As Tatehan stared at the holographic dummies, he couldn't help but wonder how they would help his combat training since they weren't actually physical. They weren't really there, so even if he threw a punch that should land, it might not connect with anything.
He dismissed this as unnecessary worrying.
The holographic dummies now swayed slightly, as if warming up for combat.
Tatehan clenched his fists, getting ready. In the dimmed lighting, he could only see the holographic dummies clearly. The walls had faded into darkness, and he couldn't see the pilot seat that had been tossed aside, only the glowing blue figures staring at him.
He cracked his knuckles, awaiting the spaceship AI's command.
"[One holographic dummy will attack you. Fight it as you would normally. It will match your enhanced body's capabilities so the experience feels like a real fight. From there, we'll progress to the others.]"
The holographic dummies carried the basic shape of human bodies, but they had no distinguishing features like eyes or ears—just plain blue holographic forms.
One approached Tatehan with speed matching his enhanced abilities. He sidestepped, dodging it by inches.
The other holographic dummies remained motionless for now.
The moving dummy somersaulted backward, and as Tatehan came forward trying to land a punch, it dodged every single strike, startling him.
Then it sent a punch toward the left side of his jaw.
He felt nothing, as though nothing had touched him. He felt perfectly fine, but that wasn't the point. This combat assessment was about determining who was the better fighter: holographic dummies programmed with standard enhanced human fighting techniques versus him.
Tatehan knew that missed block put him at a disadvantage.
The holographic dummy continued its assault. Tatehan dodged, struggling to keep up. While he fought like a regular person, the dummy moved like a martial arts master. Its punches were faster, kicks more precise, and movements more fluid than his.
Tatehan's strikes were slower, as were his reactions. His speed, kicks, and movement all lagged behind. He felt like an oversized man trying to perform precise martial arts.
After about ten minutes of intense fighting, during which he was clearly losing despite his best efforts, the holographic dummy finally halted and returned to stand with the others.
Tatehan stared at it, panting hard and trying to catch his breath.
The spaceship's AI spoke:
"[Each fight lasts ten minutes.]"
It paused as Tatehan tried to recover, already feeling exhausted.
"[Just inhale and exhale deeply. You should return to your adrenaline-fueled state. The coffee was designed to provide sustained energy.]"
Tatehan followed the instructions. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, and surprisingly, his fatigue disappeared. He felt pumped up again.
"[Well]" the spaceship's AI began, "[you performed quite poorly in this session. You were slower in reaction time and overall movement. Your punches were much slower than expected, your footwork felt awkward, and your fighting technique was... concerning.]"
The word "concerning" hit Tatehan like a physical blow, tearing through his confidence.
For the spaceship's AI to express concern meant his performance had been truly inadequate.
If this was how he intended to fight, how would he survive against other enhanced humans like himself? The only reason he'd defeated the brutenecks was mainly because of his gravitational powers. Without that advantage, and without the enhanced jump that saved him from the carapace bruteneck, he would have been killed.
The thought made him grit his teeth. If this holographic dummy had been a real enhanced human, he would have been beaten mercilessly.
It had fought with such agility it was surprising. The way it threw its punches, its kicks, it felt super inhumane.
But then, that was how the other humans on mars would probably be fighting. Intense and with precision, just like the holographic dummy had done.
'Perhaps I'm not ready to meet other humans,' he thought.
The spaceship's AI seemed to understand this, which was why it needed him to train immediately. As he was right now, he didn't know how to properly utilize his enhanced body or his gravitational powers.
"[Do you want to try again?]"
Tatehan nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
"[Focus on correcting what I mentioned. If you were slow before, be fast. If your footwork was poor, make it precise. Transform your weaknesses into strengths.]"
The words hit deep, like an axe on rain. Strange imagery, but that was how Tatehan would approach fighting this holographic dummy now.
He was the axe, the holographic dummy was the rain. An axe normally can't cut through rain, and similarly, Tatehan couldn't actually punch the holographic dummy since it was just light and energy.
But he actually could, metaphorically. And that was exactly what he would do.
The holographic dummy came back to life and without warning stormed toward Tatehan.
Tatehan knew the dummy couldn't physically hurt him, but he wouldn't let it land a single touch.
He began dodging with desperate intensity, and damn, the dummy was fast.
But Tatehan was faster. With just a slight edge, he proved his superiority. He swerved and ducked and even somersaulted backward, all to avoid contact with the holographic figure. Then he began his counterattack.
The dummy responded like any normal human would, even an enhanced human. That reaction was enough. Tatehan capitalized on that moment of shock.
He treated the holographic dummy as if it were real, and it responded accordingly.
Swerve—
Punch!
Duck—
Punch!
Sidestep—
Punch!
Roll—
Punch!
Pause...
Duck...
Then!
Punch!
Punch!
Punch!
Punch!
The holographic dummy wasn't actually real, but to Tatehan it was, and that was enough.
He kept striking, technically hitting nothing but air. But the dummy reacted to every blow as if being hit. Its head jerked backward, to the left, to the right, back to the left, and soon it began dissolving like scattered dust.
Holographic dust.
Tatehan gritted his teeth, the adrenaline making him feel unstoppable, and for second there, he felt like giving a sigh of relief.
He now heard the AI's voice:
"[Congratulations, host. You've defeated the first holographic dummy.]"