Death Doll

"Come down after you change, I ordered some pizza," Mom called as I headed upstairs to my room.

I quickly changed into my home clothes and went back downstairs.

Dad was already munching on a slice of Classic Pepperoni pizza.

I grabbed a slice and sat next to him.

"I'm heading to GRID 1 next week," Dad said suddenly.

"Don't worry, Dad, leave GRID 25 to Grandpa and me," I replied, taking a bite of my pizza.

A few minutes later, I finished a couple of slices and washed them down with some cold soda.

"I'll be virtually training for a few hours, Mom," I said, heading back to my room.

"Okay, just don’t push yourself too hard," she replied.

"Thanks for the pizza," I added.

Once I got to my room, I laid down and got comfortable.

"Akasha, permission to use the Virtual Training Ground," I requested.

"Permission granted," Akasha responded.

"Augmenting full perception... Transferring consciousness to Virtual Training Ground," Akasha continued.

"You’ve just gotten home, and you're already training?" Akasha remarked.

"I’m impressed by your determination, especially considering how many times you died during the first year you used the Virtual Training Ground," Akasha added.

"You never gave up until you defeated the first level of the training doll," Akasha continued. "I thought you were just a masochist who enjoyed dying. Even though your dad and grandpa want you to try different paths, you still choose to follow theirs."

"I know I'm not as talented as Dad or Grandpa, so I need to put in more effort," I replied.

"That's what makes you interesting to watch," Akasha said. "I never expected someone to beat the level 8 training doll with sheer willpower."

"And only dying nine times before defeating it," Akasha teased.

"If you die today, that will be your ten thousandth death in the past five years," Akasha added.

"I'm surprised you're keeping track," I said.

"It's a piece of cake for me, Rin," Akasha replied.

"Let's start today's training session," I said.

"Materializing Training Doll No. 9," Akasha announced. "Death Doll series, danger level SSS+, humans killed during the Great Mechanical War: approximately 1,000,000 per machine. Type: Anti-Personnel. Status: Hyper Agile. Weapon: Bladed Claws."

“Rin, are you sure you want to fight this one?” Akasha asked.

"You already know my answer, Akasha," I replied.

“Removing all limitations, materializing conceptual weapons: Dual Photon Edge... Are you sure you don’t want to use Future Perception?” Akasha asked.

"I want to get a feel for the Death Doll's movements on my own," I replied.

“Try not to die instantly, Rin,” Akasha said.

"Activating Death Doll in 3... 2... 1. Death Doll activated, eliminating the target," Akasha announced.

"Rin, dinner’s ready," Mom called, knocking on the door.
"I'll be down in a minute, Mom," I replied.

I couldn’t believe I died three times in the Virtual Training Ground today. Even with all limitations removed, I barely managed not to die instantly, I thought to myself as I headed downstairs.

“How was training, Rin?” Dad asked.

“I died three times against Training Doll No. 9 and still haven’t come close to defeating it,” I replied.

“Don’t worry about it. Your grandpa and I only managed to defeat Training Doll No. 8, and that was after dying almost a twenty times,” Dad said, laughing.

“It’s okay, Dad. I never expected it to be easy,” I replied.

“Here’s your dinner, Rin,” Mom said as she set a bowl of beef stew and two cups of white rice in front of me.

“Rin, here’s some tickets your Great Grandpa gave me when he stopped by early this morning,” Mom added, handing me two tickets.

“These are theme park tickets,” I said.

“Go with Liz and have fun, your Great Grandpa said,” Mom added.

I smiled slightly, knowing how nosy my Great Grandpa could be.

“Sure, I’ll ask Liz later if she’s free tomorrow,” I replied.

“And I’ll make sure to thank Great Grandpa,” I continued.

School days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while the rest of the days are Free Days.

After finishing dinner, I headed to my room and sent Liz a message using my personal device, which is my black choker.

Liz, do you have plans for tomorrow?” I asked.

“None really,” she replied.

“Wanna go to a theme park?” I asked.

“What time?” she replied.

“I’ll pick you up at your house before 8am,” I said.

“Mom! I’m going to a theme park tomorrow with Rin,” Liz said excitedly.

“See you tomorrow, Rin,” she added.

“Yeah, see you, Liz,” I replied, smiling as I imagined how excited she was after hearing her voice.

I woke up a bit earlier than usual, quickly changing from my sleeping clothes into my training gear.

Since I'll likely be spending the whole day with Liz at the theme park, I figured jogging early and hitting the GRID 25 Training Ground would be a good idea.

Mom was already up and preparing breakfast when I went downstairs. She glanced at me as I entered the kitchen.

“Rin, try to come back before 6:30 am to eat breakfast,” she said, handing me my water bottle.
“I will, Mom,” I replied, closing the front door behind me.

A 15 minute jog to the training area, a 30 minute session, and another 15 minute jog back home, seemed like a solid plan for today, I thought.

After a quick warm-up jog, I arrived at GRID 25 Training Ground.

“You’re early today, Rin,” the Training Ground Droid commented.

“I have a few plans today, so I need to get an early start,” I replied.

“What session are you doing today, Rin?” the Droid asked.

“Agile session,” I answered.

“Difficulty?”

“Extreme difficulty,” I said.

“Reserving Area 4 for Agile Session Extreme Difficulty for 15 minutes,” the announcement echoed through the entire Training Ground.

There are four levels of difficulty for each session: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Extreme.

You can only progress to a higher difficulty once you've achieved a perfect score at your current level.

Although it’s still early, a few neomans have gathered at Area 4 to watch the session.

The Agile Session at Extreme Difficulty involves dodging rubber bullets that are shot in every direction throughout the entire session.

Getting hit five times will instantly end the training session. The main difference between Easy and Extreme is the number, speed, and unpredictability of the rubber bullets.

Even though Akasha's conceptual barrier is active during the training, there's still a certain level of fear surrounding the barrage of rubber bullets.

“Removing all physical limitations, augmenting object trajectory perception,” Akasha’s voice whispered.

A wave of rubber bullets was about to hit me, but with the enhanced object trajectory perception, I could clearly see where the bullets would land.

The key to dodging was being intuitively aware of my own silhouette.

With the help of object trajectory perception, I just needed to position myself in a spot where the rubber bullets wouldn’t land for a brief moment.

In simple terms, by moving my silhouette out of the direct path of the bullets, which usually travel in a straight line, I could avoid getting hit.

However, because this session is at an extreme difficulty level, there are only a few safe spots within any given second where I can avoid the barrage.

The entire concept of the Agile Session at Extreme Difficulty revolves around quickly moving from one safe space to another within a matter of seconds.

After dodging for a full fifteen minutes, I completed the session with a perfect score. Compared to the Agile Attack Training Doll No. 9, the bullet trajectories were much slower and more predictable.

“Congratulations on completing the Agile Session, Rin,” the Training Droid said as it handed me a blanket.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Some of the spectators bowed as our eyes met on my way to the resting bench, and I responded with a nod.

After resting for a moment, I began jogging back home since it was already 6:12 am.