Solar Knight: Shifting Sands (book 6)

chapter 15: day 3

The guys put me through training hell over the night and this morning. I had to call off the game night we had planned, much to moro's annoyance, but was proud that i was taking things more seriously as captain.

The gym had an upgrade or two since i last used it. The floors were waxed, the bleachers had extra cushioning, there was a build in water bottle refill station on the walls, there was new exercise equipment, and probably the biggest upgrade, a VR station.

The VR station, or virtual reality station, was an area that rig set up and head gear so that you can move freely and not move an inch anywhere. The suit had sensors on it to simulate pain and injury, as well as a type of fabric to simulate touch and feeling. The rig itself had fans all over it to simulate wind and a weird floor with rollers to grant movement without breaking immersion.

The four kings were out and about as i sat there on the bench, scanning the room for my next work-out. Everyone else was either doing work-outs themselves, playing ball, or in another part of the ship, doing routine chores such as cleaning, inspection, or bridge duty......which was one of the more boring chores on the list. We all had to pitch in to keep the bird flying after all.

"I do not trust that VR thing.....i feel like you would lose touch of reality and not get the experience you need, San." Kunzite said.

"I feel like it has its uses for reflexes....maybe virtual scenarios to see how he'd handle certain situations. Beats going to whatever location needed for specific training." Jaedite said.

"Aside rock climbing and swimming sorta stuff....we haven't gotten to that point yet." I chimed in.

"Could you imagine though?" Nephrite said.

We would all stare at the contraption in wonder and skepticism at the same time.

Katsumi would walk in and go to the VR rig.

"So!" I shouted.

She yelped, jumped, and held her chest in shock.

"When were you gonna tell me you were here, sis?" I snarked.

"I thought you knew, but given how moro didn't know either, safe bet you didn't either. I thought you were asleep and didn't wanna wake you, also i was teaching Rinni the controls and training her on other stuff." She explained.

"I see." I responded.

"Have you tried the VR? It's pretty fun! It has almost limitless scenarios and stuff, helps with my aiming and reflexes!" She said, doing various finger gun poses.

"I dunno....won't you lose sight of reality?" I asked.

"It's trippy, but once you get used to it, no you don't." She said.

I had an iffy impression of the rig, the kings looked just as skeptical as me.

I ultimately shrugged it off.

"Sure, hook me up!" I said.

Sis would help me with the suit and harnesses, as well as powering it on and calibrating everything.

Sis would then smack my ass really hard, and i screamed like a girl.

"EY!" I yelled.

Sis just busted out laughing.

"Damn, your ass is so prominent in that get-up! Lemme get a plank!" She said, snickering.

"Hell no!.....dammit, it burns! Why did you do thaaaat??" I whined as i rubbed my ass. I always hated when she done that, frickin puts everything into one smack!

"Ohhhhh you wuss! Now put on your headgear!" She said, passing me the head piece.

It was black to match the suit. It was spherical in design, with eight cameras in the front, and with memory foam cushions inside the helmet.

I would then, put it on and secured the straps. It was like i wasn't wearing a head gear at all, it was comfortable and it was super lightweight.

There was nothing but darkness, but then i was suddenly standing in a white void with a grid.

I would look at my hands and actually see them. On my hips were some gun grip sort of controllers. Before me was a menu and a list of places to go and the settings.

I was utterly speechless at the technology, but wasted no time messing around with it.

I played various shoot em up scenarios, brawling scenarios, and miscellaneous scenarios such as detective work and ghost hunting. The latter was bizzare to have as a training program, but the one that felt natural and the most fun, was the sword fighting one. The controllers had a bizzare way of making themselves heavier to simulate the weight of objects, which made this simulation felt real. I always chose the claymore and would defeat wave, after wave of ememy vikings, knights, and so on.

When i had enough, i pulled off the headset and adjusted my eyes to everything. I was sweaty and gross, but i had a blast doing everything and i got a great workout too.

The four kings suddenly appeared and applauded, startling me to death in the process.

"JESUS!! You have GOT to stop popping up so suddenly!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart race.

"Our apologies, your form was rough, but highly effective! Your aim was true and steady as well with the firearms! However, the thing that intrigued me the most, was how you handled a sword, and a claymore no less! Have you wielded a sword of that caliber before?" Kunzite asked.

"Well....no actually! It just felt natural and i wanted the big sword, ya know?" I said casually.

"Natural talent in swordsmanship! Remarkable! Maybe we shall focus on that and peak your skills in that department!" Jaedite said with excitement.

"I dunno, i wanna have a diverse pallete of skills, not just swordsmanship. Plus, where am i gonna get a sword?" I said.

"I'm sure the king has plenty for you to use!" Zoisite said.

"Alright, but what can i use here?" I asked.

Kunzite would point to a cricket bat in the corner with all the miscellaneous sports equipment.

"Why do we even have that??" I questioned out loud.

"Who knows? But, it resembles a greatsword well enough. We'll use that!" Kunzite said.

"Can i take a break first?" I whined.

"You have to push your endurance." Nephrite said.

"But-"

"He's right. Give us some practice swings and show us what you can do with an actual "blade" if you will." Kunzite said.

I would groan but, would ultimately comply, since i had some energy left in me after the VR session.

For the rest of the night, i would train in the art of the sword.....