Aster had cast aside every worry in the world and was sleeping comfortably on his soft bed when a sudden commotion outside made him awake.
"Seriously... who’s making so much noise? Did a fight break out?"
Still half-asleep, Aster rubbed his drowsy eyes, got out of bed, and opened the door to see what was happening.
The moment he stepped outside, he froze.
Dozens of students had gathered in front of his dormitory, forming a massive crowd. Seeing so many people standing outside his room made him confused.
Curious, Aster walked toward them to find out what was going on.
The instant the crowd noticed him, they erupted into excited shouts.
"There he is! That’s Aster!"
"We found him!"
"Catch him!"
The students charged toward him all at once.
Seeing everyone sprinting straight at him, Aster panicked. He immediately turned around and tried to retreat into his dormitory, but it was already too late. Before he could get back inside, the crowd had completely surrounded him.
"We finally found him!"
Aster looked around in confusion.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Suddenly, someone pointed a trembling finger at him.
"IT’S HIM!!"
"THAT’S THE MONSTER WHO ATE ALL THE FOOD!"
"What kind of human eats six months’ worth of meat in one morning?!"
"My chocolate pudding... He stole my chocolate pudding!"
"I skipped breakfast because I thought I’d eat here!"
"My protein diet is ruined!"
"My bulk... IT’S OVER!"
Within seconds, furious shouts echoed throughout the area.
"GET HIM!"
"BEAT HIM UP!"
"MAKE HIM PAY!"
Dozens of students instantly drew their weapons.
"Guys! Guys! Hear me out, I didn’t ate the food, it’s still there if you want I can bring it out!" Aster said in panicking
No one paid the slightest attention to his explanation.
The students continued closing in, clearly intending to attack.
Left with no other choice, Aster summoned the B-Rank Silent Edge Sword from his slot inventory.
Gripping the sword tightly, he raised it above his head and stood perfectly still.
The moment the first student entered his two-meter attack radius,
"Slash!"
He kept manifesting slash after slash.
Anyone who stepped within range was instantly struck by a Manifested slash.
Since the Silent Edge Sword increased his Attack by ten points, every slash was significantly more powerful than before. Most of the new students were only Level 1 to Level 3, and a single slash was enough to knock them unconscious.
Twenty minutes later...
The battlefield had fallen silent.
Nearly every student lay sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain.
At the center of it all stood Aster, his sword still raised overhead exactly as before.
His mana was nearly exhausted, and dizziness washed over him with every passing second.
Only a handful of students remained standing.
None of them had the courage to attack anymore.
Their bodies trembled as they slowly backed away from Aster.
Then one of them suddenly bumped into someone standing behind him.
"H-Huh?"
The student turned around cautiously.
It was General Cassius, "What is this Aster!"
"Genera.....!l I can explain it to you" Aster said with panic
"Shut up! Meet me at my office right now!"
After a few moments, Aster was standing his the general Cassius’s office, looking at while keeping his hand at back.
The general, leaning back in his chair, rested his head on one hand, his sharp, solemn eyes fixed on Aster. An oppressive silence filled the room as he studied him with a grave expression.
Then the General finally spoke "Do you understand what level of commotion you created? The news has spread throughout the campus, everyone is talking about "The Standing Reaper" who wipes out 100 students without moving a single step!"
"The standing reaper? What a weird name" Aster suddenly spoke out
"Shut up! Shameless" General Scolded.
"From now, you’re banned from using any rank 9 facilities for 3 months," the General said.
Aster froze.
"W-What?"
His face turned pale as the General’s words echoed in his head.
Banned from all Rank 9 facilities... for three months?
"General... isn’t that a little too cruel?" he muttered, looking as though his entire world had just collapsed.
"Well there is a way you can get yourself unbanned." General said.
"What R-Really!?" Aster asked with glowing eyes.
"In 2 days the dungeon expedition will start. If you manage to get the top place, you can have yourself unbanned and enjoy all the facilities again!" General said.
"Clearing a dungeon is very tough and hard working, but I have no other choices but to accept" Aster though and replied "Alright, If I get top place in the dungeon expedition I can have my dormitory back, I accepted!"
"HOHOHO! I knew you would accept" general laugh
"But till now where will I live?"
A Few Minutes Later,
Captain Lyra escorted Aster to an old building hidden behind several academy warehouses.
She pushed open a worn wooden door.
"From today until the Dungeon Expedition ends, this will be your room."
With those words, she turned around and left.
"..."
Aster stepped inside.
Silence.
Then...
His eyes twitched.
There wasn’t even a bed. One of the windows had broken glass hanging from the frame. There wasn’t a single fan.
The wooden walls were so old that insects had eaten holes throughout them.
"...How am I supposed to live here? Even my room from my previous life was better than this... "
His fists slowly clenched. Veins bulged across his forehead
"That bastard Cassius... He planned this from the very beginning. All this... just because I ate a little food"
After complaining to himself for a while, Aster sat down on the dusty floor. He reached into his storage. A cupcake appeared in his hand. Taking a bite, he sighed.
"At least I still have plenty of food stored away. I can survive on this for two days."
He looked around the miserable room once again.
"But I have to get my Rank 9 back. There is absolutely no way I’m living in this wooden prison."
Aster summoned his sword.
Gripping it firmly with both hands, he swung.
System
Slash: 1491/1500
Right, If I swing my sword physically it still counts as use.
"If I want first place in the Dungeon Expedition... I need to level up my skills."
For the rest of the day, Aster trained without stopping. Whenever his arms became too exhausted to swing, he switched to using mana. When his mana finally ran out, his stamina had already recovered enough to continue training.
Swing.
Recover.
Swing again.
Hour after hour...
Until night fell.
Two Days Later
The day of the Dungeon Expedition.
Inside the old wooden room...
System
Slash Lv.9: 4999/5000
"...One more swing."
He raised his sword.
Slash!
Ding!
System Notification
Congratulations! Your skill has leveled up!
Slash Lv.10: Manifest 2 Slashes per Second while holding a sword. Range: 10 meters
"Two slashes per second?"
Aster’s eyes sparkled.
"Slash."
Whoosh!
Two slash attacks shot forward simultaneously.
"Haha!"
"My attack power literally doubled! So every major milestone doesn’t just increase the level... It also strengthens the skill itself."
He rubbed his chin.
"I wonder... How many slashes can I summon at max level? Does this skill even have a level cap?"
After thinking for a moment, he shrugged.
"That’s a problem for future me."
He sheathed his sword and smiled confidently.
"But for now...I’ll take first place in the Dungeon Expedition and get my Rank 9 dormitory back and sleep on my soft bed again."
He looked toward the sky dramatically.
"I miss you so much..."