Chapter 256. Merry's training

POV: Merry

I was surrounded by darkness.

The room that I was in, was very large and the uneven ground didn't help with my worries.

But my breath was steady and calm when suddenly a small glow appeared on my right arm, and I raised my fist at unbelievable speeds to catch an arrow as big as me.

Before I could enjoy the moment, I jumped backwards, barely dodging an arrow that cracked the ground.

I didn't stay in place and threw the arrow that I had in my hand to my left, which made the sound of 2 metals colliding.

That clash made a small spark that briefly lit the room, and I saw 3 more arrows coming towards me.

With practiced movements, I jumped from side to side and dodged everything.

"Looks like the arrows won't work on me anymore."

I yelled at the darkness.

But the only response I got, was the sound of something breaking and then blocks of sand falling.

"Shii-"

I suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree and ran to the edge of the room.

I knew I was at the correct place when I hit the wall with my face.

But even though it was a painful experience, it was better than being buried alive.

Now that the ceiling was gone, light illuminated the room, and I could see a group of iron golems holding huge bows with custom-made arrows.

If one managed to hit my head, I would've died instantly.

They were so powerful that iron armor was useless for them, and you could take some heavy damage in diamond armor.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, only the iron golems were strong enough to use those bows, so the soldiers were very loyal to us.

From the hole in the ceiling, a shadow jumped on the blocks of sand.

It was none other than my trainer, the creator of this insane room, and the adviser of this kingdom, Aisha.

"Did you say the arrows don't work on you anymore? Maybe I should increase the difficulty then."

The only response I could give was tense silence.

Seeing that she didn't get the reaction she wanted, I was left alone for today, which made me sigh in relief.

"How's Daniel's project coming along?"

I asked while enjoying the sun on my skin, and trying to change the subject.

"The Crystal is a truly fascinating item. He managed to create a few monsters as powerful as the Monster Lords, but unfortunately, they don't have special abilities. From what Steve told us, it's because we don't know how to properly use the energy of this world."

Ever since Alex worked with Steve, she has become more distant from us.

It's not like we had a deep connection beforehand, but she did use to say hy to me in the Chat.

Now, I can barely hear from her, and when I do, it's about the progress she made with Trader.

I don't think she has a crush on him, she's more like Solomon when he found a really good project. He ignores everyone around him, and acts without basic manners.

Steve also changed.

When we first got him, he was very social and wanted to find out more about people, but after spending more time with Alex, he only talks if it's necessary.

I think when the 2 of them are together, they become the old System, and if you keep them apart, they are back to being humans.

Unfortunately, I can't test my theory since we really need them as the System right now, and not as humans.

"How's Trader's training going? Does he need a sparing partner?"

I've been training nonstop for the past few months, but it was all weird so I don't know my actual strength.

It started from fighting with monsters without armor while being blindfolded, to fighting with enchanted iron golems with only fists or a wooden sword.

I cannot stress enough how nightmarish and unreasonable were the training regimes this woman gave me.

I even tried to challenge her to fight one time, but was flat-out refused since she knew she would be losing, so there was no point in doing it!

I was so happy to hear that but also frustrated that I didn't have someone to point my anger towards.

The Iron Golems were good at the beginning, but now that I knew all of their moves, they were only walking punching bags.

Some soldiers with enchanted diamond armor were next, but they were worse than the Iron Golems!

Sure, they could plan and use techniques to attack me. But I was way faster and stronger than them, so it was useless against me.

That is why I was hoping I would get the chance to challenge Trader.

His weapon is dangerous for sure, but just like the soldiers, there was no point in having it, if he couldn't hit me.

Aisha looked at me with a raised eyebrow, like she knew what I was thinking.

Then a smile appeared on her lips, which gave me the creeps since she only does that when I'm going to suffer a lot in training.

"From what I heard, he's in the Nether and we can't get in contact with him. But, Alex told me that we can use the training buddy he used instead."

Training buddy?

I don't know who that could be...I don't see Steve and Alex accepting Daniels's monsters with how much they insulted them.

And I don't think the people from the Nather have enough free time to visit us so casually, especially with their curse.

"I guess that's good?"

"Perfect, because I texted Alex to make a portal for us to get there."

"What, now?! I didn't-"

My voice was interrupted by the space that split in front of us, it showed some white planes, that shocked both of us.

"Are you coming or not?"

A voice yelled from the other side.

With hesitant steps, we crossed the portal, and we found ourselves in a completely white space.

I turned around, and the portal was gone, but now I could see the huge block that looked like it belonged to a computer, and right beside it was a replica of it, only smaller.

Now that I was thinking about it, this was the same place I first met the System.

I wonder where that huge glowing body was?

"Welcome to our new home! Or should we say old?"

Alex welcomed us warmly, while Steve gave us the cold shoulder as always.

"Alex! Long time no see! How have you been?"

"I'm very good Merry, thanks for asking. I have a lot of fun in here, and I couldn't have done it without your help!"

Aisha was still observing the place with interest, so It was my job to continue the conversation.

I didn't really mind, it's been a while since I've talked with a woman besides my teacher.

"I'm glad to hear that. By the way, where is the body of the System? Or did you use it to make something else?"

Alex seemed confused by my question before realizing what I was referring to, and pointed at the huge block beside her.

"This is the original body. Who you've been seeing was the bodyguard of the body."

That huge glowing angel was just a bodyguard?!

"Well, let's ignore that for a moment and get to the real reason you're here."

After she said that, she turned around with excitement and put her hands on the huge cube.

Steve let out a loud sigh and did the same as her.

Suddenly I felt like I was floating in the air.

"Merry, are you ok?!"

Aisha yelled in panic for some reason, but once I turned around, I realized why.

While I was floating, I wasn't doing that with my body, since it was lying down like a corpse.

I tried to look at my hands to see if I didn't die by accident, but then came my second shock.

Fingers.

I haven't seen them in 2 years.

Not only that, but I had round legs, hips, and even a big chest.

This was my old body before I transferred into this world.

"Wow, I already saw Traders Soul, and it looked equally weird. But you look a little more different than him. Your proportions are all wrong, is everyone like you?"

"Alex, are you trying to kill my disciple in front of my eyes! I won't go easy on you, even if you are the last key to save the world!"

Aisha took out a Netherite sword and was ready to attack Alex.

This wasn't good. She's still grieving after Omar, so I believe she'll keep her word if Alex won't get me back to normal.

Suddenly, the System appeared in front of Alexa and Steve with a glowing sword in its hand.

The pressure it gave off was beyond what I could imagine, it made my very soul tremble with fear.

And it was the same size as all of us!

"I don't know who you are, but I'll kill you if you get in my way!"

Does that woman know no fear?!

"Calm down Aisha! Merry is not dead, we only needed to see the shape of her soul so we could build her a new body! She'll be back to normal in no time."

Aisha narrowed her eyes and let down her sword but didn't put it back, which meant that she was still suspicious of them.

Seeing that Aisha wasn't in a mood to joke, Alex went back to the cube and put her hands on it.

A few moments later, I saw something apperead besides my lifeless body.

It was another me, but this one had blue skin.

"Uhh, Alex! I think you picked the wrong colour for my body. You see, I'm still a human, not a squid."

"Don't worry, it's supposed to look like this. You'll see soon why."

Then, I felt that was being pushed into the blue body.

When I opend my eyes, I could see the white planes like normal, but this time, there was twist.

If I squinted my eyes, I could see floating numbers and letter all over the place.

My eyes weren't the only ones that changed. I felt more powerful and faster!

It was like I had my toatoos activated.

I looked at my arms and body, and saw that they weren't there anymore.

Makes sense, those tattoos were engraved on my body, not my soul, so I had to remake them.

"This body is amazing Alex, but I still don't see why it needs to be blue as well?"

Seeing that Aisha didn't have the sword out anymore, Alex calmed down and spoke comfortably with me once again.

"Well, try to put an enchantment on you."

"I don't have the tools with me right now, so you'll have to wait until I get back."

"No silly, you don't need those anymore. If you imagine the enchantment on your body, it would be done. Just be careful to be very precise on what you'll want, otherwise it would mess you up."

That sounded very dangerous, and I didn't know if I should try it.

But even Steve and Aisha looked at me with expectations, so I had to do it.

I closed my eyes, and imagined the speed enchantment on my right arm.

I've seen the tattoo light up countless times, so it was an easy task for me.

When I opened my eyes, I saw how a wave of numbers and letters were surrounding my arm.

After a few moments, the wave disappeared, and the tattoo lit up with a red light.

I could feel the enchantment running through my body, and realize that it was more effective then what I previously had.

"This is amazing!"

I began to run all over the white planes at unbelievable speeds.

"Right! Trader had a fun device that gathered the ambient energy in one point, so I made your body do something similar to that. Not only that, but you can erase, and put up to 10 enchantments on your body. That's why you're blue, you're basically a living lapis block."

This made me stop from my mad dush.

If I was this powerful with only one enchantment, how powerful could I be with 9 more?

"Why don't we try your new powers with that golden creature over there."

Aisha was back to her creepy smile, which made me shiver.

She wanted me to fight the System?!

Was she mad?

"That's exactly what I thought! Well get some valuable data out of this."

Why was Alex on the same page as her?!

I wanted to release some stress, not get some more!

I wanted to run away, but unfortunately, I didn't know where the exit was, so I was stuck once again.