Episode(67) Time to upgrade my equipment!
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(67)
Her hand was wrenched behind her back as it grabbed her wrist and her rear face the sky while the doll placed a foot on her head completely subduing her.
Akane was both confused and embarrassed.
What if she had been wearing a skirt?
Wouldn't her underwear be visible for all to see?
'Damn you dummy! I'll get you back for this!'
Just then-
*clap!* *clap!*
Out of nowhere, the sound of an applause echoed in the quiet training grounds.
Akane flinched in a panic.
Who was it?
Why were they here?
Shouldn't this be her private grounds?
'No, more importantly I can't allow anyone to see me like this!'
She was agitated. If anyone saw her like this, wouldn't rumors about her having weird hobbies be spread?
Luckily, her worries were unfounded.
[That was wonderful]
The voice that echoed, for better or for worse was one she was familiar with.
'I'm glad it's her but being seen like this is still embarrassing'
[What are you doing here Mavis?]
Yes, the soft voice that seemed to calm people down just by hearing it belonged to none other than Mavis.
[Oh, just here to check up on you of course]
As she walked closer and closer, the amusement on her face grew.
Based on that smirk alone, it was hard to tell if she had come here out of worry or just to enjoy the current scene.
[I checked your living quarters and the kitchen figuring you would be there as usual however, based off last night..... well, the only other place for you to be was here so I ended up here as well, but-]
An expression that asked what in the world she was doing.
Akane couldn't stand it and shifted her gaze before speaking, slightly embarrassed.
[Ehem-this is….it was supposed to be training….]
To begin with, why won't this thing release her already?
She was a bit annoyed having to explain this situation.
The doll should have released her long ago before shifting back into a passive state so why was it still pinning her down.
'Don't tell me some perverted soul possessed it? No, scary!'
But it was just a fleeting thought.
Such a thing was too terrifying to ever accept as reality.
[U-Um…..Can you help me out a bit, Mavis?]
For some reason, Mavis was lost in thought while looking at her and nodded while scratching her cheek.
Akane thought she resembled a dirty old grandpa, except when Mavis did it she was just too cute.
Even so, being stuck in this position was still too humiliating for a girl her age.
[Oh, ah right!]
The sudden call woke Mavis up out of her daze and she responded in a panic.
Soon, the doll was deactivated and Akane could finally heave a sigh of relief.
[That doll is strange! It totally attacked me when it was only supposed to defend!]
She was upset.
Complaining, she pointed at the doll and growled like a wild animal.
Mavis nodded in agreement.
[Certainly]
Indeed, it was programmed to only defend.
Otherwise with its level of prowess it couldn't be used by lower leveled individuals at all.
But-
[It doesn't just defend you know?]
Akane turned to face Mavis at her words.
[Really?]
Confusion was written all over her face.
Isn't it only defending?
You're not just messing with me?
She felt like today's Mavis was having a ball teasing her so she couldn't tell whether the words were false or true.
But Mavis nodded not minding the gaze of suspicion and continued.
[This doll is programmed to attack, however only if it can judge the party facing it as a 'potential threat']
So it wasn't that it didn't attack, you just needed the potential to threaten it in order to activate its offensive mode.
[Potential in this case means that it judged that you have the ability to grow stronger than itself in the future and actually cause damage based on your growth while facing it]
That was why a lot of people in this world used training dolls.
Fighting with it every day, you could easily tell when you've grown or what's holding you back since it only attacks when you become 'worthy' of being an opponent.
'So that's only future potential huh…'
To be honest, Akane didn't feel all too happy to be told that she could only threaten it in the future.
How far away was that future?
How long would she have to wait?
Seeing her worries, Mavis chuckled.
[Don't worry, the fact that it attacked you also meant that it judged the current you to have grown significantly to before]
Thinking about it, Akane felt this speculation was correct.
Although she'd used this thing many times before it never attacked like it had today.
A realization struck her.
[That means....]
Mavis, seeing her eyes lit up grinned and spoke.
[Yes, your training is finally bearing fruit! You've grown, Akane]
Making a guts pose, Akane smiled nonstop.
She was happy.
However small the improvement she had made, it was enough for her to celebrate.
During the fight just now she had despaired at being weak, but now she knew her efforts were paying off.
'I'm not done just yet!'
Yes, she still had a lot of growing to do.
Mavis smiled.
Being recognized by the doll didn't mean you could challenge those at level 30 or higher at a low level.
The fact remained that the doll never attacked to critically wound its opponent and it still mostly only defended.
Mistaking this for strength would lead to such a person losing their lives foolishly.
Akane also knew this fact well.
[Still]
She clenched her fist defiantly.
[It means I'm becoming stronger, even if it's a negligible amount]
Many others couldn't experience growth no matter how long they trained and she had gained so much over the week of training she did leading up to now.
Even if it was miniscule in the eyes of others, for her it was a huge improvement!
[As long as I keep up with this pace I'll be ready for anything]
Mavis nodded in agreement to her words.
[That is correct, however-]
While it was good to be diligent-
[You must pace yourself or else the training will only negatively impact you and instead of helping you improve you will only regress]
Caressing Akane's slightly damp yet soft hair, Mavis smiled gently
Akane also understood the fact.
Vigorous training can destroy her as much as it can help her to improve.
It was a double edged sword and not many are lucky enough to benefit from doing it.
Still, in a world filled with magic potions that can instantly heal damage, Akane felt like it'd be fine to be reckless once or twice.
[I'll be fine]
Gently brushing away the hand on her head, she walked over to pick up the shards of her dagger and put them in the storage device.
As she did, she spoke in a confident voice.
[I won't train until I cough blood, and even then I'd be diving into dungeons on a daily basis so I'd have less time for heavy training sessions in either case]
[Okay]
Mavis decided to leave it to Akane.
In any case, should the event arise she would always be there to help.
At the same time a worried expression crossed her mind when she heard about diving into dungeons.
[I know you submitted a request for a solo raid but will it be alright? It might be a level E dungeon but your just level 10 you know?]
She was rightfully worried.
Level E dungeons would have monsters up to at least level 15 or 16.
If she was unlucky the boss monsters may have long reached level 20.
It wasn't like the training doll, these monsters wouldn't hold back when dealing with her at all.
[I know...]
But Akane wasn't worried.
Not to mention she had secretly passed level 10 to become level 12 now, even if she was still level 10 she would still confidently go dive into the dungeon.
It wasn't like she wasn't afraid.
However, this and that were two different things.
Allowing fear to overwhelm her and pause her growth, she couldn't allow such a stagnant period to exist in her journey or she might very well miss whatever chance she could have!
'Still, now that she says it out loud….going alone may be just my ignorance talking'
Making a slightly troubled face, she glanced up at Mavis and spoke in a pleading tone.
[Why…Why don't you come with me, Mavis?]
Mavis was slightly taken aback.
Though she had only known Akane for a short period, she knew how stubborn she was and that she wasn't one to easily change her mind.
But, it was a welcomed surprised.
[Me? Sure I don't mind, it's not like I have much going on, and watching over you is my duty so even if something were to go wrong I would be right there]
Akane was happy and she skipped in joy.
Still, it was a bit worrying for a knight captain to say she had nothing to do.
And with last night, didn't she have paper work or something to write up?
'Don't tell me, Mavis is one of those who throw all the work to their subordinates?'
'Mavis you naughty child'
Question marks appeared above Mavis's head seeing the sketchy grin on Akane's face.
If she actually knew what Akane was thinking she would complain.
It wasn't that she was being an irresponsible superior, she genuinely had nothing to do at all.
[But I'm going to need a new weapon, who knew it the dagger would just go and break like that]
Akane looked at the remaining handle and broken blade of the dagger she was holding in her hand.
Everything from the middle to the tip had shattered when it hit the doll.
Just her luck.
Mavis was also perplexed looking at the weapon.
[You did hit it quite hard so it was bound to happen but...hm-]
A contemplative look appeared on her face before she smiled.
[This might be a good chance for you to upgrade the grade of your equipment!]
Even when she had leveled up before she never once upgraded her equipment and just kept using the ones she had since level one.
Having been though rain and thunder those equipment of hers would obviously wear down, especially with their low rank.
[Right, it didn't really bother me much before-]
Akane had no issue using the low grade equipment since she could still easily slash and stab and move freely.
But it was about time she did a major overhaul of her items.
When it comes to weapons, the grades are: Low-Rank, Common, Intermediate, High-Rank, Rare, Superior, Unique, Legendary, Mythical, Demi-God and God rank.
Beyond god rank didn't exist.
Such a weapon would likely be able to destroy the universe if it existed.
Her previous item grades were all Common rank though slightly more special since they were all the highest form of common rank items.
Now that she was level 12, she should be able to properly handle an intermediate rank equipment change.
As far as Akane's knowledge of the empire allowed, there were only up to high rank blacksmiths in the empire and even then these blacksmiths couldn't produce a bulk of high rank weapons of the highest tier.
At most only 5 high rank weapons per year.
But this was normal as in this world it was rare to find even one rare level craftsman at all.
In fact, the only Legendary weapon in this entire empire was Renji's holy sword.
And this was just a manifestation of his talent, a gift by his patron god.
Although it wasn't the only legendary weapon on the continent, only heroes had them so it could only be said that Legendary and above weapons couldn't be crafted in the mortal world.
By the way, Mavis uses high rank equipment of at least mid-grade tier.
That just went to show how strong she was.
Akane reaffirmed her goals and a fire lit in her eyes again.
Strength!
She must grow even stronger!
[For now let's train some more!]
Mavis covered her mouth and chuckled.
[You seem motivated]