The three in agreement began preparation for joint training, Max equipped his stick before glancing at James equipping his unique skill, the silver gun with unknown symbols on it, Alice activated her skill creating a strange green line running from the corner of her lips to the base of her throat.
With a look of readiness from James and Alice, Max initiated '' Battle mode''.
The process of creating a robot started and in a brief moment, it was over, a two-meter-tall blueish grey color robot stood before them with four red camera-like eyes that scanned the room in a calculative manner and a large body the size of the three combined.
It was completely different in shape, mass, and aura from what Max had previously gotten, he quickly guessed the reason for such drastic change was due to the presence of Alice and James.
''can…. we take that on'' Alice asked in puzzlement, casting her gaze on the robot.
'' We won't know until we try, plus, there is no death allowed in the training room'' James gripped his silver handgun as he spoke, he had a look of nervous excitement which made Max grin from ear to ear.
Alice exhaled in agreement '' fine… let's begin'' her confidence had risen.
''Begin''
Max stood between James, who was on his right, and Alice on his left. They all stood with tense muscles, ready to snap at any moment.
The robot began to move, its massive body causing tiny rumbles to the room whenever it took a step, its red eyes dotted around the room in a mechanical manner sending a cold sweat down the three.
Before it could get any closer Max glanced at Alice, she briskly nodded clearly understanding what he wanted.
'' Sit!'' she yelled, the lines on her glowing bright.
The robot approaching began to waver before dropping its massive body onto the floor with a roar, her skill only targets what she wants preventing it from affecting others.
Max and James as though they were in a race ran toward the weakened robot without a moment's hesitation, they knew time was of the essence. The robot slowly raised its hand once it noticed them approaching.
''bang!'' a fiery golden bullet shot out of James's silver gun with incredible speed and accuracy, it penetrated the arm with incredible power shattering it with an amazing display of fire.
It raised its other hand attempting the previous action when multiple gunshots fired, damaging the robotic arm in a brilliant explosion.
Max with his astonishing speed quickly closed up the gap between him and the robot, he jumped upwards once the gap was closed, about to smash the head of the robot with a mighty swing when suddenly.
''danger, danger, danger'' Out of nowhere the face of the robot slit open like a door in a blink of an eye, many mechanical components inside came to life, vibrating and grinding against each other uniformly.
To produce an extremely loud dreadful and brain-numbing shriek of an attack. The room quivered slightly from the attack, Max unable to react on time received the brunt of the attack. He was disoriented, losing his hearing, dropping his stick and trying hard and failing to regain his normal bodily motion, he moved around like a drunk man until he fell face-first onto the floor.
James fell on his knees trying to block the attack while Alice only suffered a minor discomfort.
Taking advantage of the weakened state of the three, its arms began to self-repair at blinding speed. It stood up with ease and calmness as its massive body left the floor, Alice's skill was no longer active on it. Its four red eyes once again scanned the room in a cold and calculating way searching for its next target.
In an instant the robot locked onto Alice, finding her to be troublesome and therefore must be quickly eliminated. The sound of engines firing escaped the body of the robot as it rapidly made its way towards Alice.
''sit''
The only limitation Alice has on her skill is the time is stays active on her target and the strength of the target once those two are eliminated she can use her skill five times a day.
The robot was hit by her skill again, its body wavered about to sit like a trained dog when, in one swift motion it tore off its head as if it were made of nothing, sending sounds of metal twisting and crunching throughout the room, before tossing it like a ball at the defenseless Alice.
The detached head slit opened revealing it's vibrating and grinding mechanic component about to produce the deadly shriek when
''Bang! Bang! Bang!'' three guns shot rang out, piercing through the head with an explosive force before shattering it into many pieces in a fiery burst of light.
'' James '' Alice looked everywhere but couldn't find him '' Oh… he is invisible'' she remembered with a sigh of relief, she was almost about to experience what Max had gone through.
James' invisibility skill is a blessing and a curse, his invisible state is more akin to his total presence being erased from existence preventing humans and machines from detecting him no matter what he does, including talking, making it an unbearable state to be in if he was trying to warn his teammate about an impending attack.
After deactivating his skills James with a heavy sigh, took one look at the robot before making his way to Max, Alice followed along leaving the robot unguarded, although the two knew the robot would just rise again they considered an unexpected attack as part of the training.
''What a pain'' Max touched his face as he got up, he was no longer dazed.
A vivid childhood memory surfaced in James' mind as he watched Max in such a vulnerable state. Whenever James faced the threat of being bullied at the playground, Max would arrive like a shining hero. However, he would often get knocked out in the very first confrontation.
Once Max woke up, he acted all high and mighty as though he had defeated all the bullies in the world. James was always pleased to see Max never giving up. He felt ashamed to admit it but it was because of Max he trained every day to gain his muscles.
'' how are you doing triple Max '' James grinned helping Max off the floor with ease.
''Lovely'' Max sneered at James before slightly smiling.
As the two were having their playful banter, Alice was trying to find the perfect opportunity to interject, she opened her mouth but quickly closed it.
'' Boom!!''
The three, like trained soldiers, quickly became attentive, they gripped or quickly focused on their skill ready to fire at the slighter hint of danger.
The robot sat on the floor with a fully repaired head, oozing off a menacing aura, its four red eyes had become redder making the three feel their brains tingling with unease. The robot in an animalistic manner began hitting its chest like a crazed gorilla.
Max, Alice, and James marveled at its unexpected behavior without letting their guards down. The chest of the robot suddenly opened with a metallic crack, and from the inside black whip-like tentacles began making their way out.
The black tentacles were the width of a human fist; they were four in number wiggling about wildly.
''It…. Has adapted to my skill'' Alice's expression warped as she thought of what to do next.
The tentacle speedily launched towards Alice in a flash '' Bang! Bang!'' James rapidly fired at the approaching tentacles, he managed to slow and redirect two but did little to no damage.
'' improved toughness… interesting'' James kept firing hoping to damage it.
Max in the blink of an eye, appeared before the other two tentacles; with a heavy swing he smashed into both in rapid succession; knocking them away with an explosive force, yet doing only little damage.
'' Don't worry Alice, your knights in shining armor are here to save the day, we sure slay these foul beasts to rescue a friend'' James teased while still firing leaving Max with a smile.
'' A friend'' her eyes lit up '' foolish me…. I almost thought I wasn't'' a bright smile appeared on her face '' do your best to protect the cute damsel in distress'' James and Max chuckled putting more power in their attacks.
After an intense battle, James and Max stood victorious over the mangled body of the robot.
''battle mode off''
Max and James fell to the floor exhausted and relieved once the robot sank to the floor before disappearing from their sight.
'' thanks…. my knights in shining armor for rescuing a friend in need'' Alice joined them on the floor smiling in delight.
''Ting! Ting! ting!''
Max became excited with every increase in his level, he was eager to reach a higher level to protect himself and his loved ones while gaining the confidence to challenge the divinities with a grinning face.