When the battle between my two versions began, I was left speechless by what happened.
My "ignorant" version charged toward the trained version without caring about his posture or what he should do.
That's exactly what I would do in a fight right now. I don't know how to fight, so I would just rush in and swing my sword however I could. I wouldn't know how to identify blind spots or anything like that.
My trained version remained still and waited for the attack.
Then, the head of my "ignorant" version was separated from its body.
It flew through the air and fell to the ground. The hologram collapsed lifelessly.
"I couldn't see very well what happened, Nano. Can you repeat it, please?"
At my request, Nano replayed what had happened. I stepped closer to watch more carefully.
As soon as my "ignorant" version approached and swung its sword clumsily, my trained version deflected the incoming blade with its own, then rotated its body and cut off "my" head.
It was such a fast movement that I could barely follow it with my eyes.
I should be able to keep up with something like that, considering I'm "strong" and have Nano with me.
Well, whatever.
"Nano, how can you help me with this?"
[This unit will assist the host through guided training. The projection will display the correct movements while the nanomachines monitor posture, muscle contraction, balance, and speed. When the host performs an incorrect movement, the system will send small neural stimuli to correct muscle positioning and adjust the movement in real time. With continuous repetition, the host's body will develop muscle memory, allowing the synthesized combat technique to be learned and used more naturally over time.]
"I see… so you can even control my body like that to help me. That makes me a little uncomfortable. I can't be sure you won't take control of my body without my permission."
I said that half-jokingly, since I trust Nano a lot, but she gave a very serious response.
[This unit cannot take control of the host's body. I only perform minor muscular adjustments during training. Control always remains with the user.]
Well, those adjustments are basically "control," but whatever.
"Alright, Nano. I want to start training right now. I'll be leaving this place in three days, so I need to learn at least the basics of hand-to-hand combat. Create a larger hologram that will stand in front of me—I'll copy its movements."
Without saying anything, my copy grew larger, becoming the same size as me. Even though it had a light blue color and was transparent, it was incredibly similar. A perfect recreation.
The copy in front of me then moved quickly.
Its hands rose to the level of its face.
"Boxing, huh?"
I mimicked the same stance and waited. My hologram began throwing punches into the air, moving its body with mastery and at high speed.
A deadly combination of strikes—punches that could break nearly every bone in someone's body if they were real.
Cross punches, strikes aimed at the sides of the body, the chin, the nose, the head—and also kicks focusing mainly on the legs and waist.
It was a level of boxing I had never seen before.
Probably the best fighter in my world wouldn't be able to handle something like this…
No, I don't think any fighter could deal with punches and kicks like that, no matter what martial art they used.
"Terrifying. I can't copy these movements."
Seeing that I was struggling, Nano replayed everything in slow motion, and I began copying the movements, training my punches and kicks.
This training continued until night.
#####
When I finished my training, I was completely drenched in sweat and felt incredibly refreshed. I felt good.
Just as Nano said, she could adjust my movements very well, and that made everything easier.
On top of that, everything I was learning was being engraved into my mind. It felt like I wouldn't be able to forget it even if I wanted to. It probably had something to do with Nano—my learning speed was incredibly fast.
Now, with the hologram turned off, I started throwing punches and kicks without Nano's assistance.
I imagined an enemy standing in front of me.
'This is fun.' I thought as I struck the air, smiling the entire time.
Then, suddenly, the door opened.
It was Alicia, bringing my food. She saw me completely drenched in sweat, and her face turned red, but she didn't say anything and left the room right after.
Before I started eating, I asked Nano to run another simulated battle.
My current self—after learning some basics—versus my "special" version. Hand-to-hand combat only.
While eating, I watched everything carefully.
"Oh?"
My current version was able to dodge some punches and kicks and even land a few attacks, but the fight didn't last more than 40 seconds.
It was disappointing.
My current level is pathetic.
And I thought I was learning fast.
I finished eating as quickly as I could and tied my hair back. Then I went back to training.
Before I realized it, the sun had already risen.
But I didn't feel sleepy.
'In two days… In two days, I'll leave this place. Until then, I need to increase my strength as much as possible.'
I thought as I spun my body in the air and delivered a kick. The impact of my kick made a loud sound.
If that kick had hit someone—even someone with strength similar to mine—it would have hurt a lot.
I smiled in satisfaction and then sat down to cultivate.
I can't stop for even a second. I have to keep training as much as possible over the next two days. I can't even sleep.
My heart started racing, and I began to feel anxious.
However, as soon as I started cultivating, I calmed down—as if I were floating in a beautiful green landscape.
I opened my eyes and breathed in the fresh air filling my lungs, making me smile widely.
I never get tired of this feeling.
And just like that, two more days passed.
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