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Dungeon Cleared! Boss has been defeated!
Enemies killed: 2
+100 XP
Boss killed by you
+200 XP
Dungeon Rewards:
+125 XP
+150$
+1 Random loot drop possible from basic enemies (Amount = half of enemies killed)
+1 Essence Chest (Rare+)
Progress:
Melee, Lv.6
Magic Rope, Lv.3
Stealth, Lv.2
Gamer's Luck, Lv.3
Dodge, Lv.2
Counter, Lv.2
Observe, Lv.5, You can now see preferences of people you use the skill on, both general and sexual

Okay, that was a lot to put in a single pop-up, and from what John saw that wasn't even everything. And what did that message mean '2 Enemies killed'? They killed five! Was there something that John had overlooked? Was there actually a party system? Aw well, too late now...

The world around both him and Kim returned to the normal world and he switched back to his uniform. Looking around the boring interior of the school he already wished again that he was back in the Barrier where everything seemed more... special. Is that what people with delusions or on a high felt like? That the normal world just wasn't enough anymore? He had to keep an eye on that one. Not giving him enough time to further think about it, John got another pop-up, this time about his quest:

Quest progression: Exploring the possibilities (1/2 Barriers)
Optional fulfilled:
+25 RP with Kim Moon
+200 XP for Kim Moon
Gain 1 skill from Kim Moon (her choosing)
Please select 1 skill for Kim Moon to gain

And below the last message appeared a selection of his skills. A lot of them were already greyed out with the messages UNAVAILABLE or ALREADY ACQUIRED which only left a small selection of skills, Magic Rope being one of them. She did say that she wanted that skill, and John saw no benefit in giving her another skill, so he just went with it.

Magic Rope selected. Due to differences in ability, Kim Moon has gained the ability Magic Chain.
Please wait for Kim Moon to make her decision.

Kim was visibly startled as one of John's prompt appeared in front of her, telling her about the skill she just gained.

"Is this how your ability works? With incorporeal messages?" was her intrigued question as she studied the message.

John didn't bother to explain it much, so he just said, "Yeah, that's how I get my quests and stuff."

After a or minute or so of Kim prodding the message in front of her, John got another pop-up:

New Skill: Mana Charge, Lv.1, variable MP
Infuse an attack with a certain amount of mana. Deal your attack's physical damage x (0.1 x [Skill Level] x [(Mana spent)/3] ) as additional magic damage. A maximum of [Skill Level] + [Level] MP can be used per attack.

Huh, he kinda expected her to give him the healing skill she used, whatever that was, not that he was complaining about this one, this would be a nice variable skill he could use in the future!

Quest Progress: Learn to fight (5/5 Fighting Skills)
Quest complete!
Melee, Lv.8
3x +1 Skill Level in three different combat skills (use in the next 24h)
Fighting Style unlocked. Select fighting style in Sheet

Those were some things he would look into in the next period because he sure as hell would not listen to Ms. Stanfield in sociology class... Looking back over to Kim he could see that she was already trying out her new chains, and to say the least, those things looked terrifying. Spiked chains with silvery color and a red blaze around them ending in a single spike. But there was one difference between how his rope behaved and how her chains did: The movement. John's rope was flexible and seemingly magical in its movement, defying gravity and doing whatever he wanted them to do, Kim's chains, however, were slumping on the ground, not really heavy, but heavier than his rope.

Was this a manifestation of their different stats? Did her overwhelming physical power change the skill while his relatively balanced approach made it something different? Kim seemed to think the same thing, "Interesting, this is clearly some variation of your rope spell, yet it is entirely different... I will need to train with these. Would you be willing to train with me at some point later this week? You obviously need more skill in your basic fighting, while you can help me with ideas about this new spell. I shall put in a good word to my father if you do, he'll be interested to see the scope of your abilities."

Now this was something John was interested in. Sure, Mariana also said that he could train with her, but considering the fact that he could learn to fight from an actual martial artist sounded like the more logical conclusion. He still would go back to Mariana at some point to get some more info about either the Abyss or everything that is happening, but he didn't want her to be in any kind of spotlight, especially when people expect him to read cryptic messages.

Thinking about it for another second, John then nodded and said, "Sure, I'll train with you, but under one condition: You tell me about your skills. It's pretty rude to interrogate someone about that kind of stuff, expecting cooperation without being open yourself." With the additional RP he got with Kim, maybe she would be more open to answer him now?

The shocked look on her face told him everything he needed to know, "I... I apologize then, because it was not my intention to insult you or your cooperation so far... But very well, I will give you a basic summary about my skills as well. I am a martial artist, as you have probably noticed, and I use a specific kind of energy in my body to enhance my strikes and perform other skills if needed. I rely on gi, a mixture of the mana you mages use and the power of one's own body. Where a typical mage would only rely on his mind to use his mana, I myself use a balance of mind and body to perform my skills. Seeing how you fight I suspect that you might be able to use gi as well, if properly trained. Also the difference between gi and mana is probably what created the differences between our now shared skill, because your skill relies more heavily on your mind while I can use more of my body to use mine.

"I think this should suffice for now, seeing as how you were relatively vague with your skills as well. I will take my leave then. Be warned though, John Newman. You are under my observation. Even if you were cooperative up until now and haven't used your powers against me, you are still an unsupervised magic user, so you are dangerous no matter what. Do not give in to the temptation of power," and with that, she left the room to get to her next class.

Sighing to himself, John thought about what Kim just said. It's true that his power was very tempting to use in ways not as noble as he did up until now but using his powers that way would also most likely mean that he would be pretty alone, again, and that was not something he wanted to be.

He left the room then as well, going to his next class, which would be sociology. He really did not look forward to that class, seeing as how he wouldn't even be properly participating in the class. Ms. Stanfield had this habit of ignoring any male student in her class and only taking answers from the girls. While he didn't look forward to the class, he did look forward to the time he could invest in that period to look at the stuff he just got from the Barrier. Also maybe he could use that time to write with Astrid and Brun some more, maybe get one (or even both) to go to another Barrier tonight, and maybe some other shenanigans.

That messing around yesterday left John a bit... hungry for more to say the least. And with a desire to actually take some command himself. With both Aranea and Brun, he was basically **** to do what they wanted, because he just wasn't strong enough to oppose anything but maybe with his new skills he could do some more...

Checking his phone revealed to him that Astrid tried to message him while he was in the Barrier, and reading through it John had to suppress a laugh.

Astrid: Sorry I ran away like that... I'm not too good with people yet... I've been pretty isolated the last few years...

A: Hey, did you read my last message? I hope I didn't upset you with me running away...

A: Oh god, I made you upset didn't I? I'm so sorry...

A: I'll try to be better next time? Please? You're the only one I know at this school...

A: I guess you don't want to talk right now... Sorry I'll leave you alone...

There also was a message from Brunhilde that he got:

Brunhilde: Yo shithead, you better answer my sister or I'll crush your dick. You might be a chill guy that I actually like, but if you hurt my sister I'll ram that spear so far up your ass that you'll shit splinters for a month. Got that?

Oh shit, this wasn't actually as cute or funny as he thought... He quickly replied to both of them as fast as he could.

To Astrid he wrote:
J: Hey, sorry I didn't reply, I was busy and didn't have reception. I'm not upset about you running away like that, it was just a bit weird... But maybe we could talk about this a bit more after school? Or are you busy?

A: No, I don't have anything planned. And as long as we don't do anything with big crowds I'm okay with that. Would you like to come to the clinic with me after school? Then we could take my sister with us!

J: Sure, sounds like a good idea. I have an idea what we could do. How well do you fight?

A: Fight? Not that good, I was never a good fighter when we used to train as kids, but I have some spells that might help. Not sure about that, though...

J: Then how about we find out later? ;)

A: Sure... If you insist, but let's talk about this with my sister.

Meanwhile, his response to Brunhilde was:
J: Calm your tits, I was in a Barrier and didn't have reception. I wrote her just as soon as I got out. Also, she seems to overexaggerate things a bit, that was like 45 minutes I didn't reply, at most.

B: Okay, well... I guess that's a good sign? That means she cares about what you think. It's cute. Oh and sorry for snapping at you like that, I'm a bit sensitive when it comes to her. Sister and all that...

J: Yeaaah, about that: She told me you were twins? My skill tells me that she's 3 years younger than you though. How is that possible?

B: ...What?

J: Yeah. My Observation skill tells me that she's 18, where you're 21. How is that possible if you're twins?

B: Okay... that's a detail that would've been nice to know. I guess that makes sense that she looks a couple of years younger than me then. We had no idea why that was... By the way: Really? First thing you do when you get out of a Barrier is to ask my sister if she wants to go into a Barrier with you and me? That sounds like such a stupid idea given her current physical state. But I'll guess with you and me at her side she isn't in any major danger... But if anything happens to her, you will have to explain that one to our mother.

J: This whole thing is sounding weirder and weirder... are you sure she was/is sick? And I'm pretty sure she'll be pretty strong in a fight, seeing as how she's almost double your level.

B: SHE'S WHAT?!?!

J: Almost double your level. You're level 15 according to my skill, she's level 27. It's really weird, especially since she's seemingly younger than you now.

B: Okay, no, nuh-uh. We're gonna talk after your school is over, this is getting too much. You will properly explain this to me later.

And that was the last thing he received from Brun and she wasn't responding to his messages now... She seemed like she was pissed at something here...

John had reached Ms. Stanfield's classroom and took his seat at the edge of the room, far away from most looks (maybe his Stealth would also help him here). Ms. Stanfield was already waiting at her desk, overly punctual as always, and looked at John with barely hidden displeasure. If things went her way, boys wouldn't even be in her class, it was just because the school didn't want to hire another teacher capable of sociology that they had to endure one another...

This was also John's first class he didn't share with Astrid today, so he didn't even have anyone to talk to in the class (not that he would 'talk' to her that much...).

Well, let the most uninteresting lesson of the day begin...