"What even is this…!?" Rain muttered with a hesitant, deeply disturbed smile, his mouth hanging open after seeing the thing standing in front of him.
It had the shape of a human—more specifically, a woman-shaped doll. The figure itself was absurdly detailed: a curvy body, large chest, wide hips, and proportions that looked almost unreal.
But then—
There was the face.
Dear god, the face.
It looked like someone had gathered every possible ugly feature in existence and forcefully stitched them together into one horrifying masterpiece of chaos.
The eyes weren't even aligned properly, one bigger than the other and twitching strangely, while the nose looked crushed sideways like it had lost a fight against a wall. Its lips stretched way too wide with uneven teeth sticking out randomly, and the skin texture resembled melted wax left under the sun before being slapped back together carelessly. The overall result was so monstrously ugly it felt like looking at some cursed creature born straight from nightmares.
The doll repeated in the same emotionless voice, "Sir, please select your difficulty."
[Ewww…] appeared with a disgusted expression while looking away immediately.
'Those people who say outer beauty doesn't matter should look at this abomination first… disgusting!' Rain thought, his entire body slightly creeped out.
But then—
His posture suddenly changed. One hand rested under his chin as he stared at the doll deeply in thought despite the horror before him.
"Who the hell even made dolls like this…?" he muttered with complete disbelief and disgust. Then his eyes narrowed slightly as he touched the material again. "…But the quality and texture are actually top notch. Better than what anyone would expect."
There was genuine admiration in his voice.
After all—
Good craftsmanship deserved praise… even if the face looked like a disaster capable of mentally traumatizing people.
Rain regained his composure almost instantly, returning to his usual calm expression as if nothing had happened moments ago.
"What difficulties are there?" he asked calmy.
'Let's see if coming here was even worth my time…'
The doll replied in the same lifeless tone, "There are seven difficulties, ranging from one to seven. The higher the number, the greater the challenge. There are also four training modes: Offensive, Defensive, Observant, and Wrath."
"Oh?" Rain's lips curved into an amused smile.
'Not bad… not bad at all.'
His mind immediately started analyzing the possibilities behind each mode.
'If my guess is right, Offensive should focus on aggressive combat—attack patterns, pressure fighting, combo flow, reaction speed, and learning how to overwhelm opponents head-on while adapting against different fighting styles.'
His eyes narrowed slightly.
'Defensive probably revolves around endurance, counterplay, reading enemy movements, breaking through defensive formations, exploiting weak points in guards, and maintaining composure under pressure.'
A spark of interest appeared in his gaze.
'Observant… that one should be more technical. Probably used for practicing precision, timing, movement control, targeting accuracy, and repeated attack patterns against a stable target or simulated opponent.'
Then his thoughts suddenly paused at the last mode.
'…But Wrath?'
That single word felt completely different from the others. Offensive, Defensive, Observant—those sounded normal, like proper training systems made to improve technique and combat ability. But Wrath… it didn't even sound like training at all. It sounded violent. Like something meant to push a person beyond reason and turn them into a monster driven purely by instinct and destruction.
Rain's eyes slowly narrowed as curiosity mixed with excitement inside him, a grin gradually spreading across his face while tightening his grip on the greatsword.
"Now this…" he murmured with growing interest, "…sounds really interesting."
He let out a slow breath, his expression turning unusually cold as his eyes fixed onto the doll, searching for an answer.
"What's Wrath… and what's its power level?" he asked calmly, though the sharpness in his gaze made the atmosphere feel heavier.
The doll suddenly went silent for a brief moment. Then its tone completely changed, almost as if another soul had possessed it.
"The Wrath…" it spoke in a strangely dramatic voice, "is the manifestation of the creator's anger—his struggle, frustration, disappointment, and hatred toward his own unfinished and imperfect work."
Even the air around the room seemed to grow slightly colder as the doll continued.
"As for its power level… it can be considered equal to the peak of the Spirit Realm."
'What!?'
Rain's eyes narrowed instantly.
'I don't know about all that Wrath nonsense, but that creator definitely doesn't belong to this part of the world…'
A thought surfaced in his mind almost immediately.
'Maybe… he's from the Immortal Dao Region.'
Rain slowly grinned, but there was nothing innocent about that smile anymore. It looked completely devious, the kind that appeared when something dangerous caught his interest.
"Now I'm really curious…" he murmured softly. "Just who the hell is this guy?"
A person capable of creating a doll whose power could at least rival the peak of the Spirit Realm could never be considered normal—he was the farthest thing from ordinary.
Ignoring the horrifying abomination that was the doll's face, the craftsmanship behind it could only be described as monstrous perfection. Every detail of its body, structure, and energy flow was absurdly refined. And if this thing was considered a failure by its creator…
Then just imagining what his successful creations looked like was enough to make one's scalp tingle. Those products could probably be called heavenly treasures capable of shaking entire regions. And the fact that puppet-making itself was an extremely rare talent, something difficult to find even among the heavens, only made the value behind such creations even more terrifying and unimaginable..
All of this only made Rain even more interested.
After all, this region in OG had always been one of the most entertaining places he knew. Hidden monsters, insane techniques,
lunatics, forbidden treasures, immortality, thausand years old beauties—this place was practically paradise for someone like him.
Rain cracked his neck lightly, excitement slowly surfacing in his eyes.
"Let's see this so-called Wrath of yours."
His grip around the heavy wooden greatsword tightened.
"Level 7. Wrath. Bring it on."
Not too far away, someone quietly observed him from the shadows, curiosity clearly visible on their face.
The doll spoke again.
"Warning. Current user strength is critically below recommended standards. Survival probability extremely low. Severe injury, permanent disability, or death may occur. Proceed?"
Rain grinned.
"Have I ever thought twice before taking risks?"
The excitement in his voice almost felt insane.
'The bigger the risk… the bigger the reward.'
That belief had always been engraved deep into Rain's mind like an unbreakable law.
After all, every gacha player knew one eternal truth—cowards might survive longer, but only lunatics ever pulled the rarest rewards.
His stance lowered slightly as the weight beneath his feet shifted, muscles tightening in preparation for a sudden burst forward.
Then—without wasting another second—Rain dashed ahead.
The massive wooden greatsword dragged violently across the wooden floor while he held it with both hands, sparks and rough scraping sounds echoing through the room. His grin widened more and more as adrenaline surged through his veins.
"Bring it on already!"
"Confirmation received."
The doll's eyes suddenly glowed crimson.
Red lightning-like energy erupted around its body, crackling violently as the entire atmosphere inside the practice room instantly turned dangerous.
Rain shifted part of his focus toward the mysterious energy resting deep within his core while already charging forward at full speed.
The strange energy flowed through his veins naturally like blood itself before surging straight into the massive wooden greatsword in his hands.
And instantly—
The overwhelming weight of the sword vanished completely.
Rain's speed exploded even further.
His body shot forward like a bullet as he dragged the giant blade upward with terrifying momentum before lifting it high above his head mid-charge. Then, just as the sword reached the top of the doll's head—
The energy coating the weapon disappeared entirely.
The sword regained its original monstrous weight in an instant.
"Take this— Feather Hit Style: Heavy Plunge!" Rain roared excitedly as the massive greatsword came crashing down like a collapsing mountain, the sheer force behind it making the air tremble violently.
But just before the blade could land—
A sudden impact exploded outward.
The doll's disgusting face slowly twisted into something resembling a grin—if that horrifying expression could even be called one. The sight alone was enough to make someone puke instantly while also giving them nightmares for years.
"It that's all you got?" the doll mocked coldly.
Rain's massive greatsword had been stopped effortlessly between the doll's palms. No shaking, no resistance, no strain at all—the terrifying weight and momentum behind his plunge attack simply meant nothing to it.
At that moment, realization hit him hard.
'Haha… I'm absolutely fucked.'
The thought appeared in his mind with pure sarcastic acceptance, like a man calmly watching disaster happen in slow motion while already knowing he was doomed.