He lingered, not ready to leave.
What am I going to do now? Ahh should I call Sangmin-ssi and ask him?
He looked around in search for help. He felt stupid. He should have been more prepared. He scratched the back of his head.
Blasts continued behind him. He stopped for a moment. He couldn't hear the drilling, but he felt it. All the attacks. Every impact.
A trainer approached. Someone he didn't recognize.
She wasn't at the ceremony.
Older and short, with sharp eyes. No team colors, just gray.
A supervisor?
"You're the new one? The one who survived the Apelox?"
Seungho nodded, wary. His eyes narrowed.
The trainer giggled briefly.
"I heard about you." The trainer's voice was neutral, hard to read. "There's a training simulation open. Climbing. It builds stamina, perception, and agility. Lots of points. The Duke's team uses it all the time."
Points!
Seungho's chest tightened.
If the Duke's team uses it... maybe she'll think I am serious about my training. That I have figured it out.
"A simulation then?"
"Yes, you go in and out."
"How long does it take?"
"As long as you last, really." The trainer almost smiled. "Most rookies don't make thirty minutes."
"Resist for thirty minutes?"
"Yes." She nodded amused.
Thirty minutes. I can do thirty minutes.
"I'll do it."
The simulation is already loaded. Just enter the room.
He found himself on a cliff, midway from the top. He looked to the side, it looked endless. The rock was gray-brown, rough under his fingers. Cold wind whipped his back. His skin cringed. He hadn't prepared for this.
If I had known I would have worn warmer clothing.
His fingers went numb, they started slipping off the rock.
Damn. At this rate I am going to fall!I need to move faster, warm up.
He quickly looked around, a fog began to rise covering up parts of the rock.
His legs shook too, and all his muscled burned.
The screen appeared.
.
[ WARNING ]
[ SUSTAINED ENERGY DRAIN DETECTED ]
[ CURRENT LEVEL: 63% | FALL RISK: 82% ]
[ AT 50%: MONSTER RELEASE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED ]
.
I have been here only a few minutes, I will never last at this rate.
Then the Duke would be right...
No, I am not falling!
He made a few quick steps to reach a small platform to the side.
I need a plan.
He then spotted a niche going up all to the side at an angle.
If I get there I can climb up in there comfortably.
Twenty minutes. Twenty-five.
Still struggling, but getting there.
.
[ PENALTY ACTIVATED ]
[ HOSTILE ENTITY: UNCLASSIFIED ]
[ RELEASE IMMEDIATE ]
.
A shadow passed overhead. He looked up. Birds. Giant. Circling.
No. No no no.
Fear kicked in. And also warmth. He growled.
What is going on? I feel stronger now.
He climbed faster, more easily. Now focused on reaching the niche. He could hide in there safe.
The birds dove. He pressed against the rock. He whipped his head to the side. Talons scraped his neck. He felt the wound burning.
Thirty-two minutes.
He grabbed a ledge, an overhang. Swung on one arm and jumped high enough to grab a vertical protuberance. He was shocked he could hold onto that wide shape as if his fingers had curled around it like a door handle.
He looked beyond it. Liar. There was no niche to hide inside. Just grass.
Did the landscape just changed?
The birds dove again.
Their smell…?
I should follow their smell!
Smell means presence. The landscape changed, but the smell didn't.
His hands slipped again. This time off a polished patch on the surface of the rock. He shot his right foot out, threw his body weight forward, and grabbed another handle.
That was close!
I need a goal. Now.
[ NEW MISSION ACTIVATED: GRAB THE EGGS ]
[ REWARD: EGG ENERGY VALUE (UNDEFINED) ]
[ REWARD: +30 POINTS PER EGG ]
See? I just needed to ask.
He laughed, satisfied.
Okay, so that makes what? Ninety or 120 points? That's my goal then.
He closed his eyes. Pinpointed the origin of the smell. Shot his eyes open. Looked up, slightly to the side, behind some tight bushes.
Over there!
He couldn't see the nest, but could clearly picture it in his mind.
And then a thought loomed. I could carve the rock, shape it into steps to walk up like a ladder, right? Who says I can't?
He straightened his fingers and hit the rock hard to split it. Like the martial artist he wasn't.
Ouch! Awww! Not even a dent.
He looked at his hand. Broken fingers.
[ WARNING ]
[ EXCESS USE OF MANA ]
[ ENERGY DEPLETED RATE: 30% ]
[ SELF-REPAIR: DELAYED ]
[ ENERGY LEVEL: BELOW 50% ]
So modifying the environment is a bad idea. Okay, need to work with what I have then.
The birds flew away.
Phew!
[ PENALTY ACTIVATED ]
Oh, no!
[ ENTITY UPGRADED ]
Not again!
This time there was only one. Much larger. Its scream more screechy, more menacing. It dove to hit Seungho.
He clung with one hand. The other still hurt.
He took the only way out available to him. He let go.
And fell. Into the thicker fog. Until he caught a hold. His arm pulled and his shoulder hurt—a tendon stretched to the extreme, tense like the cord of a violin.
"How long have I been here?"
[ TIME ELAPSED: 00:18:47 ]
More time to go... I can't fail yet!
He thought of the Duke, her expression earlier.
"Stop pitying me!"
Now he was even further away. And the fog kept getting thicker.
He felt panic. Drowning in fog. Sweat cold on his forehead. He felt hopeless holding onto the rock, scraping for a foothold.
The bird flew away. But it was going to come back.
The cold from the fog was paralyzing him.
"Argh, I hate this fog!" He screamed loud and clear.
A weight lifted off his chest. His affliction wasn't the bird. It was the fog.
Wait a minute. I heard its wings flap. Its scream. I know it wants to attack me. But I haven't seen it yet. The fog is doing nothing.
To find the bird, I should focus on its presence.
He closed his eyes. But couldn't focus.
Where is it? Where is that thing?
His mind was blank. He frowned and squeezed his eyes tight. Still nothing.
[ WARNING ]
[ ENERGY: 31% ]
[ VITALITY: CRITICAL ]
[ SELF-REPAIR: PENDING ]
I'm losing points all over the place...
Out of nowhere, a thought that seemed random enough.
"Princess Power!" resounded joyfully in his ears. His fans from the day before. He smiled.
Yes. Princess power. I should try harder. For them.
The fog started clearing.
He glanced at the time.
[ TIME ELAPSED: 00:34:26 ]
Phew. At least I made it like the rest. I won't be last!
He saw the fog move below him. The monster was rising, coming for him.
It's here! Now!
He saw two points where the fog swirled the most. He pushed himself away from the rock. He aimed in the middle of those two points, where it was quiet. And landed on its back.
The monster thrashed. He grabbed onto the feathers he couldn't see. They burned his hand. Powerful mana. He grabbed tighter. It hurt more, but it was his only chance. Then slowly, he relaxed. The monster began to calm down.
It was cold. He laid against it to feel its warmth. And relaxed. The fog cleared. It flew higher and higher.
Into its nest.
Seungho could smell them—the eggs. Getting closer.
But he didn't find eggs.
Rather, five hungry birds calling for food. Their beaks stained with blood. One of them chewing on a leg.
That smell wasn't eggs. It was a mix of monster saliva and blood. Waste.
In a panic, Seungho jumped off the bird.
Collapsed.
.
[ TOTAL TIME ELAPSED: 00:53:11 ]
.
He lay on the floor, gasping. Every muscle burned. His lungs couldn't get enough air. The ceiling above him was white, sterile, nothing like the cliff.
Not the white of the building—another white. Warmer.
What is that?
Brought back to reality by the pain in his hand.
I can't move...
The trainer appeared. Looked down at him.
"Not bad. Most rookies don't last three minutes." As if quoting herself.
He was so tired he couldn't even muster an expression of shock.
He lifted his head and whispered, "No. You said 'thirty.' I'm sure. 'Most rookies don't last thirty.'"
"I guess I might have." She looked to the side, evading Seungho's scrutinizing stare.
He let his head down, knocking on the floor. It didn't hurt. His body was finally healing.
Seungho stared at the ceiling. "The birds. The ledge. It was all—"
"Real enough." The trainer shrugged. "The simulation adjusts. Makes you work."
"Adjusts to what?"
"I don't know. But it makes you work until you choose to quit."
Seungho looked once more at the screen.
.
[ REWARD ]
[ POINTS FROM TIME: +53 ]
[ POINTS FROM FINDING THE NEST: +100 ]
[ NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SCENT TRACKING ]
[ SELF-REPAIR: BOOSTED ]
[ SELF-REPAIR: TIME TO COMPLETION: 12 MINUTES ]
[ NEW POSITION ACHIEVED: TRAINEE ]
.
The fog saved me...?
And he fell asleep.
.