She pressed her hand on the dummy's chest and infused it with a stream of white aura.
"You missed a lot of details here. If you had paid more attention to the dummy and channelled some aura into it, you would have sensed the clash of the strikes with your own."
She pointed out his flaws and errors in his observation, her face showing clear dissatisfaction.
'Is she expecting too much from me?' He wondered, feeling nervous.
"We don't have much time left, so let's move on to the next test," she said.
Lloyd nodded.
She waved her hand, and a new section of the training ground opened up. It was huge and filled with various kinds of gym equipment, some familiar to Lloyd from Earth and some completely new. There was also a track field. It looked like a paradise for fitness enthusiasts.
'Wow, this place is amazing. I used to go to the gym every day, but I never saw this much equipment in one place,' he thought, trying to hide his surprise.
"As you can guess, the next test is about strength and endurance."
"Since we don't have time to measure them separately, you will have to perform this test under double the gravity of this planet." She said.
'What? Double the gravity? How can I handle that? My body has lost all its physical progress in the two-year gap,' he thought, alarmed.
He felt a surge of worry when he heard about the test under increased gravity. He had not trained for two years and had just resumed his practice. His body was not ready to endure the extra weight.
"I don't think I can handle the gravity chamber," he voiced his concern.
'I shouldn't be exposed to higher gravity now. I don't know if I can cope with it and it might injure me severely if something goes wrong.'
He knew that 2G gravity was not too much, but he still expressed his doubts. He had never trained under gravity before and he was aware of the potential health risks.
"Don't worry about it. I will monitor you and if anything goes wrong, I will take care of it."
She handed him a wristband with sensors attached to it.
"Wrap it around your wrist and place these sensors over your veins. If your blood pressure drops or anything odd happens, I will know," she said.
He had no choice but to trust her, even though he was still apprehensive. He thought the safety measures were insufficient.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
He reluctantly nodded, putting his faith in her.
She gestured for him to enter the section. He stepped inside and felt nothing at first. It seemed normal, but then she increased the gravity from the control panel on the wall. He started to feel the pressure on his shoulders, but it was bearable.
She asked, "How do you feel?"
He replied, "It's not as bad as I expected. It just feels like I've gained some weight. There's not much resistance."
"That's because you're using aura. But in this test, you're not allowed to use aura at all. It wouldn't be a fair test if you did," she said.
He exclaimed, "That's harsh!"
She said, "Tests are supposed to be harsh, so don't complain."
He grumbled, "Fine."
'Great, now I'm doomed,' he thought.
As soon as he stopped using aura, he felt the strain on his body. It was not a major change, but it was noticeable. His weight had doubled, his heartbeat had slowed down a bit, and the air around him felt heavier.
'Well, it's still manageable. I can handle it without much trouble for now,' he thought.
The second test had finally begun. It consisted of two parts: first, to measure his maximum strength with his bare body, and then, to test his endurance and stamina.
She explained, "This part is simple. All you have to do is lift your record weight three times without using aura." They walked towards the weights section.
He nodded, "I got it."
The first test was the deadlift.
She asked, "What was your previous deadlift record?"
He said, "Around 165kg."
Axtrav was stunned and crushed by this answer. 'How can a twelve-year-old lift more than me? I worked hard for a year to reach 160kg and this kid did it when he was twelve.'
He tried to console himself. 'Well, this is a fantasy novel after all.'
She said, "Okay, try the deadlift with 80kg over here." She reduced the weight by half because of the doubled gravity.
Lloyd gripped the barbell and got into position with muscle stretching. He tried to lift it up, but he could only raise it a few inches above the ground. He couldn't get it past his knees.
As he lifted the barbell, he felt burn in his muscles. He also felt the pressure of his own weight, which was doubled by gravity.
Still, He strained with all his might, his face turning red and his body heating up. But he couldn't lift it any higher.
She said, "Okay, that's enough. Put it down."
As soon as she told him to stop, he dropped the barbell on the floor with a loud thud.
She instructed, "Lower the weight by two and a half kilograms."
He did as she said and lifted the barbell again. This time, he was able to lift it fully, but his face was still red from the strain of the doubled gravity. Every part of his body felt twice as heavy as usual.
He managed to complete one deadlift, but he couldn't do three repetitions. So they lowered the weight again by another two and a half kilograms. With this weight, he was able to do three deadlifts successfully.
He dropped the barbell again and exhaled loudly through his mouth. He gasped for air, feeling exhausted.
She noted down the readings and kept a neutral expression on her face. He couldn't tell if she was pleased or disappointed with his performance.
*****