Chapter 10: Changing Shape
Kim Do-hyun looked at himself in the mirror. The face staring back was thinner. His cheeks were less round. His jaw was starting to show. His eyes looked more serious now.
He did not smile.
This was not the time to smile.
He stepped on the scale. The numbers blinked.
Seventy-five point three kilograms.
He stepped off and checked again.
Seventy-five point three.
"Twenty kilos gone," he whispered.
He walked back to the room. The clone sat on the floor, still wearing a sweat-drenched shirt. Its chest moved up and down. Do-hyun had ordered it to train for hours straight. The clone never argued. It just worked.
He tossed a towel at it. The clone caught it.
"Go clean up."
The clone stood and walked into the bathroom. Its steps were steady. Almost too steady.
Do-hyun sat in front of his computer. He opened the Awakener forums again. Threads about stats filled the screen. He scrolled until he saw his post.
User: FattyNinja33
Topic: How to raise hidden stats without dungeon access
No replies. Just upvotes.
He leaned back. He had figured it out the hard way. Pain. Repeated strain. Natural recovery. That is how hidden stats grow. But only if the body survives long enough to rebuild.
The clone returned. Dry now. Calm. Ready.
"Time to go," Do-hyun said.
He put on a hoodie. One size smaller than last week. The sleeves no longer hid his hands. His jeans hung loose around his waist. He tied them tighter with a string.
Outside, the morning air was cold. Clouds drifted lazily above. Do-hyun walked with a slow pace. The gym was not far.
The streets were busy. People passed without looking. But one man stopped.
He stood beside a food cart, eating something fried. His hair was short. His neck was thick. His arms stretched his tight shirt. He turned when Do-hyun walked past.
Then he squinted.
"Hey…"
Do-hyun kept walking.
"Hey, fatty!"
Do-hyun stopped.
He turned slowly.
The man walked over, chewing loudly.
"You look… different," he said. "Did not recognize you without the belly."
It was Lee Geon-woo.
A name Do-hyun had hoped to never hear again.
Back in school, Geon-woo was the guy who laughed first and punched second. He had slapped Do-hyun's books, kicked his chair, and called him walking rice ball.
Now, here he was. Even bigger. Even louder.
"You in a gym now?" Geon-woo asked. "Trying to copy me?"
Do-hyun said nothing.
Geon-woo's eyes narrowed.
"You look better, but not strong. You just lost fat. You think that means something?"
Still no answer.
"Come on," he said, stepping closer. "You and me. Just a little spar. No hard feelings."
Do-hyun took a slow breath.
If I fight, I am exposed. If I run, I am weak.
He looked around. The sidewalk was wide. No cameras nearby.
Geon-woo cracked his neck.
"Come on, chubby. Let's see if your arms work now."
Do-hyun looked at his hands. His fingers curled slowly. His palms were dry.
He stepped back.
"No," he said.
Geon-woo frowned.
"What?"
"I said no. I am not interested."
Geon-woo grabbed his shoulder.
"I did not say you had a choice."
The grip was strong.
For a moment, Do-hyun felt the old fear.
But this time, something else rose inside him.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Something deeper.
The clone would not fear this. The clone would dodge. The clone would survive.
Do-hyun stepped aside, breaking the grip with a twist.
Geon-woo's arm slipped off. He lost balance.
Do-hyun took a breath. Calm. Steady.
"Do not touch me," he said.
Geon-woo looked shocked.
Do-hyun turned and walked away.
He heard footsteps behind him. Fast ones.
He turned again, right as a punch came flying.
Do-hyun did not move.
The punch stopped right in front of his face.
It hovered there, frozen in air.
Geon-woo's fist shook.
But he did not throw it.
Do-hyun stared at him.
Geon-woo pulled his hand back.
"You got lucky," he muttered. Then he turned and walked off.
Do-hyun stood there.
Still breathing slow.
Still steady.
Then he walked into the gym.
---
Inside the gym, the air was thick with sweat and noise. Heavy metal clanked against the rubber floors. Men grunted. Trainers shouted. Music played from a speaker on the wall. The mirrors stretched along one side of the room, showing everyone from every angle.
Do-hyun stood near the entrance for a second. His hands were in his hoodie pocket. His eyes scanned the room. He could already see some faces turning to look at him. Some eyes stared longer than others.
It was not the old him they were seeing. This version was leaner, quieter, but no longer invisible.
A man with a clipboard walked up. He had tight sleeves, a serious face, and arms that looked like tree trunks.
"You new?" the man asked.
Do-hyun nodded.
The man squinted. "Ever trained before?"
"Some," Do-hyun answered.
The man tilted his head and gave a small nod. "Name?"
"Kim Do-hyun."
The trainer wrote it down. "Start with the basics. Machines are over there. No ego lifting. You hurt yourself, you're out."
Do-hyun nodded again.
He walked to the stretching area first. The clone had done this so many times, the movements were now burned into his own body. He bent forward, touched his toes, rolled his shoulders, twisted his back. Each stretch felt natural.
Then he went to the treadmill. He picked a machine far from others.
He pressed the button and started to jog.
His legs moved smoothly. The rhythm was steady. No pain in the knees. No shortness of breath. He could feel his heart working, but it did not feel like dying. It felt like it belonged.
Time passed. He increased the speed. His feet hit the belt faster.
Behind the screen, the digital stats ticked up.
Distance: 2.1 km
Calories burned: 240 kcal
Do-hyun smiled slightly.
After the run, he walked over to the weights. Nothing too flashy. Just dumbbells and controlled movements.
He did curls, slow and focused. He counted every rep.
He switched to the shoulder press, then squats. No sounds. No grunts. Just quiet control.
Other people noticed. One guy near the leg machines whispered to his friend.
"Who is that guy?"
"No idea. He's focused though."
Do-hyun did not care.
He finished the set and wiped his sweat.
After one hour, he left the gym.
The sun was still bright outside. The street was busy. People hurried past. The city moved like always.
He looked at his phone.
A new message had arrived.
System Message:
> Your body has improved.
Reflex: +0.04
Agility: +0.10
Stamina: +0.10
Endurance: +1.00
Strength: +0.03
Mana: +0.1
Health: +0.2
Do-hyun stood still on the sidewalk. He stared at the screen.
He was evolving. Bit by bit.
This was real.
He walked home. When he entered, the clone was already inside. It had returned after finishing its tasks. Its hair was wet from a shower. It wore a clean shirt.
Do-hyun sat on the floor and looked at it.
"You did well," he said.
The clone sat down across from him.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
It looked like him.
But it was not him.
Yet, without it, he would not be here.
He checked his system window one more time. The stats were still there. The gains were small, but they meant everything.
No one could see it yet. But the change had started.
Do-hyun opened a notebook and began to write again.
Clone work schedule.
Food intake balance.
Regeneration test.
Public exposure watchlist.
His pen scratched across the page.
Every plan mattered now.
Every step had to be calculated.
Because somewhere in the world, someone else was watching him too.
Far away, inside a tower that touched the sky, a pair of sharp eyes stared at a screen.
A photo of Do-hyun and the clone was on it.
Yoo Seung-jin smiled to himself.
"Keep running, little rat," he whispered. "Let's see how far you get before I catch you."
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