Free Web NovelWhen the girl opened her eyes, she wasn't in Matt's dark room.
She was in an open field, with grass.
A lot of grass.
A wide, green expanse moved beneath a soft breeze. The sky above her was blue, clear, enormous. A few white clouds drifted up there, slow and calm.
The girl went still and blinked, confused. Then she looked down at her feet. The grass moved against her boots.
"This…"
Matt was sitting there in his black gaming chair, right in the middle of the field, as if that made any sense. He was leaned back, one leg crossed over the other, the sleep mask pushed up on his forehead.
The chair matched nothing. The field was wide, calm, almost beautiful, but in the center sat Matt like a retired player watching a match.
The girl looked at him.
"Seriously?"
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You created a whole enormous field, with grass, sky, wind, all of it…"
"Yes."
"And you're still sitting in that chair?"
"It's comfortable."
The voice looked at him for several seconds. Then sighed.
"Right…"
Matt waved a hand, as if it didn't matter.
The girl looked at the sky again.
"Why did you call me here? Besides showing off that you can do this now?"
"I'm not showing off."
"You made a sky."
"Yes."
"That counts as showing off."
Matt clicked his tongue.
"I haven't found a clear limit to this place."
The voice looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"That I can imitate things."
Matt raised a hand.
"Objects."
He snapped his fingers and a stone appeared, floating in front of him.
"Terrain."
The stone fell onto the grass.
"Spaces."
The wind picked up.
"And creatures."
The voice felt a chill.
"Creatures?"
Matt snapped his fingers again.
The sky darkened slightly.
Not from clouds.
From shadows.
The girl looked up.
Something was moving up there.
Then something else.
And then many things.
Membranous wings.
Thin bodies.
Long claws.
Yellow eyes.
Teeth.
Flying demons.
The same monsters from the cave.
Not all exactly identical, but similar enough that the girl's body reacted before her mind did.
She jumped back.
"What are you doing?!"
The demons began circling above them, shrieking in the air.
"KIIII!"
"KRAAA!"
The voice raised her hands on instinct.
She had no weapons.
That sent her into a panic.
"Matt!"
"Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down while you're filling the sky with monsters!"
"They're imitations."
"That doesn't sound better!"
"It is."
"No!"
Matt pointed toward her.
"We're going to use this place to train."
The voice swallowed.
"Train with those?"
"Yes."
"With what weapon?"
The girl's hands glowed and two weights appeared in her palms.
The light gun.
The heavy gun.
Exactly the same as the ones in the rest room — the same red lines of crystallized blood, the same dark metal, the same faint warmth in the heavy one.
The girl opened her eyes.
"You can do this too?"
"It's my mind."
"But they're very detailed."
"I know them."
The voice looked at the guns. For an instant, she felt impressed.
Just an instant.
Then one of the demons dove straight at her.
"KRAAA!"
The voice's eyes went wide.
"Ah!"
She jumped to one side clumsily.
The demon grazed her shoulder as it passed.
SHAAK!
The cut air struck her face.
She fell onto the grass and rolled badly.
"Why are they attacking?!"
Matt answered from his chair:
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"Because that's what I made them for."
The voice got up quickly.
"Then make them stop!"
"No."
"Matt!"
Another demon descended.
She ducked too late.
A claw grazed her back.
Pshk!
Pain.
Not as strong as in the real world.
But it hurt.
The voice opened her eyes.
"It hurts!"
"Of course."
"You said they were imitations!"
"A harmless imitation is useless for training."
"That's extremely unreasonable!"
The demons circled again.
More of them.
There were five.
Then seven.
Then ten.
The voice looked around in horror.
"More are appearing!"
"Correct."
"Why?!"
"Because you're not at the level you need to be."
The voice raised the guns with trembling hands.
The demons moved above her in circles, waiting.
Matt spoke:
"If you want to replace me, you have to stop surviving by accident."
The voice gritted her teeth.
"I survived."
"Yes."
"I escaped the boss."
"Yes."
"So it wasn't an accident."
"Not entirely."
The voice went quiet.
Matt looked at her from the chair.
His expression was serious.
He wasn't mocking her.
Wasn't smiling.
That made her more uncomfortable than his jokes.
"But you can't rely on running for your life every time you hit a problem."
One of the demons launched itself at her.
"Back off!"
The voice raised the gun she thought was the light one and pulled the trigger.
BAAANG!
The shot came out brutal — far stronger than she expected. The red explosion passed beneath the demon, crossed the field, and detonated far away, lifting earth and grass.
BOOM!
The recoil nearly tore her arm off.
"Ah!"
The voice fell backward.
Matt looked at her.
Then at the gun in her left hand.
"Did you really confuse the heavy for the light?"
The voice looked down.
The heavy gun was smoking in her hand.
Her face went red.
"They were in different hands!"
"That's not an excuse."
"I was caught off guard!"
"That will happen outside too…"
"Shut up!"
Another demon descended.
She ducked too late.
A claw grazed her back.
Pshk!
She raised the other gun.
This time it was the light one.
She pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three red shots went upward.
None of them hit.
The demons moved like shadows.
One spun.
Another climbed.
Another simply dodged by tilting its body.
Matt spoke:
"Wrong."
"I'm trying!"
"I know. That's why I said wrong."
"That doesn't help!"
"You're aiming at where they are."
The voice fired again.
Bang! Bang!
Missed.
"Where should I be aiming?"
"Where they're going to be."
The voice gritted her teeth.
Another demon descended from behind.
Matt spoke:
"Right."
The voice turned right.
The demon was coming from the left.
The claw struck her shoulder.
Pshk!
"Ah!"
Matt sighed.
"I meant your right from before, not the right after you turned."
"That makes no sense!"
"It makes sense if you're not panicking."
"I'm surrounded by monsters!"
"Then stop being surrounded."
The voice fired furiously.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The shots crossed the air without hitting anything.
The demons laughed.
Or at least that's what they sounded like.
"KIIKIIKII!"
The voice felt fear mixing with rage.
"Stop moving!"
Matt spoke:
"They're not going to obey."
"I wasn't talking to you!"
"That's worse."
One of the demons fired a small black sphere from its mouth.
The voice's eyes went wide.
"They shoot too?"
"Some of them."
"Why did you make those?!"
"Because they're in the cave."
The sphere passed beside her leg and exploded behind her.
PAM!
The shockwave made her stumble.
Another demon descended.
The voice raised the light gun.
Matt spoke quickly:
"Don't fire."
"What?!"
"Wait."
"It's going to kill me!"
"Wait."
The demon was close.
Very close.
The voice pulled the trigger anyway.
Bang!
Missed.
The demon moved just before.
The claw opened her arm.
SHRAK!
"Ah!"
Matt's expression didn't change.
"You fired out of fear."
"Because I was scared!"
"I noticed."
"Then don't lecture me!"
"I'm telling you why you missed."
The voice pressed the wounded arm — the blood closed quickly, but the pain stayed.
She breathed hard.
The demons rose again.
Matt spoke:
"First, watch the pattern."
"I don't have time."
"You do."
"No!"
"Yes. They attack in turns."
The voice blinked.
"What?"
Matt pointed upward.
"Three come down. Two hold position above. One fires. Then they switch."
The voice looked at the sky.
The demons were circling.
One shrieked.
Three descended.
Two stayed above.
One opened its mouth and formed a black sphere.
The voice opened her eyes.
'It's true.'
Matt continued:
"Don't try to shoot all of them. Pick one."
"Which one?"
"The one committed to the attack."
"Committed?"
"The one that can't change direction without losing speed."
The voice swallowed.
She tried to concentrate.
Three demons were coming at her.
One from the left.
One from above.
One directly at her chest.
The voice raised the light gun.
'The one in front.'
She aimed.
The demon was close.
Very close.
She pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Missed by a little.
The bullet passed beside the wing.
The demon hit her side.
THUD!
The voice rolled across the grass.
"Ugh!"
Matt spoke:
"Better."
The voice lifted her head with fury.
"It hit me!"
"But you almost got it."
"That's not better!"
"Yes it is."
She gritted her teeth.
The demons rose again.
The voice got up with difficulty.
Her legs were trembling.
Her hands too.
But this time she didn't fire right away.
She watched.
Tried to watch.
The sky.
The movements.
The wings.
The turns.
The demons descended again.
Three.
Two above.
One preparing a shot.
The voice breathed.
Aimed at the demon on the left.
Not where it was.
A little ahead.
Pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet grazed its shoulder.
The demon shrieked.
"KII!"
It didn't fall, but dark shadow bled from it, dissolving before it touched the grass.
The voice opened her eyes.
"I hit it."
Matt answered:
"Yes."
"I hit it."
"Don't get excited."
The injured demon spun in the air and launched itself at her again.
"Ah!"
The voice fired again.
Bang! Bang!
Missed both shots.
The demon hit her with its legs.
BAM!
She fell on her back.
The air left her chest.
"Cough!"
Matt spoke:
"You got excited."
The voice gritted her teeth.
"Don't say anything…"
The demons descended again.
The voice barely got up in time.
The next round was worse.
Much worse.
She tried to apply everything.
Watch the pattern.
Don't fire out of fear.
Aim at where they would be.
Don't tense her shoulders.
Don't close her eyes when firing.
Don't confuse the guns.
Don't let the recoil control her.
All at the same time.
She failed.
Failed a lot.
A claw opened her leg.
Pshk!
A black sphere hit her shoulder.
PAM!
A demon bit her sleeve and almost knocked her over.
"Let go!"
She fired too close.
Bang!
The bullet passed beside her own arm.
Matt spoke:
"Don't fire at point-blank range."
"I know!"
Another demon launched from above.
The voice covered her head on instinct.
Matt clicked his tongue.
"Don't cover up. Move."
"I can't!"
The demon hit her.
THUD!
The voice dropped to her knees and the pain was piling up.
It wasn't entirely real, but her mind felt it.
Her mental body accepted it.
Her wounds were closing faster than they would outside, but that didn't make them hurt less.
The voice gritted her teeth.
The demons circled above her.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Matt said nothing.
That was worse.
The voice raised the light gun.
Her breathing was ragged.
'Why do I keep missing?'
It wasn't just because they were moving.
Matt would hit them.
She knew it.
Matt would have been insulting them.
Would have counted the timing.
Would have used the heavy gun to cut off their routes.
Would have fired less and better.
Would have made the demons come to where he wanted.
She was just reacting too late, out of fear.
'I fire after I've already been hit.'
A demon descended.
The voice didn't fire.
She waited.
Her fingers trembled on the trigger.
The demon got closer.
She saw the wings.
The angle.
The claw.
The body.
'Not yet.'
The demon opened its mouth.
'Not yet either.'
It shifted direction slightly.
'Now.'
The voice fired.
Bang!
The bullet tore through a wing.
SHRAK!
The demon lost its balance and fell onto the grass.
THUD!
The voice opened her eyes.
"I got it."
Matt watched in silence for several seconds before saying:
"Good."
The word was dry.
Simple.
No mockery in it.
That hit harder than the previous compliment.
The voice swallowed.
But she had no time to enjoy it.
The other demons descended.
Faster.
As if they were angry.
The voice raised both guns.
Tried to repeat it.
Couldn't.
One of the black energy shots hit her in the chest.
PAM!
The voice flew backward.
"Ah!"
Another demon cut her arm.
Another kicked her from above.
Another bit her shoulder.
The pain became too much.
"Enough!"
Matt snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The demons disappeared.
The sky cleared.
The field went calm again.
The wind moved the grass as if nothing had happened.
The voice dropped to her knees, breathing hard.
The guns were still in her hands, but her arms were shaking. Her mental body was covered in small wounds that were beginning to close one by one.
She wasn't bleeding the same way as in the cave.
It wasn't as real.
But it hurt.
And the exhaustion was real too.
The voice lowered her head.
She said nothing.
Matt stayed in his chair.
He didn't speak right away either.
That was strange.
She expected a mockery.
A horrible line.
Something like "what a disaster" or "congratulations, you hit the air."
But no.
Matt was looking at her in silence.
Sleep mask still on his forehead.
His expression was serious.
Tired.
Thoughtful.
The voice swallowed.
"Why… did you stop them?"
"Because you weren't thinking anymore."
She gritted her teeth.
"I was trying to survive."
"Exactly."
"Is that bad?"
"Not always."
Matt leaned forward slightly.
"But if you only survive like an animal, they control the pace of the fight — and that doesn't work anymore."
The voice didn't respond.
Matt pointed at the empty sky.
"It takes you too long to understand what's happening."
"I know." freewebnovel.cσ๓
"You fire out of fear."
"I know."
"You confuse the weapons."
"I know."
"You get excited when you hit and then fail right after."
The voice gripped the guns.
"I know."
Matt went quiet.
She waited for more.
But he didn't say it.
That made her feel worse.
The voice looked down.
"I'm not good at this."
"No."
His response was immediate.
Direct.
No attempt to soften it.
The voice felt something tighten in her chest.
Matt continued:
"But you thought at the end."
She blinked.
"What?"
"The last shot at the wing. You waited."
The voice remembered the demon falling.
"That was luck."
"A little."
She lowered her shoulders.
Matt added:
"But it was also better than before."
The voice didn't know what to say.
The wind moved the grass around her.
The sky was too pretty for how much pain she was in.
She set the guns down on the grass and lay down on her back.
Not gracefully.
She just dropped.
"Ugh…"
The grass was soft.
That surprised her.
She looked up.
The clouds were moving slowly.
For a few seconds, she just breathed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Why am I so bad at this…?" she murmured.
Matt answered from the chair:
"Because you're just starting."
The voice closed her eyes.
"That doesn't make me feel better."
She opened them again.
"Matt."
"What?"
"Were you like this at the beginning?"
Matt was quiet.
The voice turned her head slightly toward him.
He wasn't looking at her.
He was looking at the sky.
"I was worse," he said at last.
