An engine roars to life that echoes throughout the castle's halls. Reece pulls back from a newly formed train station that'd appeared into reality from a picturesque image he has in mind. It's one he'd seen before, doing some recycling to save time felt right to as one thing is clear with him.
"I have no idea how these kinds of trains work." Reece blankly says looking out on his recreation of this old train station memory.
"Eh?? You don't?? Then how did you make this one..." The projection of his system shifting her gaze between him and the train in sheer confusion.
"I'm assuming this place is filling in the blanks with what I know about car engines and its own logic." Reece shrugs as he walks up to his train platform.
His footsteps echo against this station's polished and granite tile floors. A massive clock watches over the area on a central wall with its hands frozen pointing at twelve. Reece moves through empty gates towards automatically opening train doors. He takes in the hazel hue of the recreated railway that he could see down the tunnel being expanded slowly.
"Where did you even pull this place from?" The system asks as she drifts behind him.
An emotion washed over Reece when asked about this place. It was a shade of embarrassment at something rather personal. "It's uh... It's something I wrote about, this is the grand station of that setting's main city."
"Oh! You should tell me about the story sometime!" The system chirps into Reece's ear with an innocent smile.
'I must NEVER tell her that story was a shitty fantasy romance story...' He produces a strained smile and nods to his companion. The dreadful thought of him telling her a story he's not exactly proud about writing sends shivers down his small spine.
Inside the train car were panels with ornate panels carved from oak and a dark tinted finish. The carpet has a hazel color along with a golden yellow pattern forming a decorated path along the walkway. Each booth had a nigh luxury cushion for their seats, picking a specific spot would be hard so Reece decided on the nearest one.
"This was a great idea! I think the train tracks are already spreading throughout your castle, Reece." The system settles over seats facing towards him and looks out through its windows.
"That's odd... But it might be the castle filling in gaps my mind would naturally do?" Reece turned his gaze over towards what his system was looking at. He hums a bit, coming up with an idea. "After some training, I should decorate the tunnels a bit."
"I look forward to seeing what you make! It'll be nice to have some scenery while on the train." The system perks up at Reece's idea. She gives this joyful expression towards him.
Reece could only smile and nod at his system companion as their brief train ride came to end. The station it rolled into matches the last one completely except for a presence of a roman numeral for two placed above the gates. It's gilded with imaginary gold markings when this place was manifested from the castle.
The pair walked through a door left to his training hall's entrance. Reece moves up at where the divide between this facility's control room and training zone rests. His system went towards its control pad and began her work as the assigned course manager. She's a bit overexcited turning on the first training course for Reece.
A shift starts within the empty hall causes its floor to open up into a vast pool of water. This narrow platform raises up before several gaps made for jumping challenges form then swinging pillars with some padding comes out of the ceiling. Reece studies it for a moment as a smile forms on his face.
"Classic, I remember watching shows like this on the orphanage old television." Reece says as he stretches looking out at the course in front of him.
"If it helps, great! Just so you know, don't slow down." The system announces from behind while giving a thumbs up that Reece can't see.
Reece leans down to place his hands on the floor into a pose he's seen from runners on TV. He mouths a countdown starting at three then springing forward reaching one. His body moved faster than expected. In fact, he felt the air flowing through his hair as this speed pushed him towards the first swinging pillar.
He barely moves behind its current downwards arc but there's a gap in the platform right behind that pillar. Reece boosts himself off from that edge with a strained grunt, using all his current strength inside this small body to reach the other side completely.
At the moment his foot hits the solid floor is him sprinting towards the next challenge. A series of pillars each with a unique rhythm from each other. Reece was forced to speed up as his current momentum would lead him running into the pillar's swing leading it to just barely grazing his tail. Once that one was cleared, the next rapidly came up but it was thankfully already in a position favorable to him.
'With my newly found speed, I'm only at a decent risk with them but this next one...' Reece looked at the next trial with his studious eyes. 'Those pillars were too slow for the system's warning, could this be it?'
The final challenge that approached him was the main platform breaking into many smaller ones with a wavy pattern. He felt this flow leaping between them that one of the facts about these platforms, when any weight applied to them causes a collapse! His momentum carried him across before he could.
'I'm making it!' Reece's expression widens into a grin as he makes one last major grin. Suddenly, an ominous feeling spreads from his gut as his instinct kicks in. 'Wait a minute, this jump... from how I did that last challenge-'
He felt it, that last jump weakened his speed briefly compared to during the last trial. That couldn't have any consequences finally being in the final stretch of this course- Reece hears a spring mechanism trigger- "Fu-"
A spring-loaded boxer glove which dwarfed his small body sent him flying off the long platform and into the water below. He floated there in total silence while gazing at the training hall's ceiling in total defeat. One thought flowed through his mind.... "What an absolute joke."
"Told you, I toooooold yooou." The system says appearing besides Reece and resting in the air inches away from the water.
"You just gave me an ominous warning, that tells me nothing..." Reece sighs before standing up and that water turns into a soft floor. He walks back towards the start of the training hall. "It does show me where I get cocky, so I'll give you that credit."
The system grins happily at this outcome even if Reece spoke the truth about her warning to him or not. This being radiated just joy of fulfilling a purpose given to her by him. Something strange happens within his head, an odd sense of joy hits his mind but that quickly fades.
'I guess we're really roommates in that sense.' Reece rubs the side of his hair as he reaches the dry floor, an exhale leaves his lips moving back to the starting line.
"Starting all over again? I only really prepared one trick for this course, It's going to be much easier now." The system blinks over to her control pad with a curious gaze at Reece.
"Yeah, figuring out how I messed up managing my momentum is going to be important during high speed action." He shrugs as he tilts his head to the side for some of the water stuck in that ear. "We'll be here for a hot minute, sorry."
"Hehe, It's all good! That just tells me I'm doing a good job at helping your growth." The system chirps being excited with this idea. She pushes an icon that causes this course to reset. "Now my warning is to avoid the glove! It hits slow people."
Reece rolls his neck again, that impact didn't hurt anything but all the feeling was seemingly real. It's sore where that trap smacked into. He laughs with newly found excitement, the system's feelings are much more infectious than he expected. "I know very well now but It'll never get me again, that's a promise."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, I'll take photos of it!" The system cackles in response, gaining more spirit with her words.
Reece then wiped out ten more times to his amusement and his companion has begun to set up a hologram wall of shame for him. At the eleventh try, he stands victorious over a simple jumping challenge but his little legs feel like he's been leaping over a moon. He turns towards the system with a thumbs up. "Never again."
He says while beginning his walk back to his bedroom being deflated at how poorly training had actually gone for him. Reece sighs remembering how simple being a bookworm was.