A little while earlier when Nanami and Do-Hyeok left the schoolhouse,
"So, how are you going to train me exactly?" Do-Hyeok couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm, well first i'll have to check your physical ability." Nanami spoke in a lighthearted tone, "Then I can make a plan from there.~"
"I see."
The two walked over to the open field out back.
"Alright then! Oh boys!~" Nanami spoke off into the distance.
"Who are yo-" Do-Hyeoks words were stuck in his throat
Four massive hulking insect humans came over to the two of them.
"These four are my bodyguards! Say hi Do-Hyeok." Nanami seemed rather nonchalant.
"...Hello…" Do-Hyeok finally managed to spit something out.
Then he turned to Nanami,
"Why are they here exactly?"
Nanami looked back at him to respond,
"To gauge your physical limit obviously."
'...is she gonna have me fight those guys…?'
With that thought Do-Hyeok was about to ask her if that was the case,
"Nanami am i-"
"Gonna fight them? No way! I prefer to keep my guards in top form at all times."
Nanami cut him off.
"Then what?"
"Run."
"Huh?"
"Without using your complex, I want you to run at full speed as fast as you can."
"???"
"Of course, if you get too slow these guys will rip you to shreds."
"Haaah?"
She said all of this with a smile like it was normal.
"Ready?"
"Wai-"
"3,2,1,GO!!"
And the four started running at him at full speed.
"!!!"
Do-Hyeok bolted, not using his complex of course.
He ran and ran as fast as he could.
Every time he began to slow down those monsters inched closer, so he kept going.
What felt like hours passed,
Until…
"I can't run anymore, Nanami stop!!!"
And just like that Nanami waved her hand and the four men stopped chasing him.
"Haaah, Haaaah,"
"Good job! 40 minutes straight at full speed? You've got impressive stamina~" Nanami commented with a calm smile on her face.
"It might be the influence of the army ant, that or maybe you're just built differently.~"
The army ant
renowned for their incredible collective stamina and nearly "incessant" movement throughout their lifespan.
While individual worker ants only live for a few months, their colonies function as a single, tireless unit that can march for days without a break.
"That or your excessive use of the saharan silver ant complex passively boosted your stamina. Who knows~"
Do-Hyeok, crumpled on the ground thought,
'I guess that's why I barely need any sleep anymore…'
"Alright Ant-man, get up! We're not done yet." Nanami said enthusiastically. "I've got a general idea for your schedule now, but only the strength training."
This was the day Do-Hyeok would learn,
"Now let's test your combat ability!"
Just how terrifying Nanami could be.
—
And now we're back to where we left off, Do-Hyeok in a headlock questioning his decisions.
'I thought I'd spar with those big guys but she's surprisingly technical…!' Do-Hyeok was terrified of this girl's overwhelming sense of combat.
'I guess even roses have thorns T.T'
After breaking the headlock, Nanami stood up and spoke,
"Pathetic. You rely on your speed in fights right? I bet you just hit them as fast as you can and let the force knock them out."
Do-Hyeok went silent, she was right.
"Without the right technique you're defenseless without your complex." Nanami scolded, but a small smile appeared on her face.
"Luckily for you, I can fix that." Nanami puffed out her chest with a proud face.
"Well, for now I have nothing to train you in. You should go find the captain. He'll teach you about your complex." Nanami waved him off while walking away.
"Oh one more thing." She turned around to him for a second. "No complexes allowed during my training. It makes it all useless."
Do-Hyeok could only muster a weak,"yes."
"Okay bye bye now~" and just like that, her demeanor changed back to what it was before.
'Scary… and she's third?' Do-Hyeok thought back to what Carly said, Nanami is the third physically strongest in stray dogs.
Purely because her complex isn't combat oriented.
Do-Hyeok shuddered. What the hell kinda monsters were Bom and Woochang then.
He didn't want to think about it.
So he went to find Carly.
—
Carly was sitting in his office doing about as much as he always did.
Nothing.
Or at least it seemed.
He was gathering data on pet shop from the last incident,
Project: colony.
He said there was little to no information on it besides the name.
He lied.
From what he knew, project: colony had something to do with one of Breeder's main goals, it had said it was for some kind of "greater purpose" in the file.
Yes most of it was corrupted from the fire, but it could be restored, albeit over a long time.
'It'll take a while to figure this out…' he thought.
But when he did find out what it was,
He could stop Breeder's scheme before it starts.
But to do that he had a feeling he needed to keep Do-Hyeok close.
Which is why he agreed to let him stay.
Anyway, all he needed to do was make sure Breeder doesn't know he's alive…
Or make him human again as soon as possible so he can't fulfill his goals.
Which meant valedictorian.
Can't be that hard right?
While In his thoughts, someone knocked on the door.
"Hey captain, you in there?"
It was Do-Hyeok.
Speak of the devil…
"Yes, Do-Hyeok, come on in."
And Do-Hyeok entered, bruised, tattered and utterly exhausted.
He sat down in the chair across from carly.
"You weren't lying, captain… this training is ruthless." he said in a low tone, clearly fatigued.
"Haha… I assume Nanami sent you here?" Carly asked.
"Yup, I'm here for that complex mastery training you promised…"
Carly got up from his chair.
"Very well then, come with me. Clearly an office isn't enough for this."
And as Carly walked out the door, Do-Hyeok got up and followed.
—
As Do-Hyeok saw they were getting deeper and deeper into the woods he stopped and asked,
"Captain, just how far are we going? We're already pretty far and it's getting dark…"
Then Carly turned to him,
"This should be far enough."
Then his tone grew slightly serious,
"Do-Hyeok."
"Yes…?"
"I heard from the rest yesterday about how you fight. You seem to use the saharan silver ants complex the most right?"
"Uhh, that's right…"
"Then you're in luck."
In an instant,
Carly disappeared.
"?!"
"My complex also happens to be speed based."
'Behind me…?!'
But when he turned,
"???"
No one was there.
"So this is rather convenient for you."
Carly was back in the same spot as before as if nothing had happened.
"How did you-"
"The Australian tiger beetle."
The Australian tiger beetle
The Australian tiger beetle is the world's fastest running insect, reaching speeds of 5.6 mph.
These predatory insects, often found on dry salt lakes and sandy habitats, are renowned for their incredible speed—120 body lengths per second—which requires them to stop frequently to re-locate prey.
In the case of jungle juice, affecting the human body however…
You would be fast enough to create sonic booms with little to no effort.
"That is my complex. However, you have the capability to go beyond that." He pointed at Do-Hyeok.
"You see, despite being able to move at the speed of sound…" he pointed at his eye.
"My eyes can't keep up. I have to hold back and calculate every movement so as not to harm anyone or myself." Then he pointed back at Do-Hyeok.
"But you… you don't have that problem because of the bulldog ants compound vision." He lowered his hand finally.
Do-Hyeok got a little excited,
'Even faster than that? Cool…!'
"But… how am i gonna train it?"
He was excited by the idea of training his most used weapon to its fullest but he had no idea where to start.
"Aha, that's easy, it's actually the reason why we're so far away."
"?"
"You and me…" he walked up to Do-Hyeok. "Are going to race from here back to the schoolhouse everyday. Once you can beat me is when your training for this complex is complete."
"Wha- thats so not fair! I'm exhausted and you can run 200 mph faster than me!" Do-Hyeok was clearly a little annoyed at this.
"Then simply find a way to not be tired."
"?!"
What the hell was this guy saying???
Do-Hyeok couldn't believe his ears.
But then he thought back.
The army ant.
If he used that complex passively,
That would solve the issue right…?
It was surprisingly straightforward seeing as he'd apparently been using it accidentally for a while now.
So he stopped freaking out for a second.
He needed absolute focus.
[Zone.]
Everything came to a halt in his mind, all the sounds, all the movement, everything.
Then he found himself in some kind of mental domain.
What did he see when he opened his eyes again?
A vast dark yellow void.
His body was partly translucent and he was stark naked!
"What the hell? Where am i?"
He looked around but nothing was there. No one in sight for miles.
Until
SHIFT-!
a loud quake was heard and he turned back to the spot he was originally looking at.
'What the…'
It was a giant ant!
Well, an ant made of ants.
But that was even more bizarre!
—
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: The next chapter might be a lil late since I gotta do some stuff tomorrow.
Yes this is the same kind of void thing suchan has but yellow. I don't care if this is a reskin.
I left my ant joke for today with the colony.
Sadge :/