My Pro Boxer System

"For someone like you who is trying to master outboxing, proper footwork is a crucial element," the coach began. "When pressing forward, you move with your lead foot first. When stepping back, use your rear foot first."

He demonstrated, his movements fluid and graceful. He moved so close to me that our faces were inches apart, causing my body to jolt. In that split second, I instinctively tried to throw a punch, but he was gone before I could even raise my fist.

His speed was terrifying. Seeing him appear in front of me like a ghost made my breath hitch in my throat.

"Now I want you to do it. Don't worry about the speed; just focus on perfecting your footwork."

I took my boxing stance, my right arm stretched across my ribs to guard my midsection and my left hand up to my chin to guard my face. This movement was the same as the one used during the step-in jab, which I had spent all night practicing. My movement wasn't as fast as his, but I perfected it.

"Good, you at least know the basic movement." He glanced down at the floor, which was glowing a bright cyan color. "These tiles are designed to mimic the movements of professional boxers."

The glowing tiles below my feet began shifting slightly, making it a struggle just to keep my balance.

"If you don't adapt to the movements, you'll fall. If you don't distribute your weight properly, you'll fall. If you fall…"

"I die. I I get it."

"Just follow the movements of the tiles. If you can do that, you'll be fine!" Alexa shouted.

The tiles on the ground were like small rectangular blocks. The ones glowing bright blue shifted slightly beneath my feet, slowly picking up speed. In order not to fall, I had to move with them.

"It goes without saying that while you follow the movement of the tiles, you should keep your boxing stance. Shadow boxing while you're moving will help you a lot."

The exercise wasn't as hard as I thought, and I gradually got used to it. I continued the training until I felt a light burning in my calves and upper thighs from all the movement. Minutes passed, and I continued nonstop. My fists crackled through the air as I threw a flurry of jabs while bouncing back and forth, aligning my movements with the tiles.

I had a huge smile on my face; moving like this while throwing jabs, for the first time, I felt like a real boxer. Alexa and the coach's eyes locked onto me, watching every movement I made, every stumble, every hiccup.

After a while, my breath grew ragged, causing my movements to become sloppy. My ankle twisted and my head hit the ground with a sharp thud. Before I knew it, blood was smeared over the tiles. My forehead stung, as blood trailed its way into my eyes. 

The tiles stopped moving offering me a moment of peace. I shook my head, trying to clear my blurry vision. The coach tossed me a piece of cloth, which I used to wipe the blood from my face.

"You must learn to control your breathing. You run eight miles every morning, but you still can't last thirty minutes on this. In a boxing match, it will be much worse since your body will be in a constant state of adrenaline. In boxing, or in any sport for that matter, we rely on rhythm. It's the same when you run, but your body does it unconsciously. For now, we'll adjust to your pace. Since you can only last fifteen minutes, you'll practice for fifteen minutes and then rest for five minutes."

"If you fall at any time during the fifteen minutes, we will not stop, and if you end up being thrown off this platform as a result, then so be it," Alexa interjected.

Her eyes didn't hold so much as a waver.

She really would do it!

Her hot-and-cold attitude really threw me for a loop sometimes. One moment she was making me lunch and praising me for my hard work, and the next she was threatening to kill me if I didn't work harder.

My training continued for hours, with me taking breaks every fifteen minutes. It was the same for the following days, except I would be taking breaks every hour instead. The training got harder too; at times, the blue tiles would suddenly turn red and shoot up into the air off the platform, where they would fall into the abyss below.

At first, there was a five-second delay before the tile would launch, giving me enough time to escape. But soon it trickled down to one second. Instead of the red light, I would feel a slight vibration in the tile first before it was launched.

The goal was to keep me in touch with my surroundings and not zone out too much. Plus, it was a good exercise to build my reflexes.

For my other daily quests, I was assigned push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and planks. My muscles burned as I got down on the floor of my room to do the grueling push-ups. My arms trembled in fatigue as I finished the final set.

24… 25… 27… 28…

Suddenly, an influx of additional weight pressed down on me. Alexa sat firmly on my back, both legs crossed as she read a magazine.

"Hmm, what'd you stop for?"

I tried my best to ignore her as I dipped down low once again. With her added weight, my arms wobbled like a new born deer when it came time for me to push myself up.

I could already hear Alexa's laughter if I fell flat on my face and had to start over. The system was meticulous; if my body rested on the ground or if I performed the exercise incorrectly, I would have to start from scratch.

Fighting with every ounce of strength I had, my body slowly began to rise as my muscles protested.

"One more."

My body fell faster than it rose; it was a struggle just not to collapse to the ground. Sweat trickled down my face and onto my nose, plopping onto the floor. My muscles burned as I willed my stubborn body to continue.

I gritted my teeth as I summoned one last burst of energy to finish the final set.

"Thirty, good job."

My arms collapsed right then and there, my muscles spasming. My eyes closed as I slowly began to drift off from exhaustion.

Snap, snap.

The sound of Alexa snapping her fingers briefly made its way into my consciousness, but I slowly began to drift away again.

"Come on, wake up! You haven't even done the sit-ups or the two-minute plank yet."

Seeing that her words had no effect on me, she began bouncing up and down on my back, crushing my ribs against the floor in the process. I jolted awake and shook her off like a dog shaking water from its fur.

"Get off of me." I shouted. Looking at her, I couldn't help but wonder...

"Remind me again why you're here?" I asked.

She folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel hording nuts.

"To save your sorry ass from mediocrity, obviously. We have important training today, you know?"

"More footwork training?" I said tiredly. It was all we had been doing for the past four days.

"No!"

"Hmm?"

"We have a special strength training session in mind for you today."

An ominous grin rose on her face that left me to wandering.

What fresh hell is she planning to throw me into this time.