How To Survive A Calamity

....

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[Type:- Survival

Name:- Quest to becoming Stronger

Description:- Challenge the number one student of your year to a duel.

Duration:- ...

Rewards:- +1 instant level up!

Penalty:- ...]

===

[Ding! Quest clear conditions have been met;

-Challenge the number one student of your year (Ceres) to a duel.

-Survive a duel.]

[Ding! Quest reward(s) have been distributed.]

- +1 instant level up [Lvl33 >> Lvl34]

[Ding! You have leveled up! Lvl323--> Lvl34!]

[You have grown stronger.]

===

...

I woke up to the system notification screen hanging in front of my eyes a while ago.

[You have grown stronger.]

The familiar string of words which i haven't heard or seen in a while appeared before me like a distant dream.

Maybe it was because of that; a transient feeling of fulfilment and power rejuvenated through my body.

As the unmistakeable sensation of leveling up spread throughout my being, i raised in a breath and sighed.

'Finally.' this was the first substantial progress i had made in weeks and even months.

Leveling up was really hard.

Especially when i had to do so without gaining experience from hunting down monsters or beasts.

The ironic thing was, i had high speed talent than an average Awakened for leveling up, but it was also what made leveling up harder and more arduous for me.

I placed a hand to my chest.

I'm not sure and I might just be imagining it but, perhaps it's because I've come one more step closer to ranking up, i feel like I've made a significant boost and increase in my power.

Was that it?

I was now level 34, one more step away from a breakthrough.

But the single level up seemed to do amazing wonders for me.

It's either that or I'm getting high from leveling up after so long.

I glanced around the seemingly empty infirmary one more time and decided to get up.

Since i was brought here to have my wounds treated immediately after the conclusion of the duel, i was wearing a plane coloured clinic gown, and my bare torso underneath was covered and wrapped with bandages.

The bedsheets ruffled as i moved slowly and my toes touched the cold, sterile ground. Then i stripped down out of the plain clinic gown to get a better look at my body and examine my new condition.

My lean build was cut after years of intensive training that it would almost be hard to believe ot was the body of a 16 ywar old kid. Whenever i put on the Academy's uniform blazer, i appeared even leaner than i actually was. But underneath my skin were tight rolls of compact muscles and power.

I glanced down at my arms and form.

'My body feels a bit lighter too.'

And did my wounds just heal a bit more as well?

If this was my delusion, then my mind was admittedly adept at deceiving itself.

'No, I'm almost very certain that I've developed certain changes after leveling up.' it was like an instinctive feeling. The changes weren't that significant or apparent, but I could clearly feel i was better than when i woke up this morning.

The last time i broke through a rank all those years ago was sudden and out of the blue. Back then, i didn't have the luxury of fully experiencing the gradual process or change like this.

'Just the purgatorial pain that came with it.'

Because of that, i wasn't able to fully experience the exhilaration of reaching the final levels of a rank before breakthrough.

'I wonder if it would have felt like this?' as i clenched and unclenched my fist, i thought.

Regardless, it wasn't a bad feeling. It was something i could get used to.

Inadvertently, a sigh ended up pressing on my lips.

I was greatfull for the level up quest in the end.

As i was examining my bandaged body, i suddenly realised something. It was a vague and instinctive feeling. It was like a suffocating fog had finally been lifted around me, and a tall looming ceiling that stood above me had finally been revealed.

But this time, the ceiling didn't seem so unreachable and distant as it once was.

'I can feel it.'

i reached out my arm towards the looming ceiling slowly.

'My breakthrough isn't too far off now.'

The +1 instant level up...

With this, my long lasting bottleneck had been shattered.

***

I couldn't sit still after that.

I decided i had to actively examine the extent of the changes and the influence the instant level up caused in my body.

I stepped into a wide sparring area of the training hall and activated one of the numerous golems.

It's bright red eyes beamed to life, as it's joints produced mechanical noise and rotation. The almost terrifying looking dummy stood uop straight with it's arm gripping a broad sword.

The training golems provided in the hall were versatile and could be modified however one wishes. Rather than a broad sword, i could make mine wield a spear, or a bow instead. It was designed to be specialised in a wide range of different weapons and techniques to accommodate for the different styles.

The fact it held a long sword upon my arrival spoke about its previous challenger.

But rather than go through the meager process of switching, i just let mine continue to wield its sword.

And i too.

I casual strolled up to a section of the wall which served as a weapon rack and pulled out a training sword.

It was a typical long sword, but one with a blunt blade. But it still hurt and could cause enough damage when handled in the right way.

As i pulled out the sword, i performed a few random swings through the air to get accustomed to it's weight and form in my hands.

'Hmm feels strange. As expected, i really am more better suited with weilding a spear now or a bow after all these years.'

Over the last year that went by, i had decided to spread my weapon experience to swordsmanship.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Of course a year wasn't enough for me to become a master of anything.

'In the end i only learned the foundation basics and fundamentals of swordsmanship.'

But to me, that was enough.

It was already hard and tricky mastering two ore more different types of weapons. My basics with the bow and spear was stronger than with the sword because of the number of years of experience.

And then there's also the [Lock On] skill that raises my proficiency and aim with projectile, to long range weapons.

Since i was going to spar with a golem in the training hall, i didn't bother wearing a shirt while coming and stood half naked with my bandaged torso and plain baggy clinic pants.

The Golem's default settings were somewhere around what a basic to mid Mortal ranked Cadet could handle.

But of course, i turned it up and raised its difficulty.

...to somewhere around a low, basic Eta rank.

-Whirr!

The gears of the golems roared as the modified settings were registered.

Immediately, the golem began to move.

It pulverized the ground and sharply leaned forward with its great blade raised.

I took two calm steps forward and pointed my long sword in front of me then twisted.

Blades clashed and locked against each other as i succeeded in sealing the jount movements in the Golems arm which held the broad sword.

And then...

-Clank!

With a small flick of my wrist, i disarmed the dummy and thrust straight into it's right shoulder, permanently sealing It's arm in place.

The large broad blade of the broad sword spun in the air and clattered to the ground with a loud sound. Soon only silence prevailed in the training hall after.

In a single move, the spar was over.

"This is..."

My blank expression rippled as my eyes widened with a tinge of amazement.

The golem...it was slow.

Its actions and movements had seemed so sluggish enough for me to not feel even the slightest bit threatened by it's hulking size and force.

After deactivating the Golem, i withdrew my sword and stared at it with a silent appreciation.

"That single level up is crazy."

Level 34; the peak of the Mortal ranks.

No. My peak Mortal Rank was...

I glanced back at the Golem.

...i was on par with a low level Eta rank.

No, judging from what just happened, i was clearly slightly more stronger and faster.

My lips curled to a slight smile.

Ether blessing and the four weeks spent in the dungeon of Laplace toning my body inside the aether geyser; this was my advantage.

I required four times the normal amount of energy and experience to level up and get stronger, but possess slightly more elevated power than my peers. Enough so to slightly even almost transcend the borders of ranks.

But that was still something yet to fully tell.

Facing a mindless training dummy and an actual experienced warrior in a spar was very different. The outcome could have also be different.

But regardless, the was definitely a significant increase in my abilities.

After such a victory and revelation, i got too excited.

If i could match up against a basic Eta rank power while stil a Mortal rank, i wondered how far the chnage in my body went and cranked up the difficulty level further a bit.

-Basic Hero rank.

Two ranks ahead of me, and even transcending the realms and classes.

This time, too...

I was obliterated.

-Bam!

The ferocious sounds of blade and that of the dummy clashing one last time reverberated powerfully as i was flung away through the air like a ragdoll.

I crashed and rolled against the ground, feeling my injuries crunch and my body thrub.

That was the third round i had lost so pathetically.

"Kurk! As expected, it's still a bit too much for the current me and my injuries." I groaned as i rose to my feet.

I still intended to clash again with the dummy, just like always, until it was finally time for the hall to be closed.

Alex's words cautioning me about avoiding the training room while i was still wounded didn't even occur to me as i stood covered in my own sweat, my chest heaving heavily.

But then while i was intently focused on the golem indifferently standing before and preparing to take a stance—

-Step -Step.

Someone else arrived into the hall, their light steps diverting my attention slightly.

I casually cast a fleeting gaze towards the entrance while i gave the silent command for the Golem to begin it's attack at me.

'Is it the caretaker again?' for a moment i thought maybe the caretaker had come once more to force me to leave again.

But the one who showed up and appeared instead made my body freeze and stiffen for a moment.

Meanwhile, the golem charged at me and instantly covered the distance and unsympathetically smashed it's blade against me, sending me flying to the ground yet again.

This time, i rolled, groaned, but paid no attention to the dummy and instead continued to stare at the entrance with a strained expression.

'What is she doing here?'

Rank 1 Ceres Walker stared coldy at me.