Once Dante, Julz and Nadia finished off their recovery training for the day, they went to the SIM to watch Kate and Samuel spar with Alex.
Upon arriving at the crowd of soldiers watching the training, the first thing Dante saw was Kate and Alex in the sim, both glaring at each other from opposite ends.
_ARENA: SIMULATION ENABLED
_LIFELINE: ENABLED
“Remember to focus your energy,” Alex says.
Kate nods before both of them shift their stances in preparation.
_START
Kate immediately turns around, and this startles Dante and the others as she seemingly turns her back to him- but hardly a second later, Alex is standing exactly where Kate has turned.
“Good,” Alex says as he throws a punch towards her.
A sudden surge of energy ripples through the tent as his fist collides with the palm of her hand, and all of the soldiers unfamiliar with her ability gasp at how she blocked a punch from a Tier 1 Zo'an.
“What the hell?” Nadia exclaims.
Alex throws another punch that nearly collides with Kate's head, but she successfully ducks out of the way. Alex throws a few more punches and kicks, most of which Kate either blocks or parries.
After a few minutes of this, Kate suddenly leaps away from Alex and creates a lot more space than she's needed thus far- And without delay, a sudden surge of energy starts building up within Kate. Most of it is invisible, but Dante can feel the accumulation of energy within her as she charges a ball of light in the centre of her palm.
“It's pulling in energy,” Julz says, “Our too,”
No way, Dante's mind argues as he decides to take a look at his own lifeline.
_ID: DANTE FORST
_HP: 36 (-64)
_MANA: 41% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 95/230
_NOTES: Surgically corrected spine and ribs. Multiple severe wounds were patched. [Expand for more]
Dante's eyes widen as he realizes she's taken around three percent of his mana from merely being in her proximity, and his attention is drawn back to her when the light in her hand starts radiating as bright as the sun. Illuminating the interior of the Arena.
Kate raises her hand towards Alex, seemingly with the intent of launching the energy at him and before she does, she grunts and shudders in pain.
“That's too much! You didn't consider the energy of your surroundings!”
Before Alex can say anything else, Kate screams in what seems like agony before her entire body glows and energy starts escaping her eyes and mouth in beams of light.
A giant rumble nearly collapses the entire tent before the white light blinds everyone in the tent, and the eruption sends a shockwave through the entire camp- one that was greatly reduced by the sim.
After everyone in the tent gathers themselves and looks back at the Sim, Heir Alex can be seen holding an unconscious Kate in his arms.
_LOSER
_ID: KATE WAGNER
_HP: 100
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/170
_NOTES: Energy depletion.
_WINNER
_ID: ALEX LIN
_HP: 100
_ARENA: SIMULATION DISABLED
_FIGHT DURATION: 1 min 32 secs.
Upon noticing the state of the fight, chatter breaks out amongst all the troops in the tent, and understandably so. The first thought crossing Dante's mind is the complete lack of control Kate has over her ability- If this was in the field, she'd have taken out everyone in the vicinity.
Dante also knows she doesn't have enough of a pool of mana. She needs storage space if she's going to consume the energy in her surroundings, and right now her stats are far too low for her to store much at all.
“Crazy,” Nadia shrugs, crossing her arms.
“Yeah, she's strong,” Dante adds.
“If only she could control it,” Julz says, “I think she was trying to launch the energy at Alex,”
“And instead she launched herself,” Nadia chuckles, prompting Dante and Julz to giggle.
_ID: NADIA MEHDI
_HP: 64 (-36)
_NOTES: Sudden trauma to head, -8 hp.
The laughter is cut short when Cassie smacks Nadia on the back of the head, prompting Julz and Dante to attention.
“Think you're funny?” Cassie grunts in annoyance as she steps in front of them, “You gain a few stat points and now you're an analyst?”
“No, Heir,” Nadia responds.
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“No?” Cassie raises an eyebrow, “Then what's all the chatter I'm hearing?”
“A waste of oxygen, Heir,”
“Mmm, I figured as much,” Cassie takes a step up to Nadia, bringing her face closer than Nadia finds comfortable, “When you're at full hp, I'll be seeing you in the sim. The same goes for you two idiots,”
Cassie turns and walks away, ignoring their confirmation and when she's far enough away, they all sigh in frustration- fully aware of the beating they're in for.
“Well, shit,” Julz grunts.
“Yeah…” Dante sighs, “But, on the bright side, it'll help us get stronger… Right?”
“Yeah, Dante,” Nadia says with a sarcastic, frustrated tone, “She totally isn't going to just tear us apart,”
“Well it's your fault, Nadia,” Julz rolls her eyes.
“Ugh, whatever,” Nadia waves her hand, “We were going to spar with Cassie eventually,”
Julz and Dante grunt in an uncertain agreement. Sparring with Cassie is inevitable… But, did it have to be this soon? A shiver passes down Dante's spine at the thought of it. The vivid thought of his head severed from his body isn't an exciting thought.
Fortunately, he doesn't have to think of it much longer- Samuel steps into the Arena with Alex, and Dante watches as Samuel does a few motions that give Dante the impression of Tai Chi but focused towards his hands, rather than his entire body.
A blue-on-red glow starts to emerge between Samuel's hands and the energy rises just high enough for Dante to detect it before Samuel claps his hands together- the energy surges through his body, tinting his skin ever so slightly to the same hue as his energy.
_ARENA: SIMULATION ENABLED
_LIFELINE: ENABLED
What exactly did he do with his mana?
Dante gets curious and looks at Samuel's lifeline before jolting when he sees it's been completely used up.
_ID: SAMUEL
_HP: 100
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/200
Before Dante can rationalise the decision, Heir Alex starts the motion of a roundhouse kick before he blips in front of Samuel to complete it. Samuel's caught off guard and gets a full-powered kick to the head that sends him crashing into the walls of the Arena.
_ID: SAMUEL
_HP: 96 (-4)
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/200
All of the spectators in the main tent gasp when his HP is recorded-
“How the hell?” Nadia stammers.
“He only lost four points,’’ Julz says, wide-eyed.
“Good!” Alex yells at Samuel, “You reacted quickly,”
Samuel grunts as he gets back up to his feet and clenches a fist before a sudden burst of energy launches him at Alex.
Alex doesn't even teleport and slips out of the way of Samuel's punch, which crashes into the side of the sim, cracking it.
The soldiers all gasp again.
“That one must've been costly,” Alex chuckles before stepping behind Samuel and kicking him in the back- pinning him against the sim.
Samuel yells in pain, dropping to his knees before taking a moment to get up.
_ID: SAMUEL
_HP: 62 (-38)
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/200
_NOTES: Minor fracture to vertebrae.
“Thought so,” Alex grins at the stats, “You aren't considering your opponent's abilities,” He adds as Samuel gathers himself, “I would have dodged that easily, even if you were quicker,”
“I figured it was worth a try,” Samuel grunts.
“Sure,” Alex says, “The fact that you're pushing yourself is a good thing. But using all of your mana is a bit questionable,”
“I need to know my limits,” Samuel says as his feet shift into his stance.
“That's what I like to hear,” Alex grins from ear to ear.
With the both of them focusing on the fight again, Samuel takes a moment to deduce a plan of action. At the same time, Dante, Julz and Nadia have been mumbling amongst themselves trying to decide Samuel's ability.
“It doesn't empower his skin, he took more damage this time,” Nadia says.
“His ability said ‘Armour’ so that has to be it,” Julz responds.
“But that wouldn't explain the strength behind his lunch,”
“Mmmm,” Nadia and Julz both nod and grunt as the three of them stroke their chins in thought.
Before they get any further, Samuel dashes forward again, slower this time and with much less energy charging in his fist. As he reaches Alex, he retracts his fist and raises the both of them, assuming a boxing stance. Two sudden bursts of energy snap in Alex's direction, punches so quick they each send small shockwaves through the Arena.
Alex successfully dodges the both of them, teleporting behind Samuel again but this time Samuel swings a back fist behind him, and it times perfectly with the moment Alex arrives.
A loud crash rings through the Arena, and Alex has an Arm up, blocking the swing before it collides with his head.
“Close,” Alex says, pushing Samuel's arm away before raising his arms to a boxing stance too.
With four sudden teleportations and punches, he blinks to all four sides of Samuel, punching him between each teleportation in either the stomach or face.
_ID: SAMUEL
_HP: 27 (-73)
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/200
_NOTES: Minor fracture to vertebrae. Multiple broken ribs. Dislocated jaw.
In the blink of an eye, Samuel's stats drop- and he falls to the ground, groaning in pain as the blue-on-red energy that was streaming through his energy fades, and his skin returns to normal.
The soldiers cheer and yell, “Get back up, get back up,”
Alex turns to look at Samuel, waiting to see if he's willing to continue fighting. Samuel slowly sits up, still in immense pain and he looks up to Alex, shaking his head before Alex raises his hand.
“Nope, that's all for today,” He says.
_LOSER
_ID: SAMUEL
_HP: 27 (-73)
_MANA: 0% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 0/200
_NOTES: Minor fracture to vertebrae. Multiple broken ribs. Dislocated jaw.
_WINNER
_ID: ALEX LIN
_HP: 100
_ARENA: SIMULATION DISABLED
_FIGHT DURATION: 2 min 02 secs.
“It's gotta be some sort of energy placement,” Julz ponders.
“But internal since he didn't project any of it,” Dante adds.
“So he can empower himself with his energy?” Julz asks.
“Seems too complicated to be that simple,” Nadia grunts, “Oi, Samuel! How does your power work?” She yells across the sim.
Samuel grunts in pain, still recovering from the simulated injuries and slowly gets back up to his feet- ignoring Nadia as his mind seems preoccupied with the outcome of the fight.
Before Nadia gets snappy and attempts to get his attention again, she halts and glances over at Cassie. Concluding that she'd rather not line up another beating before she's even been through the first one.
As soldiers begin clearing out from the Arena and return to helping the bulk of soldiers setting up the camp. Julz, Nadia and Dante get back to their recovery training, following Julz's lead as they use Tai Chi to restore mana and accelerate the healing of their bodies.