BAM! WHAM!
Rhys, drenched in his own sweat, punched at a large punching bag with ferocity and power.
He has short blonde dyed hair in a buzzcut, which was shaved and faded at the sides. He was tall, at 6'2 or 190 centimetres, and had a lean, athletic physique. Even though he didn't look large enough to do so, the bag would energetically rattle with each punch he'd throw.
Regardless of heavy breath, he continued to pound the punching bag with all the power that he could muster. He was not going to take failure as an option.
In this empty training facility, he moved onto another piece of equipment that was near him. There were several training stations located across this extensive, modern training room, and pure, white lights beamed down along with the enriching sunlight that beamed through large, squeaky-clean windows.
It looked to be a humanoid robot, that had no limbs and was planted into the ground. The panting boy went to tap at a glass screen located just below the robot's head. It showcased various settings, that detailed special attributes like speed and time of session.
He seemed tapped a large red button that appeared on the screen and readied himself, lifting his fists to his cheeks. His arms stayed tucked by his side and he entered a battle stance, before calmly exhaling.
Whizz!
An appendage shot out from the robot, making a high-pitched vibrating sound and started heading toward Rhys. Instead of a hand, the robotic limb had a soft, red leather bullseye on its end.
POW!
He twisted his body with technique, precisely landing in the centre of this pad, and several limbs continued to appear from the side of this cylindrical robot and were shot at Rhys.
They would stop just before hitting him to give him space to land punches of various kinds on them. He swung in hooks, shot forward straight punches, and restlessly continued with his brutal assault on the machine.
He did this for numerous rounds, leaving droplets of sweat on the dark blue mat that surrounded this robot.
"Session Complete." It stated with a monotonous voice, and Rhys fell to his knees in exhaustion and with relief.
However, after taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he looked up to the treadmill ahead of him. His arms trembled under his own weight, but he just smiled.
He was not done.
Rushing onto the treadmill, he cranked up the settings and began to enter a speedy run. He maintained a flow in his strides and took in deep breaths to power himself through his run.
Pushing the pain into the back of his mind, he just ran and ran on. With no parents and one of the weakest systems available, there were no excuses for him.
He couldn't let a minute go to waste.
If he was to do so, he'd be left behind.
Feeling liberated by the 10 second timer that appeared on the treadmill, it soon slowed to a stop, and he stumbled off it to crash to the ground.
He just smiled, unable to believe the fatigue that he felt. His arms felt like they were cement blocks that he just couldn't lift at all.
Slowly reaching into his pocket, he revealed a sleek, thin mobile device and struggled up to his feet.
A holographic panel appeared in his face, and it showcased a special battle taking place.
There was a man, that had short brown hair with a very muscular physique that could even be seen through the large metal armour he was clad in. In the centre of his breastplate was a glowing green crystal that reflected off the stadium light that shone down on it.
After the mysterious dungeon portals opened on Earth, humans started to not only fight the beasts that appeared from them but actively capture them for research. What they found were that they housed special beast crystals that could then be used to vitalise and fortify weapons and battle equipment.
This man was in a sandpit and across from him was a 14 feet tall ogre. It had bright green skin with a gargantuan belly and weighed at least 3 and a half tonnes. Its eyes were glowing red, and it drooled with spit from pure rage.
"GRAAAAHH!!" The ogre roared, making the very ground beneath it vibrate.
"Hektor is in for a lot here folks! Here is a mutated ogre that hails from a B-Rank Dungeon! It has been given the special Wrath of Hell Elixir and has been upgraded to an A-Rank level beast! Will he be able to take down a beast of this calibre alone?!" A commentator roared out, making the spectators around him roar with excitement and exhilaration.
"Well, we're about to find out!!"
Rhys was engrossed in the battle at hand and watched on without turning away.
The ogre zoomed forward with surprising speed. It looked to cross at least 25 metres in almost an instant.
Hektor wielded a large, doublehanded sword, and as the ogre charged forward, he swiftly hacked at its calf as he dashed forward to arrive at its back.
He drew volumes of blood, leaving his sword now coated in the dark green blood of this ogre. It roared in agony but didn't seem fazed by this attack. It turned and dashed toward Hektor again, who then slashed at its abdomen.
Green blood splattered across Hektor's face and the ground around him, but from the camera footage, he seemed unfazed.
"GRAARGH!!" The ogre roared once again, even more intensely this time.
"It seems that the Wrath of Hell elixir has made this ogre nearly immune to pain! If Hektor wants to win here, he has to go in for the kill!" The commentator declared.
Quickly wiping his face, he dashed ahead and cocked back his large blade, holding it above and behind his head. The ogre reached out its mammoth hand in the form of a fist, but Hektor swiped at its wrist and sliced it right off.
In quick succession, he followed up with quick and deadly swings that cleaved through the ogre's large belly and torso. Chunks of flesh and blood were shot out from the centre of the ring, and the spectators couldn't help but stand and scream from the thrill of the bout.
Soon enough, the ogre had lost a lot of its strength and stumbled back. With only one hand and in a stagger, it drove down for a slam, but Hektor evaded the incoming attack with swiftness and grace.
Strongly planting his feet, he shot upward and lifted a large cloud of sand in the process. He then sliced the ogre's head off and returned to his feet to then lift the ogre's head by one of its pointed ears.
Lifting it to the crowd, they roared upon seeing his hand extend to the sky, and Rhys watched on with a keen smile.
Beside his phone's panel, a special holographic panel appeared.
This was not from his phone but was, instead, from his system. It was only visible to him and looked more mystical than the hologram from his phone. It seemed to have a more vibrant, unique glow.
[STR 10000 Power Rankings]
[8912: Hektor Del Valle] [+37]
"He's gone up so many positions!" Rhys thought, upon seeing this panel.
Within every human's system, there were global rankings that listed the top individuals in a certain category. For example, The STR 10000 listed the 10000 people in the world with the highest strength stat in their systems.
He loved to see strong fighters, but it always made him feel even hollower upon realising that this was a life he could never live. Almost every person in that ranking had a system of either S-Rank or A-Rank, while his was a measly F-Rank.
Everybody, along with this system, was granted the ability to manipulate mana. It was almost always the first skill that someone's system would provide them, regardless of rank.
Without mana to fuel his body, he was only at the level of elite athletes before the emergence of the ungodly creatures called beasts from inside dungeons.
There were remaining members of the Arkwrighte family besides just his dead father and mother, but they did not seek to associate with him. His F-Rank system meant that it would be of no benefit to them to keep contact with him.
After the world had plunged into an era of conflict and fear, everybody saw to act in their best interest and in their best interest only. Anything out of goodwill was unnecessary and a waste of time.
His parents had been killed at the hands of a beast from a random dungeon break, and he was left to receive infrequent payments for the government.
The military, who had become the government, decided to pump ungodly amounts of money into the army budget, instead of helping those that needed it the most.
It ended up leaving those like him with practically nothing.
He turned to the large black double doors to this training room, but then a student opened the door before he could. He stood at 6'4 and weighed about 100 kilograms (220 lbs). His name was Emmerich, and he had pale skin and lush black hair that he had tied up, with some hair coming over his face.
"What's up, man!" He said, dapping up his friend.
"Are you ready for the dungeon trip tomorrow?" He asked, while another friend appeared from behind him.
He was Lukas and had tanned skin and bright green hair that was in a ponytail.
"I can't wait, honestly." Rhys replied, while undoing the wraps on his hands.
"I know, right? We can finally showcase our skills!" Emmerich stated.
"Or our lack of." Lukas replied jokingly.
The other two chuckled, and Rhys' chuckle was almost forced and short-lived. The words resonated with him and as much as they wanted to joke about it, they were weaklings. Being forced down to the bottom of society, the only thing they could do was stick together and look out for each other.
Over time, they all become very good friends.
Two more people arrived, and they stood beside the group.
"Hey there, Lewis. What weapon did you decide on for the outing?" Rhys asked, fist bumping him.
He was much shorter than his companions, standing at 5'7. He had messy, luxuriant white hair that he had faded at the sides. He also had piercing silver eyes, with olive-toned skin.
"I think I'll stick to my double daggers. I have a skill that needs me to use them so why not take them?" He replied.
They continued to talk and laugh together, walking out of the tower-like building they were stood in. Traversing the halls, the windows opened up to an enchanting sight of glowing orange towers, gleaming with the fiery sunlight of the setting sun.
There were numerous flat fields in the distance, along with various towers and smaller, brick buildings littered across the complex. They were more than 15 towers high in one of this large academy's main buildings, and got to take it all in.
With the enormous military budget, the military academy that they were enrolled in had masses of money for ornate, captivating structures like these.
After training alone and receiving little to no progress, it always made Rhys feel isolated. However, he was always happy to have his friends by his side.
He then said goodbye to his friends, that were all being picked up by their parents one by one. He was eventually left alone, to walk through the large entrance gates of his school and onto the streets back to his apartment complex. The gates were a dark black and had a golden eagle across its centre, while three armed guards stood present. One wielded a long spear, while the two others gripped tightly onto their swords as they watched the street that was ahead of them.
The streets that Rhys soon arrived at were bustling with people and surrounding him were vertiginous skyscrapers, with glowing billboards and advertisements across their glass panes. He was currently in the capital city of the Militarist State of Grelcis. Osegan.
With his earphones in, he was listening to some music with deep, electrifying bass. He loved rap music with enthralling wordplay and a complex, quality beat in tandem with it.
He bopped his head on his way through the streets of this massive city, that housed more than 15 million people. Soon, on his path, the advancements surrounding him started to dwindle away. The buildings slowly but surely got smaller and those that walked past him began to look more and more questionable.
Soon enough, he was in an area with barely any buildings above 3 stories. The area was not a suburb, it was still near the heart of the city and was urban but looked decrepit and rundown.
The streetlights that struggled to even enlighten the place flickered and frequently shut off. There were potholes littered across the street in numerous places and graffiti on the walls around him.
Arriving at a large building that stood out amongst the rest, he had finally gotten back home.
He entered his own apartment room, and turned on the dusty, box-like TV that was stood up in the corner of his petite living room.
*crackle*
As he saw the screen, he clenched his fist with anger and continued to watch while stood up.
"The Grelcis Land Forces have managed to capture a large territory from the neighbouring Fascist State of Uska. Casualties are reported to be at an all-time low and budgets into the military have gone under a further increase."
Across the screen was a man, clad in dark battle armour that was covered and embellished with scintillating golden medals and stars. A red cape flowed down his back from his shoulder plates and a golden eagle along with a cross was present across his chest. Cameras flashed as they constantly pictured him, and people screamed at him, overjoyed and electrified by his presence. This was Ronan Johannesson, the general of the army. The dictator of Grelcis.
'That damn man constantly pours money into this damn war for what?! I haven't even got any money in over 2 months!' Rhys screamed internally, shutting off the TV in fury.