Suddenly, they heard an electronic sound.
[MARTIAL MAVEN'S PERSONAL TRAINING SYSTEM REBOOT STARTED... REBOOT COMPLETE.]
Both Avalon and Chad were frightened. Though the holographic diamond looked pretty, after seeing the weapons in the hall, they feared the light from it might be dangerous. Meanwhile, the system's voice continued...
[NEW HOST SELECTION IN PROGRESS. SEARCHING FOR DATA. NO CORE RECORDS FOUND. HOST IS NOT AN ABILITY USER.]
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR NAME...]
"Av-Avalon P-Pulse," Avalon stammered.
"Avalon! What are you doing!" Chad shouted, looking scared and confused.
[HOST SELECTION COMPLETE. HOST IS AVALON PULSE. AVALON'S DNA ANALYSIS COMPLETE. YOU ARE 3 YEARS 10 MONTHS 16 DAYS OLD. AGE DETERMINED TO BE PERFECT TO BRING OUT MAXIMUM POTENTIAL OF YOUR BODY.]
[A BASIC TEST IS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE CURRENT LEVEL. PREPARATION COMPLETE. PLEASE MOVE TO THE CENTER OF THE TRAINING HALL TO CONTINUE THE TEST.]
In the middle of the hall, a holographic treadmill, a punching machine, weight machines, and some dummies appeared out of nowhere. All of these equipments were made of Tangible Holographic Technology or simply touchable holograms, widely used in professional training and military.
Being kids, Avalon and Chad didn't know about the technology. Though Chad got scared again, Avalon got curious and excited. It felt magical to him, so he walked towards them.
Suddenly, Chad grabbed Avalon's hand and pulled him out of the hall.
"What are you doing, Avalon? I'm really scared. Please, let's go," Chad pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Chad. You're right. We should leave. Mom will worry, and you might get in trouble at the Orphanage," Avalon agreed. "Let's go back."
They returned to the kitchen, climbed the platform, and then the shelves. From there, they entered the pipe and successfully landed in the big dustbin. Carefully looking around to ensure nobody was nearby, they quietly got out and started heading home. The sun was setting, so they parted ways.
.....
Almost a week later...
"Mom, what's for dinner? I'm very hungry," Avalon asked Riya as soon as he entered home.
Over the last few days, Riya noticed Avalon's increased appetite and that he was returning home late, looking tired.
"Avalon, why have you been coming home late for the last four days? Today, you didn't even wash up before asking for dinner. What's going on?" She asked with concern.
"Nothing, Mom. I go to play with Chad after school. We play football, so I get tired," Avalon replied, avoiding her gaze.
"Okay, but take a shower first, or you won't get any dinner tonight," Riya instructed, thinking that it was normal for growing kids to have a bigger appetite.
"Okay, Mom," Avalon replied, pretending to be disappointed, but secretly feeling relieved.
The next day after school, Chad couldn't resist the food printer's delicacies anymore. He was still scared because of the incident in the basement and had decided not to go there again, but he was a kid after all. So he went to the abandoned house and entered the basement kitchen, thinking it might be the last time.
When he was about to use the food printer, he heard faint sounds coming from the training hall. He stopped and focused on the sound, but it had stopped too. Thinking it might be his imagination, he ignored it and focused on the food. Oh!...Oh! Delicious food! How many days had it been since he had anything other than soup or bread to eat?
"AAH!...." CRASH....
He suddenly heard someone screaming and then a loud crashing sound.
Scared, he immediately turned around to run away, but then again, wasn't this voice familiar?...
"Hah," taking a deep breath, he mustered up some courage and went to check what was going on.
He went to the training hall and slowly opened the gate.