Mindless Beasts

The door opened and the couple walked in unannounced.

Khaldun greeted the old man, "gym leader Betton, I brought Sly to meet you as promised."

The old man wrinkled his nose Khalduns close smelled of dried blood and sweat and it was clear he was exhausted.

The Gym Leader tossed Khaldun a bottle of water which the alpha opened right away.

"Hurry up and go take a shower, before my office reeks of your blood and sweat. I’ll just take a few minutes to get to know the young man better while we wait."

Khaldun laughed but slid out the room but not before grabbing a handful of snacks and three more water bottles on his way out.

"Hello, Sly Foxx. I’m Audley Betton, owner of this spirit fighter gym and a good friend of Khaldun’s family since I also trained General Wolfe when he was young."

In this Interstellar world, with the advent of technology and medicine it was not uncommon for healthy citizens to live past two hundred years old.

Mr. Betton said, "Khaldun has asked me to assist with your training and help you to get ready for the upcoming trials at Paradise Military Academy. Do you feel ready for it?"

"Not at all, Sir." Sly Fox laughed, "I’m practically new at everything. Since I’m young I wish I could wait a little longer to make decisions because everything just feels so rushed with all this overwhelming pressure. I wish I was more like Khaldun with all that energy and ambition."

Something about the man’s countenance made Sly want to talk; perhaps Mr. Betton reminded him of his grandparents whom Sly missed dearly.

It wasn’t like Sly to easily open up to strangers; being at Paradise Military Academy was already changing his life and affecting him in more ways than one.

Mr. Betton asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Sly shook his head.

"Good. Hope you like meatloaf and roasted vegetables and for dessert it’s my wife’s homemade apple pie. Come over to the side table."

Mr. Betton pressed a button and what looked like a wall actually was painted wood that slid open and led to a smaller room where there was a seating area with tables, chairs and cabinets.

"Hurry up and set the dinner table for three, everything you need is in the cabinets to the side."

Sly hurried to do as he was told while Mr. Betton collected the delivered food and had the staff put the trays of food on the table.

"I only leave Sly with you for a few minutes Gramps and you’ve already put him to work." Khaldun laughed.

"The meatloaf smells great, what kind of dipping sauce is this for the vegetables?" Khaldun sniffed the suspicious looking green sauce, aware of his gymmaster’s love of spicy food. "Sly dont touch this if you want the use of your tastebuds after."

Sly smiled wistfully, seeing Khaldun looking happy and relaxed touched something deep within, it almost felt like a family of three enjoying a simple evening meal.

"Gramps you forgot the juice again."

"Drink water," barked Mr. Betton candidly.

They relaxed and watched the news after dinner and then it was time for the real reason they came to see Mr. Betton.

Warm up was some light sprinting, which wasn’t even his top speed but simply had to suffice.

Since this was his first time at a Spirit Fighter Gym both Mr. Betton and Khaldun agreed that they would start by measuring Sly’s initial strengths.

Only by taking these measurements would they be able to accurately calculate Sly progress after each training session.

They led Sly over to a simple looking machine they called "punch daddy" it was a common machine found in all spirit fighter gyms used to test the strength of the challenger’s fist.

It was located out of the way in the farthest corner of the training hall so they didn’t have to worry about prying eyes.

In the spirit fighter world it was mandatory that all combatants get regularly tested, rich or poor, alpha, beta or omega, beginner, intermediate or advanced.

All fighters had to test the strength of their fist on this machine and the data was immediately collected and shared worldwide throughout the interstellar and beyond.

Khaldun without stepping on the machine did a simple demonstration then it was Sly’s turn.

Feeling nervous for some strange reason, Sly took a deep breath before stepping on the device that reminded Sly of a treadmill with a punching bag attached.

After calming his nerves, he inhaled deeply when he felt the tension leave his body only then did Sly attempt the move that Khaldun showed him.

His posture was correct, his eyes were fixed on the punching bag, it was just like releasing a tense bow string.

Sly thrust forward with all his might, his feet no longer trembling nor shifted but stood firm supporting his full weight.

This strengthened and positioned Sly’s upper torso confidently as he violently flung his right fist forward with all his might even disturbing Mimosa’s sleep for a second.

In a graceful arc, Sky’s fist flew.

It was a powerful punch that rocked the sand bag; the wind behind his punch even ruffled Khaldun’s unsuspecting hair.

To say it stunned everybody, even Sly himself was an understatement; they all watched the machine.

Especially concentrating on the part when Sly Foxx’s fist smashed against the sand bag that shook the entire machine like it experienced an earthquake.

750.

This number was displayed on the machine’s screen.

"Not bad," said Mr. Betton. "Just 50 short of the past mark to become a beginner fighter with your looks no one was expecting you to even clear half of that, you have potential boy."

"What did I tell you, gramps, with a little more polish Sly can more than qualify to be my exclusive guide," teased Khaldun.

The buffed alpha laughed and clapped.

This was only the start, the speed test was up next and the last test of all was to throw Sly in the fight ring with an alien monster.

In this world only by defeating an actual monster in a real fight without any help were you able to be listed amongst the greats.

Khaldun knew that if Sly knew what he was saving for last he would run towards the exit as if his life depended on it.

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