Alina woke up from her slumber, or not. She also wanted to know that, but she believed that she merely teleported into another simulation. Why? Well, judging by the combat uniform she currently wore, consisting of multicam military uniforms alongside a bulletproof vest, she might be inside of a combat simulation.
"Main system, activating combat mode."
Then, the room transformed into a cuboidal room that stretched as far as her eyes could see with light coming from each side, turning the previously dark room into a vast space with tiled walls and floors. Then, beside her, Ilya reappeared.
"Right, so in this simulation, we're going to learn basic combat, nothing too fancy, even a child can do it, and I am sure a reservist like you can do it as well," Ilya added. "You're about to work with Aegis, let's make sure you don't disappoint."
The simulation room buzzed to life as Ilya began to explain the basics of combat training. Alina listened intently, feeling the weight of the military gear she was donned, adjusting to the feel of the bulletproof vest that hugged her torso. However, she felt that it was something liquid-ish on her vest, some kind of non-newtonian liquid that felt solid but not at the same time.
"Today, we'll focus on three primary types of enemies you might encounter in the field," Ilya continued, her voice echoing slightly in the vast, now brightly lit simulation room. "Agile, mobile, and static enemies. Understanding how to engage each type effectively is crucial. For example, you are an agile-type, Alina, judging from your ability to teleport from one place to another."
Then, all of a sudden, an enemy appeared in front of her. Herself. It was herself, holding down the same LHMMGM-3 that Alina was equipped with. However, her eyes was fully digital, with black color on the edge and blue on the center. That fake Alina was standing some distance away from her.
"Let's start with the agile ones," Ilya said, pointing at the fake Alina. "These enemies require quick aiming and firing. You'll need to anticipate their movements and aim where they will be, not where they are. Though, with your kind, teleporting-kind, it's more about keeping an eye out on where he or she might teleport to."
The battle commenced with the clone abruptly vanishing into thin air, reappearing several meters to Alina's left. Alina, anticipating this move, spun around and squeezed the trigger, but her shots fired just a fraction too late, hitting the spot where the clone had been milliseconds before.
Then, the clone reappeared right next to her, ready with Inggrid's saber on her hand. Then, with a single swing, a sharp blood arc appeared from the swing, traveling straight into Alina's direction at great speed.
With her instinct, Alina teleported to dodge her attack, only for the clone to close the distance in mere seconds. The clone then switched to her Lahmum and blasted Alina's body with its maximum power.
A shield-like particle protected her body, but it didn't take too long until the maximum output of that suped-up laser gun broke it and penetrated Alina's body armor like a hot knife through butter, making an instant hole.
She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, no, an excruciating pain in her abdomen. She looked at her abdomen, the gaping hole leaking out blood and intestines content into the surroundings, creating a grotesque sight.
"Stopping combat simulation, the user is dead."
Ilya then walked to Alina, "Well, at least you know how insanely powerful your ability is in the hand of the right person."
The excruciating pain ended abruptly. Her abdomen reappeared and her clothing returned to its regular state.
"You have to be faster, Alina. Predict the next spot before she gets there," Ilya coached.
"Let's start again, shall we?" Ilya snapped her finger.
Her vision went dark, and she ended up standing right in front of her clone again. This time, she knew what to do. Even from slight observation from her clone, it seemed that Alina would benefit greatly from moving as agile as the clone as well. So, she adjusted her tactic.
"Begin."
Adjusting her strategy, Alina focused on the patterns of her opponent's movements, trying to predict the teleportation sequence. She remembered her own habits and tendencies, using this self-knowledge to anticipate the clone's next location. As the clone reappeared, Alina was already aiming at the spot.
With her Lahmum at its maximum power output, she then did a sweeping attack using her Lahmum. Her shots rang out, hitting the clone squarely in the chest, a straight cut through its torso, but the energy wasn't enough to do enough injury, only barely burning her clothing and wounding it slightly.
The wound immediately vaporized and the clone teleported right next to Alina. Alina quickly teleported out of the danger area as the clone prepared another Bloody Swing at her own direction. She dropped the Lahmum and pulled out her saber.
While the clone was still making a sweeping motion, Alina quickly blitzed to its back, she then swung her blade directly at the clone, severing its head from its torso, killing it instantly. The clone then disappeared into thin air, as if it was never there.
"Very well done," Ilya approached, clapping her hands slightly.
Alina nodded, absorbing the lesson. "It's strange fighting myself," she admitted, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Not too strange, to be honest. That was the easy difficulty anyway, the Level 8 'Alina,'" Ilya said.
"Level 5???" Alina asked, even more surprised by her own potential.
"It can be disconcerting, but it teaches you a lot about your weaknesses and strengths," Ilya explained. "Now, let's move on to the static targets. They won't be as tricky in terms of speed, but you'll need precision and power to take them down, especially power."
Then, all of a sudden, some kind of turret appeared in front of her. How to say it, it was some kind of tank turret strapped into the ground, but a more futuristic version of it, with three barrels of gun pointed straight at her. On top of it was a machine-gun turret alongside a targeting computer attached to it.
As Ilya activated the next phase of the simulation, the turret-like structure in front of Alina whirred to life, its sensors locking onto her position with unsettling mechanical precision. The triple-barreled cannon and the mounted machine-gun turret posed a significant threat, but Alina's recent combat experience had heightened her awareness and reflexes.
She knew her own weaknesses, alongside her strength. She knew what to do. The machine gun turret began to fire its bullet while the turrets fired their projectiles at Alina. She immediately teleported out of harm's way.
The shells from the turret blasted past where she had been standing moments before, striking the simulation room wall with explosive force. Using the brief window of opportunity provided by the turret's need to realign its aim, Alina summoned her saber. The blade glowed with a fierce, crimson energy as she channeled her power into a series of Bloody Swings.
The arc struck the turrets, breaking the targeting computer and breaking one of the turrets. Alina then teleported even closer to the turret, trying to strike it even harder with her melee attack. She used a barrage of teleports to close her distance, confusing the targeting system of the turret.
The turret attempted to track her frenetic movements, but Alina's teleportation was too swift, too unpredictable. With a final, powerful swing, she cleaved through the turret's central core, effectively disabling it. The once menacing machine sputtered and sparked, its lights flickering out as it shut down completely.
"Excellent work, Alina. For a reservist, that's not too bad," Ilya praised, suddenly appearing right next to her without any warning.
"You can teleport too???" Alina asked, surprised by Ilya's sudden appearance.
"I can't, but this is a simulation, I can do whatever I want," Ilya smiled.
"How do you get my record, anyway?" Alina asked.
"Somehow, NAF had its personnel record."
"That's unexpected," Alina said.
"Yeah, you participated in The Great Asian War, didn't you?" Ilya asked.
"That's years ago, and let's not talk about Taiwan!" Alina replied.
Ilya nodded, understanding Alina's reluctance to delve into her past experiences. "Fair enough. Let's focus on the present and your training. You're adapting well, and that's what matters right now."
"Yeah..." Alina's mind then wandered to something much more important. Her body. What about it? Did it regain most of its parts? Or, should she wait even longer for her new body? She had no clear answer for that.
The simulation went dark again, Alina felt super tired and slowly, she closed her eyes, returning to her deep slumber as her body regrew its broken parts.