Using the Ability

Lin finished his first day of school and was driven home by his mother. He went to his bedroom and started organizing his mind. 'It looks like I'll be doing nothing for the next week and a half… Well, how about I spend that time reading the news? That'll probably help me understand this new environment I'm in. I could also explore social media to understand the trends, fashion, and culture of the current world.' He thought.

"Sounds like a perfect idea!" Bai's voice said in his head. His fox body popped up in front of Lin. "You can also go out and explore the streets. It's like moving into a new country! You gotta understand the area you're in."

'That's also a must.' Lin thought, nodding his head decisively. "Ok! I'll go outside for now." 

Lin raced out of his room, trying to hide his eagerness as he told his mom he was going outside.

"Ok be back by 6:30 pm!" Wen said while washing the dishes.

"I will." Lin replied. He made a mental note to make time to help with chores, seeing his mother hard at work scrubbing the plates in the sink.

He walked out of the house, phone in hand and ¥725 (~$100 USD). Surprisingly, the currency was yuan and was extremely convenient for Lin. His parents seem to be on the wealthier side of society seeing that they have a stand alone residence in a sea of apartment buildings. The beating sun shone down on the wide sidewalk as Lin explored the streets. Shops and restaurants lay at the sides of the roads and streets bustled with people, giving the feeling of a booming metropolis like NYC or Shanghai. Lin explored the streets, carefully observing the clothes and accessories people wore, food people enjoyed, and the strange beasts people kept as pets.

If you ignore the street tricks being performed by cultivators, the children sword fighting, and the peculiar beasts peacefully roaming the streets then it looks just like 2024… except it's now 9024… on a different planet… with real cultivation… and government owned teleportation technology… and intergalactic wars… you get the point. 

'I wonder why it looks almost the same. Like, there's no flying cars or advanced technology. It's almost like they reenacted the past…? I'll look into it later.' Lin added it to his mental list of things to look up online. 

He continued strolling. Suddenly, something caught his eye. A large poster was plastered onto the walls of a building and read "Polearm fighting lessons available at Galaxy Gym. Come now and strengthen your body and skills with our new course for combat! ¥450 (~$62 USD) for each lesson! We keep it cheap!"

Of course the polearm fighting caught his eye, but what he was really focusing on was the Galaxy Gym part. 'A gym! A place to get stronger!' Lin thought as it dawned on him that he could spend his time in the gym during his vast free time. 

He quickly took out his phone and looked up 'galaxy gym' on this world's search engine: Numia-web. He found the gym's website and immediately clicked on the link. 

"Galaxy Gym! A place for getting stronger and learning various combat skills. We have a variety of courses for many combat skills such as boxing, taekwondo, karate, sword fighting, and more! We also hold private cultivation rooms that have high concentrations of quality qi. There are multiple sparring fields along with blade training areas with many weapon choices that can either be sharp or wooden. Finally, we have a standard equipment gym for exercise.

"You can sign up for a monthly membership for ¥1,450 (~$200 USD)! The membership includes:

-10 free hours of a private cultivation room (renewed every week)

-free access to the sparring courtyards

-free access to weapon training areas

-free access to the standard gym

-2 free tryout lessons for each course (one time)

-8 free private lessons of one course of your choice (renewed every month)

You can also pay ¥14,500 (~$2,000 USD) for a full year of membership!"

'The cost seems like a lot… but considering everything the membership includes I'd say it's worth it!' He thought, reasoning the price in his mind. 'That's 520 hours of cultivation with concentrated and quality qi, 96 free lessons of a chosen course, unlimited access to exercise equipment, and unlimited access to a weapon training and sparring courtyard every year! That's a great deal.'

Lin decided to check out the place. The website said that people can request a tour for free, and so he headed towards the gym's nearest facility with the assistance of a gps.

While walking Lin memorized the places that interested him, keeping in mind the street they were on and their placement on the lane.

He walked for around 10 minutes until he reached a large stand-alone building on a corner. Through a fence he could see a wide field with platforms surrounded by barriers and racks of various weapons on the sides. He assumed it was the training and sparring field and it all looked high quality to him which only made him want to get a membership more.

He walked into the huge building that had the large and intricate logo of the Galaxy Gym. Inside was a small waiting room with a door that seemed to unlock with a keycard on the opposite side of where he was standing. There was a counter with a young woman in front of a computer behind it.

Lin walked up to the woman at the counter and the woman greeted him.

"Hello, welcome to Galaxy Gym. Is there anything I can help you with?" The lady said with a business like smile.

"Yes, I would like to have a tour of the place if that's possible?" Lin asked.

"Of course! Give me a second." The woman spoke into a walkie-talkie, requesting someone to assist with a tour. "They'll come in a moment. Please wait for a few minutes." She said after a moment.

Lin nodded and walked to a chair by the wall. He waited for a few minutes and another employee walked in through the locked door.

"Hao Lin?" The employee said.

"Yes." Lin stood up and walked over to the employee, following him through the building. The first room he was brought to was a room with a myriad of gym equipment. The equipment looked relatively normal but the sheer weight of the heavier gear was massive.

'Well, if you're a cultivator, you'll be stronger than even the stongest people in the world in the past so such equipment is necessary.' Lin thought as he looked at the equipment that ranged from 20 pounds to 20 tons.

The next place the employee led him to was a long hallway with multiple doors lining the walls. The employee explained that the rooms were cultivation rooms and that the farther down the hall you went the higher quality qi was inside. He continued to explain that the membership can give 5 hours of the highest quality room, 10 hours of the medium quality room, and 15 hours of the lowest quality room. Furthermore, the lowest quality qi room is still 5x more superior compared to the qi in the regular air.

Lin thought with awe at the amazing opportunity this gym gave him. The opportunity to become stronger and use his physique to its full potential. The thought made him bubble with excitement.

The employee then led him to an outdoor area with a field around the size of a relatively large park. Metal puppets acted as opponents for people training in a certain area of the field and in another area people were sparring on platforms. Instructors taught private courses with individual people on a variety of martial and weapon arts. They stood in secluded areas of grass and they stayed relatively spaced out from the other stuff around them.

After the tour Lin decided to get the membership. He called Wen to see if he could pay for one month of the membership.

"When are you going to use this membership? I don't think just going after school will be productive…" His mother said.

"I was thinking that I could leave school when the cultivation classes start. The gym is about a 20 minute walk from school so I could walk there, and the school has put a notice that parents could pick up their kids during cultivation class since we're doing nothing for one and a half weeks." Lin tried to convince his mom by sharing his plan on how he'll use the membership.

"Ok, I'll pay it. You can use my debit card on your phone." Wen agreed.

"Thanks mom!" Lin said with excitement.

"Come back right after you pay. It's getting late." Wen reminded.

Lin agreed and proceeded to pay for one month of membership. He then left the gym and headed home.

When Lin walked into his house, a delicious smell wafted towards his nose, filling the halls with a mouth watering scent.

He walked into the dining room to find four plates steaming with flavorful steak, broccoli, and mash potatoes. The typical, but tasty, western dinner.

His mother noticed his presence and called out to him.

"Lin, go ahead and sit down. The food is ready."

"Alright." He said with a smile.

He sat down in front of one of the plates and waited for the rest of the family. Once everyone was seated, they all began to eat. Lin enjoyed the delicious food, saying praises between mouthfuls. Once he was done he went into his room, and got ready for bed.

"Bai, how does my special ability work?" Lin asked.

Bai's furry fox form appeared on his desk as he started to explain.

"When you fall asleep, a screen will ask whether you want to use your ability. If you choose yes you'll be sent to a random environment with beasts that fit your current level. You won't encounter any dangerous beasts unless you go through ominous areas. For example, you could be sent to a forest and might encounter dangerous beasts in thicker areas of the forest or maybe the trees will look dead and the forest turns barren. Another example could be a swamp and the shrubbery could be thorny or tangled, indicating danger. Just trust your gut and you'll be fine!" Bai said with an optimistic voice.

"Wait. Dangerous?? Can I die?!" Lin said with worry.

"No, no. You might feel pain but right before you die you'll be sent out of the space. The ability doesn't have any setbacks for being sent out so there's no need to worry. Though the pain will be as if the situation was real so be careful!" He answered, easing Lin's worries slightly.

Lin continued to get ready for bed and soon it was 9:00 pm. Lin got into bed and closed his eyes, his heart beating with excitement and a little bit of nervousness. After much struggle, he finally managed to fall asleep.

He was brought to a pitch black place. He floated in the darkness, staring at a large screen that said:

'Use 'Dream Cultivating' ability?

[yes] or [no]'

Lin chose yes without hesitation, eager to see his ability.

'What time would you like to wake up?

[_:_ _]'

Lin set the time for 6:00 am. Suddenly, the black around him morphed into a plain surrounded by trees. The sun high in the sky beat down on his back and cool wind ruffled his hair.

'Everything feels so real…' He thought in awe. A sword lay in his grip, glinting in the sunlight. He swung the sword around, getting used to it's weight. The sword sliced the air in ungraceful and amateurish swings. One cannot expect too much from him as this was his first time holding a sword, let alone knowing how to use it.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. A white rabbit hopped out of the shrubbery to his right, chewing grass idly. Lin noticed it's sluggish movements and wondered why it was so slow. It was common knowledge that rabbits are relatively quick.

'Maybe the ability slowed it down to match my speed? That would make sense or else I'd never be able to slay it.' He thought.

Lin slowly creeped towards the rabbit, his intentions clear. He tried to keep quiet so as to not scare the animal, but to no avail as his foot snapped a twig underneath. The rabbit flinched, its head snapped up to look at him, red glowing eyes stared at him with an ominous glint. The rabbit made a threatening sound, showing its razor sharp teeth inside its mouth. Then it pounced at Lin, jumping rather far for the tiny rabbit it was. A large growl sounded as it attacked him.

Out of surprise, Lin swung the sword, its flat bashing the rabbit. The rabbit flew to the side, barely harmed by Lin's rookie slice. He didn't hold the sword right so the blade never even touched the rabbit, showcasing his lack of skills with the sword. Lin rushed at the rabbit, not giving it a chance to get up and hacked at its neck. The swing created a gruesome scene as a mess of blood and a rabbit with its head half off lay in front of Lin.

He gagged at the sight, the graphics so realistic it made him puke. After retching for a few minutes, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the rabbit and blood turning into pixels and disappearing, leaving behind a glowing orb radiating black light.