Chapter 35 - Goliath

--- (Ethan's Point of View) ---

After the hit of the Goliath, Ethan was thrown to the ground. With his [Boost Magic], he strengthened his body to improve defence and attack to resist the impending impact on the ground.

Hitting the ground, he felt the pain mitigating in all his body.

'I can resist his attacks easily'

clenching his fist, he looked at the Goliath while the latter roared furiously. Deciding to try the same technique again, he focused his [Boost Magic] in his legs and arms. With the flow of time slowed, He saw the goliath preparing to hit him with his right arm.

Knowing this, Ethan jumped towards it, easily dodging its fist. After he landed the hit, something strange happened. When you hit someone normally, the shock wave of it remains in the area of contact between the fist and the affected area.

["What happened, Light...?"]

Analysing the situation, Light replied

[It seems that [Boost Magic] isn't just a physical boost. Using the maximum power you could put in, the hit was fully enhanced. To make you an example, Hitting someone with the normal boost provided by the magic can make your punch stronger, but if you are fighting against someone with a defence higher than the maximum power you can use, the aftermath of the hit won't influence your opponent. Your first hit wasn't powerful enough to breakthrough the Goliath's Defence, but it still caused damage. Differently, in the second punch your power exceed its defences. After your fist entered in contact with the head of the monster, [Boost Magic] enhanced the shock wave of the hit, propagating it all over its body, destroying the core.]

Seeing the face of the Goliath starting to dissipate slowly, he was shocked.

["If that's the case, doesn't that mean I can just punch a monster and [Boost Magic] would do the work for me?"]

[Impossible. Like I said, your power exceed the monster's defence. If you hit someone with a higher defence, the shock wave wouldn't have the time to spread. I advise you not to think about it too much, this because you should consider this move as a last resort. The mana used is too much to make such an effect]

Hearing such words, Ethan understood she was right and, feeling his mana dried up, he thought

'I want to know more..about this [Boost Magic]...'

Seeing he was falling towards the ground, he used the mana he had left to enhance his defence. Closing his eyes for a moment, he heard a 'ding'. Gulping, he saw a new Optional Quest appear.

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[Booster Man]

Rank: S (Unstable)

Objective: Make [Boost Magic] reach rank S (0/1)

Optional Objective: Breakthrough the limits of [Boost Magic] (0/1)

Failure Conditions: Death, 2 years have passed without completing the Main Objective

Penalty: Seal [Boost Magic] for 4 years

Rewards: 1.000.000SP, 1x [Skill Upgrade]

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Now on the ground, he asked Light

["I understand the Quest, But what's that (Unstable) near the Rank?"]

Hearing his question, Light replied

[(Unstable) means various things. In this case, if you complete the Optional Objective, the rank will rise to SS or even to SSS. If the rank increases, the rewards, failure condition, penalty may change.]

While he heard her words, Lefiya was in front of him with a shocked expression.

"How..."

Looking at her, he replied

"I will explain after we return.."

Looking at him without her shocked expression dissipated, she started to think on her own about Ethan's action.

'I saw him punch the Goliath. Maybe he amplified his weight so much that he could destroy its head... But... If this was the case, He would immediately fall to the ground after the Goliath's head dissipated...'

He wanted to finish hearing Light explanation but, he heard Ais say

"I looked at you..."

Smiling, he decided to think about it in more details later. Standing up, he embraced her tightly. Feeling hungry, he said

"We should return now... I'm quite hungry"

Nodding, the group made their way to the surface with Ais and Ethan killing the monsters while Lefiya buffed them.

---

Exiting the Dungeon, the group made their way towards the Guild for exchange the cores they obtained. Seeing the sunset, Ethan had a smile on his face.

"We should go in the Dungeon together more often"

Without adding anything, Lefiya had a blush on her face.

'He wants me..in the group.. Even though I'm getting in their way'

Entering the Guild, Ethan locked eyes with Eina like all the times he entered the guild. Heading towards her, he said

"Good Evening Eina, I'm here to sell the cores we obtained in the Dungeon"

seeing his purse, she replied

"You are here with the Sword Princess, I see..."

Nodding, he added

"I'm here with Ais and Lefiya"

Remembering an important fact, he said

"Can you inform me about the expedition?"

Nodding, Eina took a row of doc.u.ments.

"The expedition is planned after the Denatus, 10 Days from today. As I think you already know, your familia will act as the Main Familia. the Hephaestus Familia that will provide support while other minor familias will send some members."

Hearing this, Ethan smiled before he said

"Thanks, I'll go sell the cores now..have a good day, Eina. See you next time"

Heading towards the sell area, he heard her say

"See you next time.."

After he sold the cores, he came back to the two that were waiting for him, saying

"I'm done, now we can go home"

With a nod from Ais, They exited the Guild.

"By the way, I asked for information about the expedition. They placed it after the Denatus, 10 days from now."

Nodding, Lefiya said

"After the Denatus.. You are a Level 2, do you have a nickname in mind?"

Thinking about it, Ethan answered

"I don't know..a nickname for me.."

Seeing him without a nickname, she muttered

"One punch man..."

Remembering Saitama, Ethan couldn't help but compare with him

"It was a lucky strike...you can say..."

Trying to understand what his words meant, Lefiya understood he wanted to talk about it in private.

'I'm curious now..how can a lucky strike one shot a goliath?'

Closing in her thoughts, she tried to think about Ethan's power.

After this, the group arrived at the Manor. With the same guard as always smiling at them, the three entered without saying anything.

'This boy...is really something'

Looking at them for a second, the guard returned his attention to the patrolling.

"I will go to my room to change my clothes"

Seeing the two nodding, Ethan went to his room. Entering, he wanted to see if his status changed.

------------------------------------------------

Name: Ethan

Age: 15

Race: Human

Lv 2

[Falna: 420/1.000]

Pow: 171H → 450E

End: 137H → 318F

Dex: 153H → 323F

Agi: 141H → 403E

Mag: 246G → 500D

{Total Parameters : 6.555 → 7.701}

Skill: [Qienta's Blessing:SSS], [Mana Control:B], [Boost Magic:H→G]

Magic: [Sagitta Magica:D]

Development Ability: [FeatherFoot:I→H], [Spirit Healing:I→H], [Hunter:H]

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With a smile, he saw that [Boost Magic] was on G rank now.

'I have 2 years..'

Changing, he went to the room where Riveria would teach them. Entering, he saw Lefiya and Ais changed in their normal outfits.

"Can we talk before Riveria arrives?"

Nodding, Ethan said

"My [Boost Magic] can boost my physique and my mind at ease but, this isn't the only thing that I can do with this Magic. Using nearly all my mana in that shot, my Magic amplified the shock wave produced by my fist, destroying the monster core. This won't happen if the monster's defence is stronger than my power."

Finally understanding, she had a face that clearly said

'I have doubts about your explanation.'

With a sigh, he added

"You can ask me if there is something you don't understand"

Nodding with a smile, she had a lot of questions to ask.

"You said that your magic can boost your physique and mind, but the shock wave is neither of the two. Doesn't that mean you can train yourself how to boost something that isn't your body but you can touch?"

Hearing such a question, he had doubts on his own now.

'If I could do such a thing... I can train on how to control shock waves, so I won't have to use all my mana to do it..."

"I can already use my [Boost Magic] to boost something that isn't my body..the fact is it consumes all my mana to do so. But thanks, you made me understand something impo--..."

Before he could finish his sentence, He heard a voice behind him

"All of you are here, good, we can start the lesson of today"

Nodding his head, he sat on the bed near Ais. Looking at her, he placed his hand on her own. Feeling relaxed, he didn't say anything while Riveria sighed

"Today, we will talk about how Communication is important in a relationship."

Nodding, Ethan thought

'I feel like I'm at a psychiatrist, asking Riveria to help us in our relationship...'

With a smile, he lost himself in his world for a moment before a staff hit his head. Rubbing the place where he was hit, Ethan looked at Riveria

"Why did you hit me..."

Hearing his words, Riveria said

"You weren't listening to me, so I brought you back to us. Concentrate on the lesson and then you can think about whatever you want."

With a nod, Riveria said

"I was starting to talk about how important Communication is in a relationship. Talking about you, about her, about your relationship, over time, people tend to ignore communication and assume everything is fine. You should always talk about it, do you know why?"

This time, Lefiya decided to speak.

"I-It's important because...with Actions you can consolidate the idea that words can create in a r-relationship..."

Nodding, Riveria continued her explanation on the subject while Ethan, Ais and Lefiya listened to her with focused expression.

'Communication... I see...'

Looking towards Ais, Ethan said

"We should talk about us after the lesson, what do you think?"

Seeing her nod, he brought his attention back to Riveria.

'I want to know her past..I should focus on live my life without always depending on such a variable thing...now that I really love her, I can no longer see her as an anime girl.'

---

(I have a discord server. discord.gg/cpVr5X8 If you enter it, you can choose one of Ethan's future powers from the pool I created, but that's not all! On the server, you can see the reference on some things that will be present in the story! Right now you can freely see some things like the [Twin's Digimon] and [The Devoted Heart].)

(A/N: I didn't have time to complete the chapter...Next chapter will be Riveria's new Lesson + other things)

(Alternate Titles: "Ethan, prepare yourself for King of Bakas' plan", "When Ethan wants to know more about [Boost Magic]. System: Hold My beer", "One Magic Punch...No, it isn't his nickname", "Light, the only appearance she makes is to explain things")