"Kuro, you little brat, what the hell are you spacing out for? Get your ass over here right now!"
The sudden roar jolted Ray out of his thoughts and yanked his attention back to the present.
When he turned toward the source of the voice, he saw that the one shouting was a one-eyed bald man wearing an eyepatch—just like Director Fury. The main difference was that this man was clearly Asian and speaking Japanese.
Ray didn't speak a word of Japanese, nor did the original owner of this body. And yet, somehow, he could understand every word the bald man was saying.
Moreover, even though the guy was yelling "Kuro," Ray instinctively knew he was being addressed.
"Am I Kuro right now?"
Having already experienced a body-swap once—and getting burned for it—Ray immediately suspected what was going on. He rushed over to a nearby bucket, popped the lid, and looked inside—
Sure enough.
Staring back at him was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen.
On closer inspection, it was unmistakably a younger version of Kuro. His face still carried the softness of youth, he hadn't started wearing those iconic round glasses, and even the usual scars on his face were nowhere to be found.
"So this is what 'Immersion Mode' means?" Ray was stunned by the realism.
If he hadn't remembered clearly spending 10 general points to activate this scene just moments ago, he might've thought he had actually been transported again.
No doubt about it—everything he was seeing and feeling now had to be a simulation by the system, recreating a real event from Kuro's youth.
"What the hell are you doing?! You looking for a beating?!"
Seeing "Kuro" standing around like he hadn't heard anything, and now messing with a water bucket for no reason, the bald man roared again.
"Why the hell are you screeching?! I'm not deaf!" Ray snapped back, clearly annoyed.
You're just a simulated NPC, so quit acting like you're something special!
"Oh, really?!"
The bald man flew into a rage, whipped out the belt at his waist, and lashed it through the air straight at Ray!
Smack!
With a loud, crisp sound, Ray let out a pained scream.
"System! What the hell, you damn sadist!!"
That one hit was enough to nearly bring him to tears.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell.
He had never expected a simulated training scene—like the virtual worlds described in his old novels—to actually come with real pain!
At least in games you could adjust the pain sensitivity. This simulation? Nope. Straight to 100% realism with no option to turn it down!
Jesus, talk about brutal.
While Ray cursed the system and its entire family tree, a prompt appeared in his mind:
> You may choose to exit the scene at any time. Exit now?
[Yes] / [No]
Seeing the bald man winding up for a second strike, Ray didn't hesitate: Yes!
Hell no, he wasn't sticking around to be whipped into submission. He wasn't into that kind of thing. If he didn't leave now, when would he?
Whoosh—
The moment he confirmed his choice, everything around him froze, as if someone had hit the pause button.
Even the second lash of the belt stopped mid-air, hanging just five centimeters from his body.
Suddenly, the entire scene cracked like shattered glass, dissolving bit by bit until darkness engulfed him once more.
Then came that familiar sensation of falling...
Moments later, Ray's eyes snapped open. He realized he hadn't moved at all—he was still lying flat on his back in the plush bed of his teacher's apartment, staring at the ceiling.
He sat up abruptly and instinctively checked the spot where he'd been hit. Then he remembered: different body. Of course there wouldn't be any marks.
But the pain still lingered in his memory, vivid and unmistakable.
"A 100% real-pain simulation… and that bald guy wasn't some dumb NPC either. He acted way too realistic to just be filler."
Recalling the experience, Ray began piecing things together.
"So, Immersion Mode simulates a past event from one of my alter personalities, and I get to step into their shoes—interacting with people from that time and maybe even learning from them…"
"The real question is: if I actually learn something in there, does it carry over into the real world?" he muttered, rubbing his chin.
Another issue: he'd forgotten to keep track of the time. That meant he couldn't determine if time inside the simulation passed at the same rate as in the real world.
"Guess I'll go again. This time I'll be careful."
He grabbed his phone and set it next to him, ready to start a timer the moment the simulation began.
After redeeming two [Bronze – Character Cards], he'd had 220 general points. With 10 used for the last try, he had 210 left.
Fortunately, activating a bronze-level scenario only cost 10 points, so he could afford to experiment a few more times. A silver-level one, though? That'd cost 100 points per run—definitely not something he could afford to waste.
Ray laid back down, started the timer, and reactivated the same scene as before.
Whoosh—
Darkness returned. The falling sensation. Then, the same swaying old boat, the salty air, and that all-too-familiar bald, one-eyed trainer.
"Kuro, you little punk, stop daydreaming and get your ass over here!"
Just as he expected, the same scolding voice rang out again.
"Exactly as I thought. Every time you activate it, it's like re-entering a game dungeon. Even if it's the same scene, everything resets and starts from the beginning."
Seeing the familiar environment again, Ray wasn't shocked this time—he was intrigued.
"Alright… let's follow the script this time," he muttered, mentally preparing himself.