We're Gonna Need a Montage

Alex appeared standing on the stage in Ludos' mansion in front of the arcade machine. He looked at Ludos and Morcai and hugged them both.

"What is this? What are you doing?" Morcai said.

"It's called a hug," Alex said. "It's for emotional support."

"Ok, then why don't you do it all the time?" Morcai said.

"People think it's weird if you do it too long," Alex said.

"Like this?" Morcai said.

"Yes, like this," Alex said, laughing.

Alex broke the hug. "So how long have I been gone?"

"Well, you never physically left. Your body was still here, but your brain was gone for about 8 hours," Ludos said.

"Is that why my legs hurt so bad?" Alex said, stretching his legs. "Was I just standing the whole time?"

"Yeah," Ludos said.

"Lay me down next time," Alex said.

"Ok," Ludos said.

"So. That was too weird being stuck in someone else's body, living someone else's life," Alex said. "Can we do strength and practical skills training?"

"And combat training!" Ludos said.

"Ok, sure," Alex said.

Ludos waved her hand and an entire mini gym erected itself on the platform they were standing on. A bench press fell from the sky and pulverized the arcade machine into dust, which seemed unnecessary.

Alex, Ludos, and even Morcai spent the day weight training. They worked on bi's, tri's, and thigh's, and all the other muscles too. Alex made sure to have his telekinetic body active the whole time, so he was exercising his physical strength and his mental strength at the same time.

Most of the first day was just getting the movements right. Neither Alex nor Morcai had spent any time in a gym before. Ludos had because she liked competitive powerlifting. Anything to do with games, she was into, and sports were a form of game.

After they were done for the day, they were just sitting around. Alex thought now was a good time to address something that had been on his mind for a while, but he was too chicken to bring up.

"I'm not trying to body shame you, but is there anyway you could put some clothes on, Morcai? Your naked breasts are really distracting. I want to be professional and a good friend, but I keep thinking about you in a way I shouldn't be thinking about you." Alex said. "I hope I'm not being offensive right now."

"Alex, that's sexist!" Ludos punched Alex in the arm.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be sexist," Alex whispered. "Also, that really hurt."

"I'm not sorry," Ludos said. "You deserved it."

"Ok, I guess that's fair," Alex said.

"You think I'm naked right now?" Morcai said. "You thought I was naked this whole time and you didn't tell me to put some clothes on?"

"Uh, yes? Ludos, what's the right answer?" Alex said.

"I'm not helping you here, buddy," Ludos said. "You dug your own grave. I'm not helping you dig it further."

"I'm sorry, I thought it was a cultural thing." Alex said.

"That's an adequate answer," Morcai said. "I'm actually clothed right now. I'm wearing a suit we call Second Skin. It's form fitting and replicated from organic tissue, so it's really like a second layer of skin."

"Doesn't that just make you double naked?" Alex said.

"Our culture doesn't see it that way," Morcai said. "As long as your real first layer of skin is covered, then you aren't naked."

"Even though it looks like you're naked," Alex said.

"Even though it looks like I'm naked," Morcai said.

"I guess that's better than body paint," Alex said.

"However, for your sake, I will put on a second layer of clothing."

Ludos got it some clothes out of thin air. It was a giant t-shirt that said "I love NY!" on it and a pair of booty shorts, but the t-shirt covered the shorts.

It actually looked really cute on it, but Alex wasn't about to admit that in front of Ludos and Morcai. Alex kept thinking of Morcai as a woman, because in all aspects it looked like a woman.

'I can be a woman if you want,' Morcai thought at Alex.

'Have you been reading my mind this entire time?' Alex said.

'Maybe. But I can change my sex to a female if that's what you want,' Morcai said.

'Let's maybe revisit that in the future. You know, like during a really dramatic moment or after a near-death experience,' Alex thought.

'Ok. It doesn't have to happen. I was just letting you know the option is open,' Morcai thought.

'Thanks,' Alex thought, his face getting red.

The next day they still did weight training but it was a small portion of their day. The rest of it was filled with combat training with Ludos, and psychic training with Morcai.

Ludos kicked Alex's ass for a half an hour until he started getting the hang of it, and he started to match her moves. Despite how silly Alex was all the time, he was a quick learner and actually had athletic talent, even though he had never nurtured it.

By the end of the session, Ludos could still win if she 'turned it on' but Alex was keeping up pretty well for the most part. He hadn't gotten punched in the face for nearly an hour.

After that, it was psychic training with Morcai. They mostly practiced telepathy on each other. Morcai had some telekinetic abilities but they weren't as strong as Alex's.

Alex would extend his telepathic tendrils into Morcai's mind, and Morcai would try to push them out while Alex tried to maintain control. Then Morcai would do the same to Alex.

This would really help when Alex eventually went up against other psychics. Morcai's race was naturally psychic, as was the monstrosity that killed Alex. Morcai wasn't particularly talented in that regard compared to the higher-ups in the alien military, which was basically their whole society. Being a civilian wasn't an option for them.

For the next few days, they continued these training methods, but they added one more to the list. Alex swapped out his skills and practiced the ones he didn't normally have access to to get a feel for them.

That way, if he decided to switch to them before a fight, he wasn't using them for the first time. After a couple more days, Alex had a breakthrough. He ascended from 'Meh' to 'Not Bad'.