Oblivious to his sister's condition, Alex continued his fight against the red dummy.
It was a fierce fight between two equal individuals.
Both Instructor Stone and Natalia had their eyes glued onto the fight from start to finish, the exchange between the two was intense, and the fight spanned for more than five minutes already, way longer than the two anticipated.
Bam!
"Kahhkk!" Alex forced out a grunt.
Crouching on the ground, he cradled his stomach in pain.
Raising his gaze forward at the red dummy, there was a crack in its stomach as in the last exchange between them, Alex managed to punch the red dummy's upper abdomen, right on its celiac plexus.
If it was a real person, they would've suffered temporary paralysis and nausea for sure.
But in that process, he also got kneed in the stomach.
I know how to counter its attacks perfectly, but my body is too slow to move accordingly. Even though Xander has worked hard to improve his physique, it's not enough. Alex panted with a frown, assessing his situation. I'm getting tired, there's no way I would win without using mana, this is my limit.
Contrary to him, the red dummy doesn't have any stamina.
Until its entire body was shattered, it could keep on going endlessly without stopping.
Just as the red dummy was about to move, it suddenly straightened its back before its body slowly crumbled into hologram light once again. Alex could breathe easily when he saw this, he wiped the sweat on his forehead and forced his body to stand upright.
"I'm impressed, aspirant Xander. I was not really expecting anything" Instructor Stone said.
Alex smiled wryly in response, "I've tried my best, Sir!"
Finishing the combat simulation against the dummies, a light shot to Alex's body again and summoned the same box interface that is now displaying his new adjusted physical attributes that experienced little changes.
However, there's an additional section underneath the physical points section.
[Aspirant 1313 - Physical Attributes]
Strength: B-
Agility: B-
Durability: C
Endurance: D
Physical Resilience: D
Physical Points: 1,020
Combat Prowess: 1,370
"Since you've done your combat simulation, the combat prowess section will appear" Instructor Stone explained. "Also, if you experience any improvement, your physical attributes will be automatically updated. If you want to check your physical attributes, tap on your name tag and it will appear"
Upon hearing this, Alex nodded his head and climbed down from the platform.
But Instructor Stone's explanation made Alex sigh inwardly. Seems like I need to always regulate the Body Visage spell. Thankfully it's a neutral spell and doesn't require too much mana and strain on the body.
Next up, Natalia was instructed to climb the platform.
Similar to earlier, she fought against the holographic dummies to test her combat prowess.
Just like Alex, she managed to beat multiple dummies in a row.
Contrasting to the fighting style that Alex assumed, she was more graceful and fluid, moving like water and mainly using her opponent's strength against them. However, that doesn't mean her attacks were not strong.
Natalia's kicks were lethal, her form of a roundhouse kick was perfect.
One hit to the head shattered the dummy's body into a million pieces of hologram lights.
Alex watched her fight from the sidelines and also became even more confident in his suspicion that she was not a regular aspirant. I am curious about her background since she doesn't look like a normal aspirant, but then again, I don't really want to be involved with her.
Despite putting her on the list of potential crews, he decided to forget about it.
Back in Plant Sion 2T, the two aspirants who were hostile to them hated her so much. It was clear enough that she was a troublesome woman, and Alex didn't want to associate him with her and risk his peaceful days.
Eventually, Natalia lost against the red dummy.
However, she managed to land more blows, showcasing her expertise in fighting.
[Aspirant 1312 - Physical Attributes]
Strength: B-
Agility: B
Durability: C
Endurance: C
Physical Resilience: C
Physical Points: 1,330
Combat Prowess: 1,410
Upon finishing the inspection, Instructor Stone nodded repeatedly.
"It seems there's a reason both of you managed to survive the Beast Horde. Normally, aspirants would have lower combat prowess compared to their physical points. But it seems both of you are the opposite" Instructor Stone praised.
Having high physical points is not something shocking to him.
Aspirants from an influential family that stacked could easily reach 1,300 physical points.
But what set aside the genius was their higher combat prowess.
Possessing high physical points only depicted that a person is strong physically, and this could be achieved through modifications and enhancing serum. Due to that, aspirant with high physical points typically have low combat prowess as they couldn't handle and utilize their physical strength.
On the other hand, those who have higher combat prowess are more natural.
It can only be achieved through dedication and training.
"Although I say this as a compliment, don't let this get to yourself. Both of you have a good grasp on the fundamental of your martial arts but lacks the endurance to maintain it, and thus lose against the level 2 dummy" Instructor Stone added, his voice stern. "In my eyes, both of you are still a failure"
Natalia and Alex could only stand upright and take the instructor's words.
Both of them felt weak due to the fight.
Obviously, underneath their uniform, there were bruises all over caused by the red dummy.
"Helena, change the room to Endurance Protocol" Instructor Stone suddenly said.
A robotic womanly voice replied back to him, "Affirmative, engaging Endurance Protocol"
Under both Natalia and Alex's eyes, the floor beneath them slid open with a humming sound, revealing an array of equipment. Soon, the room was quickly filled with an assortment of machines, some of which were families to Alex while the others remained foreign.
One that he recognized is a gravity treadmill and holographic matrix sprint.
While they focused their attention on the training machines, an ominous presence loomed from behind. Sensing this, their bodies stiffened as they realized that Instructor Stone stood directly behind them, his hands resting firmly on their shoulders.
Feeling uneasy, the two turned their heads to Instructor Stone and gasped.
Both of them saw the malevolent smile on his face, depicting their next few hours of training.
"Since the two of you are exceptional, your training should also be exceptional, right?" He said firmly, a peculiar look on his face that made Alex and Natalia gulp. "If that's the case, then shall we get started?"
A couple of hours later.
Instructor Stone grinned seeing both of his students lying on the ground exhausted.
Due to the intense training plan that he developed for the two outstanding aspirants, Alex and Natalia were completely drained to their limits, unable to move from their spots, and could only look at the ceiling with heavy breaths.
It was a hazardous endurance training that left them on the brink of passing out.
Even the training surprised Alex as there was a recovery chamber that helped them recover, and thus, the volume of their training was increased by Instructor Stone. Their minds gave up first before their bodies.
"Class is finished. Go to the cafeteria and eat" Instructor Stone commanded.
No matter how much one trained, there's no way that their bodies could improve if they don't eat. So it's a mandatory rule for the aspirants inside the Orion Institute of Mech-Soldiers to eat three to four times a day with the planned meals.
After saying that, Instructor Stone simply walked out of the room, leaving the two.
Despite the extreme fatigue and soreness that enveloped his entire body, Alex pushed himself to regain his feet, stumbling a bit. It's hard alright, but this is what I need. In order to combine the Adudal Principality and Hyperion Empire's teachings, I need to get used to their regiment.
Compared to the pain of losing someone he loves, this fatigue is nothing.
Alex also refrained from using mana during the training to push himself.
In order to be stronger, he needed to follow this training regiment with his physique alone.
"X- Xander, can you help me up? Instructor Stone is a monster!" Natalia complained.
Upon hearing this, Alex shook his head as it was impossible for him to help her in his condition. So he decided to go on ahead, "Get up, it's only the first day, and you're already complaining. How are you going to go through the semester?"
"No, I swear Instructor Stone is being too much. I'm not usually like this" Natalia retorted.
When the class finished, it was already golden outside.
Thankfully enough, the other aspirants in the cafeteria didn't pay them much attention, seemingly also exhausted with their own classes. Nothing happened while the two ate at the cafeteria which is quite surprising for them.
Considering they were new, they thought there would be bullies.
A moment later, Alex spent the rest of his afternoon until early night in his own room.
Natalia went upstairs to rest on the balcony, complaining that her body was sore, and warned him to not disturb her. But then again, Alex wouldn't do that and instead found this the perfect opportunity to meditate and further his magical prowess.
Tomorrow I'll check the academy's trading center for any energy source.
Since he had accumulated some academy points from the Trial, he decided to see if there was any energy source that he could purchase. He would need more energy to upgrade his wind element aspects even more.
Focusing on one element would be the best way for him right now.
In addition to that, Alex would also need to find a place to train his spells without worry.
Preferably, he wanted a place that was outside of the academy grounds. But from the looks of it, aspirants couldn't go out of the academy ground seemingly, and he would need to find a way around that.
Maybe before tomorrow's class, I could check them all out.
Alex sighed and lay on the sofa, he would be sleeping here instead of on the bed.
No matter how he thought about it, sleeping with Natalia beside him was a little bit too much, and he wanted to avoid unnecessary temptation that he otherwise wouldn't need to worry about if he slept on the sofa.
However, as he was about to close his eyes, a thought came to mind.
Oh, yeah. It should be around the time of my meeting with Hannah. Alex pondered, remembering that Hannah told him to meet her in the cafeteria at night. But he already decided that he wouldn't come.
From his perspective, nothing good could come from that meeting, so he wouldn't meet her.
Let's just sleep, tomorrow is going to be busy.
Meanwhile, as Alex intends to sleep, a woman is sitting in the cafeteria alone with her finger tapping on the table impatiently. But half an hour later, the woman bit her lower lip with an annoyed expression.
"Did he just stand me up...? Who is he to dare to do that to me?"