The dagger glinted faintly under the sickly glow of the streetlamp. Imura turned it over in his hands, feeling the weight. It wasn't much, but it was better than the rusty pipe he'd dropped beside the zombie's ruined corpse.
He wiped sweat from his brow, heart still pounding from the fight. His entire body felt wired, electric. He wanted to collapse, but the glowing system window refused to let his mind rest.
[EXP: 77/100]
"Just one more kill," he muttered. His voice cracked with exhaustion, but the fire in his chest burned hotter. "Just one more, and I'll level up."
The system hummed softly, as if mocking him.
He looked down the street. The night was quiet again, but somewhere out there, more things were lurking. The thought made his skin crawl. Yet, the image of his stat window filled his mind. Numbers. Progress. Power.
He gripped the dagger tighter. "Fine. Let's grind."
The next hour blurred into blood and shadows.
His first kill had been sloppy, desperate. But each fight after that, he improved. The clone rushed ahead, taking blows, holding enemies down. Imura struck when they were distracted, stabbing deep with the dagger.
The first zombie he faced after the parking lot nearly clawed his throat open. The second he managed to finish in two strikes. By the fourth, his movements were sharper, quicker, more precise.
Every time one fell, the system chimed.
[+30 EXP][+30 EXP]
The sound became addictive. Like coins clattering in a slot machine.
By the time he staggered back into his apartment, drenched in sweat and grime, the panel flashed before him.
[Level Up!][User: Imura – Lv.2][Stat Points +5]
He collapsed onto the floor, laughing breathlessly. "Hah… hah… so it really works. This… this is insane."
The system pulsed again, opening a new window.
[Skill Upgrade Available][Clone Ability: Lv.2]
Imura's eyes widened. He pressed the confirmation without hesitation.
[Clone Ability upgraded!][Now capable of summoning 2 clones simultaneously. Duration: 15 minutes. Each copy has 60% of user's stats.]
For a moment, he just stared at the words, stunned.
Two clones. Not just one, but two. Stronger than before.
He shot to his feet, grinning wildly. "So that's how it is. The more I level, the more of me there are. And the more of me there are…"
His hand trembled, not from fear but from excitement. "The faster I grow."
He tested it immediately.
"Clone Ability: Activate."
Light shimmered beside him. One figure formed. Then another. Two versions of himself stood silently in the cramped apartment, their eyes empty but their bodies solid, breathing.
Imura circled them, heart pounding. "Two… two of me. Damn…"
He clenched his fists. His old life—the loneliness, the betrayal, the endless days wasted on a couch—already felt like it belonged to someone else. Now, for the first time, he had allies he could trust completely. Himself.
No lies. No betrayal. No weakness.
"Alright," he said, voice sharp with resolve. "We're not wasting time. From now on, I'm training every day, every night. No more sitting around. If I can farm EXP with clones…"
He smirked, a hungry grin spreading across his face. "…then I'll grind myself into a god."
The clones stood at attention, waiting for orders. Imura's chest rose with pride.
"Alright, boys. Time to work."
He split tasks immediately. One clone dropped to the floor and started push-ups. The other grabbed the pipe, practicing swings in the cramped living room. Imura sat down, wiped blood from his hands, and opened the system menu again.
Strength: 3Agility: 4Intelligence: 5Willpower: 7Charisma: 2
Five free points glowed invitingly at the bottom.
He didn't even hesitate. "Strength, Agility, Willpower."
The numbers ticked upward. He felt the change instantly—muscles tighter, vision sharper, body buzzing with energy.
He stood and joined his clones, swinging the dagger with practiced rhythm. Every motion burned, but it was the kind of pain that made him grin through his teeth.
Sweat dripped down his brow. His arms screamed. His lungs burned. But there was no one to slow him down, no one to betray him, no one to laugh at him.
Only him. And he would never let himself down again.
Hours passed. His apartment filled with the sound of his own body moving, over and over, multiplied.
The clones vanished when their time ran out, but he summoned them again and again, grinding nonstop until the first rays of dawn bled through his curtains. His body ached, his hands blistered, but his grin never faded.
When he finally collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, the system chimed softly.
[Clone Ability Mastery Progress: +12%]
Imura laughed, delirious. "Even… mastery levels up…? Heh… this system really is broken…"
His eyelids grew heavy, but his thoughts raced faster than ever. He didn't care about sleep. He didn't care about food. All he could think of was the next fight, the next quest, the next level.
The world had abandoned him once. Now it was his turn.
"Just wait," he whispered into the dark. His voice was low, but it carried the weight of a promise. "I'll make sure everyone sees me. Every single one of me."
His laughter echoed in the empty room until he finally passed out on the floor, the dagger still clutched in his hand.