Reality Quest: Questism

I collapsed onto my desk, my breath coming out in heavy sighs. My eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It's… finally over…" I groaned. "Haaa…"

Midterms were over.

Slumping back over my chair, I let my head dangle upside down, staring at Jihan, who was currently laughing at my misery.

"You laugh? I studied my ass off for this!"

Jihan grinned, shaking his head. "I dunno, from what I can see, it's still very much intact."

I clicked my tongue. "Really funny. You try cramming an entire semester's worth of material in a week."

He snorted. "You say that like it's not your usual routine. Maybe don't leave it all to the last second?"

I scoffed, or, well, tried to scoff while hanging upside down. "Maybe I should start studying regularly. Y'know, to stop my brain from melting out of my ears."

Jihan hummed. "Your brain doesn't actually feel pain, you know?"

"What?" I blinked. "Then what the hell is a headache?"

"Pain signals from other nerves. Tension, stress, dehydration… lots of factors."

Ah, right. Jihan's lecture mode. He had a habit of slipping into it, dropping little factoids like a walking, talking cram school. Not that I minded. It made him easy to talk to, even when my head was fried from exams.

I snickered, picturing a cram school on wheels.

"So, heading straight home today?" I asked.

Jihan nodded, smiling. "Mhm. I wanna spend some time with my mom before our trip next week. She wouldn't let me cancel."

I gasped dramatically, sitting up. "Cancel?! Over my dead body. That's our last high school field trip, man!"

Jihan chuckled. "Yeah, she said the exact same thing. It's funny how similar you two are sometimes."

His voice dropped to a quieter tone. "Honestly, though… I still can't believe it. The doctors don't know how it happened. They think there was some kind of mutation in her immune system that let her fight it off, but…"

I cut him off. "Hey, Jihan. Does it matter?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Does it matter how it happened?"

Jihan hesitated, thinking about it. Then, slowly, he shook his head. "…No, I guess not. I'm just glad she's okay now."

"Exactly," I said, leaning back again. "Focus on that. Spend as much time with her as you can, yeah?"

Jihan smiled. "Yeah."

A comfortable silence settled between us, the weight of midterms, his mother, everything hanging in the air.

Eventually, Jihan broke it. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

I hesitated for just a second. "I have someone to talk to."

"Do I know them?"

I tilted my head. "Mmm… kinda? But also not really."

He frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You'll find out." I smiled. "Or maybe you won't."

Jihan gave me a deadpan look. "Once again, I reiterate… what does that mean?"

I just laughed.

***

None of my answers to Jihan were wrong, I thought as I walked down the street, having already walked him home and then waved goodbye to his mom.

It was honestly as close as the actual answer could be without telling him outright.

I stopped walking as I entered the Boramae children's park that no one actually played at these days, clambering up onto the top of the slides.

I spoke out loud.

"Summon Copy Cloud."

After I'd fought Kim Kangjae, I'd thought… someone like him who does anything for money… would he be an acceptable target for Chains of Indoctrination?

The one brainwash card that I had?

His stats were good, much better than Sehun's… he was nearly on the level of a Rep. I guess people outside of Gwanak were just as much monsters as they are inside.

Thankfully I was spared from having to destroy my moral compass by the arrival of my new Diamond card.

Copy Cloud. 

Of course, like the chains of indoctrination card… there was a new limit imposed on it.

Summon Card

Copy cloud.

Allows the user to summon 1 Copy Cloud that can be copied and pasted.

Copied humans must first be defeated by the user.

I'd nearly torn my own hair out when I read that.

Every single plan I'd had? Gone.

Copy Eunsung and let him fight my battles? Gone.

Use Cloud to train and max out all my skills? Gone.

Instead, I was left with this… my own, slightly weaker, non-sentient Kangjae Cloud.

A shadow without experience. A fighter without a reason to fight.

I sighed, peeling off my school jacket and button-up, tossing them onto the slide beside my bag. The workout shirt underneath clung to my skin as I stretched out my shoulders.

"Alright, Cloudy. Let's go again."

The moment the words left my lips, he moved.

A fist cut through the air, I leaned back. Another jab—sidestep. A low kick—I hopped over it, feeling the rush of wind against my calves.

His movements were powerful but empty. The real Kangjae had the intent to hurt, the experience to read his opponent, the instincts of someone who'd fought a hundred battles before.

Cloud had none of that.

He was raw stats. Strength without technique. Speed without decision-making.

That was fine. I wasn't using him to win.

I was using him to train.

Cloud swung again, I ducked, narrowly missing the punch as I slid beneath his arm, feeling the wind rush past my ear.

Not bad. My dodging was getting better.

I exhaled, flipping backward and landing lightly on the ground. Cloud paused, standing still, waiting for my next command.

I looked at him… at this person who wasn't quite a person.

A clone without a soul. A body without a will.

In some ways… Cloud was like my baby.

I rolled my shoulders, shaking out the tension in my limbs as Cloud stood across from me, unmoving. Waiting.

He was like a wind-up toy, frozen until I wound the key.

I exhaled. "Again."

Cloud surged forward.

His fist came first—a straight punch aimed at my jaw. I twisted my body, leaning just enough for the wind to brush past my cheek. Before I could counter, his other arm snapped forward in a follow-up jab.

That's new.

I bent at the waist, dodging just in time for the punch to graze the top of my head. My foot slid back, and I stabilized my stance.

Cloud wasn't learning, but his body moved as if he was adapting.

Had the real Kangjae thrown punches like this? Maybe. Maybe I just hadn't fought him long enough to see his full potential.

Cloud struck again. This time, a hook aimed at my ribs. I twisted, raising my forearm to deflect it. The moment I made contact, I felt the raw power behind the blow. My arm went slightly numb from the impact, even though I'd blocked it.

I grimaced. If I ate that head-on, I'd be in trouble.

A fist shot toward my face, shit!—I ducked, feeling the wind rush over my head. My legs coiled beneath me.

Time to test something.

I pushed off the ground, launching myself over Cloud's shoulder in a tight flip. Landing smoothly, I whipped around to face him.

He was still standing in the same position, his arm frozen mid-swing where my head had been. Slowly, he turned toward me, the same blank stare in his eyes.

I took a deep breath. This isn't a person.

That should have reassured me.

But it didn't.

Because what if he was?

I could copy people now. Their bodies, their stats, their skills. Everything except the most important part… their mind.

Cloud had no anger, no thoughts, no instinct beyond obeying my commands. But he looked like Kangjae. Moved like Kangjae. If someone saw him from a distance, they'd never know the difference.

Was it really that different from brainwashing him?

I ducked under another swing, my body moving on autopilot.

If I ever used this ability on someone else… copied another person's body, their strength—

Would I be creating a person? Or just stealing their shell?

Cloud's next attack was faster, more precise. He was closing the gap between us, learning my movement patterns even without thinking.

I twisted, narrowly avoiding a strike aimed at my ribs, and leapt back, my feet skidding against the worn playground rubber.

My heart was hammering. Not from exhaustion. From something deeper.

This ability…

I could use it to create an army. Copy the strongest fighters. Make as many versions of them as I wanted.

But would they be alive?

Or just shadows?

I inhaled sharply as Cloud lunged again.

No hesitation. No thought. No emotion.

Just movement.

His fist shot out—I sidestepped. A knee came for my stomach—I twisted. A spinning backfist—I ducked.

Cloud was strong. But he wasn't real.

And yet…

I gritted my teeth, dodging one last time before jumping back, putting space between us.

"Enough."

Cloud froze.

Chest rising and falling, I stared at him.

This ability… it was powerful. Dangerous. And if I wasn't careful…

It could turn me into someone I didn't want to be.

I let out a long, steady breath. Then I stepped forward, tapping Cloud's shoulder.

"Good work, Cloudy."

No response.

Not a nod, not a flicker of recognition. Just the blank, unwavering stillness of something that wasn't really there.

I swallowed. "Turn back."

Without hesitation, his body dissolved into mist… pale blue vapor curling and twisting as it drifted toward me. I caught it in my arms, circling them around the weightless mass as it settled onto my lap.

Like a pet. Like something harmless.

I stared up at the sky, my fingers lightly sifting through the mist. It didn't resist. It didn't react. Just silent, empty obedience.

That should have made me feel relieved.

So why did it make my stomach twist instead?

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I always found Copy Cloud scary until they gained sentience. 

Also, this is for you Mr_Graythorn and all the other readers who are interested in the appearance of the mc. Honestly you can just imagine him as looking the same as after his second body upgrade but because I'm extra, I drew him and Jihan in my style. 

Here ya go. 

I'll draw another one of his actual physique and put that into a later chap.

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Also, are there any other fics that y'all want me to write? It might be nice having a side-fic to write about when I'm bored.

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Anyways

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