The air shimmered with faint pulses of energy. Before Taryn stood his opponent—Alpha-One. A simulation born of the system's bizarre yet scarily accurate creation ability. The figure was expressionless, yet its stance screamed precision and experience.
Taryn cracked his knuckles, rolled his shoulders, and took a steady breath.
"I can handle this."
"Yeah, sure, hero," the system whispered sarcastically. "Let's see if your muscles know how to move without tripping over each other."
The battle began.
Alpha-One moved first—a blur of motion as he lunged forward with the grace of a predator. Taryn reacted instinctively, dodging to the side, barely avoiding a clean strike to the gut. He retaliated with a punch, using the momentum of the Basic Flow Technique, but Alpha-One twisted midair and deflected it with a flick of his wrist.
CLACK!
Taryn's wrist stung. The dummy's counter-attack was swift and punishing, sweeping his legs right out from under him. He hit the ground with a dull thud.
"Get up, noble prince!" the system yelled, floating overhead with a tiny flag that read 'Cheerfully Judging You'.
Gritting his teeth, Taryn rose again and charged in, this time with more focus. He remembered the theory—redirect, respond, strike when it counts. He managed to block two more strikes, even landed a glancing blow to Alpha-One's side.
But that was it.
Alpha-One adapted instantly, picking apart Taryn's timing and posture. In a flurry of precise, clean moves, the simulated fighter landed a palm strike to Taryn's chest, followed by a trip and a final push to the floor.
Thud.
Taryn groaned, lying flat on his back.
"Oof," the system said, floating above him upside-down. "A valiant effort… for a grasshopper with broken legs."
Taryn stared at the ceiling, winded. "That… was brutal."
The system nodded. "Indeed. Alpha-One is no joke. He's built to be the perfect level 2 sparring dummy. Beat him, and you're likely stronger than most early-level-2 cultivators."
He floated down beside Taryn and gave a mock-salute. "So, ready for your next mission, soldier?"
A screen appeared before Taryn, glowing faintly.
System Mission: Defeat Alpha-One
Objective: Defeat the training opponent in a fair spar.
Reward: Significant progress in cultivation.
Penalty: None. Except a bruised ego.
System Praise: Earned only if performance is dramatic enough.
"There you go. It's your mountain to climb. And don't worry—mountains have been punched before. You'll get there."
Taryn clenched his fist.
"Then I'll climb it… one punch at a time."