[Next Match Info, Status, Shop]
'There they are.' Ryu thought, 'Though, I wasn't expecting information about the next match. That is quite helpful.'
Although Ryu was a bit hesitant on what he should check first, he eventually decided on 'Status'.
'I already have quite a lot of time left. Let's leave the info for last.'
With his mind, Ryu chose Status, and the content of the system changed, and the size of it also doubled.
[Name: Ryu
Species: True Human
Level: 1
Strength: 1
Speed: 1.1
Durability: 1.3
Endurance: 2.1
Ether: 0
Skills:
Lesser Skills:
The lesser skill section just began to trail on and on, to the point that there was a slider at the right of the window. Ryu glanced at the lesser skills and skimmed through them, noticing stuff such as
Ryu was dumbfounded at the mention of the last one.
'It even includes stuff like that?' Cooking and Dancing, he could understand it. After all, it also counted each style of martial arts as a skill, but depression?
Ryu clicked his tongue and scrolled back up. His stats were rather average, with the exception of Endurance. If he took 1 as an average, then Ryu's Endurance was quite good. It made sense, he thought, as he always withstood the bullying from Ho-Eun, and even withstood many attacks from Comby.
However, what interested him the most was the 'Ether' stat. He had never heard of it, however, he could guess it was similar to magic of some sort. This caused him to be slightly excited.
Ryu didn't think he would be wrong, as everything that happened till now was magical. A talking combat dummy, a system that floats in the air, his body magically healing, everything was supernatural.
Ryu didn't know how to raise this stat, but he thought he'll know eventually. He got back to the main section and chose the 'Shop' option.
The window grew once more in size, and there was a slider as well. Additionally, there was a search bar in the top right. At the top left, there was a small golden orb, with '100' written next to it.
He looked at the items, and was stunned for a bit.
'Longsword, short-sword, a bow, a small shield, a buckler, a great shield…' There were various items here, and all sorts of weaponry. Their prices were written below their stats, and it ranged from 20 to over 100. Ryu currently only had 100 points, but that was more than enough to buy an item or two.
However, before he could think about purchasing these swords or shields, he immediately went to the search bar to type something; 'Gun'.
And sure enough, a plethora of items showed up, all of them having the tag; Gun.
Ryu was overjoyed at first, but that joy quickly changed into disappointment once he saw the prices.
'250 points for a handgun? Bullets not included, too?' Ryu thought depressingly, and searched for ammos.
That caused him to almost have a heart attack.
'50 points for a single ammo of M9?! 5 of those is enough to buy a new gun!' Ryu's shoulder slumped to the ground, and dejectedly, he returned to the default menu.
He then continued searching for items and then realized that the shop only had 200 or so items, and almost all of them were either weapons or ammunition. There was no food or an item that could return him to earth. Ryu felt a bit depressed, but that didn't stop him from examining the items.
'A single broadsword is 60 points, and a good quality shield is 50 points… Though, a wooden shield only costs 30 points.'
Although Ryu knew many martial arts, he didn't really have that much faith in them. For sure, they are great, but he wasn't exactly confident on being able to defeat someone who had a sword or a gun, a single mistake could severely injure him, or even outright kill him.
If someone had a sword, Ryu would be a bit confident in beating them only if the user isn't as skilled or experienced as Comby in swordsmanship, but Ryu didn't want to gamble.
He might not be experienced with a sword, but it is still better than fighting bare-handed in this environment.
Still, Ryu didn't immediately buy the stuff he wanted, instead, he returned to the previous menu.
[Next Match Info, Status, Shop]
He immediately chose the 'Info' choice. He had to know who his opponents were, and then decide to buy items.
[Next training match is Sensory Enhancement. Available matches:
1. Hearing Enhancement match; Opponent: The All-Hearing.
2. Touch Enhancement match; Opponent: The All-Sensing.
3. Sight Enhancement match; Opponent: The All-Seeing.
You will get the corresponding sensory enhancement for each opponent you defeat. You will additional gain
You can choose to begin early]
Ryu blinked a few times in confusion. There were 3 matches instead of one, which caused his heart to ache a bit. However, seeing that he'll get a reward for each match he wins made him a bit relaxed.
He noticed that the names of his opponents were shining, and curiously, he touched him with his mind.
Sure enough, the content of the window changed, and showed the status of his opponent; The All-Hearing.
[Name: The All-Hearing.
Species: Humanoid ???
Difficulty Level: 8*
General Information:
1. Lacks all senses with the exception of hearing.
2. Has Hearing Enhancement (Level 8)
3. Has exceptional control over its body (Level 5)
4. Has a single magical ability (Level ?)
5. Has a strength rating of 0.9, speed rating of 3, and durability rating of 0.8
Remaining tries: 3**
*The difficulty has been chosen based on the user's talent
**You have 3 tries before you permanently die. Dying or being incapacitated with no chance of resisting will count as a loss.]
Ryu widened his eyes at the window. He was confused, to say the least. His opponent's species was unknown, which didn't matter much, but what confused him is the first point;
'It has no senses with the exception of hearing? How would it even move its body?' It made no sense to Ryu. Even if its hearing was supernatural, how could it move with no sense of touch?
However, it also stated that it had exceptional control over its body, which caused Ryu to be even more confused. No senses with the exception of hearing, yet it can still control its body?
Although Ryu felt a bit confident at first, that confidence soon dwindled down. Considering his first match, there's no doubt that this match will be as difficult as the dummy, if not more.
Moreover, it said that it had a speed rating of 2.5! If the opponent could truly move its body and even fight with it, then its speed would massively overwhelm Ryu.
'Its speed rating is more than 2 times as much as mine!' Ryu gulped, beads of sweat starting to appear. He was anxious. His opponent supposedly has no senses except one, and yet it could control its body, has more than 2 times speed advantage, and it even had a magical ability!
His saving grace was the last line.
'3 tries? So even if I die, I would still have 2 tries left?' No matter how he had read it, it clearly read that he had 3 tries. He felt a bit of anxiety go away and decided to check on the other opponents.
———
The other 2 matches were mostly the same, with the exception of them having either only Touch or Sight Sense unlocked, and their stats differed a bit. For example, the All-Seeing had a rating of 2 at strength, with a speed rating of 1.5 and durability of 1.2. Meanwhile, The All-Sensing had well-rounded stats, with all of its stats at 1.5 with the exception of durability at 2.1. The latter, however, had a far higher rating of body control, at a whopping level 9.
No matter how he looked at it, the All-Hearing was the easier of both options. Although its speed was quite high, its durability and strength were lower than Ryu's. The one with the sense of sight had stats all higher than Ryu with the exception of durability, and even that was only slightly worse than Ryu.
Ryu let out a sigh and decided on the All-Hearing. He returned to the shop and decided on what Items he would buy.
All of his opponents fought bare-handed. And while Ryu had confidence in his martial arts skill, having a sword or a shield would help him immensely.
The range was an important matter here. He recalled the saying "One inch longer, one inch stronger".
He initially thought of a spear but quickly rejected that idea.
'A spear is too difficult to handle. I need a sword or maybe even a club.'
Not only a spear was one of the most difficult weapons to learn, but the spears in the shop also needed him to use both hands.
'I can't just think about range. If I'm thinking only about range, then a bow would be the best. But, a bow is difficult to handle, and the price for the arrows was no joke.'
He also thought he needed a shield. Ryu imagined himself in a scenario where had a sword and a shield and felt a bit scared at the thought of killing another human being. However, he soon ignored those thoughts. His opponent is likely not a human, and even if it was, he could very well die.
Ryu eventually chose a sword and a shield.
A single hit from the sword has the potential to end the fight instantly, and the shield could help him defend a bit.
[Item: Broadsword
Blade length: 75 cm
Description: An average sword of medium quality.
Price: 60 points
Would you like to purchase this item?
[Item: Wooden Shield
Width: 35 cm
Description: A wooden shield that is poorly made. It looks like it could barely withstand a few attacks.
Price: 30 points
Would you like to purchase this item?
Ryu pressed yes to both of them and like magic, both of them appeared in his hands. Ryu was surprised for a split-second, before feeling the weight of his new items. He thought it will be like a game, where it would be stored in his inventory, but it seems that is not the case.
The broadsword was relatively easy to handle, but the shield truly looked horrible, the description truly didn't exaggerate their quality.
Ryu felt they were a bit lighter than they looked.
He strengthened his grip on the sword and the shield and began moving around and swinging his sword.
He was a bit startled at the results. They were surprisingly easy to handle, and he was barely bothered by their weight.
'Was I always this strong, or are they just light?' Ryu didn't exactly know much about these things, but he knew handling a sword and shield should've been a bit difficult first time. Still, he was satisfied with the result.
He glanced at the system and returned to the default menu. He didn't think there would be anything new, but to his surprise, a new choice appeared!
[Inventory]
Ryu was surprised and immediately pressed it. A new, empty window appeared. There was absolutely nothing inside with the exception of a search bar at the upper right section.
Thinking about how the Inventory worked, Ryu simply thought of his sword entering the inventory.
*Ding!*
Sure enough, with a mere thought, the sword disappeared from Ryu's hand and appeared in the inventory.
Ryu nodded in satisfaction and thought about bringing it out again. Immediately, the sword disappeared from his inventory and appeared in his hand.
'I don't even feel the weight when I put it in the inventory. It seems like an entirely separate space to put my items. This is great!'
Ryu was quite satisfied with the results and closed the inventory window.
Seeing there was nothing else on the default menu, Ryu closed it as well and glanced at the timer in the room.
[Resting time: 23:37:49]
A bitter smile appeared on Ryu's face. Although he knew that all of this was real, there was still a small itch in his heart, still believing that this was all a dream.
"Will I be able to go back If I win the next matches?" Ryu muttered but quickly shook his head. In his heart, he felt that it wasn't that simple. For all he knew, he might just fight in this place for the rest of his life.
'But…' Ryu thought, 'What's wrong with that?'
Staying here, gaining abilities like a game, and fighting for the rest of his life. Ever since he realized his talent for fighting, he felt an itch, an itch to fight.
The thought of staying here didn't scare him, rather, it made him excited. He would no longer cower in fear— no— he could fight all he wants, and he would give it his all.
Why should he go back, anyways?
However, Ryu quickly shook his head again. Despite how much he hated the world, his "friends" and everyone else, he still thought about someone.
His mother.
Regardless of how much pain he was in, or how much he said he didn't need her or that she'll die anyways, Ryu still loved his mother. His mother raised him, and tried to help him at all times. She was always working to meet ends, and really, the disease took so much away from her that Ryu found himself to be selfish to think she abandonded him.
He never once considered the pain his mother was in, and to think he wanted to abandon her here?
"Truly…" Ryu muttered, "I'm truly… a selfish person."
Ryu let out a sigh, a self-deprecating smile on his face. He needed to go back to the world, to see his mother again. Regardless if she even paid attention to him, just seeing his mother was more than enough for him.
Besides, who knows what this place holds? Ryu thought it wouldn't be strange if there was an elixir, or even magic that could heal his mother.
Ryu suddenly gained a burst of motivation, and his grip on the sword strengthened. Slowly, he slashed, and again, and again.
His arms moved non-stop, and he kept practicing with the sword and the shield. Since a fight is about to happen, he needs to get accustomed to them. If he could even achieve a fraction of his skill like Boxing, he would be immensely satisfied. A sword was better than just fists in combat, and if he noticed mid-fight that his skill with the sword won't cut it, he'll just switch to his normal martial arts.
'Swing, Block, Thrust, repeat.'
He kept on training, wanting to perfect at least the basics. Although his stance was clumsy, his moves even more so, he still kept on training.
After almost an hour, Ryu realized something.
'No wonder there isn't a toilet here.' He thought, 'I don't get hungry here, and no matter how tired I get, I return to peak condition after every five minutes.'
This meant that Ryu could just keep on training as long as he wanted in this room.
Every few minutes or so, Ryu looked at the timer. But as he kept on swinging and blocking, he slowly stopped looking at the timer altogether, his mind focused solely on his training.
Occasionally, he would suddenly remove the shield and throw a jab, before immediately returning the shield. His jab was beautiful, far more perfect than his swordsmanship. He would also sometime throw a kick before returning to his usual stance.
He thought that the inventory system was quite useful, and he could use it in a variety of ways.
Although most martial artists would think about honing their own martial art, Ryu thought differently. Ever since his fight with Comby, he felt as if he gained centuries of experience regarding those martial arts, and he thought that he would barely get any use in training them. He felt like he was already accustomed to them, as if he was practicing his whole life.
*Woosh!*
Slowly…
*Swish!* *Woosh*
Very slowly…
*Swish!*
His moves started to change.
'Swing, Block, Thrust, repeat…'
Ryu kept on concentrating on those moves, with occasional martial arts mixed in.
'I can mix in my martial arts with my swordsmanship, and I can even use my shield to bash them…'
His stance began to gradually improve, and his movements became sharper, more precise.
He began to discover many moves he could use, and as he continued to slash at the air, every move he made had become better. His mind was completely entranced on training, completely forgetting his surrounding and even the timer.
'To think I had this sort of talent…' His moves suddenly become more fiercer, bursting with power, 'I never knew. I could've long stopped Ho-Eun, but I kept on cowering like a dog…'
*Swish!*
*Woosh!*
He never realized his talent for fighting, but now that he knew, he began to pour all of his sweat and tears into it.
He slowly forgot about everything, his mind only focused on his sword. He felt like his sword was a part of him, another limb. With each swing, he felt like he was getting stronger.
As his mind was focused on training, he didn't even notice the system floating next to him, with various notifications.
[Obtained lesser skill
[Obtained Lesser Skill
[Lesser Skill
[Lesser Skill
[Obtained Lesser Skill
[Lesser Skill
[Lesser Skill
[Lesser Skill
————
*Ding!*
[There is only 10 seconds remaining for the next match!]