chapter2 · 022-ep22

Episode 22: Level 10

A week had passed since the video about Jobs.

In other words.

The Awakener Development Program, running twice a week, had entered its fifth week.

Put in numbers, that's a little startling.

Makes you go, it's been that long already?

Early on, every single trip to the facility had me thinking "huge" or "very government of them," but by this point I'd gotten somewhat used to it.

Somewhat.

No — not fully used to it.

Well, obviously?

Ordinary high school life, and then twice a week, Awakener training suddenly slots itself in.

Getting used to that would be the broken part.

Just —

I couldn't deny that my senses were creeping, little by little, toward that "broken" side.

Combat drills.

Fundamental training.

The sense of distance between me and the Intermediate members.

All of that had gotten far more natural than at the start.

At the very least, better than the days when walking into the meeting room had me internally groaning, "This is way too much of an away game..."

Better, but not a made-friends kind of story.

"Faces I didn't know" turned into "faces I recognized." That's the extent of it.

But even that alone makes a real difference.

Incidentally, over the weeks since the program started, naturally, I'd been hunting achievements too.

The problem was, the achievements the current me could plausibly take in ordinary daily life were more limited than I'd thought.

Do such-and-such inside a dungeon.

Do such-and-such against a monster.

Do such-and-such in a specific environment.

Those conditions are dead on arrival the moment you're outside.

So what can be taken outside?

Thinking that, I searched my achievements list — and there were a few plausible candidates.

【C: Check your own Status for 90 days in a row　Current: 53 days】

【B: Unlock 10 different achievements　Current: 7/10】

【C: Perform a cumulative total of 10,000 jump actions　Current: 842/10000】

【B: During combat, withstand impacts above a certain magnitude without breaking posture, for a cumulative total of 1000 times　Current: 117/1000】

These, I've been quietly grinding.

First: check your Status ninety days in a row.

That one, well, fair enough.

Fair, but long.

Thinking that one forgotten day ends it all gives it genuine tension.

Currently at fifty-three days, for the record.

Next: the unlock ten different achievements one.

This is just an achievement for getting achievements.

Meta, huh.

But no — it's easy to grasp.

Take ten achievements I haven't taken yet.

Currently seven.

Three to go.

Close-ish, and yet far.

Or rather, my current seven is the result of grabbing every gettable achievement in sight, so these last three are seriously brutal.

And: a cumulative hundred thousand jump actions.

Current count, eight hundred forty-two.

Let me say it one more time.

The goal is a hundred thousand.

Far.

Just plain too far.

A few little hops around home wasn't a drop in the bucket — it was a spritz from a plant mister on a hot stone.

Last: in combat, withstanding impacts above a certain magnitude without breaking posture, a cumulative thousand times.

This one probably pairs well with Posture Control+.

It does pair well.

In fact, the count has ticked up several times mid-drill.

Currently a hundred seventeen.

The thing is, conditionally, you have to take the impact.

Meaning: get punched, or get kicked, or very nearly get launched.

It's telling me to go through that a thousand times.

My achievements list does try to kill me sometimes, you know.

In other words, one thing these weeks made clear.

Long-haul achievements like these are best ground out steadily, for sure.

Since there's no knowing who out there has even noticed achievements, let alone works on them, all I can do is safely, steadily stack.

Whoa, that derailed hard.

Not that I'm talking to anyone, but.

Well, all that aside —

today's menu was combat drills.

Sparring, in essence.

The thing I'd done with Rio on day one.

"Looking forward to it, Ren-kun."

I looked at the opponent in front of me and let out a small breath before I could stop it.

Well — given how things have been trending lately, I'd had a feeling.

I'd had a feeling. But still.

Fujigaya Rio.

You again.

No — well, I had figured it was about that time.

We hadn't been matched once in these five weeks, after all.

Also, is it not straight-up bizarre for this guy to be in Intermediate?

I mean, he's over Level 10, right?

He has a Job, right?

He's actively doing dungeon expeditions, supposedly.

"Supposedly" — he literally said "off to an expedition" during the program.

The feeling is there, naturally.

But of course, none of it can be said.

"...Looking forward to it."

When I returned that, Rio smiled his usual soft smile.

"Ren-kun — Level 10 soon?"

"Yes. Spot-on, actually."

Rio went "ooh," eyes rounding a little.

"Nice."

"Am I?"

"Mm. Once you've properly got your Job — that's when we both go all out on each other."

"Ah... if the chance comes."

If the chance comes.

What a convenient phrase.

But inside, it was entirely this: absolutely not.

No — for real.

If I went all out against this monster and he went all out back, the only future I can see is death.

Last time only worked out because they stopped it midway; if it had kept going, I genuinely don't know how it ends.

No — I'd probably be dead.

Rio, whether he knew my true feelings or not, was plainly having fun.

"Ahh, I can't waaait~" he murmured, and while thinking, you're the only one waiting, I glanced around.

Around us, pairs were forming for the combat drills, same as always.

Not like last time, with every gaze in the room having exactly one option: us.

Each person faced their own partner.

Even so, a few people did glance over.

I even caught something like, "let's start ours after that fight over there."

Give me a break here.

I'm not used to being watched, you see.

"All right — everyone, start whenever you like."

The Intermediate instructor Saeki's voice flew out, and each pair took their stances.

Me too, watching Rio, breathing out lightly.

This is, at heart, a combat drill.

Nobody's here to take anyone's life.

Even so.

With this man standing before you, there's a certain pressure.

If the other Intermediate people are Pomeranians and Chihuahuas, this guy is a Siberian husky.

No — bad analogy.

What am I even saying, I thought.

"Okay — let's keep it light."

"Yes. Understood."

The instant I'd answered —

Rio stepped in.

Fast.

But not like last time.

Probably genuinely light, for him.

No — by any normal standard, not light at all.

But at least within the Rio I know, it was on the lighter end.

I dodge the incoming fist, deflect the next attack with a palm, give half a step back, brace for the next.

Having gotten that far, I was a little surprised.

Oh. This.

I'm seeing more than before.

Of course, Rio's attacks hadn't gotten slower.

If anything, subjectively, they're plenty fast.

But.

That feeling from last time — my brain getting crushed under "saw it" "dead" "next" "heavy" "impossible" — had let up, just a little.

Enemy Observation.

Posture Control+.

Contact Perception.

Those are meshing more naturally than before.

Also, quite simply, maybe I've gotten a little used to Rio's movement.

"Oh."

A small sound escaped Rio.

"Nice."

"At what?"

"You're handling me far better than before."

"Not really."

"No — you are. Definitely."

Fists come flying even mid-conversation.

This guy really is something else.

But I was also a little surprised at myself, holding more of a conversation with that something-else than last time.

Am I stronger? Ask me that, and honestly, I still couldn't say.

But at the very least, I'm getting used to him.

That much is certain.

"Sudden question, though."

"Mm?"

"Rio-senpai's Job — what is it?"

I asked it on a whim, flowing his attack off my palm.

"Ah — did I never mention it?"

"You didn't."

Rio cracked his neck lightly, going "did I?" and so on, and answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, technically — swordsman, I suppose."

"...Huh? You're a swordsman?"

"Mm."

He steps in.

A fist extends.

I dodge.

I flow the following kick off my arm.

"Well, I am one, but personally I prefer fighting barehanded like this, you know?"

"Why?"

"I mean — weapons are cheating, aren't they?"

"I really don't think they are."

If you start calling that cheating, then your average RPG hero and every storybook champion of justice counts as a cheater too.

Magic's way more cheating, then, frankly.

And hold on —

this guy is this strong barehanded, on swordsman potential?

That's straight-up alarming.

A little too much of a battle-junkie for comfort, and now I'm getting curious about his whole upbringing, even.

I mean — it was recent, right?

Him becoming an Awakener.

What if he's the only one who simply came out of the womb like this?

— and right as I was thinking it,

"Ren-kun."

"Yes?"

"You're thinking something rude in your head right now, aren't you."

"...Isn't that your imagination?"

"I can mostly tell from the eyes, you know. What the other person's thinking."

So saying, Rio smiled gently.

Damn.

That's scary.

How do you smile while pressing an attack like that!?

"Still — you've gotten stronger again these past few weeks, Ren-kun."

"Not really."

"No, you have. You've gotten a better handle on how to use your own body, haven't you?"

"...More than before, sure."

"Mm. That stuff matters."

Another attack comes.

This one steps in a little deeper.

I went half-body and flowed it off — then pressed the distance right back.

I strike for his stomach.

Rio took it on his arm, but a little of the weight seemed to punch through anyway.

For the first time today, Rio stepped backward.

"Ooh. That one was close."

"Why do you sound happy?"

"Well, obviously. You're growing."

What is this guy.

Really.

But, well — he's not a bad person.

More than not-bad — lately I've actually started thinking he might be a genuinely good one.

Just a bit of a hassle.

That was right when I thought it.

The edge of my vision twitched.

That window-sensation, known all too well, unfortunately.

Huh.

No way.

The next instant, a display raced across my vision.

【You have leveled up】

Oh, here we go.

For a second, my heart jumped.

But Rio's fist doesn't wait for me.

Scrambling to dodge, I chased the next display with the edge of my awareness.

【You have reached Level 10. Your Job will now be unlocked】

Whoa. It's actually happening.

【Active Skill will be granted】

【Activation Skill will be granted】

The moment those lines appeared.

The corners of my mouth softened, hopelessly.

"...!"

Rio must have noticed something change — his eyes narrowed, just slightly.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Nothing."

Flowing off Rio's fist, I let out a small breath.

"Things just got a little more interesting, is all."

And so the next window — the screen where my Job's contents would be displayed — proceeded to steal my eyes away.