Suiting Up

I woke up in a white room.

When I say a white room, the place looked like somewhere they locked up people in solitary confinement, except that the floor and walls weren't made out of mattresses.

(A.N. The floor dear readers, was indeed, made out of floor)

Guess they didn't need to worry about me trying to kill myself.

Whoever 'they' might be in this case.

As I got to my feet I realized two more things about my current situation.

One, I was naked.

Two, my body was younger and in prime health.

No scars, no hidden injuries.

This was not something that could be achieved by current medical technology at the very least.

This wasn't a simple kidnapping.

The room was completely empty except for the bed on which I woke up and a door which was presumably the exit.

The door wasn't locked and I stepped right through it to the next room.

This room also had the same minimalistic design on the surface.

Its contents though were anything but minimalistic.

There was a full-length mirror, a wardrobe and hung on the walls a massive array of weapons.

Cold weapons, hot weapons, futuristic weapons, and objects that I assumed were weapons owing to the theme but whose purpose I couldn't even begin to imagine.

There was another door at the opposite end with a set of digits.

'9:57'

'9:56'

I went and tried the door and sure enough, it was locked.

The timer was probably the time given for me to prepare for what was next to come.

Looking at the sheer number of weapons to choose from, it was safe to assume that I would soon have to fight.

I opened the wardrobe and wore the combat suit within.

It was completely black, devoid of any symbols or numbers.

There were however empty spaces in the design where symbols or numbers would logically be placed.

Perhaps they will be added in later?

Remembering the letter I read before passing out about the Yggdrasil Hero Academy, it looked like I was in the middle of an orientation or entrance test of sorts.

I looked around at the vast selection and decided that it would be best to travel light and choose weapons that I was familiar with.

As enticing as these weapons looked, fooling around with alien contraptions whose operation I had no idea of will only lead to my death.

The last thing I wanted was to end up shooting myself because I pointed a blaster the wrong way.

I ended up choosing a simple pistol with a few extra mags, a longsword made out of carbon-steel alloy and a hidden dagger that I tucked up my sleeves.

I did own a pistol for self-defence, using a dagger was pretty intuitive and a longsword was an extremely versatile weapon to use for beginners.

It might have been better to pack a few more hidden or throwing weapons but since I have zero experience with this sort of stuff, I would probably waste time thinking of which weapon to choose when faced with an opponent, losing precious reaction and likely the initiative as well.

After picking up a scabbard and holster and attaching the weapons to my waist I decided to take a look in the mirror.

Staring back at me was a tall and handsome teenager with black hair, brown eyes and a charming smile.

Running my hand through my hair I couldn't help but sigh.

My body looked around 16 years old, reminding me of my high-school days.

Back then I was still living in my uncle's house trying to find a way to escape from his poisonous clutches.

It had been ten years since then. I was steadily on my way to the peak of my life, yet some otherworldly power has plucked me out of it without asking for my permission.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

No, I wasn't nervous.

I was excited.

Extremely excited.

The sheer implications of this feat were beyond imagination.

I couldn't even begin calculating the sheer amount of money such de-aging technology could make.

No, I was still thinking too small.

If I was able to take over the organization that has created this place… either way the upper limit of my life had significantly increased.

The unknown in front of me was something way more exciting than simply becoming a president or the richest man in the world.

*Ding*

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of the timer.

I checked myself one last time to ensure that I was ready for whatever might come next and then proceeded to enter the next room.

.

.

.

The next room was circular like an arena, in the centre of which were 5 humanoid objects that reminded me of crash-testing dummies.

The door onward was on the opposite side of them.

I whipped out my pistol and took a tentative shot.

*BANG!*

The bullet blasted a hole through the chest of one of the mannequins.

The dummy was pushed back by the force of the bullet and fell backwards onto the floor.

I waited with bated breath for the rest of them to react.

However, they didn't show any signs of reaction, as if they were nothing but inanimate objects.

"Is this easy mode?"

I took aim and fired four more shots, felling the rest of the dummies.

Once again, the four dummies all fell to the ground without even twitching.

"Target practice maybe?"

After a second the floor opened up and the remains of the 5 dummies were taken away and 5 more were put in place.

I was going to shoot them again but since there were only a limited number of bullets, I holstered the gun and drew out the longsword and dagger instead.

I sprinted forwards and stabbed at the chest of the first mannequin using the sword.

The blade went through without offering any significant resistance.

I pulled it back out and swung it toward the neck of the second dummy, decapitating it in one strike.

I rushed forwards and used the knife in my offhand to stab the neck of the third one while swinging the fourth toward the fourth.

Finally, I twisted my body to place myself behind the 5th one and stabbed at the location of the heart using the dagger.

I then got off the platform and waited for the next batch.

*Ding*

This time, instead of another batch of mannequins coming out of the floor, the door to the next room opened instead.

"Were they just trying to check my skill in using the weapons?"

"Why didn't they use any moving opponents though…"

I shook my head as I couldn't figure out the motives of the organizers at all.

Was it some sort of test, or was it some sort of training so that one could get familiar with the weapons in hand?

I needed more information before I could come to any sort of conclusion.

I put away my weapons once again and entered the next room.

This time…

I wasn't alone.