The Rookie's Resolve
"I play like a five year old..." Jaxon said to himself softly as he used the sleeves of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead. The training sessions just ended for the day and his teammates were already packing their things to call it a day.
"Alright boys! Gather up!" Coach Morgan called for his players to approach him where he stood at the center line of the training court. The players stood up from the benches with their belongings in their arms, all players except one. Jaxon Lin.
"Very good training session today boys, we will have another training sessions before our weekend game. So, rest up and take the rest of the day off cause the match is going to one of a kind. We've started the season off well, One win and a loss. I say we ride on this momentum and push forward, don't forget we have a lot of people to impress, the new owners and sponsors will not have it if we come up short this year. So, everyone be on their best behavior inside and outside the basketball court... " Coach Morgan stopped talking for a brief moment as he and the rest of the team suddenly turned to stare at Jaxon.
"What? Why's everyone looking at me like that?" He asked, confusion plastered all over his face.
"Did you hear what Coach said? Everyone should be on their best behavior on and OFF the court... " Ken O'Neil the teams captain spoke up.
"Yeah I heard him of course, best behavior on and off the court... " Jaxon replied.
"... And that's not gonna be a problem for you?" Coach Morgan interjected.
"No coach, no problem at all". He replied as he strode gently towards the huddle.
"Alright... You can go boys, see you next training session!" Coach Morgan said dismissing the players.
"I don't play like a professional... How the hell did this guy get a professional contract with this mediocre skills. As a Shooting Guard for that matter". Jaxon spoke to himself quietly as he made his way to the side court bench to get his belongings.
He sat down on the hard surface of the seat as he arrived, watching his teammates leave the court one by one. Soon after, the training arena was empty leaving only him to himself. He got up and looked around to see if anyone was still sticking around.
"Yeahhhhh!" He yelled suddenly and his voice echoed throughout the training ground.
He yelled again, and the echoed intensified again. "Huhh... I'm so tired, what a training day I think imma just head home and rest for the day... " He spun on his heel and started gathering his things. Just then holographic screen popped up bringing him to a screeching halt.
"Was wandering where you went..." He hinted.
[WEEKLY TRAINING SESSIONS DESIGNED FOR HOST]
"What's that? I just finished a training session with the boys" he rubbed a dry palm against the back of his neck.
[WEEKLY TRAINING SESSIONS MUST BE COMPLETED ONCE A WEEK UNLESS HOST WILL ATTRACT A PUNISHMENT]
"Okay... What's today's training exercise?" He asked.
[ 1. 30 MINUTES CONSTANT SPRINT
2. 100 PUSHUPS
3. 50 SIT-UPS
4. 2000 STAGNANT CONSTANT DRIBBLES
5. 100 FREE THROW BASKETS
NOTE: ONCE HOST STARTS THE WEEKLY TRAINING EXERCISE, STOPPING IS NOT AN OPTION ELSE WILL ATTRACT A PUNISHMENT]
"Oh my gosh!" Jaxon yelled out. "I don't think I can do all this in one go!".
[FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE WEEKLY TRAINING EXERCISE WILL ATTRACT A PUNISHMENT]
The holographic screen flashed a different color than usual, this time it flashed a bright bloody red colour clearly indicating sign of danger or disapproval.
"Nahh bro, that's just too much, there's no way I'll complete a hundred pushups in on seating, how the fuck do you expect me to pull that off. Can't do that, if the system could reduce the severity of the exercise I would be really grateful..." He finished with a nervous smile.
[WEEKLY EXERCISE IS FIXED AND CANNOT BE CHANGED. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL ATTRACT A PUNISHMENT]
"Bro what the fuck!" Jaxon pulled his hair in frustration. "How the hell do you expect me to do all that. I can't do it today cause I'm I really beat from today's training session. I can't do it tomorrow cause I need to rest, I can't do it the day after that cause I have another training session and the day after that I have a game to play".
[FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL ATTRACT A PUNISHMENT]
"You keep repeating this, what is this punishment then?" he said crossing his hands across his chest.
[FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE WEEKLY TRAINING EXERCISE WILL ATTRACT PUNISHMENT EQUIVALENT TO HOW MUCH EXERCISE THE HOST MANAGES TO ACCOMPLISH]
"Oh I see, well I don't feel like doing it at all so what is my punishment if I don't do any at all?".
No response.
"Uhm, you mean to tell me that I'm going to live with this for the rest of my life?" He chuffed while rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm himself down. The monitor still remained stagnant and he just stood there letting his mind roam freely trying to figure out what could possibly be the punishment for not attempting the exercise.
*Clap*
He slapped his palms together and proceeded to stroke his chin as he paced back and forth in thought. "This is really the worst... Let's calm down a bit and think rationally - if I'm being honest, I'm still learning what this system can and cannot do, it's capabilities if I put it.
"It's mysterious in an eerie way and I don't think I would want to get on its wrong side, I'm guessing just as I would get punished for not completing any task, so will I get rewarded for completing the task. I think... " He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around him to realize that unknowingly made his way to the center of the court while he was thinking.
"System..." He intoned. "Wait, do you even have a name or I should just call you system?"
No response.
"Where the hell did it go now?" He looked from side to side hoping the holographic screen would eventually pop out.
"So I can't access it whenever I want to, only when It wants to tell me something..." He stood there starring into blank space until he spotted a blue dot blinking ever so softly at the bottom of his right hand field of view.
"Huh! I guess that's it... How do I open it?" He said as he continued to focus on it. He stood there watching it for the next few seconds hoping something would happen but to no avail.
"Huuuuuh!" He groaned with frustration. "Is that how it is? Then you can take your damn weekly training exercise and go fuck yourself"
He spun on his heel and made a beeline for the side court bench.
On getting to the bench he immediately took his shirt off and just as he opened his eyes, he saw the holographic screen was back up again.
He took initiative and repeated the process of taking his shirt off and on again to check if it was a trigger to opening the systems interface, it didn't work.
He kept trying for a minute or two until the system disappeared again into the blinking blue dot and that was when he caught it - the trigger was the left side of his chest.
He pressed his left breast and it popped up, he pressed it again and it shrunk into the blue blinking dot again. "So that's how it is huh?... You don't think this should come with a user guide or something like that?".
He put his shirt back on and pressed his breasts to trigger the system. "What are my rewards for completing the weekly task?" He interrogated.
*Cling*
The system chimed.
"That's new".
[HOST WILL RECEIVE REWARDS BASED ON THE PROGRESS IN COMPLETING THE WEEKLY TRAINING EXERCISE. AMONGST MANY OF THE REWARDS IS AN INCREMENT IN HOSTS LEVEL]
"Hmm. Level? What level I'm I then?"
[HOST IS CURRENTLY AT ROOKIE LEVEL]
"I see... Well, how much more till I level up at the moment?"
[CURRENT LEVEL: ROOKIE- 50/100]
"Damn! Just half of it is a bit of an overkill don't you think, surely I should have more than that!... This is going to take a lot of work. If I'm going to become the greatest basketball player like I've always dreamed of I'll have to put in the work".
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked across the training court to locate his ball. "Weekly training exercise please..." He intoned.
[1. 30 MINUTES CONSTANT SPRINT
2. 100 PUSHUPS
3. 50 SIT-UPS
4. 2000 STAGNANT CONSTANT DRIBBLES
5. 100 FREE THROW BASKETS]
"Alright!... Host would like to begin weekly training exercise"
[ONCE ACCEPTED, HOSTS DECISION CANNOT BE REVERSED]
"Understood"
[BEGIN WEEKLY TRAINING EXERCISE? YES OR NO]
"Yes", and with that, the system started counting down on a thirty minute timer and he immediately started sprinting around the training court with determination plastered across his face.