Time to Go

Explosions rapidly echoed throughout the cosmic expanse, known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as pitiful screams of pain came from a handful of creatures that were being peppered with hundreds of baseball-sized black fireballs. In the last three months, Cynrik and Brance had kept to their insane training schedule that would cause even veteran combat experts to cringe in horror. The two young children would wake up after only sleeping four hours and spend the remaining 20 hours savagely abusing their bodies every day just to grasp even a tiny sliver of EP or attribute points.

Their training had been so intense that they had pushed themselves as far as their young bodies were capable of handling. As a result, they could no longer increase specific stats anymore. Neither was entirely sure if Tobs had placed certain restrictions on them or if their bodies couldn't handle any more power; as such, they could no longer increase their Affinities, Gravity Resistance, or Body Tempering.

However, these restrictions didn't stop them from honing their skills. Cynrik was currently in the 3g zone fighting against a horde of green and black cicada-like virtual creatures. Even without increasing his stats, as mentioned previously, he could still gain attributes and XP from killing the ever-decreasing number of creatures that would spawn in the Training Zones. In addition, Cynrik was adamant about increasing their familiarity with their Affinity Skills. It was one thing to gain new abilities and skills, but it was another to use them adequately in combat. Therefore, for the last two weeks, they had been exclusively playing the role of mages. Every time they came across creature spawns, they would unload a barrage of magical attacks until all that stood before them was a wave of colored particles.

When the particles disappeared and received their rewards, Cynrik and Brance would charge at each other and spar until they ran out of Stamina or another wave of mobs spawned.

This never-ending cycle of training would have usually eroded a person's psyche. Fortunately, in their previous lives on Earth, they had spent months in different warzones, in a state of never-ending stress and anxiety; as such, both of the brothers had a certain level of mental stability that allowed them to tank through their training with ease.

Upon finishing off the cicadas, the notification Cynrik had been waiting for appeared before his eyes.

  - You Have Leveled Up-

Even with the constant influx of XP, it had still taken this long to reach level 6. Cynrik broke out into a wide grin as he wiped the sweat from his brow and checked over his Status and then the Stats Panel.

     : Status :

    : Cynrik Jetlensr:

    : Human Male:

    : Age-7:

    : Soul Age-36:

    : Level: 6 :

    : Essence(XP): 0/35000:

    : Distribution: 1 Per All :

    : Mana Codex Tier: 1 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Mana Cycles: 300 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Mana Circuit Tier: 1 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Gravity Resistance: 3g (Proficiency= 100.0%) :

    : Body Tempering: Tier 2 (Proficiency= 0.0%) :

     : STATS :

    : HP 400/400 :

    : Mana 161/161 :

    : Stamina 200/200 :

    : Stat Points- 56:

    : Skill Points- 10 :

    : Strength- 15 :

    : Dexterity- 25 :

    : Agility- 30 :

    : Intelligence- 15 :

    : Vitality- 40 :

    : Mind- 31 :

     : Affinity- :

    :(SAG)Dark-Tier 0 (Proficiency= 10.0%): :Expand:

    :(BG) Fire-Tier 1 (Proficiency= 10.0%): :Expand:

    :(BG) Wind-Tier 0 (Proficiency= 25.0%): :Expand:

Cynrik had figured out relatively early in their battles against the virtual creatures that each type had its corresponding attribute drops. So, for example, the Carlisle clones would give STR and VIT when killed, and the cicadas he had just eliminated would give AGI. This revelation brought out his past micromanaging habits, resulting in him allocating particular creatures to Brance while keeping some for himself. As a result, the two had a rough idea of how they would "build" themselves up, with Brance needing more STR and VIT since he had chosen to be their tank and Cynrik leaning more heavily towards AGI and DEX since he opted to be more of an assassin or rogue class.

Cynrik had spent his time the last couple of days experimenting with his black fireballs and had broken through the 5% bottleneck and achieved 10% Proficiency in his Dark Affinity due to the fusion of Dark and Fire.

While doing this, Brance stayed in the 2g zone, working on his fusions and keeping a certain distance from Cynrik. The reason being he didn't want to end up leeching the drops from his brother. In doing this, the only downside was neither would receive the double XP buff or shared XP, but on the bright side, the attribute rewards for solo kills were much more lucrative.

Glancing in the direction of his brother, Brance couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly Cynrik had grasped his affinities. While he had slacked off on his Wind Affinity, he had exponentially grown in his control over his Fire and Dark Affinities. The constant bombardment of explosions could be felt even in the 2g Zone, and not wanting to lose out, Brance had also kicked it up a notch, reaching level 6 not long after Cynrik.

     : Status :

    : Brance Jetlensr:

    : Human Male:

    : Age-6:

    : Soul Age-35:

    : Level: 6 :

    : Essence(XP): 0/35000:

    : Distribution: 1 Per All :

    : Mana Codex Tier: 1 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Mana Cycles: 300 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Mana Circuit Tier: 1 (Proficiency= 20.0%) :

    : Gravity Resistance: 3g (Proficiency= 100.0%) :

    : Body Tempering: Tier 2 (Proficiency= 0.0%) :

     : STATS :

    : HP 400/400 :

    : Mana 126/126 :

    : Stamina 200/200 :

    : Stat Points- 56 :

    : Skill Points- 10 :

    : Strength- 34 :

    : Dexterity- 20 :

    : Agility- 21 :

    : Intelligence- 10 :

    : Vitality- 40 :

    : Mind- 21 :

     : Affinity :

    :(SAG)Light-Tier 0 (Proficiency= 10.0%): :Expand:

    :(BG) Earth-Tier 1 (Proficiency= 10.0%): :Expand:

    :(BG) Wind-Tier 0 (Proficiency= 25.0%): :Expand:

GONG, GONG, GONG

A loud bell tolled, signifying the end of another 24-hour cycle and giving the sign to the two brothers that it was time to head back to the Rest Area. However, today was different than the previous days; after much thought and discussion, Cynrik and Brance had decided to cut their time in the HBTC short by half. Due to the decline in mob spawns in recent days and the stat caps imposed on them, the choice was made to call it a day early.

Tobs had informed them that due to hitting their physical limits, they had the option of cashing in their remaining time for SP, which was almost an instant win/win situation. While they could spend the remaining three months slogging through whatever mobs spawned, they both felt they had reached their current limits. It was better to tap out early and cash in with the house instead of continuing to gamble and just waste time.

Upon his return, Cynrik noticed Brance already sitting at the table without his signature sword and shield, so he too took off his severely battle-worn hidden blades and swords. Although he had been unable to train both swords at once, Cynrik hadn't slacked off when it came to training with both arms individually; all he had to do now was meet the requirements and consolidate his single-handed techniques into one. Unfortunately, all of their equipment was beaten to hell. Each sword had many cracks and chips, and Brance had gone through a handful of different shields. Nevertheless, their time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber had been fruitful; what they had achieved in the last three months would have taken them years outside in the real world. With them still being children and lacking resources, Tobs and the two Gods had given them a great gift. The only question they had was, why?

But, just as they had with why Tobs had the name it did, they inevitably gave up on trying to understand how the deities thought. It would consume too much brainpower, and it was also way above their paygrade.

Looking at Brance, who shot him a quick nod, Cynrik knew it was time to leave the legendary place they had spent a quarter of a year in.

" Tobs, we would like to leave the Virtual Training Facility," making his intention known to the system; all he could do now was wait for a response while giving one last look at the place that had been home for three months.

  -The hosts have decided to terminate The HBTC early-

  - Current time remaining is 2,160 hours or 90 days. -

  - Due to Hosts' early termination, they will receive 1 Skill Point per day remaining, equaling 90 Skill Points each. -

  - Hosts will be removed from the Virtual Training Facility in 30 seconds; please be advised all rewards received from training will be carried over to the Hosts bodies in the real world; thus, there will be some discomfort.-

Picking up on the last notification as a count-down timer popped up, Cynrik's mouth dropped open, and Brance jumped out of his chair.

" OI, OI TOBS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? "Some discomfort" HOW MUCH DISCOMFORT?" the response he received stunned him; just as his body started to dematerialize, he heard one last comment from Tobs.

  -Don't be such a baby. It's not going to be that bad. -