Ivan contemplated whether it was the right decision to tell Daiyu that he had joined the Liberation Force while he was seated in the backseat of a hailed cab that drove him home. He imagined every possible reaction she would have to the news.
His imagination leaned towards her reacting negatively to the news. He couldn't help but curse his luck. He didn't want to be grouped among the list of men who had broken Daiyu's heart. He ultimately decided not to tell her.
'But what if I die in the course of an adventure? Wouldn't that devastate her in the worst way?' Ivan mused, his mind a maelstrom of never-ending thoughts.
The cab stopped at Ivan's destination. He alighted from the vehicle and proceeded to enter his apartment building. He had resolved not to tell Daiyu that he had joined the Liberation Force. He decided that he would work twice as hard to progress his strength, thereby increasing his chances of survival at the end of every adventure he embarked on with his team.
When the word 'team' crossed his mind, he couldn't help but dwell on it. He wondered what kind of people would be grouped with him in his adventure party. He hoped that it wouldn't be individuals with unlikeable attitudes or outright criminals who had been coerced into assisting the movement.
The attitude and qualities of people in an adventure party were crucial to the party's survival rate.
Ivan unlocked the door to his apartment and entered his small living room. As always, he sat in one of the three single-seater couches in the room and appreciated the quietness of his rented space. There was indeed no place like home.
He remembered that he hadn't checked his system information after the intense battle with Greg at Greg's martial arts centre.
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Mission completed
Info: You chose to be bold; you dared to adventure. You accepted to spar with Greg, who was a rank above you in power.
Reward: You have been rewarded with 50 exp.
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Auxiliary mission failed
Info: You dared to challenge, but your will and your strength failed you. You failed to defeat Greg based on the agreed terms. However, you never broke the code of conduct.
Reward: You have been rewarded with 50 exp for not breaking the agreed code of conduct during the spar. Truly in line with the character of a true martial artist.
Ivan read the above information from the system's information panel in his perception. He was a touch puzzled that his system seemed to have included more text in the information panel. He didn't dwell on the phenomenon. He attributed this development to a self-thought hypothesis that the system was actively evolving.
He looked up at the ceiling and thought some more about his course of action for the coming days. He didn't feel comfortable with his resolution not to inform Daiyu about his upcoming party raid in the next two days. He decided that he would leave a subtle hint for her.
'Yeah, I will tell her that I won't be around for a while,' he thought, completely confident that she wouldn't decipher that there was something serious about to happen.
Two hours later, Ivan received his new vehicle from the employees of the Disaster Relief Ministry, who delivered the vehicle to his place of residence. He signed some papers to confirm that he had received the sleek sedan.
He took the vehicle out on a test run and returned satisfied to the underground parking lot that was situated beneath his building. He parked the vehicle and returned to his apartment. The time was 3:47 PM when he returned to his apartment. Ivan checked the time on his phone.
He remembered that he hadn't visited the gym today. He quickly freshened himself and got dressed in attire suited for the gym. He knew that Daiyu wouldn't be back till around 11:00 PM. She rounded off work at 10:30 sharp, and it would take about thirty minutes to go back to her apartment or to Ivan's apartment.
Ivan arrived at the gym a few minutes past 4 PM. The gym receptionist subtly expressed, with a warm smile, her elation to see Ivan revisit the place. Ivan entered the exercise hall and was joined by his trainer from the previous day.
The trainer guided Ivan on the exercises to train the various muscle groups of his body. He not only trained his muscles for strength and stamina but also for flexibility. Martial artists were not known to have rigid physiques but were renowned for possessing flexible, nimble statures capable of delivering in any situation. Ivan remembered these crucial points and pitched them to his trainer in a covert manner.
Ivan spent close to two hours in the gym. He also learnt some boxing skills from his trainer. It was essential to him because he wanted to have a wide array of knowledge on different fighting styles in existence.
He returned home. There was nothing specific to do. He wasn't in the mood to stream movies or play games on his mobile. His mind was consumed with constantly thinking about Daiyu and the potential impact of his future actions on her life.
'Man, this love thing feels enormous. Is this how people live? No wonder people in love seem to be on another world of thinking in contrast to single people,' Ivan mused, gaining some insights about being in a relationship.
'I have got to focus. Thinking about her is good, but constantly being apprehensive about every action I am going to take could hurt my decision-making. I just have to be bold.' Ivan sighed, thinking, 'I hope she doesn't misunderstand what I will say to her.'
Ivan pushed aside every thought about him and Daiyu. He focused on himself. He pulled up his information panel.
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System Info
Character Name: Nnamani Ivan
Avatar Name: Black Riot 79 – Reborn
Power Rank: Base rank
Weapon: (1) Switch-axe (2) Sword
Weapon Name: (1) Switch-axe (2) Black Riot
Type: (1) Common (2) Unique
Weapon Rank: (1) C-rank (2) S-rank
Inventory: Player lacks an inventory
Experience Points: 3604
Ivan was surprised that his system had acknowledged that he was the owner of a switch-axe.
'So this type of Switch-axe is a common type of weapon. I need to get rarer types of weapons to boost my strength. Also, I will need items that can defend me from attacks or evade attacks,' Ivan processed and calculated his strengths and weaknesses.