Nil woke the following morning alone but feeling pleased with himself. The date had ended after half an hour of making out, and the pair had agreed to keep things casual. The situation was perfect as far as Nil was concerned. There was still a hint of guilt when he saw Aisha’s face the first thing after waking up, but he had little trouble getting past it. After all, what straight man doesn’t feel pleased with himself after locking lips with a pretty woman?
Andrew had appointments regarding his business's legitimate side and left the property at dawn. So, Nil had the palace to himself as he got ready for the day. The first couple of hours after waking, we went into stretches and kicking and punching drills, followed by finesse training with breakfast. Then Nil showered and scrubbed himself clean. He would’ve preferred a bath, but Andrew had locked the master bathroom. Breaking it was no trouble for him, of course, but he was a guest in his friend’s home and didn’t want to appear ungrateful.
The journey to Symbiotech’s offices was annoying and lengthy. It involved taking a bus, followed by three changes on the London Underground. Rush hour meant he had to do it while packed into a tiny space like a sardine. It wasn’t so bad while he was a civilian. Despite over a decade of martial arts training, genetics limited his size. The Schema helped him overcome such limitations. Now, his shoulders were significantly broader than the last time he got on a train, and awkwardly adjusting to it left him feeling awkward.
Symbiotech’s headquarters, offices, and research laboratory were in a poorer section of West Greater London. They were a small company, and in Nil's opinion, not prioritizing a flashy location or venue was a positive thing. A significant amount appeared to have gone into refurbishing the old hospital. The entrance and hallway felt more like the lobby of a Canary Wharf office building than clinical. Nil was glad for it. The only time he had stepped in a hospital over the past seven years was for Aisha and his mother, and, as a result, he hated them.
“We’ve been expecting you, Mr Roy,” a receptionist told him in a thick Punjabi accent. It didn’t surprise him. Many called the neighboring Southall district Little Punjab. “Dr Patel is in a meeting, so one of my colleagues will show you around. Would you like a tea while you wait?”
“A tea would be amazing,” Nil replied, trying to ignore the visage as it tried to peek through a closing set of doors and then the crack between them.
“Milk and sugar?”
“Yes, please. Just a splash of milk and five sugars.”
Disgust flashed across the receptionist’s face for half a second, replacing her professional smile. It was embarrassing at first, but increased calorie intake was apparently natural for Summoned melee fighters. Needs especially increased with Might. Since Nil was no longer worried about hereditary diabetes, he had ceased resisting his sweet tooth. The woman also gave him a two-way Non-Disclosure Agreement to sign. He wouldn't talk about anything he saw in the building, and they'd also keep all of his information private.
A young man in a lab coat met Nil with a steaming mug before showing him around the building. His degree was in mechanical engineering. So, outside of the little he had picked up sleepily watching medical dramas, Nil didn’t understand half the things he saw or was told. His guide seemed pleased when Nil wasn’t too proud to admit. The visage’s odd behavior, as it focused on certain equipment and tried to follow people through side doors, almost made him laugh. He contained himself in an attempt to appear professional.
The company’s name made more sense as he saw the armor they developed. He expected vests made of carbon fiber, leather, or similar materials. Apparently, the Nexus market sold the hide of magic beasts, too. Instead, he saw prototypes of living armor.
“They’re symbiotic,” his guide explained. “We build the armor to either drain calories from the wearer, or they can also be adapted to feed off whatever energy fuels their abilities. I believe your power intrigued Dr Patel, and she’s keen to get more candidates who fit the latter category.”
Even though Nil had yet to sign anything, the man requested permission to run basic diagnostics on him. Since he had already decided to accept the offer, he complied. The man led Nil into a large laboratory that looked like it once served as some sort of ward. A team of people in scrubs descended on him. The first scanned him with a giant machine and got accurate readings of his attributes. The measurement also gave him an accurate idea of his natural progression.
Finesse and, surprisingly, Mind were both close to reaching the next Mortal rank. Nil guessed the psychic trauma inflicted by the Cursed One and Oth, the sky octopus, had helped empower the attribute.
Afterward, they had Nil run on a treadmill to check whether his ability passively improved his endurance. He went through several tests under a human-sized hydraulic press, a high-tech boxing machine, and another to check his grip strength. Reaction speed and motor skills tests followed. They also had him do annoyingly long memory and IQ tests. The process took a couple of hours, and Nil regretted complying afterward. The visage’s odd behavior was his only entertainment and distraction. He couldn’t figure out the reason behind its antics and wondered whether ascending to Iron Realm was giving it more personality or perhaps changing something.
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The lab techs also wanted blood, urine, hair, and saliva samples from Nil, but he refused to provide them without reading and signing any paperwork.
Finally, Shina Patel met him around lunchtime.
“I'm sorry for all of the tests,” she said, shaking his hand. “We just need to be sure you fit our requirements before proceeding.”
“I get it,” Nil said. “You need to ensure I'm right for your research and can manage my end of the contract before investing hundreds of thousands.”
“If not millions. The good news is, my team says your attributes are perfect. We're all surprised your ability doesn't give you any passive boosts yet, but that makes our lives easier, so it's not an issue. Would you mind briefing me on your power?”
“It's simple really. I have a defense and offense mode and store potential energy. The first makes me almost invulnerable to physical attacks and assists in building my stores. Then I burn said energy to either increase the power of my movements and strikes or release it as a blast.”
“I imagine that’s what you used to shrug off Winter Hunter’s ice.”
Nil nodded.
“The energy you absorb and release. Is it kinetic energy, perhaps?”
“It's impossible to tell, to be honest. The power doesn't strictly follow the rules of physics.”
“Would you care to elaborate?” Shina asked, leading him into an office with the words Dr. Shina Patel on the door. The visage tried to enter an adjacent room but failed. It ran through the door just before Nil closed it. Shina’s office was a large space with minimal decoration. She had a couch and coffee table, a desk with three chairs, and a fridge. The computer and other machines on her desk were the latest aethertech, but he saw no signs of any Arthurtech machines in the room. In fact, now that Nil thought about it, he didn't recall seeing anything by the global superpower on the building. “Please don't hold back. Whether you sign with us or not, everything we discuss today is protected by the NDA.”
“When someone hits me while I'm in defensive mode, the object and its holder completely stop moving. They lose all momentum and come to a complete stop as long as I have the stores. Winter Hunter was the first person to get away with it, but I think that's because of her exceptional reaction time.”
“Fascinating. It sounds like you're robbing them of all kinetic energy and perhaps some immediate potential too. It's like a perfect defense as long as you have the capacity to store energy. I've only encountered three other cases like yours in my decade-long career.”
“My offensive mode is even stranger,” Nil continued. “It follows regular physics as long as I'm using the ability to just exert more power. However, things get inconsistent when I'm just releasing energy. Intent and mental image appear to play a big role in the feedback. In some instances when I release it from my entire body, I experience some recoil. However, in most cases, there is none. Instead, the surface I released the energy from gets ridiculously hot.”
“How hot?” Shina leaned forward. He could almost see the gears turning behind her eager eyes. She looked like a child being told their favorite bedtime story.
“So far? Just second-degree burns. It doesn't help that my control over the amount of energy is still abysmal. It gets worse the less surface area I release it through. So, I need to be careful with its use.”
“You're precisely what we need for the next step in our research,” Shina said. “My team and I could design a symbiotic armor that reacts to external stimuli and absorbs your stored energy to live and build a resistance. Does that sound good to you?”
“That would be perfect. You'd help me cover my greatest weakness.”
“Let's move on to the meat of the conversation.” Shina turned her screen so Nil could see the display. It showed a map of London and featured several red and green dots. “We work closely with a few luduses around North and West London. The green ones have openings for Iron Realms and people on the verge of ascending. You won't be a particularly profitable partner until you make it to Apocalypse Arena. So we will only pay for registration and the first month. Afterward, we'll only take care of the training facility fees. Paying for food and board will be on you. You can find paying fights and jobs through the ludus. Between them and your quests, you should have no trouble affording it. Further Pit involvement is forbidden.”
“That's more than acceptable. I was only involved to save money for a ludus registration.” Nil studied the map and was pleased to find a green dot near Harrow-on-the-Hill. It was in Wembley, near the stadium which housed the 2012 Olympics. It was just after the world regained stability and before Summoned sports took center stage. He pointed at it. “This one looks good.”
“Does that mean you're willing to partner with us?”
Nil nodded. “Subject to the contract terms, of course.”
“About that. The starting contract only lasts a year. I hope that's okay. As we start analyzing you, things might change, and your abilities might be incompatible with our technology. Also, you'll need to completely ascend to Iron Realm and qualify for the Iron Gauntlet. Your regular participation in Apocalypse Arena will be essential for the contract renewal or extension. I'm sorry we can't provide more security, but far too many people fail or give up, and we don't want to be stuck sponsoring you if that happens. Is that acceptable?”
“That's fair and good for me, too,” Nil said. “I might decide that you and your product aren't for me six months from now. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a relationship where I'm unhappy.”
“Perfect!” Shina exclaimed, smiling. She slid a portable Aetherscreen across the table. “Take your time with the contract while I answer a few emails and put out a few fires. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.”
“Thank you, Dr Patel. I look forward to working with you.”
“Just Shina is fine,” she said before turning to the monitor on her desk. The visage stood behind Shina, rubbing its cheek and hands against the wall.