I woke up to a Normal day, In my normal world, I didn't expect that I would be whisked away from this normal life to something completely absurd.
My name is Alex Regis, I have normal black hair some would call my face structure handsome, I could be considered a bit overweight due to my sedentary lifestyle. I live in the united states and work for a normal company that might or might not be a dead end job. I work in IT as a game designer. I am 18 years old today. Waking up, I went through my daily routine: showering; eating breakfast,which consisted of cereal; taking out the trash and recycling which included feeding our cats, then going back inside. It was all very normal until-
"Alex!" I hear coming from a strange hole in the air. right in front of my room, The hole began to expand, black as pitch. "Alex!" You have been chosen. The air seemed to shimmer, with uncountable stars, I began to back peddle, attempting to escape the ever advancing Hole in reality. My heart pounded, fear coursed through me. Then suddenly, the sound of a trumpet broke the silence. A voice called out, "Your mission begins now." I turned around, there stood three figures dressed in dark robes, one had a mask over his face and held out a glowing staff. He pushed me through the portal with a gust of air, and I fearfully shouted, "What the hell?!" I overheard one last tidbit of information that made my blood run cold.
"If you value your life, Don't listen to the colors. When you reach the other side, there will be others to guide you."
I found myself falling through what could only be described as a star-scape. There were so many colors, and they had mouths and teeth. I put my hands upon my ears, hoping that this guy who just threw me through some portal in the middle of my room wasn't just messing with me. Afterall none of this made any sense. I looked down at my body, I saw no wings, horns, tails nothing. Well if I'm dreaming I don't want any part of it! I said aloud. Suddenly I heard an unfamiliar voice say, "Hello Alex, You are needed for the war effort."
"Whoa, stop! What's happening?!" I asked looking about frantically. I finally noticed I was standing in a field surrounded by Similar people. I couldn't see anyone in charge , else but I did notice two things: firstly, it appeared I was still clothed in nothing more than underwear, and secondly, Everyone else was in a similar state.
I tried to figure out what the heck was going on when another person approached us wearing a suit of armor, I assumed it was important because everyone was staring at him.
He spoke, "We need warriors like you to help fight off these invaders from beyond the gap."
"What?! But I'm just a normal person!" He shoved a book into my hands.
[Cultivation tome detected.] The book opened itself, showing pages of text written in ancient script. This language wasn't familiar to me, but apparently I understood it well enough. I read the page in question,
'The warrior must cultivate their inner strength before being sent forth.'
"So basically, I've got to train?"
"Yes," Said the armored soldier.
"And how do we get started?" Someone piped up.
"You'll find plenty of weapons lying around here. Go into the forest and grab some blood essence from local wildlife. Or stay here and die. Your choice."
Everyone took off running towards the woods. Most of them grabbed swords or spears, and Before long, I followed after them. As soon as I entered the trees, I felt the presence of something different. I heard birds screeching and in terror. The ground trembled. I hid behind a tree and calmed my breath as well as I could. Slowly, I crept forward trying to look for something new. Soon, I came across a corpse, its throat ripped apart. I quickly moved past it, terrified of whatever creature killed this poor soul. Finally, I arrived at a clearing where I spotted several piles of ash. Upon closer inspection, I realized those weren't ashes but actual bones. Some animal had eaten the remains of someone. I shivered, thinking of the danger lurking nearby.
Suddenly, I felt eyes watching me. I looked up and spied a large white wolf eyeing me. I shuddered slightly, but I decided to take my chances. I slowly walked towards the beast, hoping that it wouldn't attack me, My hopes were dashed however, and the sword I picked up earlier came in handy.
As I watched the wolves mouth open wide, I brought the blade up and plunged it deep into the creatures neck. Blood gushed everywhere, and the wolf collapsed onto the ground. I pulled my weapon free and inspected the wound, it looked pretty clean.
Suddenly, the energy from the wolfs blood seemed to be sucked into my body. The blood turned black, and the corpse of the wolf deflated and eventually turned to just fur and bones.
[Cultivation Level increased.]
[Blood chi of Common Wolf used.]
I stared in amazement, realizing what happened. So far I hadn't really done much training, except maybe pushups and sit ups. Now, I had gained the strength of two men. I ran back to the group, excited for my next task, The instructor was looking at me in disdain.
"What are you doing back so soon? You should have stayed in the woods longer, what the hell are you doing back with only the strength of a Body formation rank 1 cultivator?!"
"Well..."
"Are you stupid!? Look around you! Do you think you're the only one who can Cultivate Chi!?"
I looked around, and sure enough, all of the people around me had grown stronger, even the person who had handed me the Tome.
I was confused, "But I thought you said I would learn combat skills? Like how to swing a sword or something? How can I fight if I don't know anything about fighting?"
"You will learn everything you need to know, when the time comes."
"When the time comes"?
"That's right. What did you think we'd teach everyone?! this is a TEST! A T.E.S.T. DO you understand anything that is coming out of my mouth initiate?!"
"Alright, fine. Let me ask again, what exactly am I supposed to be learning?"
"Oh, you will find out. For now, go back to the Forest and kill something!"
With that, energy was forced forward and I was thrown back into the woods. I ran as fast as I could to find a suitable victim. After a while of searching, I found myself near a small pond. The water was clear and peaceful, yet I knew there were dangerous predators within. I decided to hide in ambush for something weak to come and drink from the pond.
After waiting for what felt like a long time but was probably only a few minutes, I saw movement in the distance. It appeared to be a large antelope like thing It stopped in front of the pond and dipped its head in to drink. That gave me my chance. I quietly stalked up on it from behind, and as it drank my hand reached up and grasped it by the horn. It struggled briefly then went limp in my grasp. I had broken it's neck easily.
I looked at it's face, and saw that it was covered in sharp fangs. It had a single eye and I noticed there were ridges all along it's spine. It had a thick tail and four legs. This isn't a deer or antelope at all! This thing is like some kind of monster! It was still breathing despite its broken neck. It occurred to me that this might be my best opportunity so I pulled my arm away and stabbed it through the heart with my borrowed sword. It fell dead instantly.
Again, the energy from the creature entetered my body, strengthening it it's odd. why do I feel like i can do this. Hmm might was well give it a shot. Immediately think:
'Status'
─ Character Status Screen Name : Alex Regis
Race : Humanoid (Human)
Age: 18
[Cultivation level: Body formation 2]
[Cultivation methods:
Great Blood Essence Demonic Art(main).]
[Body:3.0
Soul:1.5
Spirit:2.0]
[Emotional status: scared, Confused, Intrigued]
[Debuffs: Portal sickness]
I'm not gonna lie, I was surprised at first. After all, I'm clearly in some sort of cultivation setting. I'm messing up all over the place. Why the hell did that robed guy toss me through the portal anyway? Was he testing my ability to handle this situation? If so, he succeeded. The whole experience left me feeling both elated and terrified at once. On the plus side, I actually have a cultivation base like in the stories. But on the other, I'm in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to get home.
"Hello Alex, You are needed for the war effort."
The second I find myself pondering about home, I find myself back in the clearing. The people around me are the same but they seem a lot weaker than before. The armored man who tossed me in here earlier is standhign there with the tome, and is about to shove it into my arms. as well as everyone else who has been in the clearing before. I look around, trying to figure out what has changed. But nothing seems to have changed at all. The man shoves the tome into my hand, and I don't receive a notification this time. I look down at the tome. It's the exact same one.
"So, what exactly am I supposed to do?" Someone asks.
"You'll find plenty of weapons lying around here. Go into the forest and grab some blood essence from local wildlife." The armored man replies.
I look around, and act as if this is normal. It's as if I've gone back in time to when I started the test. The people who were in the clearing before run off towards the trees, and I follow after them. We enter the woods and begin our hunt for animals. I split off from them and frown. I find the same wolf in the same condition as it was before and instead of walking up to it like a moron, I dash forward and cut its head off. As the blood drips onto the ground it turns black and the wolf crumbles into bones and fur. I pick it up and examine it carefully. Nothing is different about it than it was before. I'm in a time loop of some kind? aren't I?
I check my status to see if I've lost my cultivation.
─ Character Status Screen Name : Alex Regis
Race : Humanoid (Human)
Age: 18
[Cultivation level: Body formation 3]
[Cultivation methods:
Great Blood Essence Demonic Art(main).]
[Body:3.5
Soul:1.7
Spirit:2.5]
My growth has accelerated rapidly since being in this strange world. My body feels more powerful I can feel energy coursing through me.
The problem is, how the hell did I maintain my power through the time loop?
When am I even going to get some damn clothes anyway?!