Chapter 33
Ryker
With Amy's last statement, Ruby spoke up and assumed a more serious tone. “Ryker, it is of utmost importance that you do not reveal to anyone that Red is not me and that I have implanted myself into you. If the empire were to catch wind of our situation, we would both be in grave danger.”
I gave Ruby a mental nod, then answered Amy’s question. “Ha! Good one. You know how erratic Ruby's behavior can be. Speaking of Ruby. Why do you call her Red anyway?”
I did my best to play coy, which must have been pretty convincing since Amy gave me a small shrug, then leaned over and extended her hand down to help me up while answering. “From the moment I woke up after the awakening, Ruby had assumed her child-like form again. When I called her Ruby, she insisted I call her Red and refused to answer any questions unless referred to as such. Not to mention one minute she treated you like you were her soulmate and now like you are the father she never had. Definitely a screw loose there if you ask me.”
I reached up and locked arms with Amy and marveled at how solid her grip felt. She effortlessly pulled me to my feet with Red still in tow. I gave an understanding look and said, “Thanks. Yeah, she is an odd duck for sure. We shouldn't worry about her so much and focus more on using our time to grow as strong as we can as fast as we can.”
Ruby's avatar listened intently as she digitally cuddled Red, and oddly enough, Red seemed to be able to perceive Ruby's intangible presence in my vision and was leaning into her caresses. When Amy made the comment about Ruby having a screw loose, her avatar leapt to her feet and turned a deep purple color before her arms split down the middle, and two ominous barrels appeared and aimed directly at Amy. A sound of something charging and a bright white glow started to build at the ends of her weapons while muttering “i’ll show you screw loose” when Silvar's form walked into my vision behind Ruby and casually pulled his walking stick over her head and across her throat, bodily dragging her out of frame, punching, kicking, and spitting profanity all the way.
As I did my best to ignore the ever-present distraction that was Ruby's existence, I looked down at Red and asked, “Red, I think it is time we got started with our training. Do you have a regimen set up for us?”
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Red snapped out of her doting daughter state, lept from her perch on my shoulders, and quickly responded in a robotic cadence. “Of course, Ryker. I have a strict schedule that must be adhered to in order for you to gain a sufficient amount of strength before we insert you into the Pyramid.” Red clapped her hands, and the wall of the dojo next to us distorted, revealing a bulleted schedule.
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Daily Schedule
* 0400 Wake up reveille
* 0400-0430 Hygiene
* 0430-0500 Nutritional intake
* 0500-1000 Gym
* 1000-1500 Individualize training
* 1500-1530 Nutritional intake
* 1530-2000 Gym
* 2000-2030 Nutritional intake
* 2030-2300 Sparing
* 2300-0000 Recovery
* 0000-0400 Sleep
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The two of us just gaped at the list uncomprehendingly. Red noticed our hesitation and inquired, “Is there an issue with the schedule? If it's not enough, I will be happy to amend your routine. I am sure we can squeeze an extra hour of training in somewhere.”
A sinking feeling in our guts settled there like a stone, and our dumbfounded looks of disbelief changed to that of horror. I got ahold of myself and elbowed Amy in the side before saying, “No, no, no. That won't be necessary, Red. This looks like plenty of training. I honestly have no idea how you expect us to be able to keep up that kind of pace for one whole day, let alone for 2 years.”
Ruby leaned against a stone pillar next to the dojo's entrance and rubbed her chin in a sagely manner before saying, “When you were on earth, a training schedule like this would quickly lead to severe injury and ultimately death, but now you are made of tougher stuff, and with your awakening comes benefits. Your passive absorption of vital energy has left you with a body that is more resilient in nearly every way. You require less sleep, less rest, less time to heal, and to top things off, you no longer age. But do not worry, you will have a chance to test yourself soon enough.”
With that proclamation, Red pushed herself off the pillar back to a standing position and reached out her hand palm up, and an old school analog alarm clock appeared in her hands. The kind that had a metal hammer between two bells sitting atop it. The time on it read 03:47, and Red grinned as she spoke. “You two better get ready, the fun starts in 13 minutes.”