Chapter 7: Experimentation
The scene before me was strange to an incredible degree. Colored threads floated in space, scattered everywhere: on the ground, in the sky, even around the rubble strewn here and there. It was a breathtaking, captivating sight. I kept staring at it for a few minutes, immersed in its amazing details... then an idea occurred to me:
"Could these be a form of energy?"
I wondered to myself, contemplating the possibility that these threads were a type of energy, like "Mana" or "Qi" that I'd often read about in fantasy novels. But the question that truly puzzled me was: Why can I only see them now? Is the reason the Awakening Potion I consumed? Or does it have something to do with the black mist that spoke to me before?
Many questions swirled in my head without finding an answer. So, I decided to set them aside temporarily and focus on what was before me.
I looked around again in all directions; I didn't notice a radical change in the scene compared to before I entered the gate, except for the formation of some spectral shapes in the air, as if they were embodiments of the strange energy I saw.
The place was still as destroyed as before, and the colored gates were still spread across the horizon, opening onto unknown worlds.
I stopped the random thinking and returned to what I was most eager for: Experimentation.
I was excited to test the new skills I had acquired. I started with the [Strength] skill, which supposedly tripled the power of my attacks.
But before activating it, I headed towards one of the ruined buildings, where only a medium-sized stone wall remained. I stood before it without hesitation, then...
Boom!
Crash!
"..."
"Alright... the information wasn't nonsense."
The details I read about the skill were fairly accurate. I managed to shatter the wall with just one blow. And now, it was time to activate the skill to see the real difference.
[Strength] — Purple Skill
When activated, the user's physical damage is tripled.
I headed to another building, still mostly intact, and repeated the same action, but this time after activating the skill.
Boom!
Boom!
Crash!
"..."
"About half of it was destroyed."
Yes, half the building vanished with one blow! I felt indescribable excitement. The mere thought that I was capable of destroying a building of this size using just one skill was truly astonishing.
I wasn't satisfied with that. I continued experimenting, moving to another area with several buildings still standing. I didn't feel any hesitation or pity. I started destroying... sometimes using my normal strength, sometimes using the [Strength] skill.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I was like a raging hurricane, leaving no wall or building intact behind me. Everything that stood in my way... shattered.
I immersed myself in this feeling to the core. An indescribable euphoria... as if intoxicated in a different way.
I kept doing it without realizing what might happen after a few hours...
But in the end, I stopped my frenzied state and returned to my normal state. I was now excited to try the other skills.
The next skill I chose was: [Swift as Light].
[Swift as Light] — Red Skill
When activated, the user's speed is doubled to 200% of their original speed.
I didn't yet know what the skill colors meant, but I assumed they were classified by type or rarity. Anyway, that's not important now. What's important is that I obtained a skill that enhances my speed, and that's what I wanted to test.
The description was simple: Speed doubles. Meaning, if I was running at 10 meters per second, it would become 20 meters per second after activation. Amazing! But... what is my original speed? I didn't know.
I thought for a bit and then decided to find a way to measure it. I headed to a nearby house and started clearing the rubble, searching for something useful.
And after a few minutes of digging, I found it:
A phone.
I think everyone guessed what I intended to do.
I picked up the phone from the ground and opened its screen. Fortunately, it wasn't locked. I opened the clock app, then the stopwatch.
I headed to a relatively open space and started counting my steps to determine a sufficient distance to run. The distance was excellent... about 300 meters of solid ground.
I set the direction, took a ready stance, held the phone, placed my finger on the stopwatch button, then started counting:
One... two... three!
Goooo!
I pressed the stopwatch and launched with everything I had. I didn't feel the moment of launch, as if I had jumped out of time. The force generated from my momentum was immense, and I felt as if I were a rocket fired from a cannon. Even the ground I launched from was left with only a wide hole.
I felt like a Ferrari launching at full throttle... no, faster.
I continued running at a crazy speed, the wind hitting my face, the air tearing around me as if I were cutting through the very fabric of the world. The scene before me was distorting, fading, and returning, as if my vision could no longer keep up with this superhuman speed.
In less than ten seconds, I had reached the end of the distance.
I stopped suddenly... or at least tried to. But my body didn't respond immediately. I needed several additional steps to stop completely, leaving behind deep marks on the ground... trenches extending from the stopping point for a considerable distance.
I looked at the phone, my breaths coming in gasps, my heart pounding heavily.
"Four seconds?"
I stared at the stopwatch with eyes wide in astonishment.
"This... is impossible!"
I ran three hundred meters in four seconds?! That means my speed exceeded 70 meters per second... equivalent to about 250 kilometers per hour! And all this without activating the skill!
I laughed, a laugh full of astonishment and amazement.
"I am no longer human... this is not normal."
"And that means when I activate the skill I'll reach double this speed?! This is madness..."
I kept catching my breath while my mind recalculated everything. What could I do with these abilities? Authority? Heroism? Or tyranny?
But in the end, I realized that these things didn't concern me currently. They might concern someone else... for with power, the truth of humans is revealed.
I stopped thinking, took a deep breath, and prepared myself to test the rest of the skills... which were still waiting for me to unleash them.