"999... 1000!" I grunt as I finish doing the push-ups in my room. The sky is still covered in darkness, showing no sign of light is about to emerge.
Right after I done with the work-outs, I decide to have myself a loaf of bread as breakfast, a simple yet enough to give me the energy I need.
As I am having my breakfast at the table, my ears catch the sound of somebody calling my name, however the voice is barely above the wind, which is impossible for normal humans to perceive.
"Iru... Iru... How are you doing? Is everything alright?" the voice says calmly.
"I'm fine, Rena. Something must be happening if you come here, am I right?" I ask.
Then, a projection of Rena appears inside my room.
"Well, yes. Anyway, I want to know how you are doing right now. You know, since you continue your journey, we rarely talk to each other." Rena says as she sits on my bed.
"I know you missed me. I am fine here, even though my life is quite busier than before since entering the university. By the way, how is my hometown?" I say.
"I see... Everything is alright there at Sampuna. It is just I have something to tell you." Rena's tone turns a little bit serious.
"What is it?" I ask as I meet her eyes.
"It seems like there was a strange anomaly occuring at Sampuna. Recently, me and Kioku has picked up a strange energy signature. However, it was only for a short period of time, minutes, I guess, before it eventually disappeared again. I don't think we can ignore such things since the gate of the multiverse is now unsealed." says Rena.
"Is there anyone in Semporna that could handle this case?" I ask before taking another bite of the bread.
"Well, Kioku has been to the site where we caught the sign of the energy signature, and it led him to a secret old room, filled with books and swords." her words raises question in my mind.
"A room?" I tilt my head.
"Yes, and an old one. Seems like it has been abandoned for years." Rena gazes at me.
I pause for a moment.
If that strange energy reading is an entity from another universe, there must be something inside that old room, something that is valuable.
I can feel the urge of curiousity is growing inside me. Nevertheless, I have to always maintain my focus here.
"Stay alert for the time being. We don't know what might comes next, but don't worry, I will do what I must." I exhale a deep breath out of my mouth.
"Alright, then. Be safe, Iru. We will be watching you." Her voice turns softer.
"Thanks." I say
At the moment, Rena's apparition slowly fades away and she eventually disappears before my eyes.
And now that she is gone, I guess I should get to work.
As I rise from the table, I decide to open the curtain covering my windows. From the windows, enters the light from the sun, radiantly from the east horizon.
***
"It's time to make a move." I mutter.
With the sword unsheated, I summon the power inside it, thus emerges the living armor which is the copy of my alternate form, except a little bit weaker. This living armor will act as a vessel for me to monitor from afar, for I have things to do here which is important enough to not leave it unchecked.
As the living armor fully materialises, I have my mind connected to the armor in order to control the vessel.
Hence, using the vessel, I travels back to my hometown, Sampuna , the land that became the witness for every decisive battle that me and my allies have won. As the armor soars above the sky, I can see the beautiful landscapes on the Earth. Such a fascinating view, I would say.
It does not take too long for the living armor to reach Sampuna, as I eventually make it. Using the remaining energy left behind as the source, I manage to track the said location where the anonymous entity appeared, which lead me to an old hut in the middle of a jungle.
"Who built a hut in the middle of a jungle just to store books, or is this a shelter for the previous world war?" I wonder to myself.
However, my sense picks up some kind of disturbance as I am about to step inside the hut. Hence, I have the living armor wields a sword. Trusting my instinct, I turn to my back, only to be met with a fireball shot at the armor, but I manage to block the attack right away, thanks to my reflexes.
It turns out that the fireball comes from a bird-like kaijin called Terazolar, a human-sized creature from ancient times, and they are known for being hostile towards other creature that they consider stranger.
*SHRIEEKKKK
Hence, Terazolar flies towards me as it shoots its fireballs continuously, leaving me with no choice but to flee from the hut to combat it somewhere else.
Terazolar follows me in pursuit as I eventually reach the very dense part of the jungle. Fortunately, I am able to hide from its sight, using the environment to my advantage. As I slowly sneak behind every shadow of the trees, Terazolar keeps flying through the jungles until it decides to fly out to the sky.
*SHRIEEKKKK
Seeing that the creature is above me, I decide to play a little trick on it. As I arms the living armor with a dagger, I throw the dagger towards Terazolar, only for it to shoot its fireball. However, I have a trick up my sleeves.
The dagger actually has some gunpowder stored in it, so the fireball will cause the dagger to explode, creating a smoke that could cover me from the creature.
It is time to turn the table. As Terazolar is blinded by the smoke, I decide to charge towards it and deliver the final blow.
*SWIFT!
In one swift slash, Terazolar's body splits in half, much to its horror.
Thus, I sheat my sword back and walk my way to the old hut, leaving the fiend alone in its demise.
***
By the time I reach the hut, I waste no time as I enter inside it. The earthy and warm scent filled the interior. Then, I find a deteriorated bookshelf full of worn-out books. As I open one of the books, I could smell the scents of vanillin and furfural from it. Not only that, I find several swords rested on the wall of the hut. "How can anyone left their swords like this?" I wonder.
"It must be the cliche book-lever secret room." I think to myself as I pull every book that might lead me to any secret room.
However, nothing happens as if my assumption is wrong, until I notice the stained carpet below me. I think it is all making sense now.
And, I am wrong. Once I uncover what is below the carpet, it is only the wooden floor, slowly being eaten by termites. "Not here too." I mutter.
Then, my attention shifts to the only thing that could lead me to the secret room, which is the swords. Thus, I try to pull each sword from left to right, and it is until the third attempt that I finally see the bigger picture.
The moment I try to pull the third sword, I can feel some sort of mechanism behind the wall. Following my instinct, I try to pull the sword harder until it is shifted from the wall. Right after that, I find out that the deteriorated bookshelf shifts to the left, which opens a way to a secret vault behind it.
"So, this is where the fun begins, huh?" I smirk as I make my way inside the secret vault, as if I know what is coming next.