The ce was eerily silent with the asional beeping sounds of what seemed to beputers working. The corridors werepletely dim with next to zero visibility. However, that didn''t hide the thick, metallic smell that permeated the ce.
The smell of blood and rotten flesh filled the ce and made it hard to breathe properly. Glimpses of dark spots could be seen on the wall, on the ground, and everywhere else.
Inside this horror of a building, a particr room had the lights turned on and the doors shut. All the noise from the ce came from that ce.
Inside the room, a total of three people were sitting in front ofputers, typing away on the keyboards. Complex numbers and letters appeared and disappeared on the screen every few seconds.
A very tense atmosphere permeated the room as if whatever the three people were doing was the most important thing in their lives. They had pale, tired expressions due tock of sleep and food but that didn''t seem to hinder their focus on the task.
"What is the progress on the data breach for the FB-7?" One of them asked another.
"80% so far. It''s going to take a few more days toplete."
The response made the tense atmosphere grow even tenser. "A few more days? Didn''t you say that it should be done by tomorrow?" One of the men asked again as he clenched his fists.
"The estimations were correct yesterday because the energy supply was higher. We''re quickly running out of energy and that''s hindering the data breach."
"Damn it! That means that it won''t take just a few days. The generators have already been running out of fuel for the past week. It won''t be long before they shut down! Way before it could finish even!" He smashed his hand on the table angrily, his face filled with terror and frustration.
"..."
The other two frowned too, but they didn''t say a word.
"What… What should we do?" One of them, a woman, asked in a perturbed tone. "If we don''t finish this… We''re… We''re going to get killed…"
"No! Don''t say that! We will finish it, goddammit! We just need to work harder! There must be a way!"
"Harder?! We''ve already been working for days without sleep or food! I''m barely holding on, man!" The second man said in a grave tone.
It has been exactly three weeks since they have been imprisoned inside the research center. Ever since that day, they had no connection with the outside world except for a small, weak signal they received from a random ce in Seoul.
They had found that signal and tried to contact it for help, but they had little to no response. Ever since they have beenpletely isted. They didn''t know what was happening outside at all.
And all of that was because of a single person… If they could even call them a person.
As the trio were sitting there, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room from outside. Immediately, their expressions changed and their heartbeats increased. Their eyes stared directly at the screen, not moving an inch at all.
However, their ears listened clearly to the footsteps as they grew closer and closer till they finally halted in front of the door to the room. Then, they heard the sound of keys twisting and rustling before the door finally opened.
"*Gulp*..." Sweat trickled down the scientists''s faces. Their pupils dted and their breathing turned even more erratic.
''She''s… She''s here…''
The footsteps entered the room and the door closed behind them as they heard the lock turn again, effectively closing the room.
Then, the person walked to the other side of the room and sat down on a chair. After that, it wasplete silence.
''Fuck… Fuck! Don''t ask questions, please! Don''t ask questions, please! Please!'' One of the scientists prayed in their heads.
Knowing her, if she knew that the progress was stagnating, she would definitely do to them what she did to the three other scientists she brought here. The image of their peers after what happened was still vivid in their minds and it haunted them every single day they were stuck there.
"I don''t hear you tapping on those old panel things." A few minutester, the girl finally spoke in a very cold, almost emotionless tone.
"Mmm… We''re… We were resting for a few minutes…" One of them responded.
"Resting? Oh, humans on this earth do need that, don''t they?" She asked casually.
"W-We shall resume working immediately."
"No, take your time. I need you ready to continue working the rest of tonight and tomorrow. Everything should be done after tomorrow."
"In two days?" One of the scientists asked in shock still staring at the screen and the progress bar.
"32 hours and 45 minutes to be exact. Then, upon our agreement, you''re all free to go."
''There is no way in seven hells we will finish in 32 hours!!''
Just hearing her made their hearts almost leap out of their chests from fear. They knew that what she was asking from them was nearly impossible to do. Yet, they couldn''t dare to actually say it to her or the consequences would be dire.
"But…"
"Is there a problem?" She asked.
"No, not at all! 32 hours! Of course!" The woman answered with a nervous tone. She didn''t know whether that was her entire
"Good." The girl nodded her head calmly as she looked down, upied with something else.
Seeing her not reacting, they felt a little relieved. It seemed that she didn''t seem like she was bothered with what they were doing.
"But, I wonder if the energy generators are going tost that long." She added a few secondster.
Those words, as simple and as casual as they were,pletely stopped the scientists'' hearts and made them freeze in their ces. Terror filled their eyes.
***
Back at the gymnasium, a few hours passed quietly. Talon slept for a few hours and woke up right before dawn to continue training.
He decided to use the entire next day for training and getting his sluggish body back to its peak. His injuries were recovering extremely fast and so was his stamina so after a few hours of sleep, he felt energized to continue the grind.
"Fuuh… I''m feeling really good now." Talon murmured as he wiped the sweat from his face. Since the weather was now hotter than before, he got rid of his shirt and trained shirtless to stay cooled up.
His muscr body glistened in the sunlight as he moved his arms, swinging the spear. Each move he made would flex his muscles.
Meanwhile, Acrypha was watching casually from the side, secretly enjoying the sight in front of her.
''He''s going to be troublesome with women if he continues evolving this fast.'' She thought to herself with a frown.
Even though Talon''s looks were barely better than average, his body had already reached a new level of perfection.
At such a low level, normally, his body shouldn''t look this perfect. But, with how pure his soul was after continuously killing monsters levels above him in strength and absorbing their strength, it was natural that his body would transformpletely at a very rapid pace.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Talon, he continued swinging the spear again and again, hundreds of times across hours. Notifications kept popping off
[Your spearmanship has improved.]
[Your spearmanship has improved.]
[Your spearmanship has improved.]
''I didn''t level up my spearmanship during the battle. Come on, I''m really close to level 4!'' He thought to himself.
Even while his focus waspletely on his technique, he kept an eye for the notifications as they kept rolling in one after the other. He was waiting for it, waiting for the level-up.
[Your spearmanship has improved.]
''Come on!''
Talon felt his senses heighten and his entire body followed the single rhythm he created. Everything around him turned into a blur and the sole thing he could see was the spear and his arms moving the weapon.
Minutes passed quickly for him as his sense of time vanishedpletely.
Until…
[Ding!]
[Your spearmanship leveled up.]
''Yes!'' Seeing that, Talon''s eyes lightened. But, it wasn''t over there.
[Ding!]
[Dimension Harvester has leveled up.]
[You have unlocked a new skill.]
"Oh..." Talon''s body halted as he noticed the umon message. "My Dimension Harvester finally leveled up... and I got a new skill..."
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )