Swoosh! Swoosh!
Fists blurred. Kicks sliced through the air like butter. Two figures could be spotted on the polished mahogany floor, their exchange a superhuman display unlike anything a normal human could perform.
Some distance away, three figures sat cross-legged, observing the blur of motion.
One of them was Rex Axel. He was a boy with dark hair, deep blue eyes that radiated a quiet calm, and a face that, well, words struggled to capture.
He wore a white, breathable top that seemed too large for his moderate frame, and ash joggers. Despite their bogus form, they afforded him the freedom he'd need in a few moments.
"251 meta drip... 252 meta drip... 253 meta drip..." Rex counted off monotonously in his mind, an act to combat the boredom of observing a match far beyond his ability to follow. The two fighters were "Advanced"—a term for people whose bodies had improved beyond normal human genetic limits.
This he was not. The Advanced weren't naturally born this way. Their improved capabilities were achieved by gaming. "Silly, right?" he thought. They hadn't achieved peak human capabilities by ingesting drugs or training their bodies like saitana, but rather from something as mundane as playing video games.
"254 meta drip... 253—awhh..." Rex's monotonous count was shattered by a sudden development between the two superhuman combatants. One fighter was no longer in the circle. In fact, he was airborne, on a direct path to reunite with the white padded wall of the training hall.
This was the fate of every member of this dojo, every single Wednesday.
The ritual: "Shuttling." The culprit, Big-Boned Ben, the weekly initiator of this event, stood unchallenged in the circle. His most recent prey—ehmm, sorry—student, made contact with the wall in a not-so-dignified pose.
Big Ben was a former Pro-level Mixed-Martial Arts fighter. After the launch of "Cosmic Ascendance" in 2218—the ultra-realistic virtual game that had taken the world by storm—he had switched professions.
His fighting skills helped him make quick advancements in the game and even brought physical improvements to his body. It was a no-brainer decision. But maybe in tribute to his earlier fighting days, or simply for the thrill, he had opened Forge Fitness.
Feeling satisfied with his most recent "masterpiece," Big Ben's gaze landed on his next prey— (sorry again!) student: Rex Axel.
Rex was his only unadvanced student, a situation less by choice and more by circumstance. Cosmic Ascendance, the VR game that could advance physical capabilities, as wonderful as it was, had a single, ironclad requirement for aspiring players: they had to be above the age of seventeen.
The mysterious game developers took this rule very seriously. Players weren't asked to confirm their age or anything like that. When anyone below the required age limit logged into the game, all that met them was a countdown to their seventeenth birthday.
Rex made his way to the ring under the predatory gaze of his trainer and teacher, Big-Boned Ben. "Huu–haa... Huu-haa..." Rex sucked in deep breaths—in... and out... He needed to stay tethered to the present; he couldn't afford any distractions right now.
"Softer... Softer... Softer," Big Ben repeated to himself, making mental notes to take it as easy as he could.
The moment he lost even a sliver of expert control over his raw strength, Rex would be as wounded as a broken heart.
. . . Boom! Rex shot forward, his fist moving in sync with his feet, a punch aimed straight for his trainer's head.
In Big Ben's advanced eyes, Rex's movement couldn't be any slower or more obvious. Slightly tilting his head backward, the punch sped past. He didn't counter. Not yet. He had to observe, study, and learn. Had the boy improved? Or developed some pathetic new flaw that needed correcting?
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Rex's fists tore through the air again and again, slicing through nothingness.
"This boy is seriously inspired," Declan, the last challenger to be "shuttled," remarked, studying Rex with a dismissive look. "Every single week, he just comes here to get thrashed. For what, exactly?"
In this era, with the physical advancements gained from Cosmic Ascendance, traditional body training was purely for showmanship—a way to display improved capabilities.
That was why the other members of this dojo were here; they came to fully appreciate and monitor the growth of their physical gifts. Rex, however, was an exception.
"You know, he comes here almost every day of the week for physical training. Don't look down on his effort," a beautiful lady with a refined aura, who sat immediately beside Declan, responded to his haughty remark.
"Yeah, right. Like you aren't just saying that 'cause you think he's cu—" Declan's words were cut off abruptly as things rapidly changed within the combat circle.
TWIIIIPPP!!!!
Rex was airborne. But not in the same style as Declan had been. He had initiated his own flight.
Once again, Big Ben had tilted backward to avoid Rex's punch, but this time, things went differently. With a sudden, forceful step on Big Ben's knee, Rex launched himself upward, his leg slicing through the air in a head kick.
Big Ben's eyes narrowed to slits as he observed Rex's latest move, a smile already spreading across his lips. He could avoid the kick. But he was going to let it land. He was thoroughly impressed with his youngest student's advancement.
Thud. A suppressed, dull sound resounded as Rex's foot connected with Big Ben's head. The impact sent a jolt of pain from his foot all the way to his brain, but he used the rebound to propel himself backward.
But before his feet could make full contact with the floor—Boom! A punch landed squarely on his abdomen, sending Rex "Shuttling" towards the padded wall of the dojo once more. His most recent escapade had not spared him from the weekly ritual.
"HAHAHA!" Big Ben's laughter boomed across the hall. "You never fail to entertain me every week, Rex! I actually look forward to our duels." Brimming with excitement, Big Ben popped open a water can and quickly emptied it like a parched frog.
Rex slowly pulled himself up. As he made his way back to rejoin the group of cross-legged spectators, his face sported a barely noticeable glint in his eyes.
"Meet me before you go home, Rex," Big Ben said, his gaze locked on the boy, a pleased grin on his face. The next phase of their weekly training began: the point where Big Ben gave everyone personalized pointers based on their duel with him.