There were one hundred dummies clustered in this room, and this training room had two floors. Everything surrounding this building was distorted. None of them aligned. But instead of whining about the environment, I had to deal with it and come up with a plan to achieve my goal. But how could I even put a dent on those dummies if they moved as fast as a fucking famished hyena? The answer was simple. First, I had to try what I could and hit them like I usually did. With that in mind, I held my sniper and aimed elsewhere. For starters, I put my line of sight in front of me. There was a bloody mannequin before me, which should probably be a freebie. After all, every hit counts. And if I managed to hit one, that would be nine instead of ten for a meal. When the time kicked in, I finally pulled the trigger and fired what was in front of me. For a second, I glimpsed at the puppet dashing right before my eyes. However, the occurrence was something more than what I had initially expected.
“That’s enough, kid. You did well for today. But, sadly, you’re not allowed to eat dinner,” Vulcan uttered, as he opened the door leading to the training area’s exit. “Why? I’m the one who paid for our meal! It came from my hard earned money!” I cried, sounding desperate in front of an old man. “I know. But I made this training session for you. If you want to eat, go eat. But don’t use this place.” “If I can’t use this place, who else would?! I’m your guest, goddammit!” I cursed, as my stomach grumbled. “Nobody except for you.” After we ended our conversation, Vulcan and I headed outside the training area. He told me that I was free to use this place whenever I liked. However, the old man also told me that I needed to look out for my health. “Your mind might want to train, but your body wouldn’t.” Those thoughts echoed inside my head, as I hit the sack without crunching anything inside my mouth. When tomorrow came, I went to the main hall and saw capsules of some sort and a dece
“I have to brute force everything. If this sniper can do it, I should do it. There’s nothing else that I can do besides that, old man,” I said, while blankly staring at his disappointed face. “Move aside and let me just… pull this trigger once more and try.”“Even if you try, Aoi, you’re never going to hit them,” Vulcan, who kept calling me by my name, caught my attention. He had never been this concerned for me when the two of us first met. When Vulcan finally noticed that I lent my ears to him, he placed his arms, which were crossed earlier, on his face and massaged his temples. “You don’t understand, Aoi. The key is not depending on your powers. The ability comes from you, not the sniper. You’ve been relying on the damn weapon!” Vulcan yelled as if he was spelling it out for me.But I didn’t care and carried on with what I had in mind. Even though I paid attention to Vulcan, his words didn’t produce meaning inside my head. All I could think of remained the same. I must take down f
The stones hit the target practice, not the wall or the post nearby. It hit the dummy. A crashing, but brief sound reverberated through my eardrums as the portal and my system notified me about hitting my target. The number shown on the top side part of my view decreased from one hundred to ninety, telling me that I eliminated one puppet. And that puppet I struck with the stone stopped moving in front of me. The last time I saw the target dummy stop moving was my first time strolling inside this training room. I never thought that the day would come that I would see this figure staring at me without moving around. “I hit it! I HIT IT!” I chirruped.Every cell inside my body cheered for my achievements. Although I had defeated the Wyvern and the Grim Reaper, this was my first time that I had felt like achieving something with such difficulty. Defeating monsters and portals was one thing. But learning a new skill from my own abilities was something different. Since I was already in t
“But what if they die because of me? Why would I let them risk their lives for me, when I am the one with the sniper system?” I asked, and demanded for an answer.I already had my ice cream in my hands, but it was starting to melt throughout our conversation. But I didn’t mind it for now. All I wanted was to hear Vulcan’s explanations and his ideas through this topic. Vulcan placed the plastic bag on the table and opened the wrapper from his ice cream. He also bought an ice cream for himself when he gave one to me. His ice cream also showed signs of melting, especially on his cone.“The hardest part about this job is that we can’t save everyone. There will be casualties far beyong what you’ve seen. And if that happens, everyone you love will be on the line. “Do you really think the people around you are defenceless? Even though you have an overpowered ability, it doesn’t mean that the people around you are powerless. You need to rely on yourself, not from your power alone. But just
When Vulcan exploded the dummy, the number from my top view decreased. Since I had already defeated ten dummies earlier, there were only ninety nine target practice left for me to battle. But in this case, I had to protect them. However, everything changed when Vulcan told me about his new challenge and destroyed the target mannequin behind me. As soon as that happened, the ninety dummies became eight-nine really quick. It just meant that Vulcan was ahead of me, showcasing his power. But the real struggle didn’t lie within this battle. It was because of the battle’s descriptions. Vulcan and I needed to treat the dummies like they were people I had to save, and the old man was an enemy. He told me that this was my training, apart from taking down those dummies earlier, which already became different. I was moving in an uncharted area, but the setting felt the same. It was because this happened when I was inside the portal.Whenever I entered a portal, the instructions to defeat the d
Vulcan’s Point of View ___________________ This happened last twelve years ago. The memories of the past haunted me and became fresh wounds that re-opened on my vulnerable mind. I didn’t want to recall it. I never wanted to. But alas, my brain took control of my thoughts and flashed every little thing that had happened. It was the day where I lost everything. (Note: This Bonus Chapter will cover two chapters) ……. “Come on, son. You can do it. Lift your arms up, don’t stiffen your shoulders, and allow your hands to be free like the wind. Watch your old man do it. Like this.” I raised my hand and punched the three right in front of my kid. There was a sea of trees resting in plain sight, waiting to be cut down. My son disliked the idea, but I convinced him to tag along with me to train in the forest. It was a site near our home in Russia, where there was a place abundant with mountains and lands to choose from. Even the scent of leaves and grass had already infiltrated my nostrils
Vulcan’s Point of View___________________Our house was a normal-looking bungalow residing near the forest. We still lived near the village, but the location was just vibrant and near the crop field. I was the chief of this small village - a province in Russia. It wasn’t well-known, not until the portals came in.People elected me as their governor, considering the popularity I had among my neighbours. We were not rich or poor. My family just had enough to support ourselves while constantly checking on others about it. Everyone in this town was willing to help each other out, especially after talking to them and motivating them to do so. But when I knew that these portals existed as a chief, I also learned that I wasn’t the only one who was gifted with power. However, for the time being, not everyone received a gift. Someone told me that I could smith, which I immediately used the ability and ran a business. It was a shop down the street, which bloomed because of the materials I use
Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.) __________________________________ I forgot the last time I tasted good food. How many days had it been since the time I had been luring and fighting these beasts? Two months? No. Two months were short in my calendar. If I had to guess it right, I was up here for eight months fighting and evading these monsters. I fed myself with arcane from my surroundings and made it my nutrition. Although magic particles were different from real nourishments, it was enough to keep me functional. And my body was still in top shape. I also forced myself to sleep only for an hour and wake up dodging those projectiles for the umpteenth time. There was nothing inside my mind but evading these ambushes, hoping I could, at least, strike back with my rifle. But the time never arrived. The lizards weren’t the only creatures present in my vicinity. There were more of them. If I had to name a few, t
Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.)__________________________________I temporarily lent my power to the Crimson Guild in exchange for my monthly salary enough to pay for the hospital fees and our daily living. There was nothing wrong about it. So I told Hina about our current situation and encouraged her to attend the school we were once going to. But I refused the scholarship and dropped out of university. College life should be something that everyone desires to have, especially us students. But for me, I wanted to see Hina’s parents live for another day. Hence, the approval of being an adventurer in a guild.But I didn’t apply for being a regular adventurer. Regular adventurers were tasked to defeat a certain number of portals in return they will be given cheques and salaries from it. The more portals defeated, the larger amount of cash will be rewarded. As long as the adventurer was talented enough to survive
Volume 3 - Epilogue Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.) __________________________________ As far as I remembered, my parents died when I was little. When I was six years old. I didn’t need money, a lavish life, or things that I could call mine. There was only one thing I wanted, and that was my parents. I wanted them to live. But with one sudden moment, my wish turned around and burned me alive. My parents were killed by monsters, not humans. The fiend was around a hundred feet tall, and the village we were living in took the invasion. They were reptiles. These monsters had the shape of a dragon, which was technically a lizard with wings. According to the internet, unidentified beasts kept appearing from nowhere, and there were others who fought against them. Those individuals were not the police officers. I believed they were called guilds. And as I glanced around me, the news and other people claimed that t
Aoi’s PerspectiveAoi one or the ORIGINAL MAIN CHARACTER OF THE STORY (not the different one)Author’s note: This Aoi is also calling himself as Aoi one, and the other Aoi will be Aoi two (It is to avoid confusion. Thank you.)_____________________“That’s why I need to become stronger. And you’re not strong enough! Even though we’re the only ones who have this system, you didn’t try to break your own wall and learn more about it! There could’ve been portals that you could eliminate to gain more levels, and yet you chose to idle around and did nothing about it!” What did he mean when this motherfucker told me I wasn’t strong enough?! I trained with Vulcan, which Akai killed. Did he not think of that?!”“Your face is telling me that you met with Vulcan… That you trained with him. But did you learn anything from those sessions besides aiming your gun properly? Because it’s the only thing you have if you plan on comparing yourself to me!” Aoi two, or should I say, this doppelganger adde
Hina’s Perspective_____________________“It’s okay… Don’t cry. There, there…. It’s going to be okay… It’s going to be alright….”And then, I said the words. “I forgive you… I forgive you, Aoi… You don’t have to cry anymore… It’s going to be okay…”I said the words Aoi wanted to hear. Even though he was Obsidian, the face of my brother carved itself on the man beside me. It was as if Aoi two was a dog barking and biting people left and right only to realise he needed someone’s help… He needed my help. And now he had faced his fear and listened to the words Aoi two wanted to hear, his ears calmed down. His ears discerned what was important.‘But what now? What are we going to do now?’ I thought, and looked at the downcasted face of Aoi two. As if knowing the question inside my head, Aoi two returned my gaze and uttered, “I know… you are confused. But we don’t have much time now. As soon as I fought Aoi in this world, the entities behind these portals were already high on alert. And I
Hina’s Perspective _____________________ “Come with me.” With one phrase, the masked man offered his hand to me. He used his other hand to lift Aoi’s body and cast a spell that changed our surroundings. “I’ll show you something.” Obsidian showed no signs of hostility. And the voice behind the masked man soothed my ears as if it was some sort of music with perfect beat and lyrics. I gazed at the man’s hand, wondering if I should take it. I had seen something like this before. But something was off. And at the same time, there was a peculiar feeling of calm and genuineness. He almost reminded me of my brother. In spite of these feelings twirling inside my mind, I shook my head and answered, “I don’t… want to... I won’t leave…. My brother! You… Want… to kill him… I’ll…. Stay by…. His side…. Until you… can kill me…” There was a chance that the masked man wanted to pull me apart from Aoi. And I never wanted that to happen. The moment the masked man heard my words for the umpteenth ti
Hina’s Perspective_____________________All my life, Aoi did nothing but help me with my problems, regardless if it involved him or me. As long as he noticed, which he always did, my brother would rush towards me and help. Aoi really forced himself so hard until he could see me smile. And even though I pushed him countless times, he continued crawling his way back in my arms. I could still remember those days when we were together, especially when these portals hadn’t shown up. Life was simple back then. If only Aoi’s parents didn’t die, maybe he could’ve lived the life he deserved. But his life was taken away by a murderer and the portal. And now, we were given the chance to confront the man who stole his life away. But even so, we couldn’t defeat him. I… couldn’t do a thing. Aoi did everything he could to stop the madman from hurting everyone, despite knowing none of the strangers, but he failed. And the only thing I could do was to watch him suffer.Maybe if I trained hard enoug
As I glanced on my side, Hina still wanted to fight. She stood up and used the rock beside him, but her legs kept shaking as if an earthquake struck us. But the ground remained still. There was no earthquake. And when I appraised her status, my system described her with a fatigue ailment in addition to her drained mana right beside his health bar.[Iron Maiden has been deactivated. Obsidian is too powerful to be compressed!]Those were the words that marked our doom. The moment Obsidian broke free from the [Iron Maiden] all hope was lost. I had no idea how to win now, especially when my sister was on the ground. She couldn’t me right now. But Hina had already assisted me until her body fell on the ground. Although she desperately forced herself to move and stand with the help of a rock, Hina couldn’t cast any more magic and would remain sluggish until she could recover her mana. Obsidian stood on the other side of the map, unscathed and unbothered from the spell. The [Iron Maiden] wa
Time wasn’t on our side. Obsidian tried hitting us with his sniper, but Hina continued lifting me up and creating walls in front of me. It was as if she was reading my movements. When the masked man pulled the trigger and launched a set of bullets in my direction, I went to the side despite having no platform for me to step on. But I trusted my sister. By the time I jumped above ground, I trusted my instincts and rolled on the side. Like I had said, there was no ground to catch me when I fell. But as soon as I gyrated my body, a floor made of soil immediately materialised and cushioned my feet. The next thing I knew, I tumbled to the side and evaded almost every bullet coming in my way. The shells that I couldn’t dodge still didn’t hit me. The moment those leads from the masked man could take me out, Hina summoned a wall in front of me and protected my face.I didn’t have the time to thank my sister and carried onwards with the fight. Time was also our enemy. So when I found an open