CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 50 – TRAINING OFFER

Chapter 50 – Training Offer

The two teenagers sat there in silence—a slightly awkward one.

"Hey, Jack..." Luna broke it a few moments later.

"Hm?"

"Do you think we’ll survive for long?" she asked, a bit hesitantly.

"..."

"As in... are we going to last long enough to rebuild our lives again? I know the question sounds a bit too optimistic, but I still want to know if you believe we have any hope for the future."

"Hope?" Jack scoffed. "And who said I have hope? I don’t. I was never a hopeful person. You of all people should know that."

"..."

His remark made Luna clench her fists instinctively. She knew exactly what he meant, and it made her heart sting even more. She wished she could say something, but by then, Jack had already moved on.

"As for your question, my answer is simple. I don’t know, and I’ll never know. We could live for decades or die tomorrow. This world follows no rules anymore."

"I see..."

"However," he continued, "what I do know for a fact is that I won’t let death claim me easily. I’m going to put up a fight—a very rough and long one. If death can still claim me by then, then it’s earned that."

That was his belief. No matter the situation, Jack was hellbent on trying again and again, as many times as it took for him to emerge victorious. So what if he faced death? He never feared it anyway. So what if he got hurt? Pain heals. There was no excuse for not trying until his very last breath.

Either he rises to the very top... or gets buried at the very bottom.

Seeing that flame in his eyes, Luna was speechless. It felt like staring into a bottomless abyss—she couldn’t see an end to Jack’s ambition, and it only made her wonder.

’Why does he want to survive so much? What’s driving him?’ she thought. But for one reason or another, that night, she didn’t ask. Maybe a part of her was hesitant. Maybe she wasn’t sure she’d get an answer. Either way, Luna left it at that.

Unbeknownst to her, the next time she would see that same ambition... it would be burning—and leaving nothing behind.

But, that’s a story for another day.

***

After that, Luna excused herself. Since she had slept for a few hours, she was feeling rested and wanted to train and handle some matters while Jack slept.

The two bid each other farewell, and the room returned to its peaceful quiet.

"I guess this is as good a time as any to use my stamps," Jack said as he rested his back against the pillow and stared at the four objects in his hand. Three were normal item stamps, and one was a golden stamp—the one he was most curious about. Since it didn’t specify whether it was a skill or item stamp, he assumed it could give either.

"I also want to allocate some of the bonus points I received. I’ve gathered quite a few of those," he mused.

"Twenty-four points?" Liliana raised an eyebrow. "It’s impressive you didn’t use any so far."

"I half-forgot, half-decided not to. I want my technique to keep up with my body. If I end up overpowering all my enemies too easily, I’ll never actually learn how to handle a sword."

"Very wise of you~" Liliana said. "Speaking of that, how about I help you?"

"Hm?"

"I can give you a lesson in swordsmanship, if you want."

"... Wouldn’t that put you in danger?"

"Oh, no, it won’t. Since I’m not affecting the world directly, I’ll be fine. If I hurt you, then yes, I’d be punished—but as long as I don’t, everything should be fine."

’Getting taught by her? Isn’t that a bit too good?’ Jack raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know how strong Liliana truly was, but he knew one thing: any lesson from her would be invaluable.

"I’d love that. It’s very much needed," he said.

"How about we have daily practice then?"

"Do you have experience training people?"

"Absolutely. I’ve trained countless people before," she said. "And I must say, your talent is mouth-watering. You’re the best type of student one could dream of."

"I see... Well, I hope I can learn, then."

With that, he finally picked up the first stamp and examined it. ’Will this give me something good, I wonder?’

He used the stamp, and a second later, an item appeared in his hand—a dagger. A rather plain-looking one with no noticeable features. It even had some marks of damage on its hilt and blade, indicating how truly old it is.

"Hmmm... well, this doesn’t look that useful."

Even after checking its information, he realized it was a completely ordinary, weak dagger. It didn’t even mention how strong it is or to what level it can kill.

"I might give this to the others if they need it."

"Your first bad item. You took it rather well," Liliana teased.

"I don’t expect to always get something good. But I’m hopeful the next stamp will give me a useful weapon or skill."

Then he picked up the second stamp and used it. This time, Jack received a plain iron helmet.

"Hmmm..."

"Two bad items back-to-back," Liliana hummed. "Is your luck running out?"

"These aren’t completely useless. I can give them to the people here."

"Indeed, you can."

With a small sigh, Jack set the item aside and picked up the last normal stamp. When he used it, the final item appeared—

"A backpack?" Jack frowned. In his hand was a large backpack made of sturdy fabric. It didn’t look much different from the ones he used to know.

[Name:

Spatial Storage Bag

Rarity: Common

Description: A backpack that can hold up to 70 kilograms of items while keeping the weight at a stable 15 kilograms.]

"Oh! This is actually pretty useful—what?"

"Hm, storage items are generally quite good. They use Aether to manipulate and reduce weight, making transportation easier," Liliana explained. "You’ll definitely need something like that later."

Nodding, Jack set the bag beside the others before picking up the final stamp—the golden one.

"Hmmm... do you think I’ll get something useful from this?"

"Most likely. But don’t get your hopes too high. A golden stamp isn’t always good—it can give you a terrible item or skill too."

"I don’t even know what to expect, so I won’t be disappointed."

With that, Jack pressed the stamp to his hand. A ray of golden light burst from his palm, filling the entire room. He shut his eyes for a few seconds until it faded.

When he opened them, he saw nothing in his hand. Not an item?

[You have acquired a new skill: Garden of Eden.]

[Skill: Garden of Eden

Rarity: Mythical

Level: 1

Description: A garden beyond the shrouds of reality, tucked in a world untouched by cruelty or envy. A small realm where one can find peace. By using Aether, you can open a dimensional space hidden from everything. Only you can access it—and three others you allow within.]

The boy stared at the floating window for a good few seconds, not reacting whatsoever.