CHAPTER 40 – Training in the Gravity Room

If I'm not mistaken, the only way for me to make them disappear would be hitting them on the body, face, or with enough strength to "by-pass" their shields.

Even hitting their shields not hardly enough would only make them go back a few steps as if I was hitting a true shield instead of a holographic image.

And do everything while holding my body with the added gravity, and without using mana.

"Well… The good thing is… I confirmed that this is a great way to train my physique. The bad thing is… I should have reduced the enemy difficulty… Or at least their number…"-I said while getting ready.

And it seems that they knew I was ready, as they started approaching me, but no rushing. Great. They can think.

Rushing all towards me would be foolish. Being 20 fully armed warriors, it would be a disaster if they were to bump into each other while running.

{Well… I better go for faster hits. They have the advantage, being holographic and not giving me something solid to hold on to while fighting through them.}

Not having solid enemies had its problems. I couldn't use their bodies as stepping stones or throwing them against each other. My only choice was using direct hits to do it. But that would be hard while being surrounded. All in all, this was a really hard fight. Not only because of the gravity but also because of the small hitting places they had thanks to their shields.

*sigh…*

"Well… Mom raised no quitter. Let's do this."-I said while rushing first.

The first thing I did, was trying jumping towards the one in front. Why? Because that way I can send them off flying.

I'm not going to lie. That shit was a bad idea.

I managed to send the first one flying, with the next two in tow. But you know… It doesn't feel good to hit the air, you actually feel nothing... So next thing I knew, was that I was kneeled on the floor, completely surrounded, with still 17 enemies left.

"…"-I immediately evaded a sword while giving a low-kick to the frontmost warriors, tumbling three of them and giving me some space to move and stand up.

Thankfully, while the gravity was limiting me. These chambers were thought off for cadets. So, I still have some room to work with my stats, even if I'm not using mana.

I hastily retreated while evading swords. I didn't know how the system worked. But I'm at least sure that a hit or two of their swords would get me out of the game. Maybe three. But I'm not risking it.

When I was almost out of their enclosure, I found a chance, evading two swords and pushing one of the warriors' faces to the ground with full force while giving a low-kick to the one next to it, following with a punch to the falling one.

Again… It was weird. Like grabbing or hitting air. Basically nothing. Still. The holographic monsters somehow followed my movements and went out of service.

{Just… This is a truly weird feeling. Having to do some kind of advanced shadow boxing…}-I thought while retreating. Now only 15 remaining. Which is, by the way, a really high number to deal with in these conditions.

"Well. No time to waste. Let's go!"-I shout as I run forward again. This time, without jumping.

The first thing I do is basically attack whatever monster gets in front of me. I throw punches to the face, if they try to cover the face, I kick their knees. I jump back if there's a sword coming at me. Go in again and attack.

Whenever one of them tries to encircle me, I change my stance if needed and throw a round-kick towards their shield to push them back. After a few kicks, some of them disappeared.

I went at it for some time. Attack, jump back, go in again, attack, jump back, go in again. I repeated over and over again until all the holographic monsters disappeared.

"*sigh…* That was… weirdly hard…"-I said while breathing deeply and wiping the sweat off my face.

*Woong*

[Round two. Starting in 10 seconds.]

Suddenly, the screens on the walls lighted up with a sound, and started counting down from ten again… This time… For round two…

"Oh… That's what it meant with survival mode… Fight until you get disqualified… Ha… Haha… HAHAHAHA… Now, this is getting good. Such a great way to train… *sigh…* Fuck… Well, whatever, let's keep going until I'm out."-I said while regaining my stance.

When the countdown got to zero, 20 new holographic monsters appeared around me. Again, warriors with full-body plate armor, sword, and shield.

"Hey, fuckers. Ready for round two? Because I sure am!"-I said right before going towards the one in front of me.

***

I would like to tell you how I fought and fought until I got past the 100th round. But… That would be lying.

250% added gravity, which means more than three times the normal gravity, plus 20 fuckers hard to fight with illusory bodies, made it really taxing for my body without the use of mana, Draconic Energy, or Natural Energy.

I could fight well until my third round. But damn… I was out of gas already. The fourth round was hell. I barely passed it. 5th round? That shit was unfightable. I couldn't even lift my legs to kick.

Also. It seems like you either receive one fatal hit or at most three other hits on your body for it to be disqualified. I took three hits, shoulder, leg, and finally my back. The first hit got it in the 4th round, the other two I got them in the 5th round, one in the middle of it, with only 10 more to go, and the last one when I just had to beat 3 more of them.

"huff… huff… huff… I… Haven't… Feel… This… Tired… Since long… Ago… Huff… Huff. Huff…"-I was dropped on the floor.

Survival mode just ended, but I could barely move. Weird enough, the setting stopped working after five minutes of me out of combat. Which meant. The door opened just when I was standing up.

Thankfully, no one should be going inside. As the door opening means that someone is still inside.

I slowly go towards my bag to grab my towel and start drying myself up as much as I can.

"It's great that I brought a big towel today…"-I murmur while drying myself.

Once I was dry enough, or as much as I could. I put on my white t-shirt again and drank an entire bottle of water. {There's never enough water.}-I thought while keeping the empty bottle in my bag.

It was at that moment that I heard some hurried steps going into the chamber. Making me turn towards the door. Right in went two persons.

One of them being Olivia. And the other one, being Kim Hajin.

"There you are! I thought something happened to you!"-Said Kim Hajin while coming towards me. Olivia closely following him with a worried face.

"Huh?"-I lift a brow. "What could happen to me in here?"- I ask.

"How would I know, man! You were here for almost half an hour…"-So he says. But I was more interested in Olivia walking towards the control panel and playing with it. The door didn't close, so she didn't start the training session, so what could she be doing?

"I was just training…"-I answered while looking back at him. But he was now with his eyes open, looking at my right arm. {Oh, right, he didn't know.}-I thought before moving my hand and swinging it in front of his eyes. "Hey man, what's wrong with you?"-I ask him.

"Well… That… Since when did you have a tattoo?"-He asks while pointing at my right arm that was now visible without the jacket.

"Since forever. And it's not a tattoo… It's a stigma. But you already should know what that is."-I say, murmuring the last part for only him to hear. "Oh well, not that it matters. Let's move, I still have to help you both recover a bit of energy…"-I said while grabbing and putting on my jacket "Also… What's wrong with you? You've been looking that panel with your mouth open for a while."-I ask Olivia.

"…"-She turns her head to me, and I could swear her neck made some kind of sound like a rusting machine moving slowly. "Y-yo-you… Wh-what… A-a-are yo-you…?"-So she asks.

"Mm? What the fuck do you mean?"-I ask while grabbing my sports bag and going towards her with Hajin who also got curious.

"…"-She just kept her mouth open and pointed towards the panel.

"Mm?"-Hajin and I tilt our heads before turning to look at the panel she's pointing.

"…"-I didn't find anything… Well… Maybe only that I kind of fucked up…

"*Gasp*"-Hajin gasped when he looked at the screen.

"Ok… Can we erase this?"-I ask while turning to Olivia.

"…"-She just stared at me blankly.

"I NEED ANSWERS WOMEN!!!"- I shouted as I grabbed both her shoulders. "Can we erase it!!??"- I asked again.

On the panel's screen, what was shown was my previous run. Which means my training session's record.

[Cadet: Cristopher D. Lamas, rank 915]

[Training mode: Survival mode]

[Difficulty level: 10]

[Number of enemies per round: 20]

[Difficulty of enemies per round: 10]

[Number of rounds: 5]

[Number of enemies left on the last round: 3]

"I-I don't know!!"-Answered Olivia.

"Wait! Give me a sec!!"-Hajin, understanding my intentions, hurriedly made the motions of taking out something, that I think it's his laptop. {There he goes again with the weird moves…}-I thought to myself.

After a few seconds, he suddenly shouted "Done!".

And right he was. The last training session recorded wasn't mine but of some cadet named Bae Shin-Hyun.

"*sigh…* That was close… Thanks, man…"-I thanked him while patting his shoulder.

"You… *sigh…* Whatever, I'm not saying anything anymore…"-Hajin just shrugged his shoulder while going sighing.

"…"-Olivia kept staring at me. But this time, she also glanced at Hajin a few times. "You… Just what are you two…?"

"Don't know what you're talking about. We're normal cadets through and through."-I answer while shrugging. "Right, mate?"-I turn then to Hajin.

"…"-He averts his eyes. "I sure am… But you…"-He said almost in a whisper.

"…"-I stare at him blankly.

Right when I was about to say something to him. Someone else entered the gravity chamber.

"Hey! What are you doing in here!? Don't you know that you're not letting other people use this place!?"-Shouted a somewhat angry Chae Nayun.

{Why does she keep coming here at this hour… *sigh…*}-I thought while facepalming.

"*sigh…*"-It seems I'm not the only one tired of her.

"We were going out already. The place is all yours."-I said while glancing at Hajin and Olivia, the last one still with a dumbfounded face. "Right?"

"Sure."-Hajin answered.

"A-aha…"-Olivia answered something understandable.

We all went past her. But she suddenly turned to grab my arm.

"You… wait…"-She said. But immediately after retreated her hand. "You… What took you so much time in here?"-She asked.

"Not your problem."-I shortly answer, before walking again.

Thankfully, Hajin hacked into the record system and erased my records. Or the brat would try to look into it just as Olivia did.

I still can feel her glare on my back. But not that any of us cared enough to turn towards her.

After getting out, I helped Hajin and Olivia to restore some stamina with Natural Energy. Thankfully, there were not that many people this time, though we still received some weird glances. {If something happens, I can just say it is my gift that's helping them recover their stamina.}-I thought before turning to Hajin while I help Olivia recover.

"By the way… Why are you so tired tonight man? One."-I ask Hajin. "I mean… Even more than usual. Two."

"Oh… I was training in something before coming here… But… I got a little bit too excited…"-He says.

"Oh? What could that be? One."-I said while turning "It's weird to see you training in something by yourself. Two."

"…Parkour, actually. It was kind of fun…"-He answers. "By the way… Is it safe?"-He asks while looking at a trembling Olivia.

"One. Mm? What?"-I ask him.

"That."-Signaling at Olivia and me.

"Two. Mm? We've done this before right? One."-I said while looking at him.

"Yes… But you usually don't talk while doing it."-He says, stepping back a little.

"Two. Of course not, too much of a hassle. One."-I then turn to Olivia. "Hey. Stop trembling. What's wrong with you? Two."-I ask Olivia who exhales just as I say two.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!"-She shouts at me.

"Huh? Why? One."-I say and she inhales and holding it. Not answering.

"I think she's afraid…"-Hajin answers in her stead.

"Huh? Why would that be? Two."-I said and she exhaled.

"Because you're not focusing on doing this!!! And I could explode!!!"-She shouts.

"Be quiet. It won't happen. One."-I start again, injecting Natural Energy towards her while she inhales and holds the air inside. "I told you both already… The only way you both go boom is if you try to fight back with your mana. Two."-I said, while Olivia exhales the air once the Natural Energy makes one round through her magi circuit.

"…Well… What if you make a mistake?"- Hajin asks.

"That's not happening. One."-I said.

"If you say so…"-He gives up.

"Sure. Two."-I said, while Olivia exhales.

***

The rest of the night was really simple. As a side note, Olivia didn't stop looking at me with weird eyes during all the time we were together, either because of what happened inside the Gravity Room or because of her fear of blowing up while recovering.

Though I could finally rest once at home, just to be sure, I took off my smartwatch and kept it in one of the drawers in my room.

"It seems that Hajin did make those changes with Setting Intervention. It's good. He'll have other ways to protect himself and to actually act upon the upcoming events."-I said while spreading myself on my bed.

Hajin surely added new settings, one being the parkour, and the other probably his first "new" weapon. This means, he now has a shotgun ready to blow things up.

"Well, that's great. He surely knows how to protect himself."-I said before closing my eyes.