Amidst a roaring shockwave and darkish-red sparks, Adam was flung across the entire training zone. He crashed into a steel wall with a loud bang and fell face first to the floor.
"Damn–" Victor gulped, wearing a complicated expression. Wouldn't such a heavy blow kill the kid?
The rest thought the same, wondering why the Marshal had used his Bionic suit and hit Adam that hard.
Marshal Mathew took off his coat and said, "Up. You aren't unconscious, nor did your back hit the ground. And I sure as hell ain't letting you forfeit." As he spoke, he advanced towards Adam who lay face flat on the floor.
The boy groaned and rose slowly, revealing his tender face that was without any damage whatsoever.
"Pretty durable," The Marshal nodded. "That's good. We can't have you being a glass cannon. Naturally, that degree of strength would come with a durability that can withstand the impact. So, I guess I won't be holding back either."
Adam rubbed the back of his head and frowned. His eyes betrayed a malicious glint as he said, "That hurt."
"Of course." The Marshal laughed and took a fighting pose. He said, "I basically returned the amount of force you tried to hit me with."
Adam scrunched his nose and said, "I'm guessing the force absorption has a limit? If I hit hard enough, you're sure to go down."
The spectators were completely baffled as they listened to the dialogue between the two. What in Saturn's name was happening?!
In response to Adam, Mathew Bates nodded, "Sure. If you stop holding back, you'll take me down in one hit."
"You'll die." Adam said solemnly.
"Only if you hit me. Which you can't."
Adam's frown intensified. He watched as the Marshal gestured a 'come on' to him and he exhaled deeply. With his pale-white eyes finally regaining a bit of vitality, he arched his back slightly.
Then, with a loud boom, he stood right before the Marshal. Adam put his entire life's frustration into this one hit, swinging as hard as he could and yelling at the top of his lungs.
His arm, like God's calling, seemed to break through countless realities as it drilled forward. A thunderous crack shook the vast training space and Adam's blow sent a ripple through the hearts of everyone present.
However, the Marshal wasn't in his line of attack. The man had appeared behind him at some point in time, swinging for his head!
At that moment, reality glitched.
Mathew Bates' hand went right through Adam as though the kid was nothing but a figment of one's imagination. Mathew Bates wore a look of surprise, but quickly regained his composure.
Adam scoffed and backwards-stepped, his body turning corporeal once more. He rotated and swung his arm in the direction of his opponent's face.
Bam! The Marshal preemptively met the blow before it could gather enough force.
However, it still packed enough power to knock him off balance. Bates staggered backwards and fell on one knee, his suit pulsing and glowing with red lines. Then, he threw out a device. The device was a small, circular plate with protruding tubes.
The device fell to the floor, beneath Adam and rapidly expanded.
Before the boy could wonder what the device was for, he was suddenly frozen in place. Rather, his entire body felt extremely heavy to move. He groaned and struggled, only to see the Marshal dash towards him once more.
The Marshal smacked him by the face, releasing the accumulated energy and sending a shockwave throughout the area.
Bam! Another hit to the face and Adam's head jerked backwards. Two hits, three hits, four hits.
Finally, the boy's eyes turned white and he slumped to the ground– rather quickly due to the device locked on to him.
Marshal Bates flexed his wrist and the device shrunk, dispelling the gravitational effect.
Arden felt shivers run down her spine. She muttered, "Brutal…"
"I don't even know what's crazier… Adam White being that strong, or the fact that the Marshal won despite how devastating those punches were." Victor chuckled, but his smile lacked any warmth.
Azrael opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. Aaron, on the other hand, looked at the Marshal with a newfound reverence.
Mathew Bates fixed his eyes on the unconscious Adam for a while, then turned to look at the others. He said to them, "Strength isn't everything. Well, unless you're literally All-powerful. Anyway, experience goes a long way. Therefore, like I said, I will break you down and build you back up."
"Yes, sir." The boys and girl nodded with fearful hearts.
…
Adam woke up after an unknown amount of time. He groaned and slowly sat up, trying to piece his memory fragments. It felt as though he had smashed into a transport pod, damaging his skull in the process.
"What you're experiencing will vanish in no time." Someone said to him. A lady, wearing a bright-white outfit. She sat by a desk close to the door of wherever he was, diligently penning something down.
The nurse explained further, "You sustained no injuries, so you can head back to your room now. I'll advise you to get lots of rest so as to shake the ringing in your head.
"Alright," He slowly nodded, finally remembering what had happened.
Then, he got off the bed and slowly walked out of the infirmary.
He made his way back to the living quarters and arrived at the room allocated to him and the others.
He hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open.
As he walked in, the eyes of Arden, Victor, Arthur and Aaron fell on him. The girl amongst them was seated on his bed, of all places. She pranced up immediately and walked over to him.
"Are you alright?" She asked with a concerned tone. "You were absolutely badass out there!"
I got beat…badly… Adam didn't respond and instead walked over to his bed.
Victor spoke, "I didn't realise you were that strong. What abilities do you have aside from being extremely strong and phasing?"
Adam replied in all honesty, "I'm not sure."
He hadn't entered any dreams lately, and he couldn't be sure if the perspective thingy was truly the basic power he got from the Foresight rune. Could he try sleeping and waiting to see if he would dream about the future or that weird space containing the horned beast?
Adam sighed and groaned as a sharp pain tore across his mind. The beating he got from the Marshal intensified his periodic headaches.
He needed to rest. Adam looked at Arden who was staring intently at him, with a wide smile on her face.
Uh..
"Give him space." Arthur told the girl.
"Right, yeah... sorry!" She quickly scrambled to a table and sat.