I'm laying awake in the comfort of my blankets of my apartment. I've been awake since 3 AM and I didn't really have a want to get out of bed.

The comforter was just so warm, and fluffy.

A flash of light indicates a portal opening in my room and I slowly move my eyes to see Sophia drop out of my ceiling. She marches over and rips the comforter off. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" She's shouting so loudly with a crazy smile on her face.

What's with her today?

"Alright, we're going to be doing some physical training at the Mariana Trench base today." She still is holding my comforter and still has the smile. I curl my fluffy tail around my torso to warm myself up.

"Okay, but can we stop by the Adventurers' Guild?" She tilts her head, smile never fading, "Sure, but why?" I turn to her. "I'm still Rank F." She stares at me, no wait, she's staring through me. Snapping my fingers doesn't grab her attention.

"Yeah, you should be Rank D by now. One for reaching level 10 and one for a threshold," she says as she tosses my comforter back on me. Warm.

A quick change into the new outfit Thomas left in my closet leads to me modeling in the mirror. "Huh, Sophia, your husband is really good at this kind of stuff." This causes her to giggle. "He may be a genius when it comes to technology, but he has no artistic ability. I was the one who designed the outfit, he just made it." I stare at her. "Thank you then." "No problem."

"Well, this is touching, but I think we have stuff to do today," a familiar voice that I haven't heard for a while rings through my mask. "Aria? Where have you been?" I can almost hear her noncommittal shrug. "Here and there. Some early Christmas shopping, casual inspection on the internet for any suspicious stuff, and other things. Just my daily duties."

Sophia nudges me, "She isn't mentioning that she helps with Thomas in both his lab work and villain work." I guess she wouldn't mention that if she didn't want to. I mean, she has privacy, and she's her own person too, even if she is artificial.

I finish adjusting the last few pieces on my armor. Sophia gives me a silent thumbs up as she slips her mask on and opens a portal to the Adventurers' Guild.

We appear in the familiar second floor Redeeming Offices where I received money for defeating enemies in the dungeons. Similar to last time, the entire room is empty, save for the few employees that are playing poker in the corner. The only one standing at the counters is a woman with crow-like features like dark brown eyes, and black, straight hair. She stands up straight as she eyes us while we walk across the room.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" She sternly asks and I reply, "I'd like to advance my rank." She humphs a little as she grabs a golden monocle with a yellow lens from under her desk. "May I see your identification?" I hand it over.

"Hmm, which rank would you like to advance to?" I answer, "Rank D." She raises an eyebrow, "Have you achieved at least level ten and have had at least one threshold break?" I nod. "Use your words. I don't have any lie detection skills, and this device only works on verbal lies." I say, "Yes, I am level 11 and have broken through one threshold." The woman nods and commands me saying, "Follow me. We need to administrate a rank-up test."

After putting the monocle back under her desk, the woman comes around the side and walks down an adjacent hallway.

We walk into a room with beige bricks lining the walls and floors. Standing in the center of the room with her back turned to us is the familiar form of my initial test administrator.

Emma turns to face me with a grin on her face. "You've been busy, huh?" She calls out to me as she walks over. "And you missed a rank up too. Guess I'll have to go at you harder." I raise an eyebrow under my mask, "What do you mean harder?"

She forms a sword out of thin air. Actually it looks like water, so she either is exceptional in Water magic, or I wonder if she could pull the water vapor out of the air. A question for another time. "Your rank up will require you fighting me. Just zhis time, I'll hold back a little less. Prepare yourself, and we'll start in five minutes."

She stands idly in the center of the room with her arms crossed and eyes closed. With my, slightly forgotten, Mana Vision, I see the nearby mana in the air flowing directly into her and condensing. She's preparing something.

Meanwhile, I should probably come up with some kind of plan.

[ Skills: Enhanced Senses(Maximum, Passive)

Minor Physical Regeneration(Medium, Passive)

Observe(Medium, Passive)

Transcription(Passive)

Mapping(Passive)

Danger Sense(Medium, Passive)

Presence Detection(Minimum, Passive)

Inspect(Active)

Sharp Teeth(Major, Passive)

Powerful Jaw(Major, Passive)

Beast Transformation(Active, Hereditary)

Bite(Active)

Jump(Minor, Passive)

Night Vision(Passive)

Sleep Immunity(Passive)

Poison Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Mental Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Radiation Resistance(Medium, Passive)

Alcohol Resistance(Major, Passive)

Soul Resistance(Minor, Passive)

Lunar Power(Passive)

Telepathy(Active, Hereditary)

Meditation(Minimum, Active)

Mana Vision(Passive)

Mana Sense(Passive)

Mana Circulation(Minimum, Active)

Earth Magic II(Minimum, Base)

Water Magic I(Minimum, Base)

Radiation Magic I(Minimum, Base)

Non-Elemental Magic III(Minimum, Base)

Rock Hand(Minimum, Active)

Earth Bone Enhancement(Minimum, Active)

Summon Water Sphere(Minimum, Active)

Summon Mud Sphere(Minimum, Active)

Lightning Bolt(Medium, Active, Equipment) ]

Alright, so most of my skills effect my body. I'm definitely lacking direct one on one combat experience, so I have a very high chance of losing. My resistances don't do me any good here, and most of my magic is melee except for Lightning Bolt, so if she goes for ranged attacks, then I have to force her into close combat.

"Time's up," Emma states as a blade of water appears in her hand. I guess that's what she was gathering mana for. I glance to the side to see Sophia and the desk attendant sitting on some chairs. I wonder if Sophia knows what type of sword this is.

A blink of my eyes, and she appears right before me with the blade swinging down.

I'm going to lose.