AA. 39 (Patreon)

Nil woke in the infirmary with an Arthurtech device wrapped around his right leg. It throbbed with a dull ache but wasn’t too uncomfortable. Bandages covered his hands and stank of Symbiotech’s burn gel. His head hurt most of all. It felt like someone had stuck a blender in his skull and run it until the contents were soup. The multiple head strikes and the suffocation were too much for him to handle. Nil wasn’t too proud to admit it. He had met his match.

The barrier-maker’s ability was incredible, but it wasn’t the problem. He was better than Nil and the other unarmed fighters in Golden Aegis. The man outmaneuvered him with excellent footwork, wasted no movements, and successfully broke his focus. Nil wanted to believe that it was a close match, but he didn’t think so. 

He won’t be the last. 

Nil expected to meet more opponents like him once he made it into Apocalypse Arena. He practiced martial arts in his free time. Soon, he’d face an opponent who fought and trained for a living and had done so regularly since childhood.

“Oh, good!” Farima exclaimed, drawing NIl’s eyes to the next bed. She sat with her leg in a similar cast while eating ice cream. It was the first time he had seen her injured. “I wasn’t expecting you to get up for another day or two.”

“Barrier-man got me,” Nil said. “What happened? Did we win?”

“No,” Fatima answered. “We lost. Barrier grabbed your flag and ran off. His walls kept me from catching up. I almost got him, but he tripped me up and slipped away. That guy’s ability-control is fucking incredible.”

“What about the third round?”

“It was a two versus two. Mobi and I versus Barrier and the armored Brute. Mobi failed to protect our flag. His arm didn’t recover enough to wield his axe properly, and the Arthurtech stuff isn’t great for recovering his magic. Apparently, they fought for a bit, but the brute was the clear winner, so he threw in the towel. I get it. He didn’t want his arm fucked up more. Mobi is already guaranteed a spot in the qualifiers. I bet he didn’t want an injury to get in the way of training.” She sighed. “Anyway, Barrier broke my leg when I tried to steal theirs and trapped me in a dome.”

“He was faster than you?” Nil raised an eyebrow.

“I never got close. He caught my foot in a barrier before I could reach him, and the sudden stop—” She stopped mid-sentence and shuddered. “This is the worst break I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t want to face him ever again.”

“I’m sorry,” Nil said. “I let us down.”

“Don’t start with that nonsense.” The rest of the team shuffled into the room. Mobi and Viktor walked in with Arthurtech devices strapped around their arms. The latter of them looked embarrassed as he continued. “We were just watching the vid. You were incredible. If I put you on offense in the first round, we could’ve won without losing Elisha and Mobi or tiring ourselves out.”

The infirmary wasn’t ready to release them. All broken limbs besides Mobi’s needed more time to set and start the healing process. They wanted to monitor Nil’s palm burns, too, claiming they wanted to ensure he didn’t suffer nerve damage. Nil had never released energy of the same volume through such a small surface area before. He only risked such burns while on quests and only because he had the Fountain of Pyrene to heal him afterward. Since most of them weren’t allowed to leave, the seven Summoned from Golden Aegis sat around, watching the remaining events.

Ted lost his match. His opponent, a rogue or knight of some variety, danced around him, wielding an elegant rapier. The chain and sickle limited the opponent’s movements, but as the fight continued, she seemed to figure out her opponent’s habits and favorite moves. The woman used the environment against Ted, making the chain catch on walls or trees and getting the chain tangled. It took her a while to get close to him, but she only needed two clean strikes to win.

Meanwhile, the knight enjoyed a crushing victory. Literally. Nil still didn’t have an inkling regarding their abilities. Their spear, though skinny and sharp, struck with the weight of a powerful hammer. Simple swings blew the knight’s opponent back or knocked him down. It was amusing to see them toss the towering brute around or hold him down with nothing but the seemingly ordinary sphere. As Nil watched the fight, he hypothesized they had weight-altering abilities. The swelling and deflating bubble Energy Instinct detected finally made sense.

Most of the team appeared disappointed with the loss—the broken limbed even more since it would eat into their training time—but Nil didn’t care. The extra seven thousand would’ve been nice, but he wasn’t desperate for it. He signed up for Capture The Flag for the opportunity to increase Brutal Battery’s ranks and had gained just that.

• Might: Iron 0

• Finesse: Mortal 8

• Mind: Mortal 3

• Spark: Iron 1

Brutal Battery: Mortal 7

• Absorb: Mortal 7

• Expend: Mortal 8

Energy Instinct: Mortal 4

Feats:

• Haunting Visage

• Armsmaster’s Disappointment

• Through Sheer Grit

• The Power Of Belief

The growth wasn’t as great as Nil had hoped. Another rank in Absorb so Brutal Battery reached Mortal-Eight would’ve been great, too. He had a month until the qualifiers and didn’t know whether it was enough time to meet the requirements. To meet the qualifier's requirements, he needed to be Iron Rank, just short of ascension, either in rank or with a token in hand. Isabella’s training methods were excellent at teaching him to use the ability but did little to rank it. 

On the bright side, Nil didn’t need to wait two months until his next Summoning. Now that he had completed two, the Schema would let him go on one every week. He planned on taking whatever the Nexus offered until his ability reached Mortal-Nine. Nil also needed to look out for another Iron Ascension Token.

By the time the infirmary staff released them, the event was almost over. They caught the final few duo and trio team matches. During the closing ceremonies, the winning teams received their awards and also shook hands with their opponents. Nil and his companions met with the team from the Ronins—a struggling independent ludus. From what Nil had heard, they didn’t have any big sponsors or affiliates and relied on membership fees and local businesses to survive.

Everyone proved friendly except Shawn, the barrier-maker, and Gwyneth, the feline summoner. He received an icy reception from both of them. He understood the latter’s dislike of him. Susan claimed that summoners created close bonds with their summons. The creatures often had personalities and memories. So, Nil had essentially murdered Gwyneth’s close friend in graphic fashion. He didn’t blame her for the dislike. Meanwhile, Shawn’s distaste made little sense. Nil thought they had a fair fight. The man had won his respect and hoped he had earned Shawn’s, too. Despite the cold reception, Nil made an effort to get to know the man. He believed there was a lot he could learn from sparring with him. It also felt like the sportsmanly thing to do.

“You were incredible, mate,” Nil said, offering Shawn a handshake. The man looked Nil up and down, eyes cold and expressionless. “I really thought I had you there, but you kicked my butt.”

“Really? I didn’t think it was much of a fight.” Shawn’s words dripped with venom, and Gwyneth hovered close behind him. He appeared on the younger end of twenty. “It's obviously your first time here, so I tried to go easy on you until you went mental. Have some self-respect next time.”

“What the fuck is his problem?” Fatima asked once Shawn and his friend moved on.

“I don’t know. Maybe he took me breaking his nose and pinning him personally.”

“Don’t take Shawn too seriously,” said an opposing team member. It was the archer, his arm hung in a sling. “He’s a bit intense and has a bit of a superiority complex.”

“I can tell,” Nil said. “Does he treat the team like that, too?” The archer nodded. “Why the hell do you put up with him then?”

The man shrugged. “He’s our best fighter, and we like to win? Anyway. You two are an incredible duo.” He slung an arm around Nil’s shoulder. “Especially that throwing arm, handsome. Want to buy me a drink and tell me how—”

“Sorry, we have plans.” Fatima looped an arm around Nil’s and pulled him away. “Notorious reputation. “I don’t know if that’s what you like, but believe me, you’re better off not getting involved.”

“Thanks for looking out for me, Fatima.” He laughed. 

Nil didn’t sense any romantic intention behind Fatima’s touch or flirtation. She was a good friend and training partner, and he was almost sure she saw him the same way. In fact, Nil was pretty sure he had heard her bringing men and women into her room and then seen them sneaking out the next morning. It didn’t feel like Fatima was interested in him or any sort of relationship, and Nil was glad about it.

After the loss, most of the Capture The Flag team was not interested in attending the post-event mixer. Nil almost stuck around when he saw Adrian ‘Wildshape’ Wilson chatting with the organizers and eager Summoned. Even though he had developed a distaste for the man and the junior luduses over recent years, Wildshape Wilson was still a hero to him once upon a time. Then Fatima brought up stopping for Shawarma on the way home, and his stomach’s rumbles reminded him of how hungry he was. Most had snacked after the event, but Nil had slept through the offerings. 

The pair splurged on multiple wraps, fries, side salads, and fizzy drinks. They carried the food back to the ludus and ate it in the lounge while watching videos of the event. Nil rewatched his fight against Shawn several times. His movements and ability to weave his ability in between strikes especially impressed Nil. There was no question about it. Shawn was better than him.

The realization lit a fire inside Nil. Gaining ranks and ascending wasn’t enough. He needed to polish his martial abilities and also improve his timing with Absorb and Expend. Switching to a neutral state between them had significantly enhanced his timing, but he still had a long way to go.

Initially, Nil had planned on saving Expend’s dual function for emergencies, but that no longer felt like an option. He needed to weave it into his regular fighting style. There were two things he needed to master first: the amount of energy released and the rate of release. Nil believed smaller bursts or a continuous low-power expenditure would give him decent use and minimize the damage he suffered. Hurting himself every time he needed to use the ability didn’t feel sustainable.

When Nil got his phone out to tell Andrew and Nil about the results, his blood ran cold.

“What’s wrong?” Fatima asked. “You got the same expression my ex got when I joked about being pregnant.”

“My family saw the event on TV,” Nil said. 

“Is that bad?”

Nil nodded. “My dad and sister told me about a hundred times that I better not get into Summoned combat when I joined the ludus.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Fatima chuckled. “You’re almost thirty, for fuck sake. Don’t tell me you’re scared of them.”

“I’m not.” Nil sighed. “It’s just a lot of drama, and I’m going to get an earful. I was hoping to break it to them once I got into the Iron Gauntlet, but the cat’s out of the bag. Now they want to see me tomorrow, and it's not going to be fun.”

“Relax!” Fatima placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “It’s going to be alright. Would you like me to come with you?”

“No. I have people for that.” Nil smiled at the woman. “Thank you for the offer, though.” He quickly added, hoping the statement didn’t come across as a rejection. “I appreciate it, but I’ll take my friends with me. Their presence might help tide things over.”

“Whatever works for you.” Fatima shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Apocalypse Arena is no more dangerous than quests. Given your ability, I bet you get the more dangerous ones where you’re a meat shield or fighting some monster.”

Nil smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t tell them that bit. Baba and Emily are worrywarts. They know I’m doing this for them, and it probably pissed them off even more.”

“Maybe tell them the truth then. You’re doing this for yourself, too. I saw you out there, Nil. You were having a blast. This isn’t just a means to an end for you. You love this. It's who you are.”