Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
The floor underneath Mu Fan’s feet turned into mixed alloy, and the same spotlight shined on him again. He could only see within ten meters of distance, and it was darkness all around him. Redness flashed across Mu Fan’s eyes, and he synced his ability to see clearly in the darkness through neurological synchronization. However, he still couldn’t see anything within the darkness.
Mu Fan’s heart lurched as he thought, this virtual world can always awe and shock people.
“You’re early.” A deep voice sounded from behind.
Mu Fan was surprised. Although he was already on guard, he still couldn’t sense this person’s existence.
As if the Gladiator in the shadows knew what Mu Fan was thinking, he said, “Don’t be nervous. Yesterday’s session was only a warmup gift. The real training begins today.”
Mu Fan turned around and widened his eyes to stare into the darkness.
He could only see a shadow as the Gladiator didn’t walk into the spotlight.
“Interesting boy, you want to see what I look like?” That person sounded amused as if he was entertained by Mu Fan’s action.
“I can’t see you clearly,” Mu Fan answered honestly.
Two dots of green suddenly appeared in the darkness, and they were his eyes! They quietly stared in Mu Fan’s direction.
The Gladiator’s figure slowly started to appear. Even though he was still standing in the darkness, Mu Fan was able to use his own ability to sketch out the outline of this person. However, he still couldn’t see the face! All Mu Fan could see was the greenness in his eyes underneath the cloak.
The Gladiator was covered in his oversized and worn-out cloak, different from the other characters who Mu Fan had encountered in the PO Battle Network. At a closer distance, Mu Fan noticed that the fabric was quite thick and rough, and it had various faint marks left by blades, creating uneven thin cracks on the cloak.
This person had metal gauntlets on both of his hands as they rested at his sides, and it seemed like he was purposely showing the short metal short staff in his right hand. Mu Fan could clearly see the heavy ends of the short staff itself, and a faint green light wrapped around the complicated patterns on it. No, the green light was also present on the metal gauntlets around his hands, and the color was dimmer. The rest of this person’s body was hidden underneath the cloak.
The Gladiator was just standing there, but Mu Fan felt like he was facing a martial arts master who transcended time and space as this man emitted a vicissitude of history and iron-bloodedness.
Astonishment! This person was the first one who gave Mu Fan such immense pressure, especially that he was a virtual character in the PO Battle Network as well.
It felt more than real. Did Black arrange this for him? Black had been stringing Mu Fan along whether it was the tone or their conversation.
“Good day, Instructor Gladiator,” Mu Fan nodded and greeted with respect without thinking further.
“Great.” The person spoke with a deep and hoarse voice that could pierce through hearts like a sharp saber.
“You’re weak.” The person set the tone of the conversation, ignoring the deniel in Mu Fan’s eyes. “I could kill you 1,000 times with the same staff. Do you believe me?”
Mu Fan, who was about to refute, was at a loss for words as he believed that this person could! However, he still didn’t give in.
The two dots of green flashed when the Gladiator saw Mu Fan’s expression, and he spoke again in his deep voice, “It’s good to have a desire for advancement.”
That figure had his hands behind his back as he paced around, but his voice reached Mu Fan’s ear clearly, “You’ll slowly understand the difference between us.” He paused a bit and continued saying, “However, from today on, as long as you don’t give up, I will train you to become stronger until you eventually surpass me…”
“Any questions?” The figure turned around and locked his gaze onto Mu Fan.
“No.” Mu Fan wasn’t a fan of talking.
“Good. Then, we’ll begin the first training session today, and I’ll teach you for two hours every day. This is the virtual world, so I can only teach you techniques, all sorts of techniques… However, this would all be pointless if you can’t keep up with the intensity of muscle training in real life.” The short staff in the Gladiator’s right hands suddenly started to spin. Although the speed was slow, it was spinning steadily, and Mu Fan noticed that this man’s fingers in the gauntlet barely moved.
“However, you’re not in the right state right now.” As his words dropped, the Gladiator’s right hand struck out like a thunderbolt at a speed that was multiple times faster than the rubber bullets in the gravitational room.
Mu Fan didn’t even see an afterimage before his vision was filled by the thick short staff. It was less than a centimeter away from Mu Fan’s forehead.
Mu Fan held back the discomfort he had felt in his forehead and treated the figure before him as a real person instead of a virtual one. He looked down in respect and said, “I’ve been troubled since yesterday.”
“Speak.” It was one simple word.
“I’m debating about something, and I wish to have your advice.”
“Alright.” The Gladiator nodded.
“I’m a practice partner,” Mu Fan said with his eyes staring brightly at the Instructor before him. “But I want to stand up for my friend.”
“Haha,” the Gladiator laughed as if he had heard something funny, and his voice pierced through the darkness as he said, “Just do it if you’re capable, and don’t try if you’re not. There’s nothing to hesitate about before such a simple question.”
“So, the reason why you’re asking me is that you’re anxious about what to do after you do it?” Like a wise senior, the Gladiator saw the truth.
“Let me ask you, what does it mean to be powerful?”
Mu Fan shook his head. He was only 17 years old, and he didn’t quite understand what the Gladiator meant behind his words.
“You must know Black, and I know the relationship between you two. Black had asked me to teach you.”
Mu Fan finally felt like he had someone to talk to, and he poured out the words in his mind. “I want to become stronger, and I’ve never felt such an intense desire before today. Instructor, please teach me!”
“Can you defeat your opponent?” the Gladiator asked softly.
“I can!” Mu Fan said without a doubt! He had a rough estimate of what level his opponent was at.
“If you can… Then go. How can you call yourself a man if you don’t dare to do such a small thing. I’m only reminding you to use your mind as well. The truly powerful people have strong minds and fists. Of course, this is just my advice, and Black had already thought about what to do if the worst is to occur.” The Gladiator’s tone sounded indifferent and calm, and his last sentence sensed to contain a special meaning.
“Go ahead!”
What to do suddenly became clear to Mu Fan
Then go!!! All the anxieties that he was feeling were gone.
All of a sudden, Mu Fan’s wristband beeped, notifying him that someone was calling for him in real life.
It’s here! Mu Fan’s heart settled down as he looked up at the Gladiator who was his instructor. “I need to go offline now, Instructor.”
The dark-green eyes stared at Mu Fan for a while before Gladiator turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
When Mu Fan’s figure also disappeared, a voice came from the darkness. “Childish boy… But I like him.”
…
The moment that Mu Fan took off his helmet, he heard the non-stopping notifications coming from the speaker in the room. It was repeating the same thing. “Practice Partner Mu Fan, please pick up ASAP.”
“I’m Mu Fan, what’s up?”
“Come to the fourth floor.”
“Okay!”