Free Web NovelChapter 37: The Final Stretch
Frozen grease covered the forest bed as a Frost Spike pierced through the eye of a wolf. Its face was covered in frost, and it lifelessly collapsed next to a pile of ten other dead wolves.
The ground shook, and a giant wolf pounced toward Luke, who didn’t move. Instead, a wall of vines shot out of the ground. They grew through part of the wolf’s body, leaving it suspended in the air.
It thrashed at the vines underneath its body, clawing for any way of escape, but its fate was sealed the moment the C-Rank vines pierced through its body. Even after using all its stamina, its claws were unable to even scratch the Vine Shield.
Luke calmly stood in front of its maw and looked directly into its animalistic eyes. The wolf whimpered, realizing that it had become the prey. He gave it one last look of pity before sending multiple icicles into its skull, killing it.
"Finally, the grind is over."
His exhausted voice called out to no one but himself as the corpses and surroundings disappeared, leaving only a glowing white room behind.
He wanted to rest after having cleared three rifts in two days, but there was a motivation that outweighed his fatigue.
Valeria.
Every second he wasted was a second that Valeria had to live without the power of the world. He couldn’t let the shopping district situation repeat itself. The next time she encountered a monster, Luke was going to make sure that she could kill it with her power alone.
He walked to the nexus room, which he had become familiar with over the past few days. The nexus glowed in the middle of the room. Luke smashed it without hesitation, once again finding no rewards waiting.
It didn’t matter if he found nothing, as a certain system notification came through.
[Rift Cleared: Spouse Mana +10]
He wouldn’t be able to wipe the grin off his face, and he knew it.
He would finally be able to help Valeria.
Luke didn’t waste a second and exited the rift, appearing inside the academy’s rift park. There were a few explorer parties around, but due to the influx of graduates, almost every awakened rift had been cleared.
The only reason Luke had been able to reserve one was due to the compensation from the practical incident. An explorer could only register for one awakened rift a week, meaning it should have taken him almost three weeks to recover Valeria’s mana core.
Somehow, almost dying ended up bringing about some good luck.
Luke walked out of the rift park, saying goodbye to the two ladies at the check-in counter.
Even after multiple days, the empty academy quad felt uncanny, but today even its uncanniness was a source of joy for him.
He practically skipped his way to the train station, humming his favorite tunes from his world.
That was one thing he missed: music.
Sure, the world had it, but only if a band was playing live. There were no records or music streaming services.
But since the trade-off was living in a world full of magic, how could he complain?
The train ride home was quiet. There were only a few people in the train car with him, all preoccupied with a task.
He jerked backward as the train stopped. The doors opened with their magical hum, and he took off down the streets toward his house. Luke didn’t run, but he also didn’t walk. His speed caught a few passersby off guard as he bobbed between sidewalks until reaching his house.
When he reached the front door, he stopped.
Today was the day he made good on his promise.
Before entering, he opened his status.
[Name: Lucius Kreuger]
[Rank: F]
[Mana: 50]
[Spells: Defense Increase (F), Grease (F), Pattern Recognition (F), Cleanse (F), Frost Spike (D), Fill Water (D), Vine Shield (C)]
[Bonded Spouse: Valeria Kreuger]
[Spouse Abilities: Shared Growth]
[Spouse Mana: 30]
[Trust: 52/100]
[Affection: 17/100]
[Milestones Completed: 4/14]
Most of his focus was on the Spouse Mana stat, but he cared about hitting fifty mana. He was now technically a D-Rank explorer, but only on paper. Until he cleared a D-Rank rift, his mana would be stuck at fifty no matter how many rifts he cleared.
He left that as a mental note and continued admiring the Spouse Mana stat before closing the screen and opening the door.
Some part of him expected Valeria to be waiting at the front door for him, but she wasn’t. He checked the living room. The only thing out of place there was a new ASL book that he had bought the previous day.
Then he entered the kitchen, finding no trace of Valeria, only her empty plate left from the breakfast he had made for her. His search wasn’t useless, as he did find a lead. The water was running in the bathroom. Luke peeked his head through the doorway, listening closer.
It was too quiet to be the shower, so Luke could only assume it was the sink.
’Perfect timing.’
He sat on the edge of the bed and sank into the mattress.
His heart beat faster than it had inside any rift.
Killing monsters had become routine. Casting spells had become routine. Even nearly dying had started to feel like just another obstacle to overcome.
Doubts crept into his mind.
What if thirty mana wasn’t enough? What if she couldn’t survive having her mana core fixed by the system? What if he couldn’t keep his promise to her?
He had to steel himself. Valeria had told him that she was willing to trust him if it meant getting her mana back, and Luke couldn’t just ignore her wishes because of a few what-ifs.
"Shared Growth."
The screen popped up, the same two sliders in their places. Luke dragged the bottom one until it reached thirty. His finger didn’t hover over the confirm button for even an extra millisecond.
He watched as the screen disappeared.
[Task Complete: Regaining Mana]
[Reward: Repaired Mana Core, Spouse Ability - Spell Library]
The water stopped.
The bathroom door slowly opened.
