Chapter 2: Just like those novels (2)

Time slowly passed, the one year appointed time, little by little, approached as he finished the last set of exercise. As to how he knew the correct date of one year? The cold voice always reminds him everyday, of the number of the day that has already passed.

[The 365th day of preparation has passed. You have completed the last set of exercise, increased strength, agility, endurance and stamina by 100 points. Please make the preparation necessary for the world travel.]

"At last, at long fucking last. I can leave this shithole, haha, hahahahaha." With a crazed laughter, Alex began to pound his fist on the white ground, leaving a one meter diameter crater. Around him was the ground full of craters, the nearby wall cracks and fissures he made due to his frustration of being trapped for a year. Who else wouldn't go crazy being stuck in a monotonous white environment with the only thing to do is no other than complete the exercise, right?

The destroyed surroundings began to restore, just like what happened when he damage it the first time. Every single day that passes, the place is restored to it's original state due to unknown reasons. He grew numb to it as he then began to feel the increase of his strength everyday by testing it on the surroundings. Every task he completed, substantially increases his strength with 3 basic exercises he's given everyday (1 stat increase, then 10, and lastly 100). The repetitive exercises slowly bored into his mind, like a zombie, became paranoid and lifeless as he completed each set of exercise like a robot.

Just like that, a year has passed, the day where he would be liberated from this hell has arrived. He began to madly howl and cried like a dog as he felt his new life approaching near him.

"HURRY! HURRY!! GET ME OUT OF THIS DAMNED PLACE!!!"

He roared angrily, then waited for a minute, he slowly calmed down and looked at his panel to see his progress doing those monotonous exercises everyday.

[Alex Kane - (?)

Str: 40525

Agi: 40525

End: 40525

Sta: 40525]

(AN: For quick calculation:

He has 10 basic points for all stats, adding to the 3 task everyday which rewards 111 points in total, for the duration of 365 days. So 365×11 = 40515 + 11 = 40525)

The minute passed by and he still haven't heard the confirmation from the cold voice. Then 10 minutes, hours passed and he started to feel nervous. It is already the 366th day he was brought here, and he began to think about those novels he have read before. Someone being left for a thousand years on Earth as the only human left(1). Unlike him that has a miniature angel to talk with, though, he has no one beside himself(2).

And even though he was only trapped for a year, for him, it felt like eternity. The loneliness, solitude, and the creepiness of the white colored surroundings slowly turned his mind into a state of paranoia. Every second staying on this monotonous field is like a torture to him.

Alex made up his mind, meditated himself, slowly removing the negative emotions he felt. As a shut in from the past, he learned this from a random website as he surfs the internet for hours. As he was always alone, the mantras and teachings felt really meant for him in his opinion. One teaching include 'to fight the inner demons of solitude is to exclude oneself from outer temptations'. At first he really didn't get what it was saying until today, he felt the real deal of eternal solitude.

Through meditating, Alex waited and waited. Hours became days, days became weeks, and weeks became months. The months became years, as it then turned into decades. Decades became centuries, without knowing, and lastly the centuries became millenia.

His breathing calm, like a sleeping fish, except with closed eyes. What he didn't know that, during the meditation of an indefinite time, his body slowly exudes an otherworldly aura. If someone neared him, that someone wouldn't feel anything, as if he's invisible. From the mantras, he began to extricate himself from the world, like a god overseeing mortals.

Until one day, he was awoken from his meditation when he heard a buzzing noise on his head.

[@#$_&-+..]

Slowly opening his eyes, he smiled calmly while looking around, still the all-white cubicle room was what entered his sight.

Sighing, he said "That's one nice nap I had, I wonder how long have I been out." Still muddleheaded, he checked the notice and happily grinned. At last, his departure time has arrived.

[Preparations complete. Please get ready for the world travel. Countdown begins in 10..9..]

Patting his butt as if there was dust as he got up, he cracked his neck left and right, stretched his body and then stood with arms crossed on his chest.

[3..2..1..]

"I'm ready."

[0.]

'Wennngggggggg' defeaning sound boomed through his ears as his face distorted due to pain. Next was the blinding light, just like before he came here, the difference is that he could feel the brightness due to having a corporeal body unlike when he was still in his consciousness form.

His relaxed stature slowly turned vigilant, due to fear of the unknown. Gritting his teeth, he crouched low with his arms formed into a boxing position, with clenched fist. As his stats improved, his time doing the tasks were reduced greatly. As a result, he began to practice the martial arts he recalled seeing on YouTube videos on his free remaining time. Since he already has a heaven defying body, slowly replicating those nearly acrobatic moves was a piece of cake to him.

Eyes still closed and ears still deaf, he then began to feel gravity leaving his body in an instant, then returned as fast as how it left his body. During that occasion, the defeaning sound also instantly vanished along with the blinding light.

Hastily opening his eyes, Alex saw something that dumbfounded him to his core.

"W-WHAAT!?"

(1) Reference to the novel 'Everyone Else is a Returnee', where the main protagonist Yu Ilhan was trapped alone on Earth as everybody was transferred to the other world during the Great Cataclysm.

(2) Still referring to the novel, the miniature angel guide 'Rita/Lita' that was left behind to guide the MC.