Chapter 12: Training Dolls

Following the corridors, Li discovered that the facility was much larger than he thought. 

"Damn, how far does this go?" Finally, when he thought he was lost, he saw a sign pointing to an illuminated entrance. 

"Berg's Convenience Store?" he read. "Is this it?" 

Since it was the only place he'd found in a while, Li decided it was better to enter and take a look than to continue wandering aimlessly. However, upon passing through the door, he was surprised by the absurdity of what he was seeing. The place itself was gigantic, with dozens of shelves filled with hundreds of items. 

"Incredible! There must be a world of things here," he exclaimed. 

"That's nothing, there are even more objects in the back storage," a man near the entrance stated. The sudden appearance almost gave Jihan a heart attack, causing him to tremble with fright. 

"Who are you?" Li asked curiously. The "person" in question was very short, with broad shoulders and a long beard. 

"Don't they teach manners to youngsters these days?" Pulling the tip of his beard, the man replied. 

TSK 

"Well, whatever. The name of the incredible dwarf in front of you is Berg, which means mountain." 

"A bit ironic, I'd say," Jihan thought but didn't dare to say aloud. The dwarf in front of him didn't seem to have a very long fuse. "Anyway, Elves and Dwarves… what kind of place is this…?" 

"Is this store yours, Mr. Berg? It's impressive!" 

"Just Berg, boy," he corrected. "And yes, I'm the manager and owner. Are you here to buy something? If not, you can leave." 

"Initially, I just wanted to take a look…" Li extended his hand, showing his wrist with the score. At the beginning of his sentence, the dwarf almost rolled his eyes, but upon seeing the number on the bracelet, his attitude changed completely. 

"Well, sir, why didn't you say so right away? Come in! I'll show you the merchandise. By the way, what's your name, Your Magnificence?" 

"You can call me Li." Noticing the old man's change in manners, Jihan smiled a bit awkwardly. 

"Shameless!" he thought. The dwarf didn't make the slightest effort to hide the motivation behind his treatment. 

"Very well, esteemed Mr. Li." Following the large corridors lined with shelves, the boy saw several gadgets he had no idea what they were for. "Come, I'll show you our latest products." 

"Just Li is fine." 

When they reached the counter, Berg went around and placed three items on the table. To the young man's surprise, all three cost more than five thousand points. 

"This here is our latest creation. We have… let's see…" Holding the first item like a trophy, he announced, "A pen that turns into a shield!" Pressing the tip, the object expanded, forming a large circle. Li, logically, showed no emotion. 

"This old man must be joking with me," he thought, his expressive face failing to hide his lack of excitement. Seeing the man's expression, the dwarf picked up the next item. 

"You should like this one," he said, holding another object. "A pen that turns into a sword!" Again clicking, the object grew, this time into a blade shape. The expected reaction from the man did not come again. 

"If this dwarf shows another pen, I'm going to find another place. This guy must be a charlatan!" 

"A tough customer, aren't you?" Not bothering to show another pen, Berg changed his approach. "So, sir, do you have any idea what exactly you're looking for?" 

"Well… I'm sure I'm not looking for anything to wield, because I fight unarmed, just with my fists." Showing his calloused hands, he continued, "Maybe something to help me train?" 

The dwarf brought his hand to his chin, thinking for a few seconds. Suddenly his eyes widened. 

"Hmm… unarmed, you say? Maybe I have something for you in the back." Climbing down from his stool, he entered a door behind him. From outside, Li only heard the sounds of objects falling to the floor. When Berg came out, he placed a dusty object on the table, then bent down and from the shelf under the counter, he took out a small box. "I think both items will be to your liking!" 

In front of Jihan were a pair of gauntlets and a box with three small pills. 

"What are these things?" he asked. 

"These 'things' are exactly what you're looking for! Three Socrates Pills and a very well-made copy of the legendary Járngreipr!" 

"The philosopher? Old man, I'm not looking for something to make me smarter," he scoffed. 

"But you should…" Berg whispered. 

"Pardon?" 

"I didn't say anything," the old man replied. 

"Anyway, what is this Járngreipr you mentioned?" 

Berg brought his hands to his face, whispering a plea. 

"May the gods give me patience to deal with this fool…" 

"Did you say something?" 

"Nothing, boy… anyway, the legendary Instructor Socrates is who I'm talking about! He had a famous saying: 'No citizen has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a disgrace for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.'" He recited. 

"Interesting…" 

"These pills were created in honor of the man who coined that phrase, a true exercise maniac." Changing the direction of where he was pointing, he began to talk about the gauntlets. "And these replicas of Járngreipr are excellent and cheap, made with a special alloy that absorbs mana, probably the best you, who don't use weapons, will find around here!" 

"Should I believe him?" Li thought for a minute. "I don't think they'd leave this old man here if he tried to rob people." 

"Let's say I believe you, how much for everything?" he asked. 

"10,528 points!" replied the dwarf. Exactly the amount of points the man had. 

Jihan immediately turned, ready to leave that shabby shop. 

TSK 

"Wait, boy! It was a joke." Smacking his lips, Berg called him back. 

"Don't joke with me." Returning to the counter, he continued asking, "So, how much will it be?" 

"Three thousand points for the pills, a thousand each, and four thousand for the gloves." 

"You're not trying to rip me off again, are you?" 

"I'm doing you a favor, that's what! I'd never sell you this replica for so little, I'm only making this exception because it's been gathering dust in the storage for years!" 

Li stared deeply into the dwarf's eyes, trying to see if he was being deceived. 

"All right, I'll take it." As soon as Jihan finished speaking, the points on his bracelet decreased instantly. "So that's how it works? Incredible!" 

"It was good doing business with you, boy. Come back anytime." 

"I will. See you, Berg." 

Watching Li leave the establishment, the dwarf thought to himself, "Fighting with bare fists… a bit unorthodox, I can't remember how long it's been since I've seen someone like that." 

Returning to the food court, Li looked for the sign pointing to the direction of the establishments. Arriving at the dormitory zone, he rented the best room he could get, 20 points per night, and changing into his old clothes, he decided to go train. He left the gloves stored, as it made no sense to train using items; that would go against the purpose of the exercise, which is to improve the fighter. 

"Alright, that Liming said it was just to take the ball and burst it on the platform." When he pulled the sphere from the mural, another immediately took its place. Walking to the circle on the floor, he squeezed the object in his hand, instantly breaking it. Within seconds, Li disappeared from the Plaza. 

"What is this place…" he said as his vision tried to adjust to the new lighting. 

When he reappeared, he was in a field surrounded by a large circular wall. In front of him was a humanoid dummy, motionless. Looking to the side, Li noticed a series of weapons leaned against the wall. "I guess not everyone thinks like me." 

"Now… how does this work?" Jihan began to walk towards the dummy. As soon as he got close, the humanoid, which was holding a sword and shield, dropped both and charged at him. "It adapts to the opponent's fighting style?" 

The dummy, delivering numerous punches in sequence, instantly put him on the defensive. Li's enhanced brain couldn't help but notice the simplicity of the fighting pattern being applied. "This type of attack…" Grabbing the wooden arm, he circled it. "… won't work on me!" and, using the weight of both bodies, he threw the dummy down, breaking its arm. 

"Is that it?" Speaking to himself, Li reflected. 

A few seconds later, a new dummy appeared in front of him, this time with eyes painted on its face. 

"This one's a bit different. Well, since we're going to meet a lot, I'll call you dummy." Jihan approached the second dummy and tried to apply the same move, using the weight of both to take the right arm of the new Dummy. However, when he completed his strategy, he was instantly counterattacked in the face by the opponent's left arm. 

"He knew?" Forced to defend himself, Li released the limb he had grabbed and, while defending with one arm, used the other to deliver a punch directly to the wooden head. As a result, the Dummy fell to the ground and disappeared, while another appeared in the same position as the previous one, now with a mouth drawn. 

"So, they come one by one, evolving until they defeat me?" Cracking his knuckles, he got excited. "Come on then, let's see how far I can go!"