Chapter 22: A skill of my own
The long night has finally ended, and the sun shines through the windows, to light up the room where Nox was sleeping, Nox wakes up.
"Yesterday was only the first day, and it was a hell of a first day!" said Nox, he then remembers what happened yesterday, how he met General Thane, Foxy, and the teenage girl that he couldn't predict at all, he felt like being left behind, so far away from what he could've considered 'strong', he then heard a noise coming from outside the room, sounds of iron plates, he goes to see what's happening, he found Raunos training with a huge dumbbell, holding it like a sword.
"You sure train hard, partner! said Nox.
"You're finally awake! Nox," said Raunos.
"Yesterday I couldn't sleep early," said Nox.
*Raunos puts down the big dumbbell and wipes his sweat, his eyes narrowed, and he has a look of determination.
"Yesterday's loss has motivated me to work harder, I have to do my best to surpass that Tank General!" said Raunos.
(It's a good thing he didn't meet General Thane, or he'll kill himself in the training) thought Nox.
"What's with that face?" asked Raunos.
"Haha, nothing at all, I'll start my training as well," said Nox and started training, Nox looks frustrated and without focus.
"What's wrong, Nox?" asked Raunos.
"Yesterday, each of you guys had a strong move to use against General Godfrey, except for me.." said Nox.
"Don't be so down, the move you used to kill that dude in the Oni Examination is already impressive, I still don't even understand it, all I saw was a big guy dodging then his head flying," said Raunos.
"That move might be strong, but it's useless if I can't touch my opponent," said Nox.
"You mean.." said Raunos, realising the shortcomings of such a skill.
"I can use that skill only after the dagger absorbs blood, and to be on the safe side, it needs to absorb a lot of blood," said Nox.
"Then against someone like General Godfrey, with that defensive skill of his, you don't even get the chance to use your strongest skill," said Raunos, and Nox puts the dumbbell violently.
"Those are skills of the dagger, I need to develop a skill of my own!" said Nox.
"Tell me if you need any help," said Raunos.
"Thanks, mate," said Nox, and went to take a shower to relax.
(I applied to be in the assassin class, but I don't have any assassin skill, in fact, I don't have any skill that would clearly define my class, what am I even doing with my life?! sooner or later everyone will surpass me, and the people I used to call my peers, will go to higher levels, leaving me behind, My past is gone, my present is in chaos, and my future; what can I even do!!) thought Nox, under the shower he felt despair, and drops of water fall on his head, he remembers the view of the waterfalls cascading from the cloud-piercing castle, and then a drop of water gets into his right eye, Nox's eye opened wide.
(My Eye!... How could I have never thought of this? I always use my eye to see around me and to predict my opponent's next move, but I never used it on myself) thought Nox, "I'll try it now!" he said.
Nox Focuses while closing his eyes, he concentrates his spiritual energy in his eyes, but all Nox sees, is darkness like an endless abyss, (This won't work, wait! What if I use my mental energy instead, eyes are connected to the mind, this must work) thought Nox.
He focuses his mental energy in his right eye, he can now see his body's meridians, as well as his energy circuits, (The energy around my feet is too active, which explains why my kicks are stronger than my punches, then what if I open the energy gates in all my body?) he thought,
Nox tries to open the energy gates but failed, and then he realised something weird, even though he can see all his energy circuits, there are 5 areas that are dark and he can't move his energy past them, those areas are respectively his left eye, his tongue his right hand, his back, and his abdomen, no matter how hard he tried, it's in vain, which kept him wondering if it's because of those 5 dark areas.
"This is proving to be harder than I thought," said Nox, and left the shower.
"So you're finally out!" said Raunos.
"Yeah, I've been..." said Nox, Raunos clutches Nox's neck as he rubs his head with his fist.
"Look at you pretty boy staying too long in the shower simping for your looks, hahaha!" said Raunos.
"That's not it hehe," replied Nox, suddenly Aetos gets into the room, seeing Nox in his trunks.
"Aetos??" said Nox, confused about why would Aetos just appear in Raunos and Nox's room, and Aetos blushed and gets a nosebleed after seeing Nox's upper body and his perfect muscles.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Raunos told me it's fine if I come to tell you the news here," said Aetos with a nervous tone.
"Raunos, you set me up?" whispered Nox to Raunos.
"You'll have to thank me," Raunos replied.
Nox went to wear pyjamas and dried his hair with a towel as drops of water go down his belly, Aetos's face became red, while Raunos went to bring his favourite Moroccan tea, and all three sat at the table drinking tea.
"So you said Raunos called you over?" asked Nox.
"Ah... Yes... Because I bring some news, and Raunos told me it's fine if I come now, I had no idea... Maybe I came at the wrong time," said Aetos while blushing.
"It's not your fault, so what is the news you brought?
"The Class have decided to hold a new mission for us, and we have a meeting in two days at the Class, a General will fill us in with the details of the mission," said Aetos.
"Do They usually go on missions outside?" asked Nox.
"They do, outdoor missions are probably of the 'A difficulty', but now because of the stressful situation, the difficulty will rise even more," she said.
The Oni are basically soldiers, but they're expected to give more than what they take, which means, when they get a chance for training, they might lose their lives, and if they survive they must become stronger, life is harsh, and this is the only way to prepare great generals and people who can lead in the future, so each successful Oni is more valuable than thousands of soldiers.
Missions outside the City walls are classified between the 'A Difficulty' to 'S difficulty' especially since even the weakest of monsters require more than a thousand soldiers to deal with it.
"I see, then we'll have to prepare for it," said Raunos.
"And I have a request, for that kind of mission, teams should be formed, and I want to be on your team,"
"It's fine by me," said Raunos.
"Alright but first, what value will you bring to the team?" asked Nox, his question made Raunos & Aetos surprised, they never expected Nox the always easy-going guy, to be this picky.
"As you know I'm a skilled Archer from the hunter branch, I can hit a target from miles away," said Aetos.
"So that means we'll have to protect you at all times," said Nox.
"But I'll cover you, so..." said Aetos.
"You don't understand, you're not a crossbow user, you're a hunter-archer, so you need to be far away from us, and that way we can't protect you, Hunters and snipers, are archers are considered the highest damage dealers, they're always at the back of any army, but we're not an army, we're a unit of 5 to 6 people," said Nox.
"You can't just leave me far from you, at least someone has to stay with me..." said Aetos.
"Cut it out! We all will be out there risking our lives!" said Nox.
"Why do you make it look so serious, you're that afraid to lose your life?" asked Aetos, but instantly regretted, Nox released a suffocating pressure, a killing intent filled with his only memory, with the dead bodies of soldiers, men, women and children caused by the attack of the dragon on Blackwater City, a bloody scene, made him release a bloody killing intent, Aetos can't even breathe anymore, (When the hell did his killing intent get this frightening!!) thought Raunos.
(What's this killing intent!! How many people did he have to kill to get this!) thought Aetos, "Sto...p..." she said.
"I'm ready to lose an arm and a leg so I'm not afraid of dying, you said yourself that this time is different, not only we'll have to watch out for Magical beasts, we might even get attacked by other big cities while we're out, this is our real test to prove whether we're the elites or not, I can't be there focusing on the mission and focus on your safety, a hunter who can't defend himself, is no hunter, but easy prey," said Nox, he withdraws his killing intent, and Aetos left the room filled with anger and fear.
"Weren't you a bit too harsh on her?" asked Raunos.
"This is not a playground for kids who wanna play war, it's either you win, or you lose your life," said Nox.
"Then for the party..." said Raunos.
"We take Valerius and Aurora, for the rest, whoever is ready to die, is welcome to join," said Nox.
"Alright then, we'll be in your care," said Raunos, and tapped on Nox's shoulder.
"You mean..." he said, unsure of what Raunos meant.
"You're the most suitable leader for this party, every time you lead the fights, we have a higher probability of winning," said Raunos.
"I just try my best, besides, they should know what value they bring to the team, otherwise, none of us will return alive," said Nox.
"I agree with that," replied Raunos.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ArtsyDreamer
ArtsyDreamer Power System:
Spiritual Energy: The main source of power that warriors have, the more spiritual energy they have the more powerful their skills are.
MP or Mana Points: Mana is the source of power for Mages, the bigger the Mana pool in their body, the higher their Rank and the power.
Mental Energy: Mental energy is different from the previous 2 types, it can be used to perform mental attacks, but this type is known for Craftsmen and Engravers, cultivating it is proven to be the hardest.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone