The Pod has the enviable ability of replicating everything about the user and even their surroundings, down to the last detail into the digital world, and this is the reason why Silas chose it as an alternative training ground for his training session.
In addition to that function, the Pod's training platform for its user, Domain, is the most terrifying with its ability to create everything and anything the user thinks of.
Thanks to these two reasons, Silas was able to create a clone of himself, with all his knowledge and abilities.
They say that for a fighter, there's nothing worse than fighting an unrestrained version of yourself, at its peak condition.
Back to the present, Silas was still shuttling miles through the air after he was sent flying by a punch to his face.
Silas' body smashed through multiple large diamond rocks before he finally stopped flying as his body smashed a hole into a diamond mountain and was embedded in it.
"What in the actual fuck?! That was just a punch!" Silas shouted in shock and rage, as he pulled his body out of the mountain.
He looked towards his clone, and saw it blitzing towards him like a launched projectile.
Seeing this, Silas tightened his feet into the mountain, and launched his body towards the clone, using the mountain as a launchpad, and more than half of the mountain came crumbling down as a result.
Silas and the clone met each other in the air with a punch, and a loud booming sound resonated from the impact of the punches, and the two of them were sent flying in different directions.
Silas landed on the floor and just as he was about to regain his bearing, when he saw an unknown object closing in on his vision.
He made an attempt to dodge the unknown object and was successful, but he couldn't celebrate as another unknown object hit him right in the face and sent him spinning into the air, yet again.
Silas managed to stop himself from spinning but was unable to catch his breath, as he saw the clone closing in on him, with two swords made of earth, in each hand.
"Shit! How the fuck is it able to do that?!," Silas screamed in shock when he saw the earthen swords in the clone's hands.
"Ohh.. I can do that too," Silas said with a smile, after coming to a realization and started free-falling to the ground.
The clone seeing Silas free-falling towards it, launched itself into the air and slashed at Silas' head.
Silas, seeing this, was calm. He gently controlled the air current around him and formed two small whirlwinds, concentrated around his hands, and met the earth swords head-on with a full-powered punch.
A massive collision sound originated from the impact of the two attacks. The whirlwinds around Silas' hands acting as a guard and an attack amplifier, lost their form and dispersed, and the earthen swords shattered.
The two of them were yet again sent flying in different directions and smashed into the ground, creating a massive hole and dust clouds.
Silas quickly picked himself out of the hole and blitzed towards the clone's position.
His vision wasn't affected by the dust cloud at all, as he could see the clone creating a human-tall earth shield with spikes on its surface.
Seeing this, Silas also controlled the earth around him and created a large earthen longsword.
Immediately, he appeared in front of the shield and slashed across it, with all his strength.
Silas didn't plan to hold back but instead, he intends to crush this fake version of himself who sent him flying with a punch.
Yes, he's pissed.
Unfortunately for him, the shield proved to be sturdy as all he could achieve was leaving a light scratch on it.
Silas didn't have the chance to prepare another attack as he felt an impact on his chest, and was sent flying backward, yet again.
At this point, Silas was completely pissed and the last of the restraint that was holding him back finally broke.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm being played by a damn clone! My own clone!"
Before he could land and his feet could touch the ground, Silas disappeared from the spot, leaving flashes of afterimages behind.
The next moment, he appeared beside the clone and punched its face with his fist coated with solidified earth.
The attack unfortunately, didn't connect as the clone caught Silas' hand and threw him forward, before immediately dragging him back and mercilessly smashed him into the ground.
Silas' anger at this point had deflated as his smashed body lay sprawled in the hole.
Silas didn't know whether he should cry at how badly he was beaten or be happy at how strong he actually is.
Yes, he was the one who wanted to train himself by fighting a clone in nightmare mode, but he didn't expect to receive such a whopping.
"This is enough for today," Silas said and logged out.
Immediately, he found himself awake and the Pod's glass opened, allowing him to exit its interior.
Silas stepped out of the Pod and lay down tiredly on the bed. He wasn't actually tired but the beating he received left him feeling defeated and very moody, but it wasn't permanent as his mood improved the next moment when he thought of how strong he's become.
"That was really intense," Silas said, as he let out a long sigh and smiled.
Putting aside the beating he received, Silas was very happy and satisfied with the results he achieved.
He now have the strength that easily allows him to pulverize a concrete pillar. His speed measuring 510 mph, almost as fast as commercial planes, if not faster.
His abnormal stamina, something that left him stumped since he woke up after the island incident.
After Silas did the 85 miles sprint, he felt that he could still go a couple more laps, but this was only his thought.
Silas' charisma attribute with 1000 points has made him into the most handsome male on the planet, or should he say beautiful. He literally went from an ogre to a EX rank super model.
Silas didn't have any words for his intelligence that allows him terrifying mental abilities and control over matter.
The intense training fight with the clone, even though it was a one-sided beating for him, proved that he was extremely strong and he was still hiding more, especially the last attack he made.
The attack made Silas understand that he could still go beyond his current speed but that's something he would have to confirm later.
With this, Silas knew that he wasn't actually nerfed but instead, just like the system said, his body has hit its limit.
While he was thinking of his rapid increase in strength, his thoughts also drifted to something else; his superpowers.
Silas was actually able to see to an extent just how terrifying the [Matter Manipulation] is.
The ability that allows him to control any form of matter and shape it into whatever he wants is insane!
Silas felt he has come a long way from someone who couldn't even control a tennis ball of water to someone who can shape the earth into whatever he wants, even though it's still F Rank.
Due to the limitations of his rank, Silas is only able to freely control and shape the original states of matter into whatever structure he wants, but it's still not perfect.
Silas noticed that when he created the earthen longsword, he felt how weak its structure. Even though the longsword appeared very terrifying, Silas felt that all he needed was a flick of his finger to shatter it to dust.
After a careful analysis, Silas knew that there's still more work to be done.
Here comes the confusing part that Silas still can't understand. Is the superpower, [Regeneration] just as straightforward as its name?
If yes, then why does he feel that there's something more to it.
After a while of thinking, Silas decided not to burn anymore of his brain cells. He felt that the mystery behind everything would unravel itself soon.
"Since, I don't have to worry about my strength for a very long time, then I can focus on my business plans and for that, I will need system points," Silas said as he thought to himself.
"I haven't been able to extensively explore the system store. Something I should start doing as soon as possible."