BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 52 – Training Arc (Soman 2)

The tenth gate was similar to the gates from the first to the ninth... but it was taller and larger in size.

Near it stood gate number 11. It was closed... and it had a different color and shape.

At that moment, Soman understood that the first ten stages were alike, and perhaps stages 11 to 20 were alike as well.

He smiled... but worry was present. He had never faced a commander-type monster before, and he feared his strength might not be enough.

He remembered the Deception Beast’s speech about true death in this dimension... yet he was even more determined.

What strengthened his resolve... were his glances toward the battle screens and notifications... three of the four other leaders had already passed the tenth stage.

"Am I weaker than them? Damn it," he cursed, then took a deep breath.

After making sure his combat accumulation was complete... he decided to enter.

Step after step... he entered the massive gate.

The world changed again.

The scene that had repeated in the first nine stages...

repeated once more.

Five hundred meters away... rising high...

a black mass weighing more than ten tons.

"It’s black. How annoying," Soman growled, drawing his spear and surrounding himself with water again.

He had faced, in the seventh round, black-colored bees (Royal Combat Bees)... they possessed a trait that had caused him great harm.

Suddenly... the sound roared.

Bzzzzzzzz...

The Royal Commander Bee moved.

Soman did not wait... he moved as well.

"I need to reach the forest quickly," he whispered.

Then he dashed to the side.

His speed increased.

The bee followed.

Then...

their paths crossed at the edge of the forest.

Soman jumped high.

Suddenly... the bee swelled, becoming twice its size.

From its mouth, it released a massive amount of black calcareous substance...

Soman retreated behind the trees and took cover, while the ground beneath filled with that substance.

In the seventh stage... the black bees used to release a chalky liquid that filled the ground and made Soman’s movement nearly impossible.

Facing a commander bee with the same ability... the situation would be worse.

That was what pushed Soman to choose shelter behind the trees and move freely above them.

The bee searched for Soman with three pairs of white, pupil-less eyes.

It didn’t find him.

Suddenly—

He jumped toward it from one of its blind spots.

Then...

BOOOOOOM.

He delivered his strike toward the gigantic black bee.

A meter-long slash opened directly across its body.

Then—

Bzzzzzzzz.

The scream rang again.

He didn’t care.

He moved quickly.

Hid behind the trees.

Again.

Jumped.

Slashed.

Stabbed.

The bee tried to deliver a counterattack.

It raised its stinger upward—

two meters long, like a drilling machine ending in a sharp point.

"Against that stinger," Soman whispered, "If I’m hit... I’m dead for sure."

Then—

Swoooosh.

The bee thrust toward Soman.

He retreated... and disappeared behind the trees again.

It searched for him once more.

Nothing. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

BOOOOOOM.

Another heavy strike from the side.

Another scream from the bee.

It raised its stinger—

Swoooosh.

"Slow," Soman whispered, vanishing again with a smile.

Suddenly—

The bee retreated.

Toward the open area away from the forest.

It stopped.

Twenty meters away.

Then...

it began swelling again.

Larger than it had been during the chalk attack.

Soman narrowed his eyes.

Then...

BOOOOOOM. BOOOOOOM. BOOOOOOM.

"A new attack," Soman whispered in surprise.

Large, fast circular air masses...

shot violently toward the trees.

BOOOOOOM. BOOOOOOM.

Each enormous sphere tore through the forest with destruction and brutality.

Soman retreated quickly.

He ran.

Jumped.

Dodged.

Then settled far away... and in front of him,

the field was devastated.

Fifty or more trees had been uprooted and shattered... nothing remained except scattered fragments.

The bee did not stop... it released its chalk attack again.

It filled the ground before it, making approaching it from the land impossible.

After a while... the air-bubble attack appeared again.

Soman retreated.

Then... time passed, and the system’s emblem arrived.

{ Time is up }

{ Mission Failed }

"Finally," Soman whispered. Then a blue light surrounded him and transported him to the hall.

He sat... then closed his eyes in exhaustion.

In one moment he had attacked with a precise and effective plan... his spear had managed to pierce the commander bee decisively.

But... in the next moment... defeating it became extremely difficult and did not happen.

"I need another plan..." he whispered.

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

The blue light appeared above his head again.

{ The tenth mission has been locked. To open it, Excellence in previous missions must be re-earned }

"Whaaaat!" Soman screamed and grabbed his head.

Outside—

the Deception Beast’s laughter echoed.

"What do you think of this punishment?" he whispered. "They must learn that missions are not a joke."

"Yes," I replied with displeasure, "I really didn’t like Soman searching for the timer to end while continuing to run."

"I have something else you’ll like... and that will teach them," the Deception Beast whispered.

Inside, Soman screamed again.

{ Remaining days until training ends: 100 days }

"What does that mean???" he whispered angrily.

Then... he moved.

Very quickly... toward the first stage.

This time he used the fastest paths...

and relied on his beasts whenever the system allowed.

In three days... he reached the tenth stage again.

He entered the confrontation... used his wolves quickly and attacked together with them.

The bee released its chalk liquid...

restricted the movement of the five wolves.

It fired air bubbles at them and knocked three away in one strike.

The bee was not fast... nor was its body hard.

But its attacks...

were heavy, immensely impactful.

Again Soman found himself in a dilemma.

He tried jumping over his wolves and delivering strikes.

He succeeded.

But they were limited strikes...

They couldn’t bring the bee down.

Then it directed its attacks toward the last two wolves and eliminated them.

And again...

the mission failed.

He repeated it again.

After two days... he reached it once more.

This time... Soman’s eyes shone with something different.

Determination—and a plan.

He drew his spear and his wolves... and attacked from several different directions.

The bee threw its liquid...

everyone retreated.

One of the attack paths was sealed by the chalk.

From the sides and the back... everyone attacked at once.

Slash.

Cut.

Smash.

Again... the bee suffered strong attacks, but it did not fall.

It launched another chalk attack, sealing one direction.

After twenty minutes... all directions were sealed.

Soman gripped his spear... and decided to deliver his strongest strike.

He ordered his wolves to move into the liquid and form a bridge for him to cross.

Then he charged.

The bee was preparing to launch its strike when Soman arrived.

Swoooosh—

then...

he plunged his spear into its abdomen.

Bzzzzzzzz.

The bee screamed...

then fell.

But—

the notification came at that moment.

{ Time is up }

"Daaaaamn!" Soman shouted, then was transported to the hall.

This time he did not go back to attack again... instead, he decided to rest and eat some food.

"It has strong offense... and strong defense," he whispered, "but its body is weak."

He put some food in his mouth. "If only my spear were of ancient grade," he muttered bitterly.

Then he stood.

"It’s time to try again."

After... two days.

Soman stood over the bee’s corpse with a smile.

{ Mission Success }

"A beautiful notification," he whispered. "Now I can feel what a commander feels when such alerts come."

Outside the hall... the eleventh gate opened.

"What is this?" Soman whispered and moved.

In front of the tenth gate... there were three chests.

Above each chest... a blue sentence appeared.

The first chest: Restore accumulation.

The second chest: Increase strength.

The third chest: Enslave creature.

"Do I have to choose?" Soman whispered.

The training system answered.

{ Choose one reward }

"Finally... a real reward," Soman whispered as he selected one of them.

Above the chests, a description appeared for each reward.

Accumulation Recovery – increases the duration in which you recover accumulation by 5%.

Strength Increase – your power rises by 3%.

Creature Enslavement – grants you the ability to enslave the royal commander bee, or increases your current enslaved count to seven.

"This looks like a difficult choice," Soman whispered.

Then he lay back to think.

Outside...

"What do you think?" the Deception Monster whispered. "What will your fighter choose?"

"I don’t know, haha," I said. "If I were him, I’d choose the bee."

"Why?" the monster asked.

"I don’t think he’ll find another one like it once the training ends. Strength can grow in many ways, and accumulation recovery too."

"You’re right... but you said it yourself," the Deception Monster whispered.

"What did I say?"

"The training isn’t over yet..."

"I see..." I murmured, then shifted my gaze to the next screen. "Maybe it’s time to watch another fighter."

Inside the training dimension...

"Hehehe," Lewis whispered proudly. "I’m ahead of everyone."

In front of her, a massive blue gate emerged. The number 20 was written on it.

Above it, the mission’s name shone in a large blue glow.

Step by step, she walked inside.

The world changed.

Then a vast lake appeared before her, occupying more than half of the area.

Calmness wrapped around the atmosphere... but the lake was not.

Dozens of enormous black shadows swam in its depths, letting out a sound like a terrifying bottomless abyss.