Chapter 82: The Arena.

The punch came as a surprise to Grandpa.

He had been sure that Kaito had all the advantages in his spar against Charlie. What with the Illusions and the generous use of [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. Add to that the fact that Kaito had Enhancer as his first Type and the fight hardly seemed fair.

Yet, Charlie’s fist had found the taller, lankier man all the same. Breaking a couple of ribs and knocking the wind out of his lungs.

“Oooh.” Kaito whined from the floor. His long, hooked nose and black hair scraping against the sandy bottom of the sparring arena.

“Quit yer whining. I took worse every day from the bigger kids at the orphanage. Get back up.” Charlie chided back. His eyes darting from him to the three other opponents biding their time.

“I can’t feel my legs.” Kaito added.

“Maybe that would change if you took care of your drinking problem.”

“I do not have a problem.” He insisted.

“Sure, you don’t.” Answered Charlie. In a manner that could only be describes as infuriatingly condescending. “Next you’ll tell me Sully doesn’t have a problem either.”

“Hey!” I protested. Embarrassed that my grandpa was privy to this side of the conversation. “I do not have a problem! I can’t even get drunk if I wanted to!”

My voice came off a lot more normal now than before. The cells in my throat finally getting into the habit of acting out the slight quivers and rises in pitch that came with certain expressions. Even so, there were a fair few unnatural inflections here and there. Tell-tale signs that the words were not quite human in nature.

Grandpa and Dusty both noticed, as did all the others. But they at least had the courtesy to not mention it.

Charlie didn’t bother responding to my outburst and stared back at Kaito.

“Get up. The gnomes won’t sit still while you have a wee cry all by your lonesome. Neither will the other monsters for that matter. You can do better than this.”

Kaito grunted and disappeared. Re-activating [Hide] without properly considering how Charlie saw through it in the first place.

‘That’s going to cost him.’ I thought bitterly. ‘Not that there’s much he could have done. Charlie has got [Enhanced Reflexes] and [Enhanced Concentration] at 5 with [Sudden Reflexes] at 2 and [Sudden Concentration] at 4. Add to that his Kinetic senses from his Projector Type and it’s a wonder [Hide] has any effect at all. Even at high levels, what it does is remove the user from the target’s senses. It won’t work if Charlie uses his own abilities to force his mind to focus on Kaito. The addition of [Predator’s Instincts] from Shifter doesn’t help things either. It’s scary how synergistic it is with all other physical abilities, as well as Charlie’s own crazy battle-sense.’

Dusty was groaning in frustration. Sensing that Charlie had it all under control from his demeanor, but failing to keep track of Kaito herself. She was taking in all that was happening in the ring and applying it to her own training regimen. Noting what tactics worked and what vulnerabilities they exposed on her own fighting style.

I smiled inwardly, though all my lips did was twitch upwards.

“It’s okay. There will be time to cover all the bases. Besides, you’ve me to watch your back. There’s no way a petty trick like [Hide] is going to work on me.”

She blushed, and gave me a warm smile.

“Thanks Sully.” She murmured.

“Don’t thank him. He’s being stupid.” Grandpa shot back. His own [Sense Thoughts] unable to find Kaito.

“Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. I cannot begin to tell you how many good men I’ve lost in missions when they decided to relax, before the battle was done or when they overestimated their own prowess. A man is never half as vulnerable as the time in which he thinks himself invincible.”

I looked to him and nodded.

While I currently didn’t see how I could possibly be taken off guard, it never hurt to be cautious. I currently felt like a chess master, who had won ten turns before their opponents realized the same thing, but I could just as easily be blinded by something my powers couldn’t pick up on. My victory over Periwig was not assured quite yet, though all the pieces were in place.

Then I looked back to Kaito and considered how much he needed grandpa’s advice.

He had come into this fight cocky and arrogant. Believing he himself could force a stalemate, if not an outright victory.

Even now, he hadn’t been humbled enough.

He did a loop around the blonde, seeking an opening before lunging with his own fists readied near his chest. Trusting in the synergistic combination of his Enhancer and Telepath abilities as he went for a grapple. His [Hide] was at a high level, which all but ensured victory in his own mind, despite the beating he had just taken.

Charlie didn’t even turn his head. Instead, he created a [Force Wall] to cover his right side. Kaito ran into it, revealing his position, after which Charlie turned the wall off and punched in the direction of the contact. Using [Accelerate] on his arm while he called upon his active Enhancer boosts and his newly acquired Shifter boosts through [Muscular System].

Kaito lost three teeth and fell on the floor groaning.

Olga chose that moment to strike together with Prudence and Mantis-Man.

Despite the former having similar Type combinations, excluding Shifter, and having developed the same abilities, Olga never touched him. Charlie stepped to the side and thrust out his right arm, hitting her in the throat in such a way that her own momentum did more damage than a real strike could have done.

After that he used [Local Regression] to fly her back to her original position and [Decelerate] on Mantis-Man’s scythes to give himself more breathing room. The appendage slowed as if wading through molasses and Charlie took another step to the side in order to backhand Prudence, who’d only now finished growing claws. She yelped, perhaps thinking she was safe after using [Hide] on herself for the first time in a sparring match.

Charlie followed that up by using his active buffs to make himself both faster and stronger, even as he triggered his [Absorb Radiation] and [Absorb Sound] combo attack. He overfed Psy into the two and for a brief instant, light and sound ceased to exist in a dome around him. Charlie moved, quick as lighting, hitting Mantis-Man and Prudence half a dozen times in quick succession, breaking bones and twisting ligaments.

When that was done, he waltzed his way over to Kaito and kicked him in the ribs as the slimer man pretended to be unconscious in preparation of a sneak attack.

I only knew because I was reading his mind. I also knew that Charlie only suspected something was slightly off, his own lived experience giving him an inkling as to when he was about to be ambushed.

‘Well, that and [Predator’s Instincts]. Jeez that ability is scary. Thank goodness none of the combos I got from the Drake included it. I might need some time to get used to my new body before I start working on such a drastic change.’

I cringed as their thoughts streamed in. Doing my best to focus on the form of Charlie.

He was wearing a white and yellow coloured Symbiote shaped in the likeness of a welding suit. At least, one designed by a medieval armorer. There was too much bulk around the torso and around the legs, when normal welders protected their arms and face first and foremost.

He did have a visor, but it resembled a beaked helmet more than anything else. The ensemble would have looked comical if not for the moaning bodies strewn around him and the very visible bulging muscles underneath. Charlie was getting an adequate amount of protein in his diet for the first time in his life, and it showed.

Part of me wondered how much of the explosive growth was due to his own efforts and how much came from his [Enhanced Training] ability.

‘Probably most of it. You don’t get those biceps in a month unless you’re having concentrated steroid juices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unless you’re Slab or Dusty I guess, but those two pretty much confirmed they were more bio-engineered than Monsanto tomatoes.’

Mantis-Man had gotten up now and started healing the rest of the group. On the far side of the sparring chamber, Borislav had finished putting down a combined assault from Simeon, Ryan and Louise.

Borislav had chosen to shape his Symbiote to resemble the Bunny costume he’d had before being kidnapped and he’d kept the tokens from the penguin hunt to upgrade its physical resistances. That and his own mix of abilities from all Types allowed him to take a drastically different approach to fighting. He wasn’t anywhere near as graceful as Charlie was, preferring instead to tank the hits his charges dealt him while hitting back even harder.

The aftermath was…

Messy.

“Fascinating.” Grandpa sighed. His eyes wandering around the arena as Agnes came by with a tray of refreshments. Mr. Park glued to her hip as they went around handing out congratulations to all the fighters present. Whether they deserved the praise or not.

“You know Sully, this is such an eye opener. Used to be we had to rely on all sorts of studies and compiled statistics to determine someone’s approximate Rank and the ways in which their abilities might be used or countered. Our department spent billions of dollars each year tracking and assessing the newer, younger generations and making all sorts of reports on how they did against Rifts Spawn and against each other in mock duels. There was simply, too much variation in powersets. Too many questions. We saw someone who could breathe fire and had super-strength and wonder if the two powers were somehow linked, only to then see hundreds of people with super-strength but also enhanced reflexes or durability who could do other things besides. The Types were simplified for the general masses, but we always had more questions. Eugenics became a big talking point more than once. To the point where there was a growing fad of rich folks grooming impressionable supers from poor backgrounds. The idea that their kids could get powers was simply too tempting to pass up.”

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‘Well, that’s disturbing.’ I thought to myself. ‘Though, I guess it wouldn’t even scratch the surface of messed-up things I saw the bigwigs doing as soon as I absorbed Sarcophagus Solomon. Man, people are crazy.’

“And now… I can see a much more defined, concise abbreviation of Esper powers. Not only that, but I’m in a position to get all four Types and to train them up.”

He sighed.

“So, why do I feel so useless?”

“You’re not useless grandpa.” I protested. “You just started your training and this is all very new to you. You’re actually doing great, all things considered.”

He huffed.

“Don’t sugarcoat it for me boy. I’ve seen your pet monstrosity.”

‘Which one?’ I thought to myself.

“The big (Mittens)ing sea horror that flies you around.”

‘Oh.’

“Dolce isn’t all that bad. He only looks scary. He’s a big puppy inside.”

“He is a sea-serpent that’s bigger than a whale, with an anglerfish’s mouth and jellyfish tentacles that can squirt out lethal neurotoxins like its nothing. And he can fly and use [Hide] and take a beating besides. He would have sent our entire department into a frenzy if he showed up back home. And he’s only an elite mob from what I’ve seen and heard. That thing, a thing that could kill B-Ranks by farting in their general directions, is not even the scariest thing in this instance. What does the final boss monster look like? What does the secret boss the objectives reference look like?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” I waved him off. “The only reason I haven’t dominated those guys is that it would be considered defeating them by the System. We’d be sent to Human City early and so we’d miss out on another four months of having the ability boards. Better to take them out at the last moment.”

Grandpa gave me a sideways glance, but said nothing further.

“In any case. I’ve been talking to the others here and I couldn’t help but notice that I haven’t gotten the boost you gave to everyone else.”

“That’s because the ability is much stronger now grandpa.” I explained patiently. “That, and I have a lot more Psy to give once I do use it. I just… want to make sure you’re used to your powers before I pull the trigger. Just in case.”

“In case of what?” He insisted.

‘In case I break you by accident.’ I considered. Thinking back to the many, many people I’d left back home and how funny ideas had taken root in more than one.

“In case something unexpected happens.” I said instead. “I mean, who knows if the System will think a big jump in power is cheating? Who knows if they’ll send you somewhere else since you weren’t supposed to be in the Tutorial in the first place?”

That wasn’t bound to happen, but he didn’t need to know that.

Indeed, grandpa merely nodded. Satisfied with my response for now.

I looked at him and figured it was about time to drop another sensitive issue on his lap.

“Speaking of which, remember how I told you that we get to choose the world to which we return for our one-week break?”

“Yes?”

“And remember how I said I would be going with Dusty and Slab and how you said you wouldn’t be tagging along and how you wanted to meet up with dad and mom and make sure they were all right?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that you will find them back home and that you won’t have to worry about any government spooks coming after you. That said, there are some things you should be… um… prepared for.”

“Such as?” He asked, raising a withered old eyebrow in an accusatory manner.

“Oh, nothing much! Hardly worth mentioning.” I lied. “It’s just that I now have a lot of… fans. Some of which might be making… uh… statues and… doing things to those statues. I assure you I have got it handled.”

Grandpa’s eyes rose to a dangerous degree. Too bad I wasn’t done.

“Also, dad and mom and Puffin, the new adoptive sister I got, might not be in the best state of mind. The things I had to… um… let loose on their Tutorial instance were not exactly pleasant. They might need some peace and quiet for this next week. Maybe some counselling. Maybe a lot of counselling. It’s going to be hard to say.”

“Sully, what did you do?”

“Nothing! Nothing! It’s just that some of my followers are Intruders and some of those Intruders are a little bit quirky. That’s all.”

Grandpa looked horrified.

“Sully!? Did you send that Mittens thing to Reggie!?”

I would have squirmed, but my body remained stoic.

“Not because I wanted to! It was the best choice I could make at that time. Given the circumstances.”

Grandpa’s jaw had hit the floor. His lips quivering as he recalled the things that had popped out of the corners of reality. The things the possessed Desmond had said, as his horns erupted from his skull.

“Look, it’ll be fine. Okay? Yes, I had to do some questionable things, but you’re no stranger to questionable thigs yourself pops. You know damn well that, despite one’s best intentions, sometimes (Gnome) just hits the fan and there’s nothing you can do but replace the upholstery. This is like that. Dad and mom and Puffin and Luigi and a bunch of other people were caught up in a (Gnome)storm and it was up to me to get them out. So what if Mittens ate a few livers here and there? If that’s the price for my parents surviving then it’s cheap enough from where I’m standing.”

Grandpa was about to protest when another bout started.

His own hands were clammy and cold as his mind raced.

Mine own were normal, but only because my body did such a good job regulating itself. To top it all off, I had a bit of joy to ward off the awkward conversation. The hand holding Dusty’s own felt warm and snug. Her own mind re-assuring me, even as my grandpa tried to wrestle with the implications of what I’d told him.

‘It’s fine Sully. It is the duty of a child to watch after their parents when they are in trouble. You were only doing your duty. He should be proud of you. As proud as I am.’ She thought. Certain I would catch her thoughts using my powers.

I sighed internally.

‘I know. I don’t regret what I did. Only that I had to do it in that manner.’

We sat in silence on one of the benches attached to the walls of the training room, watching as two groups sparred on the sand-filled arena.

The first group was led by Slab, who stood at attention with his new club. A horrific tangle of solid bone with metal spikes lodged into it. With him were Colette, Ahmed, Stellio, Subutai, and Gina.

The second group consisted of Charlie as team leader, along with Olga, old man Park, Fernando, Esmeralda, Ryan, and Lousie.

They had Jane with them too but she wasn’t doing much outside of shielding herself.

Agnes walked about the perimeter, holding several trays filled with cooked monster parts and lemonades for anyone stopping to watch or bowing out early. She had all the loads floating beside her; held up by a [Force Wall] on her right and an [Frost Wall] on her left.

Her eyes were glue to Mr. Park as he weaved and dodged in and out of combat, rapidly switching forms on the fly.

He would glance back and wink every so often, though the gesture was somewhat spoiled by him having grown an insectoid exoskeleton.

Borislav was waiting on the sidelines, calmy eating a stack of roasted mole ribs topped with speckled mushroom sauce. Anytime someone got seriously hurt, he or one of the team leaders would stop the fight and call for healing.

At first glance, it might have appeared that Slab’s team was woefully outmatched, having two people less than Charlie’s team. While this was true and this did present an advantage, the engagements were far from one-sided.

The most pertinent reason was that the first team had Slab, and Slab was more monstrous than most actual monsters out there.

The man was menace, plain and simple. So much so that everyone knew he was the third strongest in here. A standout, even among the so-called rankers at the top of the makeshift hierarchy our group had formed.

As for the other reasons….

“Sully, you’re making that face again. Its wrong to hate people for having Types that you don’t.” Dusty chided.

“I am not making any sort of face.” I countered. “I should know, I’ve been struggling to actually make faces. Besides I don’t hate anyone who isn’t a gnome. And I have no reason to envy anyone here.” I answered back immediately, a bit taken aback.

She gave me a sideways glance.

“I know what you were thinking, even without you actually making a face. You shouldn’t look at those three like you’re about to feed them to Dolce.”

“I’m not looking at them in any kind of way.”

A barked laugh came from our side as Prudence trotted along with Kaito following behind her.

“Sully, I mean, come on. You’ve been at it for a month already. Subutai, and Gina have been avoiding you like the plague and Stellio’s mind is literally bursting with paranoia. The guy used to be a boxer and here he is, having nightmares where you’re chasing him around. Don’t tell me you didn’t know. We’re all mind-readers here.”

“As much as I hate to say it.” Kaito interjected. “She is right. I’d be worried too if I were in their shoes. What do you even have against them anyway?”

‘The fact that they used my power to help them and they grew too well. The fact that they got three Types off the bat and none of them have to wrestle with their own bodies to even express themselves. The fact that they didn’t have to fight as hard as Charlie or Boris. That they aren’t privy to all the horrible (Gnome) we’ve had to deal with in order to set the pieces on the board.’

I didn’t say that, of course. That would have made me sound like a petty loon.

It wasn’t their fault they got two extra Types instead of one like most people. They were merely the last three people to be rescued from a safe-zone.

I had been the one who wanted to wait until the next day in order to regain all my Psy and make the most of their growth. I was the one who wanted to see what happened when I used all my Psy to make the enlightenment last as much as possible.

I shouldn’t be angry at them for having three Types. It wasn’t logical. Not when I was getting along so well with everyone else.

I took a deep, calming breath.

“No. No you’re right. I…That was my bad. I’ll apologize today.”

“Awww. I was hoping to see some drama.” Prudence snarked while pouting.

She then proceeded to sit down next to Dusty, leaning back and placing her arms behind her head.

“So, who do you think will win?”

“Hard to say. These exercises aren’t necessarily the most consistent contests since there are so many abilities that people don’t take and have gone untested. Anyone here could have come back with a few levels under their belt from one of our hunting trips and completely re-defined themselves thanks to an overpowered synergy or effect we didn’t know about before. That’s the whole point of having these brawls in the first place. So, the fighters and the spectators can see what works and what doesn’t.”

“Right. Let me rephrase the question. Given what you know right now and barring any new surprises, who do you think will win?”

“Slab’s team.” I said immediately.

Dusty nodded knowingly.

“Oh? Why do you think that?” Kaito asked.

“It’s a simple assessment.” Dusty answered before I could. “Even if we ignore the difference between Slab and Charlie’s personal power, my brother’s team has more experienced warriors at a higher average level.”

‘Not to mention how much more focused Slab’s team is. Olga’s too busy ogling Charlie to react in time and Fernando’s too caught up on how good Esmeralda looks in her Symbiote.’

Her words and my private thoughts were proved correct when another round started and Subutai’s muscles exploded, growing to three times their original size while he activated his Enhancer boosting abilities. His neck inflated like a balloon until it looked like that of a bullfrog, though he did nothing except hold his breath.

I winced. Reading all their minds and realizing what was about to happen. Ryan and Louise were both Telepaths now, but neither of them could penetrate a Shifter’s natural resistance to scrying yet. Meaning no one in Charlie’s team was in a position to stop him.

Also, no one in Ryan’s team like Ryan. They only pretended to tolerate him and even then only to a point.

“What do you mean? Charlie’s team has more people.”

“They do.” Dusty granted. “That counts for little here. They don’t have more fighters. Subutai, Stellio and Gina are all used to violence in their own respective ways. Subutai especially, since he comes from a nomadic clan. One where weakness is as despised as it is in mine.”

Olga tried to intercept him, accelerating in much the same way that Charlie did.

Colette’s [Force Wall] intercepted her attempt, leading to a broken nose and another bout of swearing. Subutai, for his part, did not use [Accelerate], despite having the ability. Instead, he pumped Psy into [Local Portal] whose other end was placed behind the opposing team, pushed his head inside and released a screech.

The assault consisted of the [Vocalization] ability from the Shifter pool combined with the [Sonic Bolt] ability from the Projector pool. Subutai jerked his own head backwards through his side of the portal, reeling from the backlash of his own stunt. He collapsed onto his rear while Stellio and Gina moved to in to cover for him.

The result of his gamble was an invisible projectile that expanded at the speed of sound. It sent most of the opposing team tumbling to the ground, with the only exceptions being Charlie, who absorbed the disruptive sounds, Mr. Park who had been experimenting with disabling his senses so as to not lose his focus and Jane, who had three different layers of protection around her, including a [Sonic Wall].

Unfortunately, Fernando and Esmeralda had both been enchanted by the prospect of flight, him turning into a bat-like ape and her into a parrot-like ape with wings that sprouted from their backs. They had been flying near the high ceiling during the blast and both tumbled downwards like bricks thrown off a rooftop, breaking several bones upon landing.

Charlie and Slab both halted the sparring match once more and asked Borislav to check on the downed combatants. After that, they each took turns congratulating Colette and Subutai for their ingenuity.

“See?”

Kaito nodded in response. His mouth tightening as he did so.

His head was full of self-doubt, wondering what he could have done to avoid losing if he were put in a position where he’d have to fight a ranker.

I was about to offer some words of re-assurance, when Prudence beat me to it.

“Why don’t we all take another glass of lemonade and head over to the boards for some build planning? I’ve got a few ideas after today’s training and I think we should discuss it with our resident expert.”

Since I was the expert, that meant I had to shuffle my way over alongside them and Dusty.

My mind going back to grandpa’s own as he swirled the thoughts around his head.

‘He’ll understand.’ I assured myself. ‘He’ll have to. They’ll all have to.’

Then I used my powers to call on the Tall Man and all my other Intruders. Seeing what they were up to, now that their mission was almost over.

It was a good thing my body was as regulated as it was. Otherwise, I might have wept.