Flailing Around

I flailed both arms wildly in the empty air right in front of me.

"Speak up. Can't talk?"

Nod, nod.

The clone ability I was trying out for the first time. It cost a whopping 30 top-grade Magic Stones.

"Can't summon two, huh."

No ego of its own, but it carried out orders faithfully. Hell, maybe that was better? No telling if a clone that looked just like me would even listen.

"Then go start a fire over there."

I tossed it a couple of wooden sticks at random.

During a Joint Trial, you couldn't leave until it was cleared, and this place looked like it would take weeks. I'd kinda figured it out back when the spire said the curse strengthened every two days…

"Where the hell is everyone else?"

Mother Nature was way too unforgiving for one guy to survive alone. And at night? Who the fuck knew what would crawl out.

Should I pitch a tent or something?

Anything called "nocturnal" just had a bad ring to it. My skills and Imprints and physique enhancements didn't let me hurl fireballs like some fantasy wizard—they just let me summon one pathetic human. Fantasy monsters aside, I was dead certain a single bear would end me.

"Ah, energy's reset."

Even this trusty 4-star skill had its reset button hit the second I entered the tower. Nothing ever went my way. Should've grabbed something like super strength from the Enhancement Stones?

Wanted to be a lightning mage!

Scrape—scrape—

Another me was scraping wood with a stick, slash-slash-slash-slash.

Luckily, thanks to the Enhancement Stones for vitality and metabolism, its movements were quick and snappy. In under three minutes, black smoke was already rising.

Whoosh!

"Ooh."

I clapped for no damn reason, and the clone hunkered down, looking up at me.

"Huh? What? Oh, gotta watch the embers!"

I should've told it to transfer them to dry grass and keep the fire going, but I'd been an idiot and just watched. Whoosh—it went out while I panicked.

What a fucking letdown. Still, doable in three minutes with a clone, so no big loss.

"Alright, clone buddy. You saw that, right? I just gave you a practice run. Do it once more. Oh, and by the way, you handle the dry grass and keeping the fire—"

Dong—dong—dong—

"……?"

I was in the middle of schooling my clone when a bell tolled from somewhere far off, echoing beyond ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the towering trees.

"Let's head that way."

At my words, the clone sprang to its feet.

The forest path was brutal. Everything felt gigantic, like I'd turned into a goddamn dung beetle. My neck ached from craning up at the sky, but I still couldn't see the tops of those colossal trees.

Climbing over roots that came up to my knees—my chest at worst—I pushed toward the bell, and then—dong—it rang again, closer now.

"……Let's rest here."

No clue what was ahead. Needed to recharge Meditation energy anyway, and above all… I wanted to test this clone properly.

I wedged myself between the roots of a massive tree and covered up with giant leaves. Then I summoned the Auraum Cloth and said to it,

"Bisi, poke me if anything comes. Block it if you can."

It was just a big, harmless floating carp, so not super reliable, but seeing it nod its head eased my mind. Way better than solo, by like a hundred times.

I sat cross-legged under the trunk base and Meditated, then immediately activated the clone skill.

The moment I activated the skill, my head went fuzzy like I was drifting off to sleep. My soul felt like it slipped out of my body, replaced by an alien sensation—like being overlaid and melting into something that wasn't me.

"Ugh—"

I staggered for a second. When I opened my eyes, my viewpoint was high. Obviously—the clone had been standing while my main body Meditated against the root.

I took awkward steps, brushing aside the massive leaves between the roots, and there I was: eyes closed, sitting still.

Never thought I'd be dealing with childhood worries like "what if I astral project and can't find my body?" as a grown-ass adult.

"Bisi. You really gotta guard good, okay?"

I double-checked, then headed properly toward the bell.

"No anomalies here!"

"Yes! Oh, could you help move this? It's too heavy…"

"Sure, hand it over."

Voices drifted from afar. Other climbers, probably. Felt weird. In the first Joint Trial, I'd been solo in the safe zone, like watching zoo animals behind bulletproof glass. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Now? Dropped into a safari with no glass, no fences.

I considered hiding my face but decided against it—would probably draw more attention. I blended naturally into the crowd of what looked like over a thousand people, like some local festival was underway. Everyone hustling, hauling rocks, big branches, giant palm-like leaves.

"Excuse me. What exactly are you all doing?"

I asked a fidgety-looking white woman like some clueless newbie.

"Pardon? Oh… Making a base camp? Um, which country are you from?"

"Republic of Korea."

"Republic of Korea? The one with the nukes? Anyway, East Asia's that way—keep going. Didn't get the instructions?"

"Nukes… Sigh. Instructions, you say?"

Instructions? Of course I'd heard. Back at the PC bang, the docs listed appearances and basics for the designated leaders in emergencies.

Per those, I was supposed to team with Koreans, Japanese, and some Americans?

"Thanks."

Conversation over. Climbers were all allies; no way was I ignoring the guidelines governments had hammered out after endless headaches.

Heading the way the white woman pointed—zoom—I spotted people bustling in some ancient white ruins.

"Korean?"

"Yeah."

A woman approached before I could even speak. The designated leader from the instructions—young and pretty for a government pick, so I remembered her.

"Ah! Thank god. I'm Hye-yeon Yoon. Assigned as leader for F Group this time. Korean, so join right up."

"Groups assigned on the spot, huh?"

"Haha… Yeah, Joint Trial hit outta nowhere. No prep time. Plus tons of unregistered climbers, so we don't pry—just check nationality and snap! snag 'em."

She snapped her fingertips in the air with an eye smile that screamed you're kidnapped now. Her soft wavy brown hair matched her gentle smile, putting people at ease. Yeah, felt pretty good. Snap, you're ours—labor time!

"Help out right away. Gotta build the base camp first since we'll be here a while~."

She rested a hand on my shoulder, pointing. Guys were grunting, hauling what looked like ass-heavy boulders.

Did I wander into a trap where pretty girls' smiles lure you into hard labor?

"Yup~ Head there. If you get hurt or have questions, ask freely, no worries? And…"

She pointed to the highest spot in the village-like ruins: an old bell tower with a woman atop it, scanning the surroundings.

"See that blonde girl? She's the boss of this zone. Serious shelter issue? Go straight to her."

"O… Who's she?"

Blonde white girl? Kinda familiar…

"Ehh! Playing dumb? That's Grace from Origin Tower Survival!!"

She slapped her palm over her mouth like she'd spotted a celeb using a polterphone.

"Grace? Her? Younger than I thought."

British nobility, pretty and capable? World was fucking unfair.

"Pfft. Don't hit on her, though. Fourteen guys already tried and got shot down."

"Yeah, sure."

"Whoa? You just accept it? Most go 'I'm different!'"

I'd figured we'd cross paths eventually, but sooner than expected. Saw on the news once: her on air, mic saying she was looking for me. Gave me chills. That constant scanning—was she watching for threats to the village…?

"Before work, anything else you've figured out here?"

"Hmm… Honestly, nada. Over a thousand of us popped up here in a herd. Then—whoa, pretty nature and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ruins! Leaders split into groups and started base-building. Gut feeling? Weeks here."

She chattered away, answering a stranger's curiosity amid the rush. One thing clear:

Other climbers are clueless too…

What now? Wanna build a house? Obvious.

"So only Grace is Survival here?"

"Yeah. Other Survival climbers should show eventually… But only met her. Probably somewhere in this world?"

"Plans to link up?"

"Eh… We got like a thousand to manage. Can't just 'everyone move together' willy-nilly. So that's why!"

Dong! A few burly guys by Grace rang the bell.

"To gather folks."

"Smart."

I'd come running too. Their spawn point was lucky as hell. Or mine unlucky? Still, a thousand people felt secure. Fine, leech for now. No need to do everything myself. Smarter folks would figure shit out. Survival climbers just needed to shine at the end for their keep, right?

"Architecture~ hunting, foraging, scouting! Preferences?"

She eyed me up and down.

"Then foraging—"

"Architecture! Perfect, we're short-handed."

She cut me off, clapping with a grin that brooked no argument. Silent pressure: no objections.

I sighed inwardly. Ended up manual labor anyway.

"…Got it."

Wouldn't refuse—I was outsourcing safety to this base camp too.

"Yay! Start with stone walls, reinforce collapsed ruins. Haul wood and rocks. Architects ahead."

She spun to scout fresh meat—er, recruits. At her spot, amid quarry workers, I gripped a boulder my torso size.

"Hold up, kid! Not that— this one! You'll wreck your back!"

Ajussi with arms thicker than my torso yelled.

Did I look that scrawny? Anyway, lighter load? No reason to say no—until.

"I'll split it—you take half… Huh?"

"Ah?"

Felt heavy, but lifted way easier than expected. Enhancement Stones? Then a skill popped into mind.

I pulled up the Status Window: higher than before.

And right then—another tick up. Only one thing that meant.

Main body Meditates, clone uses the energy instantly.