The hovercar finally touched down in the parking of the Chain Training Hall. Despite being a public government office, the building was more like a skyscraper with a hundred floors all having full glass-pane windows.
Since they were in a hover car, the parking was at the top of the building for easy entrance and exit. As soon as they touched down, men in service uniforms immediately opened the doors for them and guided them to the elevator of the building while a valet took the car and parked it somewhere inside.
“See that? We don’t need a bus or the subway, we don’t even need to park the hovercar ourselves,” Beatrice bragged while they were inside the elevator.
The top of the floor was reserved for professional Dreamers who needed their specialized equipment to test their strengths without destroying everything around them. The elevator attendant took note of their youth and immediately went down to the second floor designed for high school students. That floor was calibrated to the strength of Aspirants.
“Welcome back, Miss Alexandria Von Chromich and Miss Beatrice Ferdinand. I see that you have new friends.” The attendant looked at Sam and Patty. “Have you visited the Training Hall before?” she asked them.
Patty shook his head, seemingly disinterested in whatever facilities they had to offer. Conversely, Sam looked like a kid in a candy store. He couldn’t wait to see what kind of training rooms they had. He couldn’t contain his excitement and asked the attendant.
“Do you have ‘Pop King: The Definitive Idol Simulator?’”
The attendant smiled and said, “Yes. We have the newer version of the game that can be played in a fully immersive game pod that can be used for up to 24 hours in real-time. Your popularity score in the game can be tracked and compared to other people in the leaderboard.”
This game was one of those simulator games where you are dropped inside a story and are given the objective of surviving the hellish idol training phase and finally debuting either in a group or as a solo artist. This game was praised for being realistic enough to judge high-ranking gamers to have real potential in the real world to become real idols. They had everything in this game from creating songs, memorizing dances, meeting with fans, and even an unpredictable scandal event where your popularity dives down to its lowest and it’s your job to bring it back up.
“If you are not planning on going the Fame Route, then we also have facilities and games for the Money Route.”
“Do you have Interstellar Hegemony of the Stars?” asked Xandra.
“Yes, Miss Alexandria. We have just acquired rights to install that game on our servers.”
That game was also a fully immersive game where you are in charge of an interstellar race of merchants, and the goal of the game was to gain as much money as possible while a Universal war erupted across the galaxy. This game was a lot more technical as it involved complicated tactics to gather resources, and trade them, all the while pirates try to loot your cargo. Xandra was forced to play this game for as long as she could remember, with the Matriarch saying that it was good practice for real life.
“Would you like to try and break your record, Miss Xandra?”
“Never.”
“Bob, Bam, Sam, or whatever your name is. Do you want to try out the Pop King: The Definitive Idol Simulator?” asked Beatrice.
Only VIP members could access fully immersive games of the Training Hall. Sam tried to become a VIP, but it turned out that he needed a recommendation from a VIP member before he could join. He thought he’d never get the chance to try out this new game. He needed to immerse himself in everything Fame Route-related because he wanted to be a lawyer in the future.
“Really?”
“Yes. Bye,” Beatrice said as she stopped the elevator and kicked Sam off into the immersive game pod before she closed the door behind him. She needed to separate Sam from Patty because he was going to be a thorn in her plans.
“Attendant, put us on the Power Route.” Beatrice was getting impatient.
The attendant quickly pushed the button and let the elevator descend to the second level where the physical amenities and facilities were located. Immediately, the smell of sweat and iron entered their noses.
“Why are we here?” Xandra asked.
“I just want to test out my physical strength, is there something wrong with that?” Beatrice said casually. But Xandra knew her too well to not know that she was planning something in her mind.
The room was divided into two halls. The hall on the left contained rooms that were completely isolated and private. Those who wanted to train by themselves and without other random people picked this room so that they could have it all to themselves. The only problem was that the rooms were limited, so only VIP members were allowed to rent a room. This should have been no problem for Xandra and Beatrice because both of them were VIPs.
But Beatrice instead chose the hall on the right where there were no rooms, just one big hall where everyone trained publicly. People were lifting weights and exercising on one side, people were competing in indoor sports on the other, and there was one big treadmill at the very end that was almost as wide as half of the room itself. The end of the treadmill was obscured by a dark curtain, and there was a scoreboard at the very top.
That treadmill was where most of the people congregated. It was such a crowded place, which people like Xandra and Beatrice usually avoided, but this time, Beatrice headed straight for it.
“I can do level 10, but level 20 is almost impossible.”
“Of course, you can’t. You’ll be in the top twenty if you can beat level 20.”
“The last time someone broke into the top ten was when Felix D’Macchio showed up out of nowhere and placed himself in the top 5.”
“Hah! Just wait till I try it!” One of the young men, about the same age as Patty and the others, was eager to try out his strength. He was shirtless, showing off the slightly developed muscles he was so proud of.
“Ahem,” Beatrice suddenly coughed and caught the attention of everyone who gathered at the wide treadmill, including the very arrogant young man.
“Beatrice! Xandra! I didn’t know you two would go here,” he said as he walked over the two of them as if he knew them personally. Xandra immediately avoided his ‘friendly’ hug and walked away from him. Meanwhile, Beatrice simply put a hand in between them and said, “Sorry, we’re here with someone else.”
Even without saying anything, the guy knew that Patty was the guy they were with. He immediately frowned and eyed Patty up and down, analyzing Patty’s physical prowess compared to himself. Immediately, he felt no threat from Patty. He was sitting on a rolling chair, he wore a baggy white shirt that didn’t show any of his muscles–if he had any–and he had no sort of masculinity and alpha energy as he had.
“Hah!” the guy scoffed. “You’re with this guy? Why don’t you go with a real man and join me and my friends over here!”
The ‘alpha’ guy put himself in between Patty and Xandra, making sure to isolate him from the two beauties. Patty didn’t react to that! Patty was helpless as he took his two girls away from him without any effort. What a sissy! The alpha guy didn’t even consider Patty as a man, and only as a rock that he could kick away without any problem.
Patty must have only been a friend, the alpha guy thought. He was not a romantic rival at all. The alpha guy was always attracted to Xandra and Beatrice because the two of them were peak beauties that would cement his status as the Alpha student of the class. If other people saw him have a flower in each hand, they would bow to him in defeat!
“Xandra, Beatrice! Watch me as I break through to the top 20 leaderboards of Seize the Flag! Only a man could do that, not some weak-ass pansy like some other people,” he said as he pointed at Patty.
Seize the Flag was a minigame in the training hall that only had one objective: capture the flag at the end of the treadmill. Of course, at the first level, you only had to sprint and beat the treadmill’s speed to reach the flag at the end. However, at the tenth level, there would be an insurmountable wall that would block you from reaching the flag. You would have to burst through the wall with your strength.
Because of the alpha guy’s training, he was able to breeze through the first ten levels, with his top speed reaching 27 miles per hour!
The eleventh level was the start of the problem. A solid wall that looked like layered steel was in front of the guy, speeding toward him and knocking him off the treadmill in a few seconds if he didn’t do anything.
“B-class Non-newtonian Cloudy Armor!” The guy shouted his own Teqx power as if he were a television character showing off his final move.
Mist and gas suddenly seeped out of the guy’s pores and solidified into a solid cloud around his arms and legs, making enlarged muscles and armor. With all of his strength, the guy punched the steel wall, with the clouds on his body paradoxically becoming more solid as it encountered the resistance from the wall.
It didn’t take much effort as the wall exploded as steel shrapnel blew out of the large hole in the middle. The wall looked as if a giant bullet had pierced through the steel! The guy wasn’t surprised as he ran through the hole and captured the flag behind it.
“See that, you weakling! You don’t deserve these beautiful girls, only a man like me could satisfy beauties of this level! Witness the strength of a man that is equivalent to 30-fold Damascus Steel!”
The hovercar finally touched down in the parking of the Chain Training Hall. Despite being a public government office, the building was more like a skyscraper with a hundred floors all having full glass-pane windows.
Since they were in a hover car, the parking was at the top of the building for easy entrance and exit. As soon as they touched down, men in service uniforms immediately opened the doors for them and guided them to the elevator of the building while a valet took the car and parked it somewhere inside.
“See that? We don’t need a bus or the subway, we don’t even need to park the hovercar ourselves,” Beatrice bragged while they were inside the elevator.
The top of the floor was reserved for professional Dreamers who needed their specialized equipment to test their strengths without destroying everything around them. The elevator attendant took note of their youth and immediately went down to the second floor designed for high school students. That floor was calibrated to the strength of Aspirants.
“Welcome back, Miss Alexandria Von Chromich and Miss Beatrice Ferdinand. I see that you have new friends.” The attendant looked at Sam and Patty. “Have you visited the Training Hall before?” she asked them.
Patty shook his head, seemingly disinterested in whatever facilities they had to offer. Conversely, Sam looked like a kid in a candy store. He couldn’t wait to see what kind of training rooms they had. He couldn’t contain his excitement and asked the attendant.
“Do you have ‘Pop King: The Definitive Idol Simulator?’”
The attendant smiled and said, “Yes. We have the newer version of the game that can be played in a fully immersive game pod that can be used for up to 24 hours in real-time. Your popularity score in the game can be tracked and compared to other people in the leaderboard.”
This game was one of those simulator games where you are dropped inside a story and are given the objective of surviving the hellish idol training phase and finally debuting either in a group or as a solo artist. This game was praised for being realistic enough to judge high-ranking gamers to have real potential in the real world to become real idols. They had everything in this game from creating songs, memorizing dances, meeting with fans, and even an unpredictable scandal event where your popularity dives down to its lowest and it’s your job to bring it back up.
“If you are not planning on going the Fame Route, then we also have facilities and games for the Money Route.”
“Do you have Interstellar Hegemony of the Stars?” asked Xandra.
“Yes, Miss Alexandria. We have just acquired rights to install that game on our servers.”
That game was also a fully immersive game where you are in charge of an interstellar race of merchants, and the goal of the game was to gain as much money as possible while a Universal war erupted across the galaxy. This game was a lot more technical as it involved complicated tactics to gather resources, and trade them, all the while pirates try to loot your cargo. Xandra was forced to play this game for as long as she could remember, with the Matriarch saying that it was good practice for real life.
“Would you like to try and break your record, Miss Xandra?”
“Never.”
“Bob, Bam, Sam, or whatever your name is. Do you want to try out the Pop King: The Definitive Idol Simulator?” asked Beatrice.
Only VIP members could access fully immersive games of the Training Hall. Sam tried to become a VIP, but it turned out that he needed a recommendation from a VIP member before he could join. He thought he’d never get the chance to try out this new game. He needed to immerse himself in everything Fame Route-related because he wanted to be a lawyer in the future.
“Really?”
“Yes. Bye,” Beatrice said as she stopped the elevator and kicked Sam off into the immersive game pod before she closed the door behind him. She needed to separate Sam from Patty because he was going to be a thorn in her plans.
“Attendant, put us on the Power Route.” Beatrice was getting impatient.
The attendant quickly pushed the button and let the elevator descend to the second level where the physical amenities and facilities were located. Immediately, the smell of sweat and iron entered their noses.
“Why are we here?” Xandra asked.
“I just want to test out my physical strength, is there something wrong with that?” Beatrice said casually. But Xandra knew her too well to not know that she was planning something in her mind.
The room was divided into two halls. The hall on the left contained rooms that were completely isolated and private. Those who wanted to train by themselves and without other random people picked this room so that they could have it all to themselves. The only problem was that the rooms were limited, so only VIP members were allowed to rent a room. This should have been no problem for Xandra and Beatrice because both of them were VIPs.
But Beatrice instead chose the hall on the right where there were no rooms, just one big hall where everyone trained publicly. People were lifting weights and exercising on one side, people were competing in indoor sports on the other, and there was one big treadmill at the very end that was almost as wide as half of the room itself. The end of the treadmill was obscured by a dark curtain, and there was a scoreboard at the very top.
That treadmill was where most of the people congregated. It was such a crowded place, which people like Xandra and Beatrice usually avoided, but this time, Beatrice headed straight for it.
“I can do level 10, but level 20 is almost impossible.”
“Of course, you can’t. You’ll be in the top twenty if you can beat level 20.”
“The last time someone broke into the top ten was when Felix D’Macchio showed up out of nowhere and placed himself in the top 5.”
“Hah! Just wait till I try it!” One of the young men, about the same age as Patty and the others, was eager to try out his strength. He was shirtless, showing off the slightly developed muscles he was so proud of.
“Ahem,” Beatrice suddenly coughed and caught the attention of everyone who gathered at the wide treadmill, including the very arrogant young man.
“Beatrice! Xandra! I didn’t know you two would go here,” he said as he walked over the two of them as if he knew them personally. Xandra immediately avoided his ‘friendly’ hug and walked away from him. Meanwhile, Beatrice simply put a hand in between them and said, “Sorry, we’re here with someone else.”
Even without saying anything, the guy knew that Patty was the guy they were with. He immediately frowned and eyed Patty up and down, analyzing Patty’s physical prowess compared to himself. Immediately, he felt no threat from Patty. He was sitting on a rolling chair, he wore a baggy white shirt that didn’t show any of his muscles–if he had any–and he had no sort of masculinity and alpha energy as he had.
“Hah!” the guy scoffed. “You’re with this guy? Why don’t you go with a real man and join me and my friends over here!”
The ‘alpha’ guy put himself in between Patty and Xandra, making sure to isolate him from the two beauties. Patty didn’t react to that! Patty was helpless as he took his two girls away from him without any effort. What a sissy! The alpha guy didn’t even consider Patty as a man, and only as a rock that he could kick away without any problem.
Patty must have only been a friend, the alpha guy thought. He was not a romantic rival at all. The alpha guy was always attracted to Xandra and Beatrice because the two of them were peak beauties that would cement his status as the Alpha student of the class. If other people saw him have a flower in each hand, they would bow to him in defeat!
“Xandra, Beatrice! Watch me as I break through to the top 20 leaderboards of Seize the Flag! Only a man could do that, not some weak-ass pansy like some other people,” he said as he pointed at Patty.
Seize the Flag was a minigame in the training hall that only had one objective: capture the flag at the end of the treadmill. Of course, at the first level, you only had to sprint and beat the treadmill’s speed to reach the flag at the end. However, at the tenth level, there would be an insurmountable wall that would block you from reaching the flag. You would have to burst through the wall with your strength.
Because of the alpha guy’s training, he was able to breeze through the first ten levels, with his top speed reaching 27 miles per hour!
The eleventh level was the start of the problem. A solid wall that looked like layered steel was in front of the guy, speeding toward him and knocking him off the treadmill in a few seconds if he didn’t do anything.
“B-class Non-newtonian Cloudy Armor!” The guy shouted his own Teqx power as if he were a television character showing off his final move.
Mist and gas suddenly seeped out of the guy’s pores and solidified into a solid cloud around his arms and legs, making enlarged muscles and armor. With all of his strength, the guy punched the steel wall, with the clouds on his body paradoxically becoming more solid as it encountered the resistance from the wall.
It didn’t take much effort as the wall exploded as steel shrapnel blew out of the large hole in the middle. The wall looked as if a giant bullet had pierced through the steel! The guy wasn’t surprised as he ran through the hole and captured the flag behind it.
“See that, you weakling! You don’t deserve these beautiful girls, only a man like me could satisfy beauties of this level! Witness the strength of a man that is equivalent to 30-fold Damascus Steel!”
