“Kenji, I have been meaning to ask, what exactly are you doing?” Maria asked.

  Yesterday Kenji spent hours doing various poses in the backyard, and today he was at it again.

  While practicing [Ki Blade], [Flash], or [Bull Fist], Kenji made fast progress. But with [Beam] and [Enforce], it was different.

  For hours, he would point his finger at the wall without anything happening, as he kept failing to concentrate Ki.

  Other times, he would just be standing there without moving, trying to find his chakra points and circulate Ki through them.

  To onlookers, Kenji spent hours standing in the sun or pointing his finger at the wall.

  “Practicing skills.” Answering briefly, Kenji went back to learning the skills.

  [Ancient Calendar: 18 Mar 0001]

  “A little… more.” From Kenji’s Source Ki, Ki kept pouring toward the tip of his finger, and then a small red beam left his finger and hit the wall.

  “I succeeded!” Kenji screamed at the top of his lungs.

  Finally, for the first time in three days, he was able to perform [Beam]. Now he just had to keep at it until it became second nature.

  Soon it was evening, and Kenji had been able to use [Beam] a total of three times. To celebrate, he went to Mary to have dinner together.

  “You shouldn't waste money like this; we could have dinner at school or check out the Aqua Market.” This was the second time Kenji brought her to a restaurant to eat, and Mary felt he was wasting money.

  “Aqua Market?” Kenji asked, as this was the first time he had heard about it.

  “Don't you know?” Mary was surprised that Kenji hadn’t heard about the Aqua Market. “It's a market set up mostly by hunters, selling food, herbs, pills, and many other treasures.”

  “Oh, wanna…check it out…together?” Hearing that humans had set up an independent market, Kenji wanted to visit it with Mary, like a date.

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  “Sure.” Mary had been to the Aqua Market a few times, and every time she visited, the market got bigger and bigger.

  After making plans for tomorrow, Kenji dropped Mary at the [Hunters School] and then returned to his room to sleep.

  [Ancient Calendar: 19 Mar 0001]

  After waking up, Kenji took a bath and changed into the best pair of clothes he had.

  Before leaving, Kenji checked himself multiple times in the mirror to ensure he looked his best.

  After all, today he was going on his first official date. How could he not be nervous?

  “Yeah, yeah, I am gonna be back in a while.” Mary had just finished a class when Kenji came to pick her up.

  “You look different.” This was the first time Mary saw Kenji not covered in blood or sweat.

  “You think…so?” Smiling foolishly, Kenji followed Mary’s lead as both of them headed for the Aqua Market.

  “Selling F-rank [Skill Books], 5 gold coins each.”

  “Treasure Chests! Selling Treasure Chests!”

  “Selling Swords! Fresh off the assembly line.”

  “Selling Guns! Come check out the latest model!”

  The moment Kenji entered the Aqua Market, he was blown away by the sheer number of people.

  Unlike the Fairy Market, whose roads were always kinda empty, the entire square of the Aqua Market was filled with roadside stalls selling all kinds of things.

  “Don't bother, they are hardly able to kill level 2 monsters and can only fire a single bullet at a time.” Just as Kenji was about to check the guns that were displayed, Mary spoke.

  “Then aren't…they useless?” Kenji asked back. If a gun could not fire multiple shots and deal deadly damage, then it could hardly be called a gun.

  “No, they can still come in handy in some situations.” Mary didn’t call the current guns produced by the people of Aqua City completely useless.

  If aimed right, a single bullet could kill a level 2 monster, and a gun could come in handy in situations where the party was surrounded by monsters to create an opening, or if the hunters had lost their weapon during a fight, and so on.

  “This is new.” Just as Mary was about to pass by the stall full of guns on display, she noticed something new.

  “Good eyes, this is the newest product of our Boom Company, R1 Grenade. If you throw it at a group of level 2 monsters, they would die in an instant. Even level 3 monsters can't get away, and if an Elite monster doesn't react in time, it can severely injure it.”

  The moment the girl behind the stall saw Mary looking at the grenade curiously, she struck while the iron was hot.

  “How…much.” The moment Kenji heard the words severely injure an Elite Monster, he wanted to buy a few grenades.

  “Not that expensive, just 4 Silver coins.” The girl replied with a smile on her face.

  “4 Silver coins…” Hearing the price, Kenji started thinking.

  Carcasses of most level 3 monsters sell for around 5 Silver coins, while an Elite monster sells for somewhere between 5–10 Gold coins.

  If Kenji could successfully hunt an Elite Monster with the help of this grenade, then that would be like hitting the jackpot.

  “Can it…really…injure an Elite Monster?” Kenji asked again. After all, if the grenade failed to injure the Elite Monster, then his life would be on the line.

  “If you can catch it off guard.” As Kenji asked again, the smile on the girl's face dropped a little, but she still replied in a sweet voice.

  “The only way you can injure an Elite Monster with this grenade is if it is locked in a cage with limited space. Otherwise, with an Elite Monster’s sense of danger, he would get away when you pull the pin.”

  Mary’s words scattered all of Kenji’s dreams of hunting an Elite Monster with the help of a grenade and getting rich.

  When the passersby heard Mary’s words, they too had a sudden look of realization, and their excitement died down.

  “Customer, it isn’t true.” The girl instantly objected.

  “Whatever you say.” Mary didn’t argue with the girl, as she was just the salesperson.

  “I have to remind the professor about this.” Mary muttered to herself in a low voice as she and Kenji continued exploring the market.

  They tried many different street foods, and Kenji even got a brand new sword for just 10 Silver coins, although the sword didn’t have any rune enchantments.

  Leaving Mary at the [Hunters School], Kenji bought a bottle of food pills as he had run out.

  After returning to the housing complex, he continued practicing [Beam]. When he got a little bored of concentrating Ki, he would switch things up and practice [Enforce].

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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