Free Web NovelChapter 19: Growth
"Is this for real?"
Leo’s eyes widened as his pupils dilated, reading the words repeatedly, not believing what he was seeing. For a second he had forgotten all the sorrow that had covered him like a dark cloud. Some warmth coming onto his face.
Some of the people passing by turned their heads at him in confusion. In their eyes they were just seeing a teenager standing by the window of an electronics store, speaking to himself cheerfully while tapping the air.
’Mehn, this is a huge decision. Since I cannot be a Breaker, I don’t know if I might even be allowed to go to the Floors, but when you look at the second option, going into a Growth Nexus doesn’t seem like a very bad idea as well.’
His system screen had taken all his attention from the TVs inside the shop. Even though Derek kept on screaming, his voice shooting out loud from the speakers, building hype around the graduation, it wasn’t enough to drag him out.
’Alright then, I’m choosing to go into the Growth Nexus. Now I have to find somewhere private to teleport.’ freewёbnoνel.com
He started looking around the street, even to the street opposite to him, searching for any opening he could find between the buildings. But all he ended up seeing were things he never really cared for.
For starters, outside one of the outdoor restaurant tables, there was a chubby young man in his late twenties who was proposing to a beautiful skinny girl that seemed completely out of his league, or that’s what Leo thought when he put them on a likeness test. The guy was hardly a four while the girl really seemed like a straight eight.
’You gotta give it to him though, dude has confidence.’
Leo thought.
To his surprise, the girl accepted the man’s proposal, screaming "Yes!" repeatedly, squeaking so loud she could’ve broken a glass tumbler.
All the pedestrians coiled up around the two, clapping their hands as they mesmerized at the wonderful event in the circle of life that had just happened in front of them.
’This is my chance!’
[DO YOU WANT TO CONFIRM YOUR SELECTION TO GO TO THE GROWTH NEXUS? YES OR NO]
He accepted with every ounce of seriousness in his being.
Little by little, his body started to disintegrate into different colored pixels. The image of the newly engaged couple started to change into ripples of darkness until there was nothing left in his vision, just complete darkness like someone had turned off the lights.
A second of silence came up in the invisible void of darkness, and within that silence a voice came up, one exactly like what Leo used to hear when playing a fighting game.
[TELEPORTATION COMPLETE]
A dot of light came at the center of the darkness then slowly started to spread all over like a crack at the middle of a wide piece of glass. The pieces crushing down until finally Leo found himself in a large gym.
Its walls stretched higher and lower than anything he had ever seen. In the air, flat box-like shapes randomly moved as if the laws of gravity no longer applied to them.
Leo was completely amazed by the whole infrastructure, a large rush of adrenaline coursing through his body like some sort of drug. This time, his energetic appeal wasn’t powered by fear, of that he was sure of. This time it was the feeling of being eager to grow stronger.
’So this is how a Growth Nexus looks like huh, gotta start getting used to it!’
He stretched his body like a marathon runner preparing to race at the Olympics, starting from his neck, then to his legs, then arms. His bones clicked here and there but at last he finally found himself more ready than ever.
"Alright System, what should I do?"
[Choose the mode of difficulty: LOW, ASSASSIN, PREDATOR]
His right arm rose to his chin as he fell in deep thought.
"I have to choose a difficulty huh, that means with the highest difficulty I can see my body change faster. But I shouldn’t choose a level that’s too hard that I can’t work with. Considering that, my best pick would be Assassin."
[Difficulty selected: Assassin]
[2000 skill points get you 2 hours in the Growth Nexus]
"Huh, that’s all? That’s a scam."
[BE TOLD THAT AN HOUR IN HERE IS 24 HOURS BACK IN VALORIA]
"Alright, that’s fair. So what should I do now?"
[TEST NUMBER 1 BEGIN!!]
More than 50 rounds of assault rifle bullets started to appear in midair in front of Leo, all of them pointing at him, all carrying a fatal punch to whoever was unfortunate enough to get in contact with them.
[USE YOUR MATERIALIZATION SKILL TO BLOCK THEM. START NOW.]
"Shit, you should’ve given me a heads up."
Twin blades materialized in his hands, as a flicker of darkness went off in his palms.
Pew!!!
Ten bullets flew from the bunch at the same time, all rushing fast like they had just been fired from a rifle. Next to them came another ten bullets consecutively, all prepared to kill Leo. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Leo narrowed his eyes on the bullets, scanning their trajectory.
’Gotcha!’
When the bullets finally arrived, he managed to block several of them, but three lucky shots struck his legs, then a second later disappeared into nothingness.
Leo fell on one knee to the ground.
A loud sting of pain he had never felt before in his life shot through his legs as the caliber drove through his nerves and thousands of neurons.
"Shit, wait don’t shoot again—"
But before he could finish his sentence, other bullets struck him, four to be exact, multiplying the amount of pain he was feeling at that second by a large sum.
Pew!!
Another round of bullets was shot at him. Unlike the target, Leo in this case had fallen flat to the ground, his eyes completely drowning in an extreme amount of unbearable pain as it seemed like he was fainting.
"Please, stop. I can’t take it."
Beep!!
The bullets stopped in midair, frozen still like time itself had frozen.
[DO YOU WISH TO EXIT THE GROWTH NEXUS? YES OR NO]
The system asked Leo the golden question.
In that second his mind began to race with different theories on why he should choose a particular answer, doubt crowding every corner of his judgment.
’Doing this isn’t worth it, you’re already strong. Why do you need to add to that arsenal?’
’Don’t give up yet, living your life in this world depends on how strong you are!’
The voices echoed throughout his mind, getting him into a psychological battle he never thought he would ever find himself in.
[WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER.... LEO]
The System reminded him.
Leo slowly leaped off the ground, standing shakily against it like a person who had just finished walking for thousands of kilometers without eating or drinking water. He had just eaten up seven bullets in the Growth Nexus, so it was only understandable the pain he was enduring at that point.
His tongue moved in his mouth as he began to reply with determination in his eyes.
"No, I don’t want to go back to Valoria, I want to get stronger."
