Tony found himself in a state of confusion, struggling to recall when exactly he had drifted off to sleep. It seemed almost surreal, but the system was resolute in its intentions, ensuring that he would not remain in that state of slumber for long.
A sudden chime pierced through the fog of his fatigue, sharp and clear, striking his senses with an intensity that felt almost physical. In an instant, his eyelids shot open, wide and alert.
[System Notification.]
[Mandatory Tutorial Initiated: Combat Training.]
[Location: Isolated Instance. Duration: Until Completion.]
With a jolt, Tony propelled himself upright, and the sound of his spine cracking echoed in the stillness of the room. "What? Wait, what the hell..." he began, but his voice was abruptly swallowed by a blinding burst of light.
Before he could process what was happening, the familiar walls of his apartment flickered like a glitching screen, began to warp and twist unnaturally, and finally shattered into countless shards, resembling a grand spectacle of broken glass particles scatter across an invisible plane.
When he finally managed to blink away the remnants of that blinding light, it felt as if he had been transported to a completely different realm.
Now, he found himself standing barefoot on a desolate expanse of cracked stone, each step sending prickles of discomfort through his soles. The air around him was saturated with the stinging scent of sulfur and thick smoke; the oppressive heat felt as if it were searing into his very lungs. Above him loomed a menacing sky, a chaotic dome swirling with ash and vibrant flames, as the clouds twisted and churned in a grotesque dance, reminiscent of burning oil. Beneath him, the terrain stretched endlessly, jagged and barren, an array of jagged rocks extending toward the horizon.
A wasteland stretched out in front of him, desolate and treacherous.
As Tony turned slowly in a full circle, his instincts kicked in, and he instinctively raised a dagger, gripping it tightly in his hand. "This isn't real… right? Just some bizarre VR nightmare?" he questioned aloud, uncertainty lacing his voice.
In response to his query, the system's voice pierced through the oppressive silence, its cold and emotionless tone reverberating around him.
[Instance created. Damage taken is real. Death will result in permanent erasure.]
Tony's throat went dry. "...Cool. Great. Thanks for clarifying."
Movement caught his eye.
Shapes rose from the cracks in the stone. At first they were shadows, flat and formless. Then they began to pull themselves up, long, twisted things with limbs like spears and faces stretched into hollow grins.
There were five of them. Each one smaller than the entity he'd fought in the laundromat, but together they looked worse. They moved with jerks and spasms, smoke trailing from their limbs.
The system chimed again.
[Objective: Eliminate all targets.]
[Reward: +50 XP. Skill unlock possible.]
Tony's stomach churned. "Five on one. Yeah, no pressure."
They came at him in a rush.
The first shadow lunged low, its clawed arms swiping for his legs. Tony jumped back, barely avoiding the strike. The second dropped from above like a bird of prey, shrieking as it descended.
Instinct saved him. He rolled sideways, grit scraping his skin, and slashed upward with the dagger. The blade sang, silver veins flaring bright. It cut clean through the creature's torso, splitting it in two.
The monster's form collapsed into smoke before vanishing.
Tony's breath came ragged. His arm shook, but the glow in the dagger pulsed stronger, like it approved.
"Okay," he muttered, lips trembling into something close to a grin. "One down."
The other four circled him.
He could hear them whispering now, a chorus of voices scraping like nails across glass. They weren't words he understood, but he felt them in his bones. Weak. Alone. Prey.
Anger spiked in his chest. "Shut up."
The next one lunged. Tony ducked under its swipe, stepped in close, and drove the dagger straight into its core. It shrieked as smoke erupted from the wound, scattering into the air.
The system chimed:
[Kill Confirmed.]
Tony spun, blocking another strike with the dagger's flat edge. The impact rattled his bones, but he shoved back hard, then slashed across its chest. Another burst of smoke.
Three down. Two to go.
Sweat poured down his face. His lungs burned, but something inside him had shifted.
The elixir's warmth was gone, but in its place was something rawer, wilder, his body learning, adapting, muscle memory stitching itself together under pressure.
The last two shadows attacked in unison. One went high, one low.
Tony grit his teeth. "Not this time."
He dove forward, straight into the attack, spinning the dagger in his grip. The blade sliced through the first shadow's arm, severing it at the joint, then plunged into the second's chest. Smoke burst like a bomb.
The final creature screeched, clawing wildly at him. Tony snarled, driving the dagger into its head. The silver glow burned brighter than ever, splitting the shadow apart with a violent flash.
And then silence.
Tony dropped to one knee, gasping, the dagger clattering against the stone. His arms shook, his whole body trembling from the strain. But he was alive.
The system's chime rang like a bell.
[Objective Complete.]
[Reward: +50 XP.]
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Sense (Passive).]
Tony's head snapped up. "Wait, what?"
The text shimmered.
[Shadow Sense: Detect nearby shadow entities within a limited radius. Range grows with level.]
A jolt ran through him, like a sixth sense snapping awake. Suddenly, he could feel the emptiness around him, the places where the shadows weren't hiding. It wasn't sight, not sound, just instinct.
Tony let out a slow breath, eyes wide. "I… can sense them now."
The wasteland around him began to disintegrate, as if the very stones were shedding their existence and fading into nothingness. It felt as though the ground beneath his feet was collapsing, leaving behind only a hollow echo of what once was.
At that moment, the voice of the system returned, enigmatic and haunting, echoing in his mind one final time.
[You will need this. The hunt has already begun.]
In an instant, Tony felt his body dissolve into a shimmering light, the world around him shifting and swirling as he was pulled back to reality. When he reassembled himself, he found himself in the familiar confines of his room once more.
His sheets were soaked with perspiration, clinging uncomfortably to him, while his clothes felt heavy and oppressive against his skin. A soft glow from his dagger on the nightstand caught his eye, the weapon radiating a faint light as if it, too, sensed the gravity of the moment.
Tony leaned forward, his forehead resting in the palm of his hands as he tried to catch his breath, the remnants of his dream still vivid in his thoughts. He realized that this rigorous training he had undergone had transformed into something far more significant than mere preparation; it had morphed into a fight for survival. The chaotic whispers of shadows still echoed in his ears, a chilling reminder of what he had faced.
Deep within him, he understood the harsh reality of his situation, the real battles lay ahead, waiting to unfold like a dark tapestry. And as he steeled himself for what was to come, he couldn't shake the unsettling knowledge that every one of his impending confrontations would harbor a deadly intent. Every single adversary he would face would be out for his blood.