BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 53 – Training Arc (Louis)
"It’s talent," said the Deception Monster. "The previous stages truly weren’t a match for her."
"Indeed," I replied with a smile. "Sometimes I envy her for the gloves she carries."
"The credit goes to her rank as well. I assume you weren’t the cause of it, right?" the Deception Monster asked mockingly.
"You didn’t think so?" I said, while the monster laughed. I continued, "We also have Joe who has developed."
"Your fighter Joe’s development is different from the girl’s rank... don’t you know the difference?? You egg, what were you doing these past days not asking?"
"Explain more instead of mocking," I said.
"Alright, don’t be angry, you ignorant one," the monster laughed and continued.
"For Masters, there is no such thing as evolution. There is only a rise in rank. Humans and other creatures of this world possess both evolution and rank. And they are also different from what a Master has."
"The evolution that surrounds the creatures of the world transforms them into a different entity with the same old mind, except in certain cases... their rank is tied only to unlocking the characteristics of their current evolution."
He went silent for a moment, then said...
"Your fighter Louis is rank two. But if she were to evolve somehow, her rank would return to rank one... because rank, for every creature except Masters, is connected to their body, not their soul."
"I understand," I muttered. "But can’t Masters transform and gain traits, like having wings, or a gigantic body with twenty arms, or turning into a certain monster?"
"Yes, they can," the monster answered.
"In that case, the Master would still keep his rank and wouldn’t lose it no matter what additions he gains in his body... even if he changes it entirely."
"There is a wrong part in what you said," the monster replied.
"Mind. Body. Soul. Three things, each distinguished by something..."
"A Master’s mind is the receiver of the system and the controller of everything. His body is the vessel that possesses what no other creature has — adaptation to all conditions, like having those twenty giant arms you mentioned."
"The creatures of the current world do not have bodies with that ability to adapt without collapsing... as for the soul..."
"It is the source that grants the body its adaptation and the mind its ability to manage. It represents the Master himself. If the Master’s mind, memories, and experiences moved to another body, he would not be himself... he would be restricted by the traits of the new body, which has its own soul."
"But," I asked, "is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. If you move to another Master’s body, for example one of the sixth rank, while your old body is rank one or two, then you’ve achieved something extraordinary, haven’t you?"
"Hahaha, you egg," the Deception Monster mocked.
"Even high-ranking Masters haven’t achieved the accomplishment you’re talking about."
"Haha, it’s just a theoretical idea," I laughed.
"And as science says, if an idea is logical in reality and application, then even if it takes time, it will exist."
The Deception Monster did not answer... instead, a cold wind blew.
---
Inside the training dimension...
{ The time limit has ended }
{ Mission failed }
"Damn," Louis muttered in annoyance.
Blue light surrounded her and transferred her to the hall.
She had lost her first confrontation against the Deep Monsters.
Now she had to return and start again... but...
Not from the first stage... rather from stage eleven.
In the first ten stages, she had faced the Angry Monkeys... she passed them easily... until in the tenth stage she faced an Angry Monkey Leader.
With its massive body and long arms, it was strong and agile... but it was no match for the gloves’ abilities.
In the first confrontation, she defeated it with a stacked strike.
She stood before stage eleven... then entered.
The scene changed completely.
A scene similar to what existed in stage twenty... but the lake was calm, with no creatures. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Instead, there were a number of small and large colorful birds.
{ Alliance Birds }
{ Catch one bird without being detected }
After several attempts in the past, Louis entered with a clear idea and a quick method.
She waited several minutes, then the birds changed positions. Every minute, some birds switched places and mixed together.
Each time, one bird would drift away from the group and launch alone.
The movement happened once every few minutes, done by a small white bird with a red beak.
Its tiny size among the large, varied group of different birds made it extremely hard to notice.
But Louis always used the same plan. Upon entering the stage, she began with observation and analysis... to discover a loophole.
After moments... she moved from the side.
Her steps accelerated, then she came out from behind a distant rock and grabbed the bird.
In the following stages, it was different, but followed the same approach... analysis and solution.
Catch a large bird... catch three birds... catch three identical birds... catch three different birds...
Until she finally reached stage twenty again.
Louis’s eyes were watching and analyzing.
In the first nine stages she faced a group of monkeys... and in the tenth she faced their leader.
From eleven to nineteen, she faced the Alliance Birds.
"Shouldn’t my opponent be a giant bird or something similar?" Louis wondered... then...
She entered again.
Before her, the massive lake appeared once more.
The shadows loomed deep with a roaring sound.
"I must defeat them," Louis whispered.
She walked around the lake, looking right and left.
Last time... she tried hitting the water several times.
It backfired, the monsters retreated to the depths... then time ran out.
This time, Louis began sweeping the area, searching for any sign to build a plan.
"Even if time runs out, it’s fine," she whispered.
"What matters is finding the solution."
After many minutes of searching...
The blue system light appeared.
{ Time is over }
{ Mission failed }
Louis was transported back to the hall... but her lips...
Were open in a smile.
She ran... toward Gate 11.
---
A day later, she returned to stage 20.
The lack of fighting in the previous stages helped greatly in preserving her combat accumulation.
Again... Louis entered.
She ran quickly toward one side.
A whistle... began to grow louder.
Then...
Behind a pile of tall rocks like a small hill...
There were several Alliance Birds.
Louis ran toward them.
As she approached...
The sounds of wings rose.
The birds flew quickly.
They rose high... then...
Headed toward the lake.
At the edges, the birds finally landed.
The roar of the depths grew, and suddenly...
One of the Deep Monsters jumped high, like a dolphin.
It was long, like half a snake, three meters in length.
Its skin was gray with yellow lines, and the jaw of a large fish, without shells or fins.
Then...
It returned to the water, and another jumped... then another.
Louis rushed toward them.
"Time to try the reward," she whispered.
Then she jumped.
In her palm, the black glove appeared.
"50%," she whispered.
BOOM.
She struck.
The monster’s entrails scattered.
She moved.
Then...
"30%," she whispered again.
She jumped toward another monster.
BOOM.
The monster’s body exploded and fell dead.
Again...
Toward another monster.
She moved quickly.
Jumped.
"20%."
BOOM.
The monster fell again.
Dead.
"Maybe next time," Louis whispered, "I’ll try a strike with 10% power."
Several minutes passed.
Louis tried delivering blows without stacked power.
She hit the monsters.
But it wasn’t enough to take them down.
Then time passed.
The mission failed again.
---
Outside, Louis checked her accumulation and ate some food.
She thought about her new stacked strike and decided to use less effort to distribute the power she had across all the Deep Monsters.
Previously, Louis’s combat gloves had no type of storage.
Every time she used them, storage began... whether defense or attack.
That was what made her face several problems in the attack of the Dark Insects... she knew those weak points.
Everyone knew.
If she could overcome those weaknesses, she would be extraordinary.
She thought a lot... before coming to the training dimension...
And finding a solution.
Every tenth stage, the fighter received rewards to choose from.
The tenth stage rewards were choosing between two.
First – Store attack power.
Second – Store defense power.
After brief thought, Louis chose storing attack power.
As a result, she gained attack power of a certain amount.
She could use it at any time, and when consumed, it would gradually return like accumulation.
---
A day later, Louis returned to stage 20.
She executed the same plan again.
She ran.
"10%."
BOOM.
A Deep Monster fell dead.
She didn’t hesitate and ran again.
"10%."
Another monster fell.
Eight more times.
Ten Deep Monsters fell in succession.
Louis stood, breathing deeply.
She narrowed her eyes toward the lake.
It was calmer.
But several shadows were swimming.
"Three, no, four," she whispered.
She no longer had power for another strike. She sat at the side and waited.
Then time ended.
---
A day later, she entered again.
"7%."
BOOM.
The monster fell dead.
Louis smiled, her steps quickened.
"7%."
"7%."
Then... the tenth monster fell.
Louis looked again.
The four monsters in the depths did not come out.
She did not hesitate. She ran.
Step... after step.
Toward the edges of the rocks.
The birds flew again and landed at the lake.
The four sea monsters jumped.
Louis’s steps accelerated.
"7%."
BOOM.
"7%."
BOOM.
"7%."
BOOM.
"7%."
BOOM.
"I did it," Louis whispered with a smile.
But... no notification??
Then...
A single monster from the depths.
{ Deep Monster Leader }
Blue light appeared above its head.
It wasn’t very different from the rest.
The yellow lines surrounding the others were not on it. Instead, it had longitudinal red lines.
"My power is over," Louis whispered angrily.
Then she jumped.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
But the monster... did not budge.
It withstood the powerless strikes.
And again, it returned to the sea.
It kept jumping and jumping.
Louis’s thoughts raced.
"Damn it... one monster."
"Come on, think."
Suddenly, she jumped toward it.
She used her momentum in an attempt to push it out of the water.
She failed.
Again.
She failed.
The monster was tough. Even with 10%, that body would not fall, Louis thought.
Then...
The mission failed again.
---
A day later...
Louis entered again, after deep thinking that lasted hours.
She stood before the lakes, then began again.
The birds landed again.
Near the lake.
The sea monsters rose above the water and jumped.
Louis rushed again.
She jumped.
"5%."
BOOM.
Part of the monster’s body curled.
But... it didn’t die.
"Damn it!" Louis shouted.
At the first moment, her plan to eliminate 14 monsters with 70% of the stacked power had failed.
Then... to use the rest to take down the tough-bodied leader.
She thought quickly.
She looked right and left.
She smiled.
She moved.
And struck again.
"5%."
BOOM.
The monster fell.
Not dead.
"Hehe... it worked," Louis whispered.
Then she rushed again.
"5%."
BOOM.
"5%."
BOOM.
In the sixteenth strike...
Hitting all fourteen monsters.
None of the hits caused death.
But something else did.
Then...
She ran again.
The sounds of birds rose.
The leader jumped.
"Let’s see," Louis whispered.
Then...
She jumped.
"25%."
BOOOOOOM.
The monster’s body curled.
It was driven far away.
Outside the area.
Dead.
{ Mission accomplished successfully }
"Hahaha!" Louis laughed loudly.
Her quick improvised plan... succeeded.
When she used her 5% strikes, the power wasn’t enough to kill the monsters.
However...
With some precision...
5% was completely enough to push them onto land.
The natural enemy of water monsters.
When she pushed out five monsters, she pushed the sixth during that.
The five had already died outside the water.
When she pushed out all fourteen, and rushed to the birds to force the leader out...
The fourteen monsters were already dead.
At that point...
The remaining 25% of power was enough to kill the leader.
