Training? Like Hell!

Night, in a lounge at Shatterdome Base.

Natsuki lay on a large bed.

The room was reasonably spacious and tidy, with plenty of amenities. The decorations shimmered with blue projections, giving it a distinctly cyberpunk feel. Located underground, it offered no view of the outside, but a virtual window simulated a moonlit night.

"Judging by that monster earlier..."

"The mission in this universe shouldn't be too dangerous."

Natsuki recalled the details of his earlier battle with the monster, reviewing them in his mind.

The monsters in this world were nothing like those he had fought before. They might have been enormous, but they lacked the strength to match their size.

I'll hear out the humans' detailed plan tomorrow before deciding what to do next. At the very least, I need more information first.

That was what Natsuki thought.

Then...

He turned his attention to the bracelet on his right wrist.

The black bracelet gleamed in the simulated moonlight.

[Currently bound user: Natsuki-full member of the Land of Light Space Garrison headquarters]

[Current primary mission: Investigate the anomalous spacetime fluctuations in this universe and eliminate the culprit responsible]

[Both choice missions have been settled]

[Current hell-level mind space training duration: Two hours]

[Begin training? Yes/No]

"Training?"

"Like hell!"

Natsuki waved a hand, swatting away the bracelet's panel with a look of disdain.

Giving me some stupid choice missions, then punishing me with hell-level training? I'll just ignore the whole thing!

He was so far from home that Natsuki refused to believe Hikari could reach all the way into this universe.

"Bedtime!"

Natsuki grabbed the blanket and pulled it over himself, burying his head in the soft pillow and putting those irritating matters out of his mind.

"I haven't dreamed in so, so long. Hopefully I'll have a nice dream tonight..."

With those words, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Time ticked slowly by.

Natsuki gradually lost consciousness.

It really had been a long time since he last dreamed.

Once he was sound asleep, the dream called [The Past] came for him again, just as it always had. But once again, his subconscious crushed it.

Tonight was another dreamless night.

However...

Dreams weren't the only things that came for him this time.

Something else came too.

[Evaluating mind space environment... Evaluation successful. Hell-level mind space training standards met]

[Estimated training duration: Two hours]

[Now waking user through this training program's exclusive method]

Thud!

A dull impact rang out through the pure white space.

An enraged roar followed immediately.

"WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT!!!"

Natsuki shot up from the bed like a lion roused from sleep. He glared around, searching for the culprit who had clubbed him awake, his golden eyes blazing with menace.

He looked everywhere.

He found no culprit.

Instead, his surroundings left Natsuki utterly baffled.

"Where the hell have I ended up?"

"Is this even Earth anymore???"

Natsuki stared blankly at the pure white space and scratched his head.

There was nothing in the entire space except the bed he had just been sleeping in. Only a white floor and a white ceiling stretched endlessly in every direction.

[User successfully awakened]

[Please select your primary training focus: Beam attacks/Martial arts/Psychokinesis]

[Currently mastered combat skills: Specium Ray (intermediate), Ultra Slash (intermediate), Ultra Psychokinesis (basic), Space Kenpo (basic), Ultra Barrier (basic), Crescent Light Bullet (basic), ██ Specium Ray (incomplete) (sealed)]

[Note: The skills listed above are taken from the user's former Space Garrison records. Skills that have been deregistered and can no longer be used are not displayed]

The moment he saw that panel...

Natsuki knew who was responsible for all of this.

"HIKARI!!!"

"I just wanted to sleep! Is that so much to ask!?"

Natsuki raged.

Anyone would lose their mind if they got clubbed awake halfway through their sleep. What kind of fucking person would do something like that!?

[Please make your selection promptly. If no selection is made within ten seconds, a random option will be selected automatically]

"Fuck off!"

"You still want me to choose? Choose this, you Alien Babarue!"

"Hikari, you absolute Alien Babarue!!!"

Natsuki pointed at the ceiling and cursed.

Whoever had developed this lousy bracelet was the Alien Babarue of all Alien Babarues!

Ruining his wonderful life wasn't enough-now he wasn't even allowed to sleep!

[Automatic selection enabled. Randomizing... Random selection successful]

[Current primary training focus: Psychokinesis]

[Assigning your instructor... Instructor assigned successfully!]

[Training grounds will change in thirty seconds. Please prepare]

[Note: Unless special circumstances apply, you cannot exit voluntarily before the training period ends]

"???"

Watching the bracelet's built-in system run automatically without the slightest regard for his wishes, Natsuki was momentarily too exasperated to comment.

So I really don't get any rights, huh!

"Whatever."

"Train me if you want."

"I know everyone in the Space Garrison. I refuse to believe you can drag the supreme commander over here to train me."

Natsuki decided to give up trying altogether.

He wasn't going to bother with this stupid training anymore.

He returned to the soft bed and pulled up the blanket, wearing an expression that said they could do whatever they pleased.

Soon, the thirty-second countdown ended.

The scenery changed.

Thud.

Natsuki watched the pure white space warp. A blinding flash of white light made him instinctively close his eyes, and then he felt himself hanging in midair. His comfortable bed vanished into thin air, and he fell.

"Hiss... Where the hell have I ended up this time?"

Natsuki landed on sandy ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Holding his back, he slowly got to his feet and looked around. This seemed to be some wilderness area on Earth.

Mounds of dirt of various heights surrounded him, making the place look utterly remote and desolate. A scorching sun hung overhead, baking his skin.

This is where I'm supposed to train my psychokinesis?

"This place... Why does it look so familiar?"

"I think I saw it in someone's mission records..."

Natsuki studied the surrounding dirt mounds. The longer he looked, the more familiar they seemed. Countless tire tracks marked the relatively firm ground beneath his feet.

Looking at those tire tracks, he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

He remembered going on a mission with Leo once, when Leo had told him about a painful chapter of his past...

Just as Natsuki was thinking...

Honk-honk-

A beige vehicle approached from the far end of the dirt road.

It was a jeep.

"I'M SO SCREWED!!!"