One Week Later

I woke up once again in what looked like a hospital room. "This is becoming too often of an occurrence," I thought to myself. "Hah, looks like it's the middle of the night; I doubt anyone will come," I said as I got up out of my bed and started stretching. "Looks like I've mostly healed; how long has it been?" I thought to myself as I reached for my status watch on the countertop. "Wow... it's already been a week..." I said, "I guess I almost died for real this time..." I continued. "I guess I should check the reward like Rei said, 'Questing,'" I said aloud.

"Quest: Defeat the Demon Beast King Baal (Un-awakened)(1/1). 'Receive Reward'." There was what looked like a button under the quest information. "Reward granted: Soul Piece." "Soul Piece?" I wondered as my ears began to ring, and my head became heavy. "H-huh?" The next thing I knew, I was unconscious.

Tears Of Calamity: 15 years ago

"T-this is impossible, it's too strong. If we don't retreat, we'll be wiped out," the voice of a female guardian said.

"She's right. *** you're the strongest Guardian we have; we can't lose you here," a male guardian replied.

"If we don't do something here, all of humanity is doomed. We have to fight," *** said.

"With me and ***, it'll be fine. We can beat it," a young Alexander told the group.

"Hah... You're too young to be making these decisions; leave it to the adults," a young Gerard replied.

"Stop bickering, listen. I'm going to make an opening. When I do, throw everything you have at it. If things go bad... run," *** replied.

"Yes, sir." The group replied in unison.

"***... Please, don't do anything rash... We... I can't lose you," a female voice belonging to the young guardian Cynthia Su could be heard.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure we all come back alive," *** said.

Present day: a few hours later

"Hah!" I gasped for air as I woke back up. "J-just what was that dream... memory? I..." I sat bewildered for a few minutes until there was a knock at the door, and someone entered. Although she looked different due to the years that passed, she seemed very familiar: Cynthia Su.

"Vernon! Thank God you're awake. We were all worried; we heard what happened in the dungeon," She said as she quickly came to my side. "How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked.

"No... I'm fine... physically at least," I replied.

"That's good. Any mental trauma? You seem out of it?" she continued to ask.

"I think I'm fine. What about Ghislaine? Is she okay?" I asked.

"Ghislaine? Yeah, of course. She's the one who brought you here in a panic, after all," She replied.

"I see... then I'm grateful to her," I replied. "Can I ask you something?" I asked her.

"Hm? Yeah, sure," She replied nonchalantly.

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"Who am I... to you?" I asked awkwardly. She seemed taken aback, as if I had uncovered some sort of secret. She then immediately regained her composure and said, "Well, you're a patient who I've watched over for a very long time," she replied.

"I see... Sorry, never mind. I just had a weird dream and am kind of out of it. Forget what I said, haha," I replied.

"A weird dream?" She said somewhat surprised. "Can you tell me about that dream?" she asked.

Before I could answer, something came over me. "I can't really remember in detail. If I do, I'll let you know," I lied to her.

"Oh... Okay, that's too bad. Well, rest up. You can go home whenever, but try not to do any strenuous activity," she replied with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Thanks..." I replied. Once again, something just feels off. What was this memory that I received? Is it because of the soul piece? Why was Cynthia there? I need answers...

Knock Knock

"Come in," I replied to the knocking on my door.

"Hm. Looks like you're okay," Ghislaine said as she entered my room. "Whenever you're done resting, go see Jun. He has something for you," she said coldly and then left the room.

"That's it?" I thought to myself. After all we went through, I thought she would be more empathetic. Regardless, today I was going to go home and rest. "I'll meet the president tomorrow..." I said to myself. I guess I should check my stats, "System."

[Vernon]

Rank - B

Level: 18

Strength - 45

Intellect - 25

Luck - 25

Dexterity - 50

Attribute - Light, Fire.

EXP To next level 1000/40000

"Wow, I got two levels just from assisting in that fight..." I thought to myself. "It looks like my stats don't increase every time I level either. I wonder what it's based on?" I continued. "Well, whatever. I'm already so close to my goal and it isn't even close to a year."

"Hup!" I grunted as I got out of bed. "Time to go home and rest," I said as I gathered my things and went home. I spent the rest of that night meditating and training my mana. I still had a long way to go if I wanted to reach my goals.

The following day

I made my way to the F.C.F. in order to meet with President Kim. Ghislaine said he has something to give to me, so I decided to get here early. I walked through the building to the back where his office was; I've been here enough times to know the path by heart.

Knock Knock

"Come in," President Kim replied.

"Hello, I was told to come and see you," I told him politely.

"Yes, I have something for you actually," he replied. "Here." He handed me a small pouch with something in it. I took the pouch.

"What is this?" I said as I pulled the small black gem from the pouch.

"We're not entirely sure. Ghislaine said she found it after beating the Boss of the dungeon. She said she has no use for it, and that you can have it," he replied.

"Is that so? Wait, what about the dungeon itself?" I asked.

"Well, once she called for help and we retrieved you in a critical state, she returned to the dungeon and cleared it herself," he replied.

"Ah... I really was useless, huh?" I said.

"Useless? Ghislaine said she wouldn't have been able to beat him without your distraction. She also said the mana you emitted was stronger than Baal," he continued. "Apparently, if you hadn't short-circuited, she believes you would have killed Baal in one shot."

"What? That's impossible... That was an S-Rank Monster, there's just no way," I replied. "Plus, I'm sure she would have beaten him without me."

"Actually, based on our readings, that wasn't a complete Demon King. At best, its mana was A-Rank. Although our understanding of the Demon race is very lacking, and we can't completely determine its power based on our readings," he stated.

"I see... well, either way, I'll hold onto this," I said as I held up the gem. "Whatever it is..." I said.

"You okay?" he asked me with his left eyebrow raised and glasses dropping slightly down his nose.

"Yeah, just a little tired, haha," I said softly.

"I see, get some rest then. Also, one last thing. We believe someone may have been trying to sabotage you and Ghislaine. The entrance being blocked was unnatural. There also wasn't any sign that it was monsters, due to the fact that you and Ghislaine cleared them prior to entering. We believe someone may be after you; be careful," he stated.

"Thanks, I thought it was a bit strange that the entrance suddenly became closed off. Any clue who it could be?" I replied.

"No, although chances are they have access to our data. That, or they have somebody working for them from the inside. Either way, don't worry too much; just be a bit more aware. Have a good day, Vernon," he replied.

I left the F.C.F. soon afterwards and decided to head home. "I should get a bit more rest and try to figure out what this gem is," I thought to myself. "Maybe Gaia or Rei might know."

And with that, my dreams were in a ruckus once more.

"Yo~" They said in unison.

***