บท 41: Chapter 41
As I opened my eyes, I saw she was absorbing magic stones again.
'This bitch'
"Oh, you're awake," she said, looking at me with a hint of concern. "Sorry, was I too rough on you this time?"
I couldn't hold back my frustration anymore.
"You damn hold hag, how many times have you knocked me out? And why do you always go berserk the moment I land a hit on you?"
"Hag, did you call me hag, brat?"
Flick!
"Guhh!" I groaned, clutching my forehead where she flicked me.
"What's with the tone?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
"And let me remind you, in these two months, you've targeted my beautiful face more times than I can count. I might be wearing restrictions when we spar, but you almost took my eye out last time." She brushed her fingertips over her right eye.
I scoffed, still rubbing my forehead. "You rely too much on your eyes. When you restricted yourself, you became weak. And even then, you were still using them."
"Weak, you say? My age is 44, and I have been rigorously training and constantly fighting since I awakened. Do you think I don't have any experience defeating a mere kid?
You're the actual odd one here. How can a kid grow tremendously in only two months?"
I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. She was right. There was no normal explanation for my progress.
She gave a faint smile, something between pride and amusement. "Well, I'm not complaining. I get to train a prodigy—one you don't find every day. If only your mana veins weren't damaged, you'd be the top student at this academy."
I exhaled heavily. "Well, that's not going to happen."
"There are two monsters here, Asher Blake and Aaron Krieger. And even if I somehow surpass Asher, I cannot surpass Aaron Krieger no matter how hard I try... And no matter how hard you try, he is a talent you cannot find."
I saw a comment asking the author, 'If Asher doesn't have a system but has SSS+ rank, will he still be the protagonist?
The answer was, 'Asher will just be a normal hunter, with the only special thing about him being his SSS+ rank. And without a doubt, Aaron Krieger will be the protagonist, but that role doesn't match him.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
I continued. "Not only that, my potential is only A-. So you could forget me catching up to them."
"Oh, is that so?" she asked, a slight smile playing on her lips. "But I'm sure you will get stronger."
I was a bit taken aback by her statement, but I confidently said. "I sure will."
As the conversation ended, she got up from her place and started to leave. "I don't know where you're going to enter, but don't die, brat."
'Huh, I forgot she has high senses.'
"Wait, is that only for the training?" I asked in a hurry.
"It's 2 a.m.; you have been out cold for nine whole hours. So go home and take a rest. You have been pushing your body too much." With those words, she walked out of the training ground.
WEEZ!
'Guess the exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave'
I moved my aching body and started to walk out. "Just how many potions does she have?" I asked myself as I saw all my injuries healed.
Every time I get injured while training, she will take a ton of potion and feed me, like there is no end to the potion in her spatial watch.
Shaking off my thoughts, I walked to the VR facility.
'The preparations are almost over. Just a few more days, and it will be complete.
***
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***
9 DAYS LATER
"Finally, it's complete." I looked at the nano mechanical hands in front of me.
Jadel had poured his heart into this project since joining the Mana Engineering Club. Because he acknowledged his low talent, he focused on what he was capable of.
And because of the dungeon incident, he couldn't complete his work. But now, thanks to the memories I had acquired from him, I completed it in his place.
"Let's test it."
I walked to the testing ground. Activating Perfect Copy, I equipped him with the nano mechanical hands.
"You can do it, buddy," I cheered as I saw him pleading with his eyes.
I don't know to what extent, but my copy has emotions and mostly displays fear and nervousness.
I found out about this when I was experimenting with him with other things, and was shocked to my core when I found out.
I even checked for any additional information about the skill but couldn't find it.
"Alright, let's run test number ninety-two."
"Activate." As I commanded him, his nervous face instantly turned stoic, as if the emotion he showed was fake.
Nodding his head, he activated the mechanical hands.
The nanobots slowly moved around his arm and perfectly fitted his hands.
Before, it looked like a mechanical hand made out of black metal junk; now it is perfectly fitted around his arms and shoulders, as if it's become one with his body.
As it fully transformed, it revealed three red magic stones in each hand placed on the forearm.
Taking out the mana bomb I created that was capable of killing a F rank monster, I threw it after activating it.
"Catch it, buddy."
Nodding his head, he catched the bomb in mid air.
Tik! Tik! Tik!
BOOM!
The explosion echoed through the chamber, but I didn't flinch.
The force of the blast rippled outward, but it was absorbed cleanly by the mechanical hands, the red stones glowing brighter as they absorbed the energy.
"Good," I muttered, nodding in approval. "Now, amplify it. Redirect."
He followed my order immediately and adjusted his stance.
The glow on the hands intensified as he prepared to release the stored energy.
Then, with a decisive movement, he slammed his fist into the ground.
BAM!
Swoosh!
A shockwave erupted, far stronger than the initial blast. The force sent wind and debris flying in all directions. Activating my skill, I stood there sturdily.
As the dust settled, I exhaled in relief, seeing that my copy remained unharmed.
"The skill is working perfectly." I mumbled to myself.
Because I only made mechanical hands, I was sure the amplified attack's recoil would cause me to lose balance, and in the worst case, it may even cause damage to my body.
So that's why I created the skill called Gravity Modulation.
It allows me to freely manipulate my body's gravity.
And by increasing my body's gravity, I could withstand the recoil of the attack.
"Now, next." I took out an E rank bomb, activated it, and threw it at him.
BOOM!
Seeing it doesn't have a problem, I threw a D rank bomb and finally C rank bomb.
"Excellent." I said it in amazement, a small smile forming my lips. "It can now absorb and redirect C rank attacks.
Now let's see how many C rank attacks you could absorb and withstand."
I activated the mana weapon, a device designed specifically to test the durability of enchanted equipment. I set it to C-rank, preparing to push the limits of the hands.
"Oh, I forgot…" I muttered, realizing I hadn't adjusted the weapon to rapid-fire mode.
Upon uttering these words, my clone's face expression changed to dread.
"This is the last test. You can handle it." Pointing the weapon at him, I started counting.
"3, 2, 1, 0."
Wzoo! Ta! Ta! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The weapon rapidly fired bullets at a speed I didn't expect.
As I thought it was over for my clone, his eyes shone brightly as he tanked the bullet that came to his side and dodged gracefully the bullets that he couldn't block.
"... the actual fuck?" I was stupefied, looking at my clone gracefully moving through the barrage of bullets as if he had years of experience.
"How in the hell is he doing that?"
After thinking for a bit, I got that answer. My clone wasn't bound by human limitations. He was an extension of me, but one without error—a perfect AI robot.
And with the skills I possess, he's making perfect use of them to a 100% level without making any mistakes. Like any robot would do.
A thought crossed my mind—could I command him to create new skills? If he's able to process information with this level of precision, he might be able to develop techniques faster than I ever could.
'But does the clone have the intelligence to do that? Let's test it next time.'
Seeing the mechanical hands slowly turning red, I deactivated the weapon machine.
'It could take a barrage of attacks for almost seven minutes, good. It is lower than what I expected, nonetheless good'
"Now let's check other features."
***
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***
In a vast, pitch-black expanse, a solitary figure sat upon a towering throne, his form seemingly woven from wisps of white smoke. His gaze was fixed on the empty void before him, as if intently observing something unseen.
"So, you're getting ready to enter, Jake."
He murmured, his voice echoing like a distant whisper through the dark abyss. The very fabric of space trembled slightly, as though quivering in fear of the being's presence.
"I suppose it's time to make the necessary preparations and prepare for 'that'."
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