Chaper 25: Self-improvement

this is a fictional story by realTensai

Alvis relaxed as he made himself comfy in one chair in his lab, a book in his hand. He had read it halfway through now and already learned much new stuff. The best thing was that it was practical, and Alvis could envision how he would use what he had learned in real-life situations.

Alvis was more than surprised when he saw that the school library had such a book. He had initially intended to watch HoloTube videos on the topic, though because he had found a book, he just had to pick it up.

His actual reason for going to the library was that he wanted to find a book about empaths. Empaths were rare, so rare that Alvis did not know what their abilities were. He only knew they could feel other people’s emotions, but not more. Yet, if he wanted to deal with Lia, he had to know what she was capable of.

To his luck, he found several books about them, a few of which he then added to his read list. Though right now he wanted to read the book he had in his hand.

When Dane stood up to grab something, he saw the book Alvis was reading, and his reaction was… well, confused.

“Al…. why are you reading a book called Ten Ways to get your dream girl?”

“My life depends on it.”

——

“I have collected all applications for the clubs,” Alvis said, handing Lia a staple of papers.

“Thank you, Alvis,” Lia answered, a genuine smile on her face.

Seeing her like that, Alvis could not help but smile, too. Somehow, he felt great whenever he could help her. After joining the student council, Alvis realized how much work they had to do. Even Alvis felt overworked, yet he only did a tiny bit of work compared to Lia.

Alvis wondered if she was some kind of cyborg the way she could manage all of her tasks and still get straight A’s in every class. Now he understood why people called her perfect.

However, Alvis saw how much effort she put in and that even Lia felt tired sometimes. Though the way she always gave her best was something Alvis admired. That was why he gave his best too, so that he could support her. It was not just because his level demanded him to save her, but more so his own will. He wanted to save her.

“Hey Alvis, let’s go eat something after school.”

As soon as those words entered Alvis’ ears, he froze on the spot. He could not answer, while his brain was busy processing the meaning of her words. For a moment, Alvis had thought she wanted to go eat something with him, though Alvis almost slapped himself as this arrogant thought crossed his mind. There had to be another meaning.

Yeah, there is no way. He thought, shaking his head.

“What, you don’t want to?”

“W-Wait, are you for real?!”

Alvis did not want to have hope just for it to be utterly crushed. Yet when he saw Lia’s beautiful white face blushing and her averting her gaze, he realized she had been serious.

“Of course, I want to! B-But how come I deserve a date with you?”

“It is not a date!” Lia said, her pointy ears glowing red. “I just wanted to reward you for your hard work, you know. I see how much effort you put in and considering you only joined because of me, I thought it would only be fair to give something back.”

“I am not dreaming, am I?”

“If you keep joking like that, I will withdraw my offer!”

“Okay, okay, fine. I will be more than happy to go on a date with you.”

“It’s not a date!”

——

As the sun began its descent, casting a warm and golden glow across the horizon, the evening sky came alive with a breathtaking display of colors. It was not every day that heaven blessed one with such a sight, yet it felt appropriate for this special day to end.

Alvis and Lia had finished their date, even though Lia did not want to admit it was one, and were strolling down the streets. It could not have gone better for Alvis. The date went perfectly. He had used a few tips he had learned from the book and they even worked. Lia opened up to him, progressing their relationship a step further.

Alvis could now proudly announce they were friends.

“It is incredible how good you get along with everybody. Even with someone like me.”

“Ha, you give me too much credit. It’s not hard with my ability.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He said that, though he knew what she meant. Because she was an empath, she could feel how people felt, so it was easy for her to get along with them.

Alvis had to suppress his surface thoughts so she would not notice he already knew the answer.

“Ahh, just forget it. I was just talking some nonsense,” Lia said, wondering why she had even mentioned it in the first place.

It was obvious she did not want to reveal her empathetic abilities, so Alvis would not dig into it. Yet he wanted to tease her a bit.

“Ohh, I did not know the perfect girl Lia could spout some nonsense,” Alvis said in an overdramatic manner.

“Ha, me and perfect? I am the complete opposite of perfect. People just don’t know the real me.”

Her voice was low, so low Alvis almost did not hear what she whispered. She looked at the ground, yet Alvis could see her lowered eyebrows and her lips slightly trembling. Her green eyes showcasing a multitude of emotions.

“You are right. You are not perfect. No one is. But so what? You don’t have to be perfect. As long as you give your best and strive to become a better person, everything is fine. That is what makes us humans, after all. Well, I guess in your case, elf, and vampire.”

Alvis just continued walking, but Lia suddenly stopped. When he turned around to face her, he noticed her surprised expression.

“What is wrong?” Alvis asked.

“I just noticed that you are a really kind person,” Lia said with an angelic smile.

Alvis’ heart raced so fast he felt like her cuteness could kill him.

I have to watch out for those surprise attacks.

——

The days passed, and Alvis continued getting closer to Lia. After their date, they spent even more time together, elevating their relationship. Lia definitely opened up to him, and he also got to know her character more, yet he could not find out how he could save her. No matter how close they would become, it was not like she would tell him she was part of an assassin organization and she wanted to be saved. However, Alvis only noticed that at the end of his run, resulting in him failing again. The two weeks ended and Alvis respawned.

His mom left the room after waking him up for school. Yet Alvis stayed in his room for a bit longer so he could forge a plan for this run.

Alvis was sure he was close to completing this level. There were only a few pieces of the puzzle missing. One of them, he just realized.

His idea of getting closer to Lia was not a bad one, but it was incomplete. If he wanted to save her, being close to her would not be enough. Alvis knew she had ties to the Assassin Organization and that he had to save her from them. But this was all he knew. If he wanted to save her, he needed more information.

Why did the loop always end after two weeks? What was it that happened that led to the loop ending? The end of the loop meant he could not save her, so in other words, on the last day of the loop, something crucial would happen to Lia, which she could not be saved from anymore. The only thing Alvis could think of was her death.

Alvis gulped as this thought crossed his mind. One could not be saved from death. This much was obvious. And living as an assassin bore the risk of dying at any time. It was just an assumption of his, but maybe Lia would die at the end of the two weeks.

Alvis was not sure about this, yet he had to find out what happened if he wanted to save her.

He knew this was the missing piece he needed to conquer this level. Only by knowing what awaited Lia, he could save her!

That was why Alvis would use this run to finally find out what happened on the last day of the loop!