The room has turned upside down, or maybe it’s just Zane who is performing a monkey-show on the bed.
It has already been an hour since he has been staying in this position; his legs high in the air, and head digging into the mattress. But there’s a reason for this childish behavior of his.
In front of him rests a book, thick and opened. One by one, he flips the pages, and his expression just worsens by the time he reaches the end.
"This is bullshit... Am I reading it wrong because of my position?"
After shifting his position several times, he found out that this position is more comfortable for his injured legs, so he adopted it.
Beside the book is placed the bowl, empty. The soup was delicious, but he asked for one more serving. She politely rejected it because that’s her way of punishing him for getting into trouble.
Finally, he lets his legs drop down on the bed and then stares at the ceiling.
"So... that’s why during the match, I was called a ’low-level swordsman.’"
He didn’t pay attention to that term because of his situation at that time. But the content in this book resurfaced that memory in his mind.
According to the information inside it, while Swordsman is the term that this world uses to describe the people who wield swords, the ’level’ describes something completely different.
The swordsman has nine levels, which are divided into three stages, with each stage containing exactly three levels.
And, as for his ’low-level’ criteria, he also found the reason for that. The reason being, the three levels of the first stage are considered low-levels. That means, he must belong between the first and third level.
The information makes him sigh with disappointment.
Oh Jack... You could have risen higher and reached the NINTH LEVEL before giving this body to me. How much better that would have been!
He turns onto his chest and flips open the pages before stopping at page no. 50. This is the main section that baffled him more than his own inferiority.
Each level has a name which this world uses to address the Swordsman, whether with contempt or awe.
The first level is ’Learner.’
Fair enough, sounds logical.
The second level is ’Intern.’
Where am I? In my corporate job?
The third is named ’Entry Level.’
I hope I am at least this. Being a Learner or, especially, an ’Intern’ would make me cry.
...
After this starts the second stage, and from here on, the weight of each name changes.
The fourth level is called a ’Bachelor,’ then the fifth is called a ’Master,’ and the sixth ’Peer.’
His brow furrows as he looks at the second stage.
I wonder if Kael and Bram belong to this second stage? They must be. The way people were taunting them during the fight, it made sense for them to be in the second stage.
...
He closes the book shut afterwards and sits up straighter. The third stage felt too overwhelming for him right now, not to mention each level of that stage felt like a pure scam to him, after reading their descriptions.
The ’Master’ and ’Peer’ are already hard to believe. Not to mention, I have more important things to worry about right now.
Carefully standing up on the floor, he makes his way downstairs. There is one question that has been bothering him for hours now, and he feels that he needs to find the answer to resolve his issues.
In the bathroom, Clara sits on the floor, scrubbing the clothes with her focus solely on keeping the light fabric intact. Her hair falls over her face and shoulders, though she hardly notices them.
Zane stops in the doorway, then leans against the frame. He hesitates to ask her, but the question has been troubling his mind for a while now, and he feels that he must ask it.
So much was happening with Jack... but why does she look so oblivious to it? I would imagine her hair going white from the stress... but she looks as hot as ever.
His figure finally falls into her peripheral vision, and she turns toward him without standing up yet.
"Do you feel good already, Jack? You shouldn’t move too much right now."
He pushes off the frame and takes the steps inside. Her words confuse him further.
She worries too much to ignore her husband in such a difficult time. Anyways, I should ask her now.
"I feel fine, actually... but, uh.. Can I ask you something, Clara?"
"Hm?" Her eyebrow raises up before she smiles and nods. "Yes, why are you asking for permission just to ask me something?"
He steps further toward her. Her position makes his head tilt down, and he asks.
"I just wanted to know about... what do you think about the next installment?"
...
Silence stretches in the bathroom.
Clara tilts her head to the side and stares for two long seconds before letting out a soft hum.
"Installment? What installment?"
Surprise, shock, confusion, realization. His face goes through several kinds of expressions before finally he smiles wide and lets out a laugh. His head shakes frantically as he waves his hand dismissively.
"HAHAHA! It’s nothing, really! I was thinking of adopting a puppy and naming it ’Installment.’ Haha! I will leave now! Bye."
He rushes out, leaving Clara traumatized.
"...Did they hit his head too?"
...
Upstairs, he jumps on the bed and wipes the sweat off his forehead.
I knew it. Jack hid everything from her! Hoh... she’s not a bad woman, for God’s sake!
Though, the reality hits back. While she didn’t turn out to be some mastermind behind Jack’s misery, the problem of debt is towering over him.
He raises his arm up and mutters under his breath.
"Fixing the debt issue and then..."
A faint smirk appears on his lips.
"And then, I will fix those two bastards. I will make sure they pay what they owe me... I mean, what they owe Jack. And, of course, my personal grudge is a different thing I have to settle with them."
[Notification!]
[Synchronization rate: 35%(+5)]
[The synchronization between the Host and Jack’s body has increased further; Clara’s description can be opened now.]