The street confrontation from the night before still played in Nox's mind like a broken clip — the sharp shout, the thud of a punch, the look of helplessness in the victim's eyes. He had frozen. Not because he didn't want to help, but because his body refused to move. His STR: 4 and AGI: 3 weren't numbers anymore — they were shackles.
The faint hum of the city outside was like static to his thoughts. His mind replayed the System notification over and over:
— [Optional Quest: Physical Imperative]
Objective: Train a basic combat skill for self-defense.
Reward: Random Basic Martial Arts Skill | +0.2 STR | +0.2 AGI.
The words glowed faintly in his vision before fading again, but their echo remained.
"Fine," he whispered. "You win. I'll do it."
His hands clenched. He could almost feel the phantom weight of that knife again.
He couldn't stay a victim forever.
He sat in his cramped apartment, the light from the cracked window painting dull gold across the floor. On the table lay a few crumpled bills — the remnants of the ₱3,000 he'd earned from the System-assisted job.
The rest had already disappeared: two days of rent, one full meal that didn't taste like desperation, a top-up for mobile data, and the smallest possible debt payment.
Now he was down to ₱0 again.
> Money buys meals, he thought bitterly, but not muscle.
His mind was sharp, his hunger quieter, but his body? Useless. Every time he moved too fast, his chest ached with weakness. Every step reminded him that brains alone wouldn't save him if things turned violent.
He clenched his fist, feeling nothing but soft skin and exhaustion.
"Fine," he muttered. "If I can't afford training... I'll steal it."
Not through theft — but through Copy Record.
The System hummed faintly in response, as if approving his resolve.
---
The Library
He made his way back to the college library — his refuge and workshop. The air-conditioning bit at his skin, but the quiet aisles were worth it. He passed the usual rows: business, science, philosophy... until his eyes caught the Sports and Martial Arts section.
Most books were polished guides with foreign titles — Krav Maga Essentials, Modern Taekwondo Forms, The Art of Aikido. But tucked between two thick manuals was something different: a thin, yellowed paperback with a faded cover that read:
> "Pangamut: The Hand of the Streets."
The author's name was local. The pages were dog-eared, ink smudged, filled with simple sketches of stances, elbows, and dirty tricks that would make any dojo instructor frown.
Perfect.
He sat in the corner, pulled out his cheap phone, and started taking quick pictures. Each shutter sound echoed like a heartbeat. The Copy Record skill tingled faintly in his mind as he scanned every page — every diagram of hand traps, wrist breaks, and close-range counters.
Of course, he thought with a smirk, the first book that could save my life looks like it was printed in a garage.
When he finished, he closed the book carefully, almost respectfully. Knowledge was power — but the way he learned it? That was theft of a higher order.
---
Mind Realm Training Entry
He rushed back to his apartment, shut the door, and sank onto his spot on the floor. The room was dark, the world outside distant.
"Enter Mind Realm," he whispered.
The space shifted — black void, then clarity. The grand marble table appeared once more, and the Pangamut manual floated above it, projected in perfect detail. His Copy Record pulsed blue, waiting.
He pressed his hand against the cover.
> Initiating Record Simulation...
The table vanished, replaced by endless mirrors showing him — hundreds of versions of himself — each performing a different motion: elbows, palm strikes, clinches, limb traps.
Every muscle screamed inside the simulation. His virtual self trained relentlessly, repeating the same forms thousands of times. Sweat that didn't exist poured down his simulated face. His breathing hitched, chest tight, but his movements refined — cleaner, sharper, faster.
Minutes in reality turned into hours within the Mind Realm.
At the center of it all, he focused on a single truth — Pangamut wasn't about beauty or form. It was about survival. No wasted movement. Every strike was ugly, brutal, efficient.
---
When he finally collapsed on the marble floor, gasping, the Realm flickered — then steadied.
> Ding!
[Optional Quest Completed: Physical Imperative]
Reward: Basic Skill Acquired — Pangamut Basics (Lv. 1)
Passive Effect: +0.2 Strength, +0.1 Agility
The announcement echoed through his skull.
His limbs tingled when he opened his eyes in the real world. He moved his hands — slow, deliberate. His joints popped. His muscles, though still weak, remembered.
He stood and threw a light jab at the air. It wasn't fast, it wasn't strong — but it felt anchored. There was intent behind it now.
A smile tugged at his lips.
"Finally… something real."
The System chimed again softly, almost teasingly.
> [Skill synergy detected: Eye of Truth + Pangamut Basics.]
Predictive Motion capability unlocked (Lv. 0.5). Future upgrades available with physical training.]
He froze.
"Predictive… motion?" he whispered.
The Eye of Truth, once used to analyze people's souls and emotions, now flickered faintly — mapping movement trajectories, faint ghost-lines of possible attacks.
It wasn't perfect yet, but it was enough to make him grin.
> Brains and brawn…
Finally working together.
---
Outside, the city was loud — vendors shouting, engines roaring, life grinding on. Nox tightened his fist again, this time feeling something different beneath his skin: control.
He didn't have much. No money, no family, no home worth mentioning. But he had skills, and more importantly, a System that didn't stop at survival.
"Mind, muscle, mastery."
It was no longer just about escaping poverty — it was about rewriting what kind of person he could be.
He looked at the faint shimmer of the System's window, floating like a ghost in his vision.
> [New Pathway Available: Body Reinforcement Series Unlocked.]
He exhaled, his pulse steady.
"Alright," he said quietly, smiling for the first time in days. "Let's get dangerous."
_______
Note: For those who wondering why he use his phone when he uses he's skill copy record it's just to make it look like his taking picture so it won't attact others when he uses his skill.