Something began to appear in front of him. A creature mixture of flesh and machine, its body crackled like a nightmarish echo that crawled in one's own dream. Four pointy legs with flexible joints lifted its upper, boxy body, which had a red, lens-like eye glowing on its middle part.
Cain wrinkled his eyebrows when he saw the monster inside. It has cables and flesh substances that pulsate between the seams of the monster's body, showing signs of vitality.
He lowered his center of gravity and tightly gripped the katana with two hands. His action immediately triggered a reaction from the monster. It trembled, then from behind its boxy body, two cable tentacles shot up, wriggling in the air.
Seeing all that, the boy's expression was twisted as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.
'That's a gross looking monster.'
That lapse was not missed by the enemy when the two cable tentacles on its back moved. The monster swung its tentacles from each side, planning to sever his body into two.
Although it looked critical, Cain's eyes were calm as he saw the monster in front of him moving seemingly slowly. With a quick glance, he could determine the distance between the tentacles that would strike his body.
Without a second thought, he concentrated power in his legs and kicked the floor, making him shoot forward like a bullet. He tightened the grip on his katana and thrust the blade into the monster's red core.
It happened so fast, the virus beast reacted too late and immediately shattered into a series of glitched code that disappeared, swallowed by the atmosphere.
Cain stood, letting out a short breath to release the tension pressing on his chest.
'Huff, that wasn't so bad.'
The battle he thought would be difficult for him. It turned out to be one he could get through with ease. Thanks to that, Cain managed to restore his confidence in facing his enemy.
However, an oddity occurred: his body flinched when a blue panel suddenly appeared to block his view.
[Integrity Sync Complete.]
[Integrity 100% Reached]
> Level Up → 10.0
> Parameters boosted → All stats +1
> Bonus Point 5!
[You reached the First threshold!]
[Null Sequence System can be updated. Would you like to proceed Y/N]
'Wha!?'
His eyes widened. It was so unexpected that Cain even forgot to breathe for a moment when reading the notification at the end.
Although he recalled the same things in every training session, the battle he experienced today was nothing but a fake reality created by advanced technologies.
There's no way Cain could farm some experience points from something like this.
But what if?
'W-Wait a minute, if I can keep continuing like this, raising my level in this simulation battle. Then…'
Cain froze, racking his brain about how he could borrow this facility to prepare himself if he wanted to venture outside the walls.
'Wait a minute? Update? What will happen next?'
For as long as he had the system, Cain never spent a day without feeling grateful and happy to see himself grow rapidly.
Looking at the blue panel that always appeared in his vision, and the ability to give him easy access to absorb information instantly. The boy was already too spoiled by his current situation, and suddenly, his system could be upgraded.
Cain touched his chin and sank into deep thought, frowning. A bitter memory resurfaced, reminding him of when he had received the system.
He gritted his teeth, unwilling to feel that pain once again in his life. However, on the other hand, the boy felt curious about what he would receive after the update.
"Hey, are you done?"
The vicious and harsh voice echoed in the arena, sending ripples through the boy's calm eyes.
Cain glanced back and saw Albert with his dark expression glaring at him like a demon. He shook his head and walked closer before opening his mouth.
"Wait a moment, can I try again but with increased difficulty?"
Not only Albert, but Dosh and the other cadets were stunned as if they couldn't believe what they heard.
The long, black-haired man wrinkled his eyebrows. He gritted his teeth as if he wanted to chew on the boy behind the glass.
After being silent for a few seconds, Albert clicked his tongue and immediately operated the terminal in his hand, shouting.
"Hurry up and get ready, don't waste my time more than this!"
Cain lifted his lips and smiled broadly. He bowed his head slightly and returned to the middle of the battlefield.
Standing in the middle of the barren field. The space in front of him began to fracture and gave birth to several virus beasts, the same as the one he had fought earlier.
'Two of them, good.'
The boy prepared his middle stance with the katana blade aligned with his gaze forward.
The two monsters began to creak, their red eyes radiating a dark, savage light as they shook the tentacles behind their boxy bodies. Each stroke sent a shockwave that made the surrounding air tremble.
'This is crazy, the aftereffect was so real.'
Their tentacles began to blur, their pointed ends gleaming like spears that wanted to penetrate the defense on Cain's body.
But with his current speed, Cain could see their attacks slowing down, changing the color of the world to gray.
The boy shifted his stance as he placed the katana to the side. He moved, avoiding all attacks directed at him seamlessly, flowing like an unstoppable current.
Although the enemy's tentacle arms were flexible and could change direction whenever the enemy wanted, not one of them hit its target.
Not wanting to prolong the battle. Cain took a deep breath as he stepped forward while shifting his head to the side, dodging an attack from behind. He lowered his stance and ran while gripping the katana in his hand.
The moment he stood in front of the virus beast, a white flash vertically cut the gap between the monster's legs and its upper body, splitting it into two.
Before the other enemy could move, Cain kicked the floor and thrust his sword into the eye of the other monster, ending his second simulation.
[Integrity +50%]
[Integrity +50%]
[Your Integrity point will be accumulated.]
[You cannot raise your lever before updating the system first. Would you like to proceed Y/N]
The blue panel once again appeared in front of him. It made his pupils dilate, then he stood and ran toward Albert, who was still glaring at him.
"Can I proceed again?"
Hearing that, Albert clutched his throbbing head. His black eyes gazed at the beaming boy behind the door. The man turned back and found Dosh nodding happily, which infuriated him.
'Fine, if that is what you wanted.'
From his terminal, the black-haired man pressed the basic simulation level 10 and sent it to his subordinates. The two stared at each other, but with the intensity in Albert's eyes, the person in front of the screen nodded furiously and began setting the basic simulation to the final stage.
'Let's see if you can survive this.'
Like most researchers who immerse themselves in science, they also face the pressure that erodes their sense of self bit by bit. Their dark side often emerges, which includes a sadistic or creepy nature, as seen in Albert himself.
His lips grinned as he watched dozens of Common-Rank virus beasts begin to shower the gray-haired boy with their cable tentacles.
"Albert, are you kidding me!"
From behind, an angry voice reverberated through the room, causing the people inside to freeze with pale expressions.
Instead of being intimidated, the smile on Albert's lips widened as he rotated his neck to peek behind him with eyes full of madness.
"What, the kid and you wanted this, right?"
"Yeah, but I mean to increase the difficulty gradually, not to serve the final stage like this."
However, their dispute was instantly muted. The crisp sound of crushed metal, coupled with the whistle of a sword slash cutting the wind, attracted everyone's attention.
In the midst of the battlefield, the gray-haired boy danced amidst sparks, and a liquid resembling black blood flew, staining the battlefield with a menacing scene.
Like a killing machine, the boy relentlessly hunted the virus beasts, and one by one, the monsters collapsed, leaving him standing alone upright on a pile of wreckage.
Albert swallowed to wet his dry throat. His trembling black pupils couldn't leave the boy's broad back, bathed in condensing data particles that ascended to the sky, giving the illusion of a miracle from the divine.
'I want him as my subject of research!'