Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

You received a new quest!

Complete the thirteenth stage of the VR simulator!

Reward: 90.000 coins.

Somehow, Ethan managed to complete the stage without suffering any more damage. Still, his stamina was low. Despite all that, he decided to proceed. However, the room stopped functioning, and then he heard Ian's clapping his hands.

"It is fine, Ethan," Ian said. "You already showed us something interesting, and I'm sure my father will agree with that. There is no need to get so worked up."

Ethan glared at Ian because his blood was still boiling. Although that was his goal, to begin with, Ethan didn't like to stop things in a half-assed manner. He had decided to reach the fifteenth stage, and that was what he wanted to do.

"Remember, we aren't the only ones watching this," Ian warned him. "Do you really want to show your current limits to everyone?"

That was true, but that only made Ethan feel even more annoyed. Listening to Ian being reasonable would make anyone feel that way, after all. After calming down a little bit, Ethan noticed that his sword was about to break, and he wouldn't be able to do much with his stamina left… that was insane. Stamina had been one of his best weapons in the other world, and now he couldn't fight seriously for more than a few minutes without running out of it.

"I will leave you two alone for today, don't do anything I wouldn't do, kids," Ian said but then shrugged when he felt Emily's glare. "I'm going to ask for permission to take the footage of this run to home. See you guys on Monday."

Things got silent after Ian left. For the good or the worse, he was a guy who knew how to make things keep moving. However, Ethan soon reactivated the simulator and chose the mode where they wouldn't be bothered by anything, and without wasting time, he began to run at his stop speed.

"It seems you also think that you lack stamina," Emily said. "Do you want to use the boots?"

"No, it is unnecessary," Ethan said with a serious expression on his face.

He hadn't even recovered the skill that could increase his health passively, and Ethan already realized that he needed others. He needed the skills that granted him the power to recover energy in battle. Although they were weak at the beginning and barely could make any difference, after certain levels, they could easily multiply the time that Ethan could keep fighting. However, he couldn't remember the name of those skills, much less the possible trigger to learn them.

"I thought that I would need only magic to control my power… but it is clear that just controlling it won't be enough. Emily also thinks that it is weird that we have our powers on Earth, so I can't relax yet."

Although that was a life he never wished for, it was the life that Ethan had. For the good or for the worse, he had power and could obtain more. Considering that there were others even stronger than him, he felt thankful for those facts. It was better than being weak in a world where crazy people could destroy him with a movement of their fingers.

"Did you already choose the new courses?" Emily asked. "Although our options increased and improved a little bit, it looks like we won't learn anything special unless we reach the rank C."

"My head was filled with those courses in the last few days, so I intend to spend the weekend avoiding anything related to the school," Ethan replied. "However, I will probably choose the same courses or at the least the ones that seem similar to the others."

In his berserker mode, Ethan wasn't really in control of his actions, but once he calmed down, he could recall the things he did while he was fighting. Although he didn't use it many times, the things he learned during the previous week helped him quite a bit. The support spells certainly were an improvement on his arsenal. Even though Ethan had no plans of becoming a magic warrior, he intended to increase the number of things he could do.

Alchemy and archery had many levels, so he probably could take those courses until he reaches the C rank. So, the only courses that he had to really think about choosing were the theoretical ones. While Ethan was thinking about that, he suddenly had a surge of inspiration. He thought of a way to answer one of the few questions that had been tormenting him over the course of the last week. However, the answer seemed really dangerous and worrisome. However, considering that he was in the simulator, perhaps he didn't have to go that far.

"I need a favor," Ethan said. "This might sound stupid and insane, but I need you to attack me as many times as possible."

"Do you want to increase your magic resistance or something?" Emily asked.

"Kind of," Ethan replied.

Emily wasn't used to attacking fellow human beings. Still, given that Ethan himself asked and they were on the simulator, she didn't have to worry about going too far. Ethan noticed Emily's worries, and given that his behavior might look odd, he decided to do something in order to stop questions from rising.

"It is okay, just use some earth magic, and I will block them with my sword," Ethan said. "That way, you won't damage me directly."

That made Emily feel a little bit more relaxed, but only in the beginning. As expected from someone like Emily, even though she used small earth projectiles, Ethan still suffered some damage through his hands when he blocked them. After less than a minute, the simulation ended because the system recognized that Ethan had lost ten percent of his health.

"So, the effects are ten times weaker…" Ethan rubbed his chin. "Well, it can't be helped. Let's do it again."

Emily frowned and, at some point, couldn't help but sweat cold when after several runs, she saw blood flowing through the wounds on Ethan's hands. Although the simulation would always end after the users suffered some damage, the users could always use the simulator again and restart from that point. After each run, Ethan lost ten percent of his health. Although he thought he was supposed to push himself to a near-death point, his worries were unnecessary.