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
Vulcan’s Point of View ___________________ When I raced towards our home, Maxim, my son, was with me. He never wandered or lost track of me, especially when I told him to follow me no matter what. But now, I never saw him inside the house or outside this place. And I didn’t know if Maxim’s absence was a saving grace or another problem I had to face, besides the ogre sniffing for me. However, something happened. Before assuming anything, a soft wailing sound echoed outside. It was a familiar voice, belonging to my son. And when the sound reverberated inside the house, the ogre switched targets and had its eyes at the door. The monster didn’t even bother checking its surroundings and went straight outside the house. But despite the sudden outcome, the situation wasn’t a good thing. It was a bad thing. That voice that came outside our home belonged to Maxim, my son. And he sounded like he was in trouble, just like Inessa called for me when she needed my help. So instead of idling aro
Vulcan’s Point of View___________________“Run… RUN!” I shouted, and pushed Maxim, my son, to the side.Maxim rolled on the flank and evaded the monster’s attack. My son understood the occurrence as he dashed away from the site and returned to our home. The monsters had already left our house, so that place should be safer than hiding inside this forest. I was the one left behind. Since it was already too late for me to dodge the ogre’s strike, I used my weapon as a shield, raised my hand, and safeguarded myself from the attack. The ogre swung its fist against me and pounded both my weapon and my arm.I negated some damage from the bash, but the recoil was too much for me to handle. As soon as my hand gave in, I straightforwardly took the attack and tumbled all the way back to kiss the soil. The strime might have left a mark. But after a few minutes, I regained my footing and rose from the ground.“I… I shouldn’t give up just yet. Maxim and Inessa still need me,” I told myself, and
Vulcan’s Point of View …. Back to the present time line with Aoi …. ___________________ “GAH!!” I shouted, and abruptly opened my eyes. I had a nightmare - a memory that continued haunting me in my sleeps. It was a dream where I last saw my family in front of me. It had been a decade when I lost my family from the hands of those ogres and the portal. I wanted to die, but fate refused to kill me. It almost felt like the world still needed me for a reason I did not know. I was still inside the same room where I smith and do my work. At the right side, my eyes caught a glance of my desk. And on my left, I placed my tools in that area. Everything was neatly organised, not until Aoi showed up.That kid ruined the fashion sense I had inside the smith as he relocated every equipment elsewhere until it became clustered and mixed up. In the end, I didn’t care about the disorganised tools and let it be until I worked again. Speaking of the little kid, he was snoozing on the other side of
Vulcan’s point of view ____________ There were only two weeks left for him to prepare against the portals. Those hellish dimensions had a thousand surprises left not just for him but to every adventurer who wished to defeat them. Despite the task needed to conquer those portals, more unique and deadly monsters would appear as time passess by. And Aoi had to deal with them using his sniper and his wits. Instead of the usual training dummies as his targets, I made something different. Even though Aoi had learned to aim his sniper at any target he wished to hit while those dummies dodged his bullets, nobody tried to harm him. It was just a one sided battle of him murdering the training dummies. It would be fun and more interesting if I could kick it up a notch. When Aoi went to bed, I worked through the evening and crafted some adjustments for the training dummies. Instead of those target practices just moving around, I added a little retouch to their patterns. The one hundred manneq
Aoi’s Point of View________________It had been two weeks since the day I kept training inside this room. I knew that I had improved my general skills: aiming, handling my weapon, moving, and adapting to any challenges thrown at me. And as the days passed by, those challenges facilitated by Vulcan were even more terrifying than the last time. Each day, he would fight me while protecting the dummies. And every time I tried saving all of those puppets - since they acted as a proxy for humans inside the portal - Vulcan wouldn’t hesitate to abandon our battle and attack my weakness. That was a cheap move, but the monsters would do the same.When I first accepted Vulcan’s challenge, I barely took out even one dummy. I desperately tried saving every mannequin that needed my help. But no matter how hard I tried catching up with Vulcan, he was slippery and focused more on killing the puppets, regardless if I attacked him with my decoy bullets or not. And even if I used items, Vulcan still ha