"Hey Vich! How's it going, man? How've you been? Where are you going?" said a man approaching him. "I'm doing fine." He answered in an uninterested tone. "As unsociable as always I see. I guess you're still focused on your training. You know you served your time. You don't have to keep going to the training chamber, man. Just use the training capsules." said the man interrogating him. "Mhm…" he answered. He didn't understand why this guy would ask him questions that he knew the answers to… Well actually he understood, he just found it annoying. Why would he keep insisting on deepening their relationship when he clearly showed no interest.

"You won't listen to me huh… Well, that's your choice to make. By the way, did you hear? There was a new incident, this time it involved…" hearing this Slava turned his head. "Haha! I've got your attention now huh? Seems like you're also worried. You and Alex should start using the AIs more often, seems like…" as he was explaining, he was interrupted by someone grabbing his arm. "Ah. Sorry man, I guess duty calls I'll see you later." He said while being dragged away with a smile on his face.

"So another one huh?" he thought. They had always happened but they were getting more and more frequent. Apparently, there was a time when these incidents didn't happen. Back then, people would use pen and paper to solve equations and draw diagrams, but as time went on, people started creating algorithms to do the simple jobs for them. The algorithms became more and more complex until all that was left was to maintain and improve upon them. Of course, even though the algorithms were great sometimes humans were better.

"Bip!" Once Slava had been scanned, a sliding door opened before him. Entering the changing room, he started to undress.

The problem was that human tools became so complex that it became dangerous for people to manually operate them. So people split up, there were those who were fine with slower progress and the use of algorithms and those who were willing to risk their own lives to achieve their goals by using more traditional methods on more modern equipment. The United States was the land of freedom after all so the government made sure to accommodate both sides.

“Shh…” With the sound of the pressure-equalizing, a door opened letting the now latex-covered Slava enter a sphere-like room.

Every research center was equipped with tools that allowed people to risk their lives without endangering others.

His suit was black with blue lights pulsing on its surface. Upon reaching the center of the room, he began to float, the suit morphing to cover his face. His vision turning to black he sighed slightly and that’s when some text appeared in his vision:

[United States Tactical Training Device (TTD) Powered by]

[Expance]

[Calibrating…]

Once the logo had finished animating, the text changed:

[Calibration Complete!]

[Welcome Back Vich Scern]

[Would you like to enable data collection so that we can improve our systems?]

[According to the Data Privacy Act all of your data will be encrypted]

[It will only be used for statistical analysis and will not be traceable back to you…]

Without reading the whole thing, Slava glanced to the side and the text disappeared giving way to an intricate menu. After some eye jerking and blinking, a hologram materialized in his peripheral vision, following which the whole scenery changed.

[Mortal Combat Training Initiated]

The world crumbled around him to reshape itself into an arena. The final thing to materialize was his opponent. A faceless figure which seemed ready to take him down at any time. Taking a defensive stance, he whispered in a barely audible voice; “Start”.

With these words as a signal, the world came alive. Audible cheering started coming from the stands, the wind blew across his face and the hologram in his peripheral vision started speaking in a feminine voice:

“New relevant event recorded according to user preferences, playing now:”

“Earlier today, 25-year-old Aether Reindle went missing after an incident at one of Annex University’s labs. He was working on his theory of molecular thermal efficiency, pushing the limits of the lab’s molecular splitter when an error occurred due to some miscalculations.”

At the same time, Slava’s opponent started moving. Its movements were quick and precise, but when they reached their intended target they either missed or were deflected. It was odd to see, Slava’s fighting style didn’t seem to focus on defense or offense. Instead, it looked like he was trying to slow down his opponent. With every hit, it lost momentum until its limbs started to get deflected into unnatural positions.

“The miscalculation occurred during manual override leading to a chain reaction which then caused an explosion. Fortunately, due to the regulations regarding the use of manual overriding, the explosion was isolated and no one else was hurt. Unfortunately, the body of Aether Reindle was never found. The AITF has sealed off the area for investigation. The family…”

Every time Slava defeated an opponent, the setting changed. From one on one fights to full-on battlefields from every time period. One thing was for certain, the battles were getting harder and harder. He would get injured and he would die over and over.

“On a lighter note, the government announced today that it would increase the funding of the academic sector, affirming the importance of educating the youth.”

At some point, as he felt the suit starting to cool him down, he whispered between two heavy breaths.

“Focus.” With the sound of the world distorting around him, the hologram abruptly stopped her monologue, some notifications taking her place:

[Automatic Oxygen Supply: Disabled]

[Whole-Body Cooling System: Disabled]

[Exoskeleton Parameters: Reduced]

Slava’s suit responded accordingly. An opening was formed for his mouth and nose. Slightly deflating, micropores appeared on its surface letting some air escape. As for Slava, he took a deep breath.

“All warmed up,” he said in an almost ecstatic voice.