Kopii lay on his bed, immersed in his thoughts, dark and heavy thoughts swarming in his head about what he had experienced, about what had become a part of his life. He acutely realized that the slightest hesitation could have cost him his life. A cold, bone-chilling fear slithered down his spine at the mere thought of the dark, twisting labyrinths underground. His gaze fell upon his own hands – they were trembling, like autumn leaves in the wind, dancing anxiously in silent anticipation.
«I must become stronger, at any cost»
He repeated to himself like a madman. A yawn escaped involuntarily, and he rose from the bed, his spirit lifted.
Not knowing where to direct the newfound motivation, without thinking long he channeled all of that motivation into cleaning the room.
Having tidied up the room, Kopii went downstairs, and as always, a familiar sight greeted him. But even seeing Naaza trying, an involuntary smile appeared on his face.
– Good morning.
– Morning, Kopii – she responded, casting a fleeting and sleepy glance at him.
Naaza had never been particularly talkative, especially in the mornings. Kopii had long grown accustomed to her taciturnity, perceiving it as the norm.
– Are you going again today? – asked Naaza, without taking her eyes off him.
– No.
– I see.
She answered just as briefly as Kopii did.
He knew that sooner or later he would have to return there, down below, into the labyrinth of corridors and rooms. But after a whole night of pondering his mistakes, his fear of the dungeon had subsided somewhat.
Kopii went outside, deciding to start the day with a run to clear his thoughts.
During his run, he saw "The Benevolent Mistress". And without thinking long, he sped up, trying to pass this section as quickly as possible.
Kopii always tried to avoid this establishment, knowing that Syr worked there. He did not want to meet her, even though she was kind and beautiful, like a goddess. But something about her repelled him, and he could not understand what exactly, and to be honest, he did not want to understand it.
Having already run a few laps, Kopii remembered that he had a skill called "copying".
In truth, he did not like the name of this skill; it did not inspire anything great or mighty in him, and its description was even more incomprehensible, with such thoughts interest in the skill quickly faded, dissolving into the stream of consciousness. Kopii did not understand how it worked. He simply knew that he had it, that was all. It had not helped him in any way when he was on the brink of death. So it was better to leave this skill aside for the time being.
Kopii ran until his lungs began to itch and his legs became as weak as cotton, as if he had run not a marathon, but an endless distance. Stopping, he leaned his hands on his knees, greedily gasping for air, like a drowning man saving himself near the shore.
«Even after receiving a blessing, I remain just as weak.»
The world swam before his eyes, and his thoughts returned again to the fact that he needed to train more. But he also understood that training alone would not get him far.
«I need to go down into the dungeon more.»
After all, experience in real battles would be far better than ordinary training.
And the more he thought about how to become stronger faster, his thoughts involuntarily returned to the skill again.
«How does the skill work?»
He pondered this question, wondering if it was passive or active? But how one could understand this, he did not know. He could not even imagine how to test the skill.
Kopii sighed and cast these thoughts aside like unnecessary weeds. He decided to relax for now and think about nothing but running. Only running.
Immersed in his thoughts, he did not notice how someone appeared in front of him and he crashed into someone, feeling a moment of confusion. He quickly bowed and apologized, and ran on, wasting no time. Kopii did not manage to see who he had bumped into, but he noticed the girl's long golden hair. However, he quickly forgot about it, sinking back into thoughts about how to become stronger. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts always returned to this.
Upon returning home, Kopii decided to engage in meditation, as he had read in a book that this method could help find inner peace and gain full control over emotions. He sat on the floor, crossing his legs, as depicted in the book, and tried to clear his mind.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
But time passed and nothing happened except that he became very bored and his legs started to go numb from staying in one position for so long. But even so, he continued to endure, not moving and breathing correctly. But time went on, and his disappointment began to grow more and more.
– This damn thing doesn't work! – he shouted, jumping up in indignation. – I just wasted my time.
His mood worsened again; he had once again fallen for some nonsense and wasted time on it. And he had so hoped that this method would work, but alas.
«How to become strong.»
And here his thoughts returned to the beginning once more. As if a whole day of thinking had led him to nothing, and the gist is that this was exactly the case. He had spent the whole day pondering how to become stronger, and at the end of the day, he was asking himself this question again.
«The whole day went nowhere, it would have been better if I had gone to the dungeon»
Kopii just lay on his bed and stared into the void, his mind was empty like a blank sheet. And suddenly it dawned on him and he jumped out of bed and headed for the exit.
«I need to ask Naaza how to become stronger; she definitely knows, she is level three after all. Yes, I should ask... No.»
But before reaching the door, he stopped, turned back, and lay down on the bed again.
He did not want to bother Naaza at such an hour, and that his words might trigger bad memories in her.
After staring at the ceiling for some time, for the first time he asked himself an important question that he had not even considered.
«Why am I in a hurry? Why am I so obsessed with this?»
But time passed and he still could not answer this question. He had come to Orario because he had heard a lot about it at the orphanage, and he was curious. Fame, money... But was that really what he wanted? Or was it just a dream to be as strong as the heroes?
Thus, not finding an answer to his question, he understood one thing: he needed to find his goal. Without thinking long, he decided to take a walk around the city, perhaps a change of scenery would help him clear his thoughts. He went outside and, without thinking long, decided to head towards the guild. There were always many adventurers there, maybe one of them could inspire him in his search for a goal. Passing by "The Benevolent Mistress", he involuntarily slowed his pace, pondering what awaited him beyond its threshold. The thought of Syr flashed in his head, but he immediately dismissed it as inappropriate.
Having reached the guild, he settled into a corner and began observing what was happening. Adventurers of all kinds – from starting beginners like himself to experienced veterans. Kopii listened to their conversations, absorbing every word like a sponge. He understood that each of them pursued their own goals, their own dreams, and that was exactly what drove them forward, forcing them to burn days in training and adventures. He too needed a dream, a real dream, which would make him get up in the mornings and train to exhaustion. A dream for which he would be ready to risk everything he had, even his life.
A goal for which he is ready to go all out, break any wall in his path, destroy anyone who stands in his way.
«What drove me before?»
Kopii asked himself the question, and the more he thought, the more he realized that he did not know the answer to this question.
«Funny...»