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Xiang proved almost as much a taskmaster as Isabella. She drilled with Fatima and sparred with Nil. Then after a break, swapped their roles and did more of the same. She wished to close the gaps in her martial ability as much as possible over the few days they had remaining. 

When not drilling or sparring, Nil focused on training his Finesse across several different machines. Moving between them helped Nil keep his eyes on the competition. He specifically looked out for Shawn. It was likely the battle royale would include many more threats, but Nil already knew the man had a rough idea of his skill and powerset. He recognized the man as a superior opponent and wanted to figure out a counter.

The competition's brutes and rogues appeared to be the highest in number. They, too, utilized the attribute-training machines, probably hoping to get a last-minute boost before the match. Nil didn’t socialize and prioritized eavesdropping or studying them with Energy Instinct. The surrounding devices gave off more lights than his fellow competitors, suggesting the bulk of the people around him had passive abilities. Nil would have to rely on technique and instinct to deal with most of them.

Unfortunately, the group training spaces had privacy wards, and the glass walls frosted when they were in use. So, he couldn’t get a good look at the other parties in action. Of the fifty-plus other competitors, Nil only knew eight.

Golden Aegis had sent one other team: Viktor, Lily, and Elisha. The lightning mage continued to give him the cold shoulder. Xiang claimed the man had thrown a fit when she rejected his team invitation. The information did nothing more than make Nil bad for Elisha. Even though she held out for her boyfriend, the man had treated her as a last resort. He hoped someone else would take care of the trio so knocking them out of the conversation wouldn’t be on him. It would make things awkward in the ludus, and he genuinely liked Lily. She was a lovely young woman, and he didn’t want to have to fight her with victory on the line.

Nil passed Winter Hunter and chain-knight in the halls. They glared and gave him a wide berth. He guessed the pair only received a warning since the attack hadn’t made contact. The regenerator from Capture The Flag accompanied the pair, making for a formidable trio. They lacked a ranged attacker, and Nil doubted they’d need it. Fatima claimed the brute was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant—not as good as Nil or Shawn, but still good—and used his ability to push harder than most and take risks most would avoid. He could foresee the giant man grabbing the enemy frontline’s attention while chain-knight entangled them in his conjured bindings. Winter Hunter would likely sneak around the battlefield, taking out the long-range support and most vulnerable team members before wiping the rest out together.

Finally, there was Shawn, Gwyneth—the frost-feline summoner—and a sickly-looking skinny woman Nil hadn’t seen at the mortal realm event. The physique didn’t tell him much. Energy Instinct gave him no useful information either. Much like the mysterious Golden-Aegis knight, an invisible bubble surrounded her. It was amorphous and flickered, leaving him with a bunch of questions. Ranged rogue or mage made the most sense in their team setup. Barriers would provide defense and disrupt the battlefield, giving the more mobile and long-range fighters enough cover to clean up the competition.

On the second day in the training arena, the regenerator approached Nil. “I just want to talk,” the man said, holding up his hands when Nil retreated. “I promise I have no interest in fighting. Although, I wouldn’t mind a spar. I’ve not seen anyone get that close to beating Shawn with sheer technique. I’d love to see what you’re made of.”

“How can I help you—”

“Adam.”

“I’m Nil.” 

“I know.” Adam looked embarrassed as he continued. “What happened yesterday was unacceptable. I’m very sorry for my teammates’ behavior. It's not acceptable, and I just wanted to thank you for not pushing the matter. The construct was very close to booting them and leaving me to attempt the Battle Royale alone. I’m a bloody huge target, and chances of making it alone would be zero.”

“To be honest, I didn’t know pushing the matter was an option,” Nil said. “I’d very much like to see the pair of them disqualified, but it doesn’t make a difference because there’s zero chance of them succeeding. My teammate tells me you’re a formidable opponent, but those two don’t have the right attitude for this kind of thing. Too impulsive and shortsighted.”

“The competition doesn’t say the final five need to be from the same team,” Adam shrugged. He did not attempt to deny or contradict Nil’s claim. “I’m aware of my team members' shortcomings and mostly need them to help me survive long enough to impress the construct. Occasionally, it lets people outside the winners into the Iron Gauntlet. Fingers-crossed, right?”

“You seem like a decent enough guy, and I hope things work out for you. It will be best if we don’t meet in the arena. My teammates are pissed at yours and plan to be extra brutal if they bump into you.”

“Is the blood knife girl with you again?” Adam asked.

Nil nodded.

“I can’t speak for my team, but if I see you, I’m running, in that case. She and her blades are fucking terrifying.” Adam smiled. “Anyway. Thanks for hearing me out.”

“I have a question before you go,” Nil said, stopping the man. “What’s with Shawn? Why is he such a raging asshole?”

Adam chuckled. “He’s just had a difficult life.”

“So have most of us. Is it an excuse to be a raging dick?”

“This is just very important to him—maybe more than the rest of us.” Adam hesitantly looked over his shoulder as if checking to see if Shawn was nearby. The man moved closer and spoke with a lowered volume. “He was adopted by a manager of the Wembley Wilson Ludus. He grew up in there, training with all the rich arena fighters’ kids that start as soon as they can walk. Preparing for quests and the arena is all he’s ever known.

“Then he hit sixteen, and his friends started getting summoned while he didn’t. Wilson Luduses gave him time and continued to train him. They kept him around until he hit twenty-one.”

“They kicked him out?”

Adam nodded. “The people who were like parents and siblings turned their backs on him. You know the stats, probably. The chances of Nexus calling you drop drastically every year after twenty. So they gave up on Shawn, writing him off as a failed investment.”

“Yeah, that kind of abandonment and rejection will fuck up almost anyone,” Nil commented.

“It's a surprise he’s not an even bigger asshole,” Adam said. “He’s not the worst guy if you get to know him. Shawn is a loyal friend and genuinely cares about the people around him. After what he had to endure to become a Summoned and get where he is now, he doesn’t have much of a tolerance for people who luck into it or get there without trying. I know it's not right, and we call him out on it, but there isn’t much we can do about it.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Nil said. “Thanks for being candid with me. Good luck, Adam.”

“You, too.” The big man walked away, leaving Nil with a lot to think about. Shawn’s combat prowess made sense. The man had two decades of combat training under his belt. Academia and being a kid probably came second. He had dedicated all of his life to being a Summoned and arena. It was hard work and dedication that got him where he was, not raw talent. 

Do the talentless hard workers end up with high Spark?

Shawn appeared older than the average competitor, too. He lacked the special something that attracted the Nexus to the young and talented. His ascension was likely due to dedication, hard work, and perhaps an odd incident like Nil’s selfless, stupid, and heroic act. The barriers and their potency likely scaled with Spark, which meant that it was his highest potential attribute. Nil needed more data to confirm his hypothesis, but it felt likely. He was almost sure Shawn was the same barrier conjurer that Layla had mentioned when they first met. Nil put the man out of his mind and focused on the rest of the competition.

Fatima’s high Iron-Realm Finesse sharpened her senses. She picked up whispers about Mind Magic and a Psionic concerning Nil. He had a feat to counter such fighters but didn’t know whether it would be enough. Xiang had a high enough Mind score to resist psychic attacks, but Fatima was in the same boat as him. Her blades apparently grew with Spark, and she used it as her tertiary attribute—with Mind as the secondary.

“We need to rethink our battle plan,” Nil said after their final training session of the day. “I think we need to present as a duo instead of a trio.”

“What are you thinking?” Fatima asked, passing him an aetherscreen. It displayed the rewards for the battle royale winners.

First: 1000 Schema Credit + 2 Bronze Ascension Tokens + 4 Schema Tokens
Second: 500 Schema Credit + 1 Bronze Acension Token + 3 Schema Tokens
Third: 250 Schema Credit + 1 Bronze Ascension Token + 2 Schema Tokens
Fourth: 100 Schema Credit + 1 Iron Ascension Token + 1 Schema Token
Fifth: 50 Schema Credit + 1 Schema Token

Nil’s eyes widened as he looked over the prizes. If he got first, Nil wouldn’t need to worry about paying for registration in a new ludus after the partnership with Symbiotech fell apart. Golden Aegis’ ties to the company would mean staying with them would come with too much drama—if the ludus survived without their investment and machinery. 

“I think Xiang and I should move close together, looking like we’re alone,” Nil explained. “You need to stay ahead or behind us, keeping just out of sight. Let people attack us and then get them from behind. You’re fast, silent, and deadly enough to take one or two out of the fight before they know what hit them.”

Xiang nodded. “That is a good idea if you’re confident in your sneaking ability. Your power doesn’t help with it, does it?”

Fatima shook her head. “My Finesse is halfway to Bronze, and I’m just that good.”

“Are you sure ability isn’t Iron Realm, too?” Xiang asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re telling us everything right.”

“I am.” Fatima’s eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a liar? Because the arena construct would detect if I weren’t still in the Mortal Realm. There isn’t a lot that can mask against the constructs or Nexus.”

“I’m sorry.” Xiang bowed her head. “Your ability, skill, and attributes seem too high for your realm.”

“Fatima is just that good.” Nil smiled, placing a hand on the rogue-knight’s shoulder. He hoped to melt the tension in the air. “What does everyone think of the plan?” He outlined the formation by switching the aetherscreen display to battle simulation software. Nil put himself and Xiang in the center. “The chakrams and their explosions are flash enough to draw in other groups. I can take on most melee fighters without issue, and Xiang can keep them pinned down or on the back foot.” He drew a circle around the pair. “We don’t know what kind of battlefield to expect, but the records say the construct ensures no one is particularly disadvantaged in battle royales. Rogues should have plenty of cover to sneak around and through. If there is elevation, you can move above us, Fatima.”

“I get it, and I like it,” Fatima said. She tapped the screen, and a little animation flashed, turning the marker that was supposed to be her into a blade windmill. “Pincer attacks are historically great at putting down teams quickly. We need to hit fast and hard and move on quickly. The chakram explosions are loud and bound to attract opportunists who want to take us down.”

“Maybe we should avoid fights altogether?” Xiang said, frowning as she studied the formation. “Given our speed, generally high Finesse, and ability to stay silent, maybe we should be opportunists, too. It will give us the best chance of making it to the final ten.”

“I’m not against the idea.” Fatima grinned. “Let's keep the formation but move fast and quiet, not engaging or drawing attention to ourselves until we can’t.”

“Hit and run tactics?” Nil raised an eyebrow. “We need to switch things up occasionally so we can build up energy, but I’m for it otherwise.”

“Good. Back to training then.” Xiang clapped, flashing a rare smile. “Nil fight Fatima.”

“And what will you do?” Fatima asked. “Just watch?.”

Xiang shook her head. “I’m going to throw chakrams at you. Dodge the best you can, Nil.”

“Great. Either my Finesse ascends, or I get shredded.”