Chương 76: (B2) Chapter 3 - I hate you

The magical city passed by in a blur of motion and light. Leah sat beside him, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor. They were currently sitting in something that resembled a train, only it didn't have any tracks and instead used magnetic fields to move. A number of them ran through the city, especially between the housing districts and the inner sections, moving people efficiently from one place to another.

It was a piece of engineering humanity hadn't quite reached yet, emphasized by the fact that no one needed to man them and they seemed to run on a perfect schedule, all while traveling at speeds that would easily outpace a bullet train. Ethan had opted to avoid using one on his way to Leah. He had wanted the walk. Time to clear his head. Time to go over everything. But now that he was sitting in it, watching how fast they cut through the city, he was starting to think that might not have been the best decision.

It would have saved him a lot of time. Not that it mattered anymore. He let out a quiet breath, his gaze still fixed outside. It had been a good walk regardless. Seeing the city properly, instead of the blur it had become now, had been worth it. He had also used the time to organize his plans. The immediate was to level up. Being in the late twenties wasn't going to cut it anymore. He really needed to reach his next class evolution sooner rather than later.

By that time, he should be powerful enough to head out and get his new cultivation manual that was hopefully patiently waiting for him. And then, of course, he still had to set up his guild, which also required him to get recruiting. He had a few ideas for who, but that was less important. After all, he had a couple years on this level, plenty of time to grow his power and prepare for the more dangerous levels. He had set his foundation, and Ethan felt it was far more solid than his previous one.

In fact, him now compared to who he used to be wasn't even slightly the same person. And Ethan was glad for it. He looked again at Leah tapping her foot.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"The tapping," he stated. To tell the truth, it had started to irritate him. The train ride wasn't even that long. Though he could understand how frustrating it must have been to wait for her class upgrade. Ethan wasn't so sure he would have waited if he were in her position. Leah looked down at her leg that seemed to involuntarily be moving. She rested her hand on her thigh, but the tapping increased. She looked up with a sly smile.

"Sorry, can't help it." She definitely could. Ethan knew she could. Their stats were far too high for something so mundane. They both had way too much control over their bodies now. She likely understood this as well because she continued.

"It's what you get for making me wait."

"It wasn't intentional," he replied, trying to block out the noise, which was basically impossible with [Keen Sense] active. But there was no way he would be deactivating the skill. Not with so many people around and while being in a new environment. Even if he knew Nexus was supposed to be pretty safe. Especially with the Concord here to keep order and the guilds in check.

"I know," Leah responded.

"It still sucks though. You've left me to deal with the Broken Dawns and others trying to poach me." Ethan snorted.

"Yeah, I heard how that went. Sounds like you had it well under control." He turned, looking back out the window to avoid her annoying tapping. A smaller island was floating up high in the sky.

"What did you think of their offer?"

"To join them?"

"No. Not to join them. To run dungeons." Leah chuckled before becoming more serious.

"I thought you wanted to move on from here?"

"I do," Ethan said with a shrug.

"But I also need to run some dungeons. I guess the question is really if me and you should run some together or if you should join up with another party and I'll enter some higher-leveled ones."

"I see," Leah responded.

"I want to go with another party." Ethan looked back at her. She had stopped tapping.

"Why?"

"I think it's needed," she responded immediately.

"I think it will be good for me," she added in a quieter voice. Ethan watched her for a moment. He would be lying if he said he would rather run lower-leveled dungeons with her. It would be far slower, but above all else, it would be boring. Ethan was ready for a proper challenge. Something to push his abilities to the brink. Something to make his blood boil and his fighting spirit ignite. So far, he hadn't really had that. He had had tough challenges, sure.

But he hadn't had a life-and-death scenario, not since the Demon King. And though he was loath to admit it, Ethan was extremely comfortable while in those scenarios. He had lived them for the last twenty years, after all. Leah also seemed to want something different, though he wasn't sure if she was doing that for him or for herself. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"We can do whatever you want," Ethan responded.

"I'm happy to run dungeons with you and also more powerful ones on the side." Leah shook her head.

"No. Let's see what the Broken Dawns have to offer. If it doesn't work out, I can always leave them and join back up with you." Ethan nodded just as an artificial voice rang out over the speaker.

"Now arriving in Downtown." Leah looked at Ethan expectantly. He stood.

"Let's go get your new class." Leah smiled and stood with him. Both of them noticeably didn't have anything with them, courtesy of Ethan's new storage item. Mia, true to her word, had delivered. The necklace wrapped around his neck now held everything he owned. He could now summon whatever he needed in the blink of an eye. And the space itself wasn't too bad, sitting at around forty square feet, or roughly the size of a small room. Still, Ethan had his entire armor on, including the helmet.

Something he had decided to keep on even if he didn't exactly need it. The slight lack of vision was no real issue for him, especially with [Keen Sense], though he did receive a few looks. But it wasn't anywhere near as bad compared to Highrocks, where people were fresh into the trials and didn't understand how much things had changed. At least here, people could see the appeal of full plated armor. Ethan had even seen a few like-minded individuals, though they lacked his grace—and his greatsword.

He exited the train, falling into traffic as others also sought to enter Downtown. As he stepped back outside, Leah moved beside him. She looked around at all the moving bodies, some even garbed in full adventurer wear, likely heading to one of the local dungeons.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing him forward. Ethan watched as people moved past each other with practiced ease. This was like a battlefield he hadn't stepped foot in for a long time.

"Why me?" Leah looked him up and down before snorting.

"Fair," Ethan responded, stepping forward and into the chaos. Despite his initial worry, it turned out if you wore full plate, most people would be pretty keen to get out of your way, so Ethan and Leah exited the platform relatively easily, only accidentally bumping a few people, though it was more their fault than Ethan's. When they reached the monolith, it took Ethan's breath away. Unlike the ones at settlements on the first level, the Nexus Monolith was massive, easily the size of a building.

The massive crystal burst up out of the ground without a care in the world, its light blue color reflecting the midday sun, casting glaring light down on everyone below. Ethan shielded his eyes, looking away.

"Go on then," he stated. Leah didn't respond and instead moved forward. He watched as she fell in line with the others, though there was plenty of space to make contact with the monolith. He purposely had avoided talking about her class again and decided to leave it completely up to her. He would never opt to force something on her and instead had found it far better to just guide her however he could. Which meant he would explain when she asked and give advice when she would let him.

He didn't, however, want to feel like he was dictating her life, something he was beginning to realize could become a rather large problem. Even if he knew Leah wasn't someone who would follow blindly and instead would create her own way if she felt she needed to. So he waited and prayed his words had gotten through to her. Blade Dancer was an extremely powerful class, and although Ethan wasn't some expert at devising classes, even he could see the synergy between Blade Dancer and [Wayfinder].

If he could coax her into using the skill during combat, the potential was limitless. However, he hadn't been lying when he said the other classes were great options. Any of the Scout upgrades could have worked, though the number one problem he had with them was the lack of attack skills she could learn. At least with Blade Dancer, she would get a powerful limited class-only skill. Leah placed her hand on the crystal, and he immediately noted the faraway look one takes on when they enter the system.

He watched, feeling a little anxious, until finally her hand fell away and she looked back at him with a broad smile. Ethan couldn't help but return it, even if she couldn't see his face. She broke away from the crystal and walked back over to him, her steps noticeably lighter.

"So?" he asked.

"I took Skirmisher," Leah stated. Ethan felt his stomach drop. He looked at her for a long moment, trying his best to hold it in. But it was impossible—how could she be so stupid?

"Why—""I'm just fucking with you," Leah cut in.

"I took Blade Dancer." Ethan paused, letting out a breath and narrowing his eyes at Leah.

"Thank God."

"I know, right? Ethan, it sounds like an amazing class. You should have seen the skills I was offered!" Ethan nodded along but looked around.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Tell me when there's no one around." Leah followed his gaze.

"Why would anyone be listening in? There's thousands of people around." Ethan shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry." They moved away and ended up stopping at a small food joint stationed by the train platform. It was tucked down an alley and surprisingly quiet. Once seated and with food on the way, Leah finally told him.

"It's called [Silent Draw], I'll read it out for you." Silent Draw Allows instantaneous draw speed, converting it into a powerful strike. Ethan looked at her for a solid minute. Food got placed down in front of them. Leah picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

"Ethan?" He finally broke out of his trance and looked at the smugness radiating off her as she ate her lunch.

"Fuck you."