Escaping the cold air of the underground parking lot, they all rushed inside and were greeted with the warmth of the cozy-looking staircase.
The staircase was going up a few stories.
Coach Jin took off his jacket, put it hanging from his right arm, and began leading the way up the stairs.
"Where the heck are we?" Julian headed up the staircase while still having no idea where they were.
Only Julia seemed to have an idea as she kept smiling.
At the top of the staircase, Coach Jin opened up a door and headed inside, followed by the confused students, and then they arrived inside a very dimly lit room with booths lining the walls.
They were standing in a tight-looking hallway. It was very dark. There were doors lining the walls next to them. At the end of the hallway, there was a receptionist counter.
'This almost looks like a karaoke place. Why the hell are we here?' Kiernan questioned inside his mind.
Coach Jin made his way to the receptionist counter and saw a half-asleep receptionist sitting behind it.
He was desperately trying not to fall asleep.
"Hey, we've got a reservation for the private room in the back."
"Ah?" The receptionist shook awake and put his hands on the keyboard. "Name?"
The receptionist quickly typed it on the keyboard. The name appeared on the screen, showing that they indeed have a reservation.
"Alright!" The receptionist quickly handed him the keys. "Here are the keys. Enjoy your stay in Infinite Dojo!"
Kiernan raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to the wall—there was a blue neon sign that read Infinite Dojo in very bold font.
"We've come to Infinite Dojo?" Jonathan exclaimed. "I see, so this is where we're training for today!"
"Oh!" Dominic also looked excited. "I've visited this place before, but I've never gone through the underground parking lot, so I didn't recognize this place at first glance!"
"What is Infinite Dojo?"
Julian and Kiernan asked at the same time.
They were the only ones who didn't have any idea what that was.
"You'll see!" Coach Jin said with a smile and headed to the room at the very back.
After opening the door with the key, they entered a simple-looking room.
It had one television screen mounted on the wall. It had the words Infinite Dojo bouncing across the screen in bright neon colors.
Across the floor, there were about ten pillows. Blue in color. Making a circle around the room. Above the pillows, there was some kind of helmet dangling from wires connected to the ceiling.
Coach Jin sat at the pillow by the end of the room. He even removed his shoes and socks before sitting on the pillow with a comfortable look.
The pillow was as soft as a cloud.
Julia took off her shoes, put them inside her backpack before putting her backpack down, and sat in one of the pillows.
She smiled as she raised her gaze above her, where she saw the helmet dangling.
Kiernan removed his shoes, also took off his socks before stuffing them inside his shoes, and then slipped them inside his backpack.
After putting the backpack down, he sat cross-legged on one of the pillows and straightened his back.
A few would feel uncomfortable sitting cross-legged, but not Kiernan. He was remembering the days when he sat cross-legged for days because of punishments at the temple.
Julian kicked off his shoes and jumped down at the pillow right next to Kiernan. He then settled in and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to relax.
"Who doesn't know what Infinite Dojo is?" Coach Jin asked.
Kiernan and Julian raised their arms.
"Alright, let me explain it to you.
"It's a virtual reality fighting simulator that we can use to practice our skills and techniques without getting physically hurt.
"You put that dangling helmet on your head, press a start button on the side, and your consciousness will be transferred to the game of Infinite Dojo.
"Infinite Dojo has become a popular training method lately. Irio spent a small fortune to get this built during the winter holiday just now.
"It's expensive to build and also to use. The councilmen of Irio never bothered to purchase this before, but Azer convinced them after our success in the nationals.
"Now that we have this, we should use it!"
"I am not too sure about this training method." Kiernan said. "I'd like to sweat while training. I feel is too easy."
"Haha, this is far from easy!" Coach Jin laughed. "There is a reason why this is a popular training method. The mental exhaustion is massive, which is also why the benefits to the martial soul are also greater than during ordinary training!"
"Really?" Kiernan looked surprised. "This helps to advance the martial soul?"
"Yes!" Coach Jin said with a laugh. "Now, isn't it amazing?"
"Wohoo, I love games, so this is fucking sick!" Julian grinned. "Shall we start then?"
"Wait a moment there."
Coach Jin calmed them down.
"This is team training. Therefore, we will do some team training exercises. When you enter Infinite Dojo during your first visit, you will meet a person inside there.
"It is AI of Infinite Dojo. You'll get to choose your in-game nickname. Once you've done so, add me—CoachJin—in the game, then I'll send you two an invite to our party.
"We'll be doing some Punch Ball!"
"Punch Ball?" Julia exclaimed. "I've heard of that game! I can't wait to try it out."
"Punch Ball?" Julian looked interested. "You can even play that inside there?"
"Why am I the only one who doesn't know what that is?" Kiernan asked with an irritated expression.
"You sure are clueless, Kiernan~" Julian laughed.
"It is a sports game. You carry the ball, and the goal is to throw it or kick it to the opponents' net. The first team to get three goals is the winner.
"The kick of it all is that martial arts is allowed. Therefore, you must fight the opponents while also focusing on scoring the goals!"
'So, it's basically a mix of handball, football, and martial arts all rolled into one intense game.'
"Enough of chitchatting!"
"Every minute is money here. We only have a few hours in our reservation, so let's make the most out of it and train!"
They grabbed the dangling helmets, wrapped them around their heads, and saw a translucent visor appear around their eyes.
Kiernan then pressed the button on the side of the helmet and saw everything turn dark as if someone just turned off the lights.