Where am I?

I can’t see… nor feel? Is… is this place the realm of souls? Am I dead? But then… why I’m conscious? What kind of dead is conscious?

[Is the user fooling around?]

Eh?

[The user cleared up to the third floor and failed to clear the fourth floor of the tower of despair.]

[First, second, and third floors’ wins earned 6 BS points. The loss on the fourth floor will inflict a penalty of -4 BS points.]

[You won 2 BS points!]

[You now have 45 BS points!]

Himo opened his eyes. “This…” He could see the stone ceiling up above. Below, he could feel the soft texture of his bedsheets. His eyes darted around the room, and he noticed that Phylia held him on her lap.

"Master!" she called out. "Are you fine?"

Himo sprang up and hugged her. "I'm... alive." He was on his bed. Back in his room. Safe from the dreadful ogres. A relieved smile grew on his lips, and he felt something wet leaving his eyes. A tear. "Am I crying?" He touched the tear with a finger. "Really... how pathetic..."

Phylia, hearing him, patted his head, mimicking what he had always done to her. 

Surprised, Himo stared at her for a few seconds. He lost himself in her clear, black eyes. Then, after a few moments of silence, his eyes drifted toward his own small palm. First, I’ve lost against the jellyfalls. Now, I’ve lost against a bunch of ogres… He closed his eyes, reminiscing about the two fights. But that’s not going to happen again! From now on, I will act proudly and will defeat any hardship that comes my way, no matter what it is. He vowed to himself. I won’t let death faze me again!

“Thank you, Phylia. Now I understand.” He stood up and spun around as he opened his arms. “We are weak.”

She tilted her head.

He stopped. “But we won’t be weak forever. Let’s work together to reach heights never seen before.” Himo grinned. “Let’s show our strength to the rest of the world so that anyone will tremble upon hearing our names!”

Phylia broke into a grin. “Sure! Master, let’s inflict terror on everyone!”

Seeing her ear-to-ear grin, Himo couldn’t help but stroke her hair as he lamented how cute she was. Still, he took a mental note to remind her not to widen it that much since it might look scary to others.

[This was unexpected. How is it possible that dying gave the idea of dominating the world?]

“And you! System! Why didn’t you tell me that I’d not die in there? You’ve made me get a heart attack for nothing!”

[The user did not get a heart attack.]

“That’s not the point! Tell me why you hid it!”

[The system predicted that the user's reaction to death would be int— The system believed that hiding that information would have lowered the user’s arrogance after experiencing death, but it didn’t expect that it would increase instead…]

“Oi! I heard you! Don’t act innocent now!” Himo snorted and slumped on the bed. He closed his eyes and crossed in arms. He stood like that for a few seconds, lost as he searched a plan for future actions. Finally, he opened his eyes. “I see. I know what we most need right now.”

“Hmm?” Phylia looked at him.

“From today, we’re going to start a training arc!”

She blinked. “Training arc?”

Himo nodded. “In most of the novels I’ve read, whenever the main characters go to a new area, they find themselves outmatched by everyone.” He looked a Phylia and raised a fist to the sky. “But we’ll train before going to the academy, so that when we get there, we’ll dominate over everyone!”

“Yeey!” Phylia also raised a fist.

[Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of going there in the first place?]

“System, don’t be disappointing! We have to show our strength first!”

[The user is saying nonsense as usual.]

Himo rolled his eyes. “Besides, I’ve just realized that my use of [Hopper] is… limiting. During my fight with the ogres, I’ve accidentally used it reversely—it’s possible to use it offensively!” With but a thought, he summoned the description of the skill.

[Hopper lv_2]

[Produces an invisible solid platform mid-air to stand on. The platform can generate a force of propulsion, enabling what the user loves to call “double-jump”. Limited uses while in mid-air based on the skill’s level. 

Standing on a steady surface will replenish the uses. Max consecutive uses at lv_2: 3]

After reading through it, Himo smirked. “As I thought, there’s no restriction to ‘where’ the propulsion force is aimed.” He poked at his chin. “Now, where should I go to train this…”

Many options appeared in his mind. From searching random monsters in forests, searching random mobs in the slums, to fighting against random enemies found in other areas. He also considered to ask his father or to try it out against Phylia, but a wave of sleepiness assaulted his mind. 

All the tension from the encounter with the jellyfalls and the ogres had flown away, and he felt powerless against the weight of his eyelids. Glancing at a window, he noticed that it was already dusk. “Oh, well. It’s a problem for tomorrow’s me. Phylia… I’ll sleep for a bit now…” And he slumped on the bed again, falling asleep.

Held by Phylia, he slept like a baby for all the night. When he woke up, the sun was already atop the sky.

“Aaaah!” He stretched his arms as he walked out of the room. Phylia followed behind him. The two walked through several hallways as Himo's gaze drifted aimlessly from window to window. “For now, let’s go a bit outside. I’ll try it out without a target.”

The two walked through a few corridors, and the hall leading to the courtyard opened before them. “Oh?” But instead of proceeding outside, Himo stopped. Through the opening of a door at the side, he noticed several people. My father? And… who are those three? Himo raised an eyebrow and walked inside. “Good morning. What’s happening?”

“Good morning.” Mo glanced at him and said, “They are protesting against recent changes.”

The three, hearing those words, nodded. They gave a light bow to Himo and added, “We’ve been informed that a new law will allow every village to proclaim their own lord.”

“Yes, it’s true.” Himo tilted his head. “What’s the problem?”

“May I ask the reason for that change?”

“Many villages are in awful conditions and their lords don’t help with that. This is to remedy that problem.”

One of the three frowned. “Your Highness, with all due respect, this change isn’t too… profitable.”

Himo waved a hand. “If the conditions in villages improve, the economy will likewise improve. I am dead set on this change. If you came here to stop it, I’ll have to inform you that isn’t possible.”

The three scowled. His father, meanwhile, shrugged and leaned back on his chair. Silence stood for a few seconds, ended then by an abrupt comment from one of the three. “Is that so.” He shook his head. “Then, my apologies but we’ll take our leave.” The three bowed and walked away.

Watching as the three silhouettes left the courtyard, Mo sighed. “They’ll come back.”

“Indeed.” Himo nodded.

Ding!

[Abrupt Quest: Quell the insurgent nobles!]

[Your previous decision held grave consequences. The nobles are about to lose the support from many village lords and will thus lose a part of their income. Stop the impending revolt by either words or force!]

[Quest Difficulty: A-]

[Quest Reward: 50 BS points.]

[Quest Failure Penitence: none.]

A quest. Himo frowned for a moment, but his eyes soon lit up. Could it be that... I can use them as training targets?