Chapter 13 — Proof

Chapter 13 — Proof

Terror consumed me entirely. I froze where I stood, unable even to activate the Training Room skill. Why? I couldn’t gather my thoughts; fear gripped my whole body so tightly that breathing became hard and thinking nearly impossible. It felt as if Death itself was staring straight at me.

“Hello. You know, yesterday you played us quite well. I almost believed you were just some village boy. A harmless village boy,” came a familiar voice.

Yesterday? What did I do yesterday? The thought flashed through my mind.

No, I hadn’t deceived anyone yesterday. I racked my brain, trying to recall whom I might have tricked, but… nothing. I hadn’t lied to anyone.

“You know,” the same familiar voice said again, “standing there in silence isn’t the best choice for you right now. Turn around—slowly. It’s rude when someone speaks to you and you keep looking the other way. Slowly… or you might lose your head.”

I tensed up and, obeying, slowly turned toward the voice. Damn it—I definitely knew that voice, but the fear strangling me kept my mind from remembering who it belonged to.

When I finally turned and saw the owner of the voice, everything became clear.

It was Rem.
The same girl who had once saved my life. She and her partner Sherial had pulled me from Death’s grasp.

It felt like a long time ago… yet in truth, only one day had passed. Yes—only yesterday I had come to this world. The day had stretched into an eternity for me, turning into a distant memory.

And the reason I hadn’t recognized Rem’s voice at first was simple—her tone now was cold. So cold it seemed made of ice. The Rem standing before me now and the one in my memories felt like two completely different people.

I couldn’t understand why her attitude had changed so drastically. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Yesterday, too… Well, yes, I hadn’t told her I was from another world. Could that be it? Had she somehow found out?

Maybe someone else had arrived here from Earth before me—and done something terrible. That was possible. If a person came to this world with special skills—or worse, if they arrived in their game avatar, keeping all their high levels instead of starting from zero like me—they could easily have brought chaos. They might have turned every native of this world into an enemy.

If something like that had truly happened, it wouldn’t be surprising that anyone from another world would now be seen as a threat. An enemy. There could be many reasons why Earthlings had been branded as dangerous here.

Damn it… how do I get out of this?

“You know, if you keep standing there quietly, you’re just going to die,” Rem said. “But if you tell at least part of the truth, you might have a small chance to live.”

The tone of her voice left no doubt—she meant every word. She could kill me at any moment, and there wasn’t a trace of hesitation in her.

No choice.
I’d just tell her everything truthfully. Then, when the chance came, I’d activate the Training Room and escape.

I couldn’t stay there for long—at best a week, maybe. Food I could do without, but I only had a couple liters of water. Still, inside the Training Room, a week there would be less than an hour in the outside world. That should be enough. Maybe she’d give up, thinking I’d teleported far away.

But… what if that didn’t work? What if she stayed, investigating until the end?

No. I’d just tell her the truth. She wouldn’t kill me right away… right? Maybe she’d take me somewhere—to be judged or interrogated. Perhaps to some inquisition or an order that hunted people from other worlds.

Yes, the best time to run would be while they were transporting me. If I vanished on the road, I’d have a much better chance. They’d assume I’d teleported somewhere else. Yes… that would work.

All right—tell the truth I know. The only question was where to start.

“You know…” I began. “I didn’t mean to lie. I just thought you wouldn’t believe me if I told you I came from another world. So I tried to hide it,” I said, my voice trembling slightly.

Rem watched me in silence. Only a few seconds passed, yet it felt like an eternity.

What else could I say? I scrambled for words, but she spoke first—and her response wasn’t at all what I’d expected.

“So you’re lying again?” Rem’s voice was icy. “Tell me, who would believe someone who suddenly says, ‘I came from another world’? Is that how you plan to explain jumping from level 10 to level 42 in one day? Just because you’re a ‘world-traveler’? Is that supposed to make sense?”

I froze. Even my thoughts stopped. What the hell? I’d thought… she was talking about me being from another world. I’d thought she wanted to kill me for that.

But no.
It was something else entirely.

She wanted to kill me because I’d gained thirty-two levels in one day.

Yesterday, I’d been level 10.
Today, level 42.

No—yesterday I’d been level 0.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Rem said coldly. “Don’t feel like living anymore?”

“I… I can explain,” I managed to stammer.

“If you start babbling again about ‘another world’ or anything like that,” she said, her tone still cold as ice but her stance shifting slightly, “then there’s no point in continuing this conversation.”

Yes—I understood. She could kill me in a heartbeat. Her movements weren’t a threat; they were a silent statement: I’m ready.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I shouted quickly, raising my hands. “I have a second skill! It helps me level up!”

“A skill?” she asked instantly, her voice still sharp but curious.

“Yes! A special skill. It’s called Training Room. When I activate it…” I paused for a heartbeat, then rushed on, speaking faster. “I end up in a stone chamber. The system gives me tasks—different ones, like exercises or training drills. When I complete them, I gain experience points. That’s how I leveled up. That’s how I reached level 42!” The words spilled out almost in one breath.

Damn… will she believe me? What I’d just said sounded even crazier than admitting I was from another world.

“So you expect me to believe that some ‘special skill’ let you rise from level 10 to 42 in a single day?” Rem said coldly. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“No, no, no!” I blurted. “That skill has another effect! Inside the Training Room, time flows differently. It moves two hundred and forty times faster than in the real world. That means one hour here equals two hundred and forty hours there—ten full days! I’ve spent a lot of time inside!” I said, trying my best to sound convincing.

No way… I’m going to die here.

Even if what I’d said was pure truth, it sounded even more absurd than the ‘other world’ story.

Who would ever believe that?

Yes… my only chance was to run—to activate the Training Room and escape. That was the only way to survive.

I stared at Rem’s face—into her eyes.

I’ll make it in time. I’ll teleport before she can strike… right?

Yes. I have to.

When I was already about to activate my skill—

“Prove it,” Rem said.

“What?” I asked, not understanding what she wanted.

“Prove your skill really exists,” she said.

Prove that you possess a skill that lets you level up so quickly.

If it works the way you described, then proving it should be easy, right?

“Prove that your skill is real,” Rem said, her voice like frost.

So, she wanted me to prove that my skill was real. This was my chance. Yes… I had to prove I wasn’t lying.

“Could you put away the sword first, please?” I asked.

She slowly lowered her sword, but her eyes told me clearly—she was ready to strike the moment I tried anything suspicious.

“I’m going to activate the skill now. Please… don’t kill me,” I said, and triggered the Training Room.

In the next instant, I was inside the stone chamber I’d grown so used to. I exhaled sharply and dropped to my knees, sitting on the floor. Instinctively, I touched my neck where the blade had been moments before. My fingers brushed smooth skin—no blood, not even a scratch. Yet I could still feel the memory of that cold steel against my throat.

All right, not important. I’d think about that later. Right now, the main thing was to prove that my skill was real. For that, I needed to complete one more task.

[Quest No. 25]
[Squats — 0 / 2500
Push-ups — 0 / 2500
Jumping Jacks — 0 / 2500
Plank — 0 / 25 min
Sit-ups — 0 / 1500
Sword Swings — 0 / 500]

Almost done.

I checked my remaining mana—just over a thousand. Good. Enough. I created a potion and prepared to drink it. But first… I needed to catch my breath. I was exhausted. Every time my mana recovered to a bit over a thousand, I immediately crafted a Healing Potion to drive away fatigue.

Of course, I wanted to make more, but I couldn’t use the ones stored in the tent. First I had to prove to Rem that my skill was real—that it truly was what allowed me to level up so fast.

Enough delay. I uncorked the flask and drank the potion. Once the weariness faded completely, I’d finish this quest.

…Wait. Something’s wrong.
A strange dizziness washed over me. My head spun. A second later I collapsed onto the stone floor.

“What… is happening?..” I whispered. My body wouldn’t move. Panic gripped me. I couldn’t control my limbs.

Thinking became harder and harder. What’s going on?..

For some reason, my eyelids started to droop, as if invisible fingers were pulling them down. My mind blurred.

My consciousness slowly sank into darkness.