Chapter 2 — The Best Skill

Chapter 2 — The Best Skill

Yes, yes. Finally, I am free, he thought.
No more working twelve hours a day. Three or four hours of travel each way. Waking up early in the morning. And no more boss’s curses.

He was extremely happy. He jumped and waved his arms like a child.
After a little while, he calmed down.

First, I must find some kind of town or village, he thought.

He looked around. The valley was about thirty to thirty-five meters wide. A river about five meters wide ran through the center. On each side of the river, there were banks covered with soft grass, about twelve to fifteen meters wide. Both banks ended with high cliffs — over ten meters tall.

He looked at the cliffs behind him and tried to climb them, but he could not. He tried several times.

It seems that I will not be able to get out of here that way, he said to himself.
So, the path is either upstream or downstream.

Wait! If this world is like a game, if I leave this place, I will most likely meet monsters. And right now, I am level zero, without any weapons.

So, I will definitely die.

And if this is the real world, I will most likely die forever.
So, I do not have any weapons or attack skills, he said, looking at his status window.
And this skill, the special skill... Training Room. Yes, it is similar to that useless skill that has been added recently in many virtual reality games. But they said it was a useless skill, and nobody used it. It was added on the government’s suggestion to improve the health of players.

The essence was that this skill leveled up when you trained in the real world. Nothing complicated. It looked like simple training: squats, push-ups, lifting dumbbells, probably. Everything happened near the gamepad — that is, the virtual reality equipment.

If you completed a certain level, and the skill level advanced to the next, you would get a considerable amount of experience points. But almost nobody used it. So this skill was considered useless, one could say.

Oh… This skill feels as if it was made specifically for this situation. It is exactly what I need right now, he said.

And how do I use it?

He thought about the skill — and in the next moment, he found himself in a room that looked like a gym. Inside, there were dumbbells, a barbell, various training machines, and even a treadmill. There was one of each, except for the dumbbells — naturally, there were two of those.

The room was about eight meters long and four meters wide. The ceiling was nearly three meters high — tall and spacious. On one side of the room, there was a window, through which soft daylight shone. It seemed to face outside.

He walked over to it. Through the window, he could see only white clouds. No ground, no horizon — just clouds and light. Everything else faded into brightness.

He turned around and began carefully inspecting the room. It looked like a fully functional gym — compact, but complete. Everything was clean, new, and felt entirely real.
There was no door in the room — only a large window.

He walked over to the dumbbells and tried to lift one. His arm tensed, but he managed to lift it with one hand. On the side, it read: 10 kg. Apparently, the weight could not be adjusted — it was a single, solid cast piece.

He moved to the barbell. There, on the end, was also an inscription: 50 kg.

What, fifty on each side? That would be a hundred, he frowned.

But when he gripped the bar and carefully lifted it, he succeeded.

So it is fifty in total after all.

He set it back down and straightened up.

At that moment, a message appeared on the opposite wall. It was as if part of the wall had become a screen:

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Level 1
Progress: 0% / 100%

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The bar and numbers glowed with a steady, soft light. Nothing had changed yet — but it was clear that the skill was active and waiting for the real training to begin.

He took a deep breath.
All right… let us see how this works.

He walked over to the dumbbells, picked one up, and started lifting. One, two… By the eighth repetition, his muscles were already burning, and he barely managed to complete the tenth lift. That was enough.

He set the dumbbell down, caught his breath, and looked at the display on the wall.

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Progress: 12% / 100%

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Whoa, he breathed. Only ten reps, and already twelve percent? That is fast…

He decided to try the barbell. He lifted it once, carefully. Then again. On the third lift, he felt that was enough — he did not want to strain himself on the first day. He lowered the barbell and stepped back.

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Progress: 25% / 100%

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Looks like experience builds up quickly on the first level. That is a relief.

He smiled. At least something here was under his control.

He rested for a bit, then did a few more exercises — some squats, stretches, and side bends. Everything was difficult; his body was not yet used to the strain, but he pushed through with determination.

When he completed the fifth set with the barbell, a bright glow flashed across the wall.

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Progress: 100% / 100%
Level Completed.
Reward: 10,000 Experience Points.

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I did it… he whispered, feeling his heartbeat quicken. At that moment, he felt a strange warmth inside — as if a surge of energy had passed through his body.

He opened his status window — and saw that exactly ten thousand experience points had been added. It was his first real reward in this world.

He sat down on the floor and wiped his forehead.

If every level gives experience… maybe I really can rise up with this skill, he said, staring up at the ceiling.

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Name: Alisar
Level: 0
Rank: 0
HP: 1,090 / 1,090
MP: 1,000 / 1,000

Strength: 47
Defense: 30
Speed: 32
Intellect: 41
Magic Power: 24
Magic Defense: 35
Free Attribute Points: 0

Skills: —
Special Skills:
— Training Room (Level 2)

Unused Experience Points: 10,000

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Oh, so I have to use experience points myself? he wondered. What else are experience points for, besides knowing your level?

He recalled:
Ah yes, in some games you could spend experience points to develop skills. But I have no skills except the “Training Room.”

And this skill, it seems, does not develop from experience points — it gives experience points, he thought.

Well then, let us continue training. While I still have strength, he told himself.

He wondered how many experience points he could earn and resolutely continued his training.