Chapter 654: Master Dungeon
"See you tomorrow then, master."
Jock bowed deeply and headed out of the dojo to head back home.
They didn’t start training yet, as Kiernan needed some time to prepare for his training regimen, and he already knew what Jock needed.
"Congratulations on the first student!"
Aoi said in excitement.
"...This is the exact moment that I have been waiting for. I must succeed in teaching Jock and hopefully inspire him to continue practicing martial arts."
Kiernan said.
"You will do it!"
Aoi said with her trust in Kiernan never wavering. She was certain that he would succeed in this like he had succeeded in everything else.
"Mm. I will be over in my office for a while to think about the training regimen for Jock. I’d like to stay undisturbed."
Kiernan said gently and headed to the second floor.
"What about dinner?"
Aoi asked.
"You can eat without me today. I will feed on the energy of the surrounding world. This is a tier 1 country, so the energy is very rich here."
Kiernan said.
"Okay~"
After going to his office, he locked the door and sat behind his desk, cracking his knuckles as he thought about things.
"System."
He said.
At that moment, the transparent-looking girl appeared at the top of his desk, sitting and kicking her legs back and forth.
"Yes?"
She asked.
"...Is there anything in the system that allows me to get some kind of items to genuinely help me help Jock? I am looking for something like a booster shot that helps him awaken easier."
Kiernan said.
"You can check out the Master Dungeon. When you pass the fifth floor, you will open a shop there, and you might find some valuable stuff to purchase there."
The system said.
"Master Dungeon... Right, I haven’t tried that before. Might as well try it now."
Kiernan opened the system interface, scrolled down, and then pressed on [Master Dungeon], but nothing happened at first.
A second later, a glowing door appeared in the office. It was transparent. Most likely invisible to everyone else, as Fen was in the office, licking his paws at the corner.
Fen didn’t notice the appearance of the Master Dungeon gateway.
Kiernan stood up, and as he walked closer to the gateway, the Black Qi came over him like a protective armor.
The aura of his spiked up, and he looked like a formidable general heading to a war, and at that moment, he stepped through the boundary.
...
After stepping through the gateway, Kiernan appeared in a room. The walls were invisible. However, there were things on the walls that indicated that there were actually walls there.
A wall with a leaderboard. It showed a hundred floors. There were names on every floor, stopping at a certain point after failing to get any further.
"..."
Kiernan walked to the leaderboard and saw a familiar name close to the top.
[87th Floor: Mercedes Rosburg]
However, shockingly enough, she wasn’t the person that had gotten furthest. There were two people ahead of her.
[90th Floor: Romeo Alfa]
[95th Floor: Kurogami Ichiro]
"Interesting. She isn’t the most talented reincarnator. I wonder if Romeo and Ichiro are also Earthlings or from other Realms."
Kiernan thought out loud and then looked at the end of the room. There was a door. Well, opening of a door. There wasn’t an actual door but rather a shimmering portal.
He walked through the portal. It didn’t take him anywhere. He just kept walking down a hallway with invisible ground beneath him.
When he tried touching left and right of him, his hands touched invisible walls.
Eventually, he reached the end of the invisible hallway and appeared on some kind of platform. It was a sleek, round-shaped floor with nothing in sight.
"A challenger? It had been a while!"
At that moment, a person fell from high above. The figure landed on the platform. He was laughing with a grin on his face.
Above his head, a name tag appeared. It was like this was some kind of game, and Kiernan was facing some kind of boss.
[Master of the Stone Echo Style - Grand Sage Batu]
"Hahahaha!"
Batu stomped his foot on the ground. The platform shook. It was like vibrations were spreading in every direction.
"Interesting."
Kiernan said, and took his stance of Iron Style.
At that moment, he heard loud beeping and dinging in his ears.
[System Disabled!]
[Current Martial Rank Downgraded!]
[Middle Stage Martial King → Unranked]
[Martial Abilities Disabled!]
[...]
[Master of the Stone Echo Style vs. Master of the Iron Style]
"You are also a master? This is my first time facing a master. The brats that have come across me before were no masters.
"There had been singers, athletes, cooks, and even some artists. I can turn into masters of all those professions, and then I will compete against whoever comes knocking on my door.
"I have come across several martial artists before. Whenever I face martial artists, I, Batu, turn into the Master of the Stone Echo Style!"
Batu said with a laugh and clapped his hands together, which caused a shriek of a sound that uncomfortably echoed throughout the space.
[FIGHT!]
A word appeared in the air above them.
"Come on, Master of the Iron Style!"
Batu said with a laugh.
At that moment, his smile froze as Kiernan crossed the distance between the two of them with a single leap.
It was instantaneous. Fast. Unpredictable.
"Mastered Iron Style, Heaven’s Kick!"
With a back kick, Kiernan slammed his foot against Batu’s guard. The kick made his arms shake like a leaf in the wind.
"Urgh!"
Batu’s eyes shook with pain as he stumbled back several steps.
At that moment, Kiernan pulled his right arm back. It started wobbling. In that moment, he punched his wobbling arm forward like a cannonball being launched into battle.
"Mastered Iron Style, Bullet!"
The wobbling fist bypassed Batu’s defenses and squarely landed into his chest. A fist cracked against the bone.
Batu was sent flying backwards, gasping for air as he hit the ground with a thud.
[GAME OVER!]
[Winner - Kiernan Hunter]