Seung's brows furrowed as he stared at the screen. The mechanical male voice he had heard in his sleep was stern and devoid of emotions.
"[5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]"
As the countdown reached zero, he felt his body suddenly devoid of energy. Out of his control, he was lifted from the bed as if he were a piece of paper.
"What's going on? Why have I become light?" he shouted, trying to steady himself.
***
A hush fell over the scene. The sky, which had been dark and dimly lit by the silvery moon, turned into an orange expanse. It resembled a sea but was orange instead of blue. There was no moon, no clouds, no birds—just an empty, orange-hued sky.
Lee Seung stepped forward cautiously, his eyes scanning his surroundings while covering his mouth. He felt a cold warmth under his feet as he walked. Although the floor was dry, it gave a cold sensation.
"Where is this godforsaken place? What am I doing here?" he muttered, still looking around.
The grasses were withered, the soil very dry. It seemed impossible for such soil to grow grass unless it had changed recently. Mosses crawled over the cold, dry floor.
The land stretched endlessly, with towering hills and leafless trees about two hundred meters away. Disassembled metallic parts, like broken robotic limbs, were scattered around.
Except for the damaged parts, trees, and hills, there was nothing else despite the vastness of the place. As Seung continued to walk, he frequently turned back, sensing a presence behind him, only to find nothing.
"Damn!" he cursed. "It's as if this place is haunted. The AI should have asked for my input on the training ground…"
He halted instantly, eyes fixed ahead. A faint light shone on him up to chest level, his eyes darting around continuously.
"[Welcome to your Domain. This is an artificial space created from your memories, which will serve as your training ground. The main purpose of this operation is for you to master all moves, gain more knowledge on using your skills, and strengthen your physique.]
[Training in the Domain is a compulsory daily mission. You will automatically be teleported here when the time is reached.]
[Please select Difficulty: Easy, Hard, or Crazy.]"
Seung smirked. "What else can it be?" He chose, "I will go with Crazy."
The screen switched urgently:
"[Warning: Mutant, you haven't fully recovered from your injury, so it's suicidal to choose that.]"
"What's suicidal about it?" Seung scoffed. "This place is made from my memory, so I can't get injured. It isn't even real. Let's get to it, system." A smile played on his lips, and he rolled his shoulders, shaking off the fatigue.
"[Sigh… if you say so.]"
Seung's brows furrowed in curiosity at the remark, but he shrugged it off. This situation wasn't new to him; he had seen something similar in a movie when he was ten. The actor also traveled to a memory-fabricated place during a war but didn't get hit by the missiles.
"[Training has begun. The aim of this round is to survive for two hours without using a weapon. Note: most of your abilities have been restricted inside the Domain, especially your deadliest one.]"
Seung murmured, "Deadliest…?"
BRIM!!!
An automated sound signaling an opening made him glance back, low pants escaping his lips.
Creak!
A hatch opened in the cold, moss-covered ground, and sleek humanoid robots emerged. They moved with mechanical precision, eyes glowing ominously red. They clenched their fists tightly, clinking sounds emitting from their joints. Seung's skin prickled as they stepped closer, every instinct screaming at him to back down.
He held his punch forward, swallowing his fear. "Bring it on, geezers. I have fought bastards far worse than you."
One robot lunged at him with lightning speed. Seung dodged, rolling to the side and coming up in a defensive stance. He threw a punch at the robot's torso, but his fist met unyielding metal. Ignoring the pain, he pivoted, using the robot's momentum to throw it off balance.
Two more robots charged at him in a zigzag pattern. He sidestepped the one in front, got to the middle, and stamped the second one's chest with maximum force, throwing it off balance. When the first lunged again, he seized its arm and slammed it to the ground. The robot's metallic build clattered, although it rose back as if nothing had happened.
Before he knew it, the robots had surrounded him. His heart pounded under the hospital dress, being alone and unarmed.
'Damn it! There's no way my arm can penetrate through them! What do I do?'
His eyes fell on his own metallic left arm. He raised his brows and glared at the robots. 'Have a taste of this!'
He threw a punch at the one in front and knocked it off balance. His grin widened, seeing his arm finally proving useful.
Wham, wham!!!
Metal clattered constantly, and in a blink of an eye, all the robots were sprawling on the ground, but the red light in their eyes remained on. Seung was on the brink of feeling victorious when they rose back to their feet, surrounding him again.
His eyes widened, and sweat gathered on his forehead. His heart pounded, and the air was thick and heavy, almost suffocating.
'I think it's best to summon my clones now. That can change the outcome of only me fighting,' he thought, swallowing hard. He just thought of doing it, so the screen should open.
The display showed:
"[Cloning access denied. Please recall the important notice given at the beginning of this training.]
[You have survived for just ten minutes. The next phase will begin right now.]
[Robots remaining: 20]"
He glanced around in surprise. The robots surrounding him were not more than ten. So why did the system report the number as twenty? Perhaps, it was to confuse and frustrate him?
One of the robots vaulted with fluid movement and punched him straight in the chest. His back thumped against those behind him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Pushing himself up, he quickly jumped out of their midst.
Seung panted heavily and wiped the blood from his face. "Dang, I really can get hurt here. Fighting metal unarmed? Nah, that's very crazy."
BRIM!
Another hatch opened, and more robots emerged. The distance between them and Seung was less than five meters. He hadn't been able to dismantle one, yet more robots joined. The system had put him at a lot of disadvantages; he couldn't use a weapon, stats reduction for energy refill was not allowed, and he couldn't summon his clones. He was just alone.
"Damn, the robots are closing in on me. I have no other way of engaging them for the next two hours; it's either I surrender myself as a punching bag or run away. Poof, God! Even if I choose to run, I will run out of energy in the next five minutes because of my last fight's wound. I must think!" he fretted, rubbing his palm nervously and swallowing hard.
Before he could blink, one of the robots was already in front of him. But he managed to seize its punch. The robot pressed him backward, but he resisted, summoning every ounce of strength he had.
"EHH!" He screamed violently, pushing the humanoid backward as well. His brows contracted, teeth gritting barely.
Glaring at its red eyes reminded him of the Soul Devourer, bringing back memories of the rank C team. His teeth gritted further, and he yelled louder.
"Damn you!"
Fortunately, he won the strength-testing push. Then the robot charged again; Seung gripped its shoulder and neck. He violently pushed them apart, and the robot's trapezius snapped.
SPARRGH!
The red light in the robot's eyes went off, and it crashed to the ground.
Seung panted heavily and bent, pinning his palms to his knees. Raising his head a bit, he saw the others charging at him. He mumbled, "I have found out how, so it's time you got your asses on the ground. Who cares if you are made of metal?"
He rolled his shoulders again and then charged towards them. His yell echoed through the expanse, and the frequency of clattering metals increased. With each passing moment, Seung's punches became more intense. He realized that not every time would a weapon be available in a fight. With a sudden adrenaline push, he began to feel the energy in his hand and punched the robots more effectively.
As he fought, memories of his family flashed through his mind. His mother's smile, his father's jokes, his sister's laughter. He couldn't afford to be inferior to anything or anyone, not now. Not ever.
The screen displayed:
"[Robots remaining: 2/20]
[Time remaining: 10 seconds]"
"Hee-hee," he panted heavily, swallowing his dry saliva. Sweat trickled down his hair to his nose, and his heart pounded from exhaustion. "Bring it on… BASTARDS!"
He ran to their front; he dodged one's attack and instantly retaliated, lifting it and slamming it to the ground, turning it into wreckage.
WHAM!
His view turned blurry; nevertheless, he managed to lift his leg and land a crushing blow on the last robot. When it fell, the display showed:
"[Time remaining: 0 seconds.]
[Training completed. Welcome back.]"
Seung's body crashed back into his hospital ward with a loud thud. He lay weakly on the tiled floor, his clothes wet and clinging to his body.
"Mr. Lee Seung?" a nurse called, opening the door. Seeing his state, she shouted, running to his aid, "Mister!!"
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Lee Seung's eyes fluttered open to a brownish ceiling. The steady beep of the heart monitor pierced through the fog in his mind. He took a deep breath, wincing at the dull ache in his chest. The antiseptic smell was sharp, almost harsh.
He attempted to sit up, his entire body tensing with pain. With a determined grimace, he leaned against the wall. "Ow," he muttered softly. His eyes lingered on the clock above. It was 9:00 PM. "It was 5 o'clock when I was taken to the Domain; I got back after two hours and woke up two hours later. Gosh, what a worrisome experience I had!"
"But…" his voice grew louder, eyes fixed on the bedspread, "…the training seems worthwhile. My leg is less stiff now compared to when I woke up from the coma, and I even learned a big lesson while battling the robots. If not for the challenge I faced, my punch wouldn't have become this powerful. I mastered that controlling the energy in one's hand can heighten the damage one's hit makes, and ammunitions aren't the best weapons. As long as I continue to learn how to be stronger, I will continue to complete my daily mission."
He clenched his fist, reaffirming his newfound determination. He knew he couldn't give up on saving his sister, even after six long years.
Brim!
A mechanical sound echoed in the ward, and the system screen appeared at Seung's eye level. "Let's see what you have for me, buddy," he said.
[You have three unread messages.]
"Show the content of each," he commanded, his eyes fixed on the screen. The system had saved him countless times, and he had grown a keen bond with it.
[You have received 500 skill points and gold for completing the mission. Skill points can be generally used for all aspects of upgrade while items can be purchased from the Store with gold. You are short on a thousand points to gain access.]
Seung raised his eyebrows. 'I was about to check it out, thanks to the last sentence,' he thought. He gave the go-ahead, and the next message appeared.
[An additional SP has been gifted as a resting reward. This is a kind in which you can get just by either taking a nap or a sleep. Your resting duration was two hours; thus, you got a supplementary prize of 100 SP.]
Seung shrugged. "In summary, the system says I can gain SP from training in my Domain as well as resting…Hehe. Golds can only be gotten from training; so, I would probably do some upgrades before accessing the Store. I seem like a game character to be honest."
Just like in action video games, characters got rewarded with skill points and golds. These could be used for improvements or to purchase materials from the game store. Mostly, skill points led to leveling up, and golds had implications for purchasing better weapons and gear.
"Everything is similar, except the resting reward. I haven't heard of a game that has that kind of feature. Or perhaps, this system will be a popular game in the future?" he murmured and simpered. "Honestly, it can change everything. The way humans interact, get healed, battle crimes, and all those things, can be altered by the item inside me. It really is very important as the director said."
BRIM!
[Last message: Complete the next mission. This is urgent.]
[Mission: Use your clones to take down an E-rank dungeon. They must do this alone.]
The message was clear; there was a reason why only his clones were allowed to carry out the mission. Something was different. Something was about to happen.
Seung placed his feet on the floor and put on a pair of slippers. He stood up, summoning his clones. His muscles tensed, and a sharp pain shot through his side. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he clenched his teeth and pushed through.
Thud!
The clones appeared, each wearing a face mask. First wore a blue T-shirt with shorts, while Second wore a black jacket with long pants. Seung had given them these clothes for easy differentiation.
"Find an E-rank dungeon and hunt. Be careful," he commanded, his voice hoarse but determined. The clones nodded, their expressions mirroring his resolve, and left the ward.
Two men guarding the door reacted to the masked clones. They were both wearing uniform black outfit, and both of them appeared to be in their 30s. They tried to stop them, but the clones moved too fast.
"Damn! How did they get inside?!" one of the guards cursed, kicking the door open.
SLAM! Phew!
Seung remained calm. He deduced immediately that they were the director's boys. He waved at them and grinned widely. "Hello. No need to worry about me, those are my summons."
"Summons?!" the guard shouted, his mouth agape.
Seung continued smiling. "Yeah, I can't stand losing that much hunting profit because of my condition, so I managed to summon them. They will be back in a jiffy…"
The second guard's voice was loud and prickling, "What if they lose control, like ghost clones, and hurt innocent people in the city?! Will you be responsible for everything?!"
"Ha-ha. So that's what you are worried about," Seung said. "My summons aren't like that. They won't do anything out of my order."
"Looks like you guys are having a discussion," an external voice interrupted.
Mr. Choi, Seung's manager, stood outside, his usually sharp suit slightly rumpled, a rare sign of stress. His eyes softened when they met Seung's.
Seung smiled and waved back, "It's so good to see you!"
***
The scene transitioned to a cavernous passage. The floor was paved with black rocks, which absorbed the dim light from the flame lamps fixed to the walls. The walls were damp, adorned with moss and sporadic plant growth. Droplets of water dripped rhythmically from the concave ceiling, creating a haunting melody. The air was thick with the scents of decay and rust, contributing to an almost suffocating atmosphere.
Seung's clones emerged from a bud-shaped entrance, stepping into the passage. Moss and black flowers clung to the entrance, hinting at the clones' journey through the penumbral darkness outside.
Snarl!
An icy draft swept past them, accompanied by the angry snarls reverberating through the cavern. The flames flickered violently before stabilizing. A goblin emerged from the shadows, charging towards them with thundering steps that made the ground tremble.
First stepped forward, fists clenched, eyes narrowing at the approaching creature. As the goblin leaped towards him, he met it mid-air with a powerful punch to the throat. The force of the blow decapitated the goblin, its body crumpling to the ground in a bloody heap.
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