Although the academy didn't have many students compared to places that would focus on academic studies, or those academies that would accept anyone as long as they were an Altered, but for some reason the AFA was incredibly large.
This was due to a number of reasons, one of them being the multiple training facilities they would have. While others thought that the academy did more than just train people, using facilities such as labs and such for other companies.
A little ways away from the main area, past the main field, there was quite a large square-like building that would look more like the outside of a swimming facility if it was in another place, but there was no swimming going on inside. Instead all that could be heard was just loud grunts.
“Harder! Each punch needs to be as strong as your first!” Eddy shouted, clapping his hands.
Several loud bangs were heard, echoing and going off one after the other, as Eddy looked at his students and gave them a nod. Right now, he was training the debut students. They were in a special facility designed just for them.
Currently all were present, Xin, Ryan, Shingi as well as the others, and they were on a green like astro turf grass, punching a large punching bag. It wasn't a regular bag, and in fact it was even tougher and heavier than the ones they had at the academy.
On top of that, they were on a special system. Each time they would punch a bag, it would move away on a pulley system. When it stopped, a red mark would be left where the bag reached and it would then start to come back.
Each time the bag came back, the students were to hit it again as hard as they could, either getting the same distance as they did before, or surpassing it. This was why Eddy was able to see if the punches they were doing now were just as strong as their first.
All of them were drenched in sweat, and as Xin saw the bag come back her way, she mustered up the strength again, and threw out a punch hitting it hard, sending it three quarters of the entire length of the room they were in.
Ryan, looking to his right, could see that Xin’s punch was the furthest.
‘How can she still hit it that hard, even after going at it for 20 minutes.’
Ryan's altered form was somewhat similar to a gorilla, and being like that, he had extreme power even when he wasn't transformed into his Altered state. At first, his punch had gone further than Xin’s. It wasn’t by much but it was a win in Ryan’s eyes.
However, as this test went on he started to realise, after ten minutes he could no longer hit it as hard as he could before, not reaching his red marker, yet Xin was still hitting hers.
‘It doesn’t look like she’s pulling her punches either. I guess that's just Xin, she’s on another level compared to us.’
Thinking about this, as Ryan saw the bag come back to him, he really wanted to hit the red marker he had made before, and as he threw his hand he started to draw out power, his forearm grew slightly and his knuckles growing slightly harrier as he hit the bag, and sent the bag flying, past his original red marker.
“RYAN!” Eddy shouted, as he pressed a button and reset the marker back to where it was before. “I told you already, that you are not to use your Altered forms. You have to build a strong foundation without your forms.
“Improving your natural body is the first step to allowing you to bring out everything you can in your Altered forms. When transformed, you rely on that state, so it's hard to train your Altered state, but by building your everyday state, your Altered state will improve with it!” Eddy nodded his head up and down proud of his lecture.
The lesson went on for a while, until everyone collapsed on the ground out of breath and worn out, apart from Xin. She was breathing deep breaths but still at a slow rhythm.
She had taken in a breath as the bag came towards her, then at the right time exhaled out as she punched it once again hitting the red marker.
“I… just don’t understand her.” Ryan said, taking deep breaths in between.
“Alright!” Eddy clapped. “That is enough with that, you all did well, let's rest up for now and then we will get to the next training session.”
Xin walked over to the others and then equally, just like them, she sat on the floor and started drinking heaps of water, it was clear that she was actually tired, but it was just, while the training session was going on, she had this fierce look in her eyes that she was able to switch on and off.
“Come on, you got to tell me what juice you're on?” Ryan said, throwing her a snack bar to eat.
Catching it, Xin quickly dropped it to the ground.
“I'm not on anything, it's just… in each of these training sessions. I give it my all no matter what, no matter how exhausted I feel.”
Everyone wanted to hear what Xin had to say, but they too felt like they were giving it their all, it was just their body wasn't letting them. It wasn't the answer they were looking for.
“Okay, then let me ask you this instead, what pushes you to work so hard?” Ryan asked. “And don't flake out like you usually do. Whenever I ask this question you just give me a fake answer and just duck out, but it's clear you wanted to be part of the AFC for a reason.”
Thinking about this question, for Xin there was more than one reason, but how to explain that her father was an overprotective person due to his position, that he thought his daughter was weak?
On top of that, she would always be compared to her brother, who she cared for dearly, but wished to be on the same level as him, or at least surpass his achievements, which was a big ask for anybody.
“I want to be free.” Xin answered. “I want to live a life where I can walk the streets, go to whatever city I like and do as I wish. To do that without having anyone to look out for me or worry for me, then I would have to become the best right?”
“Wow!” One of the others said. “Well, that's a better answer than mine, I'm just doing it because I want to become famous. I mean after a few matches in the AFC, then I can go get an acting job or something.”
“We can see why you're the first one to collapse then.” Ryan joked.
“I wonder what his reason is for being here.” Shingi mumbled. “I wonder how he would have done on the test as well.”
“Who are you talking about?” Ryan asked.
Shaking his hands, Shingi looked to be on the defensive.
“Oh, no one, just forget about it.”
“No come on, just say who it is you were thinking about. Who’s caught your eye?” Ryan asked again.
Looking down, Shingi really didn’t want to say the name of said person, because of what happened, but he also knew that Ryan would keep pressuring him until he got an answer out of him.
“It was Gary…” Shingi said.
After saying it, everyone went a bit quiet. They all knew it was a taboo subject around Ryan, as it reminded them all of what happened during that match.
“It's alright guys, I'm over it, I promise. You don’t have to treat his name like he's some bogeyman around me.” Ryan laughed and the others laughed nervously around him.
“Oh really.” Eddy said, having just come out from the side. “That's a good thing then. I was worried that if he accepted the invitation to join us, you would have been affected, but now that I’ve heard this, it might motivate you to work even harder.”
“What? You asked a student that's barely been here a couple of weeks to join us!” one of the others shouted.
“Will you all calm down, he said no anyway.” Eddy folded his arms. “That also reminds me, Xin I might need to speak to you later on… about him.”
The others were certainly interested to know what this was about. Why would she and Gary be involved? They had stayed away from the subject so far as to not annoy Ryan but now he said he was okay with it.
“Enough, we don't need to know about that.” Ryan said red faced, trying to change the subject, what he hated more than talking about Gary was talk about Gary and Xin. “Speaking of, teacher, do you know why Jayden Tiger was at the academy?”
“Jayden is here!” Xin almost jumped up. It was a secret to everyone that it was her brother, but why didn't he come see his sister? She thought, folding her arms.
“Yeah, I thought he might be coming over to train us for a bit or something?” Ryan asked.
“Oh really, I guess I should look into it.” Eddy said with a smile, wondering what was going on right now.
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