Chapter 15: The Advanced Dojo
"Brother, you were right! That World Serpent organization… they're definitely not as simple as they look!"
Yuki's voice, laced with a conspiratorial excitement, crackled through the phone. Rovel leaned back, a faint smile touching his lips as he listened. "Well, what can I say? My little sister truly is the Queen of Luck. Here, let me rub some of that off on me."
A delighted giggle answered him. "Hee-hee! I have to get strong as fast as I can under Miss Raven's training so I can be the one to protect you, Brother! From now on, you can be the man standing behind Yuki! I'll protect you, just like you always protected me!"
She was already painting a grand vision of their future, her voice brimming with earnest determination. Rovel's smile widened, his tone warm and encouraging. "Alright, then. I'll be waiting for Yuki to become a powerhouse and carry me to victory."
After a few more cheerful exchanges, Yuki hastily ended the call. Rovel guessed it was dinnertime at her new home; she had probably snuck into a restroom to phone him. Given the rigid personality of that family's patriarch, the idea of a phone call during a meal was likely unthinkable, let alone a call to him.
With a soft sigh, Rovel finished washing the dinner dishes and stacked them neatly in the cupboard. He didn't immediately log into the game. Instead, he settled in front of his computer, deciding it was time to do some proper research on "Honkai."
While he possessed a deep understanding of the overarching plot of Honkai Impact 3rd, the specific gameplay mechanics of this VRMMO version were still a mystery to him. He pulled up a video by a popular creator, 'The Know-It-All of the Honkai World,' and after watching it, he had a much better grasp of the game's systems.
Then, a thought struck him. He opened a new tab and typed a single word into the search bar: 'Trust.'
The search results were sparse, but a few forum posts mentioned similar concepts, usually referred to as 'Favorability'or'Friendship Value.' The consensus was simple: the higher a character's favorability, the better their attitude towards the player.
But that was it. No one, it seemed, could see a precise numerical value for it. No one could view it as a clear, quantifiable stat the way he could.
'Is this another part of my cheat?'he wondered, leaning back in his chair.'Or… could it be a special effect from Elysia's Crystal Flower?'To test the theory, Rovel logged back into the game, his first intention being to unequip the crystal flower and see if the'Trust' display vanished. A moment later, however, he remembered a critical detail. When he had first equipped the flower, it hadn't just appeared in an inventory slot; it had floated to his chest and dissolved into his very body.
The game's equipment system was deceptively simple—just hold an item to equip it. But if it had merged with him… how in the world was he supposed to take it off?
Rovel spent a long while patting and prodding his chest, feeling for any kind of seam or prompt, but there was no reaction. The sun eventually set outside his real-world window, and with no progress made, he finally had to admit defeat.
The game world, he noted, mirrored the real one with its own day-night cycle, the time of day shifting depending on the server's geographical location. Here, on the other side of the world, dawn was just breaking.
But at Chiba Academy, the virtual night was deep and still. Not a single student was in sight, and all the buildings were dark. Looking at the campus, where all the lights were already out before seven in the evening, Rovel felt a pang of a gamer's frustration.
Just as he approached the Kendo Club, a notification materialized before him.
[The Kendo Club is closed. It will reopen tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM.]
"Is this some kind of new-age anti-addiction system?" he muttered with a wry shake of his head.
He wasn't too bothered. After a brief, aimless stroll around the deserted Chiba Academy, he left the campus grounds and ventured into the city proper.
Changkong City at night was a vibrant spectacle. The streets pulsed with life, bathed in the kaleidoscopic glow of neon signs. The energy was infectious. A grim thought intruded on the scene—he knew the miserable, broken state this thriving metropolis would fall into after the Third Honkai Eruption. The contrast made him sigh.
He passed a few other players on the street, fellow Descenders wandering and exploring, likely hoping to stumble upon a hidden quest or a rare treasure.
It didn't take long for Rovel to spot several kendo dojos scattered throughout the district. He could see people inside, their forms silhouetted as they practiced their swings. There was just one problem.
They all required an entrance fee. You couldn't even step inside to train unless you had money.
This was a bit of a roadblock. He possessed no currency from this world. 'Yuki probably has some, though,'he mused.'Maybe I should ask to borrow a little?'
Just as Rovel was seriously contemplating the idea of living off his younger sister, a familiar, gentle voice called out from behind him.
"Classmate Ruo Bai?"
Rovel turned, a flicker of surprise on his face. There stood Raiden Mei, holding a shopping bag and accompanied by a small group of other girls. It looked like they had been out for the evening. Her friends appraised him with curious glances but remained politely silent, waiting for Mei to lead the conversation.
"President," Rovel greeted her with a smooth smile. "What a coincidence."
"You are..." Mei's gaze drifted from him to the dojo entrance he'd been staring at. "Were you planning to train?"
"I just finished dinner and had some time to kill," he explained, a hint of embarrassment coloring his tone. "I wanted to practice some kendo, but the school's club is closed. I came out to look for a place, but… well," he gave a slight cough, "I don't have any money."
Raiden Mei understood immediately. These private dojos charged by the hour, an expense that would certainly be significant for a new Descender just starting out.
"In that case… would you like to come to my family's dojo?" she offered, her invitation coming without a moment's hesitation.
"Eh? Is that really okay?" Rovel was genuinely taken aback. Had he truly absorbed some of Yuki's luck? It felt like someone had just handed him a pillow the moment he was about to nod off.
"Of course," Mei confirmed with a small, reassuring nod. "I was just about to head over there myself. Would you like to come along?"
"Then I'll humbly accept your offer."
So much for living off his sister. It seemed he was destined to be supported by Raiden Mei first.
Rovel fell into step beside her. The other girls offered him polite greetings, but their interactions ended there. Before long, the group arrived at a large, traditional building that exuded an air of quiet dignity: the Raiden family dojo.
[You have entered an Advanced Kendo Dojo. When practicing Kendo, skill proficiency gain is increased by 30%!]
Rovel's eyes widened as he stepped inside. The dojo was immense and brightly lit. The wooden floor was polished to such a high sheen that it reflected the overhead lights like a mirror. The space was filled with every piece of training equipment imaginable: racks of wooden swords, heavy sandbags, striking dummies, and various modern exercise machines. He couldn't help but marvel at the sheer wealth of Raiden Mei's family.
"I'm sorry," Mei said, a note of apology in her voice as a thought occurred to her. "It seems we don't have any men's kendo uniforms prepared here."
"It's no problem at all," Rovel replied, waving off her concern. "I was just looking for a place to practice. This is more than enough."
"That's good, then."
Mei set her shopping bag down and, along with her friends, disappeared into the changing room. Left to his own devices, Rovel walked over to a weapon rack and picked up a wooden sword. Its stats immediately appeared in his vision.
[High-Quality Wooden Sword: An excellent wooden tachi used for training. Harder and sharper than an ordinary wooden sword. Strength +3 when equipped.]
'Good grief,'he thought.'Even the practice swords are high-quality.'
He found an open space and began to practice his forms.
[Practicing Basic Kendo (White)... Skill Proficiency +3. Bonus from Advanced Kendo Dojo: +1.]
[Practicing Basic Kendo (White)... Skill Proficiency +5. Bonus from Advanced Kendo Dojo: +1.]
'Not bad,' he mused. While the bonus was 20% less than the Kendo Club's boost, it was still a significant improvement over training normally.
Soon, the girls emerged, now dressed in crisp kendo uniforms. Most of them, however, seemed to be treating the session more like a social activity than serious training, their swings casual and their stances relaxed.
Raiden Mei seemed entirely accustomed to this. Without a word to her friends, she walked directly over to Rovel.
"Want to practice together?" she asked.
A spark of excitement lit up Rovel's eyes. "I'd love to."
This time, Mei didn't employ the formal techniques of Hokushin Ittō-ryū. She didn't need to. Drawing upon her exceptionally rich combat experience, she effortlessly kept him on the defensive. More than that, facing her gave Rovel a deep sense of helplessness. It felt as though she could see right through him, anticipating his every feint and predicting every strike before he even began the motion.
It was an incredibly frustrating fight.
Even though his Basic Kendo had now reached the Proficient level, he was still being completely and utterly suppressed. It was now painfully clear that in their match that afternoon, Raiden Mei had been holding back tremendously, and her loss had been a product of sheer carelessness.
Conservatively, he estimated her own Basic Kendo proficiency was at the Mastery level, if not all the way to Perfection.
Clack!
Their wooden swords met once more, the impact echoing through the quiet dojo. In the brief pause that followed, Raiden Mei suddenly asked a question that seemed to come from nowhere.
"Classmate Ruo Bai, do you like kendo very much?"
"No," Rovel replied honestly, shaking his head. "I wouldn't say I like it that much."
A silent, eloquent question mark seemed to form over Raiden Mei's head as she tilted it, her expression a mask of pure confusion.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]