduate. You promised we''ll go to the same hunter Academy." Final exams were important because it was held across all tower floors. Your ranking would determine the colleges that you qualify for. At 17, students would be entering 5-year specialized universities. Hana coughed. Renae was at the top of the class while she was currently bottom twenty. Coupled with her A ¡ªranked water ability, Renae was guaranteed a spot in a top college as long as she passed the final exams. Her. . . well. . . "Trust me, it will be fine." Renae blinked, but made no sound. Something about Hana changed;the confidence in her tone made her believe her. "Fine, but you better come back. Those annoying bastards are spreading rumors about you prostituting yourself for money. If the school didn''t have me on their radar, I would have beat them up so many times . . . " She growled, waving a fist in the air. Hana laughed. "Who cares? I just beat them up for you when I get back then." Renae startled. Her best friend was going to show her fearless side at school? She often kept her head low because of her ability and grades. Renae nodded. "It seems like the head injury did you well." Hana waved. "I''m leaving now." She needed to get to the dungeon on time. "Thanks for the coffee." "Remember you better be at school in two weeks!" Hana took the bus toward Crosswind''s biggest park. The Blood Garden dungeon entrance was located in it, along with other dungeons. Hana stopped by the public restrooms. "Blackie, let''s get to work." She scooped up the dark Pokemon in her arms. "First, change my hair white and shorten it." She wanted to enter the dungeon in disguise. Working as a boy was more convenient sometimes. Zorua''s illusion abilities were perfect for this. "Now, make it more messy. Erm softer looking, but spiky. Change eyes teal . . . make the tone tanner . . . Add some height. Now clothes . . ." Hana smiled at the mirror. Perfect. The teenage version of Hitsuguya Toshiro smiled back at her. Dressed in a white leather jacket and jeans, she was a perfect cosplay of the Bleach captain in his mature bankai form hehe. "Damn I look like a teenage heartthrob." Hana admired herself in the mirror a little longer. "Shiro-chan is awesome." Blackie snorted at his narcissistic owner. It was his hard work that was amazing humph. Blackie burrowed deeper into her arms and closed his eyes. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Hana stared at the sleeping grump in her arms. Was it developing an attitude? She poked its head fluff teasingly before shifting it onto her shoulder. Scanning though her inventory, Hyorinmaru appeared in her hand. Hana slid the long katana out of its dark blue sheath. It was perfectly balanced in her hand, the four point bronze star guard gleaming. A beautiful sword. Way better than any fake cosplay item that she ever order. Hana secured the zanpakuto behind her and went toward the dungeon. The entrance was a swirling blue portal. A small platform was built at the side, a young man leaning against it lazily. "You''re the 3:00 reservation?" He drawled. "Where is the rest of your team." "I didn''t hear that a team was required." Hana replied. The teen shrugged. "It''s your money dude. Just most people form teams to stay alive ya know." Either way, if the guy went over the time limit, he would just let in the next team. Once you enter the dungeon, you could only get out from the exit portal that appears after the boss is slain. However, people can enter the dungeon anytime, so if the team before was stuck, the next team should be enough to get all the people out. Hana gave him an aloof look before disappearing into the portal. The teen shivered slightly. Who was that? Those icy teal eyes and cold demeanor . . . he definitely met an expert. Which great god was visiting the lower floors in secret? Hana arrived in the middle of a field of bloodred flowers. The flowers reached her waist, swaying in the breeze. The portal behind her had disappeared. She had to clear the dungeon by beating the final boss for the exit portal to appear. "Chimchar, Glaceon, ready yourself." The fire and ice Pokemon immediately appeared by her sides, ready for battle. Hana stretched and scanned the endless field of flowers in around her. The Rosalians were hidden among these flowers, and with the breeze, it would be difficult to find them. Most people had ventured to the center of the field, where they met the final boss. However, they were subjected to numerous surprise attacks along the way. Hana clucked her tongue. Why should she deliver herself to the enemy? "Chimchar, use Firespin. We''re gonna burn this field to ashes." She might as well burn down everything in her path. The dungeon would reset anyway after she clears it so why shouldn''t she change the environment to suit herself."I don''t believe I can''t flush you monsters out," Hana smirked. Chimchar jumped and let loose a giant stream of flames from its mouth. The red roses immediately caught on fire. "Again! Glaceon, use Ice Beam on any flames within 3 feet of us. " Hana stalked forward, flames raging around her. Glaceon trotted beside her, an icy blue beam shooting out whenever flames fell close to the group. Ten minutes later, more than half the field was ablaze. Chimchar''s fire spread unusually fast, either the flowers were excellent ignition material or the flames had a special quality. Hmm, she would test it out later. Hana''s face was illuminated by the dancing flames. She reached behind her and swiftly drew Hyorinmaru. "There you are." 8 Boss Raid Swift shadows glided out of the flames. Rosalian''s were similar to snakes. Their heads were red rose heads, petals opening and closing aggressively. A single crimson eye sat in the pistil. The thorny body slithered over the ground like a snake, roots trailing behind. Slightly creepy, but Hana had seen worse in horror movies to be honest. She swung the sword, effectually severing the heads form the stems. Large wails could be heard as red and green blood spurt from the slain monsters. Hana narrowed her eyes. The red blood should be from humans, while the green was the monsters. Looks like these monsters recently had a meal or they stored human blood in their bodies. Interesting. Her ears prickled. She could hear movement coming toward her form all directions. Looks like the plan worked. "Blackie, hide us." They retreated to the side of the now barren area, vanishing from sight as an illusion covered them. Ashes and Rosalian bodies dotted across the scarlet ground. As a mass of Rosalions slid to the place where they stood moments before, Hana gestured. "Firespin." Chimchar inhaled deeply. A torrent of flames blasted through the rose monsters, instantly incinerating them. Hmm, fire was extremely effective, Hana noted. "Nice! Let''s go." The four slaughtered through the flower field, reducing nearly everything to ashes. Screech!! A slightly larger flower appeared before them. It was slightly taller than Hana when it reared it''s head, it''s one crimson eye flaring in hatred. Boss Rosalion then. "Firespin!" The Boss Rosalion dodged, hurling toward Hana. ''This one should be more sentient,'' Hana mused, ''It actually realized I was the leader.'' She struck forward with Hyorinmaru, the blade flying toward the stem. The Rosalion twisted, aiming for Hana''s head. Hana ducked and rolled. "Freeze its body with Ice Bream!" Icy blue streaks flew out of Glaceon''s mouth toward the Boss Rosalion. Ice crept up its torso, effectively locking it in place. "Die." Hana spun and lopped off the head in a single stroke. The Boss Rosalian''s body wiggled a bit after its head was gone, then went still. Hana went to the remains and shifted through them with Hyorinmaru. No monster core. She cursed. In dungeons, monsters could either drop items when they die (like in games) or it''s body would have a core that could be exchanged for credits. So far, she had no drops nor cores. "What a waste of 300 credits, no wonder the booking was so cheap." Hana grounded her teeth in frustration. As the exit portal appeared, she walked around in case she missed anything. "Hmm?"Her eyes flashed and she walked back to the dead boss. Crouching down, she traced the body. At the end of its stem, it''s roots were sticking out. However, there was a single thin red strand that connected to the ground. Hana reached and pulled it up. So long? The root was like a buried extension cord in the ground. Maybe it was connected to the core? The information may have been wrong. Hana followed the root away from the exit portal. Eventually, she stopped. The root was stuck, it couldn''t be pulled up any more. "Chimchar, Glaceon, help me pull the root." She placed the lazy Blackie onto the ground. "You too." She wrapped the root around the middle of her sword sheath. "One, two, three, now!" They pulled at the red strand with all their might like a game of tug of war. Slowly, the root shifted upward, displacing dirt. Hana''s arms strained. How deep was this thing? She stared at the end stuck in the red dirt. Red? The ground around them was a rusted color. And damp. Hana then noticed other roots around them stuck into the ground like theirs. No, it was entering the ground. She opened her hands. What she thought was sweat was red. Blood stained her hands. These roots had blood in them. They entered the ground, reminding her of liquid transport tubes. At that moment, Blackie finally awakened fully. Clenching the root in its mouth, it gave a hefty pull. Boom! The earth rumbled. "Shit!" Hana scrambled backward as the floor began to cave inward. "Back up!" She yelled in warning. But the floor beneath her feet collapsed. She grasped at the soil as she slide downward, clawing at roots to slow down her descent. When the earth stopped moving, Hana finally took a long look at her surroundings. She clung to the side of a hill of dirt that caved in. Meters below her, she saw solid stone ground. An underground cavern it seemed like. A massive pool of blood sat in the center, roots dripping blood over it. So the roots were supplying the pool with blood? Hana stared grimly. How many humans did they kill to get this much? Though it was probably diluted with water from the lack of viscosity. What was the purpose of the blood pool? Don''t tell her that she had to dive in their for the core? Hana eyes her Pokemon. The three gave her a pleading look. They weren''t willing to enter either. Hana''s mouth twitched. "Well, let''s see how deep it is first then." Hana felt around for a stone and threw it. Plunk! She pricked her ears for the sound of the rock hitting the bottom. The water surface bubbled ominously. Hana eyed the crimson liquid warily. Something was in there. Suddenly a massive red head rose out of the water. Blood ran down in rivulets from the enormous Rosalian''s body. It''s body was a thick trunk, with thorns protruding out. From the head, two eyes peered down, sluggishly lidded. "Firespin now!" The gush of flames rushed forward. Out of the pool, a thick vine shot out, blocking the flames. Hana watched as the thing charred. The vine immediately drew back, still alive. It writhe in pain. The eyes of the monster turned red in anger. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Other vines surfaced, wriggling in the air aggressively. They spilled out, hovering threateningly in her direction. It looked like a plant octopus if there was ever such a thing. "I have no idea what you are but your core is mine." Hana smirked. Something this big definitely had a core. "Looks like this is perfect to test you out." Her hand tightened over the zanpakuto. She raised the sword and roared. "Reign Over the Frosted Heavens, HYORINMARU!" 9 It Was A Scam A fierce ice dragon erupted into existence. It''s body coiled around her like a deadly shield, fearsome red eyes narrowed at the enemy. Well . . . . that was what should have happened. Hana blanked when no ice dragon appeared. Eh, did she say it wrong? "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!" Hana yelled the release command from subbed version. Cricket. Cricket. Her Pokemon sweatdropped. Their owner was so weird. Even the giant monster paused in confusion. Hana waved the blade angrily. "Hey system, this is a defective product!! You tricked me!" Complaints! This was a complete scam!!!! [Host cannot blame the system. System detects no stacking on card Hyorinmaru. It is Host''s fault for not asking about clarification of the system. So blame yourself.] The system heartlessly replied. Hana''s face turned black. "Explain yourself." The system was happy to inform the host ''helpfully''. [Some cards in the system require stacking to reach its full capabilities. One example is the Eevee card you had previously. After you stacked it with the Evolution card, the card improved and became Glaceon. Stacking is a great way to improve your cards. So please work hard host.] Hana wanted to punch the system. "So I would to stack something onto Hyorinmaru to unlock it''s shikai?" [According to the card database, the required card is the Shikai Release under the special category from the anime Bleach. Host currently does not have the card.] "System, I want to trade one of my cards for that card." [Host has yet to unlock the ''Trading Room'' feature. If you wish to obtain new cards, please use the system Drawing Wheel. Host currently has 2 draws available. Each draw grants two cards. Would the Host like to use a draw?] "Hell no!" The system was trying to trick her again! Drawing a card likely meant it was random. What if she wasted a draw? She only had two! At that moment, the giant Rosalian apparently got tired of her antics because it''s thorny tentacles shot towards her. "Damn it." Hana threw herself to the side. She deflected the thorny vines, drawing a green and red burst of liquid. "Glaceon, Double Team, then Blizzard on the pool! Blackie, use Night Daze on the Rosalian. Chimchar, retreat for now." The Rosalian curled up as the icy wind and snow assaulted it. The top of the pool started to freeze, locking away the vines'' agility. It moved around in a daze as the dark type move it it. "Glaceon, Ice Fang. Blackie, hide us with Illusion. Chimchar, Flame Wheel on its eyes!" As the multiple of attacks hide the monster, Hana rushed forward, weaving through the vines. The Rosalian screech as its eyes were seared away by the blistering flames. It wiggled around desperately, but was unable to find the target especially with its sight gone. Hana struck the place between the head and the stem. She cursed. Her swordsmanship was slightly awkward from lack of use. She knew she shouldn''t have gave up on it. The blade danced in an arc as she continued slashing and dodging, leaving deep wounds on the body. She hissed as a thorny vine grazed her, cutting it away. Hana ran on the vines with astonishing balance and precision. She leapt forward and slashing straight through the body. Landing on solid ground, Hana glanced back at the dying body. Blood from the pool was slowly draining as the monster''s vines absorbed the blood. It was healing itself. "Incinerate it." The Rosalian was engulfed in flames, slowly burning away into a blackened corpse. Admist the remains, a single shiny gem laid. Hana reached over and grasped the core. It was like a ruby, deep red and slightly opaque. Hana pocketed it. She picked at her clothes, noting she was covered in blood. Her Pokemon had patches of red on them as well. Hana scratched her neck. There was no water in the dungeon as far as she knew. "Ehehe Glaceon, do you know any water type moves?" After a brief shower under Rain Dance, Hana left the dungeon, again in her male disguise. "Eh?" The teen at the dungeon entrance stood up in shock. "You''re done already?" Hana gave him a assenting look. The teen gaped. "It''s only been 30 minutes! You solo cleared it in 30 minutes! Impossible!" This great master was amazing. And he look around his age. The teen wept bitterly inside. What had he been doing all his life? "I''m done. Just cancel the rest of my time." Hana didn''t want to do another run. This dungeon was far too messy. She left quickly and put on a change of clothes. Dropping the illusion, she went to the Hunter Association branch to exchange her monster core. At the exchange area, the attendant was frowning at the core Hana turned in. "Sorry, miss, the machine isn''t recognizing the core. Please wait for an appraiser to come identify it." Minutes later, a middle aged man walked over. "Where is the core?" The attendant handed over the red gem. The man''s eyes were in shock. What core was this? He had never seen it before. He turned to the attendant sharply. "Did you measure it''s magical energy concentration?" The attendant nodded. "The result was 90%. But I didn''t recognize the attribute." The man was shocked. "An advance grade unknown!" He quickly brought over the core to a machine. "Blood Attribute!! It''s actually blood attribute!!" His eyes widened. He gave Hana a fervent gaze. "Young lady, were did you get this core?" Hana blinked. "From my . . . friend. He got it in the Bloody Garden dungeon and entrusted me to exchange it for credits." The man was shocked. "Blood Garden is a D ¡ª ranked dungeon! This core is from there?!" He took a deep breath. "This is a newly discovered core with a rare attribute. I''ll give you 3,000 credits for it, how ''bout it?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "5,000." Hana countered. She knew that a core with a blood attribute was rare, but only for research. Not many people had abilities relating to blood so the market for the core wasn''t as big. "Deal!" Hana smiled as she walked out of the place. She did one dungeon run and cut her debt by almost a third. Such as nice job. Now, she had a system to question. 10 Drawing Wheel Hana sat on the floor of her room. [System, introduce the drawing wheel.] A 5 colored wheel appeared before her, just like the prize wheels seen at carnivals. [Host can use the drawing wheel to draw new cards. Drawn cards are randomized in type and anime. Host has a 30% permanent luck bonus and will gain 2 cards per draw] "30% luck?" [Because Host has inherited the system from previous user, your 15% is combined with her 15%. Your luck percentage increases the chances of drawing a card you need, a card from the same anime of your current cards, or a rare card. Host may use cards to increase luck during draws. System suggests using the Luck Draw card to temporarily raise your luck bonus to 40%.] Hana nodded. "I would like to use Luck Draw and all my draws." [Affirmative . . . drawing your cards] Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Within her card storage, the luck draw card vanished. The wheel began spinning, merry anime music playing. Ding! [Host has drawn the following: Gale Force Reading Glasses x1 Luck Draw x1 Package Draw x1 Opera Cake x1 Shikai Release x1 Evolution x1 Thank you for using the drawing wheel!] Yes! Hana''s eyes zoomed in on the Shikai Release. "Stack Shikai Release onto Hyorinmaru!" The two cards shone and combined. A new card appeared ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Hyorinmaru [Shikai] Type: Weapon Anime: Bleach Note: May you rule the heavens with your ice ________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana laughed, hugging the sword. She finally could use the powers of one of her favorite characters! She turned to the other cards. "Gale Force Reading Glasses?" ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Gale Force Reading Glasses Type: Special Anime: Fairytail Note: This is the 120x version ________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana wracked her brain. "These are . . . the glasses of Levy McGarden! The one that let''s her read faster. But is 120x a good version?" She put on the red glasses and walked over to the computer. Pulling up a text, she started reading. Information immediately flooded her brain. Her eyes moved along the words at supersonic speed, absorbing all the words in seconds. She finished the 10 page document in less than a minute! Hana held the glasses in awe. "This is a treasure!" If she had used this item in her old world, how many light novels would she had been able to read! Hana''s heart cried from the possibilities. Hana put aside the glasses. "Now, let''s use the Evolution card." She glanced between Chimchar and Blackie. Chimchar was one of her main attackers, while Blackie''s illusion was a crucial support. However, Chimchar could evolve to Infernape, which she predicted would be a powerhouse. And she really preferred the Blackie''s cute form over Zoroark''s. "Stack Evolution and Chimchar." She decided. She had gotten a luck draw to replace the one she used and something called a package draw. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Package Draw Type: Special Anime: None Note: Draws 5 cards from the same anime (randomized) ________________________________________________________________________________________ "Oh, this will be useful! Too bad it''s randomized." Hana decided to put these aside for now. "Wait a minute, I got 6 cards? Don''t I only have 2 draws?" [When Host reached level 2, she obtained another draw. Thus you used 3 draws resulting in 6 cards.] "I gained a level? Open my status window." Name: Hana Zhao Level: 2 Cards in Storage: 12 Draws Available: 0 "How did I gain a level?" Hana muttered. [Every world has a different way of earning EXP points for leveling. System has deemed killing dungeon monsters as the way to increase EXP points. As host later unlocks missions, host can earn EXP by completing missions.] "Shouldn''t you show me by EXP numbers at least?" [Once host reaches a sufficient level, the system will upgrade to include more specifics] Hana clucked her tongue. "Useless." [Indeed, the Host is useless. Please work harder.] Hana decided to ignore the black-hearted system. She turned to the last card. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Opera Cake Type: Special Anime: Yumeiro Patissiere Note: Have a delicious treat to endure the long nights! ________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana frowned. She didn''t know this anime. From the card stats, it seems like she had drawn a food? A cake actually, looking at the picture. Must be a food anime. She summoned it. A gorgeous chocolate opera cake appeared in a shower of sparkles. It''s layers were perfectly distinct and the decorations on top shiny. The rich aroma of cacao and coffee permeated the air. Hana gulped. It looked so perfect! The sweet scent was practically begging her to eat it. But she didn''t want to ruin this perfect masterpiece of a cake. "System, what will happen when I eat it?" [You will be happy of course. You''re practically drooling little glutton.] Hana''s eye twitched. "I meant what will happen to the card. Will it disappear?" [According to the system guidelines for food related cards, once the card is used, the card will return in a dormant state to the storage. You may reuse the card after the 24 hour cool down period] "So I have an endless supply of this cake?" [You can say that] Hana spirited the cake into the kitchen. Cutting a slice for herself, she quickly took a bite. She melted. It was sooo good!! Anime food was the best. The bitter coffee and sweet chocolate danced in her mouth. The soft cream, the moist sponge, Hana''s fork pace increased. "Sister . . . " Rina was standing behind her, deadpan look in her eyes as she watched her sister gorge herself on cake. Hana choked. "Rina, you''re back!" She awkwardly put down the fork. "We were released early today for exam study . . . " Hana pulled her to the counter. "Try some cake! It''s really good!" She pushed the rest of the cake to her sister. Rina''s eyes were shiny as they fell on the beautiful cake. Even with a chunk missing, it was still amazing. However, her face showed reluctance. "Expensive . . . " Hana patted her head. "This was made with you sister''s ability. Absolutely free." Rina looked shocked. "Free?" Hana nodded. "Yup, so eat to your heart''s content." Hana watched as Rina dug into the cake. Her cheeks were stuffed cutely like a chipmunk. Hana patted her head. This sister of hers was so cute. She had a rather withdrawn personality, but was mature and smart. So much like that person. Hana smiled. Don''t worry, I''ll protect you just like I wanted with her. "Rina, I know how to use my abilities. From now, let you big sister support you yeah? I will take care of the money problem and you. You just do what you want from now on." A tiny smile bloomed on Rina''s face. "Okay." "I''m a Hunter now. Remember your big sister is strong. If anyone bullies you, tell me and I''ll take care of them." Rina''s personality was slightly worrying. In this world where power was emphasized, she probably suffered greatly. Hana didn''t know what her ability was, but the label of being an F - ranked would hinder Rina''s future. Hana summed Blackie. "In the future, we''ll have more companion''s like Blackie. I''ll have one follow you to protect you alright?" Rina nodded. She gently picked up the dark Pokemon, stroking its fur. Blackie made a sound of contentment, and curled asleep in her arms. What a lazy thing, sleeping all the time. Was it a Snorlax in disguise? Hana thoughtfully looked at the duo. "System, is there anyway to give others my cards?" [Yes] "Good." 11 Confrontation Hana appeared in the middle of a great white forest. The Frosty Hill dungeon, ranked C. The ice elves in the dungeon dropped high grade ice cores, which exchange rate was 1: 20 credits. Hana initially didn''t want to enter this dungeon. She had already ran a few others, when the man running the entrance told her he would let her in for a bribe. Apparently the dungeon was booked for 5 days, but no one ever showed up. The man wanted to make some extra cash so he let her in since it was the last day anyway. Hana poked the drowsy Blackie on her shoulder. "Make sure to not drop the illusion." She entered the forest, Hyorinmaru in hand. Aside, Glaceon checked the surroundings diligently. Hana decided not to use Monferno today. It should be the most effective in such an environment, but she wanted to practice with Hyorinmaru instead. "Kekeke." An eerie laugh sounded above her. A tiny ice elf crouched on a branch above her. It was short and dressed in white armor. A bow and quiver of arrows around its back. It bared its teeth, pointed ears twitching. Hana draw her sword and jumped. "Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyorinmaru!" An exploding roar filled the air. Wind and ice grated against each other and a tyrannic ice dragon erupted out from the tip of the blade. "Die!" The dragon rushed forward, maw agape as it crashed down on the poor elf. It vanished completely, dropping its core. Hana put it in her backpack. She learned to carry one after she cleared several dungeon, but having the leave the cores behind because she shouldn''t carry all of them. Hana slaughter through the forest, the ice dragon annihilating the enemies easily. "Why are there so little elves? Didn''t the guy say this dungeon was extremely profitable?" Hana grumbled as she picked up cores. Glaceon suddenly perked up. "Something''s coming?" Hana frowned. Five clad in black surrounded appeared from the trees around her. Hana felt their hostile aura. These weren''t elves, but humans. They had blades pointing at her. "How did you get in here?" Hana frowned. "This is a dungeon, why can''t I be in here." She lifted her blade. "Are you picking a fight or something?" The men looked at each other. "He looks a bit young lieutenant," one said hesitantly. The shortest one, evidently the leader, said coldly, "Why else would he be here? No one can come in and we can''t afford the risk. Eliminate her." He stared at Hana coldly. The young master was in here. No matter if he wasn''t an assassin, the mere risk of him discovering the young master would demand his death. Hana''s eyes chilled. "As you wish." She let her murderous aura out in full rage. This was the first time that someone in this world wanted to kill her. The lieutenant, feeling the aura, yelled out. "Be careful, it''s a veteran." He gritted his teeth. So they were even employing teenagers now. No what was more important was how did they know? He had to capture this brat and question him. "Assume first formation." "Hyorinmaru!" The men felt sense of oppression as a tremendous ice dragon hovered around the boy. It''s gleaming red eyes glared menacingly as if mirroring his user''s emotions. The dragon crashed down on two of the men in a cacophonous tumult, instantly freezing them. Hana held back, keeping them alive. She wouldn''t kill them before knowing the situation. She dashed toward the next nearest target. The man barely lifted his blade in time, blocking hers. Her blade bore down in his. "Behind!" The man twisted at the warning, only to receive a crescent blade to the side. The crescent blade bounced off, the man''s skin glowing a light silver. Hana gritted her teeth and tugged the chain, reeling the blade back. She was surrounded the three. One obviously had some steel skin ability, resisting physical attacks. Another had wind churning around him, while the captain was covered in flames. Hana yelled. "Ice beam." Glaceon, who had been hiding in the trees since the men arrived, let loose a blue streak. The armor guy was instantly frozen waist down. "Enemy at 2-o-clock!"The wind user yelled, "It''s a summon!"He shot a wind blade toward Glaceon. "Illusion." Blackie''s illusion covered Glaceon while it vanished. The wind blade slammed into the floor, creating a sizable impression. The lieutenant immediately sent a wave of flame toward her. "Ry¨­jin Hy¨­heki." Threads of ice weaved together into a protective shield. The fire hit the ice and vanished, not even melting the surface. The lieutenant looked at the scene grimly. Two of his brothers were frozen before they could even battle. Their tanker was frozen by the enemy''s summon which had vanished. Who knew where it would strike next? And their enemy, he grimaced. Which clan could breed such a crazy prodigy? This white haired monster with glacial teal eyes could be on par with the young master in his youth. Flame rushed down his blade. His blade clashed against his, an aura of ice meeting his flame. In fact, the kid was radiating an icy aura beneath the heavy murderous pressure. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He punched him in the stomach. A tornado of wind slammed into the boy, sending him back. Hana grounded herself against the wind. "Tackle." Glaceon slammed into the wind user, knocking him out instantly. Hana looked coldly at the one left. "Surrender." "Never," he spat, "I''ll die for my master before I let your claws reach him." Hana furrowed her eyes. She tapped the ground. "I believe this should be the Ice Binding-Array. I can''t remember the name, but it should be effective enough." The trap was set perfectly. The lieutenant cursed as a pillar of ice encased him. Hana passed on, the cold aura fluctuating. Sliding her eyes to the 5 incapacitated men, she stated, "I don''t know who you are, but this seems to be some misunderstanding. I spared your lives out of admiration for your loyalty." Plus she didn''t want to bloody her treasured sword. "The ice will vanish when I leave the dungeon. Count yourself lucky." 12 The Man Behind the Flames Hana frowned at the wall the flames in front of her. The blue and white fire was so hot, she probably would have been burned alive if not for Hyorinmaru. Was this related to the 5 men from before? "Glaceon, use rain dance." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Storm clouds gathered overhead. Slowly, rain fell on the flames. However, the drops vanished as almost instantly. The fire evaporated the water?! Glaceon bowed its head apologetically. "No matter, you did well today, have a nice rest." It vanished back into the card storage. Hana pursed her lips. "Let''s try this then. Tenso Jurin!" The world turned cloudier.The ice on the trees around them grew as ice and snow rained down from the skies. ''It definitely is difficult to control'', Hana mused. Good thing she sent Glaceon back before using it. The fire seemed to falter slightly, but didn''t go out. Guess fire really was Hyorinmaru''s weakness. Hana pondered. She didn''t necessarily have to go this way, but she was curious about what the barrier was protecting. Why would there be a flame barrier in an ice forest anyway? She didn''t have cards that were useful in her storage. Wait . . . fire . . . . doesn''t she have a fire dragonslayer body!!! Ahh, would that mean she is impervious with flame?! Hana experimentally swiped her hand through the flames. Warm, in a comforting way. Hana reached deeper into the flames. Yup, confirmed it was safe. She had fire immunity! Hana fidgeted indecisively. Should she try it? What did it taste like anyway? What the heck, who wouldn''t want to do it! She opened her mouth and took a bite of the flame. Her eyes widened. It was yummy! Taste . . . well it couldn''t be really described . . . kinda like warm . . air . . . barbecue . . . smoky . . . but it was good. (A/n I have always wondered what fire taste like lol Natsu made it sound so good) In the end, Hana ate the flames until the barrier vanished. Delicious! And she felt really energetic! A warm feeling was churning in her stomach. [Host, it is not recommended that you consume too much fire if you can''t release it] Hana scowled. Looks like she couldn''t use fire dragonslayer magic, only the physical attributes. But no matter, she could eat flames like Natsu now! Hana slowly calmed herself down, before moving on. Beyond the barrier was a great tree covered in ice. A handsome man sat at the roots, leaning against the ice-covered trunk. Wind swept raven black hair and a face molded by the gods. His eyes opened slowly as he seemed to detect her , revealing dark blue eyes. Hana felt her heart skip a beat. She never thought she was one of those who fell in love at first sight, but damn! This was practically a living anime character ah!!! An older Haruka Nanase? No, it was Rei Oogami!! The flame color even matched. Well, the hair was close enough anyway. She scanned the guy. His complexion looked a little pale. And green. Faint red lines pulsed under his skin. Her eyes met his. Dark and intense. Hana immediately broke the gaze, only to notice that the boss was lying dead a few meters away. She looked up to see the exit portal above the giant tree. Hana crouched down before him. "Ahh, did you get injured fighting the main boss? You even got poisoned?" The man slowly closed his eyes. Fainted? She poked his cheek. "Pretty boy, those yummy flames were yours right? And the 5 people are your subordinates. They were so loyal, willing to die for you." Hana had a thought that this group of people weren''t that bad. It was likely that they were the ones who originally booked the dungeon. But the guy at the entrance didn''t see them enter, so he let her in. Causing them to misunderstand her. But she didn''t understand why they booked it for 5 days. Their group seemed strong enough for a C level dungeon. Or maybe it was to help this pretty guy gain experience. Too bad he was injured by the boss. Hana didn''t put much though in it. "Hmm, I guess I can help you." He was so much like her favorite fire user (Natsu was lovable, but not her top favorite). She had a weakness for such people. "Well, let''s experiment then yes?" The Pecha and Oran berry appeared in her hand. They were used on Pokemon normally, but maybe it would help people too? After all, the system did say some cards would be altered. She couldn''t remember the effects of the berries, so she might as well test them out on him anyway. "Try this." She pushed the Oran berry into his mouth. "It''ll make you feel better." After, his condition looked slightly better, but the poison still seemed present. The Oran berry should be those HP recovery ones then. But it had healing effects on human. "Now this." Once the Pecha berry, his complexion immediately turned better. The greenish hue vanished and red veins diminished. Ok then, Pecha berry was the detoxification one. Hana made a mental note of both the berries'' effects, then went to dig out the core of the boss. "This is payment for your subordinates'' actions." She then took the watch off his wrist. It looked pretty high-end, should fetch a decent price. "This is compensation for my healing services hehe. See you around." Hana did mental calculations. From all her earning within the week and now this, she should have at least 50,000 credits! Not more debt! Her predecessor had a accumulated a debt of 10,000 over the last 5 months. And she had a spend at least 18,000 this month for mandatory expenses. So now she had 22,000 for spending! Hana made her way up toward the portal. Smiling, her figure vanished out of the dungeon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searing pain wracked his body. The poison was getting stronger, even the icy environment failed to suppress it now. The man suddenly detected a presence near him. Someone had got past his flame barrier. Enemy. He opened his eyes. A young women stood before him. Snowy white hair billowed slightly from the breeze, framing a pair of beautiful violet eyes. A black creature clung on her shoulder. She met his eyes. His immediate thought was ''An angel''. His heart thumped slightly. No, why was she here? He tried to summon his flames, but paused. The pain raged back, surging through is body. He shut his eyes, readjusting his meditative state. She was saying things. A cool finger touched his cheek. The painful fire within him receded with her touch. Actually, her body emanated a cooling air. As if to calm the raging fire within him. Not an enemy. Her words were incomprehensible in his state. But he felt her cold finger on his lips. Feeding him something. Against his will, he swallowed. Immediately, he felt slightly better. The pain receded slightly. Was this an elixir? He had taken elixirs before, but none worked. She feed him something else. This time almost immediately, the pain vanished. He felt his control over his the fire return. He opened his eyes, to see her vanish out the exit portal. "Young master!" Five figures immediately appeared and knelt before him. "We have let the enemy escape, please punish our incompetency." The man looked impassively at the lieutenant. "Report what happened, Bren." "We were guarding against the remaining ice elves when we detected the enemy. He was an ice user and overpowered two of us immediately. He also has a unique summon, a blue creature that resembles a dog. Both of them had tremendous ice abilities, at least a rank B." He recounted the battle events. The man''s eyes narrowed. "A boy?" "Yes, a teenager. He was dressed in white and had white hair and teal eyes. He used a katana sword, likely an artifact weapon." "Describe the sword." Bren looked at the others. "It should be a in a dark blue sheath with a light blue hilt." The others nodded in affirmation. The man stood up. The girl he saw had the same sword. Besides his fire ability, his eyes also had an illusion breakage skill. It seems like the girl had been in disguise. Interesting. "We are leaving." Bren looked up. "But young master, your fire poison . . . " "Has been suppressed." The guards looked at each other in surprise and elation. The young master had been poisoned when he conquered an S-ranked dungeon. Although the rewards were heaven defying, he had a severely poisoned by the final boss. The fire poison affected him every month, growing in severity over time. No elixir or healing ability was effective. He had been secretly going into icy environment dungeons to cure it, but no avail. Dark eyes over his subordinates. "Locate my watch immediately if you don''t want to enter the punishment chamber." Watch? "It is related to curing my condition. It has not been fully healed." All the men bowed immediately. "As you command." The man looked at the portal where the girl had vanished. Who was she? 13 Feas Hana had exchanged her all monster cores and even auctioned off the watch. The watch was actually worth 100,000 credits!! The guy she robbed . . . took compensation from must have been some rich second generation from the upper floors. Hana rubbed her belly. She had hit the jackpot, so tonight, there will be a feast!! Hana went shopping for food, as well as buying watches for her and Rina. Apparently the phone craze hadn''t hit this world yet, because people used watches for practically everything. Hana went to the nearest supermarket and began shopping for ingredients. She was just about the select a base when an exclamation rang through the aisle. "Hannaa!!!" Renae bounced over energetically. She scanned her up and down, before nodding. "Great! You look fine." She glanced at the meat and vegetables in her basket. "Are you having hotpot today?" Hana nodded. "Yeah, I earned enough credits to last the few months." Renae widened her eyes. "That''s great! Oh, and you got a watch as well!" She immediately grabbed Hana''s arm. "I''m adding my number." In the end, Hana invited Renae along to dinner. By 6, the spicy base in half the dual pot (contributed by Renae) was bubbling away. The seafood side was also emitting a rich fragrance. A wide array of meats and veggies on the living room table since the counter was too small. "What''s this for?" Renae touched the skewers of cubed meat. "Is this going in the pot too?" "For barbecue," Hana replied as she handed the fruit platter to Rina. Rina carefully placed the platter next to the opera cake that Hana produced in the morning. Renae looks confused. "How? On the induction plate?" She knew that Hana didn''t have a grill. "You''ll see." Hana was actually planning to use Monferno to roast the skewers. She wished she could do it, but she couldn''t use fire magic yet. The three settled downed around the pot with bowls and sauces. The atmosphere was cozy as the three lightly conversed. Renae had often came over in the past so Rina had become comfortable with her. Hana passed Rina more meat. Now that she noticed, her sister was too skinny. She must have been skipping meals at school to save money. Hana mentally noted to start giving Rina allowance. "Right, Renae, I''ll be back in school in a few days. I just need to catch up on material." Hana had used the Gale Force Reading glasses to speed through coursework. Most of it was familiar to her, with the exception of history and geography. "Great," Renae munched on a piece of potato irritatedly, "you finally done running dungeons." She scratched her head. "How did you clear them anyway? Did you join a good team?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Hana shook her head. "I didn''t join a team The profits would then have to be split. It would have taken too long to earn the credits." Renae widened her eyes. "You went in there alone?" There was a hint of anger in her tone. Hana shrugged. "Only because I was confident I could get through safely." She started peeling a prawn. "I told you to trust me ah." Rina nodded in agreement. "Sister has learned to use her ability." "Really?" Renae had seen the summon of her best friend. Blackie was adorable, but that was practically it. She couldn''t see how Hana had cleared a dungeon with that cute black ball of fluff. Hana smiled. "Summon Glaceon, Monferno, and Zorua." In a flash, the three appeared. Glaceon, upon seeing that they weren''t summoned to battle, padded to Hana and settled down. It''s blue ears twitched curiously at the bubbling hotpot. The lazy Blackie jumped into Hana''s lap, though it looked less sleepy than usual. Only Monferno was eager to meet new people. "You can summon more now?" Renae looked at the elegant looking blue creature. They were all adorable! Rina''s eyes trained on Blackie with adoring eyes. Hana patted Glaceon on the head. "These are Pokemon, or my summons if you will. Glaceon here, is an ice type. Monferno is a fire type, and Blackie is a dark type." "Ferno!" Monferno patted its chest excitedly. It swung over to Renae with a grin. Renae marveled at the fire monkey. "They all have elemental abilities?" Hana nodded. "No wonder you managed to clear dungeons! They look so unique. I have never seen summons like this before." She shook hands with Monferno, laughing. "Monferno, can you barbecue these skewers?" The fire Pokemon looked happy to be useful because it took the basket of skewers to the window to roast. To Renae''s shock, a torrent of flames rushed out from the Pokemon''s mouth, roasting the meat in its hand. That single attack was around mid C-ranked ah! If the others were just as strong, Hana''s team alone was an average B-ranked! She smiled inwardly. You have changed Hana, but it seems to be a good change. "Sister, can I feed Blackie?" Rina asked. Hana startled. Feed? She recalled that Rina liked to give Blackie leftovers in the past. But did the Pokemon need to eat. In anime, they ate Pokemon food, but in the weeks that she had them, she never fed them . . . . ''System?'' [The cards in question have been modified to fit this world. Your Pokemon do not require sustenance but they may enjoy intaking it. It will do them no hard nor good.] "You can feed him." Blackie seemed to enjoy human food because it ate with more speed that it moved. Glaceon seemed more interested in the pot itself than the food, while Monferno rather roast the skewers than eat. Eventually, Hana brought out the cake. Renae was stunned. "Is this a cake?" "Yeah, an opera cake." Hana handed her a slice. She was confused by the exaggerated look of shock. Renae used her fork to shift the delicate layers apart. Taking a bit of the cream, she licked it. "Did you make this? It''s delicious. I have never seen a cake done like this!" Hana scratched her head. "Really?" "Well, I mean it''s familiar, but your layers as so thin. Normal cakes only have two layers with cream in the middle. Or maybe it''s because I don''t eat cake often. Fruits salads are much better." Hana shrugged. As long as it tasted good, it was fine right? After bidding Renae goodbye, she took the slice of cake and went to her room. 14 Preparations Hana actually decided to go back to school to save money. When she tried to book a B ¨C ranked dungeon, she found that it actually cost 50,000 credits! It was more than 20x than what she spent on the Bloody Garden! However, apparently university students get discounts for dungeons. There was also a better chance to access private dungeons monopolized by affluent parties. While public dungeons were nice, the most profitable ones were undeniably the private dungeons. When a dungeon first appears, the rule is that the first party to clear it will gain ownership of it. The Hunter Association had amassed plenty of dungeons, opening them to the public for a fee. However, clans and wealthy families of the upper floors also owned dungeons, often used to train their own people or gather dungeon resources. Hana recalled that the Zhao family she had been born into owned several dungeons. She frowned. That connection may bring trouble in the future. After all, just look at all the web novels about the scorned socialites being exploited or smeared by their families. Hana took a deep breath. She needed more power to defend herself and Rina. "System, show my status." Name: Hana Zhao Level: 3 Cards in Storage: 10 Draws Available: 1 Hana internally prayed. System, something useful please! She used her remaining luck draw and watched the wheel spin. [Host has received the following: Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation x1 Fire Dragonslayer Magic x1 Thank you for using the drawing wheel!] Yes! Now this was something she wanted. Hana selected the 2nd card. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Fire Dragonslayer Magic Type: Skill Anime: Fairytail Note: Prerequisite is that the Host has equipped compatible innate body card Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ________________________________________________________________________________________ "System, use this." [This card will grant Host a permanent skill. Are you certain you wish to use it?] "Yes, hurry up!" The card vanished from her card storage. Hana didn''t feel a change in her body, but she assumed she had gotten the ability now. The other card she got was also familiar. She had been a die hard fan of Akame Ga Kill! for a period of time. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation Type: Weapon Anime: Akame Ga Kill! Note: I never thought that something so cute could be so deadly ________________________________________________________________________________________ Gaea Foundation, the imperial arms of Chelsea. It took the form a cosmetic case, granting shapeshifting abilities. It was basically a spy''s best friend, good for reconnaissance and disguise. Hana smirked. Out of all her cards so far, this one had the highest value to her. She stood in front of the mirror. Opening the Teigu, she swiped 3 small tools in front of her, visualizing what she wanted. In a flash, her features and build changed. She became taller, her clothes changing into a white jacket and white jeans. Her long black hair shorted into white spiky hair. Cold teal eyes and tanner skin. A perfect rendition of what she wanted. Hana touched her short hair. Unlike Zorua''s illusions, Gaea Foundation was true shapeshifting. That meant if she took a picture of herself, her disguise would hold, unlike an illusion. Hana looked over her remaining 10 cards. "Speech?" Her mind flashed to the description. It reminded her of that cat. . . ah yes, Team Rocket''s Meowth. After thinking, she decided to give it to Blackie. Rina seemed like him really much. If Blackie could talk, she would likely had a close friend right? Hana stacked the two cards together, watching the speech card vanish. Now, she only had nine cards left. In the living room, Rina was ruffling Blackie''s fur like it there was no tomorrow. The poor thing''s fur was messy, like he had gone through a whirlwind.Blackie opened its eyes as it felt something change in its body. Green blue eyes looked at Rina. A deep low voice rang out. "Cake." Hana, upon just walking in, had black lines running down her face. Its first words was food? Was this lazy glutton really a Zorua? It must have been a Snorlax in its past life! Rina, on the other had, brightened. "You can speak? You want cake?" She immediately pushed half the uneaten opera cake toward the dark Pokemon. He began taking small bites out of it. "I''m Zorua." He stretched and stood up, turning it''s eyes pleadingly toward Rina. "Next time, can you give me your cake slice too?" Of course, Rina immediately nodded. Hana growled. "Rina, ignore him." She poked its head fluff. "Don''t try to scam my sister tiny Zorua." The dark Pokemon looked away. Tch, I''ll just ask her when you aren''t around. "Sister, I don''t mind." Rina patted it''s head. "And your name is Zorua right. I''ll call you that instead of Blackie from now on." Zorua made a content sound as it''s fur was ruffled. "Mnn, I guess you can keep half your slice." Hana pinched it''s ear. "She will keep her whole slice. If you try this again, I''ll leave you inside the card storage like the others." Zorua huffed. "Sister, don''t bully him." Rina scolded. Hana put her hands up. "Fine, fine, I''ll leave him with you for tonight. Don''t stay up to late." Zorua murmured. "I''m a dark Pokemon. I''m most active a night." "Fine, then you have night duty after Rina falls asleep. Guard the apartment." Zorua lazily pawed the ground, but nodded. Rina returned to her room. She was going to mass study for the next week. She put on the Gale Force Reading glasses and began pouring over textbooks. . . . . . After a week, Hana stood in front of the mirror. She had on her school uniform, a black blazer and blue shirt. Her skirt fell above her knees and she wore tights. Her black hair was tied into a high ponytail, bangs covering the left side of her face. She had dyed it so a streak of dark blue was slightly visible. Red glasses framed her purple eyes. Hana slung her backpack over her shoulder. Now, she just had to endure until exams. 15 Return to School Hana stood before the massive gates. East Wind High school. In her past life, she had never been to a public high school, receiving education directly from the Organization''s branches of specialized schooling. And frankly, she had no interest in high school. It was too restrictive for her tastes. Not to mention her predecessor''s track. The girl had kept her head low. Glasses and long black hair in front of her like a walking ghost. She had been the typical quiet type at school, a trait that hid her beauty. It also made her a target for bullying. Troublesome. Hana twitched. Just the gates along made it seem like a prison. She unwrapped a lollipop. Popping it into her mouth, she sauntered her way into the school Her black hair swished behind her as she strolled forward. Although she was slightly slouching, looking lazy and relaxed, there was no mistake in the confidence in her eyes. Students whispered as she passed. "Who is that?!! I didn''t know our school had such a beauty. She topples Princess Feifei by yards!" "Eh, no . . . no way. Princess Feifei is the best! Well . . . maybe just a little?" "So pretty. Her complexion is so clear," one of the girls said enviously, "I wonder what product she uses." Hana ignored the endless chatters and stares and went into her class. She sat in the back row, next to the window. Hana pulled out her notebook and put her head down. Slowly, the class began to fill up. Students laughed as they walked in with friends. Because Hana was napping in the back, few paid attention to her. Renae walked in with an annoyed look. Upon seeing Hana, her eyes lit up. She claimed the seat next to her sleeping bestie happily, but decided not to disturb her. Maybe Hana stayed up studying so she would let her friend sleep. Noise erupted from the door. The center of the clamor, a tall pretty girl wearing a red scarf, walked into the classroom. Catching sight of Renae, her face morphed into a sneer. "Renae, did your prostitute best friend skip today as well. I know her work is important, but she will be kicked out if she doesn''t come today." Renae glared. "Huang Feifei, shut up! If you continue defaming Hana, I''ll beat your up again." Huang Feifei was deemed the prettiest girl in school. Ranked 3rd in the school, her socializing abilities and good grades led to many deeming her a princess. Her rich background simply added to her appeal. When Renae first entered the school, she had become fast friends with Hana, rejecting Huang Feifei''s advances to become her friend. As a result, the girl always targeted Renae''s best friend, Hana Zhao. Huang Feifei sneered. "What else could she be doing? I heard the vixen has been in debt for months. With her ability, how else would she earn money?" The class broke into whispers. Renae was incensed, but she sat down when the teacher came in. Teacher Zhang surveyed the class before calling roll. Soon her eyes fell toward that student''s name. She frowned, but called out anyway. "Zhao Hana." Expecting the silence, she sighed and began to mark her absent once more. "Present." The clear voice broke the silence. Everyone was shocked, andturned their heads to the back where the voice came from. The girl sitting next to Renae Cao was casually looking at them, a lollipop in mouth. Her eyes slid lazily over them before gazing out the window. Her bangs fluttered slightly from the breeze. Her side profile was visible, revealing a breath-catching face. The males in the class felt their hearts thump. The heavenly beauty there was Hana Zhao????? Now way! How did that unassuming Sadako become like THAT!?!?! Huang Feifei''s eyes burned with hatred. Teacher Zhang cleared her throat and continued with roll call. She had a complicated look on her face. She turned toward the board and began the lesson. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Hana Zhao was a troublesome student. Initially, she was average, her grades in the middle of the class. However, her grades steadily dropped, until she was nearly at the bottom. Disappearing for five months, the rumors about her were numerous. Teacher Zhang didn''t believe the rumors, but she knew Hana''s home conditions. This student was likely to drop into a lower class. She knew some of the faculty had even already raised the subject of expulsion. Having a student in her class fail left a bitter taste in her mouth. Around halfway through the lesson, she caught sight of Hana with her head down. Her notebook was not even open. Her irritation increased. Teacher Zhang stated loudly. "Hana Zhao, my class is not a place for you to sleep." She tapped the whiteboard. "Your grades as the worst the class and you still don''t pay attention to the lesson. Since you have a leisure to sleep, you must have the answer to this problem then." The class giggled. Hana opened her eyes and glanced at the board. There was a math problem written on it. Complicated, but the concepts required were not even considered early calculus. Hana ran over the calculations in her mind. "The answer is 2." "If you can''t come up with the answer then ¡ª " Teacher Zhang paused, "Ah?" She glanced at the sheet in her hand. "That''s right." Her tone was in disbelief. Huang Feifei raised her hand. "Teacher Zhang, anyone can guess an answer. I bet it can even be memorized." They were doing review questions from past exams at the moment. "Why not have Hana show us how to solve it?" She smirked triumphantly. Renae looked at Hana worriedly. "Hana . . . " Hana waved her hand. "It''s fine. I treat it as entertaining little brats." Renae giggled, but she was still nervous. Her bestie''s worse subject was math. . . Hana walked over the board. It was a classic whiteboard, something quite unexpected with the technology she had seen here. Picking up the marker, she began to solve the problem. Line after line, numbers were printed out in neat rows. The handwriting was so straight that it looked printed. The class was shook. Hana placed down the marker. "Done." 16 Stirring Up Trouble Teacher Zhang nodded, surprise evident in her eyes. "Ah, yes, you may return to your seat." Hana slunk back to her seat and returned to napping. The class broke into whispers. "Since when was Hana Zhao so smart?" "Well, she was in the middle of the class before? Maybe she studied a lot these past months?" "Hah, if studying is so effective, then everyone would be acing the exams! But her explanations are really clear. I wonder if she''ll tutor me." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Huang Feifei gritted her teeth. How did the little bitch solve the problem so fast? Even if she did it herself, it would take 15 minutes. Moreover, now that vixen''s face was seen by everyone, her reputation would go down. She had seen Hana Zhao''s face before. The peerless beauty left her heart green in envy, but the timid fool hid her looks so she let it go initially. When Renae Cao rejected her invitation to join her clique for her, Huang Feifei was humiliated. Her father said that she couldn''t touch Renae Cao, but that didn''t mean she could hurt Hana Zhao. It was killing two birds with one stone. But now, she was climbing back up again. No. She must do something. "Feifei, what should we do?" Huang Feifei''s best friend, a.k.a. her number one minion Meng Xiaoyi asked. She hated Hana Zhao was well because she was the student ranked behind her. When Hana Zhao fell to the bottom of the class, her rank went up so naturally she was happy. "Didn''t I tell you to spread the rumors faster?" Huang Feifei said. Meng Xiaoyi shook her head. "I did, but not everyone believes them. You know that Renae has been telling everyone she was running dungeons." Huang Feifei scoffed. "What running dungeons? Have you ever heard of an F¡ªrank running dungeons? What team is stupid enough to accept teammate like that! I''m telling you, the bitch is definitely prostituting herself for money." "Well, I''m mean, if she was a scrapper, it might be true . . . at least to other people." Meng Xiaoyi said cautiously. "Even scrapper need decent abilities to survive. An F¡ªrank is practically a no rank. Who the hell believes that she would survive." Huang Feifei had a disdainful look on her face. Meng Xiaoyi nodded in agreement. "Feifei, how about get her to show her abilities publicly then? Actually, Hana Zhao has never revealed her ability at school. If everyone knows how weak she is, then the rumor will explode." She gave Huang Feifei an evil smirk. Huang Feifei let out a crafty smile. "Yes." The two plotted until the lunch break came. While everyone left the class, Huang Feifei and Meng Xiaoyi stayed. "I''ll get him right now." Meng Xiaoyi whispered. She disappeared out the door. Huang Feifei on the other hand schooled her expression carefully. She took out something from her bag and sprayed it into her eyes. She lowered her head and turned away from the entrance. "Feifei!" A young teen rushed in. Upon seeing his princess in a downcast state, his eyes burned with anger. "Did someone bully you?" Huang Feifei let tears drip down her face. "Song Lin . . . " She buried herself in his arms. Song Lin was stupefied. He had liked Huang Feifei for a long time, but she never showed interest in him. He thought it was because of his poor background, so he grudgingly accepted it. Who know his crush actually voluntarily threw herself into his arms! He looked at the tearful beauty in his arms, happy but angry. He turned to Meng Xiaoyi who brought him her. "What happened?" Meng Xiaoyi was all to eager to report. "It was Hana Zhao. That prostitute actually embarrassed Feifei in front of the whole class," she lied. "After everyone left for lunch, she insulted Feifei with terrible words so Feifei started crying." Song Lin gritted his teeth. "So it was Hana Zhao." He didn''t know who she was, but he had heard the rumors. Either way, anyone who dared to malign his princess deserved death! "Hana Zhao almost slapped her!" Meng Xiaoyi fanned the flames. "She was accusing Feifei for spreading rumors. I could barely stop her! She is such a witch, daring to accuse Feifei. Who does she think she is? Our Feifei is so perfect and kind, why would she spend time on a small fry like her?" Song Lin clenched his fist. "Feifei don''t worry, I''ll get justice for you. I beat her up in front of the whole school. Let''s see her dare to bully you again." He rushed out the door. Huang Feifei''s face immediately reverted back. She wiped her tears away. "Ugh, it''s so hard to fake crying. My makeup is gonna get ruined." "Feifei, it''s worth it. You know Song Lin has been admiring you since we entered this school. He has a plant type ability. His vine manipulation is easily within the top 15 of the school. He''ll definitely give the vixen a good thrashing." "Yes, although the bumpkin is dumb and poor, he has a decent ability," Huang Feifei assented. She flipped her hair. "He should be grateful that he is useful to me. Otherwise, I would have gotten my guards to beat him up for following me. Looking at that face disgusts me." Meng Xiaoyi nodded. "You should tell Zhao Ming that he is stalking you." Huang Feifei shook her head. "Zhao Ming is studying for final exams. Why would I disturb him for a trivial matter like this?" Her voice turned sugary sweet at this point. "If I want to get his attention, I can''t be like the other vixens around him. When he gets into the top school, then I''ll must support him rather than hold him back." She was pursuing Zhao Ming, but he was aloof to everyone. However, he seemed slightly more amendable to her though, which made her really happy. Huang Feifei looked out the window. "Let''s go down. I want to see Hana Zhao''s downfall." 17 Challenge "Hana, let''s go outside to eat today," Renae stretched her arms, "the patrols around the north side of the school is pretty lax near the end of the year. We sneak out to get noodles." Hana considered it. "I actually brought food today, but noodles sound good." She had packed Japanese styled sandwiches, but they also could be her snack later so she didn''t mind. "Eh? You made sandwiches?" Renae froze. "Now that I think of it, the noodle place is too far, and the weather looks bad today." Hana glanced up at the blue skies . . . "We should just stay. But the school food is so terrible, what if I get food poisoning . . . " Renae hinted. Hana looked at her wryly. "Well, I have enough for two." "Thank you!! I knew you couldn''t bear to let your best friend die," Renae cheered. Internally, she grinned victoriously. If the cake Hana made was so good, then the sandwiches must be better right? Hana had a feeling that Renae was misunderstanding something. . . but oh well. The two sat in a quiet corner of the cafeteria. Hana pulled out several boxes from her backpack. Two containers contained egg salad and rolled egg sandwiches. Another contained sweet cream and fruit sandwiches along with strawberries. There was also a small cup of octopus shaped sausages and steamed veggies. Renae drooled at the sight. It looked simple, but very cute and yummy. Her bestie definitely had a hidden talent in cooking. Just look at the creativity in her food! Hana, on the other hand, felt little excitement. She knew how to prepare Japanese cuisine the most, so something like this was easy. She didn''t know if Renae would like it though. "Try some." She handed over a sandwich. "Thanks!" Renae bit into the sandwich. Immediately, creamy egg and soft bread filled her mouth. There was a light pinch from pepper and crunch from minced carrots and onion, making it very tasty. "This tastes great!" While the two were enjoying their lunch, a clamor in the middle of the cafeteria. Song Lin had rushed in and jumped on a table. "HANA ZHAO! COME OUT! I, SONG LIN, CHALLEGE YOU TO A DUEL!" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Ehhhhh!!!?! Everyone eating lunch was shocked. Someone was declaring a duel! Wait, it was Song Lin, ranked 12 on the school''s powerful abilities list! "Wow, Song Lin is challenging someone to a duel? Who offended him?" Song Lin was one of the more hotheaded students of the school. Many people knew him because of his personality. "Who the hell is Hana Zhao? Is she powerful?" "Hana Zhao . . . um isn''t that the girl whose rumored to be prostituting herself for money?" "Why would Song Lin want to fight her? Maybe he got a bad experience hehe." Hana, meanwhile, had black lines running down her face. She was just eating lunch! Who the hell was the random dude that wanted to fight her? She didn''t even know him!! Renae jumped up. "Song Lin, don''t you go to far with your antics. Does Hana have to fight you just because you said so?!" She looked ready to punch him. Around Renae, the water cups trembled. She looked at Song Lin coldly, "Why don''t we have a match instead." Her amber eyes glowed dangerously. Song Lin felt a trickle of sweat under her gaze, but hardened his resolve. "I''m declaring a fight against Hana Zhao. Renae, this isn''t any of your business." What a joke! If he went up against Renae, she would slaughter him. She was ranked 2nd in the school. More importantly, she was known to go overboard in fights. Her last opponent ended up in the hospital half-drowned! "Hah, if you want to fight my best friend, why can''t it be my business?" She cracked her knuckles. "Let''s fight you little bastard!" Song Lin gave an awkward smile, backing away with his hands up. "I merely want to fight Hana Zhao because she insulted Feifei. If she had the gall to go against Feifei, then she must have the strength to back her up right?" Hana narrowed her eyes. What a coward. He was evidently afraid of Renae, but tried to play it off. But more importantly, it seems like this lovesick fool was being used as a pawn. "Why would I do something so bothersome?" Hana finally spoke. Song Lin frowned. The girl next to Renae was radiating a dangerous aura. "Who are you?" "The girl you declared a duel against." "You are Hana Zhao?" Song Lin was slightly shocked. This cold beauty was the creepy girl from the rumors. Well, then again, with her looks, she probably could definitely be promiscuous. His view of her was biased from the start. "Fight me on the dueling arena," he sneered, "I know you are dirt poor. Since you probably can''t afford the helmet for Skynet''s virtual battle platform, blame your unluckiness. I''ll destroy you in real life." He smirked. "A vase like you should know where you belong." Renae looked like she was gonna blow up, but Hana stopped her. "Why should I fight you? I have better things to do than entertain a barking dog." Song Lin''s face turned purple from her words. She turned her gaze to Huang Feifei who was observing from the entrance. "As a little lackey of Huang Feifei, are you worthy of fighting against me? If you''re the best she can do, then the name Princess doesn''t really suit her." A few girls in the crowd broke into laughter. Huang Feifei''s arrogance was not well received with some girls. However, many thought Hana Zhao was overestimating herself. A lowly F ¨C rank dared to talk like this? Huang Feifei stepped forward with a forced smile. "Hana, how could you speak like this? Song Lin simply wanted to exchange some pointers. Renae has been claiming that you''ve been running dungeons the last few months. Why don''t you show us some of your new experience?" Murmurs of doubt filled the air. Renae clenched her fists. If Hana didn''t accept this duel, then it would seem like she lied. And the rumors of Hana would gain credibility. If Hana lost the duel, the result would be the same? But could she win? Hana''s next words shocked the room. "I bet 50,000 credits on my win, do you dare?" 18 Burn Down the World Hana shrugged. It seemed like she was gonna fight him anyway, so why not make some cash out of it? Besides, he would be a good test subject for her new abilities. Her eyes glimmered with anticipation. Everyone else was in an uproar. A 50,000 credit bet! She was truly overestimating herself. Song Lin frowned. He didn''t have that kind of money. He was confident in his abilities, but financially. . . "Sure." Huang Feifei answered. She winked at Song Lin, indicating she was going to pay. "But can you afford to play that big?" It was well-known that Hana was dirt poor. "I''ll cover for her so she can!" Renae dumped in her support. "Besides, Hana will win so we won''t need to worry." She would side with Hana no matter what. "Fine," Song Lin cleared his throat, "Tomorrow, I will see you ¡ª " "Let''s do it now," Hana interrupted. Song Lin looked pissed at getting his sentence cut off. Hana merely sent him a look. "We''ll just get this over with." Song Lin gritted his teeth. "Fine, if you want to die sooner, don''t blame me." He stormed out toward the dueling arena. Like all schools, fighting among students was prohibited. However, students could challenge each other in the dueling arena. While it was rarely that someone died on the arena, it wasn''t impossible. After all, stepping onto the arena indicated no one would be blamed if death occurred. But most usually had the basic courtesy to not go too far. The rest of the students filed out, anticipating a good show to watch. "You sure you can win?" Renae looked worried. "Not that I doubt your abilities, but you have never experienced fighting against another person. A person has more sophisticated thought processes than monsters. Will your summons work?" Hana''s eyes glinted. "Actually, it is the boy you should worrying for." An assassin of numerous kills, she was more worried about injuring him too much. Not that she cared for him, but she wanted the money from the bet. Outside, Song Lin stood proudly on the death platform. The bleachers were packed. After all, a duel between an F ¨C rank and C - rank was about to begin.Although it was pitiful, no one wanted to miss a good thrashing. Hana saw Huang Feifei smiling triumphantly at her. She ignored her and jumped into the arena. The teacher in charge of the arena (referee) looked at the two. "You both know the rules." Song Lin gave a brutish grin. "Of course." Hana tilted her head in assent. The referee waved his hand. "Let''s have a clean fight. Begin!" Song Lin held his hand up, a ferocious smile visible. Immediately, thick vines burst out of the ground. They towered in the air, twisting menacingly. The green ropes were similar to that of a Rosalian, but far less dangerous. They lacked thorns and were thinner. Song Lin laughed. "Hana Zhao, I''d like to see how you will avoid my vines." His eyes glinted in a cruel light. "Since you actually look pretty decent, I''ll give you a quick death. Learn how it feels to be strangled to death!" With a wave of his hand, the vines rushed forward. (A/n. Just imagine the Fairytail battle music starting here lol.) Strangely, Hana gave off a toothy grin. Time for her to heat things up! She took in a deep breath, her cheeks puffing up. Her iris slitted and flashed red. "Fire Dragon''s Roar!" The signature blast of roaring red flames erupted from her mouth. They burnt away the vines like paper and rushed toward Song Lin. "What the hell?!" Song Lin barely threw himself aside. Boom!! Raging flames crashed onto the arena, sending sand into the air. The ground shook as dust and gravel covered the arena.The whole place steamed with heat. Everyone was shocked. Their faces were almost exactly the same. WTF?!?!? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Who said an F - ranked was about to get thrashed today?! Who was the actual F - rank here?! Huang Feifei was horrified. Meng Xiaoyi was shivering. Even the referee had backed away from the arena, eyes wide in shock. "Hahaha, go Hana!" Only Renae was cheering in the crowd''s shocked silence. She didn''t what Hana did, but it was awesome! As the dust cleared, the giant black scorch mark on the arena floor was visible. In fact, it was still steaming like the ground had been branded. It was like looking at the mark of a devil. Song Lin sat on the ground, shaking. Half his arm was blistering red, burnt. He gripped his arm, eyes wide in shock. A languid voice broke the silence. "Eh? So weak. I thought it would be a little stronger." Hana''s lithe figure was revealed, standing casually in front of the mark. Her ponytail swayed in the wind, red eyes framed by red glasses. Her black hair had streaks of pale pink in them, as if the flame burnt into her very body. The crowd''s heart shook. Many were torn between fear and falling in love at the dominating sight. Hana looked at Song Lin. "Let''s continue." Her fist burst into bright red flame. Song Lin''s eyes filled with vicious hate. "You just got lucky with that hit." He stood up. Although the attack had shocked him, he was more angry. How dare she humiliate him like this in front of a crowd. He could practically feel the jeering eyes on him. Song Lin clenched his fists. He had been born in a financially stricken family. However, the heavens didn''t forsaken him and granted him a powerful ability. While it could not compare to Renae Cao or any of the top 5, he thought he would at least rival some of the best in the school. But now the worst in his grade dared to oppose him? He would not accept that! "I''ll split you into pieces!" He roared. Vines wrapped around Hana''s arms and legs. Flames burst into existence around her. The vines around her turned to ash. The vibrant red, orange, and yellow joined together and pillared into the sky. A confident smirk bloomed on Hana''s face. "I''d like to see you try!" 19 Absolute Victory The girl bathed in flames faced off against the boy surrounded by vines. The stunned crowd slowly revived. The cries and jeers amped up the atmosphere, turning in Hana''s favor. They had witnessed a hidden powerhouse in the school. And it was a beautiful girl!! "Beat his ass!" "Roast him into barbecue fire goddess!" "Worshipping the fire goddess! Please send a smile this way!" "Go go go!" A fan club of admirers was building up. "Oh my god," Meng Xiaoyi gasped. She spun to Huang Feifei next to her. "You said Hana Zhao was an F - ranked! Are you freaking blind?" Huang Feifei glared at her. "Who did you call blind?" The stupid file in school clearly said she had some F - ranked summoning ability. What the fuck was this? Huang Feifei wasn''t completely dumb. She immediately starting thinking. Does that mean someone changed Hana Zhao''s file? With her level of power, she could come from a big family like Renae. Maybe she was just in hiding right now, but when she went back . . . Huang Feifei''s mind was running through conspiracy theories and possibilities. "No, its not possible!" She couldn''t afford to offend such as person, but it was just speculation right now. Huang Feifei bit her lips. "Well, this has nothing to do with me anyway. There''s no proof right? I, I was just joking around. It''s all Song Lin''s fault." She was breaking down. Meng Xiaoyi was scared. What if Hana started taking revenge for what she did to her in the past? It was all this useless best friend''s fault! She stuck to her because she was rich, but who knew she would drag her into this mess. While the two were sweating it out in the audience, Song Lin was sweating in the arena from the heat of Hana''s flames. He snarled. "Die!" This time, he ran forward, using the vines to boost his speed. Vines rose around Hana, trying to fence her in. "Take this!" Song Lin launched a punch at Hana''s face. He was adamant this would work. There was no way this weak little girl could fight. So what if she had fire? If he knocked her out, it would be his win. But to his shock, Hana caught his fist in her palm. "How ¡ª " "Fire Dragon''s Wing Attack!" In a blur of red and fiery heat, he was sent flying away again. Hana clasped her fists together. "Now for the this." Her heat aura skyrocketed. "Fire Dragon''s Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" What could only be described as a swirling tornado of flames assaulted the arena. While most of the attack seemed to have gone into the sky, the arena was throughly fried. In addition, everyone in the first few rows looked like they had gotten a mild case of sunburn. Song Lin lied on the ground, completely wasted. An absolute victory. "Still alive," Hana sighed in relief. This power was actually pretty easy to control. Now, what should she try next? Fire Dragon''s Crushing Fang? She probably couldn''t go into other elemental modes, but secret arts were fine. Fire Dragon''s Claw was a pretty common move too. But the roar was fun as well . . . Her fist burst into flames. "I''ll try them all then. I''m all fired up now!" The line came so easily that she smiled with uncontrollable glee. To the audience however, it looked like the smile of a devil. She was still fighting?!?!? Looking at Song Lin''s state, he wasn''t gonna last much longer . . . Some were even pitying the poor guy. After all, he was unlucky enough to fight the girl who was actually tiger playing as a pig. Song Lin blanched at the sight of the flames. He was about to cry. Forget pride and face, now he just wanted to live. Big sister, can you please spare me ah! "Nononono, I surrender!"If he had a white flag, he would be waving it like crazy. "Hah?" Hana narrowed her eyes. "I don''t accept your surrender. You dragged me out from lunch to do this. We might as well play with you a little longer." She had so many attacks she could try out. "Yeah, punch his face!" Renae yelled in support. Her friend was on fire today! Literally! The crowd also cheered in support. "Roast him some more fire goddess! We want a barbecue K.O.!" For the first time, Song Lin felt like he experienced true despair. The demonic girl walked forward, body wreathe in flame. Every step seemed to slow down for time, like he was seeing his impending death in slow motion. He truly wanted to faint at this moment. "So fragile," Hana murmured. Her eyes slid to Huang Feifei and Meng Xiaoyi. The two girls trembled in terror. This level of power was at definitely A - ranked. Definitely A - ranked! It was as terrifying as Renae Cao''s ability! Hana slid her eyes back to Song Lin. The two should know not to mess with her now. Another bonus of this farce. Intimidate these annoying bugs away. She raised her hand, a wide grin. "Let''s roast you a little more shall we." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Wait!" A lone girl pushed her way up to the arena. "Please stop." She stepped in front of Song Lin, shielding him with her body. Hana frowned, putting down her hand. "And who are you?" She raised her head. Mousy hair fringed over dark dull eyes. "Song Lin''s sister, Song Qi." 20 Scores Hana frowned. "You want to take his place in battle?" Song Qi shook her head. To Hana''s shock, she knelt down in front of her. "Please, let him go." Her voice was almost robotic, with a hint of desperation. Her hands were clenched tightly. "Yes, let her take my place!" Song Lin yelped. He shoved his sister forward. "This little bitch will entertain you well. You can have all the fun with her." Hana glared at him "Shut up." She looked at the Song Qi with a complicated gaze. She was physically small and skinny, like a weak flower. Yet she was brave enough to confront someone like her. However, it seemed like Song Lin didn''t appreciate it. What a bastard. "Hana," Renae appeared on the arena as well. She looked at Song Qi with flicker of pity. "Normally I would say we should send this bastard to the hospital, but can we let this rest here?" Hana raised her eyes. "Really?" Renae nodded. Hana shrugged. "Fine, let''s go." Song Lin immediately dragged himself off the stage without another look at his sister. The referee coughed awkwardly. "The winner of this duel is Hana Zhao!" Then, he vanished as well, seemingly going to the head office. The crowd exploded into yells and excitement. Song Qi got up. "I will remember this favor." She said quietly, meeting Hana''s eyes, before walking away. Eventually, after the last lessons, Renae dragged Hana out to a quiet coffee shop. "Aren''t you going to ask me about Song Qi?" Renae asked. Hana shrugged. "I trust your judgement. There must have been a good reason." Renae scratched her head awkwardly. "It''s not like I want to gossip, but her situation is really pitiful." She swirled her coffee. "Song Qi has a good healing ability. However, the Song family seems to prefer Song Lin to enter a good university." Renae paused, then lowered her voice even more. "I think they hit her." Hana frowned. "Why haven''t you alerted the authorities?" Renae''s eyes shadowed. "I don''t know why, but Song Qi goes along with it. She heals her wounds every time they beat her, so no evidence is visible. If I hadn''t stumbled on them pushing her one night, I wouldn''t have even known. I think even Song Lin is in on it. I even spoke to her about it, but she denied everything." "It''s disgusting. Song Qi is talented, but it''s wasted on them. But then again, it really isn''t my business." She lowered her head. "I won''t save someone doesn''t want to save themselves." Hana tapped her fingers. "It is definitely concerning, but I''m afraid Song Qi has her own agenda." She recalled the emotion in the girl''s eyes. In contrary to her appearance, it was full of anger and resolution. Definitely not the eyes of a meek person."She definitely won''t take it any longer." Renae waved her hand. "It''s not like I know her much anyway. If she doesn''t want me to butt in, then I won''t. It''s just unsettling." She patted her cheeks. "Let''s not talk about this anymore. How about I join you for dinner again?" Hana nodded. "Sure! What do you want to eat?" Renae grinned. "Fruit!" Hana pondered. "Then how about pineapple fried rice? And we can make mango sticky rice and lamb." "Sounds great!" The two chatted as they walked back to Hana''s apartment. Renae played games in the living room while Hana busied herself in the kitchen A fresh pineapple was cut and hollowed out. Hana added the pineapples to chopped veggies and rice, along with a myriad of spices. A mouth-watering sweet and sour scent filled the air. Hana salted the sides of the pineapple, before filling it with rice and sealing it. She put the whole thing in the toaster oven and set the timer. Next came simple dishes of spicy cumin lamb chops and mangos paired with sticky rice covered in a slightly salty coconut cream sauce. Once Rina came returned from school, the three sat down for a delicious meal. Renae sighed in happiness. "If I eat here everyday, I will become fat with no regrets!" She munched happily on her lamb. "Oh yeah, Rina, did you take your exams already? Is your studying going well?" Although Rina was 12, she was taking the exams for high school already. A little genius. Rina deadpanned. "We took exams weeks ago. The results are out today." Renae choked. "Really?" Hey, it wasn''t her fault that she didn''t know ok, she rarely tracked the middle school deadlines. "What did you get?" Hana was also curious. She didn''t know that Rina''s scores had came either. Rina tapped the watch Hana gave her. The holographic image of her results popped up. Renae dropped her chopsticks. She blurt out the number in shock."1200!" My god, this score could give one a heart attack. Middle schoolers only had 12 subject exams, so Rina had gotten a perfect score. Renae herself ''s score in middle school was a mere 987 ah! TT Hana laughed, ruffling her hair. "Nice job little sister." She knew Rina was inituitive and worked really hard. She deserved this score. Rina''s face reddened. "It was nothing." Renae pounced on the tiny girl. "Rina, you little genius!" She squeezed her into a hug. "So soft and cuddly." Her eyes lit up. "We should have cake to celebrate!" Rina''s eyes also sparkled. In the end, Hana used her cake card again to appease the two. . . . . . . . . Floor 70 ¡ª Zhao Residence Crash! Within a large bedroom, a vase was flung onto the floor. "My darling Lily, please calm down." A tall woman decked out in makeup and jewelry tried to hold her daughter back. The teenager shrugged her off. "Mom, please give me some space to think!" The woman pouted. "But darling, don''t you want to hear about the clothes I bought today? Don''t let the news of those lowly peasants affect you." "Get out!" Lily yelled. Chasing out her mother, Lily Zhao slammed the door shut. She stalked over to the computer again, staring at the accursed numbers on the screen. "Why must you go against me?" She muttered agitatedly. The temperature in the room dropped as frost spread over the furniture. Lily slammed her laptop shut. Why did the damn girl have to score so high? More importantly, it had caught the attention of Su Mei Hua, her hated rival. That damn bitch spread the news all over the school. Now everyone knew she was the daughter of a mistress. It wasn''t like it was really hidden before, but few cared due to her astounding achievements. But now the girl showed that she had some ability. Lily screamed in frustration. Why must she be born illegitimate? Her father loved her mother the most. He married her legitimately so why? She was so talented, so why was her life so hard? She tried so hard to hide the matter so why is it blowing up now?! She threw her laptop at the mirror, shattering it in a shower of glass and ice. Watching the destruction calmed her down. The raging demeanor melted away into focused eyes. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. No, she would fix this. It would blow over soon just like last time. As long as she outscored the other one on the high school exams, it would be fine. Lily grabbed her books, and snapped them open. Her eyes burned with fervor. She must trample this half-sister of hers. 21 Surprise Weeks passed quickly as exam season hit. The mock exams in the school took up two entire days. 9 subjects each day continuously. It took a toll on everyone. The campus was full of students sporting black eyes and shaky hands. Renae lied on her desk with an ashen complexion after the last exam. She looked melt into a puddle. "How can you be so . . . alive?" Renae complained as she noticed Hana''s unaffected state. "It was a simple exam," Hana replied. She was a little disoriented from having to mentally switch between 9 subjects, but it wasn''t really hard. She massaged her hand which had begun to cramp up from hours of writing. "You and Rina are freaks," Renae muttered. "I''m taking a nap. Wake me when they bring the results." The entire class had to wait two hours for their mock exams to be processed virtually. It was fast since the exam wasn''t official and the purpose was for the students to get an idea of how they would fare on the actual exam. Hana swirled a lollipop in her mouth while she waited. She didn''t know why but she had an urge to eat lollipops these days. Finally, Teacher Zhang walked in. The class immediately quieted, a number of eyes staring at her nervously. She cleared her throat. "You have all done well so far through the year. If you don''t do as well on this exams, don''t take it too much to heart." She flipped open the monitor, and scores slowly popped up. "Cao Renae:1779." Renae sighed in relief. All that work paid off. She gave a tired thumbs up to Hana. "Huang Feifei:1778." Huang Feifei''s face fell. Just one point and she would have finally surpassed Renae. She bit her lip in anger. "Meng Xiaoyi: 1432." Meng Xiaoyi groaned. She needed to study better. Teacher Zhang continued listing the scores out loud. Soon, Hana''s score was to be announced. "Zhao Hana," Teacher Zhang paused. Her voice paused slightly as she announced, "1795." Hana smirked. Nice. At least wasting all that time to go through books rather than dungeons paid off. The class though was stunned silent. "Hana, let us mortals live a little," Renae looked at her friend in disbelief, "First Rina, now you. I want some of those genes in you." She tugged Hana''s arm exaggeratedly. "Impossible!" Huang Feifei''s shout silenced the room. "She cheated! She must have!" Everyone gave her a startled look. Huang Feifei immediately realized her outburst was a little exaggerated and corrected her expression. "I''m mean, that score is quite surprising. Shouldn''t we check if a mistake was made somewhere?" She coughed. "It''s not good for Hana to get a bad estimate of her ability after all." Her eyes misted. "Actually, Teacher Zhang, may I speak to you and Hana in private." Teacher Zhang furrowed her eyebrows. "This . . ." The situation did seem quite strange. Hana laughed coldly. "Why not." She wanted to see what tricks this little girl wanted to play. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The class broke into whispers as the three stepped out into the empty hallway. Huang Feifei clenched her fists. No matter what, she would drag down this bitch. Hana might be strong, but she was no pushover either. Huang Feifei was certain with her background, Hana would have to give her some face even if she turned out to be from some big family. So, she would oppose this bitch till the end. "Hana, I didn''t want to embarrass you in front of the class, but don''t you think you should tell the truth now that we are in private?" Huang Feifei made sure to adopt a trembling tone. Inside, she was gloating. Half the class was probably listening into this ''private'' conversation. This plan was full-proof. "Oh?" Hana gave her an amused look. "What truth?" Huang Feifei let tears roll down her face. "How could you deny it?" 22 A.S. Academy Hana gave her a bored look. With these crocodile tears falling from this girl, it was obvious what was happening next. So before anything troublesome happened, she should shut down this farce. "Teacher Zhang, realistically it is very difficult to cheat on this test. Students were monitored very closely to simulate an actual testing environment. The test is broken into 9 parts, randomized for each student in subject order, multiple choice selection and free response. It is practically impossible to cheat off another student. Even if someone were to receive the test beforehand, they would still have difficulty in answering the free response sections. Moreover, this is merely a mock exam. It doesn''t even count for anything so who would go through the trouble of messing with their score. It''s simply inviting trouble since they risk getting exposed and barred from the actual exam. I know my scores are irregular compared to my past grade track, but it was never mandatory for students to perform well. Personally, I see school tests as a waste of effort since our admittance to universities solely depend on this one test. Therefore, I don''t see an issue in this matter. Even if the score I received was a mistake, it does not impact anyone else other than me. I don''t care, so I see no point in this conversation proposed by this classmate. We are not close so she has no reason to interact with me at all. Moreover, she started crying before even explaining her claim against me, making it seem like I wronged her. This sorrowful demeanor of a wronged ''innocent flower'' should be underhanded defamation no?" Hana finished sarcastically with quotation mark gestures. Huang Feifei was stunned speechless. She struggled to maintain her tear-stained demeanor. "I - I . . . " Hey, this wasn''t following the plot! If she could, Huang Feifei wanted to stomp her foot. How did she end up getting slapped with the label of a white lotus?? Also, it seemed like her white lotus act was deemed too fake . . . "Teacher Zhang!" She whined. "Hana is too much!" Teacher Zhang wasn''t blind to Huang Feifei''s tricks, but she didn''t like Hana Zhao''s attitude either. "Huang Feifei, go back to class. I will speak to Hana alone." Huang Feifei made an ugly look and returned to the classroom. Teacher Zhang silently evaluated Hana Zhao. This girl was now an enigma to her. The previous meek demeanor was overshadowed by a arrogant laziness. She considered the dual where she clearly showed abilities beyond those recorded, and now the mock test. Was she hiding her real nature before? For what reason? Why reveal it now? Teacher Zhang let out a helpless smile. "Miss Zhao sure hid well. Whatever your circumstances are, I am glad that you are not the same as before. That side of you was rather . . . dull." Hana smiled carelessly. " Perhaps going through a near death experience changed me." Teacher Zhang nodded. "It seems like you are a promising student. Your exam results and the fire ability you demonstrated would qualify you for a top academy." She smiled. "You don''t seem to desire to study, but want to fight in dungeons correct?" Hana blinked. "Yes, dungeons is where I prefer to be. Not just for financial reasons, but because I simply feel at home. However, I need to enter university to gain access to harder dungeons." "Interesting. Have you decided on a university?" Hana smirked. "No, but I suppose teacher has a recommendation?" "A.S. Academy." Teach Zhang smiled. "Aside the fact from me being an alumni, I believe the school would be ideal. Although it is fourth in terms of university rankings, it is the most difficult to get into. It places an emphasis on grooming dungeon hunters over academics, so people like you have a lot of leeway. The school has molded many geniuses with unique traits. Your . . .personality would fit in quite well." "Where is it?" asked Hana. She had to admit, the school sounded pretty good. "Floor 70, Antares, the city of stars. The top four academies are located there." "Floor 70?" Hana frowned. That was 25 floors higher. It would be expensive to live there. "All students live in dorms if your worried about cost." Actually, she was worried about Rina. And the background of theirs. Hana nodded. "I will consider it." "Good. Then let''s go back in." The two stepped back into the classroom. The students looked curious, but that was it. Huang Feifei sat quietly, ignoring Hana. Hana brushed past her with a whisper. "If you continue to stir up nonsense, I am not one to endure silently." Their eyes met. Huang Feifei trembled. The purple eyes almost glowed with menace, like a predator staring down at prey. "I understand." She bit her lip. Of course, she was unresigned, but she wasn''t stupid. Her ploys always seemed to fail these days, and Hana wasn''t the meek girl from before. Either way, they wouldn''t see each other again soon, so she should swallow her emotions. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Meng Xiaoyi who was sitting next to her muttered, "Feifei, why not let this go?" She feared Hana and without a strong background like Huang Feifei, she wouldn''t stand a chance against Hana. Huang Feifei huffed. "Whatever, I don''t have time to deal with her anyway. I have to study to get into the same university as Zhao Ming." Her face turned gentle at the thought of him. Hana slid into her seat. "Is everything ok?" Renae asked. Hana nodded. "No problem, let''s just get over with this day." 23 Moving Forces In the library, Huang Feifei carefully moved past the bookshelves. Her eyes were glued to the teenage boy reading at the table. The afternoon sunlight poured through the floor to ceiling windows, casting a golden glow on his brown hair. With his tall broad frame and clean outfit, he looked like a K-pop star. "Hello," Huang Feifei gently greeted. The boy didn''t look up from his book. "Your mock exam is done?" Huang Feifei''s heart burst with happiness. This was the first time Zhao Ming asked about her how she was doing! "Yes!" She sat next to him. "Our scores just came out. I didn''t do so well. Maybe we can study together? I would learn a lot from your guidance." She gave him her best pleading eyes. "Who was the top in your class?" Huang Feifei''s heart sunk. "It was a girl called Zhao Hana. You know, the one from the rumors." She grabbed his arm. "She did score high, but I''m sure you can beat her. She must have used some unscrupulous means." Huang Feifei continued to ramble on. Unbeknownst to her, the boy''s attention was on something else. Zhao Ming''s finger tapped the edge of the book. Zhao Hana. Interesting. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. He recalled her match with Song Lin. The beautiful girl stood amidst the flames, a wild sparkle in her eyes. He had watched from the window as her power annihilated the opponent. So unique from other girls. Even Renae Cao wouldn''t hold a candle to her. He previously considered targeting the Cao girl, but it seemed like her position in her family was dwindling. He had no use for a pawn that would bring future risks. The idiot blabbering beside him was even more useless. He only kept her because she would do his bidding unconditionally. The starstruck look she gave him was nauseating. But the Hana girl was different. Powerful. Intelligent. Strong personality. A mysterious background, likely powerful. A girl fit to walk beside him. A small indiscernible smile graced his lips as he pondered. ***** Floor 90 - Unknown location "Yo, I heard you met a girl this time." A teenager leaned against the wall, eyes trained on his older brother who was lying against the tree. "You sent out your private army just to locate her. Should I be expecting to become a brother-in-law soon?" He smiled teasingly. The young man opened his eyes, revealing dark blue eyes. "She suppressed the flame poison." "What!" The teenager''s eyes widened in shock. "That''s big news. I have to tell mom." "Lance." Blue eyes bore into him oppressively. "I will take care of this. The Wu family is being eyed from the dark. We shouldn''t bring more attention to this than needed." Lance Wu huffed. "As if, you just don''t want mother to meddle in your affairs." He grinned. "She would be ecstatic if she learned you''re interested in a girl, even if it''s for your condition." He nudged his brother. "Was she pretty?" A low reply. "Beautiful." ''My god, you are totally interested'' Lance thought. He laughed silently. "So how did she suppress the poison? All the elixirs we have tried so far have been ineffective." The man''s blue eyes showed a rare sign of doubt. "She fed me a fruit." "Fruit?" Lance frowned. "Could it be a special dungeon item? I have never heard of such a thing. Then again, dungeons are constantly evolving. . ." He turned serious. "The current situation on the front is a standstill. However, if the S - ranked dungeons actually break, we would be at a major disadvantage. You are the only person who cleared one, yet the price was too high." Although his brother''s abilities skyrocketed from the dungeon clearance reward, he also got poisoned. The flame poison erupted every month, rendering him vulnerable and was tortuously painful. The entire family and military had locked down the news so only a handful knew. This weakness would be exploited by enemies, not to mention impact the situation on the war. "It was carelessness." The young man said. Lance frowned. "You ¡ª" He was interrupted by the appearance of the butler. "Young Master, Lieutenant Bren requested to meet you. Miss Su has also come." "Of course only let Bren in." Lance ordered. "I swear, Su Mei Hua clings to you like a vengeful ghost." He shudders. "You have to do something about her. She haunts me everyday about your likes and dislikes, I have to look both ways before walking down the hallways." He scowled as Bren walked in. "Young Master, we have located the watch." He handed over a file. "It was sold by a young lady a few weeks ago. We have gathered all the information available on her." The man opened the file. A picture with familiar purple eyes greeted him. "So your name is Hana." He murmured. He looked over the information, with Lance catching sight of a few key points. Lance nudged Bren aside. "Neh, I heard you fought with the girl." Bren rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "Yeah, we though she was an assassin at the time. And she was disguised as a male. It wasn''t until the young master told us that we knew the boy was a she." "How were her skills?" Bren''s face burned, but he spoke the truth. "She completely crushed us. Her ice abilities could rival your level." Lance whistled. "Nice. Seems like you need more training though, if you lot got your asses handed to you by a teenager." A dark tone interrupted. "I think you should both get to the training grounds if you don''t want extra hours added." The two paled and quickly fled. Lance clucked his tongue. Hmm, he had to find out more about this girl. 24 Demonstrate Your Abilities "Next." Hana lazily scanned a chemistry book as she waited for her turn. After completing her exams, she had applied for A.S. Academy since it seemed like a decent choice. However, it turned out the school actually had a second exam for class placement. So troublesome. "Hana Zhao." The examiner called. "Room 3." Within the room, four old men were quarreling on the second level. "So what if she scored a perfect? She is a F ranked. Letting someone of such low level to enter would tarnish our prestige." The old man speaking was an elder of the combat department. "Our rank already dropped to four. If we don''t up our standards, then who knows how much longer we can maintain this position." "Bei Feng, if your combat department doesn''t want her, our academic department will gladly take her. She scored a perfect on the college exams. Don''t you know everyone is calling her the next Leo?" The elder of the mathematics department countered. "Surely she could bring great contributions to our school." "What next Leo? We have Leo himself!" Elder Feng argued. "Do we need an imitation product when we have the real thing? Besides, with her stellar scores, why would she apply to our school, a university that focus on combat? It''s very suspicious if you ask me." The other representative from the academic department spoke up. "You managed to steal him from us four years ago. Shouldn''t we get this one as compensation?" He sneered. That legendary student was a abnormal genius in academics and combat. Sadly, this old fogey managed to poach him in the end. Heh, too bad Leo was very peculiar and never participated in combat matches between schools. The old guy deserved to be driven into puking blood for stealing a student of theirs. "Well," the 2nd representative from the combat department tried to soothe things over, "this girl seems to have a three star combat ranking. Perhaps she is decent enough?" The four stopped talking as the girl in question walked in. Hana looked quizzically around her. The room was empty, save for another student in the corner. Four elders stood on a balcony above her, likely the examiners? However judging from their ugly expressions, they seem to be in some conflict . . .? "Cough, you are Hana Zhao?" One of them finally spoke. Han nodded. "Your examination will consist of two rounds. First, we will go through a brief interview. Then, you will demonstrate you abilities against Zhu Xing, a student of our combat department. Do you have any questions?" "Nope." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Then let me start first. Why did you choose our school?" The gruff voice asked. "A teacher recommended I choose A.S. Academy. It fit my preferences so I went along with it." "Your exam results exceed expectations. It seems to deviate drastically from you previous track." Another commented. Hana pursued her lips. "True, however I recently understood the true utilization of my abilities which greatly contributed to my improvements." Yeah, Gale Force Reading glasses is a huge cheat. The elders looked at each other. "We will assess you abilities before any further questions." The elder with a gruff voice gestured at the boy in the corner. "Zhu Xing." "Understood, Elder Feng." The boy stepped forward. He could be considered handsome, only a few years older than her. "Miss Zhao, please demonstrate your ability against him. Zhu Xing is a 3rd year student in the combat department. His ability is ranked A so you are not expected to win. This is not a death match, simply a combat exchange." ''How interesting'', Hana thought. "Understood." Zhu Xing gestured politely with a gloved hand. "Miss Zhao, please make the first move." Hana narrowed her eyes. The boy wasn''t even in a stance. He was underestimating her, not surprising. "Glaceon, Monferno, prepare for battle." The fire and ice Pokemon appeared by her side. "So these are your summons, quite unique." A blaze erupted from Zhu Xing''s fist. "Then please pardon my rudeness." He launched forward. It was a common tactic to deal with summoners. While they could call upon supernatural creatures, it was also their weakness because they tend to rely on their summons to protect them. Simply get past the summons, and the summoner is an undefended target. A blast of flame shot toward Glaceon. "Counter with ice bream," Hana said calmly as she analyzed Zhu Xing. He was pretty good. The flame intensity was high and he moved with experience. Unfortunately, this matchup was one-sided. Glaceon opened it''s mouth, releasing an icy bream that clashed equally with the fire. The room steamed. "Now double team. Monferno, use dig." A dozen Glaceons quickly appeared on the battlefield, while the fire monkey vanished underground. "The summons have elemental abilities, not bad." The 2nd combat department representative remarked. "Hmm, let''s observe some more." Elder Bei Feng suddenly looked interested in the match. He had a feeling that this girl''s abilities were somewhat peculiar. Hana waved her hand. "Quick attack!" The Glaceons rushed toward in streaks of white and blue. "Fast!" Zhu Xing widened his eyes. He angled his hands, a narrower stream of fire appearing. He propelled himself between the summons. Hana blinked. Now that was creative. Her seems to have condensed his firepower over a narrow surface area of his palm, then used the subsequent propulsion to maneuver around. His movements were so fluid, indicating years of practice. His agility was promising. Hana noticed that he wore shoes that reduced friction as well, evidently worn because of this technique. Hmm . . . . "Mach Punch!" Monferno exploded out of the ground, a fist racing toward Zhu Xing''s face. Zhu Xing swore, instinctively leaning back. The first brushed past, grazing his nose. He quickly rushed for Hana, a sense of premonition filling him. He had to end this quickly. "Got you!" His fist rushed for her stomach. 25 Astounding To Zhu Xing''s shock, her frail hand clasp onto his wrist, stopping the punch inches away. He quickly pulled back, only to realize the hand on him was tightened like iron. "Nice try." Hana smiled, before pulling him forward. Zhu Xing tumbled off balance, only to receive an elbow to the face. He staggered back in pain. The hit was placed on his jaw, a bruise already forming. "Heh, let''s fight close combat too yeah." Hana rushed forward. Her speed was fast, not as fast as him, but definitely above the average person. She swung a punch. Alarm bells rung in Zhu Xing''s head as he quickly fell into a defensive stance. The fist brushed past his face. He could feel the air rushing past him. He unconsciously swallowed. The two fell into a flurry of attacks. Hana was evidently on the offensive, while Zhu Xing adopted a soft style. He would either redirect her attacks or evade them. Hana launched a spinning kick at his temple, only for him to duck. He propelled himself backward. Zhu Xing frowned, before allowing fire to engulf his body. "Although your combat abilities are above mine, your ability isn''t. If you don''t want to be burnt, I suggest you concede." "Emm, I haven''t had enough though." Hana hummed. Zhu Xing responded by holding out his hand. A rush of flames gushed toward Hana. Hana licked her lips, before exhaling deeply. ''Thanks for the meal.'' She inhaled. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The flames split into smaller torrents, before rushing into her mouth. Zhu Xing stared dumbfound as he watched the tiny girl swallow up his flames like air. Finished, Hana rubbed her stomach. "Yummy." She could feel her energy rising. "You ¡ª you . . ." Zhu Xing struggled to formulate words. He actually saw someone eat his flames. Eat them!! What kind of ability is that? Then then what was with the summons?? She was not a summoner! At this moment, he wanted to protest against the school. He had only volunteered to do this because his teacher forced him too. They should at least have the decency to accurately tell him about his opponent aish! Hana rubbed her fists and let out a fanged smile. Her purple eyes slit red. Pink strands wove into her black hair. "Let''s fight on equal ground now. I have yet to fight a fire user." She leaned down. The ground beneath her feet cracked as she hurled toward him. "Fire Dragon''s Wing Attack!" "You are strong." Recomposing himself, Zhu Xing''s eyes gleamed. "I guess I''ll go all out too." He clasped his hands together. The air in the room surge into blistering temperatures. Within the maelstrom of fire, two figures danced in a violent match. "She is definitely promising," Elder Feng laughed heartily as he observes the scene, "I looked forward to seeing her in my department." The elder of the mathematics department. "Yes, she would make a great addition ¡ª" His face turned red. "Yyyou ¡ª" Elder Feng patted his back. "Yes, I was merely joking earlier. She is a great candidate if she matches Zhu Xing in strength. Since you recruited the last 3 examinees we evaluated, I''m sure you will give us this one." He smiled genuinely without a hint of shame. "AS IF!" "Teacher Yuan, please calm yourself." The other combat teacher quickly restrained the old man who was ready to jump the shameless thief. He weeped internally, evidently the only mediator among the three. So while the elders got into a bit of a tussle, Zhu Xing was slowly being suppressed on the arena. He gritted his teeth. Should he use it? "Senior, don''t hold back." Hana smiled as she sent a fist of fire his way. "If you lose focus, you''ll regret it." She could tell this guy that an ace up his sleeve, and she wanted him to reveal it. Her blood sung to the tune of the battle. She was in her element, in the zone. Her adrenaline was rocketing so high she felt like she could fly. "Little junior, I look forward to seeing you in class." Zhu Xing smiled. He had no doubt that this girl would bring storms to his department. She might even skip directly to his year. "Explode." His gloved hands lit up with glowing lines as he clapped them together. BOOOM! An ear splitting explosion rocked the field. "Bei Feng, has your student gone mad! If you kill my student, I will petition the principal." Elder Yuan hollered. His eyes were worriedly staring at the field. His new treasure was down there ah! The next hope of their academic department can not be ruined by these no-brain muscle heads. "Relax. My student is just having a friendly initiation spar with our new student." The combat elder didn''t hesitate to inject his claim over the girl. He was all smiles. She was definitely the next Leo hahaha! The two old men, one fuming, and one smiling a cheshire grin turned back to the field. Dust and sand from the floor permeated the air. Cough. Hana straighten up, clutching her bruised arm. The explosion had pushed her back several yards. She was merely shocked, but her ears hurt more than her body. "So it was your gloves." Hana murmured as she rubbed her ears. "They are quite an ingenious invention. You must have calibrated the formula specifically." Zhu Xing scratched his head. "Was it that obvious?" Hana smiled. "You evidently have fire abilities, a fact that you drew attention to at the start of the battle. While it may distract an opponent from other applications of you ability, the minute you revealed your enhanced agility, I already had suspicions." Glancing at his gloves, Hana explained, "Fire, naturally, has no propulsive power. However, the boost in your speed is caused by concentrated propulsions through you hands. I assumed that you controlled the flame intensity over your palm to manipulate the resulting thrust power. Therefore, you gloves serve as some sort of mechanism that feeds the fire, the fuel source." She tapped her nose. "From the scents of the air, it seems to be a compound that includes hydrogen peroxide, diluted hydrazine, and a modified form of experimental dipolymiricide that was recently extracted from the Hellgate dungeon. It must have caused you quite some trouble for the last ingredient. I heard the extraction procedure is rather . . . volatile. Still, I suppose it does take talent to combine two conflicting reagents like this." Zhu Xing gaped. She was a freakish monster! She deduced the key ingredients from just the smell! What the hell! The highly secretive formula his partner painstakingly cultivated for two years was exposed by scent. The universe is unfair ah! He glanced sadly at his gloves. Should he rethink his so - called trump cards then? However, two enthusiastic yells interrupted. "Excellent! Marvelous!" 26 I Choose . . . "Student Zhao, you are indeed a talent worthy entering A.S. Academy. I am Elder Feng, the vice director of the combat department." The old man quickly introduced. "You are a great fit for our department. Your combat skills and observation would be an invaluable asset for us." "Bei Feng, move aside," Another elder harrumphed as he grasped Hana''s hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "Student Zhao, I am the representative of the academics department, Elder Yuan. Your analysis earlier was excellent. Perhaps you are interested in our chemistry division. I assure you that we will accommodate your wishes should you enter our department." Hana held up her hands. "Um, respected elders, pardon my interruption but could I ask a few questions first?" "Of course," Elder Yuan chimed in. "Well, I assume that the combat test is over since you all came down. So I passed right?" Hana wanted to confirm it after all. "Yes, of course." "Then, ah, what is this then? Are you asking me to choose a department? I though this was to test for our class placement." Hana asked awkwardly. She should have looked more into the school rather than showing up to the exam. "I see, then let me explain a bit more." Elder Feng began. It turned out that A.S. Academy was divided into two departments of students, academic and combat. Based on the student''s interests, they would select a division within the two departments. The combat department, which focused on combat, consist of specialized divisions, such as strategy, sword, ability manipulation, close combat, etc. The academic department consisted to divisions that focused on non-combat subjects, including chemistry, forging, mathematics, dungeon research, etc. All students took general classes, but their division determined the specialized classes they could take. The secondary exam was merely a test to determine the division placement of the student. "So I can choose departments." Hana concluded, "which then allows the school to place me in a division." "Girl, the combat department welcomes you. It is waste of your abilities to spend all day studying." Elder Feng argued. "If you join my department, I will let you decide your division. You can even get a active placement on the battle team." Hana blinked. "Battle team?" "Simply a game among children," Elder Yuan interrupted, "Student Zhao, the academic department cannot miss a talent like you. Not only will I allow you to decide your division, I will grant you a full scholarship. The school will cover all your educational expenses, which naturally includes dungeon costs." He added with a smile. "You can''t decide that!" Elder Feng blurted out. "The principal agreed to that our department can offer these conditions to one promising student." Elder Yuan said provocatively, his eyes in triumph. "I''ll even grant you the status of a Alpha class student." Hana raised an eyebrow. "Alpha class?" "Hehe, Student Zhao, you might not know, but students are divided by classes her as well. Every student normally goes through a determined 5 year course to graduate, but the alpha class is an exception. Alpha students determine their own class schedules and can even not attend class. The only graduation requirement is a significant contribution to their division. And you can even enter the specialized classes of any division, including the combat department''s." Sold! "I will enter the academic department!" Hana smiled. With all these benefits, she would be a fool not to. Elder Yuan clasp his hands like he just successfully closed a multimillion business deal. "Then let''s get you registered." He and the other academic representative led Hana away, sending a triumphant smile at Elder Feng. His heart was finally soothed. Bei Feng, you have today. "Elder Feng, this . . . ." The other combat representative probed. "No matter, I''ll just let old Yuan be happy for a few months. When she comes to our department for classes, I can recruit her." He smiled. Of course, the team was the most important. Since Leo refused to participate, Hana Zhao will do just fine. He could already see the first place trophy! Therefore, despite not getting the student, the two began the next exam in high spirits. Meanwhile, the forgotten Zhu Xing was left standing on the field. He had tuned out the whole event for his precious gloves. "Ahhh," he threw up his hands in frustration and stalked off, "I better consult Lance." . Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. 27 Mass Drawing Even The light of the setting sun painted her room in warm yellow. Hana petted the ears of the sleeping Zorua as she leaned against her bed. She was looking though her cards thoughtfully. "System, I remember I still have a package draw?" [Host still has a Package draw. It will draw 5 cards from a randomized anime.] "Hmm, yes use it." The familiar five colored drawing wheel appeared in her vision again. Suspenseful anime music sounded as the wheel spun. "Black Clover, Black Clover, come on Black Clover." Hana muttered as she crossed her fingers. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. It was one of her favorite anime and the abilities from the characters in there were strong. Oh, how she wanted to play with them so bad. She ruffled Zorua''s hair fervently as her eyes glued to the spinning wheel. Ding! [Host has drawn the following cards: Gardevoir X1 Gengar X1 Vulpix X1 Absol X1 Charmeleon X1 Thank you for using the drawing wheel!] Hana groaned. "Damn it!" Pokemon again? Argh, she wanted a grimoire, not a motley of . . . cute creatures. "At least I got an Absol I guess." Well, actually, this could work to her advantage as well. "System, when can you give me some good cards?" Hana sighed. [If the lazy Host can level up faster, you can unlock the full version of the system] "Say what? Full version? You mean you''re an incomplete version?!" Hana scowled. "You didn''t tell me this before." [I do recall informing you that once you reach the sufficient level, I will upgrade to include more specifics . . . ] "You didn''t!" Hana denied. Wait, she did have a vague recollection of it saying something similar. "You definitely didn''t! Explain!" The system was silent. It''s host was certainly good at turning black to white. [Once Host reaches Level 5, you will have passed the beginner phase. At that point, you will unlock more features since I will be able to upgrade into the complete version. I will have new features like a shop and trading room and forum.] "Trading?" Hana widened her eyes. "That sounds very useful. It means I can exchange my cards right?" [Host will find out when she reaches level 5] The system didn''t hesitate to shut up after revealing that attractive tidbit. "I need to run more dungeons," Hana muttered, "I need to level up!" She couldn''t wait for school to start. A.S. Academy meant skipping classes to run A¡ªranked dungeons. A¡ªranked dungeons meant more monsters which meant more exp! More exp meant leveling up which led to new anime toys! She must run dungeons! "Sister?" A knock on the door halted Hana''s fervent rant. "Rina? You''re home just in time!" Hana opened the door and tugged her little sister into the living room. "I got some new summons. Why don''t you choose one as a companion?" "Companion?" Rina blinked her eyes in confusion. "Why?" Hana coughed. Maybe because you seem like you don''t have friends and you really like Pokemon? She wasn''t an expert on kids, but weren''t they suppose to be always playing around with friends or something? Not that she could relate with the way she grew up, but normally that was the case right? Hana shut out the memories of blood covered snow that flashed across her mind, and beamed. "Come on out!" In a flash, five Pokemon appeared around her. Rina stared with wide eyes as the strange creatures flocked around her sister. "This is Gardevoir, Absol, Vulpix, Gengar, and Charmeleon." Hana introduced the respective Pokemon. She smiled aside at them. "Hi everyone, I''m Hana and this is my sister Rina. I guess I''m your trainer of sorts now." Turning back to Rina, she said, "They can accompany you to school as a summon. I know your school allows you to bring in summons as long as you can control them. Besides, they can protect you if you''re in danger as well." Rina nodded. "I understand. They are all nice, but I like Zorua the most." Hana sweat dropped. "Em, maybe not him. You know he is always sleeping, so taking him everyday may be inconvenient." Besides, with his lazy attitude, he probably would just sleep through everything. If Rina was attacked, the lazy beast would probably sleep through the whole thing. Or he would spend his time conning her sister of food! "Oh, that''s true," Rina muttered. She looked over the Pokemon. "Then how about Vulpix?" She gently stroked it''s ears. Vulpix nudged it''s head against Rina''s palm contently. "Oh, that''s a great choice," Hana approved. Vulpix seemed pretty friendly and looked very cute. An enemy would probably underestimate it and get a flamethrower to the face. "Good, then I''ll start dinner while everyone gets acquainted." She summoned Zorua, Glaceon, and Monferno. She watched the Pokemon move around the apartment happily. Zorua and Vulpix laid by Rina as she did her homework. The whole scene was heartwarming. ''How I wished it was like this in my past life'' Hana turned away, suppressing her emotions as she sliced vegetables. "Hana." A voice broke into her mind. Literally. Gardevoir looked at Hana seemingly solemnly. "You can speak?" Hana blinked. She never stacked a speech card on Gardevoir. "Yes." Wait, this was technically not speaking. It was telepathy? Hana tried to recall if psychic Pokemon could speak to their owners, but she couldn''t remember. Whatever, seems like she struck gold anyhow. "Great, do you need something?" "I want to help." Help . . . cook? Hana widened her eyes as a new thought came. "Oh yeah, you are going to be very promising." This draw turned out to be useful in the end. 28 Take Care of Them Floor 70 - Zhao Residence In a well-furbished dining room, three people sat eating dinner. Lily Zhao smiled as she pierced her salad with a fork. "Dad, I will be moving out to the dorms soon. All A.S. students are required to live in dorms during our first year." Zhao Bohai nodded in approval. "Excellent, this will be a good chance for you to network. Make sure to choose your acquaintances wisely." The beautiful middle-aged woman next to him cried daintily. "My darling baby girl is growing up so fast." She wiped away her tears. "I''m sooo proud of you." Lily smiled. "Thank you mother." Wang Ruolan pouted. "But Lily darling, why did you choose to go to A.S. Academy. It''s ranked fourth. If you chose Havilland Academy, you surely would have better prospects no? My brother said the headmaster would be delighted if you attended. And your cousins go there too. They can help you if you ever need anything. I hear many top students are there as well." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Mother, you might be surprised." Lily put down her fork. "Although Havilland is number one in name, everyone in the upper circle knows that A.S. Academy is the true king." "Lily is right my dear," Zhao Bohai smirked knowingly. "A.S. is certainly a better choice than Havilland if we want to make connections to the higher circles." "Really?" Wang Ruolan frowned skeptically. Lily pointed a finger. "For one reason, Leo Wu." Her eyes sharpened. "For whatever reason, he does not participate in the competitions that determine school ranking. However, it is an undeniable fact that if he did, A.S. Academy would soar to first place and beyond." "Him alone?" Wang Ruolan frowned. "Surely not?" "My dear, you need to pay more attention to the Aces list instead of shopping catalogues." Zhao Bohai chuckled. "Leo Wu managed to top the Ace list when he was merely 17. Not only was he talented in combat, he made significant contributes to the academic fields as well. He conquered more than 50 A¡ªclass dungeons and remains the only person to clear an S¡ªclass dungeon. Now, as the youngest general on the battlefront, he is the key to the stalemate that keeps the peace." Lily was familiar with the prestige of Leo Wu. He was someone that she admired as well. "A general?! If Lily can snatch him, then it would be great for our Zhao family." Wang Ruolan beamed. "Mother," Lily admonished, "I might not even be able to befriend him, much so that." She tapped her fingers thoughtfully. "Besides, I don''t think it would be wise to make that move." Zhao Bohai nodded in agreement. "Lily is right. I hear that the Su family is adamant on establishing a marriage with Leo. The union of the two families should be expected. We do not have the capability to go against them currently. Therefore, our target not him." He looked expectantly at Lily. Lily elegantly took a sip of her soup. "I have entered the friend circle of Lance Wu already. Although we haven''t met each other, it is only a matter of time." "He is a good match for you," Zhao Bohai noted with a smile, "His abilities may not be as astounding as his brother''s, but he is one of the few dual elemental ability users out there. He certainly will have a bright future, and he is has a public presence that is greater than his brother. With his close relationship to his brother, there''s no doubt that we can establish a connection to the Wu family through him." "Oh, I know him. He is extremely popular in Skynet right now!" Wang Ruolan exclaimed. "Several of my friends are also looking at him as a future son-in-law. Lily, you must seize the chance quickly. You will definitely love him!" Lily smiled demurely. "Yes I certainly will mother." Her hands tightened around her spoon. "I will bring honor to our family." Zhao Bohai smiled widely. "I have taught you well." "We have," added Wang Ruolan, "I gave birth to such a wonderful girl." Suddenly, her face darkened. "I just remembered, the daughters of that witch made some big moves recently." She twisted her napkin. "Normally, I wouldn''t care about those peasants, but you should have seen the faces of the ladies at our last gathering. Bohai, they looked so condescending!" Zhao Bohai looked uncomfortable. "My dear, just ignore them. They don''t know anything. As long as we love each other, we should ignore the outsiders." He might not care about the two girls, but they might be useful in the future. Wang Ruolan clenched her fist. "I tried to be open minded, but really you were to much! I can understand the first daughter, but the second brat is an abomination. How could you . . . "She choked. "I was drunk, I swear!" Zhao Bohai quickly handed her a glass of water. " I wouldn''t have touched the woman if I didn''t think it was you." He sighed. "If it bothers you so much, I can take care of her." "Father," Lily interjected sharply, "I still an under criticism as an illegitimate child. If you touch her, what will my peers think?" "Illegitimate!" Wang Ruolan''s voice quivered in anger as she sent daggers at her husband. She got up and stormed upstairs, the soup trembling in her wake. Zhao Bohai scowled. "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of them." Lily frowned. "Dad, I''m serious. I want to handle this myself." These pair of half- sisters, she would prove herself to be above them. Although she hated them to the core, she wanted a fair competition. Only then would she come out superior. "Lily, don''t underestimate me. I know what to do." Zhao Bohai nodded. This daughter of his was still to naive. He would need to sharpen her claws a little more. Lily nodded as she returned to her dinner. She steadied her hand as she took another sip of soup. ''I will show everyone why I am the true daughter of the Zhao family.'' 29 Eccentric Old Man "Hello, is anyone there?" Hana yelled as she stood before the massive doors of a European styled mansion. This place was actually a dorm. It was the farthest from the school campus, on the edge of the city. After she had finished her registration procedures, Elder Yuan had given her a piece of paper with an address and name. With a mysterious grin, he said,"All first years must enter a dorm. I think you will find this one extremely satisfactory." So here she was. The dorm actually did look decent. It vaguely reminded her of the Polar Star dormitory from Food Wars for some reason, except that it was less run down. The door creaked open. "Hi . . . " The girl who opened the door had a frustrated expression. She glanced at Hana with a look of pity? The girl huffed before storming away angrily. Hana caught a few of her angered curses as she walked away. "Stupid old fogey, who tests students like this. Why the hell should a dungeon hunter know how to do such miscellaneous things?" The girl stomped away down the sidewalk in fury. Well, ok then . . . Hana poked her head through the door. "Hello, is anyone here?" "Are you here to try as well?" An old man with a walking stick hobbled over from the hallway. "Um, I came to register as a student? Are you Elder Lan?" "I am." Elder Lan focused on her with a strange intensity. "Girl, did no one tell you the rules?" "Ah, no?" Rules? Hana was stumped. Elder Yuan didn''t say anything like that. "I am the patron of the Bluewing dorm," the elder introduced. "Currently, there are no students staying here because someone has yet to passed my test. Since you came, I assume you should known this." Hana purses her lips. She actually didn''t. "I will pass you''re test." The old man laughed. "Your confidence is stronger than most," his eyes narrowed, "but can you back it up?" Despite his weak demeanor, his eye radiated a sharp domineering presence that oppressed the surrounding atmosphere. Hana''s eye twitched. "I can." She held his eyes firmly, refusing to back down. As they held each others gaze in a battle of wills, Elder Lan silently approved of her. This girl had guts. Her aura was quite heavy for someone her age, indicating she had endured through some experiences. Heh, very similar to that child. "Then come." Hana followed him through a maze of hallways. Her gaze lingered on the walls. The architecture style was actually really old, but well-maintained. The floors were void of dust to an absurd degree. The walls were bare and hallways lacked decorations. It was obvious that no one lived here, but why was everything so meticulously maintained? Did the housekeeper have cleaning OCD? Her mind traveled to a certain blue hair anime soccer player. Eh, probably it wasn''t important. "Elder Lan," Hana decided to ask, "you don''t live here, do you?" There was a small pause in his hobbling. "I do not." His voice was heavy. "You probably have noticed that this dorm is somewhat peculiar." Hana nodded. ''Care to explain why?'' she thought inwardly. "The Bluewing dorm has not been occupied for twenty years." The rough voice of the elder continued on. "I was an alma mater of this dorm. After the school decided to sell this old place, I bought it and became the sponsor or whatnot." He sighed. "In my day, the Bluewing dorm was the strongest in the school. However, it has declined to such a point." Hana nodded. "I see, then are you trying to restore its prestige?" Elder Lan snorted. "Of course not. Why should I care about such trivial matters?" Hana had black lines on her head. Then why did you phrase your words like that. It''s very easy to misunderstand you know! Now that she thought of it, this old man was very eccentric. He clearly had the aura of powerful person, but portrayed himself as a weak old man. She knew from observing his gait that he was actually not dependent on that stick of his at all. So he was just using it like some prop. Not to mention his mysterious act and all. She decided to shut up and just follow him silently. "Your test will take place in here." Hana refocused. She had been led into . . . a kitchen? The place was a mess. Multiple bowls of gloppy brown gunk were scattered over the marble countertops. The sink was overflowing with burnt pots. And there were baking trays full of unidentifiable objects. Even the island was covered in some purple substance. She had seen bad anime food for the first time. Apparently you can cook something into a purple gunk . . . "Elder, don''t tell me your task is to clean the kitchen?" Is that why the rest of the house is so clean?All the other applicants must have been assigned to clean the place. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "You can if you wish." Elder Lan took a seat at the table next to the kitchen. "It may will probably be best if your workspace if neater." Workspace? Hana blinked. "Elder, you''re not . . . testing me on my cooking skills." Elder Lan gave her a deep look. "Your task is to create an ancient dessert." " . . . " 30 Soy Sauce Rolled Cake "An ancient dessert?" Hana was confused. What would be considered an ancient dessert? Elder Lan sighed. "As expected, you do not know as well." His gaze turned heavy as he looked out the window. "Ancient desserts are delicacies from the era when our ancestors dwelled upon the Earth. Over the centuries, many of these recipes were lost. The few recipes that still exist are have either been altered slightly from the original, or doesn''t match its ancient descriptions. Of course, I do not expect you to create a perfect replica. However, the test is for you to create something similar." "That''s fine, but what exactly should I make?" Hana asked. The term was so vague. Dessert could range anything sweet. Moreover, what kind should it be? French? Japanese? Chinese? Hana did not consider herself a good baker. Despite her talents in chemistry, she only learned to replicate food from her favorite anime. She would need an ingredient list to make anything complicated or new. "You may reference the book there. Everything within this room is for your use." Elder Lan did not have high expectations of her anyway. Teenagers these days only wanted to scour dungeons and play around with their abilities. It was rare to meet a girl that would cook, moreover be able to recreate historical desserts. Hana opened the book, expecting to see recipes. Nope. She deadpanned as she read through the first page about cake. ''The delicacy known as cake has unknown origins. It''s texture can range from light and flurry, to rich and dense. There are a multiple of flavors (see list on next page). It is often covered in various colorful pastes to enhance sweetness and provide different textures. Pastes may include whipped cream, buttercream, icing . . . '' Hana shut the book. She definitely didn''t need that. "Is ability usage allowed?" At the elder''s nod, Hana began her work. "Gardevoir, come on out!" The psychic Pokemon appeared elegantly. It''s red eyes swept around the room curiously, before turning to Hana. "You''ll help me cook today again." Hana said. Her gaze sharpened as she turned toward the fridge. "Use Telekinesis to clear everything into the sink." Gardevoir eye''s glowed. The messy countertops instantly became clean as trays, pans, and goop floated up and paraded to the sink. Hana moved quickly as she riffed through the cupboards and fridge. Eggs, milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, cream. She stacked ingredients onto the counter rapidly. Pulling out the trays and whisks, she quickly formulated a plan in her head. Desserts were so versatile and appealing. However, to the older generation, they tended to prefer shy away from such sweet flavors. Although Elder Lan wanted her to make sweets, he didn''t seem like the type to eat them. Hana decided to create something that was obviously as dessert, but would probably pair well with mature tastes. It was fast to make and easy as well. It was also a dessert she had made hundreds of times purely for the cute looks. Akanegakubo Momo''s rolled cake with soy sauce whipped cream from Food Wars! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Of course, she wouldn''t make an entire castle of cake like the purple-haired fourth seat, but a simple roll would suffice. Hana whisked the heavy cream, vanilla, sugar, and soy sauce quickly as she directed Gardevoir to prepare the cake and colored decoration batters. She smoothly finished the cream and popped it into the fridge before piping out various cute animal decorations. Into the oven for 3 minutes. Then pour the cake batter over and bake again. Gardevoir''s psychic abilities sped up the process as it was like having multiple assistants helping her. The elegant Pokemon stared at the baking cake curiously. It''s palm rested on the oven door as Hana began to brew coffee to make a cappuccino. Cappuccino was something she thought would pair well with the cake. It was slightly bitter to offset the sweet and salty taste of the cake. It was also rich compared to the light and fluffy cake. Elder Lan watched the flowing movements of the two in disguised shock. He had never seen such a unique summon before. It actually had telekinetic abilities! The green and white creature vaguely resembled a human, and acted like one too? Could it be some new dungeon creature? More importantly, the girl looked like she knew what she was doing! All the previous brats had faltered around, hesitating with an item, or read the book he provided before adding some random ingredient. This girl had barely scanned the first page before choosing a large selection of ingredients. He was surprised. Did she know how to create ancient desserts beforehand? Perhaps her family had a recipe as an heirloom. She barely look half an hour and looked almost done. His eyes filled with a heartfelt emotion. Perhaps, she could be the one he needed. He watched as the girl spread the white paste ¡ª no cream, she made into the golden baked cake. She rolled it up smoothly before refrigerating it once more. She poured out the coffee and top it with some milk. He noted that her hand seemed to oscillate as she poured it. Interesting. Hana carefully cut a thick slice and plated it. The perfect swirls of cake and cream contrasted each other perfectly. She put it on a wooden tray along with a winged art cappuccino. "Done." Hana placed the tray before the elder and waited for his response. 32 Elixir Equipmen Hana picked up the familiar glass tubes. There were also beakers, flasks, and other glass material commonly seen in chemistry. Was this elixir production equipment? "Elder Lan, the storage room doesn''t have the equipment you want." She called. Elder Lan walked over, his floured covered hands gripping his walking stick. "Not this one," Elder Lan glanced at the glass tubes in her hand. "I think she used to store our old school material in here. These were used when we both took the introduction to Elixir Production." He waved his hand. "We should clear out these things and use this room for the bakery materials." Hana ran a finger around the rim of a beaker. "Can I have these?" She actually was interested in elixir production. She had done experiments with pots and ceramic bowls and the results were disappointing. Several pots and pans were ruined from her tests. The glass must be made of some specialized material to contain elixir compounds. "You know how to make elixirs?" Elder Lan was surprised. Elixir producers were rare. They had to have compatible abilities and extensive memory. There were very few experts in the field, and each was highly sought by top forces. "Well, its a good subject to learn anyway. Take them. Now that I think of it, the Void Lake contains many elixir ingredients so if you can look there if you are lacking material." Hana smiled. Elixirs sold for a lot of money. They also could be used to strengthen the body. She wondered what kind of effect would it have on her body. "Gardevoir," Hana called. She piled materials carefully in the psychic Pokemon arms. "Use Teleport and take all of things in this room back to the dorm. Find an empty room and organize them carefully. I''ll set them up later." Gardevoir nodded in assent. It''s body glowed multicolored and outlined in blue before vanishing. Hana ran a final check on everything else. "Elder Lan, I''m heading back to the Bluewing." She ruffled Rina''s hair. "Make sure to leave before dark." Rina, who was doing her homework behind the cashier, made a sound of agreement. Hana headed down the streets of Anatares. The city was rather big and vaguely resembled Paris. Gray cobblestone streets were wide and European-styled buildings loomed on each side. People, mostly around her age, lingered down the streets. Above her, hovercars and flying beasts flew back and forth. Hana watched a massive flaming bird that resembled a phoenix soar grandly down the avenue. The summons of the people of this world were sure interesting. They could look like animals, mythical creatures, or a mix of the two. Her Pokemon didn''t look strange, but rather unique as a result. They could pass as an exotic breed. Hana sighed. She wanted an Evolution card. Once she evolved Charmeleon into Charizard, she could ride it. Although, any kind of flying beast from anime would suffice. She must level up soon to get a draw. But first, she had to sort out other matters. Reaching Bluewing, she searched for the room with the materials. Gardevoir was already inside, waiting. "You can go back to the bakery. Thanks." The psychic Pokemon vanished. Hana grinned. Her Pokemon all had unique personalities. It was actually very interesting. Zorua was lazy. Monferno was outgoing. Glaceon was demure. And the newly acquired Gardevoir was fascinated by people. It loved to do work and learn, making a perfect assistant. Hana picked up a graduated cylinder. "Looks like I''ll be using you again," she murmured. She organized the materials in the glass shelves and table without pause. Soon, the room resembled her lab from her past life. Putting on the Gale Force Reading glasses, Hana sat at the table. She was about to open an elixir guide when the front door sounded. Hana furrowed her brows and went downstairs. "HANA!" Hana''s hand twitched. She recognized that voice. Sure enough, the door swung open to reveal Renae with luggage in her hand. Renae beamed. "I''m moving in." Before Hana could respond, Renae had already barged inside. "Hehe, you won''t turn me away right." She looked at Hana pitifully. "The apartment I was supposed to rent was given to someone else. You don''t want to see your best friend living on the streets right?" Hana raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you find me?" When she left Floor 45, she only told Renae she had found a dorm and that she would see her when the academy started. She didn''t mention the name or location at all. Renae wiggled her fingers. "Hehe, I have my ways." She twisted open her water bottle. "Although it''s taxing, I used my water mirroring trick." Water rose out of the bottle and swirled into a thin oval. The clear surface rippled, before showing the entrance to the bakery. Hana widened her eyes. From the angle, it was likely from the fountain in the square where the bakery was. She never knew Renae could do this! Renae waved her hand. "I found you, then asked around and ended up here." She grinned. "Neat right? You''re not the only one who advanced their skills." The water dropped back into the bottle. "Plus I heard that you''re now the dorm leader. The dorm mansion is so big, surely you have space for me." Hana rolled her eyes and pointed at the stairs. "Left hallway, two rooms down. I hope you also heard that dorm mates have to work at the bakery." Renae saluted. "I will be the best taste tester you''ll find!" She rushed up the stairs. "You''ll be doing to washing more likely," Hana muttered. A minute later, Renae rushed back down. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Lets go choose our classes," Renae exclaimed, "I almost forgot that today is the last day for registration." Something unique to A.S. Academy was that students had to go in person to register for classes. It was such as hassle. Hana blinked. "It is?" Since she was an Alpha student, she didn''t need to remember these things. Unaware, Renae nodded and tugged her toward the academy. "Let''s hurry." 34 Best Chip "Thank you, I will work hard." Zhao Ming bowed to the coach. The coach waved his hand dismissively. "You''re only an alternate. Work hard to get an actual place on the team." Zhao Ming nodded with a respectful smile. As he turned away, it slid ff his face. Coldly, he walked outside the gates of A.S. Academy to his hotel. He would have to find a dorm soon. Zhao Ming sent a gentle nod at the receptionist in the lobby, getting him a shy blush. Taking the elevator up to his suite, Zhao Ming paused as he noticed the annoyance at his door. He frowned, but schooled is expression neutrally. "Ah Ming," Huang Feifei called. She shyly looked at the floor as she held a lunch box toward him. "I bought you dinner. I''m really sorry but I won''t be able to make anymore since I have to dorm at Havillard." Zhao Ming glanced at the lunch box and took it. "It''s fine." His hand brushed over hers as he took the lunch box. Huang Feifei blushed. She tugged at her hair meekly. "Be sure to eat your meals. I won''t disturb you any longer tonight. Make sure to sleep well. I''ll be cheering you on!" She bit her lip and left quickly. Zhao Ming watched the elevator close on her figure, then entered his room. Tossing his keys on the counter, he grabbed his laptop from the couch. Sitting at the table, he opened the lunch box and checked the contents for additives. He would be a fool to simply eat something made by that woman. The food was still warm. Vegetables and meat were artfully placed over a bed of white rice. It was definitely nutritious, but smelled nice. A box of grapes (something he often ate) and a bottle of warm milk was also included. Evidently much thought was placed into the preparation of the meal. However, Zhao Ming methodically placed the food in his mouth. It tasted the same as anything to him. Normally he wouldn''t even eat it, but he was busy tonight. Opening up his laptop, he waited for the video call. Minutes later, a screen popped up. "My dearest Ming," A women''s voice cried. Zhao Ming smiled. "Hello Mom." The woman pouted. "I miss you so much. Your father refused to allow you back so soon. He won''t even let me visit you." She peered at him worriedly. "Are you eating well? Don''t stress yourself out too much in classes. They don''t matter anyway. If you don''t do well, your mom is here. I can raise you for the rest of your life." Zhao Ming gave her an embarrassed look. "Mom, you coddle me too much. I''m grown up now." The woman laughed. "Yes yes, my son is very mature now." "I''m an alternate on the school''s team," Zhao Ming informed her. He flashed a proud grin. "Yes, I heard! Mommy is so proud of you!" The woman smiled. "I''ll try to ask your father if you can visit soon. I will prepare a feast for you to celebrate. My boy is the best!" Zhao Ming smiled. "Ok." "Are you having dinner?" Zhao Ming''s mother saw the food through the screen. "Yeah, a friend made it for me." "A girl?" The woman gave him a knowing look. "Only girls do things like this. You found a girlfriend? Are you dating someone?" Zhao Ming shook his head. "You can''t fool me! Well, having some girlfriends is fine at your age. Make sure to let her down easy when you come back. Make sure it''s a clean break." "Mom . . . " "Did I say something wrong? Only the best girl should stand by my son. Look at that box. She didn''t even include seafood! And the meat is of such common grade. You don''t even like grapes. Son, you need to be careful about girls like these. Your mom is also a woman. I know these tricks." She waved her hand. "Don''t worry, when you come back, I find the best wife for you. One that is fitting of your status and will take care of you genuinely. I''ll make sure she is pretty as well." She winked. "Ok mom, I know. Let''s stop here tonight. Dad will get mad if he finds out you contacted me again." Zhao Ming made a sound of exasperation. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. He said a few more placating words before ending the call. His gentle face immediately vanished. He pushed aside the food. Talking to these people always made him lose his appetite. Quickly switching sites, he entered a secure channel. Covering the camera, he waited. Another video call popped up. Identity also veiled. "Are you doing well?" A gruff voice sounded. "Fine," Zhao Ming''s voice was cold, "Everything is going smoothly. However, I will need time to enter the inner circle." "How much? We cannot delay our plans much longer." "I don''t know, at least a few months." "Months! Are you kidding boy!?" In the background, chains clinked as the man yelled. Zhao Ming scowled. "You think this is easy? I can''t even assume my actual identity yet! How can I enter the top so fast? Some things are beyond my control." "Heh, Zhao Ming, you know you''re the best chip we have right now. Your identity is the highest we have. If you mess this up . . . " "Rest assured, I will not. I will give an answer to Ah Fei, to everyone." He clenched his fist as his voice filled with conviction. "Good. Fine. We''ll speak again in two months then. If you need any help, know that there are agents around you as well. Play it smart kiddo." The call ended abruptly. On screen, the call history vanished like it never occurred. Zhao Ming slammed the laptop down. He closed his eyes. Looks like he will have to hasten his plans. That girl, Hana Zhao, he would start there. His instinct never failed him before. Outside the windows, the beautiful night sky twinkled merrily. Zhao Ming rested his palms on the glass. "Ah Fei, wait for me", he mumbled. 36 Drinks Are The Best Way to Bond Later that night, the soup in the hotpot boiled merrily as four girls and an assortment of Pokemon gathered around the table. "Hana, where do you get your summons?" Renae marveled at Gardevoir that was currently levitating meat into the pot. "These new ones are so cool!" She looked over the motley assortment of creatures. Each was unique and strange looking. Definitely exotic. Why did her friend seem to get more and more mysterious these days? That accident must have triggered something amazing in her. Song Qi and Rina in contrast did not seem bothered by the creatures. Rather, the two simply ate silently. Rina cuddled Vulpix carefully as she fed lettuce to Zorua, who was basking on the floor. "Song Qi, stop eating all the vegetables!" Renae turned her attention to the quiet girl, who was eating rather elegantly. She shoved some meat into her bowl. "You need more protein. With your skinny arms, you''ll be a bully magnet again once school starts." Song Qi nodded. "Thanks." "And speak louder!" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Ok." Hana and Rina watched the exchange with identical flat expressions as they munched on their food. "God, you really are sisters," Renae muttered as she saw the two. Hana rolled her eyes. "Song Qi, don''t mind her. She usually isn''t like this. " Song Qi put down her chopsticks. "It''s alright. Since we will be living together, I should clear up my circumstances toward you." She looked at Renae. "You were right the first time you confronted me. The Song family indeed abused me. I am an orphan that they adopted when I was a child. It was intended for me to assist Song Lin in entering a higher university. I was treated as a maid in their house and an output for their anger. However, I did not retaliate. Not because I couldn''t, but because I did not want to. My so-called parents still had my identity token that they took when I first moved in with them. It was the only clue that would lead me to find my real parents. Over the years, I learned to cater to their whims to lower their guard. Once I finally found it, I naturally ditched them. I managed to pass A.S. Academy''s admittance exam, I immediately came to Floor 70 with everything I have. So while I do commend you for looking out for me Renae, I am not thankful at the least. Are you satisfied with this explanation?" Song Qi asked softly. Her face was expressionless, as if she had just described the life story of an unrelated passerby. Renae was silent. "Fine, I guess I was being unnecessary." She pulled a bottle of champagne out of nowhere. "Drinks, then we cool? Restart and all that whatnot." She intended to lighten the atmosphere. "Agreed." Song Qi replied. Hana watched Renae pour out the alcohol. No, it was more likely to be beer from the golden foamy look. "Should I even ask how you got this?" Hana gave her friend an amused look. Renae shrugged. "Everyone buys it off the shadow market. I''ll take you all sometime. That place has some of the coolest stuff." She slid Hana a glass while pouring Rina some fruit juice. "Heh, no fun stuff for you child. Your sister would kill me if I give some to you." Hana sniffed the beer. It didn''t seem strong, and gave off a fruity scent. "I can''t recall the last time I drank beer. I usually have wine." She mumbled. "Yeah, funny," Renae laughed, "How can a rule stickler like you drink wine? I''m even more surprised you didn''t stop me from pouring you a glass." "Sister, you once said you hated wine after tasting it for the first time," Rina interjected sleepily. Her soft purple eyes peered at Hana strangely. Hana poked her head. "I was just kidding." She took a sip of the drink, feeling the buzz slide down her throat. "It doesn''t taste bad." It was actually very familiar to the stuff she drank in her past life. It seems like beer was universal. Renae slammed her palm on the table. "Drinks are the best way to bond. Everyone says so." She raised her glass. "Hey, I just got an amazing idea. Let''s form a team." "Yeah, a team. For hunting dungeons and the Ace Tournaments. Lots of dorms are like this too. We''ll be the Bluewing team. We already have a healer and two front liners. Er well, Rina was join when she is older. She can be our alternate." Renae added since she didn''t want to leave Rina out. Of course, Rina had fallen asleep so her efforts were unnecessary. "No way," Hana rejected. "Why not? You have to be on a team anyway when you enter the A class dungeons." Renae argued. Hana paused. She seemed to have neglected this point. Damn, why did she have to team up? A team meant her monster kill rate in dungeons would decrease. That would affect her leveling for the system ah! "See, it''s better to team with people you know," Renae added. Song Qi nodded. "I agree." "Fine," Hana sighed. Renae smirked. "It''s settled." She got up, slightly tipsy. "Then, for the first raid as a team, let''s raid the dungeon on the dorm grounds." She smiled cheekily and started for the door. "Hana, you as the dorm leader should know where it is right? Let''s go." Of course, but how do you know about it? Hana raised an eyebrow. "The Void Lake dungeon is a B class. Are you sure you want to go now? At midnight?" Renae paused. "Well . . . yes?" Hana rolled her eyes. "Since you want to enter the dungeon, we''ll go in the morning." She swirled her drink thoughtfully. "I am also interested in this dungeon." She would use this opportunity to gather some dungeon material and raise her level. She was looking forward to some new cards. 38 Dungeon Strategy "Hey, are you coming or not?" Hana poked the Pokemon that was stretched out on the floor. Zorua gave an mumbled sound. It hiccupped. Illusory bubbles began to appear around the knocked out Pokemon. Hana''s face had black lines running down it. "Are you drunk?" After everyone went to sleep last night, she seemed to recall that Renae had left the half finished bottle of beer on the floor. . . Can Pokemon get wasted? "Fine then, I''ll just leave you here." She turned to Rina who was packing her schoolbag. "We''ll be gone for a few days. Take care of yourself." "Ok, be safe." As Rina left, Hana summoned Gengar. The ghost Pokemon gave her a sly smirk as it hopped before her. "Guard the dorm. If anything strange happens or occurs, capture and wait for me to get back. Rina''s safety is your top priority." She didn''t know why, but she felt uneasy for some reason. Gengar laughed eerily. It bowed and faded into the walls. Sigh, another weird one. Hana shrugged on a empty backpack. Since Renae said that B - class dungeons take a few days to clear, she had brought dry rations as well. Grasping Hyorinmaru hand, she walked into the courtyard. Renae and Song Qi were waiting. "Hana!" Renae waved her over. "Let''s go over strategy right now. We should familiarize each other with our abilities, so we can position ourselves accordingly." "Position?" "Yes, depending on their abilities, teams usually adopt certain formations. The healers usually are in the back, or protected in the middle. Long range abilities often at the back or sides. Hana, what formation does the team you usually run with use?" Song Qi asked. While Renae was probably the most experienced dungeon hunter in their group, Hana still had some experience in dungeons. She did hear Renae telling everyone at high school that Hana was running dungeons during her period of absence. Considering her summoning ability, she was probably in the back, although . . . "No position." Hana said with a poker face. "Huh? Your team doesn''t strategize before dungeons?" "I usually solo dungeons." Hana said. Strategy? She just went in guns blazing . . . Of course, strategy was important. However, she simply had the raw power to overwhelm the dungeon monsters so she never bothered. Hana shrugged. "I don''t need to think strategy when I have the raw power to run through everything." She sounded arrogant, but it was a truthful statement of her abilities. Low level dungeons were simply not a challenge to her. "That is actually not surprising," Song Qi said after considering her words. She looked calmly at Hana. "Your fire and combat abilities should be sufficient to take a lower class dungeon alone. Since you also can summon, your survival rate is also higher. Although I have never been in a dungeon, statistically your survival rate appears higher than average." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "True," Renae muttered, "but still its risky." She still had mixed feelings after the last time Hana revealed she went in dungeons alone. She widened her eyes. "And you didn''t tell me when you learned to use the powers of your summons!" Hana gave her a blank look. "It is rare for summoners to reach a level where they can temporarily share abilities with their summons." Song Qi noted. "Even though some rare skill books delineate the process, it still requires a strong bond and talent." Hana frowned. She didn''t want to reveal that she had a system. Frankly, she doubt people would understand even if she did. She had miscalculated the portrayal of her abilities. Sigh, espionage was not her strong fort. "I never said I was limited to summoning Poke ¡ª ah creatures," Hana clarified after some thought. "I summon things from fantasy, er . . . dreams. The stronger I recall my dreams, the more likely I can summon them. The concept is difficult to put into words." She inwardly cringed at her explanation. However the two seemed to accept her explanation. "Well, many people have strange abilities," Renae waved her hands, "It''s no surprise, people tend to safeguard the specifics of how their abilities work anyway." Song Qi nodded in agreement. "Anyway, we''ll just say you can use fire and summon creatures," Renae said. She grinned. "My ability is water control. Wherever there is water, I can manipulate it. It''s easier when I have a large body of water to work with." Song Qi nodded. "I am the healer then. I use light to mitigate the natural healing process. However, I am limited by the severity of wounds. Frankly, healing is a complex process that still cannot be fully explained. However, my results can speak for themselves." The three fell into silence as they assessed each other. Hana was never a fan of working with others, but she was kind of interested in teams in this world. The so-called strategies seemed similar to games from her past life. Now that she thought of it, she felt like she had dropped into a world like SAO. Wasn''t she basically playing a full dive VR lifestyle? "Well, let''s go then," Hana said. "Wait, what about your supplies?" Renae asked. She eyed Song Qi''s full backpack, then Hana''s seemingly light one. "Oh, I''ll be fine with this." Hana had several high protein bars in her bag. She never carried much out of habit. When she was on missions in her past life, she survived on the minimum amount of food required for the human body to function. Besides, the backpack could carry more things from the dungeon this way. Renae frowned. "I''ll get you a storage tool someday." She raised the bracelet around her wrists. "We can share then. I always overpack for emergencies." Storage tool? Hana raised her eyebrows. Now, that actually sounded useful. Unfortunately her system didn''t have a storage space like those in the novels she use to read. But since she could get the actual thing normally, that was great. Hana led the way to the dungeon. Void Lake. There was not much information about this dungeon, other than the name. The three glanced at each other before entering. 39 Shark Frenzy The briny scent of ocean water hit her nose immediately. A massive blue lake, glittering under the warm dungeon sunlight spanned as far as the eye could see. It might as well have been a sea. The cerulean sight was amazing, comparable to the seas of Hawaii. "Wow," Renae breathe, "I''m surprised this wasn''t rented out as a lifestyle dungeon. A hidden treasure for sure." Her fingers skimmed over the surface of the clear water, creating soft ripples on the still lake. The three of them stood on fine black sand. Hana glanced behind her, only to see blue. They stood on a tiny piece of land surrounded by water. That was worrying. "Please tell me you all can swim," Hana said. Renae and Song Qi nodded. Hana pursed her lips. To clear the dungeon, they would have to kill the dungeon boss. Considering the amount of water surrounding them, they would likely have to enter the water. She currently could see two scenarios. The three of them stay of land, and dungeon monsters attack them, which would result in some defensive game. The other was that they enter the water to engage in battle under the lake. The second option was disadvantageous for them. She had no water Pokemon, and no water related abilities. Elemental disadvantage due to her fire dragonslayer abilities. Would she have to use Hyorinmaru? Song Qi is a healer, with no known combat abilities. Renae was the only one with an advantage in this environment. Hana''s eyes shadowed as she weighed her options. "Well, we seem underprepared for this," Renae laughed. Three glass bottles of blue liquid appeared in her hand. "Good thing I bought these hehe." "Elixirs?" Song Qi looked at them curiously. Elixirs were rather expensive since most ingredients came out of dungeons. Yet Renae took out three of them of so casually . . . "Yup," Renae handed them each a bottle. "We will be able to breathe underwater for an hour with these. I don''t need one, so you two will have the split the third." "Our time to clear the dungeon has become limited," Hana noted. A gush of clear energy slid down her throat as she downed the elixir without hesitation. While she usually was apprehensive about drinking unknown substances, she knew there was no reason for Renae to harm her. "Let''s adopt a 1 - 1 - 1 formation," Hana said, "Renae will take the front, while I guard the back." "Sure," Song Qi placed her supplies on the sand. "Although I have no combat abilities, I will do my best to keep everyone alive." "Ah, it''s best that you still have something to defend yourself with," Renae handed her a dagger as she secured a whip to her side. Hana frowned. "I don''t have useful summons in this case, but I''ll still defend if you take the initiative." Her physical abilities were still above average since she had a fire dragonslayer body. The water was cool as she slipped beneath the surface. The lake seemed bottomless, midnight darkness beneath her. It was difficult to breath, since she reflexively held her breathe like a normal person. "Incoming," Renae warned. Her velvet hair suspended around her as she gestured toward their left. Sound travels faster in water. Hana could hear the water splitting before the monster even appeared. The sleek metallic blue bodies shot through the water like torpedoes. The triple fins and opened mouths filled with razor sharp teeth were a terrible sight. "Chomper sharks," Renae cursed. She clasp her palms together, churning the water around them. "They are low- advance level dungeon monsters, but can be difficult for us. They flock together in groups of at least 30, and are considered among the top underwater monsters in terms of speed. I''ve seen their bite can crush through 1 foot of solid metal. The nice part about them is they don''t have a brain." Under her control, the water formed a barrier around them. "They''re not exactly smart," said Renae, "So we can probably take them one at a time." The translucent water barrier expanded. The sharks circled around it, as if they were planning to siege. Hana narrowed her eyes. "Let one in." She needed to get a grasp of its abilities. Renae waved her hand. The barrier warped, until a lone shark was within with them. Once it realized it could attack, it immediately shot toward them. It was definitely fast. Hana watched as it neared and swam toward it. "Wait ¡ª" Renae started. She thought the three of them would gang up on it, not Hana going in alone! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Seconds before the shark monster reached her, Hana tilted to the left. Her palm deflected against the head as she somersaulted into its back. She grabbed dorsal fin tightly she secured herself onto her new ride. The monster seemed to panic, writhing in circles trying to throw her off. It speed up toward its brethren, trying to exit the barrier. Hana gritted her teeth as water pushed against her. The drag force was too much, even for her. At first, she thought she could ride a shark like a horse and use it to get closer to the group to do cutting attacks with Hyorinmaru. However, the watery environment was against that idea. Hana drifted off the shark, letting it exit Renae''s barrier. Her eyes narrowed calculatingly at the circling monsters. Now, how should she handle this? 40 Glacial Transformation "Hana, are you sure none of your summons can help us here?" Renae questioned. She was focused on maintaining her shield. Although she could easily go into combat within this domain, she couldn''t fully ensure the safety of her friends. It was this hesitance that kept her from pushing forward. Hana shook her head. How she wished she had water Pokemon right now. A Gyarados, Kyogre, or Vaporean would be perfect. Hell, she even settle for a Piplup. Hmm, should she try to use flames after all. There have been cases in anime where fire overwhelmed water rather than canceling each other out . . . Sigh, this was taking too much time. Hana glanced at all her cards in the storage. "Let''s resurface," Hana said with a sigh, "I have another idea." Renae and Song Qi looked at each other, before following her to the surface. Hana slipped out of the water, clothes clinging to her body. "System, how much will I need to level up?" She had always kept the words of the system in her mind. She was still a beginner according to the system. Once she leveled up, she will gain more benefits. [Host''s level is insufficient to receive specific leveling statistics] "Then just tell me this. If I kill every single monster in this dungeon, can I reach level 5?" [ . . . well . . . probably] Then it would be worth her efforts then. Hana internally grumbled. Hyorinmaru was the best card she had right now. While she always found her Fire Dragonslayer abilities useful, using Hyorinmaru simply felt more right to her. Using her trump card at this moment felt kinda bitter. But oh well. "Renae, can you create tsunamis? Cyclones are fine too." Hana asked. "Huh?" Renae blanked at the abrupt question. "I mean, I had never had the need too . . . I can try?" She never needed to so something that large scale before. Besides, she always lived in the city so she never had such a large body of water to work with. "Why?" Hana summoned Hyorinmaru. The ice zanpakuto appeared in her hand. Fitting in her grip perfectly, Hana stood at the edge of the water. " Since the dungeon environment is not suitable for us, then we might as well change it. I guess it''s better to tell you now that later." She raised her sword. "I not only summon unique creatures, but also special weapons. I can gain other abilities due to this." The tropical temperature plummeted as icy energy seemed to swirl around Hana. "Reign over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" A ferocious aura erupted as the signature blue ice dragon formed from her blade. It swirled and looped around her like a mystical shield. "Wow!" Renae gasped. She had seen many abilities before, but something like this was impressive and unique. Even the normally unfazed Song Qi widened her eyes at the sight. "Ah, your hair changes too!" Hana''s raven black hair was snowy white. "My hair?" Hana frowned, grasping a few strands. Seeing the white color, her mind whirled. ''System?'' [Some cards may trigger side effects. Side effects are usually harmless, and vanish once Host has stopped using a card] Hana didn''t put too much thought into it. It was just her hair color changing, didn''t seem to affect her much. "It''s just a side effect," Hana told Renae, "We should focus on reshaping the landscape to be more favorable to us." Hana smiled as she let told them her plan. Renae choked. "This is a crazy idea! But I like it!" Song Qi shrugged. "I''m the healer, so I''ll follow your lead." Renae scratched her head. "I think it''s a good plan, but I don''t think I have enough stream energy." Hana frowned. She had not accounted for this problem, an error on her part. All abilities originated from Stream Energy, a mysterious energy abundant within this world. When humans first came into the Tower Between Worlds, they discovered hidden meridians throughout their body that could intake this energy. The energy absorbed flows into what was called the ability core within the body. Humans then manifest the energy in terms of abilities. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. However, ability cores had a limit to the amount of energy it could store. Once it was drained, it would require time to restore it. "I can restore your energy," Song Qi said, "however, this will deplete me energy as well, so I will not be able to heal anyone immediately." "It should be fine," Hana said after some thought, "let''s do this then." "Heh, it''s my time to shine then." Renae flung out her arms toward the water. Immediately, the water began to churn. The waves rocked back and forth as they climbed up in height. Soon, a massive wave formed, rushing away from them. It was as if a massive force pushed against the water, forcing it into a single direction. Hana raised her blade."Hyorinmaru!" From where she stood, a roaring ice dragon rushed toward the wave. It froze everything along its path, ice creaking in its wake. The ice spread, coloring a large part of the water solid. Within a second, one tenth of the lake had been frozen into a glacier. When the environment is unfavorable to you, you either adapt to it or change it. She had always done the latter, but now, she can shape the land to suit her needs. Glacial transformation. The plan was to drain the lake, turning as much water as possible into massive glaciers. 41 Dual Dungeon "I feel dead," Renae moaned as she sprawn on the ice. They had probably taken days to reshape this place. The dungeon had turned into a winter wonderland. Massive glaciers occupied over half the visible lake. Under the sunlight, the glistening ice was a beautiful sight. Of course, Hana had deduced it might be a little unreasonable to expect that they could freeze the entire lake. The first thing they did was erect a massive barrier of ice that served to dam off a large part of water. They then reshaped that section to fit their needs, draining the lake so they could move around freely. However, it seemed very strange that the ice didn''t melt even under constant sunlight. The dungeon seemed to become colder to accommodate the ice, a very peculiar event. "Hana, how are you not tired?" Renae asked. Hana had been freezing nonstop for the past few days, taking no breaks. It was like she had an unlimited amount of stream energy. "Well, summoning doesn''t take that much energy," Hana replied vaguely. She had the system of course. She wasn''t limited like ability users. The only thing that could stop her was if Hyorinmaru broke. "Any way, let''s continue exploring and gathering materials." The three of them were at the bottom of the lake. Their efforts had sufficiently drained the lake, revealing the bottom that hard been hidden by darkness. The floor was cover in black sand, identical to where they had stood when they first arrived. The most valuable treasure was the Fluorescent pearls half buried in the sand. The pearls could be grind into powder for elixirs. Hana had noted many recipes required this ingredient, so she eagerly took as many as possible. Song Qi and Renae were helping here. Somehow, the dungeon raid had turned into something that resembled more of an excavation site. Hana also took samples of the aquatic plants, in case they turn out to be ingredients as well. As she was harvesting a plot of blue seaweed, Renae gave a yell of excitement. "I think I see the boss monster!" "Where?!" Those were her precious experience points ah! Hana had killed the most monsters on this run. It was easy after they had froze the lake. Most of the monsters where frozen solid whole, or partially stuck in ice like sheep waiting for slaughter. Renae gestured at a particularly large section of an ice wall they had erected as a dam. "I think we accidentally frozen it in the beginning! It''s part of the wall now." She laughed. Hana peered into the ice. Hmm, it does seem like a particularly large shark monster was frozen in there. "Well, I''ll just stab through the ice then." Song Qi sweat-dropped watched their antics. Why did she feel somewhat sorry for the boss monster? Maybe because big boss like the massive shark died from a single stab? Or because it was frozen solid, making its expression of fear and wide eyes evident? Oh well, she was just a healer anyway, back to gathering materials it is. The moment Hyorinmaru pierced through the boss, a massive portal appeared. "Yeah, we can go home!" Renae cheered. Hana hummed. "Let''s take more things before we leave." Renae sighed. "Why do I feel like a scrapper? I didn''t even fight much this run . . . " As Hana continued her harvest, she wandered over to a stone outcropping. She paused. While the stone looked rather dull, her instincts jumped warily as she neared it. There were numerous gashes on the stone. Hana stared at the slashes, circling the rock. They were seemingly random, but it was evident someone took a lot of effort to chip away the stone. Slowly, a series of words formed in her mind. Hana widened her eyes. In her past life, she had been forced to become well versed in a variety of languages. One of her choices was Ancient Greek. How strange. The language from her past world appeared in this world, in a dungeon of all things. What did this mean? "Open, doors to the Delphin Temple?" She read. As soon as she finished speaking, the dungeon began to rumble. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "What''s going on?" Renae shouted in alarm. The three of them quickly regrouped, holding their weapons warily. The ice around them trembled, as if massive blocks would break apart any second. "Hana?" "I just read some words off that rock . . ." Hana''s finger that pointed at a rock paused. In the place of the inconspicuous rock now stood a pair of stone double doors. Images were carved deeply into the doors. She could recognize images that resembled sea monsters, giant snakes with terrifying detailed fins and gills. Renae gasped. "I''ve only heard of this, but never experienced it before!" She grabbed Hana''s hands excitedly. "I think you just found a dual dungeon!" 42 Choice of Rewards "Dual dungeon?" Hana had never heard of this term. "It''s not really made public knowledge," Renae said, "But some dungeons will lead into another dungeon. The the phenomenon in which a dungeon is found within a dungeon is called a dual dungeon." She smiled. "The first person to find a dual dungeon is actually from our generation. He''s pretty famous, and was the one to name this type of situation." Hana however didn''t miss Renae''s softer complaint after. . . "But the personality of that man is terrible. That (**insert insult here ^_^ **), even saying his name makes me wanna punch something, preferably his face." "Then, should we go in?" Hana was deeply attracted to the doors. Call it curiosity, but she wanted to see if it had some connection to Earth. Also, Elder Lan had not mentioned anything about a dual dungeon? Did that mean they were the first to find it? Curiosity can''t kill the cat if the cat was better right after all. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Yeah let''s try it!" Renae was enthusiastic. "I heard dual dungeons usually are full of treasures! And most are not as dangerous!" "Well, then I don''t mind," Song Qi said hesitantly. Her eyes looked calmly at the doors. Hana nodded. She pushed open the doors and stepped inside. The door was like a portal. As soon as they stepped through, they stood in a dimly lit hallway. Blue fire torches lined the stone walls. A melodious voice sounded. [You have entered Delphin''s Temple] "Ah, there is a dungeon master?" Renae exclaimed. She frowned, "This might be bad?" "Dungeon master?" Hana and Song Qi looked puzzled. "Dungeon masters are beings that control dungeons. Not much is known about them, but they only appear in A or S class dungeons." Renae explained. "They never engage in combat with dungeon hunters, but their presence here indicates this dungeon is more dangerous that I expected." ''How interesting'', Hana thought. "Let''s continue." Anyway, she was here so why not explore. She was on solid ground anyway, so she could use summons. Worst case, she could just escape through the doors as she noted that the entrance was still there. "I don''t mind if you guys head back," Hana said, "The risk here is evidently higher." Renae poked her arm. "If you go, I''ll go." She brandished a fist. "I can hold my ground even in high level dungeons, believe me. Dungeons were made to be explored in teams anyway." "Then I''ll continue to be the healer," decided Song Qi. As the three continued down the hallway, they soon reached a large room. Strangely, there were no monsters anywhere near them. However, the room branched off into separate tunnels. Above each tunnel was a inscribed symbol. On the left, a image of what appeared to be the Parthenon was carved into the stone, while the right was a twin snake staff. "Hehe, welcome to a place of crossroads." A lithe figure literally popped out of the ground. He bowed, his smile revealing two glinting fangs. "A vampire?" Hana''s hand was already on her sword. "No worries, I merely a guide." The man raised his hands, laughing eerily. "I offer you a choice." "What do you mean?" Renae had somewhat lowered her guard after hearing the stranger was the dungeon master. "Heh, as the first lucky humans to reach this point, naturally, I offer a choice of rewards." He pointed at the tunnels. "The left path is for those to seek knowledge, while the right path is for those to seek strength. You can take the path that you wish." "What''s the catch?" Hana knew there was no free lunch in the world. A random person popped up in the middle of a dungeon and offered them treasure? It was obviously a trap! "At this point, there is none. Except you can only enter one path." The man said earnestly. Hana tugged Renae and Song Qi aside. "What do you think?" "Um, I think he''s telling the truth," Renae said. "Dungeon masters have no reason to lie to us. They oversee the dungeon, but never interfere. Besides, there should be treasure here. Even if this is a trap, we should overcome it for the treasure." Hana was silent. There was still no much she didn''t know about dungeons. How could they be sure that this person was a dungeon master in the first place? Why can''t dungeon masters lie? It was also foolish to base their passivity by past precedence. "Let''s split up," Hana suggested. "You and Song Qi take one path, I''ll take the other." "What, no way!" Renae exclaimed. "It''s more logical," Hana said calmly, "I have my summons to accompany me while I fight. It would be better than either of you going down a path alone. If there is treasure on both sides, we would grab both no?" "True!" Renae and Song Qi nodded in agreement. "I''ll take the left path then. You both take right." Hana watched the two girls move quickly to the tunnel, before turning to the man. "What is you name?" The man glanced over her amused. "Why don''t you guess?" Hana walked toward the tunnel, letting the shadows swallow her. "If I had to guess based on the theme of his place, perhaps your name is Janus." The man chuckled. She was right. Looks like things will get lively from now on. "I need to report this to the boss!" He bared his fangs. "An anomaly has appeared in the tower. Hahaha." Hana didn''t look back as she continued down the tunnel. There was a reason why she chose this path. Power was something she had and could get. And she would never trust in anything that she didn''t get herself. However, knowledge was something she desperately needed. This world she had transmigrated into. It was mysterious, magical, and even exciting. It was everything she could dream of. But she felt wary for some reason, and she didn''t know why. And all the unanswered questions of this world, especially the mysterious dungeons, were things beyond her control. Maybe it was instinctive, but the assassin within her couldn''t let that happen. She had a huge disadvantage against an enemy she didn''t know, so she needed to fix that. Upon seeing where she ended up in, her mouth curled into a smile. Shelves filled with books lined her sight. A massive library that spanned two floors. Hana put on her Gale Force Reading glasses and started. Over the next hours, she poured over the books like a madman. With her speed of flipping though books, she moved almost robotically as she opened, flipped, and closed books. As she moved through the stacks, she found single book on its own stand. Hmm? She flipped it open, but found that she couldn''t understand half the contents. Half the book was written in strange lettering and symbols. "This . . . " She also noted in surprise that the stand sunk into the ground as she took the book. One of the shelves in the back slid to the side, revealing another pair of massive doors. Similar to the one she had first opened, except the doors were gold. Hana blinked. Um, was this a double dual dungeon??? She tried to open to the door but found it to be locked. The doors stayed shut, not matter how had she pushed. "Weird." She mumbled. Suddenly, she felt a change in the system. She glanced at her card storage, only to see that for the first time, one of her cards had returned without her calling it back. The card for Vulpix was grayed out, with a timer on it. It had the same look as when she used her cake card. "System what is going on?" [Since Vulpix has suffered a fatal amount of damage, it was automatically recalled back into the system for recovery. You may reuse the card in 24 hours.] Fatal amount of damage?! Vulpix was ordered by her to protect Rina. Hana''s hearted lurched. She sprinted for the exit. Rina must be in danger! 43 Ambush The twilight skyline fell over the city as Rina put her book into her backpack. She had stayed late at school again. "Rina, at the rate you are going, you try taking the high school 2nd year exam soon," Her teacher praised. The woman was praising her fervently, enthusiastic. She was probably expecting a raise from her advancement then. Rina nodded silently, her mind dull. Genius. That is what the tests label her as. Although she tested as a rank F, her IQ was over 150. She was the highest scorer in the school, her intellectual abilities outstanding. Not that it was extremely significant at this day and age. Many people had intellectual abilities after all. And the concept that brains ruled over brawn died the moment humans gained abilities. She sighed. The world is merely a stage where you act your part. From the moment you were born, your role was determined. And her''s was at the bottom of the ladder. Rina silently packed up and bid the teacher goodbye. Outside, on her way back to the dorm, Rina''s backpack moved. "Vulpix," Rina gathered the soft Pokemon in her arms, her heart lightening. It went beyond logic why she felt attracted to Hana''s summons. Was it because they were soft? Because they fit the typical description of cuteness? "Vulpix, vulpix, vul . . . " The fire Pokemon nudged Rina softly, burrowing into her arms. Pokemon were sensitive creatures after all. Sensing the sadness in her owner''s sister, the fire Pokemon attempted to cheer her up. "Ok," Rina smiled, stroking its fur. Her face turned back into that of a young child''s again. She quietly made her way through the alleyway to the dorm. It was a shortcut she knew of. Normally, she wouldn''t take it because she had to work at the bakery, but since she stayed at school late, she would just go this way. The shadows in the narrow path covered her as she walked through. Suddenly, Vulpix raised it''s head. Danger! "Vulpix?" Hana saw the unease in the Pokemon''s eyes. "Is something wrong?" The fire Pokemon leaped out of her arms, crouching into attack position. Rina understood immediately. There was someone hostile near her. She gripped the strap of her backpack fearfully. "Aiya, little girl, your fox is good." A middle aged men melted out of the shadows. He tossed knives in his hands casually, leering at her. "Robbery?" Rina scanned the man. He looked like a thug. But why would he go after her? She was dressed in plain clothes. Nothing about her stood out enough to warrant a robbery. Was it simply bad luck then? "Naive child, do I look like a robber?" The man grinned. "Well, I might be after all. I''m here to rob you of your life after all hehe." Rina backed up a step. A murderer? Assassin? "Why?" She couldn''t think of anyone she had offended recently. She had never seen this person before either. "Why? Mah, maybe because your existence is a nuisance. The actual order was to put you in a coma, but my hands feel itchy today. Too bad for you." He stalked toward her. "Vulpix, Flamethrower!" Rina yelled. Thank goodness Hana had taught her attack commands for Vulpix in case of emergencies. A torrent of flames rushed toward the man. "What a cute attempt." A horrendous gust of wind blew forward, blasting the flame apart. It slammed into Vulpix, tossing it backward into the wall. "Vulpix!" Rina yelled in alarm. She scooped up the Pokemon in her arms. The fire fox made a disoriented sound. "Oh? It''s studier than expected. I thought that would have been enough to kill it," The man mumbled. He drew a knife. "Nevertheless, it''s futile to resist." As if sensing the man''s movement, Vulpix jumped out of Rina''s arms. It crouched in front of her. Despite it''s trembling leg, it was evidently adamant in defending her. It''s eyes, filled with determination, stared at the man. "What tenacious little bug." The man glared maliciously at the fire Pokemon. He slashed forward. Wind blades assaulted the Pokemon from all sides, leaving cuts all over its body. "Recall! Go back now!" Renae yelled, her voice edging on hysteria. "Leave!" Vulpix ignored her, sending another blast of flames toward the man. It clashed weakly against his wind, before dissipating. "Amusing creatures this is. But pets are merely pets after all." Swirling a finger, the wind rushed toward the fire Pokemon. It lifted it up despite its struggles, and blasted it into the air. Within a blink of an eye, it vanished into the distance. "Hmm, I''m sure when it falls down, it will die anyway." Rina stared blankly at the empty sky. Her heart clenched, eyes darkening. "Why . . . " "Why? Hmm, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to tell you. Dead men tell no tales anyway." He grinned , tapping the knife against her cheek. "Ah, who knows what you did to offend the Zhao family. Blame yourself for not recognizing Mt. Tai ah." He clucked his tongue in mock pity. Zhao family. Zhao family. Again this Zhao family. Hehe. Rina laughed, a sardonic expression on her face. "My mother is gone because of me. My sister is gone because of me. Now the mongrels from the Zhao family have finally come knocking on the door as well." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Oh, she was all too aware of her past. Despite, her sister''s effort to hide the truth from her, she was well aware of their past. The accursed surname that she bore. She hated it. "Well, perhaps your next life will be more lucky." The knife plunged through her stomach. The pain ricocheted through her body. Rina coughed. "Next life?" Her eyes blazed with anger. "I rather haunt them as a ghost after death." The hatred in her eyes was unnerving given her young face. She fell into the darkness, just as a beeping noise sounded in her head. [Detecting imminent danger to host body. Override sleep mode. Initiating system takeover. Detecting suitable action . . . affirmative] "What the hell! " The man leaped back in shock. Rina stood up robotically. Red pupils stared at the man. [Detecting of threat to host. Eliminate] A brown belt appeared around Rina. [Activate trump card] In a flash, Rina transformed, lion ears and paws appearing on her. [Eliminate] Her hand closed around shocked man''s neck. He chocked, his eyes trained on the knife wound in the stomach. It was completely healed! Rina''s hand snapped the neck like a twig. [Complete. Searching for safety zone from memory]. Her tiny figure vanished into the darkness. 44 Gardevoir Filler Special Dont Have to Read for Plo It was very strange for Gardevoir when she first came into this world. She had been sleeping for so long in the gray space. At least, it felt like sleeping. But then Hana called her. Hana, the human, was her owner. Strangely, she felt absolutely loyal to her. It was strange, but Hana was a good person so she didn''t mind. And Hana let her fulfill her curiosity about this world. Yes, this world was very curious. People can do magical things. Gardevoir was especially passionate about cooking and cleaning. The so called ''chores'' humans did was very interesting. And everyday when she was working at the bakery was also interesting. Hana had taught her how to count and do many things. However, the humans always gave her weird and long looks when she gave them change for their purchase. Maybe she was giving them the wrong change? But they never said anything. Also, she had somehow become the leader of all the Pokemon. It wasn''t hard to manage them all. Maybe it was because she was the wisest so they listened to her? Yes, Gardevoir considered herself very wise. She was the only Pokemon beside Zorua who could speak to humans. And she was the only one who could use the special device in Hana''s room. It was called a ''computer'' and was very handy. Gardevoir learned many things using the computer. For example, she was very fond of the maid culture she had seen. However, she thought Hana might rebuff her if she called her master . . . . Recently, she had read that discipline is important for summoned creatures. Since Hana called them summoned creatures, then they should be disciplined too. Yes, Gardevoir nodded as she swept the floor of the dorm common room. She should discipline the others. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Especially the lazy Zorua. Apparently, Hana was always annoyed by Zorua. Hmm, maybe she should punish it? Yes, punish it like she punished the others for not following orders. Gardevoir had a very benevolent expression as it cleaned the room. Meanwhile, the Gengar that was hiding on the ceiling shivered. Elder sister Gardevoir had that expression on again! Scary! Even the ghost Pokemon quivered as it recalled what happened last time. That horrible event had led all the Pokemon to unanimously acknowledge her as the leader. Gardevoir raised her head toward the door. Someone was there. She opened the door, only to see the slump figure of Hana''s sister, Rina. Seeing the blood, the psychic Pokemon immediately realized that little master - ahem - Rina was injured. She immediately transported the little girl inside. Moving her to her room, Gardevoir began to do first aid like the computer taught her. She immediately summoned all the Pokemon and gave out orders. "Monferno and Glaceon, go get some warm water and towels. Gengar, get the first aid kit." The psychic Pokemon issued out orders like a veteran nurse. Porridge was ordered to be made, and fresh clothes were found to be changed in. The Pokemon scrambled to follow her orders. Meanwhile, Gardevoir realized that Rina was actually injured. But she was very tired. "Zorua, make sleep better." Zorua grumbled. What do you think I am, a Munna? I''m an shadow Pokemon for Arceus''s sake! Illusions are not dreams! Gardevoir beamed, before using her Telekinesis. The shadow Pokemon found itself inserted under Rina''s arm. "I read that children sleep better with teddy bears. Since Vulpix is not here, you will be it." Zorua lowered its head. Fine, you''re the boss. It was not scared of Gardevoir. Not scared at all! It was just helping Rina, that was all . . . After organizing everything to ensure Rina''s comfort and health, Gardevoir returned to dusting. Hmm, I sense Hana is coming back soon. Must make sure the place is clean. 45 I Want to Learn How to Kill Hana bursted down the tunnel. "Hana!" Renae waved at her cheerfully. "Finally, we''ve been waiting forever! Look, we got lots of good artifacts!" She pointed at Song Qi. A pair of ivory wings floated behind the healer. In fact, her body seemed to be shrouded in a pale golden light. "I''m leaving, Rina''s in trouble." Hana sprinted past them, ignoring Renae''s shouts behind her. In record time, she ran toward the exit portal. Outside, the sky was nearing dawn. Hana rushed toward the dorm. Gardevoir was already waiting by the door. "Gardevoir, gather the others and send them out to search for Rina," Hana ordered. "That is unnecessary. The young girl is resting upstairs in her room." Gardevoir proceeded to recount what had happened the previous night. Hana''s face darkened. "She was unharmed but covered in blood?" She stormed up the stairs to Rina''s room and swung open the door. On pristine white sheets, a young girl lied with her eyes closed. Dried red trickled down a corner of her mouth. Hana staggered as a wave of nausea hit her. In her mind, another fuzzy scene seemed to overlap her vision. A young girl half buried in pure white snow. Blood tricked down her mouth as her arms reached out. Her mouth moved soundlessly. ''Sister'' Damn. Hana clutched her head. No, she is gone. This is Rina. Rina, this is Rina. Not her. "We cleaned her up and changed her bed sheets. We also tried to feed her apple juice because the computer said it helps replenish blood. Unfornturaly there was no apple juice so we subsituted beet juice. " Gardevoir reported. "Ok," Hana curbed her demeanor. She walked closer and frowned. On Rini''s head, there was a pair of . . . ears? Her hands were small yellow paws, and a brown belt wrapped around her waist. This looked like . . . Leone? Leone cosplay from Akame Ga Kill? Hana reached over and gently tugged the ears. They were real, attached to the head. So weird, as this Rina''s ability? However, seeing the sleeping state of her Rina and Zorua, her anxiety lessened. However, she was still angry. Who dared to attack her sister! Hana frowned. Somehow, her negative emotions were overwhelming her. Anger, hatred, and frustration flooded her mind. Although she was fond of Rina, she shouldn''t be feeling like this. Were these the remanent''s emotions? Hana clenched her fist. Some characteristics of her predecessor was slowly influencing her? Hana glanced at her hand. Ever since she came into this world, she had taken this body for granted. Transmigration was crazy after all. Who wouldn''t jump straight into exploring a new world? But she had neglected to realize that she had changed from her previous self. It was very strange and uncomfortable. "Hana!" Renae appeared by the door, gasping. "You ran so fast! Couldn''t you have explained a little clearer? What happened to Rina?" Hana waved her hand. "She''s alright now. I''ll take care of her. Just go back and rest. I''ll see you and Song Qi later." "Huh? But . . . ok" Renae relented upon seeing the look in Hana''s eyes. There was an invisible pressure there that somewhat scared her. Hana shut the door. Looking at the figure of her sister, she asked, "How do you feel?" She had noted a slight change in Rina after Renae''s interruption. Rina''s eyes blinked open. She sat up, resting Zorua on her lap. "Fine." An awkward silence stretched between them. Hana could sense that something was off with Rina. The two stared at each other, purple eyes each holding different thoughts. "Who are you really?" "Who attacked you?" The two broke the silence at the same time. "What?" Rina''s question registered in Hana mind. Rina held her gaze calmly. "You are not my sister, right?" Hana''s heart trembled slightly. She stated quietly. "What makes you think that?" "My sister does not know how to cook. Although she was smart in some ways, she definitely could not score well on exams since she didn''t have time to study. She absolutely cannot raid dungeons and she never showed signs of even wanting to learn how to use her ability." Rina said softly. "Although you might have some similar characteristics, your aura is completely different. You are confident and arrogant, sometimes even coming off as pressuring. I don''t know why you know so much about us but you cannot her her. So who are you really?" Hana peered at her. The shy child from before was now displaying perceptiveness and logic of a mature adult. It was slightly unnerving. "I''m not your sister." Hana said finally. "But this body is." She proceeded to outline what had happened in the last few weeks, along with her identity. Rina was silent for a long time. "So I was right. She left me too." She looked up. "But you have her memories right?" "I do," Hana admitted, "but rather it''s like I watched someone else''s life from a different perspective rather than experiencing itself. Transmigration is a new thing for me. I think that although I crossed over, there are remanents of your sister in this body that influence me." The young girl gave her an unfathomable gaze. "Since you have occupied by sister''s body then treat it well. I will still consider you as her in this sense." Hana twitched. Normally, wouldn''t people be depressed or angry in this scenario? Or was this a form of denial? Is Rina refusing to admit that her sister is gone? Akward, she really didn''t know where their relationship stood at this point. "But you were an assassin before?" Rina asked. "In a way, yes." Assassination was one of her specialties before she died. "Does it matter?" Rina stared her her intensely. "Teach me. I want to learn how to kill." 46 The Girl with Red Eyes "Kill?" Hana gave her a startled gaze. "For what?" But the answer was already present in Rina''s eyes. The hidden gleam of vengeance and anger. A 12 year old that was asking to learn the art of murder. "Revenge," Hana muttered. "Why not?" In her mind, the small figure of Rina overlapped with someone else, someone she use to see in the mirror. This girl reminded her of her younger self. How . . . nostalgic. Was this how her mentor saw her the first time they met? "You won''t regret it?" She finally probed. "No." The quick answer was extremely decisive. "Then, never look back." Hana smiled. She held out her hand. "Then let me officially introduce myself. My name is Hana, an assassin from another world. I''ll be your mentor/substitute elder sister from now on." This was almost the exact same line her mentor had first said to her and the same line she repeated to every recruit she had trained. To think that she would train another person again in her new life as well. Rina clasped her hand firmly, a understanding passing between them. "Well then, tell me what''s going on with these." Hana pointed at the yellow ears on Rina''s head. "This is my ability," Rina said, clenching her paws. "I cannot control it. It has only showed up 2 times in my entire life. This is the third. Everytime, it vanishes after a few hours." Hana frowned. No matter how I look, it looks like Leone''s teigu from Akame ga Kill. So cute! A real life mini - Leone ah! She coughed, calming her inner excitenment. ''System, do you know something about this?'' [System is currently undergoing update] Hana blinked at the tiny flashing red letters. What''s this? Update! This damn system didn''t mention anything! But it seems like she could still use her abilities. Thank goodness. Whatever, she could wait. "Rina, get some rest. Let''s start tomorrow." ****** Two days later, Hana watched as Rina ran laps around the courtyard. She had told her to build up her stamina first before anything. Body training was especially important. The dorm''s territory was actually very large and suitable for training. In fact, everyone was practicing these days. Song Qi and Renae both had their own routines. Since school would begin soon, everyone was shoring up for the oncoming year. "Hana, there''s someone who needs to see you." Renae''s yell echoed loudly from her balcony. Hana gestured at Rina to continue and went to see the door. A girl the same age as her waited patiently at the door with a suitcase in hand. Her red eyes shifting akwardly as Hana stared at her. The most striking thing about her was the hair. Unblemished and pure as white snow. Hmm, she looked somewhat familiar. "Can I help you?" Hana finally regained herself. The girl clenched her hands. "Hello, my name is Aria Xie. I''m a freshman A.S. Academy''s combat department. I would like to join this dorm''s team!" "Team?" Hana gave her a puzzled look. "What team?" Now it was Aria''s turn to look confused. "Aren''t you the dorm leader?" "Hey! Is this a newcomer!" Renae grinned as she swung an arm around Hana''s shoulders. "You want to enter our dorm team right?" "Renae, what is going on?" Renae widened her eyes. "You don''t know? Hana, you''re the dorm leader!" She worried for the future of their dorm. Hana didn''t seemed to care much about school-life. "Our school allows its students to divide themselves up into unofficial factions through the dorm system. It''s a way to build up rapport between students and we take advantage of it to form connections that will benefit us in the future. The school also allocates certain resources by dorm as well. Please tell me you know this?" Just looking at Hana blank face, Renae could tell she didn''t. "Anyway, it''s common among students to challenge each other for resources. Every dorm as a team that represents them. Teams have the options of challenging each other for resources. However, many challenges are done more for prestige and fame." "This sounds troublesome." "Well, the school encourages it. Apparently competition allows the students to grow." Renae shrugged and glanced at Aria. "Anyway, I''m surprised that you want to join us. Our dorm is relatively unknown and made up of freshman." "In addition, as a member of the Xie family, there''s even less of a reason for you to join Bluewing." Renae summarized. The Xie family was one of the top families and was unparalleled in influence. They controlled their own dorm faction on campus, so it was strange for someone like Aria to show up on their doorstep. Even if she was from a side branch, it was still peculiar. Aria glared at her. "That''s none of your business! I want to join this dorm!" "Oh," Hana finally matched her face. This was the girl she bumped into the first time she came to the dorm! The one that stormed off without a word. "Why do you want to join?" If Hana had to live with this girl, she wanted to make sure it wouldn''t lead to conflict. "All the other dorms don''t allow freshman to be on their active teams. I need to join a new dorm in order to do so." Aria huffed. "Oh, I guess that''s fine if you can get along with everyone else." Hana muttered. It seemed like this girl has here for fame or something along those lines. She outlined the expectations that she told Song Qi and Renae. "If you''re fine with that, then it''s ok with me." Aria agreed instantly and moved in. And with that, the dorm''s residents increased by one. "Will this be ok?" Renae asked as they wanted the girl march up the stairs. Although she didn''t mind increasing the number of dormmates, this Aria seemed a little arrogant. She rolled her eyes. A member of the Xie family through and through. "It should be fine," Hana shrugged. More people in the dorm was also a good thing. It meant she could leave the bakery for them to manage while she did her own things. Ring! The doorbell rang again. Another visitor? Hana sighed as she went to the door again. "Hello Hana, we finally meet!" The boy outside gave her a dazzling grin. "You can call me Lance." 47 Narcissistic Lance Hana was stunned for a second. Mutiple thoughts rushed through her mind. Tamaki Suoh? No, Gilgamesh? Frau . . . wrong color. Why did two people she met today have weird eye or hair colors. It stirred her otaku soul. She coughed. "Who are you?" And why do you know me?? "You don''t know me?" The boy looked at her strangely. "Should I . . . " Hana frowned. This person greeted her so intimately, but she was sure she didn''t know him. If possible, he looked even more offended now. Lance smirked. "My name is Lance Wu. I''m a freshman at A.S Academy. I want to join this dorm." His tone indicated she should feel . . . honored? Happy? If anime was reality, she would see sparkles glistening around him. Hana deadpanned. The first one was prideful. Now comes a narcissistic one . . . annoying person. "Fuck, how come it''s you!" The abnormally loud screech came from behind her. Hana watched in shock as Renae rushed forward, glaring daggers at Lance. "Oh, little Renae is here too!" Lance gave her a teasing look. This was the first time Hana saw Renae''s face turn purple from anger. She looked like she was seconds from pummeling the guy. Who was this guy that made her go OCD? "Absolutely not! You can''t live here! No way! How did you even find this place?" "So mean," Lance mumbled, "Is this how you treat a friend?" Renae snorted. "We are NOT acquainted in any way! Nada! Zilch relationship! Go bother Zhu Xing if you''re feeling antsy. Or your brother." Hana could see him stiffen slightly at the last part."Darling, are you trying to get me killed?" Lance dramatically held his chest. "My heart hurts. How could you forsaken your childhood friend like this?" He shed an invisible tear. "If you were gone, I would gladly send flowers to your grave and throw a big party to celebrate." Gnashing her teech, Renae grabbed Hana''s hand. "Hana, please don''t let him live here. I''ll be drive crazy if I have to live with this thing." "Spare me," Hana said. The antics from these two were exasperating. "Lance was it? I don''t think you can stay here? There are five girls living here, so it''s not convenient for a boy to stay here as well." Lance grinned. "But most dorms are co-ed. And you have plenty of space! There are two wings so girls and boys can live separately, no?" "You want an entire wing to yourself? Dream on!" Renae really wanted to pummel him. Hana frowned. Technically, this was true. The west wing was completely empty right now. They only used the east wing and the common areas. But the problem was that Renae seemed to have a huge grudge against this guy. "I have this too!" Lance handed over a piece of paper for Hana to look at. The deam actually wanted her to cater to his request. Although it wasn''t mandatory, the fact was that she needed a good reason for refusal. "Renae, even if you want chase him away, give a legitimate reason." Hana murmured to her agitated friend. "Reason?" Renae pondered. "Hehe, fine." "Lance, if you want to enter this dorm, you will have to do the work everyone else does. We all have chores like cleaning and organizing and helping out with a bakery. If you want to join, then you have to cook a yummy dinner everyday!" Lance sucked at domestic things. Renae thought that this would surely chase him away. Sure enough, Lance''s face fell. "Cook?" "Yup, it''s not like we have anything against you," Renae nodded, "but all boys who want to enter the dorm will be in charge of meals. So they must be able to cook." Renae was actually lying of course. Hana''s team of Pokemon actually took care of the entire dorm. Especially Gardevoir, who was like a maid, butler, and cook alll in one. Hana didn''t had the heart to stop her roll though. "The dorm has a tight budget so we can''t order food or a cook. And we all miss homemade food." Renae continued adding on to the lie. "You can''re hire anyone else to do it for you either. After all, we don''t hire maids to do our chores." Lance frowned. "Are you sure?" "Yes! If you can cook, I''ll let you in instantly!" Renae exclaimed. Hana just nodded along with Renae. "Fine, I''ll be back." Lance gave them a wink and sauntered off. Renae slammed the door. "Finally, that pest is gone. I swear, if I have to see his face daily, I''ll lose my mind." Hana tapped her fingers thoughtly. That Lance person . . . was suspicious. And somehow, she felt like they have been tricked. ********* "Hey, I got an amazing oppurtunity for you!" Lance bursted into Leo''s study the moment he reached home. Leo didn''t even look up at the sudden entrance. He just continued looking over documents. "Hana Zhao." "What do you mean?" Leo responded quickly. Tsk. Tsk. So you only pay attention to me when I mention her? Lance grinned slyly. "We ¡ª you can live together with her in a dorm. All freshman enter one remember? It''s a good chance to geet closer to her and find out about the antidote." "Dorming?" Leo nodded inwardly. That didn''t seem half-bad. "The end of the month is coming soon." Lance reminded. "What if the next attack is even worst?" The flame poison was a terrible weakness. His eyes darkened at the though of it spreading out. "There are already rumors, brother. We need a solution soon." "Alright, take care of the procedures." Leo agreed. Lance inwardly cheered. Score! Now to add the finishing touches. "Well, we should also hide your identity since we can''t have others knowing about your condition. And you see, it''s about your cooking . . . " He couldn''t wait to see the following months. He predicted that it would be quite exciting. 48 Who Is She? "Elder Lan," Hana greeted. "Ah! Hana, you''ve returned!" Elder Zhao exclaimed. He gave a hearty laugh as he held up a platter of mishapped buns. "I used your suggestions from last time and it worked. I seem to be getting better!" Hana sweatdropped. "If you say so." The dignified elderly man she met weeks ago have completely dropped pretenses with her. After this time, he was like a boisterous grandfather, especially after he met Rina. Hmm, maybe he liked children. Hana nodded thoughfully. Yeah, old people tend to be fond of kids right? Anyway, she left him to his own work while she went to check the counter. There were little customers during this time, except a middle-aged man that had been staring at the bread counter next to her for the last 15 minutes. Maybe it was her misconception, but he seemed a little agitated at the sight of her. As if sensing her uneasiness, he walked over with a dark expression on his face. "Excuse me," The man asked her, "have you seen this person?" He showed her a holographic picture of Elder Lan. "Why do you ask?" Now that she took a closer look at him, he did look vaguely familiar to Elder Lan. And his eyes were purple like hers. Hmm . . . . "As I thought," The man''s eyebrow twitched. Suddenly, he rushed past her. "Hey!" Hana tried to block him, but he easily sidestepped past her. Hana narrowed her eyes. This person is trained, she realized. "FATHER!" The man man burst into the kitchen. "Oh, you found me," Elder Lan muttered. He turned back to kneading the bread. "Well, now you know I''m alive, you can go back!" "Is that the only thing you can say after disappearing for a month?" The man growled. "Do you know how worried everyone was! Feng Jun and Wei Feng have been searching for you everywhere!" Elder Lan snorted. "Worried? I think they were elated instead! Those little punks are probably glad I''m not around to discipline them." "Even so, you should have left a message instead. Running off to . . . bake! Even if you want to fulfill mother''s final wish, you can''t just leave. You''re already 75, please keep that in mind!" "You nag to much, that''s precisely why I didn''t tell you," Elder Lan muttered. He finally noticed Hana standing by the door awkwardly. "Ehem, Hana, this is my son, Ming Feng," Elder Lan introduced. Lan Ming Feng nodded stiffly at her. Hana coughed. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Lan." "Just call me Uncle Lan," he told her gruffly, "do you mind giving us a minute." "Sure, I was just about to leave." Hana quickly fled back to the dorms. This seemed like family drama that she didn''t need to get involved in. "Who is she?" Lan Ming Feng finally asked. "A student," Elder Lan sighed, "that I hired." Lan Ming Feng narrowed his eyes. "Did you get a DNA test?" "What are you saying?" Elder Lan frowned. "Do you think I''m blind?! Her eyes and face! They look just like Xia Ling! Didn''t you approach her for that reason?" Lan Ming Feng exclaimed. His hands trembled with emotion. "She''s her daughter isn''t she?" "Actually, we met by chance," Elder Lan replied, "And she is too old to be Xia Ling''s child. Unless Xia Ling gave birth as a minor." He closed his eyes. "Even so, I raised Xia Ling up myself. With her personality and skills, do you think she can raise up a child that big? Moreover, that girl has a younger sister." "Her purple eyes are irrefutable evidence. They are a symbol of our lineage!" Lan Ming Feng argued. "They''re not even the right shade! Just let it go. I told you, Xia Ling is dead!" The old man erupted. Lan Ming Feng gave him a stony look. "You may have given up on her, but I haven''t! Xia Ling is my sister. Even if I have to search until I''m one step into the grave, I will find her!! Even if its her dead body!" He turned around. "Remember to come back soon or I''ll drag you back." "You brat! Are you trying to anger me to death!" Elder Lan closed his eyes. Xia Ling''s disappearance was a scar for their entire family. Over the years, he had given up on this daughter that disappeared. This eldest son of his always clashed against his will when it came to his little sister. But over the years, he had already steeled his heart. Elder Lan shut his eyes. Xia Ling, will you resent me for giving up on you? 49 The Complete System As Hana walked about to the dorm, she couldn''t help but think about Lan Ming Feng. That man, his eyes were the same shade as Rina. If one took a closer look, her eyes only looked similar to Rina''s, Rina''s was slightly lighter than hers. If could be a deviance in genetics, but who knows. Hmm, could that guy be Rina''s real father? To be fair, when she thought about it, neither of them really took after the father in her memories. The memories of the few years she spent in the Zhao family were extremely vague. As a child, she rarely interacted with either parent. However, it was clear the relationship between the parents was not harmonious since her so called father had an affair. It wouldn''t be a surprise if the mother cheated. Ah, adult affairs were quite complicated. Hana quickly shook her head. It was useless to think about these things. Hmm, maybe she should go clear a dungeon to loosen up? Suddenly, various messages interrupted her train of thought. "The hell?" Her vision was flooded by new messages from the system. [System has restarted] [Host has met the minimum requirements of the system. Host has been recognized as an genuine otaku. Initializing . . . ] [Welcome back host] [You have received a introductory package] [You have unlocked Status window] [You have unlocked the shop] [You have unlocked the forum] [You have unlocked the trading room] Hana widened her eyes. Was this what the system was talking about last time? "System?" [Congratulations to the host on completing the trial phase] My god, even the system''s voice changed. It now sounded like an anime girl. [Would the host like a tutorial of the added features?] "Yes." [Welcome to the Otaku Card System. Created by the system administrator, the system is designed to bring joy and connect anime and manga lovers across thousands of dimensions. You are the 10,000,000,000 person to join our family. Congratulations! The new status window has been unlocked.] [ Name: Hana Zhao (Level 5) Experience: 0/1000 Cards in Storage: (Total: 13) Creature: Gardevoir, Gengar, Vulpix, Absol, Charmeleon, Monferno, Glaceon, Zorua Weapon: Hyorinmaru, Phantasmagoria:?Gaea Foundation Innate: Firedragonslayer Body (Active) Skill: N/A Special: Gale Force reading glasses, Opera cake, Luck Draw Draws Available: 2 (You have 1 unopened package) Otaku Points: 0 ] "Hmm, so I can now track my level growth. Good." Hana mumbled. "Continue." [You have unlocked the shop feature! You may buy cards in all categories from the shop. The shop also offers anime and manga for purchase. The shop uses the system currency Otaku Points.] "I can buy anime?!" Hana gulped. Oh god, how much did she miss her anime and manga! Does that mean she could finally see her beloved again! But how to get points? She stared dreamily at the large selection available. Very nice, and it seems up to date. [You have unlocked the forum feature! The forum is designed for system users to interact with each other. Your username HANA will appear everything you make a comment. The forum is also an announcement page for system contests and raffles. That is the primary source of Otaku Points] "Oh, this is interesting as well. This seems to be modeled after popular social media platforms." Hana briefly scrolled down the various discussion threads. [Selling junk cards by points! Send in requests now.] [Does anyone remember the plot line of Fate/Grand Order? Help a fellow friend out please!] [Dummy''s Guide to Using Chakra] [Looking for a music ability card. Willing to trade two of the same rarity. Please contact ASAP] Hana felt slightly overwhelmed, but also extremely excited. This forum would be very handy for her. If she drew a card from an anime she didn''t know, she could ask on the forum for help! [You have unlocked the trading feature! You can now send and receive trade requests from other system users for cards. Many users also use this as a gifting feature and a way to track friends.] "This is fantastic." [The card description also has been completed. See the sample below] [ Name: Hyorinmaru (Shikai) Type: Weapon Rarity: Legend Anime: Bleach Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 80% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 5 ] "Assimilation factor?" Hana murmured. "Affinity? Rarity?" [Affinity is determined by your knowledge of the card, how often you use the card, and how well you use the card. Affinity gives a basic idea of how well the card fits you and can rise over time. Once affinity is full, you can be considered to have mastered the card. Assimilation factor is how much you will be affected using the card. As you may have noticed, cards can change your appearance, habits, and even personality. The assimilation factor is assigned on a scale from 1- 10. Rarity of cards are determined by the system and are ranked from: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, God] Hana nodded. The new features were very nice. Now then, let''s open the intro pack. "System, open the package! In addition, use luck draw and draw 2 times." The familiar drawing wheel appeared. [Host as drawn the following: Genius Setting x1 Baal x1 Mega Evolution x1 Roman artillery: pumpkin x1 Host has received an introductory package with randomized theme . . . ninja. 50% of receiving ninja themed cards. Host has received the following: Water walk x1 Tree walk x1 Omni-direction gear x1 Grasshopper x1 Evolution x1 ] Hana watched in satisfaction as her storage was spammed with new cards. Hell yes! "Um excuse me, are you ok?" A voice interrupted her reverie, bring her back to the present. Hana realized she was still on the street. To random passerby, it seemed like she was staring into nothing with a grin on her face. Hana quickly rushed back to her dorm room. "That was embarrassing," she muttered. "Now, let''s take a closer look at these cards." _______________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Water Walk Type: Skill Rarity: Common Anime: Naruto Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 90% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 0 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Tree Walk Type: Skill Rarity: Common Anime: Naruto Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 90% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 0 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Omni-direction Gear [Infinite] Type: Special Rarity: Rare Anime: Attack on Titan Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 40% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Grasshopper Type: Skill Rarity: Common Anime: World Trigger Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 5% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Perfect Setting Type: Skill Rarity: Legendary Anime: Haikyuu Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 10% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Baal Type: Weapon Rarity: Legendary Anime: Magi Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 60% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 6 Note: May the djinns be with you ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Evolution Type: Special Rarity: Common Anime: None Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: N/A Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: N/A ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Mega Evolution Type: Special Rarity: Common Anime: None Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: N/A Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: N/A ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Roman artillery: Pumpkin Type: Weapon Rarity: Legendary Anime: Akame Ga Kill Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 80% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 6 Note: This is neither roman nor related to pumpkins, weird. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana scrolled through the new cards. There were many that were foreign to her. Hmm, first let''s use the evolution card. If I combine both the evolution cards to Charmeleon, I should get Charizard, Hana thought. A dragon. [Please select X or Y] "Nice, there''s even an option!" Hana went for X. A black dragon is definitely less eye-catching than an orange one. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Charizard X [Mega-Evolved] Type: Creature Rarity: Epic Anime: Pokemon Affinity [Calculated by knowledge, use, and skill]: 75% Assimilation Factor [How the card will affect the user]: 0 Note: This is neither roman nor related to pumpkins, weird. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana smiled. She decided to use Charizard exclusively for when she went out in disguise. It would be better than using her regular Pokemon, since she used them too often normally. Now, she just needed to practice with her new cards. 50 The Entrance Ceremony A.S. Academy didn''t assign school uniforms like her high school. Therefore, Hana dressed more comfortably. Her long hair was tied up as usual, and her face framed by red glasses. She wore dark cargo pants, and a cropped jacket over her dark tank top. Baal, in the form of a dagger, was strapped at waist level behind her back. "Hana, me and Song Qi are leaving. Let''s meet up after!" Renae yelled from downstairs. "Got it!" It was finally the time to start school. Hana sighed. Beside her, everyone in the dorm was combat department. Since the entrance ceremony separated the two departments by seating, she had to enter from a different area. "Ok Gardevoir, use Teleport on me." As multicolored light surrounded her, Hana felt the world spin before she found herself before the gates of the school. Around her, students flocked in groups, chatting loudly. "Please head toward the auditorium in an orderly fashion!" Senior students with red armbands yelled, attempting to keep order. Hana blended into the crowd, keeping with the wave of people. Within the massive auditorium building, the chatter of people became distinctively louder. Because the academic department took up the second floor seats, Hana had a good view of the stage and people below. Judging from the number of people, it seemed like the combat department was larger, almost two times more seats were filled. The lights dimmed. Soon, a pair of messy haired twins walked onstage. Their clothes were rumpled and eyes hidden, but there was no hiding the powerful aura emitting from them. At their appearance, the loud voices tone downed to whispers. "Shit! Why is the Tempest Duo is still in school?" "I heard that they should be guarding the front lines with their father. So much for that rumor. I wouldn''t have applied if I knew the demon twins were still here." Hana sweat-dropped as the people around her broke into fervent whispers. It seems like these two people were rather notorious. "Shut up fresh meat" Two singsong voices were echoed into the microphone, turning the hall dead silent. "Ah, much better." The twin on the left grinned as he propped an arm on the stand. "Well, I''m sure most of you know who we are. If ya don''t, well, I''m sure you will by the time you finish the first year. You''ll be seeing us lots of course." He laughed. "We are in charge of discipline this year," the second twin interjected. "So basically, we have to keep you brats in line. So don''t misbehave, or we''ll take care of you." He let out an innocent smile. "There''s not much time left for us, so let''s welcome the principal." Hana watched the twins links hands. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind blew forth. Like a tornado, it swept through the bottom floor in a flash. The students below broke into shrieks. The twins vanished among the chaos, and the wind disappeared like it never happened. "Well, that''s dramatic," Hana mumbled. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" The principal had arrived. Behind him, an entourage of elders also appeared. Hana could see a few familiar faces from her admittance exam. "As many of you know, I am the principal of A.S. Academy, Lim Yi Feng. It is my great pleasure to welcome your all to the beginning of the 20XX school year. Every student has all worked hard to come this far, and you should be proud of your achievements. This summer, there were over a thousand students accepted as freshman. Especially within the combat department, there was a record high of students accepted. In fact, the number of students accepted this semester is more than double of those in previous years. In recent years, the number of talented awakened youngsters has skyrocketed. You are part of a jewel generation, a generation of tigers and dragons. This also means the competition will become much greater. As many know, competition is imbedded in the culture of our academy. Students drive each other to improve and push beyond their limits. Our society, despite the current status quo, is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface. It is here, that you will gain the knowledge and skills to improve, aid, and survive in the real world. A.S Academy is one of the oldest institutions . . . " Hana drifted along the middle of the speech. ''Ah, this is extremely boring,'' she sighed. She began to observe more of her fellow students instead. Below, it was easy to see the divisions among students. A large group dressed in dark clothes. The leader was the black haired girl in the center. Hana could see the girl''s emotionless red eyes as she turned to speak to the boy behind her. And she should see Aria Xie looking anxiously, no, enviously at the group. Interesting. A smaller boy was being bullied by the taller people around him. She could see Song Qi and Renae muttering in the east. A girl with silver hair sat paying full attention to the speech like an honor student. " . . . and finally, I would like to give special regards to this years two Alpha students, Xie Bai Zhuang and Zhao Hana!" Hana blinked in surprise. Too high profile, her name was announced. And someone else''s was too. The principal smiled. "It is rare for an Alpha student to be accepted in the first place. But this year, we have one in each department. I look forward to seeing how everyone will improve in the following year. Congratulations to you all, and welcome to A.S. Academy!" After the ceremony, students spilled out onto campus. Classes began the next day. The first day was meant for students to mingle and familiarize themselves with campus. "Hana!" In the quad, Song Qi and Renae waved her over. "I''m so glad it''s over. I nearly fell asleep during the speech." Renae complained. "Let''s get some food!" Hana was about to agree, but her instincts roared. Her dagger flashed behind her, diverting the blade heading toward her head past her ear. "Not bad." A sneering drawl. Hana stared coldly at the boy holding the sword. "What is the meaning of this?" "What else could it be? It''s a challenge of course." The boy smirked. "The Phoenix Coalition is challenging Bluewing to a dorm duel." 51 Virtual Challenge "Of course, it will be a virtual duel on Skynet!" The boy said. He sneered. "Frankly, I have no idea why a student from the academic department can be given Alpha status?" He waved a hand at the growing crowd around them and raised his voice. "I''m sure I''m not the only one curious about this? There has never been an Alpha class student from the nerd department after all. I''m sure Miss Zhao wouldn''t mind humoring us to a demonstration of your capabilities." "Hey, who cares what department Hana is from?" Renae pushed herself forward. "What are you implying you bastard. Say it again to my face!" "Calm down," Song Qi stopped Renae from waving her fists. However, her expression was guarded as she looked at the boy. Hana observed the numerous eyes on their group. The situation was pushing them to fight. She had felt these judging gazes before. People sizing her up. "You two must be from her dorm too? Perfect, let''s have a three on three. Take your pick of opponents." The boy gestured behind him. There was a small group of about 30 boys loitering by the stairs. "The atmosphere around them practically screams delinquents," Hana muttered. "Renae, what do you think?" Renae huffed. "The Phoenix Coalition is a newly formed dorm. Most of their levels are B and C, hardly a threat. To most of the older dorms, they''re practically upstarts. They probably want to use us as a stepping stone to boost their reputation. While Bluewing is a dorm with history and prestige, it hasn''t been active for many years. It''s an ideal target for them and many other fledging dorms." She coughed. "Plus they probably see the dorm leader as another weakling. The academic department isn''t exactly, uh, as respected." "I see," Hana frowned, "how troublesome. Then, are you two ok with a fight?" The two girls nodded. Hana smirked. "Good, then let''s make a statement so this doesn''t happen again." "Hey, are you done?" The boy scowled at them impatiently. "Yeah, let''s do it," Hana said. In the end, everyone ended up at the training center. The smart assistant quickly took care of the proceedings, and soon a notification popped up in front of her. [Dorm Duel: Bluewing VS Phoenix Coalition Duel Number: 01 Time: 2:00 p.m. Stake: 50% annual dorm resources ] Hana signed her name swiftly. "Heh, not even gonna negotiate the stakes?" The boy grinned as he agreed. "Your loss." "We''ll see." [The battle has been approved between dorms leaders Hana Zhao and Fu Yin. Please confirm the number of participants.] "Hey, you made a mistake. There''s an extra zero." Fu Yin pointed out. "It''s not a mistake," Hana''s gaze pierced through him. "We''ll take you all one, 3 vs 30." "Are you crazy?" Fu Yin gaped at her. "Boss, if they''re looking to lose, who cares," one of the boys muttered. "Fuck, you idiot. It''ll look like we bullied them by numbers. That breaks the who purpose of the battle." Fu Yin gritted his teeth. "How sly. We''ll come out looking like hooligans who bullied three girls. How will be change our image in the future?" Hana, with her enhanced hearing, sweat-dropped. So they were aware that they looked sketchy? "Boss, who cares, just think about the resources. We can always fix up the loose ends afterwards?" Fu Yin growled. "Fine." He regained his arrogant look. "If you want to die faster, who am I to stop you?" He scribbled his assent. [Confirmed. Participants, please commence to you assigned pods. The battle will begin in 15 minutes.] "Hana, are you planning to do ~that~ plan?" Renae asked as they prepared. Even though they were outnumbered, she didn''t look worried. "Yeah, let''s test it out," Hana said. "However, if the environment is not suitable, then we''ll do something else." "You got it," Renae laughed. "If you didn''t show us your newest artifact, I''d be worried. But now, I''m laughing at those idiots giving us free resources." Song Qi nodded. "Their pride will be their downfall." "Hehe, if the lamb walks itself into the wolf''s den, who are we to stop them," Renae giggled as she climbed into the virtual pod. "See you on the other side." Hana moved herself into her pod as well. The technological advancements here were commendable. The sleek white virtual pod was able to scan her entire being and abilities, transferring her to a virtual space. It was terrible effective for training and mock battles. People could fight to their hearts content since pain was reduced 50% and no one could die. The computer automatically simulates and calculates damage. Hana mentally prepared herself for the oncoming battle. Outside, hovering drones projected massive holographic screens around the college. The loudspeakers blasted out as well. "Hey hey hey, guess what, it''s your friendly AI announcer EVA." On the screens, a blue holographic girl greeted the world with a smile. "Welcome to A.S. Academy freshman. I am the official announcer (unofficial mascot) of the academy. As many of you explore the campus, you may find the urge to follow the tradition of challenging other dorms to duels. Today, I''ll be hosting freshman dorm duels until midnight. Now, let''s see the very first dorm duel of the semester, Bluewing versus Phoenix Coalition. If you somehow miss the battle, remember all battles today will be recorded on the school website. The battle will begin in 5 minutes. Stay tuned!" The crowds of new students erupted upon seeing the screens. Bets flew as many turned their attention to the screens. Among the older students, many stopped paying attention to lessons and opened their laptops to size up their juniors. "Brother, look EVA is announcing already." In an abandoned classroom, two twins leaned against the open window, watching the holographic screens. The boys smirked. "Let''s see if we find can find some interesting toys this year."