"Speech"
'Thoughts'
["Speech Through Technology"]
||
…
The second I got back home, I made sure to lock the door. While I was also making sure that nobody broke in, I had a smile on my face.
Lucas had made a pizza for me during my lunch break, and I didn't feel the need to eat after that.
Walking up the stairs to my room, it looked like I was going for another few hours of training my abilities.
If I could fully master the third-stance variation of Hwechook, the monster of a human I would become would be mind-boggling.
If one were to look at Mori Jin from the anime versus the webtoon, the difference is in the way the technique is shown. In the anime, Mori doesn't do all the kicks at once. In the webtoon, it's shown as three different versions of himself kicking his opponent at once.
I believe that those two versions of him are using the same technique but at different levels. While I think I am comparable to the anime Mori Jin, I'm nowhere close to the webtoon version.
I'm putting in all my power to master this move. After all, if barely anyone can block it in Mori Jin's world, how would the beings here do so?
'Sometimes I wish I had one of those systems that kept track of progress.' I thought to myself as I lashed out three kicks into the air. 'I'm still not fast enough...'
For the next three hours, I practiced nothing but kicks. Surprisingly, I only felt that clicking sensation once. That was, after two hours into training, my kicks, while not becoming faster, became more steady. The amount of time needed to get from raised to extended and back to raised was shortening.
It could be my imagination, but it looked a smidge similar to a stand's kick barrage. If you ask anyone how fast they can bring their leg from raised to extended, then back to raised, it wouldn't be comparable to any video game character.
But somehow, the air pushed out of the way from my kicks was growing. It still wasn't fast enough to be a semi-blur or anything close to that, but it was a start.
I was happy with my improvement but felt it was finally time to get out of these pants and get my ass to bed. This was especially so because my knives were still in my pockets.
If I couldn't kick with hidden weapons, then what was the point in kicking? At least, that was my thought process.
Making sure to put my knives away, wash my uniform, place a knife under my pillow, and set a timer for 9 a.m. tomorrow, I began trying to fall asleep.
Sure, I could watch videos online or play video games, but when you can literally become superhuman by working out, I don't think anyone would enjoy playing games more than working out.
I don't know when, but I—
…
—must have fallen asleep.
It must be nine in the morning—well, night—right now as my alarm was blaring in my ear. Wiping the crust from my eyes, I began stretching.
*Crack*
"Oh, that was a big one. Maybe I should stop sleeping like this; it's going to cause me back and neck pain eventually." I said as a yawn came bubbling up from nowhere in particular.
Standing up while still wiping my eyes, I made my way over to the desk where I had placed my phone. Thank God I remembered to charge it.
Turning off the alarm, I felt a little weird. Do you ever get that feeling someone is looking at you? No? Well, turning to my left—"Hmm."
I returned back to looking at my phone as my eyes were still blurry—'The fuck is that?!'
My vision instantly became sharp, and I realized what I was seeing was an unknown creature. Currently, it was crouched, low to the ground, similar in height to a massive dog.
I bolted toward the pillow that had the knife under it. I—
*Thud*
'No way!' I had tripped on the way and landed face-first into the carpet. Looking back, I saw my ankle caught by the creature. 'I'm right there! Let go!'
No matter how hard I pulled, I was unable to make this thing even flinch. However, due to the way it was grabbing my ankle, it had a pretty flimsy grasp.
I just had to wait until—?
I wasn't given time to think, as instead of re-applying grip, the creature chose to pull me toward it by my ankle. Even as I gripped the carpet to try and stop the pulling force, it felt overpowering.
Turning toward the creature once more, I kept watching for the perfect moment of escape. It was outstretched in an all-or-nothing one-hand grab and was trying to get up.
It loosened the grip on my foot for a second to try and move its grasp to somewhere better to hold. That's when I took my chance.
Kicking out of its grasp, I moved my foot to the right; it instantly responded by trying to grab at my foot.
But I was two steps ahead. My foot moved from right to left in an instant adjustment that made it miss its target.
I knew the other hand was coming, and in less than a second, I was able to jump forward from my stomach-lying position.
Standing up quickly, I ran toward the pillow, my left hand outstretched. An inch away from moving the pillow, I felt a hand clasp my right hand.
I was promptly and violently pulled, turned around, and now farther away from the knife underneath the pillow. No matter how much I pulled, shook, or tried to pry, whatever this creature was, it was impossibly strong.
The second I tried my hardest to pry my hand free and reach for the knife with my left hand was when my left wrist was also grasped.
Pulling even harder, both my hands were raised above my head as they were then pushed back, causing me to stumble backward.
The movement only stopped when I felt the back of my body, including my hands, reach the wall. One last time, I tried my absolute hardest to break free, only to be met with an absolute wall of strength.
"Uhh, I don't suppose you'd allow me to get my pillow, would you?" I rapidly looked from the pillow to the creature over and over again.
I felt the grip on my wrists get tighter, and with a shake of the head from the creature—wait.
Looking over the creature once more, I realized something.
Pupilless eyes, a skull like a wolf without skin or flesh, ears on the top sides of the head like a wolf, black fur covering the entire body, and sharpened fingers and toes. It was tall. This was the second time in my life I had ever felt towered over. Maybe even seven feet tall.
Looking at one of the hands that held my wrist was the last bit of confirmation I needed. I could feel a smile forming that I was suppressing.
"You wouldn't happen to be... the thing in my phone, would you?" From that question, I didn't get a change in facial expression—like something with a skull for a face would have one—I did, however, see a tail wagging back and forth at a fast pace.
It nodded a short second later.
"Then, could you let my wrist go?" I was instantly met with a shake of the head. The tail was still wagging, getting noticeably slower but still being there.
"What? Why not?" I didn't get an answer besides another shake of the head. I don't know why I thought I would get a verbal response. "You think I'm going to kill myself or something?"
I rolled my eyes at that but no longer saw the tail that had been previously wagging. It had drooped along with the ears on the creature's head. What followed was its body slouching in what seemed to be sadness.
'It really thought I was going to kill myself?' I didn't know what expression to have as my face kept still. 'While I was fighting for my life, it was also fighting for it. Trying to save me?'
My eyes widened imperceptibly. I remembered something—a certain creature—SCP that tried to do good only to have everyone it tried to help end up killing themselves.
"Your name... is it Malo?"
At that question, the slouching stopped, the ears perked up again, and the tail wagging came back full force. I received multiple quick nods that came closer and closer to my face.
I knew what this creature had been through. What she had been through. To try and make friends, only for them to kill themselves, for them to run in fear, or even end up verbally abusing Malo.
All of that to an innocent creature that could only blame itself for the deaths it caused by trying to help. The sole purpose given is to help people, only to then be violently abused and cause so much unintentional suffering.
My face, which had turned grim, slowly became positive in the face of the next move I was taking.
"Well, then. Malo! How would you like to be my first friend in this cruel world?"
Completely frozen, shell-shocked even. That's what I would call it. All her movements had stopped, her tail wagging, and even the tight grasp on both my wrists had softened a bit.
Her mouth, which had been closed, was slightly parted. If she could, she would probably be crying at this moment.
And so we sat there in silence for a while. Even though her grasp on me had weakened, I had no thought of breaking free.
After a long silence, a tremble came from her body, and while it was shakey, she nodded.
"So, what now, friend?" I said with a massive, unsuppressed smile.
Who would have guessed the beast in my phone was called Mal0?