And so, a week went by without a hint of a problem. Paxton stood in his room, his bat clasped firmly in his grip with his eyes closed. He was in his transformed state, and his room was in the training form. He was currently reminiscing on the past week, the techniques he mastered, and the skills he mastered.
Just like the chairman had said, they had indeed gone through a crash course. Lectures, training drills and information gathering. He learned enough for himself to handle a Web Gate by himself. However, the level of difficulty mattered.
What he learnt so far was a mastery of what he had already obtained.
A constant practice of his current skills. There was no reward or position to be obtained if he showcased himself, so he had done most of his hard-drilled training with the training dummies.
It was difficult at first, with the bizarre patterns of their movement, but with time, he mastered his abilities to a certain degree and defeated them. Now, he was cru[is to find out just how well he could cope with more than one of them.
"Server". He called and the room hummed to his voice before replying.
[YES, PLAYER PAXTON]
"Summon five training dummies and set the difficulty to ten".
The room stayed silent for a second but hummed before replying.
[PLAYER PAXTON'S RECORD SO FAR IS ONE LEVEL TEN, TRAINING DUMMY FOR TEN MINUTES. I'M AFRAID I WILL HAVE TO ADVISE AGAINST YOUR CURRENT COMMAND]
"Override…summon five training dummies and set the difficulty to ten". He instructed again, this time, his voice firm with affirmation.
He tapped his iron mask for a second, his cool gaze fixed on the wall.
The room remained silent before a reply was given.
[THE TRAINING WILL END WHEN PLAYER PAXTON HAS INCURRED MORE THAN 50% OF INJURIES. LET THE TRAINING BEGIN]
Soon, the iron ground beneath him opened up and five iron training dummies sprung out.
They were all unarmed, with their fists stretched out in a boxing stance and the number ten was written on their screen-like face. On their chests were written numbers, one to five.
"Alright then…." Paxton muttered, stretching his bat and his arms with it as the training dummies rushed towards him one after the other.
A training dummy was equivalent to a level ten to twenty because it was assumed players of that level should have obtained significant fighting experience to use their abilities properly.
So, a level ten dummy was equivalent to a level twenty player, well, just in skills of course.
Number one swung his fist through the air, a rippling sound echoing as he bent his head sideways and dodged it by a long shot.
He swung his bat upwards in an attempt to slam him away when he felt two more dummies beside him, number three and five, sending their fists at him, both blocking his sides.
He bent down, squatting as the two fists collided against each other.
Just when he thought he had been given leeway to attack, number two came from behind, its leg forming a crescent arc in the air as it went straight for him.
His body suddenly warped, and he disappeared from the spot, a loud thud reverberating within the room as he appeared on the ceiling. His feet had drilled into it, forming a distention against it as he swung his bat in the air.
'Speedster….finally mastered'. He thought as his body seemed to warp in the air, appearing in front of an unsuspecting number three, his bat swung in the air as it collided with the metal surface of the training dummy.
[SLAM]
Number three raised his hands in an attempt to block, but his speed was far greater than that of the dummies.
'An average speed of a Level 20 player wasn't up to his'. After all, he was a son of sound.
Not to mention, some players don't even have the speed status.
His bat came clashing with the solid steel of the Training Dummy, a sickening sound of metal rattling from the intensity as it flung the dummy against the walls of the room.
'One down'.
He thought as he turned around to find number four after him already.
It threw his fist at him, swinging through the air like an acrobat, but Paxton had heard it moving towards him a mile away.
He swung his bat upwards, slamming the fist away, skidded past him, turned around and grabbed it by its neck.
The slim features of the dummy made them practically their only flaw so he made use of that.
He pulled the dummy and slammed his bat against its chest, letting go of his grip as the force of the strike propelled it upwards.
He was about to swing again when He heard quick footsteps approaching him.
With the click of his tongue, quick thinking, and fast reflexes he grabbed number four by his neck again, spun towards the incoming dummies and slammed it against them.
[SMASH]
The force was doubled as he smashed number four against the incoming dummies, their bodies rattling and bending from the vibrations of the strike.
He pushed forward, grabbing the two dummies with the one he held and slammed them against the wall.
'I learnt this from training drills'.
They called it using one's enemy against their allies.
You use the body of your enemy as a shield or attack against their allies. It was something that worked a lot against a group of enemies, like so.
With four restrained, number one had changed tactics.
Paxton turned in the direction of the dummy; his brow raised in curiosity on noticing its sudden defensive stance.
'I see…without its partners, it can't attack like it did before….especially if it wants to win'.
It wasn't a bad plan, but he had backup motives for moments like this.
He let go of the three dummies, which had lost motion from the strike he caused and walked up to the centre where the last one remained standing.
These dummies were not actually made of steel but an alloy as strong as it. They also had inbuilt systems that allowed them to perform certain skills, though that wasn't meant for newbies like him.
Other than that, they were also built to respond to the player's skills, including ailments and debuffs. Thanks to that, he was able to defeat it white easily.
He charged in, his bat forming a crescent arc in the air as the dummy lowered his body, dodging the bat that swung past its head.
It aimed a punch for Paxton's abdomen when a loud sonic boom occurred, like the snap of a finger but only amplified to cause certain damage to the ears.
[SNAP]
The dummy was suddenly frozen in place, and in that split second, Paxton slammed his bat against the dummy's head, a sickening crack reverberating through the room.
[SMASH]
The dummy was smashed against the hard floor of the steel-like room, an aftershock spreading through the room as it lay limply on the floor.
'Snap causes a debuff that freezes people for five seconds…that's all the time I need to defeat a dummy without the skills'.
How did he activate the skill? Well, snap worked when a sound was created forcefully. He had simply amplified the sounds his bones made when he swung his arms around.
Something he only got to realize after a week of constant practice and Training.
It also meant that his skill would work for certain players within levels ten to twenty.
'...that makes me dangerous, no?'. He thought as he swung his bat through the air before resting it on his shoulder.
[CONGRATULATIONS PAXTON ZEN. YOU HAVE DEFEATED FIVE LEVEL TEN TRAINING DUMMIES IN THREE MINUTES FIFTY-FIVE SECONDS]
A smirk formed on his lips on hearing the sound of the server, while the training dummies were taken back through the holes. The room soon underwent its auto repair as he transformed back into his human form.
He remained silent for a few seconds, his gaze scanning the room as he nodded in satisfaction.
'There's nothing more for me to learn here…'
His victory wasn't thanks to luck, but a week of constant training, fighting and reviewing. He had spent sleepless nights working on himself and his skills, ensuring that he was able to absorb all the information and skills needed by Novice Players.
It was finally the last day, and he had showcased his results of the week by testing out his strength to a certain degree.
Now, it was time to leave and begin the first of his many goals, Level Up.
As Paxton left the room, the lights turned off while it hummed as it returned to its room settings.
At the far corner of the room was a sparkle that hid many secrets, a hidden camera leading to the chairman's office.