The two collided. The silhouette tumbled to the ground. Remedy rushed over to help.
"I am so sorry! Are you okay...?!"
His eyes froze.
Before him was a girl. Long, golden hair. Her eyes were covered behind a white silk blindfold, delicately tied into her golden locks. She tilted her head up. Her hands reached out and gently cupped Remedy's face, pulling his face closer to hers.
Remedy forgot to breathe for a moment.
Their faces were suddenly inches apart. A warm breath escaped the girl's mouth, brushing past Remedy's lips.
His eyes locked onto the blindfold.
Can't she see?
His expression neutralized. As he gently pulled his face back: "Excuse me... Huh!"
The girl grabbed his clothes.
Then: "Are you real?"
"What do you mean, 'if I'm real'?"
The girl tilted her head to one side, then the other, scrutinizing him over and over, tapping his cheek with the tip of her finger.
"Are you truly real? How can that be?!"
Remedy blinked once. Twice. He stood up and took a step back.
This girl... she is way too weird.
[...]
Um, Ely?
[Nothing!]
Remedy turned on his heels and walked past the girl.
"Have a nice day. And to answer your question: yes, I am real."
The girl watched him walk past, putting distance between them. She stood up and stared at the corner of the hallway until he disappeared from sight.
Suddenly, a silhouette blurred past Remedy from the opposite direction. He turned around.
Huh...?! What just flew by?
The blur came to a halt right in front of the blindfolded girl. It was a young woman with an athletic, hourglass figure, wearing an unbuttoned white shirt under her jacket.
"Young lady!"
"Ah, you're here?" the girl replied with an innocent smile.
The woman sighed, planting her fists on her hips.
"Of course I'm here. I also wanted to witness this 'very important meeting' you kept talking about."
Glistening golden tears welled up behind the girl's blindfold—though they didn't stain the silk.
"Well, you arrived a little too late," she replied, idly playing with a shattered pocket watch.
Remedy's watch.
The woman handed her a handkerchief, then turned her gaze toward the hallway.
"Must be that kid I just brushed past. I didn't pay much attention, but..." Remedy's features reconstructed themselves in her mind. "I think I'll be able to recognize him if we cross paths again."
The girl seized the opportunity while the woman's guard was down and lunged at her chest. She hugged nothing but empty air and faceplanted on the floor.
"Ouch! You're mean, big sister!"
The woman stood over her, completely unfazed.
"You are still miles away from taking me by surprise at your current level. Go work harder. And I told you to call me 'Manager' when we are at work."
Then, she walked away.
The girl pushed herself up, casting one last look toward the path Remedy had taken. A smile painted itself on her lips.
"We'll see each other again soon... Anomaly."
Then she turned around and skipped after the manager.
"Wait for me, big sister!"
"I told you to call me Manager."
"Yes, big sister!"
"You are so stubborn."
"Hehehe!"
***
Remedy arrived at the training room. He inhaled the stale air of the facility, which brought back memories of the days he used to scrub gym floors for pocket change.
He exhaled. "Alright. Time to get serious."
He sat cross-legged on the floor in a meditative stance. The Breakthrough Potion appeared in his hand. Without wasting a second, he uncorked it and downed it.
An intense wave of heat, laced with agony, flooded his body. He shuddered. The glass vial slipped from his hand and shattered.
His veins bulged and glowed. The searing pain ripped a guttural roar from his throat. His pupils dilated.
Shit. It's like my entire body is being rewired from the inside out—every fiber, every bone, every cell seeking its optimal placement.
Every muscle vibrated and shifted, realigning to become a peak biological vessel. He clenched his teeth until they ached.
Then, after a long, grueling moment, his body—which had been tensed to its absolute limit—began to relax. His core temperature dropped back to normal.
Calm washed over him.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS, HOST. YOU HAVE BREACHED TIER 1. YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 10 AND CAN ONCE AGAIN RECEIVE EXPERIENCE.]
A single, heavy breath. He opened his eyes and stood up. He inspected his hands. He clenched his fists, then released them. A faint, almost imperceptible smile.
Suddenly, he bolted. He tore across the room like a gust of wind, shifting directions mid-stride with flawless fluidity. Movement speed: roughly 33 km/h. Then he skidded to a dead halt. His breathing? Perfectly normal. Not a single drop of sweat.
He bent his knees and leaped—reaching a height of about 1.60 meters. Mid-air, he pivoted like a cat and landed flawlessly on his hands, absorbing the fall perfectly, feet straight up in the air. He ripped through a series of handstand push-ups in that position before springing back onto his feet in a heroic landing.
He stood up tall.
"Phew! I see why people become arrogant when they evolve. With a body like this, you can dominate anything on a human scale."
Then:
[YOU HAVE BREACHED TIER 1. YOU ARE CURSED BY REALITY.]
Can't you let me savor my breakthrough for just a single second?!
[CURSE 2: ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE ATTACKS THAT HITS AN OPPONENT WILL BE NEGATED WITHOUT DEALING DAMAGE. REGARDLESS OF THE STRIKE'S POWER.]
Remedy's eyes locked onto the message.
"It completely nullifies one out of three attacks, no matter how hard I hit?"
He sighed.
"Looks like reality is getting more and more brutal."
[DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED WITH A STRUCTURE THEFT?]
"Yes."
[STRUCTURE THEFT IN PROGRESS...]
[THEFT COMPLETE. YOU HAVE STOLEN THE STRUCTURE OF THE LAW: THE SHARPNESS OF A VIBRATING BLADE.]
[EXPLANATION: THIS IS THE LAW THAT CAUSES A VIBRATING BLADE TO POSSESS ITS SUPERIOR CUTTING EDGE.]
Sharpness of a vibrating blade?
He summoned his broken dagger.
[ESTIMATED LEVEL: 1, EQUAL TO THE MANIFESTATION LEVEL OF THE LAW. 10 MP CONSUMED. MANIFESTATION SUCCESSFUL.]
Bind to me.
[MANIFESTATION BOUND TO THE HOST. FOR THE HOST, THIS DAGGER IS NOW AS SHARP AS A VIBRATING BLADE.]
I wonder how sharp that can be—Huh?!
The moment his index finger grazed the tip of the blade, blood welled up.
Damn. Even with my new durability?
[DING! BINDING THIS LAW TO THE HOST IS NOT RECOMMENDED.]
He severed the manifestation without another word.
[UNBIND COMPLETE.]
He caught the blade. It no longer cut him.
Good.
Then he mechanically slipped his hand into his pocket.
"For the next few days, I won't be returning to the dungeon before the exam. I need to train to consolidate this new body and reclaim my martial mastery—Wait."
He frantically searched his pocket.
"Where is my watch?"
End of chapter 10
═══ STATUS WINDOW ═══
Name: Remedy
Lineage: Human
Tier: 1 — Optimized Human
Level: 10
EXP: 0%
MP: 27,550
Health: 98%
Energies:
• Mana: 100%
═══ CLASS ═══
• Primary Path: Sealed
• Secondary Path: Scourge of Reality
═══ SKILLS ═══
• Secondary Path: Steal, Manifest, Bind, Devour
═══ INNATE TALENTS ═══
• ???
═══════════════════════════
Stolen Law Structures Available:
* Law of the Weight of a Feather: Level 5
* Law of the Sharpness of a Vibrating Blade: Level 1