TRAINING
She watched her father stand up and walk to his study room. Ariel Sebastian quickly swallowed her chuck of magical beast meat. She quickly followed her father after using the mouthwash on the table to clean her mouth. She was curious about the mystery gift.
Ariel Sebastian and her father walked in silence to his study room. In the study room, Aiden Sebastian walked to his stack of fine wines. He reached for an old favorite bottle of champagne, unscrewed it, and poured a generous amount into his glass.
'Hmph! What is this wine etiquette? I will never understand it. If you don't want to drink wine, don't bother the wines?' Ariel Sebastian's brow furrowed as she took note of her father's glass, which held only a small amount of wine.
Aiden Sebastian sipped a minuscule amount of wine. He walked to his study desk and sat down. He kept the glass of wine on the desk beside his portable supercomputer.
"Young lady, haa! I guess you will never skip on the promised gift. Let's get done with you. I have a lot of office work to sort out."
'Chirimm'…
Pulling out of a desk drawer. Aiden Sebastian picked up a box. A shiny golden box with runes around it. He handed it over to Ariel Sebastian.
"Take… No one has awakened this dagger since the death of the ninth ancestor. Perhaps you might awaken it."
It was already too late. Ariel Sebastian wasn't paying him attention anymore. Whatever her father was saying was inaudible. Her eyes were glued to the fascinating box.
The box was enticing; she marveled at its ancient design, and curiosity got a hold of her. Ariel Sebastian hurriedly said her thanks and quickly left the study room. Failing to see the once-in-a-century smile of her father.
Like a maiden in love, She swayed from side to side. Ariel Sebastian arrived at her room. She playfully leaped, like a superwoman, and bounced on her bed. She was too lazy to take the ladylike etiquette steps to her bed. F*ck such etiquette! Her body registered a leap. She leaped, not caring at all.
The opening of the gift cover took ages for her, but it was just a moment. There it is, the gift that refused to debut. Ariel Sebastian finally got a glimpse of it.
An ancient Buster Warenski dagger laced with elder futhark century runes. Legend had it that it was one of the knives required by the then-Ancient American bladesmith. An art dagger of ancient European style. Ariel Sebastian fell in love with the dagger at first sight.
She picked the dagger up, rubbing her hands on the dagger. Feeling the creativity, sharpness, and meticulous edges of the dagger. She fixed her eyes on the runes. She tried to understand the writing. Miraculously, she got an added description bonus for the dagger.
'Shua!'
[??? Nightmare (Upgradable lv0)
Runes: Fire, lightning, wind, and darkness.
Created by a master smith from the old American Bladesmith Society, this item has runes added by a Blood Supreme organization dark cult elder to fit her assassination technique. When drawn, blood must spill.]
'Arghhh!!!'
The influx of those words overloaded her mental limit. Ariel Sebastian fell to the ground, shaking heavily as if she were suffering from epilepsy. She recovered after so many minutes, or at least an hour, had been wasted. Recollecting her thoughts, she thought aloud.
"What pain is this? It seems some memories flooded my brain."
'Huh'
"This is a huge encounter. I gained a lot. Am I an assassin now?"
An unclear memory was embedded in her brain with a caution sign of "Baptism to understand."
"I can barely understand ancient runes; it is still unclear."
"Can I also inscribe runes at some other time?" reasoned the bewildered Ariel Sebastian.
["It is possible, home girl. You have V01D space. You can visit to learn. It is an upgradeable little world. It contains a heavenly library."]
["I scourced the Brain Network and gathered all the information on your upcoming baptism. Including pieces of knowledge on Citadel and daily living activities in Eden. To be frank, girl, you are not up to standard. You will die like a chicken. I will draft survival training modules for you."]
"Huh! A chicken. You underestimated me too much. I am a super genius. Strongest among my peers"
["Is that so? Prove your worth within three days."]
["I have activated the V01D training center. The daily task is generated."]
A screen notification pops up in front of Ariel Sebastian.
[System Alert: TASK - SERIES
With gravity, body locks are always active. Completes these exercises daily.
Jogging: 5km every day
Squat and Plank: 30 minutes every day
Push-ups: 1000 every day
Jumping jack and single-leg deadlift: 30 minutes every day
Shoulder stand and Yoga: An hour every day
----
Reward: 50 v01d credits per completion
Punishment: Electrotherapy, if any task is not completed in a day.
----
Completed: 0/5 Time remaining: 5 hours, 23 minutes
Task completed: 0/5
Goodluck]
"What is this? It is new. Are these ancient, legendary exercises? I read a lot about it."
"I will proudly prove you're wrong." Boasted Ariel Sebastian.
[You gained an item.]
[Activating gravity body locks]
"What is this? Why does my body suddenly become heavy? I can barely walk. I feel I will explode." A look of horror was plastered over Ariel Sebastian's face.
["Gravity body locks are activated, girl. You are not allowed to take it off unless permitted. I set the gravity lock to increase gravity automatically any time you tried to cast it off. Happy proving me wrong."]
"What is this reward and punishment? Why do I get electrotherapy for skipping a task and a pitiful 50 v01d credits for completion of the daily task?"
"This is unfair, babe. What are v01d credits?" Ariel Sebastian complained and queried at the same time.
["V01D credit is V01d currency"]
"Oh! Shit, why do I have a countdown timer on the task?"
["The task is active. You have to complete the task before 11:59 p.m. today. Failure will activate electro-therapy punishment."]
"What! But it is already late."
["Huh! You are looking for an excuse. Your personal V01D training center is always open to you. Make use of it."]
"But how?" inquired Ariel Sebastian.
["Just think of V01D training center, home girl."]
"Uhm," a thought surfaces in the mind of Ariel Sebastian.
Shua!!
Ariel Sebastian vanished and appeared in...
A clean, spacious, and magical environment. Designed in a comfortable futuristic setting of the famous cyberpunk infrastructures. Equipped with a command center, exercising center, weapon center, skill training center, a fully equipped medical center, and a lot more...
Ariel Sebastian was captivated by the stylish future setting. Curiosity got a hold of her. Like a kid given a new shiny toy.
[Welcome to the V01D training center.
Terrain reconstructing…
34%... 89%... 100% done.]
A snake path that has been remodeled. The snake paths had maple trees on either side. It was arranged in an orderly fashion. A lot of fallen dead leaves litter the ground. It gave it a perfect autumn scene. The smell of nature occasionally breezes past. Lovely couples will give their all to have a picnic date in this place.
Alas, Ariel Sebastian was not given time to appreciate the scene. She was harshly woken up to reality. A brutal notification.
[Terrain setup…
V01D space undergoing remodeling to fit universe setting...
Drafting the world's blueprints...
Retrieving resources from materials space
It will take four months for completion.
Please exercise patience.]
"REALLY"
["Don't mind the notification, dear. You can begin the first task. I will draft the second training module by tomorrow."]
"Okay… Uhm! What is the first task? Jog 5km. Yo! Easy"
Forty minutes later.
Painting heavenly…
Rapid breathing in and out. Regretting bitterly.
'I have always been a good girl. I don't provoke people unless I am provoked. Why do I have to walk the valley of the shadow of death?'
'What are these gravity body locks? I am dying. Mummy, help me' the frail and feeble Ariel Sebastian murmurs as she slowly completes the 5km jog.
["C'mon, you can do it, girl."]
'Why did this angelic whisper blatantly change to a demonic whisper?' wonders Ariel Sebastian.
Thud
[Jogging: 5km daily is completed.]
"It is done.""
["It's not done. There are..."]
"Seriously, girl, why don't you SHUT THE F*CK UP?" using her first finger in her right hand to cross her lips. Fearing she will get buzzed to death.
Heavily breathing in and out. With a ragged reply, " lettt... mee... rest aaa... liiitleee before iii...continue "
Recovering in five minutes, she continued the exercises.
An hour later,
[Squat and plank are completed.
Jumping jack and single-leg deadlift are completed]
A double completion notification.
At this moment, Ariel Sebastian doesn't need to use a telescope to view the sun and stars. They are so close to her. Her head gave the impression that the sun was shining and that stars were swirling all around it. Whether it is an illusion or not, the only known fact is that she is only a thin, tiny step to the fabled netherrealm because of exhaustion.
She worked hard to beat time. Her consciousness was being a nuisance. It kept reminding her of the punishment awaiting her. Her survival instinct was maxed out. She never intended to experience the deadly word electrotherapy. Pronouncing it is domineering enough, and every cell, nucleus, or whatever she was made up of is warning her to steer clear of it.
Tick tack... Time flies
[Shoulder stand and Yoga are completed.]
She finally heard the last devilish notification. Her joy knew no bounds. Like a dying Norman in a desert whose hope of living is far spent, he or she stumbled upon water in a magical oasis with fresh fruits and a magical pot of boiling, mouth-watery dishes being cooked. To be frank, no choice of words can do justice to her state.
There she was, the last exercise. Either she makes it or she gets punished. A thousand pushups. She regretted bragging. She thought herself to be a chicken. Nevertheless, she won't give up. She has to overcome all hurdles to stand at the apex of all living beings. She has to grasp and steer her destiny, not have someone do that for her. She knows this is just the start. If she follows the processes of E-novels, more harsh training will be assigned in the future. Her part of greatness will never be smooth.