Chapter 8: Transformation

Nori laughed softly and reassured him that this was a rare opportunity.

“If it’s that good, why isn’t it more popular?” Paul asked.

“Well, people in your situation are quite rare.”

“My situation?”

“Being a ranked guild member who hasn’t learned how to fight yet. Many people train from a young age with different teachers so they can join a guild.”

“I see…”

As they walked in, they greeted the old lady and asked if the fighting test facility was free. With a suspicious look, she nodded in agreement. Nori smiled and led Paul further back through some doors. They arrived at the back of the facility, where Paul saw a huge cube with a small door and a small crystal next to it. Nori enjoyed shocking Paul. She chuckled and said,

“This is your new teacher. You’ll be learning how to fight here for the next period of time.”

“It’s a big cube with a door. It looks like a prison.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. This is a magical building that… I won’t ruin the surprise.”

“Nori?!”

“Calm down… don’t worry.”

“I can’t calm down seeing you smile like that.”

“There are a few things you need to know before entering.”

“What?”

Paul looked at Nori with suspicion as she chuckled.

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“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll like this. I promise.”

*sigh* “I understand.”

“To enter through the door, you need guild points. The more guild points you use, the longer you can stay inside. It costs one guild point per hour. When you touch the crystal, you choose the type of weapon you want. Then the door opens.”

“I understand.”

Paul headed to the crystal, and as Nori left, she yelled,

“And remember, you can’t get hurt inside or die!”

Paul looked back and yelled, “What is that supposed to mean?!” But Nori was already gone. Paul gathered his courage and approached the crystal. The crystal scanned his stats, and a large array of weapons appeared in front of him—swords, knives, daggers, bows, and even some strange weapons. He liked the idea of using swords but realized they might attract too much attention. Remembering that Rocka also used a sword, he quickly removed swords from his options. Then he saw the daggers and liked the idea. Deciding that dual-wielding daggers would make him look cooler, he selected that option. As soon as he chose dual-wielding daggers, the door opened, and the guild points were deducted.

He peered inside and saw that the interior of the cube was larger than the exterior. The terrain was flat and empty. At the entrance on the ground were two daggers. Seeing that no one was inside, he went in, and the door closed behind him. He looked at the daggers suspiciously before picking them up. As soon as he did, something began to form in front of him.

Within 30 seconds, a replica of himself from Earth appeared in front of him, holding two daggers like his. The replica looked just like him, except it was naked and as smooth as a Ken doll. Paul was shocked by this sight.

The two stood still, staring at each other. Paul, thinking this would be easy, let out a small “heh.” The doll, as if sensing Paul’s thoughts, started attacking him. Paul froze, unsure how to react, until a knife cut deep into his arm. Paul screamed out loud, but when he looked at the wound, there was nothing there. Meanwhile, the doll continued attacking. The doll had no skills; it was just like Paul, thinking and moving like him, but without hesitation or fear. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

As the doll kept attacking and Paul was hit multiple times, the pain felt real. Frustrated by constantly dodging, Paul decided to attack. He started to strike back, but the doll dodged narrowly. Paul didn’t manage to scratch the doll. After several hours of being hit by attacks that would have been fatal, Paul began to scratch the doll more often and evade attacks better. He was improving.

After 14 hours, the door opened, and Paul walked out, exhausted. He only emerged because he was worn out, while the doll seemed unaffected. Paul had become slower and increasingly frustrated, leading to more frequent “deaths” and his eventual exit.

He dropped to the floor and looked at the cube. The door was closed, and the daggers had disappeared. On the door was the number 232-0. Paul instinctively knew this was his death count versus the doll’s. Embarrassed by the number, he felt shame. Then he checked his updates and felt a little better.

**Stats Update**

Due to your actions since the last time you checked, you have increased the following stats:

+10 Agility

+20 Endurance

+10 Stamina

+20 Fighting Spirit

**Skills Update**

Because of your actions since the last time you checked, you have acquired the following skill:

- Dual Wielding Daggers

He went to the inn to eat, as he was starving. After eating, he went to talk to Nori at the brothel. Nori saw him approaching and chuckled.

“So, how did it go? Did it hurt?”

“I died… a lot.”

“Don’t worry, everyone goes through that at first. Even those who know how to fight die about 20 times after 10 hours.”

“…..I died 200 times.”

At this, Nori started shaking, trying to stifle her laughter. Seeing her attempt to control her amusement, Paul felt better and decided, “I will definitely kill that stupid doll.” After she stopped laughing, Nori tried to comfort Paul.

“That doll is you without fear or hesitation. What that doll can do, you can do as well. The doll gets your stats each time you enter and stays at that level until you enter again.”

“How long can I stay inside?”

“So far, the official record is 20 hours. But after 24 hours, the door opens and your copy disappears. One advantage of this method is that no one can enter, hear, or see inside the cube while someone is inside.”

“That’s good… really good…”

“So will you continue or give up?”

“Never! I will definitely get strong.”

“Good.”

“From tomorrow for the next week, I’ll be busy with my training, so I won’t be able to talk or meet. But please bring some food to the shack after 8 days. I will be starving.”

“I know you can manage for 7 days and then need to sleep. I won’t ask more since everyone has secrets. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me.”

“Thank you… I really mean it. You are my only true friend in this village.”

Nori looked down and turned away, her face briefly showing sadness before returning to happiness. Paul then left, as she had work to do. He arrived at the shack, lay down on the bed, used Memo to relive the cube experience, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, as the two suns rose in the sky, Paul went to the inn to eat. He ordered some food and started eating. Using his Listening skill, he overheard Rocka talking to the mage.

“The adventurer hasn’t been found yet, Commander.”

“Don’t worry, there is still time. After all, the seer is never wrong. There will definitely be one.”

“I understand.”

“And after I find him, that weakling will suffer. I will destroy his mind. Hehehehehe.” Rocka laughed, imagining the things he would do to Paul.

Paul, hearing this, decided he must try harder at the testing facility. He headed there, entered the building, and went past the old lady. Just as he passed her, he heard, “232-0 hehehehe.” He realized she could see the score but couldn’t see his stats since she didn’t say anything. Paul wasn’t angry anymore; he knew he was weak, but that only meant he could get stronger.

He arrived at the cube, took out a Limit Pill, and consumed it before going to the crystal. He repeated the process from before and entered the cube, ready this time.

Inside, everything was exactly the same as before—daggers on the floor and nothing else. He took the daggers, and the doll appeared in front of him. This time, he didn’t wait and attacked first. The doll evaded most of his attacks but was still cut a few times.

The doll and Paul moved more skillfully now, as if they were dancing. The doll used various attacks—stabbing, slashing, and even throwing one of the daggers at Paul. It even used kicks. Surprised by the doll’s moves, Paul realized he could replicate them. While he copied the moves, he still couldn’t match the doll’s precision.

After 24 hours, the door opened as Nori had said, and the doll disappeared. Paul emerged and looked at the door. The score read “100-0.” He had died 100 times but had managed to land a few successful attacks. Exhausted from the pain over the past 24 hours, Paul sat on the ground to meditate for an hour before checking his stats. He then got up and went back inside. He repeated this process for a whole week. A normal person might have gone crazy from the constant pain, but Paul persisted. On the last day, he looked at the door, smiling. He had finally managed to kill the doll a few times. The door read

“40-20.” He had delivered 20 killing attacks and only died 40 times.

He went to the shack and fell asleep, satisfied. For 24 hours, he didn’t move at all. Nori brought him food as promised and waited for Paul to wake up. As she waited, she hummed a song.

Paul woke up to the sound of singing. He followed the sound and saw Nori outside the door. As soon as he opened the door, Nori stared at him, her mouth agape. Paul felt worried as she didn’t make a joke or anything and just stared.

“You… your hair…”

“Yeah, I know it got a bit long. I need to cut it.”

“No, no, that… I mean, yes. But that’s not the problem.”

“Huh? Then what?”

“The problem is… WHY IS YOUR HAIR WHITE?!”

“Ahhh… that…” Paul grinned at Nori. He went to the table and started eating. Nori sat next to him, staring as Paul ate. After he finished, Nori saw Paul’s grin and, despite knowing him for a while, was surprised by how much he had changed in such a short time. Besides his hair, there was a different aura about him. Most striking were his eyes—they were no longer gentle but a bit wild, as if they could see into her very soul.

Then Paul said something, and a window appeared in front of Nori, explaining everything.

**Mind of a Warrior**

Because you endured excruciating pain multiple times, you have achieved the Mind of a Warrior. From now on, you will instinctively know your health and mana levels. These two stats will no longer appear in your stat window.

**Side Effects:**

- You can now see 30% better.

- Your hair is now white.

Nori stared at the window in disbelief. She had only heard of such things happening to veteran AA rank adventurers who had fought for years. She was impressed but didn’t show it.

When she realized she had been staring too long, she finally spoke.