For the next few days, I started going to the dungeon every day after school. As soon as the school bell rang, I would head to the dungeon training building without even changing from my uniform.
I would only enter the D-ranked goblin dungeon. My goal was to kill as many goblins as possible. Since we weren't allowed to stay in the dungeon past 10 pm, which was curfew, that was when I usually left the dungeon and went back to my dorm room.
I learned quite a few things about the dungeon. One of the most important things I learned was that the dungeon only spawned a total of 35 goblins. On most days, I would kill anywhere from between 20-30 goblins every time I entered.
This meant that I earned more than 3000 zencoin every time I entered. This would be a huge amount for me, but most of it was given to Roku. His extortion had increased as of late. He now took a lot more money from Oliver, Theodore, and I.
But since Oliver and Theodore didn't have a lot of money, it meant I had to foot most of the bill.
My martial arts training progressed smoothly since I was now the only student in Sensei Barrett's class. Theodore and Asura dropped out after the first week. I was happy about this since it meant the sensei now had more time to train me.
As for my weapon's cultivation, I still wasn't sure. I was hoping that my soul core would mend itself together, but it never happened. So I was left to cultivate the two fragments of my soul core.
Before I knew it, another two weeks had flown by, and I had fallen into a routine. I would wake up at 4 am every morning to cultivate my soul weapon, which took 4 hours.
I would spend the day training in martial arts and going through the rest of my classes. At lunch, I would spend time with Theodore and Oliver, but as soon as the bell rang, classes were over, I was back in the dungeon, sharpening my skill.
With this continuous routine, I felt that I had improved quite a bit. I was leaps and bounds better than when I just started.
The following day, for lunch, Oliver, Theodore, and I decided to grab something at the convenience store. We were hoping to avoid Roku since he had been hanging out at the cafeteria recently, but that plan backfired completely. The very person we were hoping to escape was exiting the store the moment we were going to enter.
Oliver was the first to panic and try to run, but Roku grabbed him before he could even take the first step. Before his muscles even moved to run, Roku grabbed him by the collar.
Theodore, who looked as if he was about to run, froze when he saw how easily Oliver was caught.
Roku scowled at us as his grip tightened around Oliver's collar.
"Pay up," he said, showing us his watch.
We all instinctively knew what it was. We had been through this countless times.
Seeing this, Oliver no longer looked scared; instead, he looked as if he was fuming with anger.
"We don't have any money. You took it all! You extort us every day, how do you expect us to have money after that! Dammit! Damien, this is all your fault! You told us he wouldn't be here. You said you saw him in the cafeteria." Frustrated by the situation, Oliver's anger turned to me, but before he could finish his rant, Roku's fist impacted his stomach.
Oliver released a sickening croak before he collapsed onto the ground. But Roku didn't stop there; he continued to kick Oliver in his stomach until he began puking on the ground. Theodore and I tried to get him to stop, but our words were lost in the madness that consumed Roku.
Unable to bear seeing his friend getting hurt anymore, Theodore rushed forward, but the moment he stepped forward, Roku swung his feet and landed a perfectly placed roundhouse kick, knocking Theodore down to the ground with Oliver.
He then proceeded to wail on them both as I stood by and watched.
"Stop. I'll give you the money you want, just leave my friends alone," I said.
The moment Roku heard those words, he looked up at me. I quickly took off my watch and stretched it out to him.
"It has 6000 zencoin on it. You can have it all; just leave them alone."
Hearing those words and seeing the watch, a demonic smile rose on Roku's face.
"That's what you should've done in the first place," Roku snickered as he grabbed the watch from my hand.
"It's not permitted for us to walk around school without our watches. Can I have yours instead?" I asked, to which Roku shoved his watch towards me and said:
"Take it. There is nothing on it anyway."
Having what he wanted, Roku spat on the ground before walking away. After putting on the watch, I quickly went to check up on Theodore and Oliver.
…
"It's been two weeks, and still nothing," Jamie said as he stared down at the blonde-haired boy standing with his fist clenched in front of him.
The boy was none other than Kai, who could do nothing but hold his head down in shame. The two stood in the empty classroom of Class Yang. It was currently lunchtime, and Jamie had asked the students of his class to step out so he and Kai could have a moment to speak.
None of them dared to object to his request.
"I tried," Kai finally spoke, but that was all he could muster the strength to say.
Two weeks had passed, and Kai had failed in getting closer to Luna. It wasn't for a lack of trying. The girl was just too timid. She would run off every time he even came in contact with her. He even tried to corner her a few times before, but that only led to her being more scared of him.
"I didn't ask you to try; I asked you to make friends with her," Jamie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How are you so incompetent? Or maybe you're not motivated enough. Maybe you just need some motivation…"
"No, it's not…"
"Your father is a very high-ranked hero in my guild. Because of this, your family has been living a relatively comfortable life. But that comfort could end at any time. Do you understand?"
Kai felt his blood run cold. Just the thought of his family being jeopardized for something like this pushed him to panic. But it wasn't just panic, he felt. He felt anger.
Anger towards the person he considered his best friend standing in front of him. Jamie had always been cold, but he wasn't always this cold before. He saw Jamie as his best friend, and deep down, he thought that Jamie thought the same, even though he never showed it.
Something had changed.
Kai felt it had something to do with Jamie's obsession with surpassing Levi, but no matter what it was, threatening his family was crossing the line.
Still, no matter how Kai felt, he held his tongue and bottled it up inside.
"I'm sorry. I'll get it done; just give me one more chance," Kai said, making sure to stare Jamie directly in the eyes so he knew he was serious.
Jamie looked at Kai intensely before saying:
"Don't fail again."
With those words from Jamie, Kai nodded and quickly left the classroom.
…
Theodore and Oliver's injuries weren't too serious, so after I brought them to the nurse, I went back to my class, but just as I was about to enter the room, I heard someone call out to me.
Turning around, I realized it was Kai. From his demeanor and the way he was acting, I could tell he was on edge, which was far different from his usual friendly demeanor.
"Can we talk for a moment?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure, what's up?"
"It's actually about Luna. You're friends with her, aren't you?"
I raised an eyebrow, looking a bit surprised.
"Luna? We have spoken to each other quite a few times, but I'm not sure if I'd consider us friends."
"Oh, I see." Kai nodded. "I was actually going to ask you for a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
Kai looked around anxiously before stepping closer to me.
"Could you set up a meeting between the two of us? It's really important, man. I've been meaning to talk to her about something important, but she keeps ducking me. If you do this, then I'll owe you one," Kai pleaded. It took only one look for me to tell just how desperate he was.
I adjusted my glasses, which were slipping from my face, before I answered.
"Luna has a very timid personality. She doesn't talk with people very often. Getting her to meet with you alone will be difficult…"
I paused, and at that moment, I could sense Kai's desperation rising.
"But if that's important to you, I'll figure out a way for you to meet her."
Kai sighed in relief, and his expression seemed to perk up.
"Really, man? Thank you. But are you sure you can do it?"
I smiled at him kindly before extending my hand for a handshake.
"Do you trust me?"
Kai looked down at my extended hand; he almost seemed moved by my gesture. With a wide grin, he took a hold of my hand.
"I trust you."
[Curse activated!]