Chapter 5: Episode 5 – The Clone Who Ran

Chapter 5: Episode 5 – The Clone Who Ran Episode 5 – The Clone Who Ran The early sun painted the sky in soft oranges and pinks, casting long shadows over the park paths. Trees rustled gently in the breeze, their leaves whispering secrets from a world where nature still remembered peace. And through that park, a figure ran. Thump. Thump. Thump. Shoes smacked against the paved path with steady rhythm, not hurried but firm. A wide, round man with sweat sticking to his shirt sprinted down the trail. Or so it looked, until you realized something felt... off. It wasn’t Kim Do-hyun (김도현). It was Number 1. The clone. His steps were too perfect. His eyes too empty. Not robotic, but focused. Pure will. A body pushed to its absolute edge, but a mind that didn’t care about rest. Two old men sat on a park bench nearby, cracking sunflower seeds and watching him jog past. "That guy again," one said, squinting under his cap. "You see him? That crazy one. Comes here every morning. Runs till sunset like a machine." The other grunted. "No one runs like that unless they’re running from death. Or chasing it." Further down the path, a short old lady waved a hand, smiling gently. "Boy, wait! Here, take some water. You’ll collapse if you keep pushing like this." She reached into a cloth bag and held out a small plastic bottle. Her fingers shook a little from age. But the clone didn’t break stride. He turned his head slightly, just enough to make eye contact. Then he frowned. Not with anger. Just... disinterest. He ran faster. Leaves flew up behind him. The woman stood frozen, water bottle still held out. "That one’s strange," she whispered. Back home, in a second-floor apartment stacked with game posters and half-eaten ramen bowls, the real Kim Do-hyun (김도현) stood shirtless before a mirror. He stepped on the digital scale. Beep. The numbers glowed. 92.3 kg He blinked. He stepped off, rubbed his eyes, stepped back on. 92.3 kg He blinked again. "No way," he mumbled. "That’s twenty kilos... gone?" His fingers pinched at his belly. The soft rolls had shrunk. His face looked slimmer. His neck wasn’t swallowed by fat anymore. He raised his arms. They looked... stronger. A bit of tone, not just marshmallow. And he hadn’t moved in weeks. He grinned. "This... this is the life." A blue window popped up before his eyes. [Stats Updated] [Stamina +0.1] [Reflex +0.1] [Agility +0.1] He whispered slowly, like tasting fine candy. "Plus point one... for free." He tapped a finger to his forehead. His clone was still out there. Still running. And everything it did came back to him. He threw on a hoodie, slumped into his gamer chair, and scrolled open the skill logs. His talent had rules. He had spent the past few weeks testing and observing, watching his clone from security cams, tracking its patterns, even attaching a smartwatch to check heartbeat and GPS. Now, he understood a few things. One: The clone’s pain and exhaustion didn’t transfer back to him. Not even a whisper of soreness. It could collapse from heat stroke, vomit from fatigue, pass out from overwork — and Do-hyun would be eating potato chips, watching cartoons. Two: If pushed too hard, or left with zero energy, the clone would vanish in a puff of smoke. Not violently. Just like steam meeting cold air. Silent. Gone. But it could be summoned again after the cooldown. Three: The clone’s body changed with him. As Do-hyun got in shape, the clone did too. It mirrored him exactly. Fat melted off both. Muscle started to show. Four: Distance didn’t matter. Do-hyun could send mental commands from across the city. He once tested it during a bathroom break and watched the clone stop mid-sprint, kneel, and start praying beside a lake. It freaked out a couple walking by. And five: A clone could never summon a clone. He tried it on Day Ten. The clone tried to mimic his own summon pose. It failed. Error message. Blue light flickered. A buzzing sound. Then reality rejected the action like a virus. [Illegal Command. Clone-summoning cannot stack.] He had stared at that line for a long time. If clone-summoning could stack, he thought, it would break the world. One man becomes two. Then four. Then eight. Then sixteen. Infinite copies of one mind, all doing different tasks. Reality would collapse. He had laughed. Then cried. Then ate more ramen. But now? Now he felt powerful. His phone buzzed. A message from Park Joon-ho (박준호). Yo. Did you really lose twenty kilos or are you lying to your mirror? Do-hyun replied: Mirror’s scared of me now. I look like a proper main character. Joon-ho responded quickly. You mean a background character who glitched into the main role. Do-hyun chuckled. He sat back and looked at the ceiling. Then said in a low voice: "Let’s test how far I can go." He called up the skill window. [Talent: Cloning – Level 1] [Type: Summoning] [Maximum active clones: 1] [Energy drain: Moderate] [Control range: Global (linked by mind)] [Cooldown: 24 hours upon dismissal or failure] He gazed at the words. His eyes were fixed on the top. Level 1 That was the ability to level up. The clone’s physical activity increased his stats. Perhaps other activities would increase his magic stat. Or reflex. Or even unlock passive skills. But how? He had to experiment. Do-hyun got up and stretched. He gazed upon the disordered room. Dirty bowls. Squashed soda cans. Worn clothes. This was a cave. A nest. He had lived small. But now? He was beginning to feel large. Number 1 slowed in the park. The sky was orange, nearly red. The sun was bleeding into the mountains way beyond the trees. Slowly the birds flew in the air, homeward bound. The clone’s breath was ragged. His shirt was plastered against his chest. His shoes were wet with sweat and dust. People stared. A little girl whispered to her mom, "Mommy, is that man okay?" The mother smiled. "He’s fine, honey. Just... very dedicated." The clone halted at last by a bench. He leaned forward, on his knees. He blinked. Once. Twice. Then he disappeared. A little smoke puff. Gone. At the apartment, the bracelet of Do-hyun was glowing. [Clone dismissed. Cooldown started: 24:00:00] He smiled and nodded. "Good job, Number 1. See you tomorrow." The room was silent once more. But within him a fire was kindled. And it was not going out soon. ???? SYSTEM ALERT: Clone Support Needed! Ever dreamed of doing nothing while your clone builds your empire? Good. That’s exactly how I run things here. But even clones need energy — and guess what fuels them? Your support. ???? Golden ticket ???? Vote ???? Gift ???? Unlock Privileges ???? Drop a comment Every click powers the system. Every tap births a new clone. Help me build a world where you chill, and we grind. — Little LYTA (Clone #47 out)