Villainous Me: Help! The heroines are yanderes!
Chapter 59: Working out[GTG]

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Working out[GTG]

"So you want to take on a quest?" A man in glasses, dressed identically to the military men standing guard outside, confirmed.

"Yes," Ryan responded with gusto.

At present, he was in the building for quest allocations, created by the academy for students who either wanted to improve their strength or hunt for credits.

"But weren’t you the one who got into an accident on a previous mission?" the man asked, gazing at the laptop in front of him.

"Well yes, but the exams are just around the corner, and I really need to brush up my combat prowess," he stated, hands clasped behind his back.

"Ha, very well, here is the list of missions your rank is permitted to undertake," the man said. Suddenly, Ryan felt a jolt on his wrist, and a holographic interface with detailed information on various possible missions appeared.

The missions ranged from capturing low-tier mana beasts to retrieving certain mana cores. It also stated locations and areas where such creatures were mostly seen.

"I think I’ll go with the orc mission," Ryan said after some consideration. He needed a mission that would entail fighting a difficult monster or beast, allowing him to put his shadow skill into full use.

"Huh?" the man blurted, looking shocked by his choice. "Are you sure that is what you want?" he questioned, leaning forward.

"Absolutely," Ryan responded with a nod.

Hearing this, the man sat back in his chair and returned to operating his laptop. "You are only permitted around the first section of the forest. Only when you get a higher rank would you be permitted to move any further than that," he said. "Do you understand?" he gestured, looking at Ryan.

"Of course," Ryan replied.

The man then handed him a card with a digitalized ID imprinted on it. He was then ushered by another officer out of the building to a vast space where other students stood in a queue. "This is the teleportation ground, and as you can see, other students are also partaking in various missions," he explained, without caring if this was or wasn’t Ryan’s first time here, which of course it was. "Just head to the back of the line and wait your turn. When you get to the machine, slide your card through that device by its side, and your destination would be linked," he gestured to a circular contraption which was the centerpiece of the field. It was a metallic device with runes imprinted around it, and just within the circular space was what appeared to be a vortex, deep blue in color and spiraling strangely. Besides it was a device with a slot space, probably what the man was referring to.

With that, the officer took off to return to his official post.

"Ha, this is going to take all day," Ryan thought to himself before shuffling to the back of the line.

...

After about an hour or so, Ryan was finally getting his turn. He stepped in front of the machine, then swiped his card by the other beside it, and suddenly, the vortex seemed to warp and repair itself again.

He sent his hand through it, and he could feel a cold sensation traveling through his body. Shutting his eyes and making up his mind, he walked into it, and the next thing he knew, he was in a forest scenery.

It was so bizarre, yet strange. It was as though he had walked through two realities within mere seconds.

The sun cast a dazzling glow below, draping the trees and the forest in a warm hue.

He could hear the chirping of birds and the distinct sounds of other creatures he had yet to lay his gaze upon.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt on his wrist, and an interface appeared.

[Portal will appear in exactly two hours’ time. Endeavor to return to this location by then.]

And as if on cue, the portal which had brought him warped away.

With a deep sigh, he grabbed hold of his katana and unsheathed it. He then weaved through the trees, quickly trying to gauge his speed.

He ran and ran, then finally reached a location where he could hear the sound of a strange creature.

He quickly halted his steps and hid behind a huge tree.

"Now, how exactly do I use the skill?" he asked himself.

[Just circulate your mana throughout your body, then visualize the properties of the skill.]

Well, it was somewhat the same with the process of that other world.

So he did exactly as instructed, shutting his eyelids and circulating his mana through his main veins. Suddenly, he felt a biting wind brush past his skin. When he opened his eyes, there it was - a replica of him.

"Whoa," He gasped in shock, but the clone seemed to mirror his actions. He stretched his hands forward, and the clone did the same, their hands meeting.

He didn’t feel his hand phase through it or anything; it was real!

"Wait, are you just doing this because you want to, or do you have a mind of your own?" he asked, narrowing his eyes into slits as he questioned the doppelganger.

"I don’t know. I just felt like doing it, probably because we were thinking the same thing," it shrugged.

"Whoa, you actually have cognizance. Hold on, what did it feel like before coming into existence?" he asked, deftly peeking about to see if some creature was lurking.

"Well, I was you, that much I remember. I tried summoning a clone, and next thing, I was here, the clone," the clone explained.

This sounded quite interesting to Ryan. This only meant the clone was him before being created, which likewise meant not only could it adapt to situations in the heat of battle, but it could also share his ideas.

He was just about to ask another question when the eyes of the clone suddenly widened. "Watch out!" it screamed before diving forward and pushing him out of the way.

Ryan collapsed to the ground from the force of the push. Looking up, he was left stupefied by the sight before him. The tree... it was actually alive?