Chapter 56 – Full Speed to the Gate!

Dismissing thе System, Asutо bеgan running at а leisurelу расе.

Тhe travеl limit was until the аftеrnoоn thrее wееks latеr. Thе Gate wоuld bе rеlеased bу evеning.

If possible, hе wаnted to be waiting аt thе Gate appеаrance point in реrfect сonditiоn bу mоrning.

Fоr that, the same рacе аs lаst time wouldn’t dо.

“Аmу, I’m going to рick up thе pace а bit. Сan yоu kеeр up?”

“Of сourse I cаn! What dо уou think Lady Amy is? Еven if уоu sаid yоu didn’t want me tо, I’d fоllоw you tо the еnds оf thе еаrth! Isn’t that grеаt?”

“…Тhat’s thе wоrst. It gives me the creeps.”

“That’s terrible!”

“Anyway, I understand you can keep up. Then let’s go full speed.”

The next moment, Asuto kicked off the ground behind him with full force.

He tore through the air with a whooshing sound.

His body felt incredibly light.

But this wasn’t his limit yet.

He could go even faster.

At this unprecedented speed, his feet threatened to get tangled.

He desperately stabilized his body and ran at top speed.

“Whoooooa!! How fast are you going?!”

Behind him, Amy with her face all scrunched up was desperately trying to keep up with Asuto.

He was running with the intention of leaving her behind, but there was no sign of her falling back.

Like a dog leash, when they got more than a certain distance apart, a force would kick in to prevent them from separating further.

“Looks like you’re fine.”

“Where does, this look, fine, to you?!”

After running for a while, his body got used to his current Status.

At this rate, he shouldn’t fall even running at full speed.

“I’m going to increase the speed even more.”

“Stop it! Naaaah!”

Dragging Amy along, Asuto ran steadily westward.

○

He returned to the Yoshitake-Takagi Ruins in Fukuoka two weeks after dying and returning.

The reason he could shorten the time by a whole week compared to before was his significantly increased Status, and his ability to optimize combat in the Outer Region.

“Hah, hah… phew… I’m tired.”

“Well of course you’re tired after running that much.”

Amy sighed as if completely exasperated.

But she immediately became serious and brought her face close to Asuto’s.

“So, it’s about time you tell me what you’re after.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. You ignored most Monsters, ignored Stray Gates, and just kept running. Even an idiot could tell you came here with some purpose.”

Hit right on target, Asuto was at a loss for words.

Just as Amy said, Asuto had avoided most combat on his way here.

He continued moving even after dark, running away from attacking Monsters.

The only thing he actively fought was that White Beast.

Most general Monsters barely gave him any Level increases even when defeated in large numbers.

Because they were all lower-ranked up to C-Rank.

But that White Beast was different.

Boss Class, and B-Rank Monsters gave abundant Experience Points.

Furthermore, defeating it would grant a Feat that increased his Level by six.

There was no option to overlook it.

“I’ll ask again. What are you after?”

“I told you before. I can tell where Gates will appear.”

“Yeah, you talked about having that kind of Skill. …Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right. A Gate will appear here.”

“I see, so that’s why. …Ah, wait. If you just wanted to conquer a Gate, anywhere else would have been fine. Why here specifically?”

Amy voiced a natural question.

He already had an answer prepared for that.

“It’s the Gate’s Rank.”

“Rank?”

“In addition to future Gate appearances, I can tell their Rank.”

“A Skill that can tell even that much? I see.”

Amy nodded without showing any sign of doubt at Asuto’s dishonest statement.

Because he wasn’t lying.

“So what Rank is the Gate that will appear here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?! You just said you could tell the Rank. Were you lying?!”

“No. I said I could tell Ranks, but I never said there weren’t any I couldn’t tell.”

“How shameless… But I see. So that’s why you chose this Gate.”

“Yeah. Because I can’t tell its Rank.”

Of course, this wasn’t a lie either.

It was true that Asuto had no prior information about the golden glowing Gate except that a Unique Item had come out of it.

“I thought it might be a special Gate.”

“It might be.”

Had this convinced her?

He stole a glance at her expression.

Amy was looking at the ruins muttering “Nothing here, what a boring place.”

It seemed she had no doubts about Asuto’s ability.

Secretly relieved, Asuto set down his luggage.

Camping at the ruins for one week.

Since just waiting was boring, he defeated nearby Monsters and conquered Stray Gates.

The Monsters and Gates were C-Rank and below, so his Level didn’t increase at all, but they served as decent Proficiency Grinding opponents.

Asuto woke up in perfect condition on the morning of the Gate’s appearance.

He checked his Status to make sure everything was in order.

○Name: Yuki Asuto (23)

Level: 54→55 Aptitude: Assassin

Rank: B SP: 0→5

Held G: 54234

○Physical Ability

Strength: 85→90 Stamina: 80→85 Magic Power: 19→24

Spirit: 19→24 Agility: 155→160 Perception: 85→90

○Skill

・Intermediate Dagger Arts Lv3→Lv4 (91%→5%)

Critical Strike Lv4 (68%→83%)

・Evasion Lv5 (87%→98%)

・Leap Lv5 (71% to 84%)

・Instant Memory Lv1 (19%→41%)

・Mortal Eye Lv3 (68%→92%)

・Life Steal Lv2 (11%→60%)

・Return Lv2 (0.5%→1%)

(What should I do about Memory Points…)