(Cyrus's Hospital Room)
"Okay, calm down, he can't have gone far; maybe he went to the roof to get some fresh air or something?" Merric suggested, frantically glancing around the empty room.
He let out a nervous breath while placing the tray down.
"I hope he isn't doing anything reckless"
(Punishment Zone)
A surge of pain shot across the bridge of Cyrus's nose as his head jerked back, followed by another jolt of pain coursing down his right leg, bringing him to his knees.
The wooden dummy in front of him dropped its leg, and then quickly launched a left uppercut. Cyrus dodged the blow by a hair's breadth, his mind set on creating distance. He retaliated with a rapid right hook, crunching into the dummy's torso and leaving a dent in the shape of his fist.
He was taken aback by the power of his strike; normally, he would have to exert a ton of effort and hit the same spot multiple times to inflict such damage with his fists. Yet, this time, it took just one hit and hardly any thought to achieve that effect.
Cracks spread quickly from the impact site, causing the dummy to fall apart, while a wave of pressure made Cyrus's body compact, resulting in a slight slump.
He glanced at the floating screen in the purple sky while two dummies suddenly appeared from thin air.
[PUNISHMENT!, SURVIVE UNTIL THE TIME RUNS OUT!, TIME REQUIRED: 6 HOURS
TIME REMAINING: 5 H, 55 MIN, 11 SEC]
He let out a sigh and clenched his fists as the dummies rushed him from different angles.
One was quicker, launching forward with a flying knee. He raised his arms, intending to block, but instead, the strike landed squarely on his nose. The impact twisted it, causing blood to burst from his nostrils.
"What the hell?, I can barely move!" Cyrus thought, his face etched with shock as he was swept off his feet by the opposing dummy. He struggled to bring his arms across his stomach, managing just in time to block the follow-up stomp.
He delivered a punch that was slower than usual, twisting the dummy's knee at an awkward angle. This maneuver brought the dummy down to one knee, leaving its head exposed. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the back of its head and slammed its wooden skull into the matted floor repeatedly until it cracked apart in his hands.
Cyrus barely had a moment to breathe when he was struck in the mouth and tackled by the twin dummy. His arms weighed down, flailed to block the incoming blows. Finally, he managed to catch a punch and locked the dummy in the same submission hold he had used on Yasha, ending the scuffle with a swift neck twist.
Having defeated both dummies, he felt another wave of pressure sweep over him as he struggled to stand and inhale deeply.
Three dummies emerged, each wielding a bo staff, twirling them with a skill level that rivaled professional martial artists.
Cyrus reset his broken nose with a snap and readied himself, fists clenched tightly and a fierce grin spreading across his face.
(Back to the hospital)
"Damn it, okay, he's not on the roof; maybe he's looking for ghosts in the basement," Merric muttered, sweating profusely as he speed-walked toward the elevator, passing a group of people in the waiting room.
"I'm relieved that Cyrus is awake; he slept longer than I would have liked," a worried voice said, causing Marric to skid to a halt. "I hope he hasn't suffered any brain damage."
"Yeah, it's concerning because he's never been to a slayer hospital before; he's only needed on-site healers for patching up," Jasmine remarked, recalling how a healer had fainted at the sight of Cyrus's mangled arms and his nonchalant attitude about it.
"Maybe this will finally get him to think about his survival," Scott said with a soft chuckle, attempting to lift their spirits. "And I'll wager fifty that he is plotting his escape as we speak."
"Are you guys visiting Ashford?" Merric inquired, having been swamped with work the previous week and unable to visit Cyrus during the visiting hours.
"Yeah, we heard he was awake and wanted to bring him some things," Nina said, shaking the bags filled with clothes and snacks.
"Can you take us to him? The woman at the desk mentioned he changed rooms," Scott asked. The short nurse began to sweat profusely, silently nodding his head and slowly making his way toward Cyrus's room.
The questions being asked are gradually being overshadowed by his internal voice, which is berating him for the loss of a patient.
(Back to the punishment zone)
A barrage of staff strikes pummeled Cyrus's body as the three dummies converged on him from every direction. One targeted his right knee, another jabbed at his left elbow, halting the only counterattack he could manage, while the third dummy delivered an upward blow to his chin, knocking him backward.
As his vision blurred, he glanced at the clock, noting that only one hour and thirty minutes had passed, before shifting his attention back to the three dummies.
One charged at him and delivered a kick to the stomach, sending him flying into another section of the seemingly infinite dojo.
"Where the hell is Yasha?" he wondered while rolling to a stop, as the monkey man was meant to be keeping an eye on him.
[Would you like to use the skill Summon?]
[Use Skill/Cancel]
That pop-up screen suddenly appeared in his face as his eyes widened. He pressed the use skill button and wanted to give his new ally a stern talking to.
[Who would you like to summon?, Yasha, Kirk, Theo, Bufkin]
He pressed the Yasha button and felt a slight drain on his energy as the former realm boss materialized beside him, with the status screen hovering at the edge of his vision.
[Since you had no mana a small portion of your health was used instead]
"Hey boss, what just happened? I was in the middle of watching something awesome, and then suddenly, everything went dark. Now, it's just me and the guys in your mind's space," Yasha said as his confusion quickly turned into worry and shock as he looked at Cyrus's injured state. "What the hell happened to you? I thought you were getting better!"
"I was before ending up in this random place and getting jumped as punishment" Cyrus muttered, wincing in pain as he propped himself up "But now I'm starting to think that bizarre status screen has something to do with it"
"Well, whatever we've gotten ourselves into, it seems you're getting your ass kicked, which means someone strong is around," Yasha said, a wide, toothy grin spreading across his face.
"Not someone, but an endless wave of training dummies that grow in number and combat skill the more you defeat them," Cyrus said, glancing at Yasha, who is currently shaking with excitement like a child in a comic book shop.
"Why don't you take a seat and relax while I take care of this?" Yasha offered, as the three dummies loomed threateningly in the distance.
"Sure, it will give me some time to properly look over everything this has to offer," Cyrus said while narrowing his eyes and checking the status screen slowly to which he found an options button he had overlooked before going to sleep.
"Enjoy your reading, boss," Yasha remarked, turning towards the three dummies. He cracked his knuckles and charged forward. "Let's find out why you were causing him so much trouble."