Gerhard stood in the middle of the empty room in the Instant Dungeon, staring at the scattered pile of scrap metal lying at his feet. The last pieces he had left. Rusted plates, broken rods, fragments of machinery, and twisted bolts lay everywhere.
To anyone else, it would have looked like junk. But he had already created amazing things with it. He opened the inventory window briefly, confirming what he already knew: his resources were approaching their end.
"Alright… let's see what I can do with this."
He crouched down and took the metal pieces into his hands. Once again, he went back to creating something new. Having experience with things, it didn't take long.
[Creation]
The scrap vibrated slightly as the Gamer system guided the process. Metal bent and fused together with a grinding sound, the pieces sliding into place as if invisible hands helped shape them next to Gerhard.
The first object slowly took the form of a sword. It was crude and uneven, the blade slightly warped, but the shape was unmistakable. A blue window appeared in front of him.
-
[Rust Sword – Grade: Average]
A roughly crafted metal sword made from scrap materials.
- Increases attack by 5%
-
Gerhard tilted his head while examining it.
"Well, it's ugly as sin… but functional."
He tossed it lightly in his hand, testing the weight. Then, he placed the sword in his inventory and grabbed another set of scrap.
[Creation]
The metal twisted again, compressing into a thick cylindrical rod with a reinforced end—a bat. The bat wasn't really the most impressive weapon to create, but it was rather easy to wield, which was why he chose it. But now, he had scrap for a final weapon.
With the final attempt, he produced a small hammer with a blocky metal head. This would be both a tool for future crafting and smithing and a weapon, if the need arose. But he had other weapons, of course. So he hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.
When he tried to create a spear, however, the resources were not enough. There simply wasn't enough scrap metal left to produce something long enough. Gerhard nodded; he had already known, but it never hurt to try.
"Fine. Sword and blunt weapons, it is for now."
He picked up the sword first and stepped into the open centre of the chamber. The Instant Dungeon was silent; the rusted hall around him seemed like the dead remains of a machine. But that silence wasn't that bothersome for Gerhard. If he were a normal human, he might have felt a bit bothered by being alone for so long, but he wasn't.
He saw it for what it was, time to train, and so he focused on that and nothing else.
He took out the sword from his inventory, raised it above his head and swung. The sword cut through the air at an awkward angle. Gerhard had no talent or training in this, so he had nothing to go on.
Again.
He adjusted his grip and swung once more, performing a horizontal slash. Then a vertical slash and finally a clumsy thrust.
Gerhard repeated the motions again and again, slowly adjusting his stance as he went. His body had no experience with swords, but repetition was the whole point of the Gamer ability.
Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
Sweat began running down his neck as his arms started to burn, but he kept going.
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
Suddenly, a blue notification appeared before his eyes.
-
[A skill has been created through a special action.]
[A skill to use all manners of swords, 'Sword Mastery', has been created.]
|Sword Mastery (Passive) Lv.1
| A skill that allows the user to freely handle swords. Sword Mastery is obtained through continuous sword training.
Effect:
| +10% increase in attack damage with swords
-
Gerhard stopped mid-swing. Then a slow grin spread across his face. This was a sign of progress and growth. Right now, it was pathetic, but it would grow to be great.
"Nice."
He swung the blade again immediately. The difference was subtle but unmistakable. His arms moved slightly more smoothly, instinctively knowing how to do it better. His grip adjusted right away. It was as if the system had injected the fundamentals of swordsmanship directly into his muscles.
He practised for a few more minutes before having to stop, as he was exhausted. He couldn't lift his arms anymore and tossed the sword aside, taking a moment to rest. He was too exhausted to even do meditation, so he merely closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
...
After a few hours, Gerhard suddenly opened his eyes in surprise.
[After sleeping in a bed, HP and MP are restored, and abnormal status effects are removed.]
Gerhard looked at the blue screen in surprise. That was amazing. To think that he could simply go to sleep and wake up in peak condition. Gerhard thought about it and realised that this basically screamed to be abused.
Gerhard stood up and picked up the bat.
"Alright… blunt weapons."
The metal bat felt heavier, but simpler. What was hard about this? He swung it through the air, targeting the wall with all his might. The bat smashed into a rusted piece of pipe on the wall.
Again.
The impact echoed through the chamber. Gerhard started hitting everything around him: scrap piles, broken pipes, chunks of metal plating, and the ground. Each strike sent vibrations up his arms and scattered dust into the air.
After several such wild swings, another notification appeared.
-
[A skill has been created through a special action.]
[A skill to deliver a strong blow, 'Power Strike', has been created.]
|Power Strike (Active) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
Effect:
| + 15% increase in critical rate
| + 50% increase in attack damage
-
[A skill has been created through a special action.]
[A skill to utilise blunt weapons freely, 'Blunt Weapon Mastery', has been created.]
|Blunt Weapon Mastery (Passive) Lv.1
| A skill that allows the user to freely handle blunt weapons.
Effect:
| +10% increase in attack damage with blunt weapons
| +5% increase in attack speed
-
Gerhard laughed quietly.
"Alright! Now, we're talking."
But he wasn't finished. The skills were, at the moment, very low-levelled, and to be useful, he had to change that. But he had to change himself as well. He had to grow stronger, and to do that, basic training was just as necessary.
He placed the weapons aside for now and rolled his shoulders. If he wanted to survive in this universe, he needed more than weapon skills. He needed endurance and strength. Defence could somewhat be achieved through [Mana Shield], but it wasn't all-powerful. His natural stats needed to increase as well.
He activated the skill [Mana Shield].
A thin blue barrier appeared around him, creating a bubble. His MP dropped by 30 instantly. Sadly, the initial MP wouldn't decrease, but the Mana he had to spend per minute did. Right now, at level 7, it costs 38 MP per minute. Which was still atrocious.
Gerhard ignored it. The point was to train while the shield drained his mana.
"Alright… basic training it is."
He dropped to the ground, all the while the shield was active. He started with Push-ups.
One.
Two.
Three.
His arms trembled after only thirty. But he didn't stop then, even after the Mana Shield had fizzled out of existence, because his Mana had depleted. By forty, Gerhard's arms burned, but he continued.
By sixty, his breathing had grown erratic, and his muscles spasmed lightly. But he continued until he reached one hundred.
He fell on the ground, sweating profusely and taking deep breaths. It was terrible to do this for the first time.
[STR has gone up by 1]
But that was all it was about. Next came sit-ups. His abdominal muscles screamed in protest, but he forced himself through all one hundred repetitions. Why 100? It seemed like a good point to start and 'break his limits' or whatever.
[STR has gone up by 1]
Next came squats. His legs were already shaking before he started, and halfway through the set, it took him one minute per squat. Sweat dripped onto the metal floor. The air smelled like it always had, but at least it didn't burn his lungs.
[STR has gone up by 1]
Finally, he began running laps through the halls of the Underhive. The halls weren't large enough to serve as a crude running track, but they served as a way for him to train his dexterity as well. Gerhard used the last of his strength and pulled himself across the dusty metal floor while activating Mana Shield as soon as he had enough Mana.
[STR has gone up by 1]
[VIT has gone up by 2]
[DEX has gone up by 1]
[Mana Shield level has gone up by 1]
His mana steadily drained. Step after step echoed through the silent hall.
The shield disappeared again a few minutes later. His breathing grew ragged, and finally, Gerhard stumbled to a stop.
His MP had dropped to zero once again. He collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving as every muscle in his body burned with exhaustion.
But thanks to the Gamer's Body, his condition was translated into fatigue instead of injury. He could push himself far beyond what a normal human could survive, and it would give him stats.
He slowly sat upright and crossed his legs, doing [Mana Meditation]. He closed his eyes. Warm energy slowly flowed back into his body as he focused on breathing. This was his idea. He used his skills during physical conditioning, and when he was totally exhausted, he entered meditation to address his fatigue and lack of Mana.
His Mana returned gradually, his muscles relaxed, and the exhaustion faded little by little. After several minutes, his MP was full again, and he was ready to go again. Gerhard opened his eyes and smiled.
This was what it meant to grind. It was a cycle.
Training.
Exhaustion.
Meditation.
Repeat.
A Gamer's most powerful weapon was not strength. It was grinding. He stood up again and activated [Mana Shield] once more. The barrier returned, and Gerhard started doing push-ups once more.
And the training started again.
.
The days passed. Gerhard only took breaks to eat and sleep when exhaustion overwhelmed him. Sleeping was probably one of the most broken cheats a gamer could have. He turned into a lunatic. Using [Mana Shield], doing basic training, push-ups, sit-ups, squats and running until he collapsed, ate or slept and then did it all over again.
After the first day of training this way, STR increased by 11, VIT increased by 9, and DEX increased by 5. [Mana Shield], levelled up 8 times, bringing it to level 15, which was progress. But surprisingly, his WIS also levelled up 3 times, since he made good decisions.
But Gerhard was by no means satisfied. He ignored his mind, telling him that it was time to do something else, to get into another Instant Dungeon and throw around Mana Arrows. He was going to do this right and prepare as much as he could.
So, on the second day, Gerhard chose to start grinding [Sword Mastery] and [Blunt Weapon Mastery]. These two would go very well with the [Mana Arrows], should he need to deal with enemies in close range. That's why Gerhard cast Mana Shield and performed sword slashes as he saw them in fiction. It was wild and uncoordinated at first, but as the levels increased, he became better, and the buffs rose.
Without a formal teacher, Gerhard slowly became better. The grinding wouldn't stop; he had no choice, because after he was prepared, he would finally go and enter a Zombie dungeon. It was time to gain some levels and with it, some Status Points.