Chapter 94: Second Step.
A few Hours Later.
Ichiro successfully managed to escape the Yakuza. He could have killed them, but he doesn't want to do more dirty deeds for the Underworld.
The Yakuza will be soon wiped out by the hands of the Underworld, but both sides will lose men, which is a better solution for Ichiro.
The sky has already become dark. Ichiro was calmly walking in the streets towards his home.
'System.' Ichiro said in his mind; he was curious about one thing.
[Yes, Host?]
'What is the Kurogami Legacy actually? I doubt you added because of goodwill.'
[…]
The system was silent.
Ichiro wryly smiled; he didn't expect to get an answer.
But then System actually answered.
[…In Earth, there is a thing called Kurogami Ichiro's Legacy]
Ichiro raised an eyebrow, 'What is that?'
[Kurogami Ichiro's Legacy is the dojo you were training in. It is National Treasure after you died]
'Why? I don't think my life was that meaningful.' Ichiro said and turned towards left; he was only a few hundred meters from his house.
[I am not supposed to talk about what happened on Earth, but… The girl you saved… Became the Earth's greatest Martial Artist]
'She did?!' Ichiro didn't expect that.
[She wasn't only a Martial Artist… She is also the only one who learned your Iron Style. Learning the Iron Style became her obsession; many tried to learn it, but only she was successful]
Ichiro smiled, 'She must be quite of a genius… I only wrote a few explanations of the Iron Style, I planned to start teaching, but I died before I managed to do that.'
'But… You still didn't answer why the dojo I trained in became National Treasure.'
[…]
Ichiro rolled his eyes.
He already saw his house in the distance, but then…
A wind around him started blowing even harder.
*WHOOSH*
Ichiro's hair was messily flying.
''What is this?'' Ichiro looked around him, but the wind only affected him.
[HOST!]
Scream of the System made Ichiro flinch, he was about turn around and run, but then the wind became even stronger.
''AAHH!'' Ichiro cried out, but the wind had already sent him flying a few kilometers into the sky.
''AAAAAAAHH!'' Ichiro shouted; he was falling down towards the ground like a meteor.
Ichiro looked with horror-filled eyes as his head was about to clash with the ground.
*SWISH*
But then, his body instantly stopped.
''Haahh…'' Ichiro took a deep breath, his face was only an inch away from hitting the ground, but this wasn't over yet.
The wind became stronger again and sent Ichiro flying towards Screaming Boy forest.
''ARRGGHH!'' Ichiro shouted with panic and crashed with dozens of trees.
The trees were split in half, and Ichiro's bloodied figure was shown lying on the ground.
''PFFT!'' Ichiro spat a mouthful of blood; he raised his bloodied face and saw a man in the distance.
The man had dark red hair with scary-looking red eyes. He was the tallest man Ichiro had ever seen, reaching up to 250cm in height. The man had a muscular body which makes even Lucas look like a child.
''A-Arkenthym…'' Ichiro muttered.
Arkenthym raised his eyebrow in surprise, ''You are aware who I am? I am surprised.''
Ichiro stood up with his broken body.
[31/171 HP]
Arkenthym rubbed his chin, ''15 years old, Middle Martial Captain… Nah, I think with your techniques, you can reach Peak Martial Captain.''
Arkenthym nodded, ''You will do.''
Ichiro didn't know what Arkenthym was talking about, but then the memories of his vision surfaced.
Arkenthym walked closer, ''You will do exactly what I say. Don't even think about refusing; otherwise, your family won't have a happy ending.''
Ichiro gritted his teeth, ''What do you want? I am only Martial Captain!''
Arkenthym smirked, ''You are indeed mere Martial Captain, but your age is what matters.''
''My age…?'' Ichiro raised an eyebrow in confusion.
''6 Months from now on. There will be a tournament in Winterlight, and it is an Underworld tournament. I need you to join the tournament and win. There is an age limit; only people from the age of 16 to 18 can join.''
Ichiro grimaced, ''How should I get into Winterlight?''
''Simple. You are yet to choose a High School. You will go to Winterlight's High School.'' Arkenthym said with a slight smile.
''Why me…'' Ichiro was feeling helpless; he had to abandon his family this quickly. He thought that he had a few more years to spend with them, but it seems that he only had a few months.
Arkenthym snorted, ''I was going to choose Slych at first. But your progress was more than acceptable. If you die in the tournament, your family won't be harmed. But… I suggest winning the tournament.''
Ichiro hatefully glared at him, but Arkenthym didn't care. The young man in front of him was like an insect he could destroy at any moment. He almost already killed the young man only with 1% of his strength; if he used even a little bit more, Ichiro would have died.
Arkenthym turned around and started walking away, ''You have no right to reject. I own you now.'' With those words, he disappeared.
Ichiro gritted his teeth hatefully, ''RAAA!''
[Host, this was always going to happen. Even if you kept a low profile, this was going to happen]
Ichiro sat down with his broken body; he took his last healing potion and drank it.
[81/171 HP]
''Winterlight… That is so far away… My parents will never accept…''
[They will.]
''What do you mean?''
[They never expected you to stay in Gensa. You are far too big for a small country like this]
''Did you know that this was going to happen?''
[…]
Ichiro punched at the tree behind him and stood up.
His body was still filled with wounds and bloodstains.
He opened the Interface and the shop.
[Name: Kurogami Ichiro]
[System Level: Advanced]
[Martial Rank: Martial Captain]
[Trait: Calm Nature]
[Age: 15]
[Level: 7]
[SP: 0]
[Coins: 16000]
[2050/6400 EXP]
[HP 81/171]
[Strength: 150]
[Agility: 150]
[Stamina: 131]
[Vitality: 131]
[Lottery Spins: 15]
[Quests]
[Shop]
[Lottery]
[Inventory]
[Inventory: Two Swords of Killing - Beauty Shampoo - Dynamite - Book of Etiquette]
[Martial Arts: Iron Style (Mythical), Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Boxing,]
[Weapon Mastery: Knife Throwing - Dual Swordsmanship]
[Weakness Detection Eye Lv1: It allows you to see any weakness of the person with the rank of Martial Commander or below!]
[Death Ignore (Mythical): Death? Overrated - Once you die, you can ignore death and come back to the Realm of Living!]
[Expert Blacksmithing Mastery: Gives you abilities of Master Blacksmith - You will be able to create weapons which this world has never seen before!]
[Kurogami Ichiro's Legacy: The Legacy of Earth's Strongest Warrior - You can use one attack per week with the same strength as Kurogami Ichiro was in his prime!]
[Random Box: 200 Coins]
[Advanced Weapon Mastery: 300 Coins]
[Advanced Karate Mastery: 250 Coins]
[Advanced Taekwondo Mastery: 250 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Common): 350 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Uncommon): 400 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Rare): 500 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Epic): 1000 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Legendary): 10.000 Coins]
[Healing Potion (Mythical): 190.000 Coins]
[Body Increasement Pill: 500 Coins]
[Lottery Spin: 500 Coins]
[Killing Blow (Rare): 10.000 Coins]
[Killing Blow (Epic): 250.000 Coins]
[Killing Blow (Legendary): 500.000 Coins]
[Killing Blow (Mythical): 1.500.000 Coins]
[Death Ignore (Mythical): 499.999 Coins]
Ichiro bought the Healing Potion (Rare)
[Healing Potion (Rare): The Rare Healing Potion gives the user 100 HP points!]
He drank it instantly.
[171/171 HP]
Ichiro left the forest and entered the streets. The memories of his vision were replaying in his mind like a film reel.
He was silent during the walk; he entered his house without a word and entered his room.
''System…'' Ichiro murmured, his back was leaning on the wall.
[Yes, Host]
''You said that killing is normal in this world.''
[Affirmative]
''Where is the limit?''
[…Excuse me?]
Ichiro lied down on his bed and looked at the ceiling.
''Where does the killing stop?''
[…]
Ichiro sighed and closed his eyes, ''Why is killing everyday thing. I have killed more people than I can count, and I don't understand why it is alright.''
''I can still see some of the faces I had killed in my dreams… Especially from my previous life.''
With his hazy vision, Ichiro opened his eyes and asked, ''I thought this world was a dream come true for me at first. I am not thinking that way anymore. This is a world which can become my dream, but currently… It is far from it.''
Ichiro again closed his eyes, slowly he drifted asleep, ''My dream… Dream…''
Ichiro fell asleep, and again he can't hear the dinging noises coming from the system.
*DING* *DING*
[Second Step Towards High Human Completed!]
[High Human Secret Quest 2/10]
[Second Destiny Revealed!]
[Second Destiny: Achieve the Dream!]
[Reward:???]
And just like previously.
The Quest Interface disappeared mysteriously.
Ichiro was deeply asleep, and he didn't have any idea, that the Second Part of his journey to the peak of Humanity has been achieved!