Chapter 44 Level Up

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*Clank*

I closed the door and quickly jumped onto my bed. I took out the ripe Ruda fruit from my Storage Space.

"Eat it and I'll become F rank..."

Staring at the Ruda fruit in my hand, I couldn't help but gasp.

In my previous life, it wasn't until I had studied for more than half of my first year that I managed to break through to F rank. In this life, it only took me a few short weeks to achieve that. I honestly thought I'd need at least another month to break through to F rank. Who knew that thanks to the dungeon incident, I would get the chance to level up this early?

But saying that, I also have to thank that damned demon. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten the Ruda fruit.

"Gulp"

Looking at the bright red ripe fruit in my hand, I couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of spit.

'Let's do it!'

I made up my mind and took a big bite.

"So delicious!"

The sweet juice was like banana and pineapple mixed together, extremely refreshing. It brought a feeling like summer on the beach. I slowly chewed to feel its wonderful taste.

As soon as I swallowed it, a cool and refreshing feeling spread throughout my body, making me unable to help but close my eyes to enjoy that feeling.

But that feeling didn't last too long, a pain like from the marrow immediately enveloped me. My pupils shrank and my limbs stiffened. Half of the Ruda fruit in my hand also fell off because of that.

The veins on my body involuntarily popped out, twitching like centipedes crawling under my skin. I definitely looked extremely horrible right now.

Even though it was painful, I still clenched my teeth, trying not to make a sound.

'I have to endure it, I can't faint!'

One of the conditions for being able to forcefully level up with the Ruda Fruit was that the person who ate it had to stay conscious, not faint from the pain.

"I-I...can...b-bear it!"

I had difficulty saying that.

But I had a reason for that saying. I had survived, survived until the last days of Elmanar being invaded by Demons. I had died once under that terrible fire. And the pain from the Ruda Fruit could not be compared to the pain from the regression. From then on, I had trained my mind to be steadfast in the face of pain.

When I had just regressed, my soul was still very damaged, so I was easily panicked by sudden changes, dangerous situations, or sudden pain. But as time passed, I became calmer and calmer.

The pain right now was truly incomparable to what I had experienced. But saying it didn't hurt was a lie, it hurt like hell! It was just that I was good at enduring it.

Just like that, I gritted my teeth and waited for every minute and every second, hoping that this leveling up process would happen quickly.

---

'Status Board'. I chanted in my head.

-x-x-x-

[Status Board]

Name: Danz Grayson
Age: 16
Race: Human
Rank: F- => F/ C
Talent: Swordsmanship
Occupation: Undetermined

===

Strength: F => F+
Agility: F+ => E-
Endurance: F => F+
Spirit: F+ => E-
Mana: F+
Luck: E

===

Special Skills:

§ Andrea Sword Technique [Diamond]
- Mastery: Unranked
- Description: Click to View Details

===

Skills:

§ Sharp Gaze [E]
- Description: Click to View Details

-x-x-x-

"I really leveled up!". I shouted happily.

My stats also had a few that entered E- rank even though I had just reached F rank. This was a remarkable achievement, not many people could do it.

It was worth the effort I had endured for more than two hours in pain. I let out a long sigh as I lay on the bed, relaxing.

*Sniff*

"?"

"What the hell is that smell?"

A foul, pungent smell invaded my sense of smell, causing me to frown.

I sat up and looked around. With just one look, I knew where the stench was coming from. My facial muscles couldn't help but twitch.

"I should take a bath..." I let out a wry smile.

"...and wash this bed sheet too."

That's right, the stench came from the black waste that my body had excreted after leveling up. It was all over my white bed sheet, looking terribly dirty. It was the impurities that had been accumulating in my body all this time.

"Ugh..."

I groaned and walked into the bathroom.

---

A woman with long, dark purple hair walked out of her bathroom, steam billowing out. She wore a simple white bathrobe, sexy but not offensive. The drops of water on her long hair occasionally dripped onto the floor and her bathrobe.

She gently rubbed her hair with the towel in her hand, wiping away the moisture.

With gentle, delicate steps, she walked to the sofa and sat down. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, relaxing after the tiring days.

Recalling what happened this afternoon, her delicate eyelashes slightly furrowed. Her amber eyes looked into the distance.

The image of the student holding a ripe Ruda fruit in his hand walking out of the academy's warehouse couldn't help but make her curious and confused.

She didn't understand why a student with an unremarkable family background and achievements didn't choose a Skill Book or a powerful weapon, but instead chose something used to level up.

Everyone knows, leveling up at low ranks doesn't take too much time, if you try hard, even if the limit is C rank, you can still break through from F- to F in just a few months. The fact that he wasted a chance to enter the academy's warehouse on an item like the Ruda fruit was something she could hardly accept. She felt sorry for her student.

"Haizzz"

She could only sigh.

"Forget it, what's done cannot be changed."

That student of hers had always been very strange, she didn't bother to care anymore. Perhaps he had his own reasons for his choice.

According to her, he was a weirdo in everyone's eyes, she herself sometimes felt that way. But mixed in the setting, she felt an indomitable spirit and a strong will, clear-headed and calm that no one of his age possessed. She always felt that he had a deep reason for his actions.

She decided to trust her student's choice, for no other reason than his uncommon steadfastness.

She was a tough teacher but she would not oppress her students. Everything she did was only for the sake of her students improving day by day; it was just that her methods were somewhat strict. Those who felt she was a difficult teacher to please are usually the lazy ones who refused to try, and in the end, they suffered her neglect.

"Danz Grayson..."

The teacher gave a faint smile full of confusion, she decided to observe him for a while longer.

---

Back to this morning.

Livy with a bored expression was lying on her desk, this action of hers made her classmates extremely confused.

Everyone was worried that she was unwell because she had always been bright and talkative. This was the first time everyone saw her lying on her desk.

The matter of Livy entering a dungeon with Danz and Briar was not announced to the outside world so everyone did not know what the situation was, they only knowing that Livy was in a bad mood or not in good health.

The handsome, blonde teacher standing at the lectern, upon seeing her like that, could only let out a sigh.

Pietro had a conversation with Livy after coming out of that dungeon, but Livy's mood at that time was not good because Danz was still unconscious, she didn't talk much so Pietro didn't know too much information. He could only automatically comfort the students with all he could say. But from what he saw, Livy didn't hear a word.

She would sometimes murmur "It's my fault...", giving Pietro some insight into what had occurred. He tried to reassure her, but Livy was completely consumed by guilt. It wasn't until she heard that Danz had regained consciousness that she finally snapped out of it.

"Sighhh"

He let out a sigh and resumed his lecture. He just hoped that Livy would soon go back to being her usual cheerful self. That kind of gloomy behavior was so unlike her.

...

The morning class ended and everyone started to shuffle towards the house. But Livy didn't head towards the cafeteria like the others but quickly walked to the next class.

Briar had just finished class and was leaving the room, still smiling and chatting with those around him. But the moment he spotted Livy, he immediately waved. Seeing Briar, Livy waved back; after all, she was looking for him to talk and take her mind off things

Briar quickly excused himself from the group and slipped away, he and Livy then left.

...

On the rooftop, a boy and a girl sat together, they took out their food from the Storage Space and started eating. The atmosphere was extremely quiet, with only the faint sound of chewing.

Livy ended the awkward atmosphere with a question.

"Hey Brinny, how are you so strong?"

"?"

Briar, upon hearing the nickname Livy gave him, was taken aback. He gave a wry smile in response.

"I don't know how to say it, I was just lucky, really...but...what's with that nickname though...?"

Briar wasn't lying, he had achieved his current strength mostly because he was extremely lucky.

Livy was a little disappointed when she heard Briar's answer. She thought she would get some useful advice from Briar, but judging by the expression on his face, Livy knew he wasn't lying about his luck. She could only regretfully ignore it.

She wished she could get advice from a strong person like Briar, thereby improving her own strength and protecting the people she loved. Her own weakness in the dungeon was a great motivation for her to improve herself. She didn't want to be a burden to others.

As for the nickname, she just found it cute so she called Briar that. She didn't usually give nicknames to others, only when she truly considered that person important to her.

"Hehe, it's cute. Don't you think so, Brinny?". She smiled brightly in response. A hint of mischief came from her voice.

Briar had also seen Livy calling Danz Danny during the dungeon trip, he thought it was because they had known each other for a long time that they called each other by nicknames, but he never expected that one day she would call him by a similar nickname.

"...Then can I call you Liz?"

After hesitating for a while, Briar finally spoke.

Livy was a little taken aback by Briar's question. But she wasn't upset because it was him who asked and not someone else. She just smiled in response.

"Okay!"

After that, the two happily chatted with each other.

---

"Ugh..."

I woke up in a bad state. My head felt extremely heavy.

*Ting!*

A sound like a bell rang in my head. Just when I thought it was just an illusion from the headache, a line of text appeared before my eyes.

[You have a system notification]

"...?"

'What the hell?'

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