NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 6: Training
Leaving the bathroom, Li An returned to the martial arts room and walked up to the strength meter, a device used to calculate punching power and vitality through a computer.
To activate it, force was required.
Adjusting himself to his best state, he took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and delivered a full-force punch to the device.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed as his fist struck the screen, which began emitting a sound similar to a printer printing paper, calculating his strength.
Taking a step back, he watched the screen as the numbers continued to rise.
[Strength: 175 kilograms]
[Vitality: 17.5]
[First-Rank Martial Artist]
Reading these words, Li An felt ecstatic.
"I increased my vitality by eight! In my class, aside from Ning Xue, I'm already the best!"
Li An was satisfied with the result. With his current strength, he could enter Class E.
But he wouldn't do that. His strength would increase rapidly from now on, and constantly switching classes would be annoying. It was better to accumulate strength first and continue as a discreet F-rank.
"Keeping a low profile. Acting arrogantly would be foolish. If I want resources, I can flatter others, but I still need money!"
Yes...
Li An had everything—except money. He was poor.
"To flatter women, one must work hard."
He laughed at himself and planned to go hunting the next day after class, leaving the academy and traveling to the Black Darkness Mountain Range.
After setting his plan, Li An tested his speed, reaching 40 km/h—slightly better than an athlete from his previous world but still slow compared to this one.
Then, he looked at the training dummy—the primary training tool for F-class individuals.
Li An walked up to it and adjusted it to the level of a Second-Rank Martial Artist.
"I want to test my limits!"
He shouted to himself and sprinted at full speed toward the dummy, throwing a punch at its head.
The attack failed.
His opponent, being stronger, simply dodged by spinning its body, making Li An miss. The next moment, the dummy struck a kick toward his back.
Sensing danger behind him, Li An threw himself to the ground, crawling like a snake to evade the attack. Thinking quickly, he turned and delivered a kick at the dummy's legs, attempting to knock it off balance. However, the dummy instantly recovered, leaning backward.
Li An quickly stood up, locking eyes with the puppet.
The next moment, he ran toward the faucet.
The dummy, which wouldn't stop until deactivated, pursued him at extreme speed! When it was just ten centimeters away, it jumped and raised its leg.
Li An, who had gained spiritual awareness after breaking into the Martial Artist realm, had sharpened senses—ten times better than someone of the same level.
Feeling the dummy's approach, he turned and used his arms as a shield.
Collision!
The impact echoed through the martial arts room. With the strong blow, Li An was pushed back three steps. The dummy, which was airborne, was also knocked backward.
Although his arms ached, he felt a surge of joy at still being alive.
"Fighting feels so good!"
He grinned sadistically and resumed running toward the faucet, now only five steps away.
The puppet, after flipping mid-air, straightened its metallic body and landed firmly. Its robotic eyes locked onto Li An, who was turning on the faucet.
"Time to test my innate ability from the Dragon Clan!"
He murmured, focusing on the water. He felt deeply connected to it, as if he had been born and raised in the ocean.
However, he had no time to savor the feeling—a metallic punch came at him from behind.
Turning around, he smiled. Accepting the attack head-on, he raised his palm, trusting his instincts, which were sharpened from battle. He controlled the water behind him, which enveloped his arm like armor.
The moment the metallic punch made contact with the water, he felt nothing. The water absorbed the entire impact like a sponge. In the next instant, he clenched his palm, trapping the dummy as it struggled to break free.
But it was useless.
Li An's strength had doubled. If it was 175 kilograms before, now his punch held 350 kilograms of force, and his vitality had increased to 35.0.
This discovery widened his smile!
In the next moment, he extended his free arm and quickly transferred the absorbed water to it, losing the boost and releasing the dummy. But before it could react, a water punch had already struck its head.
Boom!
The attack landed squarely, ripping the dummy's head off. The piece flew through the air and, upon hitting the ground, exploded!
The explosion shook the room, and a strong smell of smoke filled the air as its circuits burned.
Pouring water over the fire, Li An felt his eyes sting.
"My dummy!"
He never imagined it would be so weak. In his understanding, it should have withstood up to five hundred kilograms.
"Did I surpass the limit?"
Li An couldn't believe it. Even with the water reinforcement, his punch shouldn't have been that powerful.
"Damn academy! They lied!"
After thinking seriously, he came to this conclusion. At the same time, he felt contempt. To the academy, an F-rank individual would never surpass a Third-Rank Martial Artist—not even after years of training.
"I'm right to risk everything to get stronger! Being weak means becoming cannon fodder."
Li An felt that the best decision of his life was to embrace his madness to gain power.
With this thought, he left the martial arts room.
...
Back in his room, he grabbed the white bag.
Opening it, he saw that the potion was half-full, just like the energy drink.
"I really wish I knew what that delinquent was thinking. Why did she give me this? And she even divided it evenly?"
He didn't know whether to laugh or feel bad for stealing it from her. But if given another chance, he would steal it again.
"..."
"I'm a bad person."
Li An was sure of that.
Without overthinking, he ate. Compared to what he had gained, the food was nothing special, but it was enough to fill his stomach. After that, he went straight to bed and slept. It had been an exhausting day.
...
The next morning.
Li An woke up yawning. He got out of his single bed, still drowsy, and put on the academy's combat uniform.
He had no regular uniform available since his was dirty from the day before—and he hadn't had time to wash it.
Dressed in black attire with red details, he left his room, went to the kitchen, had breakfast, and headed to the academy.
"Today will be exciting! Especially after class, when I'll have my first real combat experience."