Immersive Training

The mountain forest was always especially quiet in the early morning. The rocky valley deep in northern Andom lay shrouded in a thin mist; even the faint sound of footsteps on damp stones carried far. A stream poured down the cliff face into a natural pool, producing an unceasing roar.

Ryan wore the 500-kilogram training armor he had long grown accustomed to and stood on a flat boulder beside the stream. Before him was the entrance to a cave he had carved out himself. The walls had been cleanly cut by his blade aura. The interior was slightly damp, but the floor had been laid with branches and dry grass, barely enough to accommodate his bed for nighttime rest and a simple water-and-fire station.

"Humidity: 75%. Oxygen levels are low. Suitable for breathing training." The metal sphere floating beside him emitted a faint glow. Eye hovered by his shoulder, its voice calm and emotionless, though its tone was already more natural than the mechanical NPCs at the quest office.

Ryan nodded without answering. He crouched down and checked several recovery cards and dry rations he had carried up from the foot of the mountain. Then he flipped through the old manual placed in a corner by the cave wall—it recorded his daily training condition, aura fluctuation charts, and an entire page of experimental notes on "blade aura length and stability."

There was no killing, and no quests. This time, he was training only for himself.

The sun had just risen above the ridge, and the mist in the rocky valley slowly began to disperse. Ryan drew in a breath of slightly damp air and began a new day of training.

Ryan stood by the stream and slowly lifted a massive boulder. It weighed around 150 kilograms, its surface uneven and