Chapter 7: Calibration II
The morning light had fully crested over the rooftops by the time Victor returned to his makeshift training hall — an old, abandoned textile warehouse whose roof bore the scars of time and neglect. Long sheets of torn insulation hung from the rafters like pale, rotting vines. Dust glimmered in the air, but Victor barely noticed.
He was thinking.
The anomaly was gone — for now. But it had felt like more than just a spatial fluctuation. It had a presence. A weight. And the System had clearly detected it but refused to explain it. That irritated him more than the disturbance itself.
Inside, the cracked cement floor bore the marks of his earlier tests — impact craters from kinetic slams, long scratches from redirected force, and a few melted remnants of improvised metal targets. But this morning would not be about brute force.
Today was about precision.
He stopped in the center of the warehouse and exhaled slowly.
"System," he said aloud. "Display status."
A soft flicker shimmered in his vision. The translucent screen, visible only to him, unrolled like a scroll of light.
---
> [SYSTEM INTERFACE – STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Victor von Doom
Race: Human+ [Modified]
Level: 1
Title: N/A
Primary Attributes:
• Strength – 13
• Agility – 11
• Endurance – 12
• Intelligence – 18
• Perception – 14
• Willpower – 20
Secondary Traits:
• Kinetic Manipulation – Lv. 2
• Environmental Awareness – Lv. 1
• Internal Reinforcement – Lv. 1
• Adaptive Efficiency – Locked
Current XP: 12 / 100
System Access Tier: Level 1
Restrictions Applied. Advanced Features Locked.
> Note: Progression through combat, experimentation, and narrative significance.
---
Victor frowned slightly at the last line.
"Narrative significance?" he muttered. "Cute."
But the rest was useful. He had begun to intuit some of these capabilities, but now he had clearer structure. Kinetic Manipulation, for example — he'd used it mostly to redirect small objects or reinforce his strikes. But the fact it had levels implied evolution. Specific limits. Specific upgrades.
He cracked his neck and raised a hand.
There was a rusted steel drum on the far side of the room. One of its corners had crumpled inward — a casualty of his earliest tests. He focused on it now, narrowing his eyes.
Not brute force this time. Control.
He raised two fingers. Then slowly made a beckoning motion.
The drum groaned — metal whining slightly as kinetic force gathered beneath it — and then it slid across the floor, scraping along the concrete. Not launched. Not flung. Just... moved.
Victor smiled faintly.
He reversed the flow.
The barrel stopped.
Hovered.
Then reversed direction and slid back to its original position.
It took effort — subtle direction, mental clarity, and exacting intent. But it responded. There was a fluidity to the System's power, one that seemed to bend to the shape of his thoughts.
Like it was made for him.
Another flick of the fingers — this time he twisted, rotating the barrel in the air. It spun slowly. Wobbled.
Then it crashed to the ground with a dull clang as Victor exhaled sharply.
Too far.
Still, progress.
He brought the stats screen back up and focused on Internal Reinforcement.
"Let's try something else," he said, quietly. He took a deep breath, centered himself, and mentally activated the trait.
Immediately, he felt it — a subtle tightness under his skin. Like a full-body tension. But not pain. Just density. Like his muscles had been wrapped in taut wire.
He dropped into a low stance.
One quick jab — the air cracked faintly. A tiny pressure pop.
Another. Then a forward lunge.
His movement was smoother now. Stronger. The power wasn't enormous, but it was efficient. Each punch, each step — it wasted less energy. Compressed strength. Maximized output.
He was faster.
Not enough to break the sound barrier. Not yet.
But enough to move like a trained fighter. Enough to fight back, if it came to that.
> [Internal Reinforcement – Experience Gained: +3 XP]
He smirked. "So it rewards training directly…"
Good. That was controllable. Repeatable.
He would build his strength, chapter by chapter, day by day.
There would be no divine intervention. No allies to carry him. No easy victories.
Only methodical progress.
---
Hours passed.
Victor repeated his drills in cycles — kinetic projection, reinforcement, then recovery. He monitored how long he could sustain each ability. How it drained his stamina. How the System "learned" from each attempt.
He even began assigning theoretical "thresholds" — the tipping points where strain surpassed control.
The System didn't give him blueprints.
But it gave him tools.
And Doom would always know how to build.
---
As the light began to fade through the warehouse's broken windows, Victor collapsed onto a worn-out metal bench. His shirt clung to him with sweat. His breath was even, but deep.
> [Current XP: 29 / 100]
A good start.
But just a start.
Then — just as he was about to dismiss the status screen — something flickered at the bottom.
A new line.
---
> [System Alert – Passive Detection Triggered]
Residual fluctuations from anomaly still active.
Distance: 1.3 km. Direction: East.
Movement: None.
Unknown energy signature recorded. Classification… incomplete.
> Note: Early engagement not advised.
---
Victor sat up slowly, eyes sharpening.
"It's not gone," he murmured.
It had moved.
Or... spread.
But what was it?
Why now?
And why here?
He stood, slowly.
He needed to see it again.
But he wouldn't go unprepared.