“You kept me waiting.”

Armand sat cross-legged at the center of a large hall. He opened his eyes and looked sternly at the approaching young man. “You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago.”

“Take it easy on him, Armand!” Mikhail hovered beside Dimitri. With a snap of his fingers, the dimly lit training hall brightened and exposed the bare-chested Armand meditating on top of a circular platform.

“His comprehension seems a bit slow these days.”

“There’s only one way for us to find out, right?” Armand, wearing just boxing shorts, immediately stood up and approached both newcomers. His bare feet trod over the metal-plated floor without a sound.

Armand’s condescending smirk and the visible scars on his chest made him look creepy. Despite a few bandages wrapped around his abdomen and extremities hiding most of his scars, his whole outfit still exuded a menacing aura.

Unperturbed by Armand’s blatant intimidation, Dimitri removed his shoes and socks. He put them beside the lone pair of shoes on the floor just off the platform. Without hesitation, he stepped on the edge of the clearly marked circular platform. Its metallic surface felt cold on his bare feet.

“Why do we have to do this?”

“Fight now, talk later!” Armand stopped an arm’s length away from Dimitri. A virtual screen appeared between them as soon as Armand flicked his fingers. “Now, pick a weapon.”

“Why?” Dimitri simply stood there, no longer surprised to see things appearing out of nowhere. His subtle eye movement though betrayed his deeply concealed doubt, a feeling he clearly didn’t want Armand to notice.

A quick glance at the virtual screen showed a variety of weapons to choose from. The virtual screen interface seemed simple and straightforward. With just a tap of his finger, Dimitri could easily select any weapon he preferred.

As to where the weapon would come from, he didn’t know. Other than the lone vending machine near the entrance, the training hall’s concrete walls and metallic platform didn’t seem to display any physical weapons.

“You also have the option to fight with your bare hands!” Armand shrugged and walked past Dimitri. He stopped near the entrance and grabbed a bottle of water from the vending machine, tempering his annoyance.

“I don’t really care! Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Why do we have to fight?” Dimitri turned towards Armand, ignoring the timer displayed on the virtual screen. His stance remained firm, his attitude indignant.

“You actually think you’re good enough to fight with me, right now?” Armand, carrying the water bottle with one hand, faced the young man with disdain, his tone sarcastic. “You actually think you would still be standing after my first strike?”

“Not him, Dimitri.” Mikhail, still standing outside the circular platform, interjected seriously, his gaze focused on the mini virtual projection facing him.

Oblivious to the two men’s banter, Mikhail looked as if he were browsing through something on his tiny virtual screen all this time. Only he alone was privy to its contents.

“You will not be fighting with him yet.” Mikhail adjusted his spectacles, eyeing the young man indifferently. “We still need to test your current skills.”

“Well, who would I have to fight with then?” Dimitri crossed his arms and stared at Mikhail. He blatantly ignored Armand thirstily drinking all of his water in one go.

“Just shut up, will you?!” Armand violently shoved the water bottle into the nearest trash bin. He pointed at the virtual screen’s blinking timer now turning red. “You have ten seconds to pick a weapon or be forced to fight without one.”

***

“Welcome to the Combat Simulation Program!”

Dimitri heard an automated female voice say as the training hall began to transform itself.

“Initializing Training Mode.”

The circular platform suddenly shook. The sound of metal clanging echoed throughout the entire hall as the platform began to move. A heavy mist gradually engulfed the now slightly elevated platform until Dimitri could no longer see the training hall’s concrete walls.

“What is happening?” Dimitri, wary of this sudden change, asked no one in particular. He glanced around but both Armand and Mikhail had already disappeared into the mist.

Dimitri, still standing at the edge of the circular platform, tried to touch the now fully-formed fog. But before his right hand could even reach the fog’s periphery, he felt an invisible barrier at the tip of his middle finger. That created a multi-colored ripple that eventually spread all throughout this enclosed space.

“Mikhail, what is going on?” Dimitri demanded while trying to push his way out of this unexpected blockade with his bare hands. Unfortunately, his efforts remained futile, his questions remained unanswered.

The multiple ripples created by shoving his hands on to the barrier finally exposed the true extent of his entrapment. Dimitri knew he would not be able to leave unless they let him out.

As the remaining ripples finally settled down, Dimitri found himself all alone on an empty platform. Although he could not see anything beyond the white fog, he still tried to tame his growing anxiety. He scanned his surroundings for any possible danger.

The movement of this newly transformed space had long ended. The entire platform seemed unusually quiet. He could no longer hear all the noise made by machines clunking underneath the metal-plated floor.

Dimitri could only hear the sound of his breathing and the rustle of his body against his suit, nothing else.

***

“Training Mode: Level One Activated.”

Dimitri became more alert upon hearing the automated announcement. He instinctively stayed close to the edge of the empty platform. He realized that he had to fight his way out of this place.

Dimitri didn’t wait that long before the heavy fog began to disperse, the remaining white mist slowly thinning out. The once invisible barrier, now appearing semi-transparent, became more visible with blue light regularly pulsating throughout it.

Beyond the barrier, the young man immediately noticed what seemed to be dilapidated columns of an antiquated temple encircling the platform. With the roof gone, he could see one bright light imitating the sun and two moons, one bigger than the other, illuminating the entire space. Just outside this ancient temple, the vast desert loomed over the horizon.

The scenery looked real. Dimitri could even feel the wind blowing and the air warming up. But he knew full well that everything here had been carefully simulated. The cold metal-plated floor and the thirty-second countdown floating mid air constantly reminded him of this fact.

“No weapon selected.”

“Bogeyman will fight with his bare hands.”

A masked figure suddenly appeared. He stood eerily still at the opposite end of the platform, his tall frame covered by an all-black ensemble, with only his eyes exposed.

Seeing what resembled hilts of a saber at the unknown man’s back, Dimitri instantly regretted his decision not to select a weapon. He didn’t have a clue how to defend himself against such weapons with his bare hands.

Dimitri knew for a fact that all his past successes could greatly be attributed to sheer luck. He escaped from the police the first time because of his sudden epiphany. The memory fragment of him training with a sword as a beginner did not count at all.

At this point, he could only trust his instincts. But would his instincts be enough for him to survive?

“Your goal is to defeat your opponent.”

“Fight starts in 3...2...1”