Chapter 37: The Experiment must go on
The sound of metal striking metal filled the air.
Groans of strained machinery, the whirring of mechanical wiring, and the sound of the air itself tearing apart under the force of her swings echoed throughout the training hall.
Artemis moved with precision, conviction, and utter skill as she held her ground against three humanoid robot dummies.
Each of the humanoid machines stood roughly five feet four inches tall, their featureless metallic faces occupied by nothing but two eye sockets glowing with an eerie blue light.
The three robots surrounded Artemis on the large training platform, throwing numerous attacks at her simultaneously.
She defended, evaded, and at times even landed attacks of her own using the metal practice sword provided by the sparring room.
She ducked beneath a thrown fist and drove her elbow into the gut of one robot, sending it flying backward before it crashed into the ground several feet away with devastating force.
She sidestepped another attack, letting a robot’s fist slam into the floor and raise chunks of broken stone into the air.
Then she rammed the hilt of her blade into its face.
Crack!
One glowing eye shattered instantly.
A second strike bashed in the other.
The android lost its balance and staggered backward before collapsing onto the ground.
The last robot didn’t even get the chance to move in.
Artemis swung the blunt training sword and cleanly took off its head in one brutal swipe.
The metallic skull spun through the air before crashing against the floor.
In that instant, the training session was over.
Artemis paused.
Her breathing was heavy, sweat accumulating across her countenance.
Then, as the holographic surroundings of the small training platform began reverting from pure white walls into the recognizable combat training hall, Artemis’ eyes drifted elsewhere.
Someone had been waiting outside for her to finish training within the simulation space.
Her eyes seemed to brighten at the sight of that person.
Then she spoke.
"Hey, Finn. Sorry for taking so long with the... uhhh... space."
She was out of breath, and talking itself seemed difficult after such an intense training session.
Finn hurriedly replied.
"No need. Your duel was really interesting to watch. I was learning a lot from you just now, believe it or not."
She giggled at his statement and gave him a strange wink.
"Sure. I believe you."
Finn blinked several times.
’What is that supposed to mean?’
Artemis stretched her arms and let out a yawn before stepping down from the platform.
She gave Finn one last glance before leaving him alone with the training space.
Finn remained motionless for several seconds before finally climbing onto the platform.
Immediately, the ground beneath him lit up and a reserved mechanical voice spoke.
"Welcome, Finn Vaywill. Please select the difficulty of the test you would like to participate in. Difficulties one through five."
Finn lingered for a moment.
He had no idea what level of difficulty to choose for his current stage of swordsmanship.
After careful consideration, he decided to start the old-fashioned way.
"Start from difficulty one."
At his command, the platform surged with light.
Within seconds, holographic walls and a ceiling formed around him from nowhere, caging Finn inside the platform with his opponent.
A human-sized android similar to the ones Artemis had fought appeared before him, only slightly smaller and far less intimidating.
Then, in front of Finn, a crude blunt blade materialized for the sparring match.
Finn grasped the sword’s hilt.
Cold.
Solid.
Heavy.
Sure, it was a holographic projection, but it felt so... real.
Finn could feel its texture.
Its weight.
The slight resistance of the air as he swung it.
He even let the sword dance through the air several times just to test whether it was truly fake.
Surprisingly, the crude blade seemed every bit as real as he was.
Then he turned toward the android and formed a smile.
"Let’s get the duel started."
A horn blared throughout the entire platform.
The battle began immediately.
However...
What happened in the next second stunned even Finn himself.
He crossed the distance between himself and the android in a blur that seemed far too fast to be human.
He evaded a devastating right hook and cleaved straight through the android’s neck, beheading it with ease.
And all of that had happened within only a few seconds.
Finn stared at the defeated machine in surprise.
He hadn’t expected to take down the sparring android so quickly.
Out of curiosity, he immediately selected the next difficulty level.
Two androids of the same size appeared before him and lunged without warning.
Finn jerked his head backward, allowing the fist of one android to whistle past his face.
He hurried to regain his balance.
But the second android wasn’t about to give him any time.
It sprang forward and launched a powerful kick, intending to drive a devastating blow into Finn’s torso.
Finn reacted instantly, using the blunt side of his sword to block the attack.
The force behind the kick was overwhelming.
But only for a split second.
In the next moment, Finn became the embodiment of a massacre.
Leaping toward the first android, he unleashed a flurry of strikes.
The blunt sword carved through shoulders, torso, and neck alike, tearing the machine apart into scattered pieces.
The second android didn’t even get the chance to move from where it stood.
The cold, unforgiving blade pierced directly through its skull, killing it in a single stroke.
The robot’s body splintered apart into a flurry of digital light before fading into nothingness.
At that point, Finn stopped to think.
Even with a crude training sword, his Spirit Will was still enough to kill the sparring robots without much effort.
Finn had no idea how impressive that feat was compared to other students.
And that uncertainty was exactly why he stopped.
What if how quickly he had defeated the robots was abnormal?
Going to higher levels than this would surely attract unwanted attention.
And in the end, that would bring him nothing but trouble.
’If only I could see a few students perform at their best against these sparring robots. Maybe then I’d know how much of my strength I can safely show.’
Still, Finn recalled the brief glimpse he had gotten of Artemis’ sparring session.
There wasn’t much useful information there.
She had focused more on using the robots to build endurance rather than treating them as genuine opponents the way Finn naturally did.
Several more minutes passed.
Finally, Finn sighed.
"Dismiss sparring room."
For now, until the expedition arrived, Finn decided he would return every day at this exact time and only complete levels one and two against the androids.
At least until he saw an ordinary student attempt the challenge and could gauge a reasonable standard for himself.
’No matter how curious I am to see how many levels of this thing I can clear, for now I’ll play it safe.’
As the holographic room finally disappeared around him, Finn glanced from left to right before stepping off the platform.
’Now... back to Edmund’s goons.’
Meanwhile...
In the distance, overlooking the vast combat hall from one of the enormous support beams holding up the roof, Beth watched Finn with both curiosity and concern.
She lingered there for a moment, watching the pale young man leave the hall.
Then she pulled out her communicator.
She dialed a number and placed the device against her ear.
A groan was the first thing she heard from the other side.
Her expression immediately darkened.
"I want to make a request..." Beth began.
"A request?" the voice on the other side asked, sounding both confused and exhausted.
Beth nodded despite the person being unable to see her.
"A request regarding Finn Vaywill."
She paused.
A faint smile appearing on her lips.
"I believe I’ve found a very interesting subject to finally complete the experiment."
***Author’s note***
Please support with golden tickets! Gifts! Reviews.
Author wrote this mostly asleep, any issues please tell me...
