Post by Bass on Oct 19, 2019 13:57:17 GMT -8
LEVEL ZERO: INTRODUCTIONS
A bright and beautiful morning. Stretching wide and looking up towards the blue ceiling of his room he couldn't help but think of the day ahead. Almost immediately his features flattened and a hand reached to cover his face. It was going to be brutal, in fact based on the previous nights thought and the dreams he had and reflected on in this very moment he was going to be training for a looooong time. After all, only needing water to sustain himself meant he had the capacity to train for days on end if he brought a sleeping bag with him. It was time to break the newly completed Training Facility dubbed the Environmental Simulation Gravity Chamber, ESGC. Information that was only deeply buried in folders and documents at Corporate headquarters only having been glazed over by the big head honchos. After all the focus becomes less precise and scrutinizing when results were being made. Getting out of bed Bass reflected on how with the new branch changes including the healthier and more open work environment and the renovated recreational opportunities outside was producing all time high results for the company as a whole. In fact with the most recent developments a merger was beginning between underperforming branches and South Cities. People were being moved across the world and in particular the companies Oolong City branch shut down indefinitely as far as corporate was concerned. It had been producing a deficit for several years now and they could only presume the loss of profit would only become more severe and damaging to the company as a whole. Though with the South City branch outputting amazing numbers that made up for the financial loss in Oolong City and then almost triple that they were immediately crowned as the best branch under Momentum Corporate HQ. Given a privileges and budgets far outweighing the other companies it was easy to get all of this set up. Since of course, Bass knew he didn't need the entire budget going to a better workplace.
So this was his little pet project. Opening his closet he pulled out a box that made even him have to heaaave to move. This was no normal box of course, needing to be metal not to just completely break through at the first attempt to lift it. The contents were a variety of weighted training equipment and other assorted heavy training supplies required to make the most out of this little adventure. Instead of hanging it up in his office he decided he would bring it with him on this trip. Though with this sort of weight he wasn't even sure if he could deliver it on the bike, it was hard enough to lift and therefore it might pop the tires of the small two wheeled vehicle. He'd have to get there the hard way, or he could fly but carrying a dangerous payload above people that could probably crush the average person probably wasn't the wisest idea in the event that the worst case scenario happened. Getting on a light muscle shirt, some boxers and a pair of sweatpants he went into the bathroom to lazily brush his teeth and pulled his antennae back just a little bit until the muscle caught and held them in place at a backwards angle instead of their relaxed forward position. With the scent of breakfast on the horizon Bass would be lured over to the main room afterwards to see Icey preparing an omelette for herself. They'd basically become roommates at this point, and so it wasn't totally uncommon for an passing to go by without a word shared. She often did her thing and he did his. Squeezing into the kitchen he opened up the fridge and took out a bottle of Central Spring water, his favorite after trying it in Central City. He had a greater appreciation for water considering he relied on it so much to survive instead of having to juggle water and other nutrients. Though supplementary proteins never hurt anyone and made for good muscle growth with prolonged effort. After all, even some of the most unhealthy foods if worked hard into the right places are actually more beneficial than not. It is rare that something is only bad unless eaten with a lazy approach afterwards to paying for the luxurious yummies.
Needless to say he'd spend the morning with Icey chatting about the latest news of South City and the reports of an ancient turtle school student returning to his school with news and knowledge of his time. After that it was time to go. Getting the box ready and with his clothes on he had the door opened for him and walked on out, gone earlier than Icey at this point. It would be a long trek but a much needed one if he wanted to play things safe, honestly part of the training in itself. Almost out of breath by the time he got there his mind drifted back to the time when he struggled to carry a massive fountain of water across the land towards the village of sick people. However this time he didn't have as much to get there for, thankfully it was less of a push than the former scenario and while questionably heavier than that he'd gotten excessively stronger than he was during that time. He could probably throw that thing easily by now. In a solid fourty five minutes he would reach the property and begin approaching the brand new training center. What looked to be an oblong technologically advanced pearl colored sphere with well defined plates interlocking and moving together was the finished product of the Environmental Simulation Gravity Chamber. Stepping forward he figured it was about time he got into the meat of this place. Time to really look at how good of a job the construction workers did. Even while helping during construction it was ultimately difficult to decipher just how the place would look when it was complete.
Stepping inside of the building he was immediately fascinated by the automated sensors that scanned his presence and caused the doors to hiss as they lifted to part ways. Stepping inside an automated voice greeted him. "Good morning, Bass. As the main facility operator I will now grant you access to all functions that I possess. However as per your previous instructions built into my design if you ever give me a training regimen and do not follow through with it I will be obligated to self destruct this facility to prevent you from ever having the privileges of using it again. Do you understand?" Waving a hand dismissively Bass simply nodded before speaking. "Yes, I do. Is there something I can call you and can I get a tour of the facility and everything that it can offer?" Waiting there was an automated beep to register the finishing of speech input before the AI responded once more.
"You may call me Coach. And of course. As per your request the facility was outfitted with everything you listed and once I was finished in design and implementation I gave further instructions based on the biological data I received from your scan and had more features developed to best test your potential. There are features this facility holds that I wish to remain unspoken unless you demand I share for reasons of keeping your interest on the training at hand. A mix-up could happen at any point and that would only help in keeping you on your toes. As for the facilities main functional capabilities there are a variety of complicated systems that are expensive on their own but together it's a wonder even with the budget increase it could be purchased. However it isn't like it was an unwise investment based on the power level I am detecting from you, most conventional opportunities existing on the planet outside of rare fighters that you rarely see provide adequate training and so specialized facilities like this that push the limits of survival to the extreme are the only thing that can properly nurture the appropriate amount of progress that one such as yourself might expect at your calibre. Allow me to run down the features one by one.
First we will start with the simplest feature. This facility is outfitted with a gravity modulator that goes from zero point one percent to five hundred thousand times gravity. I have soft-locked the limits that I have deduced will kill you instantly should you be exposed to it in the event that there is a malfunction of any sort. This gravity will simulate the effect that you have been trying to get with weighted clothed but if you want the precise similarities of weighted clothing I still recommend that you wear it during training as the increased gravity only puts more general weight where as the clothing clings to your body on every limb and mirrors every move to provide a more cohesive benefit to your physical power.
Secondly we have the other fundamental facility function and that is simulation capabilities. Sensors are scattered around the room and cloaked to make for a seamless appearance, and when a simulation is activated the entire room will be altered to represent the environment that is requested. Additionally with this visual enhancement the facility has been equipped with a gel that can construct solid objects within three seconds to make physical obstacles or enemies, and there are multiple tiers and compounds that I can combine based on my built in understanding of chemistry to make products of greater power and durability compared to previous stages. To simplify it the facility has a one hundred percent interactive virtual space at any point on call. You can fight anyone you can imagine albeit they might not be replicated exactly as they are if they exist in real life unless you specify the information required for me to make an accurate replica.
Thirdly to bring all of this together the facility might seem small compared to how it looks on the outside now, yes? That is because it is capable of transforming. The walls can shift and extend outwards and the building can expand to almost three times the current exterior size and almost six times the size you are looking at now as a fight goes on. This can be used to simulate having to climb upwards as certain parts of the wall are extended and certain parts are retained to simulate stairs or ladders. There is nothing that is completely out of reach in this space. Of course the battle spaces will alert you if you are reaching a confine of the battle space, but I personally think that is a good thing. Being limited in movement is clever because it forces you to be more efficient in what you're doing, speed and distance will always be obvious ways to avoid danger but they will never give you an advantage, simply delay the inevitable. Forcing a more closeted space even on the scale it currently is at will force you to think wisely of your movements and optimize the space available to you.
All of these factors combine to make a fully immersive experience that is constantly being tailored during simulations to provide a smooth and seamless experience. As an Artificial Intelligence I do not tire and I do not falter, I will constantly be making shifts to the playing field to complicate things, push you further and alter the arena to facilitate an actual environment. If there is a rock in the air and it hits you I will eject a piece of the wall inwards to strike you in the face, every little thing will be mirrored in the real world to make it seem that much more authentic. I wouldn't take any comfort in the fact that these are simulations, I will not falter in mirroring an event that transpires within the sequence. You also do not need to be worried about the durability of the facility. Now that it is fully complete it is made of some of the strongest materials known in the universe to Earthlings currently and with the geometric structure it has been designed with can easily absorb strikes at your power level and by going with linear progression it will last until you reach around ten times your current power level. Based on exponential growth it will only last up until five times your current power level. Nonetheless once you have gotten that powerful the facility can be upgraded or your training can be altered to focus on less destructive training. Gravity training is ideal for retaining the integrity of the facility while also strengthening your body.
So that is just about everything needed to be covered, there is a storage compartment for your training equipment but once you've put that away we'll get right onto your first scheduled training session. The first one will be brutal, but get through it and it's smooth sailing from there."
Nodding his head, Bass cracked his neck both ways. "Got it, coach." Before he walked over towards a compartment that extended from the wall and placed his training equipment minus his weighted clothing into it. Dawning the hefty outfit he took a deep breath and widened his stance.
"Alright, I'm ready."
"Very well, we will start at Level 1: The Climb Tier 1. Gravity: x10."
LEVEL ONE: THE CLIMB TIER 1 [G's x10]
Immediately as the voice began to finish what it was saying a low hum signified the sensors starting to develop an environment. The environment in particular was a barebones, with white pillars and large rectangular platforms that twisted upwards and around each other. With a dark sky the area was oddly illuminated by seemingly sheer force of will alone, but even touch with the surfaces felt just as legitimate as he figured it would feel in reality. Listening as the voice activated after the scene had loaded it spoke. "Welcome to The Climb Tier 1. Your objective for this level is to reach the top of the course. You may take as many tries as you would like and flight is allowed. However pay careful attention not to injure yourself as your flight will be extremely difficult to utilize given the increased gravity and the weighted clothes you are wearing. Try to float in midair and you'll slam down with more force than you have ever felt before. However nonetheless to proceed to the next level you will be required to make it to the top of the structure. This level while fairly simple in design is intended to be a warm-up on future repetitions. Take it slow and don't lose your fight if you fall a couple of times, you'll find it is just a sensory illusion and you'll be caught and returned to the starting point no matter how high you are. The elevation of this level will go up for a total of five hundred meters before the summit as you'd have made it to the capacity of this building as the ceiling unfolds into a cylindrical tower. You may begin once you have adjusted to the increased gravity."
Rolling his shoulders and nodding his head he recognized that coach wasn't bluffing. The insane force being placed upon his body was enough to bring most people to the floor gasping for air. Even at his power level he found himself with his elbows pressed into his thighs constantly having to apply downwards pressure with his feet to actually stay upright without slouching from the gravity or being pulled to a knee. He could only fathom how he would make the jumps to come. Thankfully the first jump appeared to be but a simple ledge that he would have to pull himself up to actually get some jumping elevation. Easier said than done, as that would test the entirety of his body against something more than just standing up under this pressure. Just like jumping would require tons of raw might from his legs, lifting himself up onto this ledge would require strength from his arms and upper body most of all. He would have to go at this until it started to feel natural, and no step of the way was going to be easy.
Brushing his hands on his pant legs he approached the ledge and lifted two arms with a bit of effort, hands clamping down over the ledge. Immediately he let out a grunt as he went to shove down and lift himself up, however as he tried to do so he found himself pulled back down before he got any substantial height accumulated. Hitting the ground it was almost painful with the force he collided even though it was just a few feet, he started to appreciate the idea that if he fell from higher he would be getting caught. Plus, he figured if something seemed lethally dangerous Coach would stop the simulation. Right? It didn't matter, he needed to see this through to the very end. Slamming his hands down on the ledge again he felt a slight shake and he thrust himself upwards. Lifting almost the entire way he'd go to flop onto the platform but he didn't make it the entire way. The gravity began to tug down on his legs that weren't over while his main body was pressed flat to the ledge causing him to shout out in pain as he slowly had to struggle to lift his legs to set them onto the platform as well. Sitting there, he looked up and started to internally panic. The course that was ahead of him seemed impossible, and with a mindset that flimsy it very well was. Though he was reassured by the fact that he was persistent, that he improves just like he improved just a moment ago when he succeeded in getting up to that ledge.
Taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts he closed his eyes and clenched a hand around his weighted clothes. Steadying himself he readied for what was going to be an intense day filled with insane training. The worst part is was that it would only be the first. Though both he and his body would thank him for the effort he put in today when he surpassed challenges that were deemed impossible by word of mouth and rumor. To truly facilitate a change to the reality he wanted he needed to put in he'd need to never stop, and he never wanted to stop. Picking himself up he charged towards the first jump and went for it. A hulking jump that sent him up and up and yet suddenly he found himself plummeting beyond the point that level that the platform was out. Almost immediately he was caught gently by an outcrop of the wall and lowered to the ground to return to the starting point. He could do this as many times as he wanted and the world would just have to wait. Leaping towards the first ledge he cleared the rise needed and landed on one knee and a fist on the platform above, staring the jump ahead he let out a roar as he bulked up and made the next charge. With tremendous power he took a leap and the gap kept closing and closing until he smashed down on the other side. Already his entire body ached, but he just proved to himself that he could do this.
And that was all that was needed.
With each challenge one will be faced with struggles and adversity. That wasn't the last time Bass would fail during the first level. In his climb he fell over and over again over what felt like hours but it was his persistence that kept him struggling for the top quite literally. Every time coming at it with energy he mustered from who knows where, only occasionally refilling on water when he was getting dehydrated from the amount that he was sweating. Never in his life had he experienced such exhaustion, but the fact that this was only the start of his day of training only made the rest of it that much more exciting. When he thinks of the bigger picture and not of the moment he feels exciting to have the opportunity he has. The Namekian with presence jumped from platform to platform and kept up as the gap continued to seemingly indefinitely increase until he soared over what felt like ravines and clung onto the other side for dear life only to pull himself up. He was golden, on his path to achieving his first challenge of the day and surpassing the first level of his intense training. Though the hardest parts of this particular course were still to come in the final twist that was on the arena.
Ahead of him lied the biggest gap he'd ever seen which ended in a thin platform maybe half a foot thick. Ahead of it was an even longer gap with another similarly thick platform and finally after an even bigger span was a final thin platform. After that in the most massive gap as of yet was a solid full and wide platform with a holographic goal written over it. Mustering all the courage he could manage to take a leap that severe under all of this gravity, x10 to be exact he found himself sprinting one foot after the other. Pounding feet on the structure below him resulted in him catapulting from the edge in what felt like a perfect jump. Soaring through the air he noticed himself falling short and at the last second reached both hands up and caught the ledge. Straining to make it up he pulled and pulled until he rolled up onto the ledge and was thankful he was without reproductive organs, they would be hurting. Getting up to his feet he looked at the other gap and his lack of ground to move on and the realization dawned on him what this particular series of obstacles was about.
Momentum. He would have to make the initial jump with a combination of speed and power and continuously transfer that leap between the different platforms until he reached the end. Now four hundred and eighty five meters in the air he couldn't help but grimace at his predicament. He would choose to give a bad situation his best shot and so turning towards the next ledge he bent his knees and jumped with all of his strength. Soaring through the air he fell short, of course he did. However before he built up too much downwards velocity he was caught and escorted to the point he had so fondly become familiar with. Coach spoke words of encouragement, but the AI was quickly learning that Bass's motivation came entirely from within. Charging forward Bass took the course head on with vicious intent. Using momentum from the very beginning of the obstacle course he landed successfully on each and every platform leading up to the top again. Each jump even if taken early was taken with the momentum of the previous and he found himself an aching sore and questionably broken wreck by the point he'd made it too. Yet his footwork didn't stop there, slamming down on the edge of the platform he showed an awesome display of pure might as he bridged the gap and landed. The same foot that landed kicked off to lead to the other foot extending out for the ledge and just barely finding purchase.
Having to go no matter the circumstance unless he wanted to compromise the momentum he'd gathered he jumped with only the topmost portion of his foot. Leaping off of the platform he looked like he was falling short of the final goal and just as he began to fall out of sight and the AI began to reach outwards to catch him two hands found purchase on the ledge. Using the elastic feature of his arms he was holding on from a good five meters down. Yet a voice spoke up. "Sorry Bass, that doesn't qualify. Down you go." With a slam to his side he started falling before being caught.
Thankfully, on his next run he got it down from start to finish despite being incredibly exhausted. He had a lot of getting used to to do in order to be fully operational in this gravity, though for day one this wasn't a bad turn out. Coach's voice spoke up as Bass staggered against a wall and lowered to a sit as he drank some water.
"Congratulations Bass, I commend your willpower. I was aware of your drive but it certainly is unique to see it in person. However as fun as it might be to try to break that spirit of yours in these levels that isn't the intention, but it might be the outcome once you see and try your luck against the next.
Level 2: Falling Cascade Tier 1. Gravity: x10."
Level Two: Falling Cascade Tier 1 [G's x10]
As Coach spoke the next level the scenery immediately began to flicker and change to a new environment. What had originally been a very modest monochromatic palette of colors shifted into a very earthy terrain. Looking towards the sky it took on a purple coloration with dark rolling clouds while the land around him was completely either eroded soil signature of a very dry and warm climate. Though at the center of the locally accessible region was a pillar of falling rocks. These rocks constantly came in different sized and formations and when one struck the ground the debris scattered and faded away into nothingness as the assets were deleted by the AI to then place another falling rock in the sky. At the very very top if Bass squinted there was another platform, and suddenly the nature of the challenge began to drawn on him. Though to clarify coach still spoke up.
"Welcome to Falling Cascade, a simulation designed without so much leisure compared to the former. While the former was theoretically possible to achieve with little constant motion, Falling Cascade is a simulation that requires constant movement if you want to have a net positive upwards distance on each jump. Wait too long and if you don't lose your footing from the tumbling 'stone' you'll even if you jump land lower than you were standing when you jumped on the former rock. In addition the height of your jumps will be even more difficult to replicate compared to what you are used too. You are familiar with jumping off of objects that are stabilized in their environment, but in this circumstance if your jumps put too much power into them and not precision and intent you'll find that your actions only launch the rock you're on currently downwards while barely sending you upwards. This demands an alternative skillset from The Climb, coming into this with an identical approach will almost certainly not work. After all, warm-up is always the easiest part. With that being said once more in this case if you appear to be falling and fall by one rock that is descending I will catch you. While theoretically you could land on lower rocks the risk of injury and death is too great to allow. You will find with many of these scenarios should all the stops be pulled death is not out of the question, the intensity required to improve your current state needs to push the envelope as close as possible. With that being said you may begin when you are ready, Bass."
Nodding, the Namekian steadied himself and looked towards the collapsing rock. Pure power wouldn't cut it and nor would patience. In order to find success he would be obligated to tap into some set of skills that he had chosen to neglect until now. It certainly didn't help that these things looked terrifying to get close too in the simulation. While the reality of it is if any of them would've 'crushed' Bass, it'd be retracted into the central pillar in reality; in the simulation and being fully immersed that was understandably difficult to recognize. Yet despite all of the reasons to be afraid Bass knew he needed to take a crack at this. Even if he didn't have the answer now, he knew the answer was conjured by sheer persistence and repetition. If he can't think out the problem he'll make his body do it over so many times that it just begins to naturally understand the nature of the challenge ahead of it, and only then will he see what he'd been neglecting to train as much. Sprinting towards the set of rocks he took a leap and hit against the first rock. Subconsciously turning away from it he more or less shoulder checked it and just landed on the floor next to him. Cursing to himself he came to truly recognize the amount of hesitation he had about doing something like this, something that a proper fighter wouldn't even flinch at was making his body move in defensive ways when being injured wasn't even a question in this. Unless he pulled something, but that was entirely out of Coach's control. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes he'd give the bridge of his nose a light pinch and then look back up towards the rocks. As the faded stones rolled by him and disappeared only to be reused assets above he resolved himself to take another run at the stone. Just short of the falling cascade Bass lowered to a crunch-like crouch and launched himself upwards. The gravity made the height he gained negligible to the massive height he might normally scale but it was still enough to find purchase on one rock. Immediately as he landed he went to jump and when he did it felt like the ground underneath himself gave way to the physical force he was putting out. Only flailing as he reached forward catching the rock as it was lower than the first one he landed on, as it crashed into the ground he was back to ground zero and he jumped back to avoid potentially being crushed.
Though that just might have been the insight he required to be successful. Thinking about it he'd already used a technique that was very intensive in that aspect recently. Something that even though he'd been talented enough to gain a quick fundamental understanding of some techniques more casual martial artists couldn't master in their life, he never actually put long an arduous training into discovering those things. An example is flight, and while as of late he'd been developing a new ability called the Borehole Cannon as his first offensive implementation of ki, he still time and time again underestimated the capability of such a technique. He wondered if instead of physically kicking off of the rock if perhaps he just lightly removed himself from it and then with a burst of ki launched up to the next rock in line. It would be less draining than consistent flight for sure. He wouldn't know precisely how it would handle until he actually tried it, plus he knew it would be something that was strange to get used too. Though the implementations of such a skill were far and wide from unnaturally dodging attacks that could hit most people to even maybe sending out invisible punches from his fist. Lowering his hand to his side Coach spoke. "Ah, so you've come to a conclusion. It is good you're using that brain of yours."
Rubbing his hands together he prepared himself and sprinted forward again. The first jump off of solid ground he could still do with just physical power and as he sailed onto the first rock his plan stepped into motion. Just barely hopping off of the rock he cleared physical contact with it and in that moment just light he might when flying he let out a burst of energy like the time when he believed he was jumping on air. Sure enough he launched forward in a way that looked like he would land on top of the rock. Even if in this case he managed to collide with it based on his angle of ki jump, as he would eventually come to call it. While unfortunate as he was caught and returned to his starting point, he was only fired up as his problem was just a matter of mastering an ability as imposed to doing the impossible. Of course there's exceptions to the approach if there's a massive rock that won't move much with ones power but for such a thing to be falling from the sky would be incredibly rare. This training improved his precision with utilizing ki, overall making his movements tighter and more efficient the closer he got to true mastery. Also acclimating him to more regular use of his ki instead of just when he got into fights, since most of the time it was just all bottled up in there. Having immediately almost fallen into the fatigue of the previous exercise when he started this one Bass was already breathing raggedly with his hands against his knees while watching the collapsing column. Though defeat against this obstacle ended now; so he was confident enough to think. Picking himself up and letting out a roar to take his best shot at sprinting towards the obstacle he wanted to surpass he pounced upwards and landed on the rock before in subsequent nature performing ki jumps between eight different rocks in quick succession, only using them as brief momentary footholds to line up his aim towards another rock. On the ninth jump he aimed poorly and upon trying to get to it noticed he was going to go off course. Though with the technique becoming a fundamental thought in his mind he twisted his body and performed a mid-air ki jump and landed on the rock.
From there it was just sheer brute force, while he might have had to scale at least one hundred different rocks of varying sized and fragility he found it becoming increasingly more natural even if difficult and incredibly exhausting to perform. Ki jumping between different rocks and at times having to form an additional ki jumps to make it to the rock he'd locked on as his destination. Though the anomalies that presented themselves almost always resulted in him having to restart, the hooks and unique oddities. In particular were the chain of rocks sized barely larger than the average head that led to the goal at the very end. When the entire column just became falling pebbles instead of something that he ever imagined himself scaling even if he could ki jump. He wouldn't be able to aim as well here because he couldn't even land on these things without tearing them off course. He couldn't fly that well because the consistent drag of ten times gravity would be constantly pulling him down while the bursts of movement would give enough initial velocity to make proper forward progress. Reaching the point at where he'd fumbled the most recent time, that very end bit he immediately sprung into action with a newfound understanding of how to approach the obstacle that lied in his way. He needed to already have his trajectories planned out and thought of moments ahead so he could constantly shift the positions of his feet to give the appropriate angle for the next ki jump. As a non-existent mental path formed in Bass's head in the split second before he jumped he followed it, and in almost signature fashion overcame the biggest obstacle he had faced yet through sheer adaptation, talent and unbridled hard work. Reaching the top wasn't that flashy with his hands holding the ledge without having to extend to make it, though with a simple burst of ki from both feet he flipped heels over head and landed on the platform with a sigh. Slowly over thirty seconds the goal platform lowered towards the ground and Bass just collapsed in ragged breaths. This training was seriously taking a toll on him, he felt like some kind of hamster being forced to run on a wheel because if he stopped he'd just go flipping and tumbling, something in his mind being becoming lost and weak. He always needed to struggle to be the best version of himself, so stopping was something he absolutely couldn't allow himself to do.
Fully lowering to the ground Bass hobbled over painfully towards the wall and went to sit down once more. Sucking in air to recover slowly as his vision throbbed and threatened to pull him from consciousness Coach's voice brought him back to reality. With a hand shakily moving to his right to grab a bottle of water and chug it down to restore his body's nutritional needs he listened to the artificial intelligence speak and essentially congratulate him before preparing the next level.
"Good work. I did notice that while you possessed the capability to utilize your energy in such ways with previous techniques you informed the database you could use, rarely did you ever train those techniques. Multiple levels you'll encounter over the day exploit similarly abused skills that I understand you've come to take for granted and believe are at their full potential. That is not the case. Just like your body has muscles, your spirit has paths for ki to travel. The more the work and train particularly skills that utilize those pathways in greater intensities, the more they will open up and allow for more efficient flows and bursts of expenditure. Larger attacks, the ability to fly faster in normal gravity and respectively at higher gravity's the force via ki expenditure required to overcome higher G's. These skills are essential, and only accessible by training your second muscles of the spirit. As much as I would say I feel pity for your incredibly pained and exhausted circumstance and be inclined to offer you a break...
I am but Artificial Intelligence, I feel not. So basically I'm saying suck it up buttercup. The next level will once again draw from a different skill set, so always go into these challenges trying to broaden your horizons instead of big man big smash, okay?"
Bass nodded, before Coach gave the name and run-down of the next level.
"Level 3: Approach Velocity Tier 1. Gravity: x10."
Level Three: Approach Velocity Tier 1 [G's x10]
"Welcome to Approach Velocity, the third level. Each level implements a unique functionality that brings out a different skill or in some cases they bring together multiple different skills to work together in tandem like you'll discover in the next level should you successfully reach it. The first level tested your sheer power and stamina versus the increased gravity and will act as a benchmark for our training going forward. Over the course of your lifetime within this facility we'll gradually ramp up the gravity's intensity so that despite being the same routines you need to put even more power into it to complete it than before. This should come naturally and if we account for the rate of your growth correctly it should feel just as difficult as today every single day as your body gets stronger and the challenges get more straining. For this particular challenge while I won't tell you what it tests, I will tell you what it is about. While Falling Cascade was a vertical climb Approach Velocity instead covers the other base and is a rapid series of horizontally moving platforms that you need to keep up with. Understand that you will not run into a wall during this simulation, as you will either be escorted back to the start or based on the immersion of the simulation you'll be going in circles around the facility in a situation where you will be perceiving a straight line. Some smart architecture and subtle changes to the environment make things like this possible with the systems that have been implemented. However I will tell you that your goal will effectively be five miles in terms of distance and your objective is to make forward progress towards it while not falling behind. Just like Falling Cascades if you're on a platform for too long you'll quickly discover that you're being pulled back faster than you're progressing forward. Speed is key and unlike the previous situation these platforms are sturdy enough to normally jump off of, if that's the recommended approach or not - I will not confirm until you come to a conclusion yourself. For this specific level you will be required to inform me of when you wish to start and stop the moving platforms because they take up the entirety of the facility floor space. If you fall I will likely automatically stop them and reset the algorithm for their trajectories of course. So in theory Approach Velocity is incredibly simple. Go in a straight line until you reach the goal while jumping from platform to platform and exceeding the speed at which they come at you. In practice you'll find that the accelerating nature of these platforms will complicate the situation and force you to realize things you've also taken for granted up until this point. One thing I'll give you going in as a word of advice Bass. Sometimes raw power isn't the only answer, and it certainly isn't an answer by itself.
Inform me when you would like to begin."
As soon as Coach finished speaking the next level began to load in and fading away was the previous one. Taking the place of an arid purple skied environment with falling rocks was a similar pitch black void-space that he was familiar with from the first test. Platforms remained stationary in front of him and on the first written in holographic text was written 'start'. He'd just have to play this one by ear and do his best. Moving forward he stepped onto the start platform and spoke. "Begin." At that point every platform including the one he was in started to move. Stepping forward he eyed the other platforms that were raising out of the ground and the goal sign that only seemed to be pulling further and further away despite already being on the horizon from him. Gritting his teeth with a twitching eye he ran towards the edge and jumped. Soaring over what to him in the simulation looked like pitch black ground led him to landing on a pearl platform. It wasn't actually all that difficult he'd noted. Running forward he kept doing the same thing again and again and again. The goal however didn't really look much closer, it was difficult to gauge progress given the circumstances of the level. Leaping again and again he crossed gap after gap and got to the other side. Looking up and seeing the goal getting no closer he started to dread this particular level as well. Each one got increasingly more difficult compared to the last and he already had felt like he was dying after the first and especially after the second. This was beyond training to Bass at this point, this was suffering and brutality. Though through such things a man comes out stronger than he had ever been before. Letting out a roar to hype himself up he stomped a foot down and leapt again and sprinted across the platform he landed on. He was starting to find that each time he went to leap forward the course was getting incrementally faster now. It wasn't before but as he focused more on sprinting across the platforms faster and launching himself to the next and sometimes even skipping some with the speed he'd accumulated he began to realize that the closer one got to the goal the faster the platforms moved. It was fine for a while until the area started to begin where when he landed on a platform simply sprinting across the entire thing didn't get him net positive, he was negative in the distance he had accumulated. Coach's voice rang out. "You've began to hit the crux of this level, the thing that I need you to overcome to realize something else you've neglected. In your grand search for power there are some things you let escape your might Bass. You need to realize what those things are and capitalize them to neutralize any environmental advantages. I'll give you a hint, this skill would be particularly useful in everyday circumstances and places of lower gravity... Mind you, it's not like you have plans to go to the moon do you? Nonetheless, even in Earth's gravity this skill should allow you to perform faster."
Thinking about that in the back of his mind as he sprinted and tried to outpace the part that his speed simply couldn't handle an idea began to slowly click. It started off with an extreme fumble as he leapt towards the platform and crashed into it, bringing himself to his knees and losing almost four hundred meters of progress. However instead of sprinting back to that same point he'd use this opportunity to begin to understand the fundamentals of this different mobility technique. Generally speaking an individual expels ki through their feet or hands. That's the obvious common sense thing to do for a fighter. After all they're exposed to seeing energy blasts come from the hands most of the time and most fighters fly from expelling an unseen jet of ki propulsion from their feet. However ki doesn't only have those vectors to escape. As gravity took him down Bass expelled ki from his back and shoulders to shoot himself down even faster to reduce the time that it took for gravity to have to run it's course. That was it. He was expecting gravity to always be on his side, when at some of the highest tiers of fighting when every movement mattered sometimes you needed to go even faster with some downwards thrust. Plus with this he could aim himself to crash down at the edges of platforms to subsequently launch himself. It let him spring from platform to platform like a rabbit might typically in cartoons hop around. This wouldn't come without a large amount of failures of course. His trajectories being off course and missing platforms, the ki expenditure not being balanced between his left and right sides causing him to careen off in one direction on top of a variety of other problems. Though when it worked (and it was working fairly consistently after thirty straight minutes of putting his all into it) it was something special to witness. It was almost as if he was warping to predefined points, zipping to where he needed to be and needed to jump from. His body blurred from the speed and he consistently kept shifting forward in what became a new understanding of optimizing his fighting capabilities in any circumstance.
At that point all that was left was struggling to get to the end. Just because he could do it wasn't any indication that it was even remotely easy for him. On the contrary it was extremely difficult to use ki as if it was breathing. He was used to using ki when he was pulling out the stops, but he never imagined incorporating it into such a fundamental concept and weaving it into everything he did. Though the more he thought about it the more he realized ki was a compliment to the physical, it empowered capabilities beyond what seems physically possible (even if the bar of physically possible is incredibly high already). Bouncing between the obstacles at a rapid pace he soared through the rapidly approaching platforms that were coming towards him at an insane rate. As the goal was within five hundred meters the platforms were literally flashes of light that zipped past him like a time-lapse of highway traffic. However with the new technique he could slam himself down and find purchase on the platforms that he could just barely perceive with his current ability to track speed at his power level. Landing on the edge he kept launching himself forward, the lack of time spent on the platforms meant when he landed he wasn't receiving as much of a loss of ground as he had been back when he was running. As the blurring got faster and faster and the atmosphere got more and more tense Bass was nearing the goal. It was literally only a few more jumps away, and with one last push of effort the Namekian found himself soaring not on those jumps particularly, but instead he leapt into the air and dashed with ki shooting from behind and from his lower body to keep him in the air and going forward until he landed on the finishers platform. Letting out a sigh he collapsed, blacking out completely from the absolutely insane amount of exertion he had already spent.
When he woke up he was laying on his back and a little bit of water had been splashed on him by a mechanical drone. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. You really are tuckered aren't are you? Well you'll be glad to know that we only have two more harder levels until we're finished with obstacles and I'll permit an hour long break. After that hour we'll start to get into more fighting based scenarios where you'll be a bit more in your comfort zone. Then finally we'll wrap it up with a series after a second break that will be a surprise until it comes up. Though I must say, once you realized the technique required to make your movements efficient and quick you capitalized on it really fast. Unlike the previous two levels where you fumbled right at the end you just soared right to the finish line this time around. To be fair you air dashed at the very end because you lost confidence in yourself. If I was an even harsher coach I might be inclined to make you start over just because of the lacking confidence but it comes from a place of perception, and you can only fully understand and keep track of things within your range of capability. If something is faster than you have ever imagined possible, of course you're not going to be able to identify it properly. That being said give it a week and you should be able to see those much easier. That's why you didn't have to restart, because it's a skill that won't improve during one day all that much. It will improve as we go through the days and weeks.
With that being said I will permit five minutes for you to at least make sure you're not going to have a heart attack and croak on me. I might be cruel but I have no intention of causing legitimate lethal harm to those who utilize the facility. So drink some water, wipe yourself down with a towel and take a seat. Whenever you're ready within five minutes let me know or if five minutes elapse and you haven't said anything I'll begin the explanation of level four. Capiche? Good."
Bass would proceed to just lay there for the next five minutes after downing a bunch of water and wiping his face and body down with a towel. Breathing heavily and refocusing, just when he'd started to feel like more than a skin sack again a voice called out.
"Oooookay! Level 4: Approaching Cascade Tier 1. Gravity: x10."
Level Four: Approaching Cascade Tier 1 [G's x10]
Immediately with the statement of the new level came the formation of the environment. Bass had gotten used to that by now, but what he wasn't prepared for was the intensity of this new simulation. Immediately from his laid down position the sky turned a deathly purple-black with a swirling maelstrom at the top as if he was in the eye of a storm. Lightning crashed and the sound was intense but to his horror the scariest thing about the whole level was when the objects started to fall from the eye of the storm. Tumbling in every which direction and in chaotic patters. Some went sideways, some went down at steeper angles than others and there was absolutely no steady defined pattern to them. It was the combined implementation of Approach Velocity and Falling Cascade into one jumbo feature film of doom. Slowly straining to stand up Bass let out a roar as he drew out more ki into his body with a power up, his muscles bulging once more but even then while somewhat revitalized he found himself still extremely tired from all of the work he'd been doing. Already this was more effort than two months of working at the office back in the day. In reality it's surprising that this equates to just two months, but the dead grind of a salaryman's life takes a lot of either broken forward progress or drive for some greater purpose in life. Needless to say as Bass looked at the tremendous sight of moving objects intertwining with each other he simply couldn't imagine how this was replicated in the actual world. He could only guess the AI was so complex that it could manage all these things with such finite precision to never have them directly collide with each other in unintended ways. Once again he figured it was a budget well spent, but in this very moment he was tempted to regret ever becoming a fighter was. It didn't necessarily cross his mind but the upcoming agony is something no man subconsciously looks for. Though Bass was looking towards the horizons afterwards, the hard work to get to the gold and that was what he found himself driven by even now. Coach started to speak to give the rundown of this particular level.
"So it might be obvious but let me speak it in obvious terms. This is combining skills you have developed in both Falling Cascade and Approach Velocity in hopes that it will push you to even greater distances here. The thing is that both of those have predictable algorithms that let you get into a flow where as the combined usage of them produce an element of unpredictability. The reality of the matter is that if you approach this like you have the previous two you'll find yourself horribly outclassed by these simple logs and stones you see falling from the sky. The reason for that is in Falling Cascade it was left right left in terms of your diagonal ki jumps to reach the next rock. Once you got into a flow the only variable was faster or slower variations of that pattern. In approach velocity it was just about seeing a platform beneath to effectively in simpler examples press a button to appear on it when it was beneath you. If anything all that takes is depth perception and an understanding of leeway. What this introduces I'm tempted to tell you based on the fact that it's much less intellectually challenging to figure out anyways. With no ability to predict how these things are falling you'll have to rely one hundred percent on your instincts and reactions. You'll need to be constantly moving and putting one hundred and ten percent of brain, body and spirit into every decision you main while climbing this. If Falling Cascades was one piece of an object and Approach Velocity was the other, Approaching Cascades is the adhesive to bring that to perfection. It will bind your skills deep within your mind as they become intertwined with instinct. This will become more natural to you over time and especially over the days of training even as I increase the gravity during subsequent sessions. Good luck Bass, this is the first level that might actually require some. There is no trick to completing it, you're just going to have to be faster, more perceptive and more responsive to stimulus. Don't think about your next move, move before you think. A concept that has undermined martial artists for centuries is that in a form where technicality is to prevalent and everything is thought out and designed to make a perfect form, returning to seemingly barbaric instinct is a horrifically underappreciated concept. However even if in a pseudo-true fashion I think this will benefit you. With that being said I won't let anything crush you and you're free to begin. I will remind you that if you give up this facility is self-destructed and you'll just become a hobo. So.
Good luck buddy!"
Almost holding his breath Bass looked towards the maelstrom of falling debris. He saw a singular static platform and knew what his goal was. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to try and calm himself he jumped towards the first rock. Landing on it he ki jumped to the next and immediately after landing on it turned around to spot a third rock and jumped impulsively as opposed to ki jumping. Tumbling through the air he was caught and returned to the ground. Letting out a grunt of frustration he tried again, and try try again truly was the nature of this particular level. With no specific trick it was about ingraining motions so commonly thought of before they're executed to instead perform them faster in a fashion that allows him to completely ascend the maelstrom and into the 'eye of the storm' or rather the goal. Leaping from one rock to the next he ki jumped towards a massive rock and landed against it before going to ki jump off of the larger rock. Sailing through the air he would be caught by Coach and flail in confusion. "Relax, Bass. I forgot to mention you will have to perform optimally. While theoretically you could brute force use ki to ascend every object so long as your perception keeps up, a fighter always fights as efficient as possible so that they are not wasting any resources. That rock was large enough for a normal jump to work and the ki you used to leap from it while by itself doesn't add up to much if the concept isn't addressed and that is performed again and again could lead to multiple attacks being unusable as you're exhausted and unable to dish out. It doesn't matter if you move around and dodge a lot if you can't actually follow up and make something happen, does it?"
Coach was right. Being lowered back to the starting point he recognized that if he was going to do this he'd have to do it right. He was pretty decently high on that run too. What would transpire next however is ultimately another long arduous battle against all odds. Multiple times would Bass have to confront obstacles that he couldn't initially defeat and he'd have to adapt to deal with them. While arguably his instinctive response wasn't a thing, his reaction time was getting sharper and sharper towards the maximum possible point. Even if that's by a couple milliseconds it eventually adds up to a substantial difference when with every single event that transpires chunks of a second are shaved off. Eventually that adds up to seconds of efficiency over another opponent and it is through those advantages that a lead can be forged and a victory can be achieved. He failed multiple times because he didn't see a pathway in time or he jumped the wrong way or quite literally in an inappropriate trajectory perhaps able to recognize he had to jump but unable to realize in the time he had to jump which angle he had to jump at. Repeated failures left him a beaten up and exhausted mess, but he never relented. That wasn't how Bass rolled. So in classic fashion with repeated persistence and a struggle for the top he would keep surpassing his previous runs and get higher and higher. Sometimes he might start off on the wrong foot and there were certainly exceptions but for the most part he was starting to understand more fundamentally the importance of reactions and perception in fighting. Normally it's incredibly simple to overthink perception. You just have to see your opponent after all. However that only applies to his tier of fighting where most opponents don't have the ability to zip around. Fighting is still done mostly in the visible spectrum despite that being only relevant to the person watching and no so much the people fighting. It was almost humbling to have to recognize all of the little skills that needed to be worked on in order to be a proper formidable fighter of unbridled strength. Not just strength of physical body, spiritual and mental body as well. When all three are in unison only then can a fighter consistently push passed their limits as they have no anchors dragging them back towards the ground.
Stone after stone Bass ascended in what would be his final run that ended in his completion of the level. Zipping between multiple rocks and only taking glances of his environment to dart between different falling objects. Leaping off of large stones and ki jumping off of smaller stones to get air despite sending the 'rocks' flying off to the side. Getting closer and closer to the summit the objects got more sparse and to compensate he began to air dash towards the ones he detected and while still ascending recognized he was doing so at an even slower pace due to how much horizontal movement he was having to do to get to different points. Thus instead of doing multiple wasteful air dashes to bridge the gap he started ki jumping at ten degree angles to cut through the sky and land on these rocks before it became to little of an ascent to really equate to much. Scaling stone after stone he found himself within meters of the ledge where debris was falling all around. Leaping upwards with an outstretched hands his fingers slapped the side of the platform and skidded off of it. Letting out a roar as he started to fall and fall he air dashed to a piece of debris falling to his side and started to relentlessly perform ki jumps to get to the top. Using what he had at his current disposal he began to just hop back and forth at the base of the winning platform to wait for a large stone, before Coach spoke up. "You're just tiring yourself out while looking for the easy way out that is never going to come. Perhaps you can currently jump further with your physical jumps but after all this time you've still not understood a core concept. You can jump very slightly physically off of smaller objects, you can jump quite high with ki jumps. What if that thick skull of yours did some simple addition?"
That was it. His mind went back to all the times he literally leapt from the ground and soared almost to the clouds. While perhaps he wasn't even thinking about it at the time he was using both at once. In a climactic finish Bass brought together both spirit and body in an impressive flourish of a jump that saw him ascending beyond the platform before falling and landing straight on it with a knee down a fist planted into the stone. With ragged breathes the Namekian closed his eyes. The thunder began to quiet down and the light began to dim as he vaguely felt himself being lowered to the ground. With hoarse breathing and sweat drenching his entire body he once again collapsed despite trying his best to stay alert.
There was the sound of clapping from wherever the AI's speakers were located, though there was more than one speaker anyways. That clapping was what Bass heard when he came to who knows how long later. It was at the point where the Namekian had literally lost track of time and this could've been an entire day already for all he knew. The environment around him was still some kind of simulation until the next one was loaded up. Coach spoke. "Hey! There the champ is. I have to say my product line has been used to nurture some pretty amazing fighters over the years, and I think you have the potential to be just like that. Hell, most people don't start on ten times gravity. You came in here with more Power Level for your first session than fighters usually do. There is a tier zero that you have just well, skipped. So pat on the back for that blue boy. With Approaching Cascades coming to a conclusion I hope you got an insightful lesson of how to properly utilize every asset your body has at it's disposal. Often people neglect the spirit because they are too stubborn and they think it's for ki attacks and being a coward. Though ki can be used for just about anything if you're clever with usage. It can make the most physical fighter an unimaginably monstrous physical fighter by speeding up his movements and empowering his punches. How body has been built up a lot, but your spirit, your ki pathways are all while naturally potent generally underworked for someone at your level. This training course will raise your body and spirit to new levels and as you've probably realized already nurture your mind with technical knowledge and understandings of combat and combat environments that you might never have considered before.
You'll be happy to know that after the next level we're taking an hour long break. I've already gotten the okay to order using our spare budget to get you a feast of those favorite burritos you love. The extra protein from the ground beef worked right in should be great for developing your body going forward. A big diet complemented by big training means big gains, right? Right. Water can only do so much for you. With that being said however take some time to relax, five minutes again and then we'll get on to our final level in obstacles. Something that you will find a ton of use of. Though this- actually, I'll get into that in a second. Tell me when you're ready."
Once again Bass replenished himself, drinking some water and wiping himself down. There was a time one genuinely might want to die and needless to say if Bass had a heart attack and was gone from the mortal coil he wouldn't necessarily be too mad about it right now. The amount of suffering he was going through was unlike anything he'd ever experience before. Though damn it all if this wasn't some of the most productive training he'd ever taken part in. He was learning new concepts so quickly that he was just overwhelmed. He'd have a lot to sleep on tonight; and he would have a freakin' amazing sleep. Slowly raising a thumb after the four minute mark Coach spoke.
"He breathes! Understood. Level 5: Breaking Point. Gravity: x10."
Level Five: Breaking Point Tier 1 [G's x10]
The room began to shift once more as a new simulation took hold. Contrary to all of the previous rooms that have been constructed up until this point Bass noticed that the facility or at least the simulation space was significantly smaller. In fact it continued to close in until he was in a space large enough to consider his bathroom. Raising a brow and looking around towards the rather bare bones space the only thing he could see out of the ordinary was a wall that had multiple different cuts in it making almost a grid. Thinking to himself the Namekian just when he was about to take his questions to the more vocal spectrum was interrupted as Coach began to speak.
"And here is the ultimate level of the obstacles. It is the one thing with the most direct application to fighting out of everything you've been dealing with up until now. In front of you what you're looking at, first of all has nothing to do with your bathroom." Okay, that was weird. "But ultimately if you look at the wall that you're looking at you'll notice the multiple different boxes that look like squares. Well that's because they will be flying towards you to simulate punches at an increasingly fast rate. First we'll start at something I guarantee you can handle but never get comfortable. I can and will throw curve balls at you to force you to stay on your feat. Many fighters use weakness to their advantage to seem vulnerable and just when you begin to lower your guard or show pity they strike like vipers and suddenly you're at a massive disadvantage if you aren't taken out of the fight completely. Unlike the other levels this isn't necessarily a mental exercise either. While Approaching Cascades could be interpreted in ways of learning new ways to utilize already learned abilities together in a more harmonious way, this is as close to a sheer skill expression level as is possible. Specifically because of that Breaking Point doesn't have an end to it. Well, a predefined end. I assume if you get high enough it will reach it's breaking point and the mechanisms will overheat and short circuit however for the most part it would reach that long after you reach yours for the foreseeable future. You have three lives, each time you are struck you lose a life and when you are struck a total of three times you are out. However you can't just flunk this to get to the break faster. I've set a bar that you must pass if you want to continue using this facility and it's one that I think you can't get to specifically because I want to see that drive that you keep showing in these previous exercises. And I'd rather you fall ten short and I let you off out of mercy than make the goal and then give up to take your break. I feel like I shouldn't need to tell you to do your best though. You're not letting me down by not putting your all into something.
You would just be letting yourself down. So with that being said obviously don't try to attack the wall in retaliation, just focus on dodging. The space around you will constantly change and attacks will come at you from further away and from more distant angles. In the simulation they will be color coded. Purple resembles an energy blast, pink resembles an extremely powerful energy attack. Orange resembles a physical attack, yellow resembles a ranged physical attack and red resembles a very powerful physical attack and has no differentiation between ranged and melee. After all it's basically just a courtesy to label the ranged and melee attacks because at the end of the day they're all things you have to block or avoid. Speaking of which, for the purposes of this particular exercise blocking will be prohibited as it is difficult as the breaking point for that is quite literally a broken arm. At later stages in the future I will design methods for you to effectively practice blocking or catching attacks without such problems existing but for now you're going to have to dodge. I understand you're more familiar with blocking or tanking hits except for your one trick wonders that almost drain you of your ki entirely with just a single use but you'll simply have to use those and your capability to dodge as best as possible. I would pay careful attention on when to Teleport and when to not as certain spaces don't allow for that range of movement and teleporting into an attack is no different than not teleporting away from an attack. One simply means you're more exhausted after taking the hit. With that being said when you're prepared to begin let me know and we'll start nice and slow for you."
Nodding his head Bass gathered himself and focused. Looking into his minds eye so to speak. He took a deep breath and channelled his exhaustion right into the back of his mind so he didn't have the taxing pull of his muscles screaming to stop just when this was getting started. Thinking about it more he came to the understanding that he wasn't actually given the number he had to meet or surpass which was effectively forcing him to do his best. He had planned to do that anyways, but the difference in approaches certainly gave him more motivation and when everything felt like it was going to fall apart in his body he needed a lot of motivation. So far Coach had been really good at keeping him going, so there was that. Straightening his arms at his side and giving his limbs a little wiggle he looked towards the wall and let out one final long breath before speaking. "Ready Coach."
"You got it." Suddenly the scenario was activated and a more feminine voice spoke 'dodge sequence activated, recording starts now'.
At first it was almost comical. One of the squares started to come forward in the shape of a rectangular prism with a highlighted orange light on the center of it. Reaching Bass who just slowly moved to the side it was only when a gust of wind blew by his head that he realized that he'd just not been paying attention because he figured this would just be ridiculously easy to start with. Turning his head Coach spoke. "And there it is. Even if you don't think you're arrogant and you try to give the people you think are lesser fighters the benefit of the doubt and treat them as if they're equals, you rarely subconsciously believe that and so you always let your guard down. That counts as one hit because if I actually hit you in the head at that speed with a chunk of metal you might not be with us right now. Two more hits and the simulation is over and at the rate you're going with only one point it's looking like this'll be the last time you have this resource for training ever. Unless you get a new one, but I doubt your budget will ever be quite the same when the realize how much of it was literally wasted on something unrelated to the companies primary objective. Eyes forward and stay focused."
Taking a deep breath Bass turned and looked forward. One prism started coming forward to which he stepped to the side before one shot out rapidly towards his stomach. He shifted to the left and avoided it swiftly, before two more punches came flying from above. Bass ducked down below both as they made his antennae wiggle a little bit before getting back into position. He got a little bit of an acknowledging compliment from Coach now that he'd corrected his arrogant approach to this. Taking another deep breath the entire sequence turned into a blur. At first it was fairly simple and he dodged left and right and twisted his body to avoid getting hit, however once he hit 100 points the room started to open up into a slice of a dome. Attacks started coming at various angles and various speeds still ultimately slow. However energy blast attacks shot from unconventional directions and he found himself just barely dodging them with all of the effort he was putting in while also keeping up with the slowly ramping up flurry of punches. At three hundred points accumulated once again the room began to open into a larger vista making it a much larger slice of a sphere that forced him to respond appropriately. With the increasing rate of attacks Bass started having to micro-adjust his dodged when they were incorrect on his mental calculations with little ki nudges from his sides. Letting out a roar of agony as he powered up and kicked it up a notch the attacks coming towards him and his movements got closer and closer to something that couldn't be visually followed. Constantly sidestepping and tilting his head to either side or moving an arm, ducking, tons of different things; Bass was being ran around like a farm animal. Panting even after powering up he let out another roar and put all of his energy into dodging the attacks. As soon as he cleared five hundred points is when the room opened up a mirrored area behind him. Segments of the wall launched out to try and strike him from in front and behind at the same time and he worked to weave between each and every 'blast' and 'strike' that he could, leaving no opportunity for them to land a clean shot. However as the speed started to increase Bass started to feel the pressure rising. The blasts got closer and he could feel the wind against him each and every time he dodged. He was only avoiding these hits by fractions of a second and the margin was closing further and further. He could feel an inevitable convergence point where all of the different attacks would be faster than he and he'd be overwhelmed in a giant pummel party. It was for that explicit reason that he couldn't give himself room to be struck again, because he knew with this intensity if he was struck once he would be struck again and the simulation would end.
Moving through the digits he cleared 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800 and by the time he was in the 800-850 span of movements he found that he was almost being hit. He could feel the metal corners grazing against him with ever bob and weave. He knew that within seconds he wouldn't be able to last anymore. It was for that explicit reason that with a roar he powered up to the maximum and decided that he would go out using absolutely everything he had. His body faded from existence and reappeared at another location to avoid a cluster of attacks before he immediately began to bob and weave once more clearing 850. His entire body was drenched and his vision was blurry, he was in so much agony and so it's to no surprise that when a rapidly moving metal rectangular prism ejected from the wall and slammed into his gut his eyes widened and he spat out a glob of saliva from the force of the impact, wheezing before being struck in the face and twisting to smash into the floor with a defeated thud. Wheezing and recovering his breath he shifted to plant both elbows underneath him but found him too exhausted for even that. A noise washed over Bass, something? It was hard to make out with a faded feel to it. Like it was ever so far in the distance, a dream. "Looks like the champs clocking out for another...-" And he blacked out.
Splashed with a bucket of water his eyes would slowly open again. Straining as the light flooded into his pupils he rolled over and let out a single cough as some water had gotten in his mouth. Coach finished what he was saying. "-five seconds." Oh. He hadn't been unconscious for that long after all. Taking a deep breath when his lungs permitted him he'd let out a sigh of relief before immediately tensing as Coach reminded him of something very particular. "So, about your score. I have to say... The results are unexpected..." He said, pulling Bass along. "With a score of 872 I'm wondering how I should go about..." Pausing, there was a silence that remained suspended in the air. Bass just stared up towards the ceiling of the training facility when it was without any simulation making it look grander than it was. He hoped he made it.
"-CONGRATULATING YOU! GOOD JOB BUDDY!" The pressure was immediately lifted from his shoulders, and he closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose while allowing Coach to continue. "With that being said during the time of your training your delivery of burritos has arrived and they'll be waiting for you outside on the picnic table. Better go fast or else they'll get cold. First though I recommend you take a shower or something. You look pretty gross, uuuh... I could hose you down in your clothes? That should do the trick."
"Wait, WAIT WAIT WAI-" Suddenly a torrent of high pressure water slammed into Bass and sent him skidding across the floor, he'd slide around left and right as the AI tried to make up for his new trajectory and the whole time he desperately tried to fend off the torrent of water with his hands. Ultimately unable to in no time at all he would find himself more sore than before, more drenched than before and naturally colder than before. Letting out a groan he just picked his sopping body off of the floor and staggered towards the storage container to pull out a fresh towel that wasn't covered in sweat. Wiping himself down he made his way towards the door, but before leaving he heard Coach speak. He seemed to have something more to say.
"So I won't leave you from your lunch for too long here. However when you get back we're going to get started on the next series of levels. I want you to reflect on the skills you learned and perhaps try to find applications for them in the upcoming levels. The theme will be combat, as opposed to this one being mobility and obstacle management. Have a good lunch break Bass, be back here for one o' clock."
Nodding and staggering out the Namekian raised his arms shakily towards the bright blue sky and lazily sauntered down the pathway towards the mountain stacked high on the kitchen table. What sat there must've been at least seven thousand five hundred zeni's worth, it was nothing cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Moving over towards the table he just dropped down onto the bench and found that he sat down with incredible finesse. After having been training at ten times gravity for the better part of six hours from six in the morning to noon, it was almost weirdly freeing to be at normal gravity. He always had a similar rush when he was wearing weighted clothes and such, something he'd started doing quite a few weeks back in the Southern Lands. That was around the time he had begun to discover how to fly now that he thought about it in greater detail. Unwrapping the packaging of one of the burritos he jammed it in his mouth and chomped down on it. His sharp teeth made mincemeat of the food and as soon as he'd jammed one down his face he went for the next and the next. He'd worked up and insane appetite and didn't feel guilty at all. He'd have to work all of this into his system in their next training session, so if anything he was eating latent muscles that tasted extremely good. He'd pick away at it for the better part of an hour before his phone rang. Looking towards it his head slowly tilted and he picked up the device to answer. The voice that spoke was Coach. Weird.
"Hey buddy. If you can't eat it all bring it in here and I can store it for the evening. Perfectly preserved and spit out just like new when it comes time." Well, that was very convenient in terms of timing to say the least. Standing up and hauling the entire platter back a good fifty minutes later the Namekian simply enough was back to the point he could walk without feeling like a bundle of wet noodles. Bringing it into the training facility two grabber arms would fetch the platter and store it in an alcove in the wall that was dimly lit with an orange glow. He honestly didn't know how many peculiar little systems this place had, he just appreciated the magic it worked for him. Standing idle he would look towards the grabber arms and then around the room. Coach began to speak.
"So! Glad you could make it back and I'm glad you chose to come back. Many other similar situations have resulted in their participants giving up on the program. While every different person is approached differently and new levels are best constructed to accommodate them generally the difficulty regardless of power is about the same relatively speaking. So with that being said I suppose unless you want to wait out the next ten minutes, we could get started on the next levels early? Before getting into the next challenge I'll on top of describing it in particular I'll describe how the opponents will work and what's at stake."
Bass nodded, "Ready whenever you are."
"Very well then." Spoke Coach, followed by, "Level 6: Shadow of the Past. Gravity: 10x."
Level Six: Shadow of the Past Tier 1 [G's x10]
"Welcome to the next series of stages you'll be undertaking here at the ESGC facility. As I mentioned before these challenges will be direct combat with chemical creations manufactured on the fly. These 'constructs' for lack of better terminology cannot leave the facility by any means due to a multiple factors but primarily the direct need to constantly be refuelled by me. You will be encountering a variety of different situations understandably getting increasingly difficult the higher you go up until similar to obstacles, a maximum possible of five levels. Hopefully you thought adequately on the topics of your previous training sessions as while not necessarily by itself an omen of failure to ignore them, unless you have managed to dramatically improve in a physical capacity over our last six hours here you will be unable to complete even the first level. That is a guarantee. You might ask me why, yes? Let me tell you. As soon as you entered the facility I started to frequently scan your physical form, your power level and your capabilities. I have a full roster and profile of you saved as you were six hours ago. However there are some things machine simply cannot replicate. I cannot upload your willpower into this doppelganger and as a result of this I decided to increase the capabilities of the profile to compensate for this. For all intensive purposes Level Six: Shadow of the Past will pit you against the version of yourself that started any given training session. You will have to use your wits or exceptional physical progression to overcome the enemy. However so long as it is done through combat there are little to no limitations on which methodology you utilize. I will however advise that you abide to your own code when facing this opponent. I understand your pride is very important to you, and any underhanded move will not be replicated by the doppelganger unless you use it first. Therefore for your sake I suggest you do not, but that should typically go without saying.
Unlike the obstacle levels this has a real threat of injury. While nothing lethal- fighting will stop long before then at the caliber you are performing at and the consistency that you maintain that power for the only thing that will effect you will likely also hurt quite a lot. If you happen to lose ground and start to take a lot of these hits, it is almost inevitable that there will be temporary damage that you will need to heal. Though you have your bodily composition to appreciate how little time that will actually take. Unlike the obstacle courses if you're put out of commission due to legitimate serious injury we will pause and allow you to heal over the wound or break. It goes without saying however that due to the factually not-living nature of the construct you will be facing you do not have to hold back. In fact you are expected to fight until the construct no longer moves and has been incapacitated. This is to increase your power, you can hold back in actual fights once your power is capable of exceeding them in the first place. With that being said I'll begin to load the simulation and give you several minutes to overcome the abnormality of seeing a carbon copy of yourself. I will however differentiate them by darkening them and adding a glowing border around their form so you don't start getting too existentially philosophical on me. With that being said, as the saying goes, 'let there be light'!"
And light there was, the facility began to shift as the projectors loaded up a fully rendered environment. The blank canvas was repainted in flowing green hills and an open rocky arena. As far as the eye could see was a beautiful vista of rolling clouds reminiscent of his experiences in the Southern Lands, it looked like a place of adventure and if not for the faint translucent barrier indicating the confines of the arena Bass might feel inclined to start exploring, or at least find himself drawn into the simulation to the point where he might consider spending his Sunday nights with a drink and a lawn-chair in the state of the art training facility watching the setting sun. Though he knew better than that, able to go overseas and see those sights for real whenever he really wanted too. The arena itself was very barebones. Something one might find at the World Martial Arts Tournament with the stone slab just slapped right flat and center in the middle of the area. Of course at the very center there was a pillar to indicate that obstacle in the real variant of the environment, but other than that all looked nice. Coach began to speak once again.
"This will be where you conduct your first fight. The stages may change as and if you progress but ultimately the environment plays a lesser role in these specific five simulations that you'll experience starting now. With that being said it's time to generate you. I will emphasize that it is fully interactive and will be able to match your profile as it was this morning. If you underestimate it or assume the technological capabilities of this facility is subpar to be able to recreate yourself, your pride will literally be your own downfall and if you genuinely lose the match you will be forced to watch as your beloved five hundred thousand Zeni training facility lights up in explosions and flames post self-destruction. With that being said I believe we're ready to begin whenever you are. Your only goal is to defeat the enemy you're about to see, they will also replicate the adverse effects of damage appropriately. Combat starts on your command."
Nodding, Bass readied himself and got into a more open spot of the arena before stating. "Ready."
Coach replied, "Releasing Construct Compound with uploaded profile: Bass [insert date here -6 hours]."
Coming from the central pillar was a viscous fluid that pooled into a glob at the center of the stage. Bubbling and brewing it gradually began to take a consistency and color while also piling up on itself to make a more solid mass. As the spread out pool quickly became a cone shaped mountain of goo the figure began to solidify as everything went to the proper places. Looking at a similar version of himself was a weird twist of perspective for sure. The final layer of go formed clothing so that there was no added strangeness of lacking clothing. Almost immediately as it formed the eyes opened and at a glance one might be able to discern that it wasn't much of a living creature. Eyes that never blinked, while never making a single peep of direct noise in exertion. It was a machine to the core, but ultimately this thing had at least the majority of the physical power Bass did. Now the actual Namekian just needed to utilize the new habits and strategies he had already come to learn to take down himself from the past.
Before Bass could fully wrap his head around a strategy his opponent launched towards him with speed that he wasn't necessarily surprised by. Yet it was literally all he could do to match the strike with an open palm and go completely neutral on the force of the attack. Taking his own hits wasn't necessarily painful, but a massive amount of them would've been certain cause for soreness. Though that only applies if he would be able to keep blocking or deflecting the blows. As it stood currently this construct was supposed to be faster and stronger, and he had to admit the fact that eventually he'd get sore from taking these hits meant the advantage in a sheer fight of brute force was on the constructs side. Yet for now he had to hold the thing at bay and so as a flurry of blows began to be launched from either side, a blur of fists and limbs formed as a clash between practically a mirror match-up picked up into high gear. Shockwaves emitted from the sheer force of combat and occasionally when Bass powered up, an ability that the construct in fact could not utilize, and part of the reason it had been tuned up to compensate. As the flurry got more and more intense blows began to be exchanged, Bass's right fist struck his mirror in the face which caused a nasty twist of the things head before the consequence of committing to the attack came right back at him with an identical right hook from his mirrored copy. His head twisted along with the punch and he staggered back at the same time his mirror did.
Gritting his teeth, he considered the concepts reflected on earlier. Momentum, Spirit Potential and Mobile Efficiency. If he could one of these he'd have an edge, but in an actual scenario where he was constantly on his toes it was difficult to incorporate on the drop of a... zeni? Yet as his mirrored copy relentlessly dashed forward again and collided he knew he had to at least try. First he would try to incorporate Momentum into his routine. The idea that a dodge could turn into a punch in the same motion, or a punch could turn into a grapple to render attacks without enough power behind them of their own to actually put out damage. Turning one action into another, sewing together each and every thing he did so that no one action was separate from the rest. A true unified style of combat, a true understanding of being a martial artist and not just a street brawler. Colliding in another flurry of blows Bass made his move. Trying to hyper-focus on the punches coming towards him he made an effort to witness the attacks slower than they really were. To precisely process where they were going and where he could go in response. In reality this was a split second, a passing instinctive thought but the subconscious intention was there and that was half of the battle. Sidestepping a punch in the same motion Bass sent a straight jab towards his mirrored copies face and to his surprise he found purchase, a square punch straight to the face that send his opponent flying backwards.
That was what momentum was. Turning defensive motions into offensive opportunities. Capitalizing, exploiting and utilizing efficiently the flow of combat. Launching himself towards the figure that was sailing backwards Bass sent another punch towards them from the side as he caught up. Crashing into the wall, the mirror copy collapsed to the floor before picking it up with nothing but apathy written for an expression. That approach to fighting would take some getting used to, but it was undoubtedly more effective than the first approach. The second lesson he had learned was the potential of using his Spirit to compliment his might. Drawing out his ki to empower his punches with otherworldly strength. Charging forward again he collided with the figure, a flurry of blows opening up but cut short as Bass utilized the moment of a dodge to strike again. Drawing a fist back his arm glazed over in an aqua glow before he slammed it forward. Immediately the mirrored copy blurred as it was sent sailing upwards to smash into the wall, deflecting off and falling back onto the ground. Yet it still remained persistent, getting up. Unexpected it vanished before a kick slammed into the side of Bass's abdomen, his body twisting from the impact before he cartwheeled into a wall himself. Grunting, the Namekian just barely started to get up when he was assaulted again. A flurry of punches was launched in his direction and landed all across his upper body and face, he'd known this approach to fighting. A very whimsical half power but double speed approach with limp limbs that while not damaging by itself causes damage in an entire area as opposed to a localized point; it also happened to be incredibly painful.
Letting out a roar the Namekian's aura flared and in that moment the mirrored copy jumped away before it was blown away from the sheer force. Grunting and shaking his head to recover from the attacks, Bass knew what he had to do to finish this fight off. Ki in every motion. Dashing forward he sped himself up with a burst of ki from his backside; calves and torso specifically. Launching himself at an incredible speed previously not witnessed from him, he darted around the opponent before quickly sending out a burst of ki from his right front-side to immediately shift and duck away from his expected trajectory with the rapid movement. Coming in low Bass let out a burst of ki from the back of his bicep and at an angle from his arm entirely. The fist that slammed into his mirrored copy was so powerful that in a wet splash the entire construct blew apart. Immediately as it did, it started to be pulled back into the walls of the facility and the simulation came to a simple closure. Shaking his fist from the sting the force of that punch had, Bass moved towards the front of the room and waited for Coach to speak. Sure enough given a couple seconds the AI did.
"I have to say, I'm impressed. I expected that if you succeeded in this level it wouldn't be because of total understanding of all three concepts, but rather the abuse of any one of the three. Yet instead you blew away my expectations by incorporating all three prior lessons that you'd been previously neglecting into your fighting style. I understand it is taxing at the moment, but that is merely because you haven't been training that aspect of your body. There is a lot more than just muscles, as I've said. You can see how just a little change in mentality and a day of training things that you never even recognized as viable can cause you to be able to demolish the man you were not half a day ago. That literally was you as you walked into this room, the amount of technical knowledge so long as you keep with it and don't fall back into old habits will last you for the rest of your life. Besides, I won't let you fall back into old habits considering we'll be doing this every day for the foreseeable future.
Though just like before, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The challenges that you will face over the next four levels will be familiar to the lessons you learned in the previous five. However the difference is they will incorporate them in a more efficient and proper way. In which order and which way I will refrain from sharing to not let you mentally psyche yourself up before hand. I will only say that the next three levels will each be focusing on one of the three different techniques in order of importance. If you understand that order of importance you'll know how the levels will play out, but my predictions have it that you won't be able to figure that out quite yet.
So getting right into it, let's do this. Level 7: Blunt Force Trauma. Gravity: 10x."
Level Seven: Blunt Force Trauma Tier 1 [G's x10]
"This test will be done with only a single combatant, the same as the previous and the same for most of the upcoming levels you will experience. After all the ideal fight is against a single opponent, but that doesn't mean we will neglect to include a group fight. Still, for the moment you can rest assured that you will only need to deal with one opponent at a time. This profile I brought up is from a fighter from the past. Nobody name-worthy but an individual that understood one of the core concepts I am trying to teach you through and through. Which of these concepts is something I guarantee you will quickly find out as you're tossed around the room like a kid's toy and have no room to breathe. The stage will also be slightly altered this time as we increase in difficulty to reflect a more realistic environment. Still not a one to one replica but certainly not an open arena like the last one. I'm thinking something rustic, have you ever been to the Central Lands? Something like that, with the canyons and outcrops of eroded stone and soil. I actually think toy might have some particular fun with this one if you aren't of course beaten into a pulp, defeated and subsequently laying fifty meters from the complex when it's reduced to ashes and smithereens. Yes, I have to continually remind you of the consequences of failure to light a fire under your feet. Allow me to load in the assets while I consider if there was any aspect to this level that I could share that I haven't already."
And then just like all six times before this, the environment began to change. Gone completely was the grassy fields and obvious platform and in it's place was a rocky plain with subtle differences in elevation throughout the entirety of it. Bass actually almost tripped as the facility shifted to account for this change in elevation by it's own means, the forming plates nearly taking him off of his feet. Adjusting to the new terrain he looked about. Coming back to him were the memories of running from a giant dinosaur, and with it the feeling of triumph as he smashed it right upside the jaw and knocked it unconscious- or did he kill it? He wasn't quite sure on which of the two outcomes happened that day.
He certainly didn't stick around to find out, given how weak he was at the time.
And then his opponent began to materialize in the same fashion that his mirror copy had before. Though unlike the previous mirror copy this one actually had a unique appearance that wasn't Bass. With blue skin and an incredibly imposing build standing similar to Bass in height was someone that maybe from a long way away could be mistaken as Bass. He even upturned his chin- even as a construct just so he could give Bass that condescending downwards stare whilst folding his arms. The guy looked like an absolute beast even to Bass's standards. They shared similar black retina and blue pupils- the specific shade of course differing with the opponents being cobalt and his being aqua, inverse of each other. He was a Demon Clan Namekian after all, and this appeared to be a Demon that took life a little more serious than the average mook. Coach began to speak.
"Alright, let me give you a literal run down of your opponent. As this was an actual fighter recorded in the past... Fifty or so years ago if they're still alive this information is certainly outdated, but it is someone that I can guarantee would've completed the level prior as well, so take that how you will. Meet Safe, a Demon born from the Demon Realm. Specifically he came to Earth with a similar drive to yours, actually. Well, far more nefarious. Safe was not in any definition of the term a good guy. He held values like Pride and Power similar to yourself, so he wouldn't kill the defenceless, but ultimately his goal was and perhaps still is to bring the armies of the Demon Realm to Earth. The Demon Realm as far as we've been able to understand from the limited knowledge we have of it is a chaotic place, so take the fact that we can only assume he's been among fighting and danger for his entire existence within that place, only able to come through with a pact alongside a Human wizard. Earthlings should hope he is not still around, as like many things he could very well be just another dormant threat waiting to threaten the planet and all of it's inhabitants in some way or another. With that being said I think you should meet him on a more personal level. He has mastered a technique he calls the Baron Armcannon, using noble titling from the Demon Realm; Baron, Count, Viscount, Duke, Lord, Prince, King, yadda yadda. Definitely wrong on most of that but if Baron's that and there's a King of Demons I'm just filling the blanks. You could equate that to your own punch, except his is even stronger. And you thought you were pulling out of all the stops with those hits, huh? I would suggest thinking of a cooler name for those lesser... Punches of yours. Especially now that they're not as lesser now that you've infused them with ki. It's good to channel the name to really draw out that power with the strength of passion, yeah? With that being said good luck. Also, he happens to be able to well... Power Up quite a bit as well. He's been noted to be his stronges- Mmn. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. With that being said let me know when you're ready by touching fists with Safe here."
Nodding his head at the end of Coach's explanation, Bass almost with a bit of hesitation from the ominous introduction of the Demon known as 'Safe'. Extending his fists forward he touched Safe's knuckles with his own. Touching gloves minus the gloves? Taking two steps back Coach started to count down.
"10
.
.
.
9
.
.
.
8
.
.
.
7
.
.
.
1
GO!"
Safe was the first one to move, the construct Powerhouse closing in with tremendous speed towards Bass. Raising up his guard in a large X he'd be smashed square on the triceps and absorb the blow. Yet absorbing the blow was incredibly painful, causing Bass to slide backwards a good fifteen feet with a throbbing pain in his arm. Though immediately as he'd come to a stop he started to lower his guard and saw that Safe wasn't there. That was when he felt a smash from the side of his face. Cartwheeling at an extreme velocity towards the wall of the simulation he'd impact the interior wall of the training facility. As he started to fall he was caught by the construct by the leg and spun around only to be thrown into the central pillar. Just as he connected Safe darted after him before he could recover to send a flurry of vicious punches amplified in power from the fact that each punch was rebounding Bass off of a metal pillar. Right out of the gate he could see the difference, this guy was relentless, he pulled out all the stops and he didn't leave any wasted time. It would be considered dirty of a fighter to beat someone while on the ground, but until they hit the floor it was free game. Still assaulting Bass with a flurry of blows, a swelling bump forming as his right eye started to seal from the physical abuse and he attempted his best shot at surviving the onslaught, he decided that he needed to use his trump card to reset. This opponent he was up against gave him absolutely no room to recover and didn't even let him fall to the floor. He didn't let him get into a position where he was down on his back.
Appearing across the room after having used his Teleport technique, Bass raggedly tried to catch his breath. Run thin from the excessive physical abuse he'd just undergone the Namekian looked like he was on his last leg. Thinking about the end of his forward progress should his defeat come to pass, he slapped his cheeks hard to the point that little palm shaped marks developed symmetrical to one another. He needed to use the same tactics and something more if he was going to win, and then he realized what that was. Letting out a roar as he powered up and restored some of his stamina with ki, the Namekian's muscles began to bulge and his training clothes grew taught and nearly ripped from the mass he gained. The moment the pseudo-transformation was complete Bass charged forward with a roar and collided with Safe. This was a mono-on-mono slugfest and the only way to respect that was to one up him at his own game. He'd have to bring more to the table than the Demon Construct and the only way he knew how came into play after he'd got a connection. Dodging fists that nonstop flew his way while sending out strikes of his own in the same way he'd dodge and punch in the same motion they were dodging and sending out hits at an insane rate. Suspended in the air, both figures kept blinking to different parts of the room as they kept pace with each other and launched themselves every which way. Letting out another roar Bass sent a ki infused fist from down below into Safe's stomach, sending the Demon flying into the air.
Where he would normally watch and let Safe recover, Bass pursued relentlessly. As Safe flew through the air controlled by the force of his original punch and ultimately defenceless the Namekian brought his right leg around for a horizontal kick to send him flying towards the wall of the arena. Where Safe didn't utilize ki to push himself faster to cover gaps quicker, Bass sent out blasts of energy behind him to propel himself forward at rates which almost seemed like he was blinking beside his opponent. The moment Safe collided with the wall Bass was in front of him. When all the Demon could manage to muster was a raised vertical guard, Bass's flurry of full power punches cracked and smashed through the guard in but several hits as Safe was pinned and unable to respond. Slamming into his opponents face and stomach multiple times, Safe was turned into a ragdoll that could be manipulated as Bass wanted for as long as he could keep this up. Though the force he was outputting didn't keep Safe in the air forever. As he came to the realization this combo couldn't last forever, the Namekian 'blinked' above the Demon Construct and raised a leg overhead to come down heel first on the enemies back to sent him hurtling towards the ground at the velocity of a bullet. The entire training simulation shook and rumbled from the intensity of the strike and impact.
"Aaaand that about signals the moment he would typically tap into some subconscious power... So multiply his current output by three... Aaaand make him attack more recklessly aaand... Purple aura effects, check. I think when he eventually became self-aware that he fell into this primal state when he was up against the wall he decided to call it Legendary Demon. I don't think that's actually a thing, but there's no arguing with the power it provided him. For reference you're dealing with someone that has just tripled their power level, a world depending on your persistence that could open up to you in the future. If I had to take a guess I would only assume that perhaps his lineage comes from some sort of Demon god, and perhaps he does have a little something something to juice himself up when his consciousness just doesn't cut it. Regardless, good luck. I'll go ahead and say right now that you've passed the level, but I need you to feel what truly being outclassed and outmatched is like. It's not fun, but it sure is educational. With that being said...
Resume."
With a massive purple flash that erupted in an awesome aura around the Demon, the creature bulked up incredibly compared to how strong it was before and seemed to start expressing some anger. Likely not as potent as the maybe real, maybe not real counterpart- it went undisputed that this was simply terrifying to behold. And just like that with a look of 'oh shit' on his face, the form blurred and Bass was football style tackled, two massive meaty arms wrapping around his torso before he slammed into the wall of the facility and his vision went fuzzy. He'd been hit so hard he was nearly unconscious. What came next was a humiliating flurry of punches so excessive that the defeated Namekian had been unconscious already during the flurry, and at the end of it all he just tumbled head over heels and was caught by Coach. Being guided towards a flat space for him to rest and recover, 'Safe' was returned to the facilities chemical stores and the level came to an end. It would be an entire twenty minutes until the Namekian came too again. Looking miserable with bruises that were still healing over with how bad they were, he just tilted his head to look around for something. Seeing the life in Bass Coach spoke.
"You lasted three seconds. I have to say, while I expected better from you I suppose it isn't surprising. I am guilty in that I've contributed to leading you to the false belief that every new step has a gentle and nice learning curve for you to get familiar with it. Often times in reality that simply isn't the case, especially when your opponent is just looking for any edge they can get and won't give you any advantage compared to well, an actual martial artist that has a passion for fighting. Some people are just stupidly strong, so strong in fact by forces of nature beyond understanding that their power exceeds them and they lose control. Such was the state I artificially replicated in Safe just before you blacked out. It is fascinating for power to exceed the mind, so much raw talent in any one being seems almost criminal; yet it is true. If he is still around one can only hope to defenders and fighters of Earth are enough to put a stop to his attempt at taking overrunning Earth with the denizens of the Demon Realm. I don't know why I needed to share with you all the flavorful bits, but that's the idea with Safe. I guess to keeps things interesting, yeah? We're going to wait until your unique physiology mends all of that damage you've undergone before continuing to the next level; or rather fight. We have three more ahead of us and then we're on break again. I'll give you the name of the level with ominous foreshadowing now.
Level 8: Struggle of the Underdog. Gravity: 10x."
Level Eight: Struggle of the Underdog Tier 1 [G's x10]
Slowly sitting up while rubbing the back of his neck, Bass let out a groan and muttered under his breath. Likely something to do with just how sore and in pain he currently was. Pushing a hand against the ground to bring himself up to his feet he'd let out a fatigued yawn with drooping eyes. He had already worked so hard today, and everything internally was telling him to just call it and sleep for fourteen hours straight. Though one small faint voice told him to keep going, and he only needed one internal voice of encouragement to shut down all of that muddled up and negative thinking. Wandering over more towards the center of the room between the exit/entrance of the building and the central pillar equipped with a respective console, Bass spoke up for once to queue coach to continue.
"Alright, I'm back up to speed again. Should be fine, just a little sore, but that's to be expected." The statement lingered in the air for a moment before an automated whir and Coach's voice sprang to life.
"Ah, he's made a full recovery. Your capability to do that really is fascinating, I believe from the records you provided you can consciously influence that ability to greater effect if you wish as well? The record you sent in tells that you managed to regenerate your arm in a situation before. I have to say, perhaps one of these days I'll have to incorporate a level that includes someone with that caliber of regenerative power to really draw out the limits of your stamina. However that's not what this is about right now. I assume you've managed to figure out considering your net success in the previous level what the situation was calling for. It was a complete utilization and focus on Momentum. Safe was an individual that didn't give his opponent time to breathe let alone recover and steel themselves again. Being relentless is good, it's kicking people when they're legitimately down on the ground that is frowned upon by most conventional martial artists. Going forward though I'd like to spin you the tail of a tragic soul. You and Safe were both examples of people fortunate enough to be born with incredible potential. Your bodies have a capacity to hold a lot of weight and muscle and therefore you're able to channel a lot of might into your fighting. However that isn't the case; in fact more often than not people have extreme difficulty reaching points where you're at, let alone the one that Safe was at. That's not to say you haven't put in a mighty- no pun intended- amount of effort in to pull that off, but for some people it is physiologically impossible. Especially if you get into the realm of certain subspecies of Beastmen or Monster. Humans also typically but not always have trouble putting on as much muscle as say Saiyans, Demons and Namekians, it's just a thing that is. Not to say there aren't exceptions, but that's just the median. This is an example of a Human by the particular name of Conut who was never able to reach this mighty physical capacity. Yet during his time he'd been a very formidable contender in many of his prime and later tournaments, even managing to win one particular event all with the physique of what some might rudely refer to as an emaciated individual. The answer to this question should be fairly obvious itself, but if you haven't managed to realize it I'll just spell it out on this case. The opponent you'll be facing is this individual, and they've mastered manipulating their ki pathways to pull physical power from an energy source as opposed to raw strength input. He could hit harder than you could on average because he knew where and how much ki to utilize, and his pathways had been trained so well that they could let out greater scales of bursts. One of his most influential aspects was his element of surprise. Everyone who looked at him assumed he was weak just because he was frail. Yet he could take hits and dish them out just like anyone else. Only his potential had truly been hampered, because he would never be able to reach the greatest heights known during his time. Conut has confirmed passed away from sickness a decade ago."
Scratching his forehead and furrowing his brows, Bass certainly came to the realization that he wasn't expecting a tragic backstory. Yet just like with all things he recognized that he just needed to bear with it. So far everything Coach had told him was insightful, and that in itself was part of the training. To learn of the possibilities even with limited resource and to just learn about the world that he was still ultimately new too. He'd only been to a couple regions and even then, they're so fast he could never expect to sniff out every nook and cranny. Stories like this should they be actually valid provided actual understandings of the potential which rested on Earth. Perhaps- PERHAPS he was the strongest fighter in the present moment out of the people that he knew and talked to, but he certainly hasn't been the strongest to set foot on Earth, not by a longshot.
"So, you'll be fighting him. I think at this point you know the drill. Make sure to really reflect on what's going on and to find a way to overcome the challenge presented in front of you. Conut is a technical master, and so any chips in your attacks will be exploited and you'll find yourself countered so fast you'll have 'How?!' cut off with 'Ow!!!'. You have a habit of compensating for lack of technique with sheer power, but you need to recognize that even the mightiest attacks if they're thrown predictably can be used against you. So pay careful attention to how Conut is fighting as you're getting your teeth kicked in- I know it's hard to do that but you're a knuckleheaded fighter, you'll figure it out."
Gradually forming in a pool across from him was somebody that amounted to a lot less of that goo than the former figures. Coming together to form a simple Human adult with a grim expression and a bony face. Slightly ruffled hair that looked as if it hadn't been washed in a couple weeks, knotted and messed up. Yet his eyes showed a primal ferocity despite his appearance otherwise. If this was a reflection of how he was in life, he was a real fighter. That look alone was something that could potentially earn Bass's respect. Even the weakest people could earn Bass's respect if they had the greatest ambition, while the strongest warriors wouldn't if they just settled for what they had. Ferocity equates to a willingness to fight so intensely in any medium for something that you're prepared to push yourself to the limit. At least that was how Bass spun the definition, definitely not how it was by the encyclopedia- though he typically had a habit of putting a philosophical spin on these things.
Stepping forward, Bass extended both arms and touched knuckles with the frail fighter. It was almost uncanny to the touch how bony his hands were, but he wouldn't let his appearance or mannerisms bait assumptions. Instead he would watch and learn, even if that meant ultimately getting schooled in the end. Though unlike the former fight there was no 'ability' this person possessed, or at least if he had something like it Bass hadn't been told. If he was told once, why wouldn't he be told every time? Pondering for a moment the countdown started on Coach's end.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 5, 9, I am a computer that hates numbers, 1, go."
Raising his guard he prepared to come to blows with Conut immediately. However to his surprise despite expectations the frail combatant just stood his ground with raised fists at either side of his head and a little forward. He supposed that just meant he would have to engage this time around. Bursting from the ground in a blur assisted by a backwards ki ejection Bass would almost blink next to Conut to strike. Bringing back a massive right arm he'd attempt to connect with Conut's center mass and just when his fist should've connected he'd find purchase in nothing but the air. Immediately after two small arms wrapped around the one that had punched and unbelievably Bass found himself rising and rising as he was lifted off of the ground before being slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force, causing him to quite literally bounce as he coughed up a glob of Namekian blood. That was the hardest he'd been hit today while still staying conscious, the hits from Safe's other form was stronger perhaps, but he had little frame of reference given he was barely conscious as soon as he felt it. Rolling away and up to his feet expecting Conut to be atop of him he'd find the fighter just standing there, prepared to counter again. Bringing his wrist up to his face he'd rub away the blood and leave a little purple scuff mark as inevitably some of it was just rubbed in more to become a bit of a stain for the moment.
Furrowing his brows he considered his method of attack. Despite his size the fighter packed the punch of a train going full speed. That was the potential of using ki optimally? It fascinated Bass to say the least, even if in reality the means to the end were different due to the constructed nature of this replica. After all, Coach didn't simply have access to ki so easily. Studying Conut further he tried to deduce his next line of attack, though he found that he was quickly becoming paranoid that each of his attempts would be met with a counter, that his opponent just had too much experience and seniority on him. He began to hesitate and if not for his conscious override of that hesitation he might've found himself paralyzed in fear. Conut really was a terrifying fighter, an example of punching above ones weight class. Taking a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks and 'popping' his cheeks a bit in a silly gesture he just vented out the negative emotions like trash down a trash shoot. If he was fighting an intellectually intensive opponent he would have to utilize their overactive mind against them. Manipulate them to over-committing to a prediction. In simpler terms, he'd have to utilize a true and proper feint. Thinking about it more, it wasn't a true besting of an opponent as it would only work once, but it would buy him an in on the fighter and from there he could try to push the scale of his capitalization to critical mass to out him before things got anymore risky. Charging forward with another blink, Bass sent out a quick right jab that Conut immediately started to respond to. Yet in clever fashion Bass released a burst of ki from his left side and dashed right, kicking off of the pillar before sending a massive roundhouse kick towards Conuts side. Caught off guard, the defender brought an arm up to block and had he had more time he would've been successful. Instead Conut found his defense would be overpowered in a sheer display of might, sending the frail figure flying towards a wall. Slamming into it, Bass was immediately next to him still utilizing the same concepts of momentum discussed before. Sending a flurry of blows, it didn't take long before the figure just dissolved into goo around his hands before returning into the tiles and walls of the arena. In a slight grimace, it began to dawn on him that despite all of his strength, at the end of the day he was still frail and weak in body.
It is true that somewhere along the line, you need to be born with potential to make it. You can do the best with what you have, but sometimes the best is worse than someone elses best. You can only hope that the drive of being the underdog pushes you further than it does the entitled fighter. Perhaps that is what brought upon Conut's success during his time. It went without saying that Bass would've wanted to meet the man if he knew about him. They'd existed both alive on the same world, but ten years ago Bass was a very different man than he was in the present day, striving for the top every waking moment. Letting out a low breath, he listened as Coach began to speak.
"So to lighten up the mood give your biceps little kisses, while there are unfortunate cases of people being unlucky, the actual applications of a fighter should be in defending those that can't defend themselves so that they're safer to do the things they do want to do. Though this honestly wasn't intended to be a lesson in philosophy, I swear. While artificially simulated the ki he was capable of outputting wasn't achieved naturally. He trained what he could and focused on that when he realized his body would metabolize far too fast. It is like if you're blind, your sense of smell, touch and hearing all become finer as your consciousness focuses to those senses. You never actively try to hear like you do when you look at things. You rarely actively smell but you pick up scents and you certainly don't consider how something feels unless it is incredibly abnormal. In just that same way if you are incapable of becoming strong you look to what you can do. Conut's answer was technical mastery and spirit, but if I were to be honest to be the best? You need to focus on everything as best as you can, as an AI I'm obligated to say 'max out every stat'. Your punches won't connect unless your punches are precise and perfect. Your punches will be too weak going forward if you don't enhance them with ki, such and so forth. From some basic information you gave me an opponent you faced named Kiryu, he was something? I would assume someone, but you put 'something' in here. Perhaps you revere him? No, that would be horrible gossip. Nonetheless he has specialized in manipulating ki for the most part. He is a technical master while you are a big monkey with big arms if that makes sense to your acorn sized brain.
With that being said however I think it's time that we start to introduce the next level. Unless you're stupid you've gotten the pattern and you know what's up next so I'll just tell you. Last you'll be dealing with someone that uses their environment as efficiently as possible and is likely the most mobile opponent you'll face for one time, as they've compromised other traits in order to be that fast. Sometimes specializing can have uses, in this case you'll find that keeping up with them will nearly be impossible and once again I will emit a chorus of joyful internal laughter as I watch you get the life beat out of you."
Closing his eyes, Bass steadied his breathing. Recovering to the point where his breathing was no longer ragged, he appreciated the fact that this was much less physically intensive than the previous five levels. They were more mental challenges than anything; still incredibly exhausting, but not quite as exhausting as it might be otherwise. That fact surprised him, that the fighting was more mental and the obstacles were more physical. It really gave his perspective a run for it's money. Coach's voice kicked up again, all business and no play.
"Level 9: Maelstrom. Gravity: 10x."
Level Nine: Maelstrom Tier 1 [G's x10]
The environment gradually began to shift once more as a different environment was loaded. It was particularly similar to the environment he was in during Approaching Cascades. A swirling vortex similar to the eye of a storm in the sky with purple bolts of lightning illuminating dark grey clouds that circled overhead beyond the shimmering translucent indicator of a wall. Looking in front and around himself however Bass recognize the rugged terrain and noted the presence of outcropping rocks from an eroded cliff face that could serve as platforms to move across if it was truly necessary. Around him otherwise was several rocks that protruded from the ground and loomed all around. Moving over towards one he reached a hand out to touch it and while it felt a little more like rough metal than actual rock, he confirmed that it had in fact been physically replicated by the transforming capability of the ESGC facility. Coach's voice spoke up.
"I don't even know why you questioned if that was authentic considering everything you've been through. Rocks falling from the sky, outcroppings from the wall, and literal opponents like the one you're about to face are all examples of things which are equally or more complex than a simple protrusion from the floor. Between the form gel and the capability to work around the thickness of the dome the technological limitations are limited to the largest possible expanded size of this facility. With that being said allow me to introduce the fighter." As the AI spoke those words, a figure formed in the same gradual fashion as the three had before it. Manifesting into a complete figure that had a relatively modest build; something that one might describe as toned as opposed to muscular Bass just listened when Coach started to talk again. "This is a profile I'm pulling up from a long time ago. They are a beastman by the name of Shazam. Likely deceased, while unconfirmed it has long been since the time that their lifespan will have elapsed. Their answer to power was not raw strength or full ki mastery, they precisely specialized in the art of speed and rapid movements. They only learned ki to the point where they were capable of enhancing their speed with it, and so they are something of an oddity among fighters that generally are pulled by more balanced concepts across the board, or relying on one particular trick they can do that none others can based on biology; as seen in some monsters and beastmen- a specific example being the capability of flight. Speaking of which you were once capable of flight, yes? While you can use ki, arguably keeping your wings would've made you a trickier opponent, but it's easy to tell at a glance that utilizing unfair advantages that were not earned and rather gained through luck is not really your style. With that being said just like every level before this one there's not too much for me to tell you that I don't have faith you'll figure out on your own accord. As per usual when you think you are ready bump fists with Shazam and we'll begin the level. Re- I'm not even going to remind you. You know the stakes if you are defeated fair and square."
With that out of the way, Shazam extended both furred hands forward. They were a wolf type beastman with blue colored fur and yellow feral eyes. Extending his own hands forward Bass bumped knuckles with the construct and then the fight began. Immediately as he was looking forward he'd seen the opponent and then he didn't. Spinning around to try and see Shazam, he saw a blue wisp bolt passed his sightline and around his peripherals. Turning again to try and keep up he felt a punch slam against his back. It send him staggering forward, not massively powerful but still enough to be formidable. Yet as soon as he tried to pick himself up he felt another one of the same jabs strike him in the side of the head. Staggering to the left now he quickly turned to try and spot Shazam again when he felt himself falling towards the ground as he was swept off of his feet. Landing on his front side he began to pick himself up, and as he did so he felt a kick slam into his underside that launched him up to his feet in a cruel attack. Holding his torso with his right arm, he squinted as Shazam was still out of sight. Panicking and trying to adapt as quickly as possible to the new opponent, Bass kept twisting around and holding his guard up to the elements, trying to get a bead on this creature in some way, shape or form. Yet he found himself being struck again and again, staggering around the room and being tossed about like he was nothing. While these full power punches weren't particularly bad on their own, the cumulative compounding damage accrued from being struck so many times in rapid succession added up and caused a full body pain and growing weakness. Just when Bass was about to try and debate his answer to this fight he was slammed in the side. The sheer moment he had tried to focus, the Beastman construct was fast enough and perceptive enough to capitalize on his drop of guard to consider his next move. Suddenly a flurry of those punches slammed into his frontside and through cumulative force Bass was juggled in the air with Shazam standing on the ground below him sending a blurring volley of hits that knocked the wind out of Bass and quite frankly kept it that way. Finally dropping to the ground long after he had been winded and almost when his vision was faded, Bass struggled to push himself up.
Yet what was a fighter if not his best during his worst. Letting out a low growl that quickly escalated into a loud roar that echoed through the training facility Bass's entire body was engulfed in an aura and his body grew almost twofold from the size it was prior. He was starting to figure out that his eyes would do him no good here. In the moment he had closed his eyes to focus before being beat on not only did it bait in the attacker- not intended, it also gave him a split second of understanding. When he wasn't seeing with his eyes he was sensing power. Sensing movement. The sheer power signature was significantly easier to track, and to his merit when he closed his eyes again and got a greater understanding of where Shazam was, he wasn't attacked like before. His opponent could sense danger and a solid guard, he recognized that he was now being tracked. Still, even sensing and keeping up with the power signature was difficult. Constantly turning to compensate for needing to be able to respond fast enough, Bass waited for a moment to strike. Then it came. Shazam darted in towards Bass's side and was met with a successful guard. Engaging in the first blow for blow exchange of wild strikes in this battle was something to be appreciated. Bass had gained ground, yet what he didn't have was sheer speed over Shazam. For every one punch from Bass that was easily dodged two came from Shazam. While he could dodge one the other was so fast that it broke through, he was still losing ground even though he'd tapped into a new method of fighting. He started to realize what might need to be done. Leaping away from Shazam and breaking the wild exchange of attacks was the start of his plan. He needed to make the first move instead of allowing the beastman to do so. If he wanted to win he'd have to take the initiative. With ragged breaths barely suppressed with his powering up the Namekian sensed the circular pattern of movement that the Beastman utilized. Tensing his body he prepared himself to make a move. Waiting for his time to move and account for leeway, Bass would dart outwards with a rapid air dash to clothesline the opponent. Catching them right in the face they'd start falling back before Bass now having them in his control juggled them upwards with a hefty left diagonally upwards roundhouse towards their back to launch them into the air. Dashing upwards alongside the beastman in the air Bass started to punish them for having been caught, striking them with brutal punches in the face and stomach that contorted the figures posture as the immense force creaked and strained just about every bone tendon and muscle in their body.
His previous fights that utilized momentum were constantly getting expanded upon. His limit to how long he could keep someone in the air changed every time, inconsistent but more rise than drop between attempts. This particular time he got ten strikes in, enough to do some serious damage with the amount of power Bass put into each of those hits. Launched once more into the sky with an uppercut to the stomach followed by an elbow to the back sent the construct slamming into the ground. Slowly lowering next to them, Bass's ragged breathing started to catch up with him. He leaned forward and his hands pressed against his knees to recover his own energy and breathing. During this time Shazam also began to struggle to stand, getting up onto two feet and raising his arms up towards Bass. Then just like before he was gone. Yet not quite as fast as before. Closing his eyes, Shazam's speed had lowered significantly due to the damage he had sustained, and as a result using ki to speed his movements up and constantly dash Bass literally gave chase and caught up to the figure.
Pouncing from behind he'd kick Shazam into a wall, and with a gooey splatter the fight was over. Immediately dropping onto his knees and then his side the Namekian rolled over to regain his breath and rest while he could. The voice of Coach crackled to life with that same slow clapping audio that had been used before.
"Good job, good job. Whether you realized it or not what you just did was utilize Shazam's speed against him, and capitalized on his specialization. As the saying goes if you stick your neck out too far you're asking to lose your head. Is that an actual saying? If it's not that it's something similar, over committing to a specialization leaves room for weakness and gaps in defenses. That is precisely why most fighters go for a balanced route or if they have a specialization, it is a half measure in that direction and much of the rest of their efforts are spent covering up their weaknesses. Some like yourself don't even fully realize it, you've developed a prime defensive technique to account for the fact that you're not that quick and therefore easy to land hits on. You're covering your weaknesses, which I personally applaud. That is the smart approach to take. With that being said I'm going to give you a five minute break to heal up and recover before we start the next fight. I want to really emphasize an importance on grasping every concept that has been taught to you so far, because what you're going to be up against will be unlike the previous three battles. You will be fighting a total of four different opponents at one time. While you thrive against groups, it is still more difficult than an actual one on one, I think you can agree. Let me introduce you to level ten.
Get ready. Level 10: By the Elements Combined. Gravity: 10x."
Level Ten: By the Elements Combined Tier 1 [G's x10]
Over his recovery that had elapsed over the passed five minutes, Bass eventually came to fully. His thoughts had been a muddled mess of different considerations, different strategies and different takeaways from the days training so far. His first fight with the mirrored copy solidified the concept of utilizing momentum in a battle. Even if one opponent is stronger than the other power wise, if the other is wise enough to keep up their combos that power doesn't mean so much. Then he recalled the fight with Safe, how couldn't he? If there was any fight that hit him hard during this whole thing it was that one. Despite being a construct it felt the most real out of them all. Yet even so the sheer benefit that fight had was phenomenal. While arguably he won by further mastering the concept of momentum, what really gave him the ability to end that stage of Safe as efficiently as that was the extra ki he used to enhance his punches with additional devastating power. He still couldn't imagine a power level being multiplied by three with a simple change like the one that Safe went through. It was fascinating the still locked realms of possibilities that warriors were capable of tapping into. The next fight was the will of the small, despite how feeble Conut appeared the attacks he put out were absolutely brutal, triumphing over Bass's prime physical form almost twofold until he started to use ki with his own punches as well. It was more a level in mentality than an actually challenge, since even at the end of the day Conut wasn't a huge challenge compared to the other opponents, and a bit of a break from the constant beat downs that he had been experiencing over the fights he'd been in so far. Then finally came the fight against Shazam. An opponent with a spear-headed specialization. While the core concept was to show extra emphasis on the benefit that using ki for mobility had, the fight also shed light on exposing vulnerabilities. Those that put too much focus on one area are neglecting focus in another area. Through exploiting that lack of attention Bass had found victory against the opponent.
Without him even saying a word however, in the here and now Coach began to materialize each opponent one by one and even just seeing the first gave him a bad feeling of what would come next. Forming into a full figure was Safe. Proud in stature as he was the first time and certainly looking mighty and mighty intimidating. Forming next to him was the Human underdog Conut, with that same ruffled visage and fierce look in his eyes. Finally next to him out of the predictable opponents was Shazam, the beastman that could run incredibly fast. On one hand while he knew a way to approach each of these fights individually, in the group scene they complimented each other and their thirds made a whole. Yet as if that wasn't enough a forth figure began to form. While Coach wasn't aware Bass was familiar with the figure, the visage was ultimately terrifying based on his previous encounter. Forming was an abominable blob of constructed meat, a massive bulk that seemed almost clumsily strong with neck muscles so large it nearly made their head look like the point of a triangle on top. A body so wide that it obscured the other fighters behind him. With a stupid little smile on that tiny head of his the construct spoke.
"Thwud."
Then Coach spoke. "The new opponent you'll be fighting when battling this group is Thwud, a figure that has been sighted over the years on various occasions with different groups, always trying to be the good guy but so stupid he only differentiates good and bad by the people who he's fighting and the people he's fighting with. A noble idiot to the bitter end. Yet Thwud subconsciously is a unified zen-like balance between all of these things unlike the other fighters. His muscles are so powerful that they are his brain, and they learned all of these techniques just by feeling them hit him once. He is nearly impervious to mortal scales of damage and his lifespan is unknown. However he is an interesting obstacle we're going to throw into this to shake things up even more. You'll need to handle Thwud if you want to deal with the rest of the group.
Then you have the others that are just as they were when you fought them except for Safe. His little ability has been removed for the sake of fairness since he alone could take you out like that. Instead he will go down when he is beaten as he is just like the two that followed after him. That level was more of a lesson in what could be should you strive for it, you won't see that replicated going forward. Here I guarantee you will find out just how far you can push your limits, because while each of these fights tested you it's not as if you were ever really at the brink of defeat save when Safe destroyed you so fast you were unconscious before you even hit the floor. With that being said you'll need to bump fists with Thwud to begin. Once you have done so all of the fighters will spring into action so be ready to act and act fast."
Bass nodded, cracking his neck and shaking his arms a little. "I've actually seen Thwud before. On some remote island nearby. Was working with some GBD? I think. Frankly that's part of the reason I chose to start pushing myself even harder, so it's funny that you chose to utilize the profile that exists on him." Smirking somewhat, he was excited to go up against the unstoppable wall of doom a second time in a more controlled environment. Stepping up the Namekian extended both arms and connected fists with Thwud. The large meaty fingers literally flexed as he bumped fists and nearly grabbed him, it was so repulsive to behold that Bass recoiled in sheer disgusted horror. Though he didn't have much time to reflect on the moment that had just passed as the scene unfolded into chaos. He needed to prioritize targets and prioritize fast, but despite his rush to come to a conclusion they were upon him fast, particularly Shazam that sent him stumbling forward into Safe's fist, followed by Thwud grabbing Bass from behind just like he had been familiar with from before. Shaking his head as he struggled against the confines, enduring strikes and blows while being almost completely unable to move anything but his feet Bass quickly started to be the victim of an unfathomably intense pummelling with three fighters punching their hardest into Bass. Just when his eyes were about to roll into his head he brought himself back, the punches were so many and so frequent that his body just felt numb in their locations, and he used that raw feeling to surge him forward into another burst of power like he'd done before with Thwud. He knew at his fullest he could triumph over the the 'unstoppable wall of doom' in at least a battle of raw strength. However actually putting a dent in him was another story. Roaring with all his might he dug deep and drew out every bit of ki he could muster into bulking up, his body doubling in size as his clothes strained to even stay on his body. Ripping out of Thwud's grip again he charged forward at fully velocity. He would need to systematically target different fighters and he decided that the biggest consistent damage would ultimately come from Safe with his ability to juggle, he'd take the complimentary fighters out in the order of which they appeared.
Colliding with Bass he moved with rapid speed and sent him up into the air. Deflecting with his right hand an attack coming from behind sent by Conut, he'd simply soak the damage that Shazam burrowed into his side with the consecutive weaker puncher. Slamming into Safe and sending him hurtling through the air Bass charged forward and slammed him with another fist to send him flying with so much force that his impact against the side of the training facility caused a structural integrity warning as the entire facility shook and rumbled. A physical shockwave sent the other fighters tumbling through the air with Thwud just remaining fixed in position on the ground below. Capitalizing on Safe's impact into the wall Bass closed the gap and with a flipping upwards kick to the fighters chin blew them up into a shower of go that was soaked back into the environment. Yet he had no time to stop, it was go go go and there were no brakes on this train. Should he let up on this hypertension and focus that he was currently experience he'd risk losing the mojo he'd conjured up in his latest power-up and ultimately be facing a loss. Charging towards Conut next the little fighter was barely fast enough to start getting out of the way when Thwud appeared. With a fist slamming into the behemoth Thwud immediately slammed into the ground and skipped several times before colliding with the wall head first, completely fine. Might as well just be throwing a carbon fibre ball around the room instead. Still, as he turned back to try striking Conut again he felt the fighters fist slam into his gut and he keeled forward. Though in the same motion he cancelled his reflex movement and re-steeled himself after soaking the damage of the punch to slam a fist into the smaller fighters center mass to send them hurtling away towards the wall as well. Colliding with it, Bass closed his eyes and quickly spun around with a massive left hook that crammed right into Shazam's side to send the rapid moving fighter zooming across the room as well. Lumbering to protect him, Thwud caught Shazam but left Conut unguarded. Turning and dashing forward with as much ki as his larger mass could use as fuel Bass launched forward and headbutted Conut against the wall. Immediately the fighter turned to go and also returned to the rafters in order to be reintegrated into the internal chemical stores for later re-usage.
Turning towards Thwud and Shazam he only saw the first, the second out of sight. Closing his eyes to sense a presence that would be immediately at his right in under a second a hand snapped upwards and found purchase gripping the creatures muzzle. Using his left arm to send three devastating punches into Shazam's stomach, each hit bouncing his entire body upwards- stopped only by the firm hold on his snout, a weakness overcame the figure that with a final snap of the arm to throw towards the central pillars resulted in a splash of goo that was reintegrated into the chaotic simulation. Looking towards Thwud Bass launched himself forward but as he did he just found Thwud reintegrate with the wall, the level ending and Coach's voice coming from the speaker.
"Congratulations, there's the raw power you'd been holding out on. While all of these lessons are beneficial your pure raw power holds great potential as well. It is the only thing you can rely on when all of your techniques fail, having the raw instincts and might or speed- or both even to exceed your opponent. That's just the nature of a fight, sometimes it is already decided before it has begun based on the strength of the combatants going into it. Sometimes there is a close match-up and sometimes the tables can be turned because of one thing or another. Though in completing this you have completed the last of the purely combat based levels for now. In later tiers there will be more of course, including some of which you'll experience today. Though for now you've earned your second break. The leftover burritos you had during lunch have been reheated and are waiting for you in the storage compartment, wrapped neatly up in cloth within a simple basket. Come back in an hour, if you forget I'll alert you on your mobile phone. I will only tell you this. There is a single level left for todays session. Over all there will be more as we progress into the future, but at your current level I think you could just barely manage to complete this one. It will take everything you have learned and that incredible drive you have to exceed the challenge but should you do so we're actually done for the day. Plus, considering it's already dinner time I think that's something you can very much appreciate. Then you can go home and pass out watching the latest random crap the media spits out, I still don't get why you work a full time job. You're even on fake medical leave right now, it's kind of funny if I'm being honest. You have time for one or the other. Unless you had no need to sleep, but you're organic which means you do have to abide by that law of life. Alright now fuck off." Coach said before mechanical hands started to nudge Bass forward towards the storage compartment to fetch the reheated burritos and then to the exit to stumble on out and to the table.
Reaching said table, the Namekian sat down and his head hit the table. The workers for the day had gone home and overall the area looked a lot more quiet save for the passing traffic alongside the front of the office building. Watching the rush hour traffic cruise on by he'd eventually conjure the willpower to extend a hand quite elastically into the basket to fetch a tinfoil wrapped burrito. Unfolding it he bit down on it and his eyes fluttered a little as his cheek hit the table and he just appreciated the flavor and such. Taking a long gulp of water as well to hydrate himself for the upcoming last leg of the days training, he'd spend the hour reflecting as he munched and hydrated away. Ultimately at the end of the hour he showed up with an empty basket with a cloth within. Setting it down just inside the door Coach spoke up.
"Welcome back. Then I take it you are ready to begin today's final level. I will introduce it now.
Level 11: Mastery - Obstacles and Combat Fundamentals. Gravity: 10x."
Level Eleven: Mastery - Obstacles and Combat Fundamentals Tier 1 [G's x10]
"Right. The name itself should give you a hint of what lies ahead, but I will go through all of the details one by one. The simulation will be similar to the first level you did, a minimalist design with ascending platforms in a spire as the facility in actuality extends in a cylindrical fashion to allow for higher ascension. This means the expansive distances that you originally struggled to jump between. You are free to attempt to fly with ki but to replicate the difficulty if you do so for every ten meters you ascend I will increase the gravity multiplier by one. I personally would recommend going about this the intended way to benefit yourself the most, as many of your fights will benefit from the motions you would take ascending based on jumping about as opposed to just always flying around. Now, in addition to this to add in the difficulty introduced in Falling Cascade this ascension will constantly be counteracted based off of the fact that the obstacles are spiralling downwards at all times. They will prove to be incredibly difficult to push forwards on alone, an added feature is that they will extend to and retract from the wall quickly to add in the difficulty introduced in Approach Velocity. That equates to Approaching Cascades, so there's no need to take additional measures to include that particular level. The one beyond it however will be added by the other half of this challenge.
You will be having to do all of this under the pressure of another fighter. You will be needing to do this all against the empowered Safe. If you try to dedicate effort to fighting him and not just avoiding him I guarantee you will lose within five seconds. Your goal is to reach the top while avoiding Safe using every trick in the book at your disposal. I would advise against wasting mobility techniques carelessly when they cannot kill two birds with one stone as that will leave you exceptionally vulnerable when you need them the most. To reiterate, Safe will make up for the lack of projectile surfaces as encountered during Breaking Point. In fact, he will likely be a greater challenge but you have the added advantage of having more space to manoeuvre in. Ultimately this will test everything you have as well as take absolutely everything you have. Fail to give this the proper attention it deserves and it will spell this facilities end. To begin this trial you will need to say start. While there is no hard-fixed time limit I will advise you that there is an artificial time limit. Safe defeating you is inevitable, it's just sooner or later that you can influence. Buy all the time you want but if you aren't making forward progress fast you're going to quickly discover that you still have an entire course to traverse when you're beaten, bruised and on the brink of collapse. This will be the last time you hear from me during this challenge. I will not egg you on or give you words of wisdom during the level, for this should be fully possible with the mastery you've gained and your potential. So take it like this; you can do it. When you are ready say 'start'. I will begin loading the environment in."
Forming once again was the black void, the pure white platforms but unlike the first time they were all moving in an endless spiral that looked straining to behold. Similar to a spinning ornament it seemed to have no defined start or end and be in infinite rotation with itself. To make matters worse at the center of the room were pure white rocks falling from the top, made to look like some kind of shimmering vortex chucking them out and downwards. He would have plenty of tools to ascend and yet he questioned if he could without the pressure of Legendary Demon Safe. With that added pressure it was understandably difficult to stay calm. Nonetheless the best way to overcome any challenge to Bass and for many others is to just face it head on and overcome it. All fears must be confronted to be learned about, and what Bass really was afraid of was the unknown. He couldn't be certain that he would come out victorious, while he was worried of the consequences and losing his training possibilities that were offered with this facility, it was the concept of the unknown that scared him the most. With all the motion in the environment finally appeared Safe. A small humanoid figure up about halfway in the spire just there, with a purple aura around him and the steaming nostrils and ears. Bulked up beyond Bass's understanding of possibility, ready to go full throttle at a moments notice.
Bass closed his eyes and spoke the word 'Start.'.
Immediately there was a blast of energy and Bass ki dashed forward as the ground he had been standing on was slammed with a fist. Literally letting out a girly scream at the terror the power of that punch held, Bass used ki to do a massive jump that scaled himself up the first two platforms. Immediately Safe was upon him again with a punch from behind and with another panicked scream the Namekian did another ki jump towards one of the falling rocks. Landing on top of it he immediately began to jump from rock to rock as Safe behind him plowed through several, which oddly enough were turned into goo the moment he did. Splattering on the floor they were soaked in and reintegrated into the system. Bouncing from rock to rock and ascending whole closing the gap to the other side of the room Bass leapt through the span of space and gripped two hands onto one of the platforms protruding from the wall on the other side. Almost immediately after he took hold of it the platform sucked in quickly and he found he was going to be unable to hold onto it in just a brief moment. At the last second he planted his feet against the wall with his hands on the very edge of the platform and launched off of it. Sailing upwards his trajectory was just enough for his right hand to grip the furthest out corner on the platform. Swinging himself upwards higher he slammed his weight down with a burst of ki to have ground to work on immediately. Dashing forward with another burst of ki, flashes started occurring from his left and as they did and he looked towards them he saw a series of massive energy blasts sailing towards him from Safe at the center of the room. Scaling further and sprinting with ki enhancing his speed faster than the blasts could track him a wave of explosions rippled through the room and shoot the facility. Another warning of structural integrity sounded off before Coach dismissed it as well within maximum seismic capacity. Ascending further through the room Safe let out a roar and blasted towards Bass in the blink of an eye. Quite literally Bass blinked and Safe was in front of him, a fist inches from his left cheek until he teleported three levels higher in the spiralling downwards platforms. Suppressing his power level immediately, Safe lost track of Bass. Remaining on the platform for several moments he would lower a level while waiting before rebounding his power level to be even higher than it was before. Launching from the platform he was on the metal bent downwards from the force of his jump and he landed on one of the rocks. Hopping and then dashing upwards with his ki he ascended up a series of eighteen small soccer ball sized rocks that were falling in a cluster before dashing over to a platform that had just extended to have the most time possible to work with it.
Almost immediately as his power level rose up again Safe was upon him once more. Ducking low as the terrifying fighter's fist sailed over him and caused his antennae to bend sideways from the sheer force, Bass brought both hands up and slammed his fists together upon pseudo-giant forming them in order to create a shockwave that blew the stronger fighter away to buy him some time. His body ached and creaked with every motion he made and he constantly felt the impulse to give up. Yet he chose to strive on with everything he could muster for the sake of becoming better than he ever thought he was capable of. Leaping between platform to platform he got momentum going, dashing and enhancing his speed to the point where Safe was only marginally closing the gap with every second. He ascended four more tiers and lost two between the spiralling downwards motion and his net positive ascension. Reaching the midway point Bass was surprised when the platforms started to move faster. The entire structure accelerating more than it was prior to the point where Bass felt like he was trying to dodge incoming platforms rather than land on them. As such the pressure had him leap off and land on the falling rock cluster which had picked up pace. Zooming with small ki fueled jumps between each of the different rocks he scaled upwards just barely using physical objects to give him a launch pad with each of his ki dashes. Sailing across to a rapidly lowering platform he'd start his ascent that way again. That was when he saw a blinding flash of light from his side, and a massive roar of exertion to back it up. Looking to his left he saw a ball of ki the size of a car being hurled towards him. Once again screaming like a sissy Bass got a spring in his step as he physically tried his hardest to outrun the homing train that was locked onto him. Scaling up several more levels he was wheezing and in great pain when he turned around and jumped straight into the air. Facing the blast of energy head on he'd let out a roar and bulk up to his largest size, his muscles rippling with power. Pushing all of the ki in his body towards his front side he met with the ball of energy with a substantial amount of energy to act as a barrier. Being sent flying upwards like a monkey taped to a rocket, Bass let out a loud roar while the car sized ki blast sent him upwards. At the last second before the ki he'd been using to protect his body dissipated, Bass pulled away from the blast with a ki dash and fired a smaller blast towards it to detonate in midair. A massive explosion rippled through the entire facility and shot out of the cylindrical structure in a massive mushroom cloud shaped plume that pumped smoke into the sky. Couching and wheezing in between ragged breath the Namekian kept ascending while sensing Safe's incredibly powerful energy level. It was still down there, until suddenly it had appeared on his level. Twisting his head around quickly Bass saw Safe closing in to engage in a flurry of blows. Trying to meet that would be incredibly risk to do, but the platform he could jump to just pulled away from him. He would have to collide with the behemoth or risk falling all fifteen or so levels that he had ascended since the start. Leaping into the air to save his spot amidst the tower the two monsters clashed.
A forcewave of energy rippled through the facility and Bass found himself horrifically outmatched. Fists slammed into him repeatedly and he could feel himself fading out, before he used a ton of ki to send himself on a massive dash to the right. Finding purchase on a platform he'd start to stagger and ascend again, jumping up three separate platforms and then inwards towards the falling cascade of stones. Grabbing one he span around with it and threw it towards Safe to buy himself some time before ki dashing up a series of them once more. Then he'd grab onto the central pillar and a particularly massive rock, using his Namekian Physiology to extend his arms to an unnaturally long length so that they could wrap around the bulky rock before sending it flying upwards. Using the elastic snap of the throwing motion while still holding onto the rock he released his grip from the pillar and let the momentum skyrocket him upwards. Shifting to the left and right to avoid falling rocks with simple diagonal upwards left or right ki dashes the Namekian ascended six different levels out of the nearly four dozen that were present. Glancing downwards to feel that surge of power following right after him with sheer flight alone Bass started to direct the rocks he passed towards the Demon with his left hand. Multiple stones went flying towards the opponent and he smashed through a handful of them while dodging the rest. Nonetheless the sheer force of the rocks had slowed down his speed temporarily, however the momentum of the rock he had hurled was starting to fade and this trick was losing it's mojo. Using his Namekian Physiology again to send an arm shooting around the pillar he spun around it to horizontally fling himself towards another platform gradually lowering along the spiral wall. Landing on it he rapidly hopped upwards between them, scaling two at a time while using his ki dashes to slam downwards and ground himself faster for additional jumps. Like a jackrabbit he scaled multiple additional platforms and a handful of additional levels. Breathing with ragged undertones like that of a worked up asthmatic patient he struggled to continue. Knowing he couldn't stop however he once again jumped off the platforms to reacquire his bearings when they began to accelerate to even more max velocity compared to before. The platforms were like razors now, and he felt like a tomato dropped into a blender. He'd have to be incredibly precise if he didn't want an attempted landing to turn into a chance at losing his head, hence hopping away to regain his bearings with the falling cascade of rocks. Landing with a thud on a larger stone he kicked off of it with sheer might and a little bit of ki propulsion to send it shooting down towards Safe that was still struggling to catch up to the Namekian that was using every trick he could think of or utilize to climb to higher heights. Letting out a roar and ascending faster the only thing Bass could do was barely dash out of the way as the aqua flash of movement ascended beyond him likely carrying a punch that could've atomized him were it actually landed. Huffing Bass threw a rock upwards and kicked off of the pillar to send himself shooting towards the other side of the room. From the angle he was moving at he wouldn't be able to land on another platform from the top down, he'd have to improvise.
Looking at the actual sides of these platforms that were about two feet thick, he got a plan. Finding the precise moment to dash inwards a foot would find purchase and he'd start sprinting forward at an optimal pace that the landing and kick of his feet aligned with the passing of platforms. This equated to effectively a full sprint as he matched up two time sequenced perfectly by intuition alone, wall-running upwards by fuelling his movement with sheer ki. Yet he still breathed raggedly and took great pain in every step. Even with all the effort he was putting in he was still a quarter form the finish. He could see it though, a dark platform floating in open space and unmoving. If he could get to that he'd be done with the days training. Sprinting even harder, reinvigorated from the thought Bass let out a roar. It was only when an energy blast blasted into the platform he was about to step onto that he started to tumble. Falling and falling, by the time Bass recovered to slow his fall he'd dropped twenty percent of the time. Roaring in rage and almost to try and motivate himself where all others might've lost hope, he launched himself from the wall and in a single motion blinked to the central pillar to start sprinting upwards in a sheer ki fuelled climb towards the sky. Bouncing off of various rocks, he got closer and closer to the summit. Looking downwards Safe had overcompensated for his recovery and gone too low. He was positioned under him now, a glowing fist indicating an intense amount of power held silently at his side.
When the threat roared and started to streak up towards Bass, the Namekian had an insane idea that just might work. He leapt into the air and tilted his body upwards and pointed both arms in a triangle towards the sky so he could be as aerodynamic as possible. Then the monster connected with him, the energy transferring into Bass in a strike that almost made him black out immediately. He nearly felt his ribcage entirely shatter when he let out a roar and steeled his entire body. He hardened everything about himself with the uncanny ability to shrug off any one instance of damage, and with that he was propelled upwards while rattled; ultimately undefeated by the supposed finishing blows. Rising faster and faster the scenery around him was a blur as he ascended ten then twenty, then thirty and finally thirty five where his momentum started to level out. Looking towards the platforms he'd dash towards one and that was when the final twist began. The platforms began to rotate rapidly vertically, making only specific moments possible to land on them without losing more air than you actually gained; or without being smashed away. The rock cascade stopped completely.
This was it, huh?
Utilizing hyper focus and the lead he had gotten with the punch Safe had used against him, Bass timed his jumps with extreme precision. He needed to find that one fraction of a second where the platforms were aligned correctly to have net positive vertical jumps that transferred his height to subsequent jumps to come. Dashing downwards just as the platform finished being completely vertical he landed on the far edge and used it's rapid rotation to launch himself upwards before using a forward ki dash to cover the distance to cross over five different platforms. He was now within fifty meters of the finish while Safe was closing the gap at an incredibly alarming rate. Roaring to push himself further, powering up to restore his stamina Bass took another leap and repeated the motion until he found himself at a point where the platforms that were coming out were as long as they were thick. He'd need to time his landings even more precisely or go without landing entirely if he could find some kind of alternative. Letting out another bone-chilling roar, the Namekian slammed down on the spinning plank sized platform and hit an edge. Not intended, pain shot through his body but he launched off of it anyways, sailing through the air with a throbbing foot and lower leg, he didn't know the damage he just did to himself and it certainly wasn't the time to lick any wounds he did get. Sailing through the air he dashed to the right into the wall. It was only when his feet started to plod along the wall that he noticed he had chopped his foot good on that edge, leaving purple bloodstains each time his right foot landed as well as sending shooting spikes of pain throughout his lower body closer to the actual wound itself. With Safe just fifty meters away and him ten meters away from the finish, it would only be marginal distances and mere fractions of moments that defined victory or defeat. As fate would have it the Namekian's outstretched arm passed through the 'Goal' holographic print just as Safe was about to grab his ankle to pull him away.
The Namekian landed firmly on the goal and passed out once more.
Over the next five minutes the platform gradually lowered him back to the ground, the facility sealed itself up and cleaned the messy bloody footprints Bass had left with his wound. Giving some basic first aid, it was only minimal as Bass's body did most of the healing during the time he was unconscious for. When the Namekian opened his eyes, he could only croak. Coach began to speak.
"You've done it Bass. You got to the summit, and for that I have to congratulate you. You proved that you're capable of sticking to this.
So with that being said...
We will be doing this every day for the next week, and then we'll ramp it up next week, and again the week after, and week after that. If you can survive in the long run, the effort you put in now will pay off in massive amounts. Good luck, Bass." And he was free.
It was over.
Level 12: The Exhausted Walk Home. Gravity: 1x.