From Real to Realm

Lynesia sat up straighter. “You hit level five?!”

By now, Val had caught onto the feeling of leveling up. It was usually a surge of energy and tingling across her body. The tingling always ended at her fingertips each time.

“Val?” Lynesia was leaning in. “Did you?”

“Give me a second,” Val said, chuckling. “I’m checking now.”

Val summoned her interface. It showed the same as before, level four with no changes. Then she saw it. A familiar golden sheen rippled across the screen. Val’s eyes clung to it as it continued to pass over every word.

[Name:]

Valnarei Rose Strouss

[Age:] 19

[Race:]

Half-Elf

[Combat Type:] Hybrid

[Archetype:] Locked

[Level:] Five

[Strength:] C

[Endurance:] D

[Agility:] C

[Dexterity:] E

[Resolve:] D

[Resilience:] D

[Arcana:] E

[Mana:] E

[Learned Techniques:]

None

[Passive Traits:]

Harmonizing Touch

When it finally finished, her eyes locked onto the changes. Level five was left glowing with a faint golden hue. Arcana was revealed to be an E-rank and left glowing. What surprised Val the most was Mana. While she expected it to be an E, she didn’t expect it to be revealed as a bold attribute. In other words, it wouldn’t take much to push it to D.

“Not what I expected,” Val muttered.

Lynesia poked her in the stomach. “Well? Spill! Did you level up?”

Val nodded. “I did. I’m able to see my Arcana and Mana now.” She paused. “Arcana is an E, which, I mean, I expected that. But Mana is a bolded E.”

“Maybe it just means you have more mana than most people?” Lynesia asked. “Without learning spells, there’s no way to know.”

Val sighed. “Still no learned techniques either.”

Lynesia leaned back into Val’s embrace. “We’re off tomorrow. Why don’t we try the training yard again, see if you can’t earn one?”

“I guess. I just don’t understand why I can’t earn one. I’ve tried everything I can think of.”

Lynesia kissed Val’s arm. “I know, just relax tonight. We had a good delve, let’s not sour it with pouting.”

Val smirked. “I’ll show you pouting.” Then she started tickling Lynesia.

She didn’t want to worry Lynesia or focus on the negative too much. However, that constant “none” in her learned techniques was beginning to sting. She’d spent plenty of time trying to earn one, but nothing she did bore any fruit.

The rest of their bath and meal went by without it being brought back up. Val could see how Lynesia would glance at her, though. Even if she was trying to hide how she felt, Lynesia was good at picking up on it. Even if she knew what was going on in Val’s head, she never said anything.

Once dinner was over, the two of them finally climbed into bed together. The delve was pretty tiring for everyone involved. Lynesia was used to their pace, but she was still building up her stamina. She ended up falling asleep, cuddling into Val relatively quickly. Meanwhile, Val stared at her hand, mind wandering.

What the hell am I doing wrong?

It wasn’t much longer before she fell asleep as well.

Crack!

The steel of Val’s halberd bit deep into the chest of a dummy. She tore it free and spun around, swinging her blade low at knee height. Without much resistance, it cut through both of the dummy’s legs. As it toppled over onto the ground, she relaxed her stance.

As she stood there, she adjusted her grip. The wooden haft rubbed across her sore palms and fingers. Sweat dripped from her brow and chin despite the cold air. She could see her breath in the air every time she exhaled. There hadn’t been any fresh snowfall last night or throughout the day, thankfully. The usual sand pits of the training yard were already messy as is, thanks to snow melting and refreezing day after day.

Val stared down at the dummy lying in a heap. It wasn’t the first one she’d destroyed in pursuit of a learned technique. By this point, she’d lost count of how many days she spent training.

Her face suddenly twisted in anger.

Fuck! What am I doing wrong?!

She kicked the dummy as hard as she could. “Fuck! Gods damn it!”

A handful of adventurers nearby glanced over, but ultimately paid her no mind.

Amarisse and Lynesia both flinched at the sudden outburst. It wasn’t the first time they’d been sitting on the sideline watching Val train.

“I don’t know what to do to help her,” Lynesia said, head lowered. “I feel like I’m failing her just as much.”

“That’s not true at all,” Amarisse corrected her. “Val is just having a stall in her class growth. She’s not the first one, and I doubt she’ll be the last either.”

Val dragged another dummy in front of her.

“She’s going to keep going, isn’t she?”

Amarisse nodded. “She’ll keep going until her hands are raw. It’s one of the things I admire about Val. No matter what, she keeps pushing forward. She has the kind of drive that makes someone great.”

Lynesia smiled. “I think it’s one of the reasons I fell for her.”

Val lowered in her stance. She closed her eyes, exhaling a long, slow breath. When her eyes opened, she planted her front foot hard. She hooked the back of the dummy’s head, yanking it forward into her flying knee. She winced when the wood hit her sore knee, but didn’t stop the flow of her attack. The dummy rocked backwards off balance. Before it could rock back forward, Val slid to the side.

“She’s trying that attack again,” Amarisse pointed out. “I don’t understand why it’s not a technique by now.”

As the dummy rocked forward, Val brought her halberd up in a diagonal skyward slash. It sheared through the dummy’s wooden neck, allowing it to fall forward into the mush of the snowy sand. Then she stood there, waiting for anything at all.

“How?!” she yelled out. “How is that not a fucking technique?!”

Amarisse stood from the bench, sighing. She held her hand out, preventing Lynesia from rushing to Val’s side. “I know you want to be supportive, but she needs to figure this out on her own. There’s nothing else we can tell her that we haven’t already.”

Lynesia opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. She just nodded, eyes focused on Val.

Slowly, Amarisse walked over. “Still nothing?”

Val flexed her aching fingers, tightening her jaw in anger. “Not a damn thing! No matter what I try, nothing works! I’ve tried everything! I try to stick to the basics, nothing! I try being flashy, nothing!” Val yelled. “I can’t stand this anymore! I’m going to fall behind unless I earn techniques!”

Amarisse stopped a few feet away. “Val, earning a technique comes down to you connecting to the system. Have you felt anything click when trying?”

“Nothing,” Val stated, bluntly. “I haven’t felt anything other than getting increasingly pissed off. No click, no tingle, nothing.”

Amarisse stepped up next to her. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Val threw her halberd to the ground, groaning in frustration. “I—I know. It’s fine. It’s not something you need to worry about, you know I’m good to go in the dungeon even without techniques.”

“That’s true, but we can’t push deeper—“

Val scoffed. “I know, I know, okay? I need something more than the basics to fight the Ashen King or anything beyond floor four.”

She knelt to pick up her halberd. “I need more. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

Lynesia stepped up next to Amarisse. “You’ve been at it for hours. Why don’t we call it a day?”

“I won’t stop until I get one.”

A sudden second hand on hers caught her attention. It gently wrapped around the haft of her weapon, too.

“Val, my love?” Lynesia asked, pulling so that Val was looking at her. “Let’s go home for the day. Start a nice hot bath and eat something filling, please?”

Val looked into her eyes, shoulders sagging. “A—alright…”

Lynesia wrapped her arms around Val’s right arm. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Amarisse. Get home safe.”

“Of course, you too.” She turned, then stopped. “Keep your head up, Val.” Then she started walking home.

As Val and Lynesia walked home, all they heard was the crunch of snow beneath their feet. There was the occasional conversation on the sides of the street, but Val was stuck in her head. Lynesia could tell she was still trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. She opted to stay quiet as well, not willing to disturb Val’s thinking.

When they pushed through the front door of the Weeping Wagon, Marxus wasn’t at his spot behind the counter. They didn’t pay it much mind as the two of them went straight to their door.

As soon as the door was opened, Lynesia hung her coat on a hook. “Go take a bath, relax. I’ll worry about fixing dinner.”

Val put her coat on her hook as well. “I should try to help with dinner.”

Lynesia spun around, crossing her arms. “Absolutely not. You’re exhausted. Go and relax in a hot bath, or else I’ll drag you in there and make you.”

It was rare for Lynesia to put her foot down like this. Val could tell she wasn’t joking either; she could see it in her eyes. So, Val did as she was told. She made her way to their bedroom to first take off her armor. Now that the adrenaline was fading, she was finally starting to feel the training. Her hands were sore, almost painfully so. Then there was her right knee she used in that last attack.

“Maybe I am too rough on my own body,” she muttered.

A handful of minutes later, she was walking into the bathroom. After getting the water going, she took off the clothes she wore beneath her armor. As she removed her shirt, her eyes locked onto one of the scars on her right arm. Any cuts not healed with mana would leave a scar when healed. It wasn’t unusual for her to deny healing if she didn’t think the cut was serious.

“Oh shit.”

While stuck in her thoughts, Val had almost overfilled the tub with hot water.

“That was close.”

After draining some of the water, she slipped inside. A content sigh escaped her lips as her body relaxed against the back of the tub. The water was perfect, especially compared to the cold outside. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

“I’m home,” she reminded herself. “Worry about the techniques another time. Tomorrow.”

Dinner would likely take some time, so she was in no rush. She relaxed for a while before finally worrying about washing off the grime from training. Once she was done, she made sure to drain the tub before wrapping herself in a large towel. The towel covered her chest down to her mid-thigh. At first, she considered changing, but decided to check in on Lynesia.

“Something smells good,” she said, suddenly hugging Lynesia gently from behind.

“V—Val! You’re not even dressed!” Lynesia said, giggling as she stirred something. “I’m making stew. Figured it would be filling and welcome on a cold day like today.”

Val kissed her cheek. “I’ll throw some clothes on. Unless?”

Lynesia kissed her cheek. “Clothes, or no dinner.”

“So mean to me,” Val said, mock pouting. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Val changed into her usual linen shorts and crop top. Just as she was walking back into the kitchen, Lynesia was setting a bowl down for her.

“It really does smell good.”

Lynesia smiled, handing her silverware. “I’ve gotten better at cooking. Seems cooking with your mother has taught me a thing or two.”

Val chuckled. “I still remember the look on her face when you said you wanted to practice.”

“Well, a good wife can cook, right?”

Val’s heart always raced when Lynesia said something like that.

“Well, I’ll be luckier than most. My wife will be able to cook, fight, and fuck.”

Lynesia slapped Val’s arm. “Behave.”

Dinner was a welcome slow moment for Val today. Eating a home-cooked meal with the woman she loved was needed. Frustration was beginning to build in her. It was moments like this that prevented her from losing her mind. After finishing dinner, they both climbed into bed. With a full stomach and exhaustion finally catching up to her, Val drifted off first.

Suddenly, Val was standing in a marble hallway with a tall arched ceiling.

Her surroundings weren’t fuzzy like a usual dream. Everything was crisp, sharp, clear.

She looked down at her hands, touching her fingertips together. “Holy shit, this feels like a lucid dream.”

The sharp click of heels behind her caught her attention.

“That’s because it’s not a dream, Christina,” Qhemeria corrected, chuckling. “Or should I just call you Valnarei now?”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!