Aka woke up, but this time there weren't many people left. In the huge hall, only about twenty-five to thirty people remained. He sat up and began to think. Even though he was labeled as innocent, he wasn't stupid — he was fully aware of what was going on. He was simply optimistic, and he had a few red lines he wouldn't cross.
He made a plan to survive. According to this plan, without wasting any time, he went straight to the northern part of the room. There were primitive versions of dumbbells and barbells there, along with a few tools he didn't even know how to use. The first stage of his plan was simple: he had about a month until the instructor put him through his first test, and until then he would get as strong as he possibly could.
So he immediately started training — hard — until he nearly fainted. When he felt like he was about to pass out, he followed the same path back to his room and collapsed into bed.
When he opened his eyes again and returned to the large hall, he saw the same sight as the day before — the room was crowded. He spotted the group he had fought with yesterday, but this time he ignored them completely and went straight to the north side of the room. Unexpectedly, the area was empty again.
He began training and pushed himself as much as he could. While he was working out, someone suddenly placed a hand on his back and spoke.
29: "Hey, rookie. Aren't you going to fight today?"Aka: "What you told me yesterday really opened my eyes. I'm going to try to get stronger before I fight."29: "I like your determination, but honestly, you were really weak yesterday. If you don't mind me asking, what's your Strength?"Aka: "What do you mean?"29: "You've done your first ritual, right? I hope you have."
At that moment, Aka remembered. Out loud, he said, "My skills," and the status window appeared before his eyes once more. He told 29 that his Strength was only 2.
29: "Rookie, don't ever lose that determination to train. If you do, you won't survive here with a Strength stat of just 2."Aka: "Thanks. If you don't mind… what's your Strength?"29: "Before I go, let me give you two pieces of advice. First: you don't need to say it out loud to see your skills. And second: never tell anyone your stats — and never ask for theirs. Otherwise, very bad things might happen to you."
He finished his sentence as he was walking away, leaving Aka alone in the training area once again. Inspired by 29's advice, Aka became even more certain that his plan was the right one — first, he needed to get stronger. So he continued his harsh training.
As usual, Aka opened his eyes the next day and went straight to the northern side of the hall to train, doing everything he could. But while he was working out, an instructor approached him silently. With an icy tone, the instructor pointed to the heaviest barbell in the room and said:
"Lift this."
Aka had long since lost track of the days and had no idea how much time had passed, so the instructor's test confused him.
Aka took a breath and lifted the barbell.
That was it.
The instructor simply said, "Good," and was about to leave when Aka nervously asked:
"S-sir… how much does that barbell weigh?"
The instructor then beat Aka brutally, releasing all his pent-up anger onto him. As he walked away, he said:
"One hundred kilos."
Even though he had been beaten, Aka was happy — because he had passed his first test. When he said "My skills" again, he saw that his Strength stat had risen to 5. In about a month, he had increased his Strength by 1 point every ten days — and the fact that his other stats had also improved made him even happier.
In the middle of the day, a voice echoed through the entire hall, and the crowd rushed toward the cafeteria on the west side of the complex for their single daily meal. The food was always the same — thick, soup-like liquids — but the best part was that people could take as much as they wanted until the meal ended. Since Aka was small and light-built, he was usually able to eat as much as he wanted, which helped his development a lot.
After finishing his meal, he went back to the large hall again — but this time, instead of heading north, he blended into the same crowd he had visited on the first day and watched the fight between Number 32 and Number 55 from the front row.
Number 32 was small and fit, much like Aka. Number 55, however, was very tall and heavily built — especially compared to Aka and 32. The moment Aka saw her, he thought that a single clean punch from 55 would be enough to knock him out.
The fight was brutal. Both of their faces were covered in blood. From what Aka could tell, 55 was trying to end the fight in a single blow, while 32 struck back with counters every time 55 attacked.
When the fight reached its peak, 32 lunged forward. 55 tried to land a punch before 32 got close, but failed. With quick steps, 32 slipped behind her, jumped onto her back, and began choking her. 55, panicking, tried striking him wildly — then suddenly had an idea. She threw herself backward, slamming both their bodies into the ground. As 32 reeled from the impact, she landed a heavy punch on him.
But 32 didn't give up. Desperate, he scooped up handfuls of dirt from the floor and flung it into 55's eyes. Caught off guard, 55 dropped to one knee — and the last thing she saw was 32's kick coming straight toward her at full speed.
If you've made it this far, thank you so much for at least taking the time to read and check out my story. If you have any positive or negative feedback, you can always leave a comment. Thank you again for reading, and I hope you have a great day.