Bip! Bip!
"Thanks for shopping with us."
Julian gave a small bow of his head to a female customer smiling at him before she headed out of LittleMart.
After a fairly busy stretch dealing with a heavy stream of customers, Julian could finally breathe a sigh of relief, a small smile crossing his face.
"Finally done."
After two weeks of living here, Julian had adjusted remarkably well. There wasn’t much difference between his old world and this one, at most, supernatural events just happened to be a fairly normal part of everyday life here.
His own life had been going smoothly and pleasantly too. He’d wake up in the morning for breakfast, relax through the afternoon doing whatever he felt like, then head into work as a cashier from evening until midnight.
Julian stretched his body. This late at night, the streets were practically empty, the moon hanging high overhead, surrounded by a scattering of twinkling stars.
"Julian, it’s time for shift change."
A woman stepped out of the staff room, wearing the LittleMart cashier uniform. Seeing her, Julian nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, I’ll be heading home now too."
"Thanks for your hard work today~"
After changing out of his uniform, Julian bought himself a few light snacks and a drink to take home, then finally left LittleMart and started walking along the roadside.
Every so often, a car would pass by, but overall, it was an exceptionally quiet, peaceful night.
Mid-yawn, Julian’s entire body suddenly jolted. He nearly choked, flinching in an odd little jump, but caught himself, rubbing his chest with an awkward smile.
’What the... I genuinely just about died of shock there.’
[System]
New Skill acquired.
Skill: [Flash Step]
Initial Grade: [F]
Progress: [0.0%]
Skill successfully registered.
[Status Update]
Skills:
• [Flash Step] — [F] — [0.0%]
Seeing that notification, Julian’s shock quickly gave way to a wide, beaming smile deep inside himself.
’Oh! Finally! Kina’s made progress again! But a brand new skill this time? Wow, this looks incredible!’
In a great mood now, Julian glanced around briefly. Just like with One Slash, an understanding of the skill instantly settled into his mind. But since the progress here still sat at zero percent, Julian felt like actually using the skill still fell into somewhat murky territory.
’I really want to try it out.’
Right as that thought crossed his mind, another system screen suddenly appeared before him, catching him completely off guard, in the best way.
[System]
Disciple Skill Progress detected.
Skill: [Flash Step]
Source Rank: [F]
Progress Gained: [+3.40%]
MASTER Authority activated.
Return Multiplier: [100×]
[Status Update]
[Flash Step] — [F] — [0.0%] → [Flash Step] — [E] — [24.0%]
"....!"
Julian genuinely felt like he could cry.
’Kina! You’re not slacking off even this late at night? I’m so proud of you!’
Now, Julian’s understanding of Flash Step expanded even further in his mind. He absorbed the flood of information for a moment, taking in everything about Flash Step, and the very next second, his body vanished from where he stood and reappeared five paces further down the road.
’Wow, with this, doesn’t that mean I never have to worry about needing to run from something?’
That had always been one of Julian’s biggest worries, and now Kina had just handed him a legitimate reason to stop worrying about it.
Even though Flash Step didn’t look particularly flashy on the surface, it was clearly more than enough. Flash Step at F-Grade came with a long cooldown, but at E-Grade, that cooldown shrank considerably.
Julian stood there for a moment, lingering, then his body vanished again, reappearing several paces further ahead.
Yeah, this was an incredibly versatile skill!
And if there was one thing that had become Julian’s new routine lately, it was constantly checking his own status alongside Kina’s.
[STATUS]
Name: [Julian Clair]
Rank: [F] — [40.0%]
Talent: [Unbroken Mask] — [SSS-Grade]
Skills:
• [Unshaken Facade]
• [One Slash] — [D] — [32.0%]
• [Flash Step] — [E] — [24.0%]
Unique Authority:
MASTER
Disciple Slots: [1/5]
[DISCIPLE INSIGHT]
Name: [Kina Mivelo]
Rank: F — [34.1%]
Talent: [Lower Swordmanship] — [F-Grade]
Potential: [Sword Maiden] — [SSS-Grade]
Skill:
• [One Slash] — [F] — [99.12%]
• [Flash Step] — [F] — [3.4%]
Kina was right on the verge of a breakthrough with her One Slash skill, while her actual Rank Progress had barely moved at all. Regular training could raise her Rank, sure, but the numbers were far too small compared to how fast her Skills were advancing.
So, none of that was really a problem in itself. Kina was still safely enrolled at the Academy, after all. The only real downside fell on Julian’s end.
Because her Rank Progress was so low, using Skills that had leapt so far ahead of it burned through a massive amount of Mana.
A high-Grade Skill drained most of his F-Rank Mana reservoir in one go, meaning repeated use emptied him out fast.
"...Well, guess that’s fine for now. Maybe I should start looking for another suitable disciple soon too."
The system was picky about it. Julian couldn’t just take on a new disciple without good reason. Their potential had to be high enough first.
So that particular project was probably going to take some time.
Feeling his Mana completely drained after Flash Step, which he could currently use up to four times within roughly a ten-second cooldown, Julian trudged the rest of the way home on foot, exhausted.
That night, Julian had absolutely no idea. A certain figure crouched low on all fours atop a tall building, staring out at the sprawling metropolis glittering with lights below.
Its dark silhouette revealed nothing but a pair of pale white eyes, and a mouth that looked almost torn open, baring sharp white teeth and an impossibly long tongue.
Behind it, the silhouette spun around as a door leading to the rooftop burst open, slamming hard against the wall behind it.
"Here! An E-Rank Invader detected!"
The man who’d rushed in immediately grabbed his communicator, calling for backup to spread out and track the Invader down.
As for the Invader itself, its mouth stretched wide as its hands began to liquefy, dripping downward, and the next instant, its entire body dissolved, seeping into the building and vanishing completely.
"I-it’s gone!" the man shouted into his communicator, reporting with a face gone pale, "The Invader’s a Liquid type!"
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