You’re Already Gold Layer, Aren’t You?

"Hey Paradox, wouldn't it be amazing to actually be free from this? To find a cure? You know, just walk around without having to think about being eaten alive?"

A woman's voice called out to me asking all these questions. I turned to look around and I noticed that I was lying down with both my hands behind my head. After observing the place even more, I noticed that I was on a hill watching a beautiful sunset. Beside me was a woman who was sitting while hugging her knees. She was watching the breath-taking view with awe. This was truly an amazing sight to see. The atmosphere around us was really warm. Even if the sunset took my breath away, I was still distracted by Toni's beauty. She was really something. It made me smile.

"I wonder what it would look like…" she continued to ponder.

I tried answering her questions but to my dismay, my voice was not coming out. Soon I realized that I couldn't move as well. I slightly panicked. Why was this happening? Am I paralyzed? Then the scene in front of me started to change. The place was now covered in darkness. And Toni was now gone. I could now move, so I stood up and began search for her. There was no sign of her. The place was just a vast grassy place on a hill.

"Paradox…" A voice called out from behind me.

I turned around to see who it was. It was Toni. But when I looked a little closer, I fell on the ground as I was terrified on what I saw. The beauty of the person that I was admiring was now gone. She was now limping and was full of blood. The face that once had a bubbly color was now thin and pale.

"Paradox… the timeline is screwed up… don't follow the previous jump's plan…" She instructed.

"Please… just strengthen everyone and protect each other… don't let anyone else die…" She continued.

I didn't want to believe her words. But she looked a little bit older than the current Toni. Then the plan is now a bust. So I have to make another plan again. But that wasn't the point. How is she able to tell me this now? And if this isn't our Toni, then where's the real one?

She smiled before saying, "Paradox… I love you…"

I tried to reply but I couldn't speak again. What is going on? The scene in front of me was now slowly fading. Oh no… what's going to happen now? Please wait… I have to tell her that I love her too! Wait! Toni!

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"Toni! Wait!" I yelled.

I could finally speak… But I wasn't on the hill anymore but was inside a room. It was empty and all it had were bunk beds. There were a total of 8 bunk beds. Overall, there were 16 beds to sleep on. I tried pinching myself. The pain seemed real.

Was it a dream after all?

Suddenly, the door busted open and people were rushing inside. The once quiet room was now rowdy. They were calling out to me and were now heading towards me.

"Boss! You're finally awake! *SOB*" Shadow said before jumping on top of me. She then started crying on my chest while she was hugging me tightly. She must have been worried about me. I was probably out for a week or so…

"You're finally awake… we were so worried about you…" Kaizer said.

Yeah… I can tell that he was really worried… And how come he looks older now? And how did he grow that beard?

"I'm fine… No need to get worked up guys… As you can see, I'm well now." I tried cheering them up.

Toni came in to check on me. But she was silent the entire time. Then, silence filled the room. The silence was deafening to the point that if a pin was dropped you could hear it. I looked at everyone and their faces were really gloomy and depressed.

"What's wrong? Why is everybody so down right now?" I asked

There was no answer…But Fairy soon looked at me and she tried to force a smile. She then asked.

"Paradox… how long did you think you were asleep?"

"I don't know… a week? 2 weeks?" I replied

Everybody didn't react. Their faces were becoming gloomier now.

"Okay… what's going on? Why are you all acting this way? You're creeping me out…" I said

There was no answer from them. Why were they like this? Seriously… the thrill is killing me! Can't they just tell me directly? So what if I was in a coma for a week or 2 weeks. It won't change anything. Right?

Finally, after a long agony of silence, Toni finally spoke.

"Paradox… you were in a coma for 6 months…"

There was silence after she spoke…

6 months? I was asleep for 6 months how can that be?! It only felt like a week! The group must have seen my reaction so they handed me a mirror for me to see myself. I was about to look at myself when Jaden stopped me.

"Listen… boss… just don't be too shocked… your body might still be too weak." Jaden said.

I gave her nod. She removed her hand from the mirror and I lifted it up. What I saw shook me up. What I saw was a man with very pale skin. My hair already reached my shoulders and my face was really thin. I couldn't even say that this was me. Was this really me?

"We should give you time to process things…" Shine suggested. She was now becoming more mature with her judgment. What I really need right now was the time to take it all in. This is all strange to me. After she suggested it, everyone started leaving the room, all except for Toni.

She turned towards me and smiled weakly. "Come find me when you feel like coming out, okay?" She said in a sad tone. I gave her a nod as a response. After that nightmare, I had to find her. But the truth was I wasn't ready to get out yet. In reality, I can feel that my body was still too weak to even stand up. I could barely feel my legs. Letting everyone worry after waking up from a coma was the last thing I had in mind. Knowing that I was currently in a helpless situation, I decided to continue resting. Everything else can wait.

The next day, the smell of pancakes and bacon was roaming in the air. I jolted up and saw that it was prepared on the table beside me.

"These guys…" I muttered as I shook my head with a smile on my face.

I finished everything up as fast as I could. Man! It really felt good to eat after being asleep for so long. The meal was really satisfying and delicious. When I was finally full, I put the tray aside and slowly headed to the bathroom. The walk towards it was agonizing. My legs couldn't fully support my body yet so I fell to the ground a couple of times. Even my arms had a hard time carrying my weight as I used them to help myself up.

After a while, I finally reached the bathroom. And I saw that my face was getting its color and shape back. Wow, all it took was a night's rest? What am I superhuman?

At this point, I probably am…

I took a pair of scissors from the first aid cabinet and started cutting my hair.

After a few snips… okay… a lot of snips, I finally was able to trim my hair to its old look. It's not perfect but it was decent. I then took a shower and searched for some clean clothes and before I knew, I could finally walk properly but not to the point of being able to run yet.

I went through the hallways and after a few dead ends I finally reached the kitchen. Everyone was there having their meal. They looked tired and sweaty giving an obvious sign that they came from training.

"Hey! Look who finally decided to show up?" Kaizer said cheerfully while giving me a bear hug.

"Nice to be back… Although… I think you need a shower." I teased.

"HA-HA… very funny. I'll have you know that while you were busy playing sleeping beauty, we have been training our butts off. Now, Toni, Fairy and I are already in the Gold layer of cultivation!" He happily said.

Golden layer?! Wow! I guess they didn't slack off huh? It took us a full year to reach Bronze layer in the previous jump. Now, they did it in less than a year. I guess I shouldn't be surprise. After jumping so much, they should have taken a full understanding on how to cultivate.

I guess I need to catch up huh?

On one of the corners of the room, I spotted Toni leaning on the wall and crossing her arms while looking at me seriously.

While everyone was still talking, I didn't mind them as I watched her walk out of the room. I then excused myself from everyone and decided to follow her to the hallways.

"Toni! Hey! Wait up!"

She then stopped with her back facing me.

"You said to come find you if I decide to come out, right? So I'm here. What now?"

"Let's not talk here. Follow me." She replied in a flat tone.

Okay… this was definitely giving me the creeps. Did I do something wrong? Probably not, since I was asleep for half a year.

After following her for a while, we arrived in one of the training rooms of the bunker. It was wide enough, probably around 500sqm. Enough to allow you to go all out when you were sparring with someone.

"What's up? Why bring me here?"

She didn't say anything.

"Toni…Are you mad or something? Why aren't you–?"

But before I was even able to finish my question she suddenly turned around with an angry look and started threw a fist towards my face. But it seemed to slow down and before I knew it, the punch that was about to hit me stopped midair, and then, I looked towards her and her expression was angry but… it was frozen.

What's going on?

"Toni? You okay?"

No reaction came from her.

I walked beside her wand waved my hand in front of her face.

She was really frozen? This is so weird. What's going on?

[System Online]

Woah! What?

[Welcome back host.]

Are you the… thing that helped me when I was in trouble?!

[The host is correct]

Then do you know what's happening right now?

There wasn't any response any response.

Another thought came into mind. Why did I have a system? Didn't the system come online during the Gold Layer of Cultivation? If my memory is correct, I'm still in the Stone Layer. It's impossible for me to have the system. Yet, it appeared and functioned correctly. It even saved my life. So how come?

[Analysis Confirmed]

So? What's going on?

[The host is using his mega skill to be in this state.]

What? Skill? What skill? I'm still at the peak of a Stone level! How could I have a skill?! And how in the world can I have a skill and the system at the same time while I'm still at a Stone level?

But before the system could reply, Toni started moving again. She was shocked that she was punching the air and almost tripped. But the shockwave that was sent from the punch left a mark on a wall just in front of her.

Yikes! If I was hit with that, I probably wouldn't make it.

"How did you get there?!" She asked

"I- I don't know." I lied.

How could I tell her that I used my skill when she knows that I'm still on the layer of Stone? She'd probably freak out!

"You're lying!" She yelled while throwing another punch at me.

Geez! Can't she chill out just for a second?! I'm also processing things here!

I blocked her right punch by swatting it away. But she used that force to do a turn-around punch. But I blocked it and I could feel a shockwave exploding from where our hands collided. Her back was facing against me while I was holding her right arm to prevent her from moving.

"Stop this Toni! I really don't know what you are trying to say!" I explained.

But she was deaf towards me right now. This girl did a bicycle kick and tried to hit me on the head but I blocked it again. The power from the kick was so strong that I was forced to kneel on one knee.

"That's it!" I exclaimed.

I grabbed her leg and pinned her down. She was now under me while I was on top of her. I made sure to hold both of her hands down as well.

"I knew it…" She said in a calm voice.

"What are you talking about?" I asked

"You're already in the Gold Layer, aren't you?" She inquired.

"NO! Of course not! How could that possibly happen when I was in a coma for the last six months?!" I said.

"Don't lie to me! Only a Gold or an Obsidian Layer can stop those moves! Even a Silver Layer won't be able to stop it!

At this point, even I was confused. A lot has happened and it would probably not make a lot of sense at the moment. Me? A Gold Layer? No way! How could this possibly happen? Even if I had an upgrade with my attributes, it would be impossible to match a person on the Gold Layer.

[The Host's comrade is right. The Host has indeed reached the Gold Layer.]

Oh my goodness! What?!

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