Some unknown amount of time later, Mikael's eyes slowly opened. As he blinked away the remnants of sleep, the unfamiliar ceiling above him sent a jolt of awareness through his mind. 'Oh... it's real. For a second, I thought the Records and all that happened was just some strange dream.'
He spent the next hour going through what resembled his usual morning routine. It wasn't exactly the same, of course—his environment and purpose had changed—but it still felt familiar enough to ground him.
After freshening up, Mikael put on his clothes and methodically attached his new handgun to his right side. Then, with a calm, practiced motion, he fastened his scabbard—housing a sturdy steel shortsword—to the left side of his waist for easy access. He didn't forget to secure two loaded magazines to his belt and slipped on his backpack, already packed with sandwiches and a few bottles of water.
'With all this, I'm ready to do some training and explore another world.'
"System, Earth time please."
[Earth Time (USA): June 17, 2025, 04:28:22]
'Just past 4 AM… Pretty early to start the day, but I doubt it makes a difference here. There doesn't seem to be any kind of day-night cycle inside the Records.'
'I'll squeeze in some training before jumping into a world. I should probably stay longer this time—two worlds a day is just not a sustainable pace. In five hours, there's barely enough time to complete a quick quest, let alone learn anything worthwhile.'
He glanced around the apartment, scanning the walls with narrowed eyes before speaking. "Records, how do I leave my apartment? There doesn't seem to be a door anywhere."
[Approach a wall while thinking that you want to get out.]
"Alright. Thanks."
Mikael stepped toward the nearest wall, focusing his thoughts on the intent: 'I want to get out.'
Suddenly, a purple door shimmered into existence in front of him. It radiated an unsettling aura, as if it existed in two states at once—present and not, solid and immaterial. Despite the strange feeling it gave off, Mikael reached out and opened it. The moment he did, his body was instantly transported away.
He reappeared in the familiar environment of the Hub.
'So the door functions as a teleportation zone, just like the stairs I climb every time—teleporting me as I ascend.'
'I've got an idea that could really pay off, but I'm not sure if I have enough LP to make it work.'
"Records, I would like a training session that allows me to learn a skill functioning passively, something like a sixth sense or a danger sense. My budget is 200 LP."
[For 200 LP, you are eligible for a training session. After approximately 12 hours, you will acquire the desired skill.]
'Nice, I can get it in just 12 hours. That's great. Honestly, even if it had taken several days, I still would've done it. This skill is that important.'
'It's a crucial one—it'll do more to keep me alive than just gaining raw stats ever could.'
Without wasting another second, he began ascending the stairs. "Training room," he said clearly, and just like that, he was teleported.
As soon as he arrived, Kiara's voice greeted him. "Mikael, you finally came back. It's been so long without you."
He glanced around and spotted her right away. She was wearing the same outfit as yesterday and looked just as stunning as ever. A bright smile lit up her face—she genuinely seemed happy to see him.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too. I have a quick question, though—do you mind if I borrow a little of your time?"
"Of course, ask away," Kiara replied cheerfully.
"It's nothing serious. I just want to know—how much time has passed since we last trained together?"
"Easy. It's been 15 hours, 33 minutes, and 15 seconds," she said proudly.
Though it appeared to be an innocent question, for Mikael, it served as a small test. 'I already had a few suspicions that she might be a yandere, and that answer just bumped it up to moderate suspicion.'
'She's done a few strange things—nothing conclusive on its own, but when viewed together, they start to form a pattern. First, she seemed to develop feelings for me out of nowhere. Then, when she asked for a hug and I agreed, she sniffed me. And now this little time-check test... it just adds to the growing list.'
'Maybe she's just doing her job as an AI by reporting the time. That may be one of her basic functions. Or maybe... maybe she's been obsessively counting the minutes until I returned. On its own, it could be dismissed, but when all three incidents are considered together... I'd say there's a solid 50/50 chance she really is a yandere.'
'I'll keep the possibility in mind, but for now, it's time to focus on training.'
"Alright, thanks, Kiara. Are you ready to start my training?"
"Of course. But for this particular session, we'll need to head outside to the obstacle course."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two of them exited the Hub and made their way into the forest where the obstacle course was located.
"Last time, you used the wooden poles to practice your footwork. This time, however, the focus is entirely different—your goal will be to develop a sixth sense."
She handed him a blindfold and instructed, "Put this on."
"Give me a second. I'll just set my things down first," he replied, placing his belongings on the ground and keeping only his shirt and pants.
Once everything was settled, he slipped the blindfold over his eyes. "Okay, I've got it on. What now?"
"Now, you'll run the obstacle course while wearing the blindfold. Along the way, traps will activate. Don't worry—they're fake. Your objective is to avoid them using only your hearing. Once you start showing consistent improvement, you'll add an earplug to reduce reliance on sound and begin sharpening your sixth sense alone."
"Got it. I'll start now."
Without further delay, he stepped forward and began the course, focusing intently on every subtle sound in his surroundings.
Swish.
The moment he heard a sharp noise to his right, he immediately turned in that direction and raised his arm to block. A light impact struck his forearm, but he kept jogging without breaking rhythm.
'That was probably meant to simulate a swinging log trap. If it were real, dodging would've been a better option than blocking it head-on.'
Not long after, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way. He tried to leap forward, but without any solid footing, the effort was futile. He dropped about two feet before his feet landed on something with noticeable pressure.
'This must be a fake pitfall trap with spikes at the bottom. If this had been real, it could've easily been lethal. I doubt my current endurance stats would be enough to keep me alive against a metal spike impaling me.'
'Still, that's not important right now. Let's keep training.'
Over the course of the next three hours, his performance steadily improved. He was hit less frequently and was able to block or evade the traps with increasing precision.
At the four-hour mark, Kiara instructed him to put on the earplug, and he complied without question. From that point on, the training difficulty ramped up significantly. Deprived of one of his key senses, Mikael felt as if all the progress he had made had been erased. His reactions slowed, and he performed even worse than when he had first started the course.
After six hours of intense effort, he finally decided it was time for a break and headed back to grab something to eat—and maybe talk a bit with Kiara.
Returning to where she was, he spotted her sitting on the ground, gazing off into what looked like empty space.
"Eh, Kiara, what are you looking at exactly?"
Kiara looked genuinely startled by his voice, but quickly recovered and answered, "Oh, that? I was just reviewing your training footage."
Mikael pulled out a bottle of water and a few sandwiches, offering one to her as he asked, "Want one?"
"Yes, please! I'd love to know what food tastes like," she responded with excitement lighting up her face.
He had already started eating his sandwich when Kiara eagerly took hers—and devoured it even faster than he did.
"Hmmm! Really good. I like it!"
Mikael raised an eyebrow at her exaggerated enthusiasm. "They're pretty average, though."
Kiara's eyes sparkled as she heard that. "For real? That means there's even more delicious food out there waiting for me!"
Then, with a hopeful glint in her eyes, she asked, "Can you give me some other food, pleasee?"—her expression turning into an exaggerated puppy-eyed plea.
"Not this time," Mikael replied with a small chuckle. "But the next time I come to the training room, I'll do you that little favor."
'I could just buy her more food now using my LP, but if I do, she won't appreciate it as much. Better to wait—it'll make her more grateful when I do.' he thought with a hint of coldness still on his guard against this Ai trainer.
Kiara's expression brightened instantly at his words. With clear joy, she threw herself into his arms and exclaimed, "Thank you! You're really an angel!"
Caught a little off guard by her sudden embrace, Mikael responded with a few gentle taps on her back and said, "No problem. I'm happy to help."
He remained still for a few seconds, but when it became clear that she had no intention of letting go anytime soon, he decided to tease her a bit.
"You're really taking every opportunity you get to ask for a hug, huh?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Kiara sprang back with a flushed face and nervously began twirling strands of her hair.
"N-No! I was just happy, that's all!" she blurted in a rushed voice, clearly flustered.
Mikael simply gave her a knowing smirk.
Seeing his expression, Kiara quickly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere and asked, "S-So! How are you liking your training so far?"
He understood what she was trying to do, but still answered honestly, "It's tough, but incredibly rewarding. Totally worth the effort."
"I just had a thought… it's not really related to the topic, but you're an AI, right?"
"Yes, I am what's called an artificial intelligence. Though, I'm closer to a cyborg than a traditional robot," she explained, a hint of pride coloring her tone. "I have emotions and a fully developed personality. At the same time, I can handle all the usual AI functions—equal to, or even better than, standard AIs!" she added, puffing her chest out with pride.
Mikael's eyes were momentarily drawn to her rising peaks, but he quickly shifted his gaze back to her eyes and asked, "So how does it work when you eat food? Can you digest it?"
"I don't 'digest' food the way your biological body does," she replied with a shake of her head. "My body is powered by a magical core embedded in my chest. It automatically generates the magical energy I need to function. When I eat, the food is converted into magical energy that supports my operations—but I don't have any actual biological needs."
"Got it. Thanks for explaining," he said. "It was nice talking with you, but I need to get back to training."
Although a little disappointed, Kiara still smiled and replied, "Okay. Good training."
Mikael gave her a small nod before returning to the obstacle course, where he remained for the next several hours.
Within the first hour after the break, he managed to reach the same level of performance he'd achieved earlier—this time while still wearing the earplug. And now, with the earplug still in place, he was beginning to feel the traps.
Over the following hours, he kept honing what he now recognized as his sixth sense. By the time the eleventh hour of training rolled around, a notification suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Your 6th Sense has reached the required level.]
[You have learned the skill: 6th Sense.]
[6th Sense — Tier 0, Level 1
Description: This skill represents the user's sixth sense. It can provide gut feelings and allow the user to perceive phenomena normally beyond human capacity (danger, energy, etc.).
The effectiveness of this skill scales with its level and the user's Perception (Locked) stat.]
[6th Sense — Tier 0, Level 1: This skill can be leveled up if the following conditions are met:
Your knowledge and experience in using your sixth sense must reach a defined threshold.
Current progress: 0%
Cost to level up: 40 LP.]
'40 LP just to level up the skill?'
'I remember that Unarmed Martial Arts Mastery only required 20 LP per level. So why does this one cost more? Is it because the Sixth Sense skill is harder to learn, or is it simply stronger by nature?'
'I'll have to monitor how quickly this skill levels up over time.'
'I still have 200 LP available… using 100 to learn a swordsmanship skill could be worth it. During the fight against the goblins, I mostly relied on my knife. But now that I have a proper sword, it would be more effective to actually learn how to use it properly.'
"Records, I'd like to train in swordsmanship under the guidance of a teacher with peak human-level teaching ability. My budget is 100 LP, so I want to request four hours of training."
[Request accepted –100 LP]
[Necessary knowledge has been transferred to the AI 'Kiara'. Your training time has already begun, since you are currently in the training room.]
'Perfect. Just like I expected. Same as the martial arts training—25 LP per hour.'
Without wasting a second, Mikael turned and began running toward Kiara.
Before long, he spotted her at the edge of the forest, standing still as if she'd been waiting for him.
"Do you want to start the training right away?" she asked.
Mikael was still tired, but he gave a short nod and replied, "Yeah, that would be best. My time for training is limited, so I want to get as much out of it as possible."
Kiara shifted her weight from foot to foot, twirling a strand of hair nervously before finally speaking. "We have a small problem. For the training to be efficient, you'll need to pay 20 LP to add a proper sword-fighting area and some training swords."
She hesitated before continuing, "It'd be better if you paid 40 LP as well, so I can match your stats. If we spar while you're over three times stronger than me, the training won't be productive."
'I hope I'm not bothering him with all these extra costs…' she thought with a flicker of worry.
'The Records are just like a greedy corporation… always trying to bleed you dry.'
Sigh.
"Records, I accept the payment."
[Transaction completed –60 LP]
As soon as the system notification flashed before his eyes, Kiara suddenly winced in pain. Her jaw clenched tight, and she gritted her teeth as her fists curled. She was clearly struggling to endure whatever transformation the system had triggered.
Her skin began to flush red, and at the same time, unsettling cracking sounds started to echo from her body.
At that point, Kiara could no longer suppress her suffering. Her legs gave out beneath her as she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
With tears streaming down her cheeks and tremors shaking her body she complained "It hurts…"
Mikael immediately crouched beside her and began gently rubbing her back. His voice was soft but steady as he spoke. "I know it hurts, but it'll pass. I'm here with you. Try to think about something else—anything other than the pain."
Kiara barely registered his words amid the overwhelming agony wracking her body. 'It hurts so much… it's like my entire body is breaking apart. Ahhhh… he told me to think of something else. Anything but the pain. I'll think of him!'
Gripping him tightly, Kiara clung to Mikael with all the strength she could muster, her sobs continuing unabated as her body trembled.
The situation remained unchanged for several long minutes. Then, after about five minutes, her flushed skin gradually returned to its natural, healthy white tone, and the cracking noises ceased completely. The moment the pain subsided, Kiara slumped forward and instantly fell asleep, completely drained from the ordeal.