Chapter 16: Instant Motion
Deep and rough breaths escaped from my mouth. I stared down at the dead body of the Crystal Bat before shifting my gaze towards my bloody arm. It felt like I couldn't move it, and the moment I looked at it, I felt more pain in my arm.
After a couple seconds of just standing there, Leg Strengthening wore out. My legs immediately gave out and I collapsed to the ground right next to the Monster corpse.
Then, my vision began to darken.
At first I thought that it might've just been the light from my helmet going out, but I realized that I was on the verge of passing out.
My heart was racing, but my mind was calm.
Without a single thought, I let go of my sword and used my right arm to drag myself closer to the Monster corpse. All the while, my vision was getting darker and darker.
Through my half-closed eyelids, I could see where I slit the Crystal Bat's throat. Then, my arm gave out. My face ended up dropping right where my sword made contact with the Monster, my mouth right where its blood was flowing out.
'I need… strength…' I groggily thought to myself.
My tongue slowly left my mouth and I ended up licking the blood.
I couldn't even register how it tasted before I fainted.
When my eyes opened, the first thing I saw was a person standing next to the left of me. Because of the brightly colored glow coming from my arm, I knew that they were healing me.
"How long was I out for?" I asked the healer.
"Ah, O-only for a little bit. You were just taken out of the Dungeon," he said, surprised that I suddenly woke up, "Your body was fine except for your arm. If I hadn't gotten to healing it as quickly as I did, then there could've been some serious damage."
I only nodded in response.
Then, my eyes suddenly widened in realization. I quickly summoned my Status Window.
Name: Marin Skye
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Job: The Avatar of the Envious Glutton
Strength: 31 / Speed: 41 / Vitality: 20 / Magic: 8
Skills: Envy of a Glutton(S), Leg Strengthening(C), Instant Motion(D)
Sanity: 96% / Humanity: 93%
My eyes instantly lit up.
"Looking at your Status Window?" the healer guessed with a small smile despite not being able to see the it.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"I overheard from the Mercenaries that went to go pick you up that you managed to beat the Boss Monster," the healer said, "That must've bumped your Stats up quite a bit, am I right?"
"Err, yeah," I lied.
Though my Stats didn't change, I got a new Skill from the Crystal Bat.
Instant Motion(D): A Skill that allows for the user to perform a specific motion instantly at the cost of magic energy. The higher the Magic Stat, the more times the user can use the Skill at a time.
I thought as I looked at the Skill description. This must be the Skill that enabled the Crystal Bat to move so quickly when it hurt my arm. Maybe it used the Skill on its wings? The Skill is called Instant Motion, not Instant Movement or something. I don't know if I'll be able to do something like the bat.
Though, this Skill still sounds really useful, especially if I can increase my Magic Stat.
"You can probably go get a Rank evaluation," the healer said to me as he finished healing my arm.
"Hmmm… maybe," I shrugged, getting up from where I was sitting.
I saw the Dungeon Manager approaching me. I immediately knew what she wanted.
"I left a lot of corpses on the way to the Boss Monster," I told her, "If you need more, then you can just take some stuff from my bags."
She nodded before signaling to some of the hired Mercenaries nearby.
The Dungeon Managers came from the Hunter Association. The Hunter Association was basically a big place that dealt with Dungeons and Hunters. They had a list of all Hunters and Independant Hunters as well as their estimated ranking that they found out through a test that measured Stats.
The Hunter Association has claims on almost every Dungeon with a few exceptions. Hunters pay a fee to enter a Dungeon and once their time is up, they have to leave. However, if a Hunter ever clears a Dungeon, then they have to give some sort of compensation to the Hunter Association.
It makes sense since the Dungeon will disappear a while after it gets cleared. If the Dungeon never gets cleared that way, then the Hunter Association will either hire Mercenaries or send their own Hunters to clear the Dungeon before a Shatter.
After the Dungeon Manager left, I made my way over to where my bags and equipment were placed. Then, I noticed an angry glare from the corner of my eye.
"Joe," I sighed, turning my head towards him.
"Marin Skye," he spat.
"What is it?" I asked him, slight annoyance building up in me.
"These guys say that you cleared the Dungeon," Joe Hooper growled, "I don't believe it. There's no way that you could've possibly cleared a Dungeon! You're E-Rank!"
"...Then how do you explain the current situation?" I said exasperatedly.
Honestly, I was tired of this man child. For years, he harassed me, the only reason being that I was a weakling that was stuck at E-Rank. Even other Hunters never went as far as this guy did. At most, a normal person would just make a comment before minding their own business, but sometimes, I feel like Joe is obsessed with me or something.
"I don't know! How about you tell me!" Joe screamed in my face.
"...," I just stayed silent, glaring into his eyes.
Then, one of the Mercenaries came up to us.
It was a woman that was shorter than both of us, but I could immediately tell that she was much stronger. She had a tired and indifferent expression on her face.
"I don't know what's going on, and I couldn't care less," she sighed, "but I was hired by the Dungeon Manager. It's my job to stop any fights, so you better not start anything."
I just stayed silent before I bent down to pick my bags up. I was ready to move on, but it seems that Joe was a little slow to notice the Mercenary's strength.
"Butt out!" Joe screamed, "This is between-"
The moment he spoke, the Mercenary shot her hand out at a speed that my eyes couldn't follow. She wrapped her fingers around Joe's neck and lifted him up into the air.
"...," She just stared into his eyes, not changing her expression.
Joe was so angry that it looked like the bulging vein on his head would burst.
"You can go," the Mercenary said to me casually.
"Umm, alright," I nodded awkwardly before leaving the area near the Dungeon.
Behind me, I could hear Joe trying to scream while the Mercenary just told him to shut up. Honestly, a part of me wanted to stay and watch, but I had a little something called responsibility.
Checking my cell phone, I saw that it was 5:12. I hurriedly made my way to the train station before catching a train to go back to City C.
It was 5:43 when I made it back to the apartment.
I quickly put down my sword and bags in my room before going to the kitchen. I got some ingredients from the fridge to make some stew. After it was finished, I put some in a bowl and brought it to Marie's room.
I knocked on the door, but when I didn't hear a response, I opened it slowly.
I saw her at her desk. She was asleep with her head on her desk. As I got closer to her, I noticed that she had a bunch of textbooks and notebooks on her desk. It seems that she's been studying.
A soft smile spread across my lips.
I gently placed the bowl onto the desk. Then, I wrote a note using one of her pens and placed it next to the bowl.
After that, I left the room silently. Now, I had to feed Dad.
"Hi Dad," I said with a bowl of stew in my hand.
As always, he didn't respond. I sighed as I sat down next to him. As I fed him, I started talking about my day to him.
I didn't know if he was listening, but I still wanted to talk to him. I told him about the rabbits, the bats, and the Boss Monsters. I talked about how I almost died while I was fighting the rabbit Boss Monster and the Crystal Bat, and how I defeated them.
"I'm getting stronger, Dad," I said, placing the now empty bowl on his nightstand, "Things will get better… for you and Marie… I swear it."
I stared into my father's empty eyes, hoping, wishing, for some kind of response from him.
But none came.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MystyCry
MystyCry I hate the name Joe Hooper, and I hate that I'm the one that came up with it.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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