Donovan returned to his apartment, dropped his umbrella on the floor, and laid down on the couch.
…How long did that mission take? A few hours? A day?
He checked his watch, which showed what day it was.
…A day passed… It's… 2:20 in the morning…
My sleep schedule is ruined…
We were on that godforsaken planet for that long…?
With a groan, he forced himself to get up. He didn't want to sleep on the couch.
Still wearing thick, heavy clothes made for winter, he got on the bed and peacefully drifted to sleep.
At 5:58 in the morning, he woke up drenched in sweat.
Donovan quickly removed his clothes, turned on the air conditioner, and got out of bed, dressed in gray sweatpants and a simple white t-shirt. He was sleep deprived, hungry, and sweaty.
Yawning, he went to the toilet to relieve himself. After that, he got the chef robot to make him breakfast.
His body was screaming at him to lie back down, but he forced himself to tidy up everything and have a quick shower by the end of it all.
After having a quick shower and breakfast, he went to the balcony to admire the rising sun. He was sipping on a cup of coffee.
Although we technically "failed" the mission, we still received the mission rewards…
…12,000 Galacreds… Three zeroes… Heh.
And… 8,000 Canopy…
Canopy… uh, oh, it's equivalent to "exp" shown in those video games I always used to play…
Come to think of it, how much Canopy do I currently have…? Uh, how do I check it again…? Oh, right!
Donovan quickly finished his cup of coffee and went to find his ID.
There was what seemed to be a fingerprint scanner on the bottom. After pressing his thumb on it, a blue holographic screen appeared in front of him.
In it were the words:
Visitor.
Donovan Volgard.
Mage-type, Shower Rank, Category 5.
Current spells in possession:
Flame Ball, Barrier, Flight, Light Beam, Light Chain, Blinding Light, Light Spear, Light Blitz, Holy Light, Eyes of the Sun, Lightning Strike, and Lightning Bursts.
New traits:
—Mana detection.
—Using spells that belong in the fuel-heavy category will decrease the amount of Umbrella Fuel consumed.
Umbrella Fuel: 2,000.
4,200 Canopy in possession.
Awaiting Advancement Trial.
Upon seeing this, Donovan fell into a daze.
He doesn't remember the spells "Light Blitz," "Holy Light," "Eyes of the Sun," and "Lightning Bursts"!
He didn't have these before!
Not to mention the fact that he was now a Category 5! Before the mission, he was a Category 4, so seeing this made Donovan become lost in his own thoughts.
I… advanced…? So when we completed the mission, I advanced? My memory from last night is too hazy, I can't quite remember… Damn it, I was too tired last night to remember anything…
Also, what does "Awaiting Advancement Trial" mean? Oh, right, in Category 5, if a Visitor wishes to rank up to the next rank, they must first go through a trial…
Ah! My Umbrella Fuel has been upgraded… Before, the limit was 500, now it's 2,000…! What an upgrade!
And I currently have 4,200 Canopy… What does that mean?
Hm, we received 8,000 Canopy from that mission… Do the math, do the math…
Uh, this means that when I was at Category 4, I had 1,200 Canopy… If memory serves me right, I need 5,000 Canopy to advance to Category 5…
Do the math, and…
Yeah, it makes sense. And since I have 4,200 Canopy, once I become a Storm Rank, I can get to Category 2 in just a few weeks!
And I have new traits now, too… I didn't have that before. So "traits" can only be attained at Shower Rank, Category 5…? Mana detection… If I remember correctly, I can use it to detect beings with "mana" inside them… Ah, but unfortunately, mana detection can't be used inside Umbrellas… Eh, doesn't matter.
With that, Donovan smiled.
What a great day! This mission was quite worth it! Uh, despite the trauma the others got… and my sleep deprivation…
He sighed.
The first step to returning home begins once I rank up to Storm Rank…
After washing the dishes and brushing his teeth, he sat on the sofa.
I'm too tired to do a mission right now… Plus, I need to save my energy in doing the trial…
I want to do the trial today…
He then turned on the TV.
***
Dean yawned as he sat on the toilet. On his hand was his ID.
Thirty minutes earlier, he woke up in his bathtub after having fallen asleep in it.
And as for why he had his ID on the toilet, he eagerly wanted to check if he got any new spells. He just advanced thanks to the mission, after all.
After his thumb was scanned on the fingerprint scanner, a blue holographic screen appeared.
Visitor.
Dean Aldridge.
Assassin-type, Storm Rank, Category 3.
Current spells in possession:
Shadowstep, Speed Burst, Veil of the Reaper, Flashstep, Speed of Sound, Flame Wielding, and Flickering Flame.
Current traits:
—Faster spell activation.
—Veil of the Reaper is now undetectable by any and all kinds of tracking systems. Annihiliths, radars, etc.
—Mana detection.
Umbrella Fuel: 5,000.
2,000 Canopy needed for next advancement.
Staring at this, Dean tsked. He didn't get any new spells.
I didn't want to believe it… Guess it was true…
At Storm Rank, every Visitor wouldn't be able to get new spells, and they can only get new spells at Category 5.
But this wasn't an issue at all. Although getting new spells at Storm Rank was an impossibility, the current spells they have will be significantly improved as they advance from category to category.
No new spells in exchange for improving one's current spells.
Dean was getting a bit irritated as to why his Umbrella Fuel capacity wasn't getting upgraded. Ever since he became a Category 1, his Umbrella Fuel remained at 5,000, and it would likely stay that way till Category 5.
And he reckoned it'll be upgraded once he ranks up to Typhoon Rank.
Still a long way to go…
With that, Dean put his ID aside, and focused on pooping. He's been sweating bullets for a while now.
He has been stuck on the toilet for 25 minutes.
***
Clara took a sip of milk on her bowl of cereal, staring at the blue holographic screen in front of her.
Visitor.
Clara Swan.
Fighter-type, Storm Rank, Category 2.
Current spells in possession:
Bonebreaker Strike, Call, Titan's Grip, Ice Blade, Icicle, Ice Cocoon, Ice Imbuement, Ice Barrier, Ice Dancer, Frozen Warrior, Instant Lunge, and Unyielding Stance.
Current traits:
—Bonebreaker Strike can now be imbued with every swing of the weapon, no longer making it a singular-use spell.
—Gain a stronger and faster body. This trait levels up with every advancement.
—At the verge of death, adrenaline will quickly and greatly rush throughout the body, and Umbrella Fuel will be replenished.
Umbrella Fuel: 680.
5,500 Canopy needed for next advancement.
Clara finished her bowl of cereal and drank a full glass of water.
She hasn't slept since she returned to Umbrellas.
In fact, she couldn't sleep at all, no matter how hard she tried.
She wanted to sleep, but the images and memories of the angel "killing" her had left her quite distraught.
Shaking her head, she stood up and walked towards the balcony.
***
Dressed in a gray turtleneck sweater, Donovan flew to the Portal Chamber, meeting with Tiero.
"Mr. Tiero, I would like to rank up to Storm Rank," said Donovan.
Tiero looked up from what he was doing—writing on a clipboard—and said, "Congratulations. I forgot to congratulate you, my apologies."
"As for ranking up, go ahead, why do you have to come to me?" he added.
Donovan was a bit confused.
"...I have no idea how to rank up to Storm Rank, Mr. Tiero…" said Donovan as he awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
Tiero sighed and shook his head.
"That's right… I completely forgot, my apologies again."
"Hm, alright, it's quite simple actually."
"All you have to do is defeat one Reaper-type Annihilith, and you'll automatically rank up to Storm Rank."
Upon hearing Tiero's words, Donovan's smile froze.
De… Defeat one Reaper-type…?
Oh, I'm screwed…
Wait, no, I'm not screwed… I'm a Category 5 now!
Uh, but it's a Reaper-type…
Suddenly, Tiero made Donovan snap out of his thoughts by saying, "You don't have to do it alone, y'know. Ranking up, that is."
"Or do it alone, your choice."
That means I can request help from someone…
I can either ask for help from someone who's the same rank as me, or someone at Storm Rank… Hm, who do I ask…?
Tiero snapped his fingers. "Donovan!"
"Seriously, you always space out when I'm talking to you. Anyway, are you going on a mission today?"
Donovan quickly answered, "No. I'm a bit tired from the Tosla mission, and I wish to save my energy for the advancement trial…"
Tiero nodded. "That's good. You shouldn't overexert yourself."
"I wish you good luck on your trial," said Tiero as he patted him on the shoulder before walking away.
After Tiero went to greet a fellow Visitor, Donovan focused on his own thoughts.
I have many choices:
Vincent, a Ranger-type… If memory serves me right, he was a Category 4, and he should also be a Category 5 now… I can consider picking him. But if he's busy, I won't insist.
Dean, an Assassin-type… Actually, screw that. He'll never come.
Miss Clara, Fighter-type… Hm, I shouldn't disturb her, she's probably still dealing with trauma…
Nick, Joseph, Miss Juliana… Actually, screw that as well. I don't even know where they live… and I don't have their phone number…
Wait, I don't have all of their phone numbers!
…Shouldn't be an issue, I think… Hopefully…
A Healer-type could be useful… Eh, but they need a Tank to protect them… I can't protect the Healer while fighting the Annihilith…
Hm…
Donovan jogged his brain to recall memories of the "friends" he had made before he got transmigrated into this body…
There's also Sam, Ariel, Aguilar… These are all Visitors that the original Donovan met in the past…
But I don't know where they are right now… I could consider calling them…
The corners of Donovan's lips twitched slightly as he sighed.
…Miss Sylvia… If it's with her, it's impossible to fail.
In conclusion, my options are: Vincent, Miss Sylvia, and the original Donovan's past acquaintances…