For I Am A Side Character - 56: A visit to a Friend's house.
With how the Training Grounds was being prepared for her and her friends to use, she had enough time to do some other check-ups.
By calling out to her personal maid, she asked if the certain item she ordered was ready or not.
“Has my request been accepted at the blacksmith shop?” she asked.
“Yes, they said that it would be sent as soon as possible, probably around thirty minutes at most. It should arrive by then.” said her maid who followed her around as Jessica manages the training grounds for everything needed.
“…Hmm, what kind of grade are the potions being prepared?” She asked.
“Most of them are low grade to medium grade…we couldn’t get permission to use high grade potions due to the scarcity of it.” said the maid as she reported this to Jessica.
“Hmm, okay. That’s good as any…now if we do have the time, I think that we might as well use this time to make a high grade potion from our alchemy class. Do you have the Alchemy Room prepared?” she asked her maid again.
“Yes, the Alchemy room is currently being cleaned and the equipment with the ingredients are now being brought up from the house’s storage. It’ll a bit of time, but in about an hour, everything should be ready for the use of the Alchemy room.” said the maid.
“Good…Hmm? What are they doing?” as she stood around supervising the training grounds, she noticed that two particular large structures were being carried by a truck. And to it, the truck was able to place those two structures down on the corner of the training grounds without her permission.
“Hey! What’s going on? What is this?” she asked as she approached the driver.
“Hmm, this was a delivery made from a merchant, it says here that we’re supposed to put it here.” said the driver as he then called to his boys where they started placing those structures well enough as a display in the center.
“No, what I mean is, what is this?” she asked.
“I don’t know, I’m just the Deliverer.”
As they finally put together the structures, it was revealed to be a sort of machine that Jessica has only seen in the building of the hunter’s association.
“T-this is…”
“Ah, it finally arrived, good.” said the voice of a man who came strolling in the training grounds. That voice being the father of Jessica Young.
“Dad, is this what I think it is?” she asked as she looked somewhat surprised by the sight of the structure before her.
“Yes it is…Behold the most advanced Simulation Machine to have ever been developed in today’s era. With the most advance capacity to measure a hunter’s strength, this baby is fully licensed to take on your ranks and levels. and it even has the feature to measure your mana. ”
“You got two of them…” she said as she approached the machines in awe.
“Of course, seeing as how it was about time, this is another investment towards your future.”
“Is this about the fact that you plan to make a guild under the family name?”
“Yes, once your friends come along, why not let them test this out with you.” he said as he happily went his way.
“Is this about Soril?” she asked as she felt somewhat threatened by her father.
“Who knows…but since you vouch for him so much, I really am interested about his profile.” he said as he kept on walking.
“Oh god…”
After a while, her friends finally came over at the exact time.
With the maids who came to greet the four of them, they were lead straight to the training grounds.
As they walked there, they couldn’t hide just how much in awe they were of the place that Jessica lived in.
“Wow…this place is huge.” said Zelisha as she kept staring at the roof with chandeliers.
“…damn, they even have modern expensive art put on the walls. Look at there, that surreal pointing on the wall is over 2 million, I think.” said Thors as he showed an interest I nart.
“…I heard from a news article that this place was one of the riches and most expensive houses here in the city.” said Marilyn.
“…There’s a lot of maids in the area…who knew I would see a maid for real in my life. Haha, that’s funny.” said Soril as he laughed as the surrealness of it all was starting to get to him.
The Young family was rich, there was no doubt about that.
“Oh? Oh…you guys finally made it!” said Jessica as she saw them coming to the training grounds.
“Hi..” said Zelisha and the others as they awkwardly greeted her.
“Hmm? don’t be so stiff, come on, lets get started with this assignment.”
“Ah, what are we doing first?” asked Marilyn.
“Hmm, I was thinking that since we’re all here, don’t you guys wanna see your progress sicne yesterday’s hunt?” she asked
“What do you mean?” asked Soril.
“My family just got one of the highly advanced Simulation Machines that is said to be capable of reading your status as a hunter. Its like going on to take the Hunter’s exams, its easy.” she said.
“Hmm, that does sound interesting…sure why not.” said Zelisha as she was very much interested in this machine and her own status.
“I’m interested as well.” said Marilyn.
“I do wanna see my growth since then, so I sure why not.” said Thors.
“Great and since my family has two simulation machines, lets do this two at a time. First off, Marilyn and Thors.”
As Jessica lead them to the machine, she had a person who was experienced in managing the machine.
“Okay, since we want to test out your capabilities, lets start of easy.” as she said this, when Marilyn and Thors were now in the simulation test in a separate space, they were revealed to face a goblin and an Orc.
And seeing how they can easily surpass such a monster, they were able to kill it in the moment it came to attack them.
“Hmm, why not raise the level a bit.” said Jessica as she had the person simulate a monster of a higher level. This time it was a Kobold.
And just like before, they were easily defeated.
And out from afar, in a hidden location, her father was also witnessing the same thing.
“Hmm, it seems like her friends are stronger than most.” he said as he continued to watch the test.
When the Kobold was finally defeated with ease, this time, the simulation machine was able to simulate a more capable enemy, the Rogre.
And as it was simulated, this was the moment when they took this test seriously.
And it wasn’t just one Rogre, but the machine was able to simulate a pair of them.
“…Two Rogres huh. Good, all that time we hunted yesterday and never had I ever faced a pair of Rogres by myself. This is a chance I wont let go.” said Thors as he was getting excited.
Meanwhile, Marilyn was at her part, nervously calculating what to do at this moment.
“Hmm…I’m just a support mage, can I even handle this test properly on my own?” she asked herself.
And as they fought, the result came out that Thors was victorious with killing a pair of Rogres by himself while Marilyn was eliminated on this test, with only killing one Rogre while seriously injuring the other.
This was Marilyn’s Limit.
Thors on the other hand had slight injuries but he did make it through.
The test ended here for them and the results of the test would only be revealed after everyone was done testing the machine.
Next up was Zelisha and Jessica.
And just like the rest, they too took down the Rogre…
Although Zelisha was able to kill them in the end, she was left injured and unable to proceed to the next test while Jessica came out clean from the hunt. She wasn’t touched by the Rogres one bit as she took them on.
With that said, this level of the simulation wasn’t her limit just yet.
So with that said, since a C-rank monster wasn’t enough for her, the test was able to simulate something much stronger.
And that something was a B-ranked monster named the ‘Grizzled General Orc.’
A typical Orc mid-boss found in a goblin infested dungeon.
“…Hmm, I was surprised to find that she was able to kill the Rogres in ease, but knowing the gaps of her skill and experience alone, this might be her limit.” said her father who watched from the sidelines.
The Grizzled General Orc was a blue-skinned orc that carried an endearing nature of fear. His presence could make low-ranked hunters to tremble because of the presence he brings. His eyes speak of bloodlust unlike any other B-rank monster found on the Dungeons. With the nature to kill anything for his kin to survive, the General Orc will lead his people front and center when it needs be.
So for Jessica to face such an enemy, the moment when the General Orc did appear in the simulation, the place was instantly filled with his ever so pressuring presence.
“!!?” Jessica felt shaken as she saw the orc look to her eye to eye, as it seemed like he only looked at her as if she was prey.
And the moment she raised her two swords, the orc only raised his rigid hands. Despite the fact that he carried two small axes behind him, he simply choose to fight her with just his bare hands.
“…Usually at this kind of behavior, the orc doesn’t find Jessica to be a challenge.” said Zelisha as she was now out of the simulation, witnessing the simulation before her.
“…I see.” said Soril as his expression turned into a furrowed intent.
Looking beyond him, he knows well enough that Jessica can’t handle such a beast…still, this is an experience that she needs to at least meet in her lifetime as a hunter. To find a monster that would completely overturn her efforts. Here, Soril would expect to see whether or not she knows when to retreat in a fight.
Because if she doesn’t and she becomes stubborn during a real raid, then its going to be a problem in the future.
The moment the machine was able to start the fight, it was Jessica who took the initiative forward.
Dashing at her fastest speed, she was able to act according to her plan ot attack first.
The moment she got in reach with her sword, she quickly took the most deadliest chance given to her.
‘He’s wide open, I got this!’ as she said this, she didn’t hesitate to thrust her sword forward at an irregular position. Having to dash in and lower her entire body to the ground, it gave her the chance to reach her sword towards the Orc’s throat, thinking that she would succeed, she didn’t hesitate at all.
“Haaa!” as she did, her thrust, a speed faster than that of a bullet came lunging in. With the sword being coated with mana, her strike was stronger than what she would normally manage.
But in her efforts, she witnessed her failure.
“!?”
Her sword couldn’t even touch his skin for it was blocked by the mere use of a technique that encased her sword around the rock-like palms of the Orc.
“Shi-”
Before she could say anything, the general orc quickly pulled her in using the sword she held, and he struck faster than she could with just his fist straight on her face.
*Boom!*
The simulation’s room shook from his strength alone, and Jessica was instantly defeated.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Seeing that, everyone was left spooked by the sheer strength of a B-ranked monster.
Despite what is said..simply the gap fro ma C-rank and a B-rank is miles apart.
They thought that they could possibly win over a B-rank with their successful raid yesterday against the Rogres…but today, they witnessed the clear realization of such a gap.
As the Simulation Machine opened, and as Jessica walked out with a pale expression, the first one to approach her was Soril.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he tried to support her from falling to the ground. She seemed like she would fall any minute from the shock she took from the simulation. Although there was no physical damage, the mental damage was very severe.
“I-I’m okay…” she said as she tries to shake her head to normal.
“Okay…come on, lets get you seated down.” as he supported her to a chair nearby, her maid came by and started checking her conditions.
It seemed like her personal maid was a licensed nurse capable of checking her overall condition.
“Hmm, it seems like she is just doing fine. But to be sure, we need to transfer her to her room to properly rest.” said the maid.
“N-no, I still want to watch Soril’s fight.” she said as she argues with her maid.
“…Jessica, I don’t think that matters right now.” said Soril.
“…Hnn.” as Jessica continues to lay on the chair, trying to go against their words, all of a sudden, a man came by and walked up to the group in the training center.
“How is she doing?” he asked as the man went near his daughter.
“Dad…I’m fine.” she said.
“*sigh*…your overdoing it again. Listen to me Jessica, go to your room or else.”
“Not yet…I want to see Soril kick that bastards ass.” she said as she stared at her father with a clear stubbornness.
“…”
“…”
The two, Soril and her Father turned to one another and only sighed as it seemed like they couldn’t do anything.
“So that’s what you want?…Fine, it’ll only take a minute I guess.” without saying much but those seemingly cocky words, Soril made his way to the simulation.
“W-wait, what are you doing? Don’t be reckless or else, you’re going to end up like her or worse.” said the father as he tried to stop Soril.
“I’m sorry, but I forgot to introduce myself, My name is Soril Remus, I’m Jessica’s friend.” as Soril said this, the simulation closed and he was brought inside the simulation.
“…You have my consent on bringing that bastard out.” he said inside the simulation, knowing that the person managing the machine felt like it was a bad idea. So he had to give consent to make it feel secure.
“A-alright.” said the man who nervously started putting in the information for manifesting the b-ranked monster.
“…” Jessica’s father could only watch as he witnessed this happen in the screen of the machine.
Words could not describe the feeling he had when he saw just how foolish the boy was to prove something. But at the least, he was very curious as to why the boy would even believe that he could take on such a monster at such an age.
So despite everything, he watched…he watched to find out if his daughter was right.
As the Grizzled General Orc was starting to be simulated by the machine, Soril simply sighed as he watched it appear with cold eyes.
“Hey, how confident are you guys to think that he could win?” asked the father to Jessica’s other friends.
“W-well, he did defeat Jessabelle Morrison in a duel.” said Marilyn.
“”J-Jessabelle Morrison??! The Jessabelle Morrison??!! Daughter of “The” James Morrison!?”
“Yeah, and I did witness him kill a Rogre with just a shield, so I’m pretty confident that Soril has the skills to take out a B-ranked monster on his own.” said Thors.
“Even the two days ago, he and the other top-ranked first years of our school went on to kill an A-ranked boss by themselves. So his experience with strong monster shouldn’t’ be a problem.” said Zelisha.
“…So it wasn’t an exaggeration?! those things really did happen?” he asked as he looked qute in disbelief.
“Yeah I guess…but this time, something feels odd about him.” said Zelisha who was known for her keen eyes.
“Hmm, I get what you mean.” said Marilyn.
“He’s colder…more observant than usual.” she said.
“Well, it’s a B-ranked monster…he should be that alert.” said Thors.
“…H-how do you think his chances are against that monster who Jessica couldn’t even touch?” asked the father.
“Not sure…out of every fight we saw him do, we never really saw him fight a b-ranked monster up-front, this is a first for us too.” said Thors.
“…I see.”
“Don’t worry dad, my Soso’s going to rip him apart like string cheese.” said Jessica as she was starting to act very weird from how light headed her condition was. It seemed like she was being brought into a concussion.
‘’’Soso!?’’’ everyone clearly heard that from her. It was a nickname that simply showed adornment towards something she clearly had love for.
To hear that Jessica would say that seemed like she was closer to Soril than what anyone would have imagined.
‘a nickname?? since when did that happen?’ asked Zelisha as she clearly heard this from Jessica.
“Maybe she’s getting weird from the shock earlier.” said Thors to Marilyn in a whisper.
“…I don’t know about that.” said Marilyn back in the same volume.
“S-soso…” and her father was left in distraught.
Back to the screen, as the Grizzled General Orc was finally fully manifested, Soril could only cross his arms as he waited for the damn thing to react.
He didn’t raise his sword first and only waited for the opponent to do something first.
As the Grizzled General Orc finally caught sight of Soril…
He reacted quite differently.
The moment they caught each other eye to eye, the Orc quickly let out a pressure of fear throughout the simulation…and even pass through its screen, it affected the others who were simply just watching.
‘T-this is crazy…’ thought Thors as he felt his fear starting to rise up again.
As the others were shaken to their core, the only person who actually faced him upfront simply remained unfazed.
His eyes were cold…and he simply raised his sword in reaction to the Orc’s killing intent.
In that moment, the Orc thought of this as a challenge that simply caused his heart to be riled up. A true warrior was in front of him, so in return for such a grace, the orc brought out his two axes.
‘…So this is it, the Grizzled General Orc found that boy to be a challenge.’ thought Jessica’s father as he too felt the fear brought upon from the screen.