~TAP, TAP~
"…" Leon woke up in the morning of the second day, the bed was extremely comfortable, much more than the one in his dorm anyway, so he had slept very well, recovering his stamina and HP from the dummy's attack yesterday.
~TAP, TAP~
It took him around a minute to notice, but the door of his dorm was actually banging.
[Must be your companions, they did see your room number after all as they stood behind you.]
'Fair…' Leon immediately went to open the door, as he wanted to tell them about that as soon as possible.
~CREAK~
"Hey," Leon greeted as soon as he opened the door, and in front of him were Noah, Dan and Alice, "Thanks for coming so early, I have something to tell you all!"
But surprisingly, they all looked at each other, then laughed.
"Early?" Dan raised his eyebrows, "Dude, it's 6 pm, we tried getting to you several times but you wouldn't open no matter how much we knocked."
"…"
[Damn.]
"Anyway," Leon moved on as if it was nothing, "I still need to tell you all something."
"What is it? Did you have some sort of prediction dream or whatever?" Noah smiled.
"Nope!" Leon shook his hand, "It's better, and actually much more important."
"…" none of them spoke this time, Leon's serious face actually making them worry.
"Did any of you go to the [Training] room?"
"Yeah, we all did, but we got beaten by the dummies, these things are too strong, no way in hell anyone is defeating them."
"Annddddd, that's where you're wrong," Leon sighed, "You all received a quest as you entered the room, right?"
"…!"
All of them widened their eyes: they believed that they were the only ones who received this quest from their talent.
"Yeah, everyone in this facility receives it as soon as they enter," Leon continued, "So all I want to ask you three, is that whatever you do during those remaining 6 days, you NEED to complete that quest."
"Why? We've seen many people get beaten up, and not a single person has managed to defeat their dummy yet," Dan shrugged.
"Well, I might be wrong, I'm not sure, but I have a hunch that if you don't complete that quest, then…" Leon's expression darkened, "Then you might be expelled."
"…?" hearing the word 'expelled' was like punching them in the stomach, and so they instantly took what Leon said seriously.
"It is possible to defeat it, that's all I'll say, it has our exact capabilities after all."
"Who told you that?"
"EGO."
[That's me!]
EGO came out of Leon's chest right as he pronounced his name, then the small ball rested on his head.
"Alright, Leon, we trust you."
[I think they meant that they trust ME!]
"No problem, I need to take a shower and do my own thing, so please just go," Leon smiled, and all three left.
He had told them what needed to be said, and it would be hard to meet each other with so many people around, but for now, Leon really needed to focus on a way to beat the dummy and get that [Pass Card].
As soon as they left, though, Leon lost his smile.
[…]
"We need to beat it…" it had been only a day, but it was already so bad that Leon literally dreamt of that same stupid dummy beating him over and over and over again, which is why he stayed so long in his bed, "Well, it has only been one day, and nobody has beaten it yet, so it should be fine."
By the looks of it, if Leon's and EGO's theory was correct, then at least 80 percent of the students in this facility would fail this test.
And yes, Leon now considered it as a test.
The final test before the 'Ascension' challenge though, the test that would separate the actual strong from the ones who got lucky during the pre-selection trial.
Maybe it was a way for the 'Crimson Earth' nation to reduce the amount of casualties, or maybe they just didn't want to waste their time and energy on people who couldn't even defeat a single dummy.
[Doesn't matter, eat and get to training, makes me realize I haven't eaten anything in two days…] EGO's nonexistent stomach growled.
"Yes, sir," Leon took a shower, left his room then headed to the cafeteria.
He quickly ate something while standing up since the place was full, then immediately he headed toward the [Training] section.
It was actually less crowded than yesterday as many people must have entered and attempted to defeat the dummies, but failed and told their friends how bad it was.
Meaning that currently, out of the 18372 people in this place, only a few hundreds were actively training.
Not wasting time, Leon entered the giant room, then he went inside one of the areas, and the dummy before him immediately sprang to life, its wooden parts creaking as it turned to face him.
[Focus, Host.]
The sound of its joints moving alongside its aura, sent a chill down Leon's spine, but he steeled himself, knowing that he had to defeat this dummy no matter what.
Yet again, Leon was the first to attack as it seemed like the dummy never actually engaged the fight, meaning that the human needed to do it.
Leon tried to punch it in the face again, but just like yesterday, it easily avoided it then aimed for his stomach.
"NOT TODAY," but Leon learned from his mistake, and so he swiftly sidestepped the attack, allowing him to counter with a swift kick to the dummy's side.
Surprisingly, this time his attack landed successfully.
But…
~THUMP~
Even though the dummy was hit, it didn't even budge, not a single crack forming on its wooden surface.
"Fuck."
~SLAM~
He was punched in the face by the dummy as it quickly recovered from the strike, and he was sent flying toward the barrier, crashing against it for the second time.
Groaning, Leon pushed himself up off the floor, wiping blood from his lip.
[Dummy wins!]
[Do you wish to try again?]
[Y/N]
The dummy immediately went back to its original position, but Leon didn't give up, and so he clicked on yes without a single hint of hesitation.
[Beginning second attempt… good luck…]
~CREAK~
The dummy moved again.
But this time, Leon immediately dashed toward the dummy and awaited for its legs, wanting to knock it out of balance.
Yet, as if sensing his intent, the dummy raised its leg, preparing to meet Leon's strike head-on.
With a grim look of determination on his face, Leon aimed a powerful kick at the dummy's leg.
But just as he anticipated, the dummy moved to counter, allowing him to alter his course at the last moment and target its other leg instead.
[Doing better, Host, very nice!]
"DEVOUR!" he crouched down then dug his teeth into the wood.
[What the fuck?]
"…"
But nothing happened.
[It's an object, this only works against monsters and humans…]
"Oh, it's just that I thought that since, y'know, it's made out of aura, maybe I could deactivate it…?"
~SLAM~
The dummy's other leg hit him.
But now at least Leon knew.
[Dummy wins!]
[Do you wish to try again?]
[Y/N]
"Might as well," Leon ignored the pain as he clicked on Y.
Soon enough, with enough determination, he would do it.