“Boom!” Nadia pumps her fist as her amputated hand reforms, “Like a Venus fly trap,”
Dante feels his spine and organs repositioning as his vision comes into focus again. His mind has gotten more familiar with the pain- usually, it's so numbing he doesn’t feel anything anyway.
“That was a good fight,” Nadia says with an endearing smile on her face. She reaches a hand out to Dante, who takes a moment to register what is going on before accepting her assistance.
“Yeah,” Dante says, feeling the weight of his disappointment dissipate at the sight of Nadia's excitement.
“You thought you were gonna do something but I was like ‘Hell nah!’ and flipped you across the arena like a poli,”
“Give me some credit,” Dante chuckles, “I did cut off your hand,”
“A valiant sacrifice on my part,” Nadia says with pride before wiggling her arm in Dante’s face. “Here fishy fishy,”
“Whatever,” Dante laughs, pushing her arm away.
As he turns around he pauses to the uncomfortably close face of Cassie as he meets her enraged gaze and flaring breath that beats against Dante’s cheek.
Oh god.
“What. The. Fuck!” Cassie yells so loudly Dante stumbles back and covers his ears. “Not only do you copy my ability and use it like an absolute dumbass- you also lost! Making me look bad!”
“I, uhh-”
“When I’m Zo’an and watching you from the heavens above, is this what I’m going to see you doing in honour of my ability? Dying!?”
“I’m sorry, Heir,”
“God,” Cassie says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I almost thought you were cool when you mimicked my blades and then you clearly had no idea what you were doing,”
“Serves you right for being a copycat,” Nadia teases.
“No, no. You don't get to speak! Sacrificing your own hand for a kill is the smartest, dumbass strategy I've ever seen out of a recruit,” Cassie points her finger at Nadia. “You seriously just let this bozo sprint straight at you. Twice!”
“Oh, well uhh. I thought-” Nadia stutters, failing to gather her words and state her case.
It was badass, but not optimal.
“You had the range advantage and cowered to defence the moment Dante chose an ability,” Cassie says as she turns to walk away from them. “I’d have killed you both in an instant,”
She’s right. The fight would have looked a whole lot different if Nadia had kept up the aggression she started with. Not to mention the fact that Dante chose an ability he’d never used before.
A smile peels across his face. This wasn't a total loss.
“No, no- you still lost so wipe that smile off your face,” Nadia grunts.
“You're right,” Dante says, unsuccessfully masking his smile and holding up his fist for Nadia to bump it, “You won,”
Nadia glances at his fist and then raises an eyebrow, “Pfff,” She groans, rolling her eyes and bumping Dante’s first in return.
“Wanna go again?” Dante asks, stretching his legs with a wide grin on his face.
“Hmm, I’ve got a better idea,” She says as she subtly twitches her hand by her hip, presumably fiddling with her HUD.
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_ARENA: SIMULATION ENABLED
“What are you-”
_ARENA: FOURTH TIER TEST
_TEST: HIGH-STRESS COMBAT
_ID: DANTE FORST
_SCORE: 0.48
“No, No- I’m not going to get my ass kicked just so you can laugh at me,”
“You’re going to have to do it eventually,” Nadia shrugs, “Taking the test is the only way to practice for it,”
Dante squints at Nadia for a moment- she doesn't seem so excited by the idea of Dante getting another beating, and she definitely isn't trying to help him improve amidst this bet.
“What do you get out of this?” Dante asks, eyebrow raised.
“I just want to help you practice,” Nadia says, innocently patting Dante on the shoulder.
“Mhmm, nice try,” he chuckles.
“I’m not a villain,” Nadia laughs, “Why wouldn't I want to see my friend improve his skills?”
“Oh, we’re friends now?”
“Woow,” Nadia gasps, “Hurtful,”
“You’re the big shot who got the highest grade in the Academy. You never cared about anyone but Kassian,”
Which is true, but not quite accurate- Nadia didn't exactly care about anyone or anything except beating Kassian. The other student just assumed this is how she expresses her love for him, but when Dante’s seen them interact up close- it's not exactly ‘love’ she’s expressing.
Unlike most students, Nadia and Kassian actually have a family. A Mother and Father who are both wealthy to the point they could have bought their kids way through the Academy- although they wouldn't need to. Their family is one of the ten valiant families in Vi. Big-time investors in the Academy that develop their entire family lineage for the sole purpose of cultivating Zo’ans.
Each member of the family is either a Zo’an or a valiant, running the family from inside the walls. It’s quite crazy to think each Zo’an earns enough money to retire their entire bloodline- but most Zo’ans don't live long enough to have families, so the money goes back to the Academy.
It’d make sense if Nadia didn't care for Kassian. They weren't raised to care about each other, they were raised to compete with each other. And that competition is still going, even if they're miles apart and a subcategory of it includes competing with Dante- the ultimate winner in their relationship is the one that lives the longest.
“Ugh, fine,” She concedes, “The last thing I want to do is get this deep with you,”
“I knew it!” Dante claps, “You crafty little-”
“I don't have access to the test, okay?” Nadia sighs, “I thought they’d all be available, like at the Academy, but I was wrong. I need you here if I want to practice the test,”
“And why would I help my opponent after she committed such a shady attempt at deceiving me?” Dante strokes his chin in jest, “It would be quite a bad decision… Strategically, of course,”
“Yeah-yeah, I get it. stop talking to me in full sentences,”
“You know, you and Cassie are really similar,” Dante chuckles.
“What? No. You're way more like her,”
“How?”
“You’re both so emotional,” She sighs, waving her hand in the air, “Ugh,”
“Nah,” Dante scoffs, “You and her love keeping up this whole tough guy act,”
“Wrong,”
“What?”
“You’re just wrong,” Nadia scorns, “Are we going to do this thing or what?”
Dante looks at the arena, and then at the clock on his HUD.
_TIME: 03:45 am
“It’ll be over in like five minutes,” Nadia jests, but not really, as she brings up the details for Fourth Tier qualification.
_FOURTH TIER QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS_
_ TEST 1: HIGH STRESS COMBAT 1
_ TEST 2: EXTRACTION 1
_ TEST 3: HIGH STRESS COMBAT 2
_ TEST 4: KRIX BATTLE: SPIDER
_ TEST 5: EXTRACTION 2
_NOTE: A 100% PASS RATE IS REQUIRED FOR EACH TEST.
Dante’s eyes flick to the details of the test. He already knows that he can only do test two after passing test one, and so on. But, he hasn't even seen the other tests before. The titles are straightforward but so vague, and they don't provide more details.
“I’ve only ever seen the first test,” Nadia says, glaring at her HUD. “So, you won't be the only one getting their ass kicked,”
“Fuck it,” Dante says, confirming the settings of the sim and stepping into the arena.
_START
_LIFELINE: ENABLED
_TEST 1: HIGH-STRESS COMBAT (Fourth Tier Testing)