After a depressingly scant lunch, the applicants gathered back into Warehouse 4 for an explanation of the next event, the team battle.
They would be randomly divided into teams of four. They would be given the whole warehouse for the team battles, so there were no ringouts. Instead, in addition to an applicant being out if they surrendered or were unable to continue, they would also be given headbands that could be worn anywhere on their bodies as long as it was fully visible. If someone from the opposing team snatched an applicant’s headband, they were out.
The teams, and the order they would fight in, were announced shortly after. Jacob was put in the same team as Johnny, along with a woman named Giselle, who could control vines using a Regalia Blessing. He had seen her lose against Priscilla before. They also had a boy named Hugo who couldn’t be older than thirteen or fourteen. They were given red headbands. Jacob tied his headband around his upper right thigh, with the knot facing inward. He figured that would make it the hardest to get a grasp on.
They were put up against Haden, Priscilla, Aaron, and Bob, who were given blue headbands.
Jacob was not very pleased with his team. Hugo’s Blessing wouldn’t do them much good in an empty space without any objects or weapons to speak of. And with Johnny’s luck-based Blessing, regardless of how well they did Jacob was certain the insufferable brat would get most of the credit.
He also wasn’t too pleased with the opposing team. Haden and Priscilla were both power-houses in their own right, and their differing builds, focused on strength and speed respectively, gave them a rounded toolset. They were the people Jacob had wanted to be put up against the least. Aaron would likely not pose too much trouble, but Bob was another headache. He had spent himself against Haden, and while he’d had a minute to recover, Jacob wasn’t sure if he could use Clean Sweep much more today. So he was clearly the weak link in the team, but Jacob had to make sure they both got a B, or his plan was dead. Would it be better to ignore Bob and go for tougher targets to give the robot a chance to show off what he could do a bit more? Or would the instructors pick up on that and see it as Jacob not taking the competition seriously, or specifically favoring his own allies despite the team-based nature of the game?
He couldn’t think up any answers that made him feel good, so he decided to just go all-out and see what happened.
The teams were given ten minutes to talk strategy, so Jacob huddled together with the others. They decided to go over each other’s builds to get a better idea of how they should best be utilized.
Johnny started. “I’m Johnny. Seeing how we’re on the same team and all, I’m gonna let you in on some secrets about my Blessing.” He held up his gleaming golden coin. “This is called Favorite Child. It affects luck. It can give either good luck or bad luck depending on what I choose. If I give it to someone else, they get that effect for as long as they’re holding it or have it on their person, but the effect decreases the further the coin gets from me and the longer it’s been out of my possession. I’ve got the Embodiment talent, though, so I can easily get it back to refresh the effect whenever I want. As for the rest, I’m Level 1, and I’ve got points in Intuition, Appeal, and Finesse.”
Giselle was next in line. “My name is Giselle. My Blessing is called Unfazed Heart. Regalia.” The vines that covered her body in living armor coiled around her as she spoke. It almost looked painful. “I can control the vines at will, either send them out or bundle them around certain areas of my body for extra protection. They can extend up to twenty meters max, but that leaves me with nothing for defense. I’m a Level 2 Guardian, and I have points in Vigor and Finesse. I have the Stoneskin talent, which makes it harder to hurt me.”
Then Hugo. He looked out of place, barely a teen next to three adults. His eyes were completely black, without scleras. “Uh, yeah, so I’m Hugo. I’m a Level 1 Sage. My Blessing isn’t that great, but anyway it’s called Drag Below. It’s a Hybrid Symbiosis and Aura. When I look at something and close one of my eyes, I can make people forget that thing until I open my eye again. Only things, not people. I can maintain the effect on two objects at once, but then I’ll be blind, obviously, so I wouldn’t recommend that.”
Jacob could see that Blessing being useful in a general sense, but for this match it would likely be next to useless. There were no obstacles in place, and they weren’t allowed to use weapons other than Blessed items, so there wasn’t much to apply Drag Below to.
“How abstract could you get with it?” Jacob asked. “Can you make people forget the floor exists? What would happen then?”
Hugo shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve tried that kind of thing and it never works. Maybe when I get my aspects, but not right now. Even if I could, I would just make you forget, too, and that would probably be trouble. I can’t choose who remembers and who forgets. Sorry, I know that’s not very useful.”
Jacob held in a sigh. The kid wasn’t wrong. But he forced himself to give a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, Hugo. Do you have any useful attributes or talents?”
“Most of my points are in Mind, Intuition, and Senses. My talent is… no, my talent isn’t anything useful.”
Jacob nodded.
Dead weight, got it.
Urging them to move on, Jacob gave a more or less upfront explanation of his abilities. There was no reason to be cagey about it at this point. After that he also gave a run-down of the enemy team based on the information he’d gathered, and Johnny offered a few comments.
“Priscilla is going to be the big danger here,” Jacob speculated. “She’s fast enough to snatch our headbands away while giving us little chance to respond. Especially if we’re busy keeping the rest of the team off our backs. Johnny, if you give me the coin, I think I’ll be able to hold out against Haden. Giselle, if you wrap up the toads with your vines, that’ll keep them from causing trouble for a while. After that, you all focus on Priscilla. If we can take her and Haden out, the rest will be easy.”
There were no objections to that plan, so they moved to put it into action. Jacob pocketed the gold coin, which Johnny assured him would still allow the effect to work.
The other team finished their huddle and lined up on the other half of the warehouse. Haden in the middle, Priscilla on his right, and Bob on his left. Aaron hid somewhere behind him, and his toads plodded around near the halfway mark. Haden had his headband around his forehead. Being as freakishly tall as he was, it would be difficult to reach up there.
Jacob had some climbing to do.
Starman was the referee once again. Once everyone was ready, he yelled out “Begin!” and stepped away.
Jacob ran straight at the giant, ignoring all the other applicants. Priscilla became a blur somewhere on his left, moving at a dead sprint, but she was not his problem to deal with. Haden pulled back a meaty arm to whack Jacob with, but Jacob leapt onto him and clung to his oversized sweater, making it past his reach. He clambered up, sinking his fingers into fabric and kicking off with his feet. Haden tried to grab the back of him, but his grip slipped away.
Lucky me.
Jacob jumped the last bit, grasped at the headband, and yanked it away. He fell back to the floor in a deft crouch and threw the headband away.
One down.
“Haden Trodvis, you’re out,” Starman announced, and Haden obediently lumbered off, his head downturned in shame.
Jacob didn’t get much time to savor his victory. The gold coin flew out of his pocket and shot back towards its owner. Jacob turned to follow its flight, and found Johnny scrambling to get away from Priscilla. Before the coin could reach him, she had him by the throat and yanked the headband off his upper arm.
“John Palatini, out.”
Johnny caught his coin and skipped over to the benches, turning to give Jacob a noncommittal shrug before sitting down.
Jacob cursed under his breath. Giselle had ensnared the Familiar toads, just like he’d asked, but they had exploded, destroying a good chunk of the vines, and were already halfway regenerated. With Johnny dealt with, Priscilla turned her attention to Giselle and Hugo.
Jacob moved to help them, but a steely grip clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around.
“You are trash, Jacob,” Bob said in an oddly playful tone.
Jacob kicked him in the chest and sent him tumbling, then ran to help the others. He didn’t have time to deal with the robot.
But it was already too late.
“Hugo Erlund, Giselle Frohm, out,” Starman said impassively.
Priscilla had both their headbands in her hand. She balled them up, tossed them aside, and turned to face Jacob.
Aw, fuck.
Priscilla set off towards him. With not enough time to dodge, Jacob did the only thing he could think of. He Dashed straight at her, hoping to meet in a clash. He was reasonably confident that he was the stronger between them. But all of a sudden she wasn’t there anymore, and he skidded right past where she’d been. Hopping to a halt, Jacob looked back to find that she’d shrunk down to a small child, and popped back to an adult again.
He was about to brace himself for another attack when a shrill, airy sound drew his attention. Looking down, he saw one of the toads leap onto his foot as it began to inflate, a sticky substance that coated its skin keeping it stuck to Jacob’s pant leg.
It exploded in a bright green flash.
Jacob was thrown clear. He landed in an awkward roll, came to a stop on his back. Wriggling his toes confirmed that everything was still where it was supposed to. If not for the Mask of Friendship, he would have been at least a leg short.
Before he could get up, a hand reached across his field of vision towards his leg. Jacob tucked in and rolled backward into a rising kick, hit nothing. He got to his feet, only to get a smack across the face. He stumbled back, and something sticky caught on his leg, stayed there.
Fuck, not again.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The second toad exploded. This time, Jacob landed on his belly. He groaned, tried to get up, but someone pinned his arm to his back to keep him in place. He pulled anyway, pulled until his shoulder came out of its socket with a sharp pop. He staggered to his feet, right arm hanging limp, scanning around him.
Priscilla in front. Bob behind. Both closing in on him like wolves with a deer.
“What level are you anyway?” Jacob asked the woman, sucking on his teeth. Trying to buy a bit of time to think.”
“Five,” Priscilla said curtly.
“Shit. No wonder you’re fast.”
“You have no idea.”
Before Jacob could react, there was a blur of movement. He spun, and he was suddenly on the floor. There was a sharp tug at his leg as the headband was yanked free.
“Jacob Sorenson is out,” Starman announced. “Blue team wins.”
A message flashed inside Jacob’s head.
[CONGRATULATIONS, PRIME CANDIDATE USER! YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 2]
[PLEASE ALLOCATE YOUR REWARDS]
Great. Thanks for the consolation prize.
Bob came over and offered Jacob a hand. He batted it away and stood on his own.
*****
The second loss in a row stung Jacob pretty hard, but at least he’d performed as well as could be expected. He’d managed to take out Haden, and he’d held out at least a little while in a three-on-one. Surely, that would mean something for his final evaluation.
It still didn’t make him feel any better.
Popping his shoulder back into place turned out to be pretty easy, with only a twinge of pain. By the time one of the instructors came over to help him with it he had already finished, and was soon back to full mobility.
He didn’t pay much attention to the other team matches. Given his track record today, he dreaded what came after. Losing had not affected Johnny’s mood at all. He blabbed on about this and that without noticing that his conversation partner wasn’t talking back.
Finally, Jacob sighed and said: “I thought you hadn’t lost at anything since you got your Blessing. How are you taking this so lightly?”
“Oh, that?” Johnny chuckled. “That was a lie. You didn’t actually believe me, did you?”
Jacob shrugged.
“Listen, Favorite Child is a great Blessing with the right setup. It relies on the opponent as much as yourself. The more the opponent believes in the luck it brings, the more they mess up, the more they play into its effects. Mistakes multiply. Advantages mount. That’s how it goes. But it’s not all-powerful, you know. I’m only a Level 1. The best thing you can do against my Blessing is come at me with a solid plan and without worrying about the Blessing. You might have beaten me eventually, if you’d known that I could reverse the luck on the coin. Smoke and mirrors, Jakey. That’s all it is. Hope that doesn’t disappoint you.”
“It does a bit,” Jacob admitted. “I don’t like the thought of being beaten by something that flimsy.”
Hoping to take his mind off things, he moved onto an empty bench so he could have some privacy to level up. Level 2 wasn’t the most exciting in terms of rewards, just two attribute points, but it was something. And it got him one step closer to Level 3, when he would get to pick an aspect for his Blessing.
[PLEASE ALLOCATE 2 POINTS AMONG ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES]
Vigor (3)
Finesse (4)
Senses (0)
Mind (0)
Intuition (1)
Appeal (0)
Jacob put a point in Vigor and a point in Intuition. That would round him out, give him just a smidge more stopping power. He probably wouldn’t put any more points into Intuition for a while after this, and instead focus purely on Vigor and Finesse.
Vigor (4)
Finesse (4)
Senses (0)
Mind (0)
Intuition (2)
Appeal (0)
[ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR SELECTION?]
[Y/N]
Jacob chose ‘Yes’.
[INTEGRATING CHANGES WITH PHYSICAL MATRIX]
…
…
…
…
…
A cold shiver went through him, and he slumped forward as his muscles spasmed, teeth clenched tight. Then it passed, and Jacob straightened out, taking a few breaths until he was back to normal. The transition was easier than last time, which made sense since there were less points to be integrated with his body.
Leveling up happened through a process similar to Snapping. Through exerting yourself, putting yourself in danger, going beyond your limitations, but most importantly by becoming more in tune with your Blessing. Most Users peaked around Level 5. A lucky few made it to 10. Jacob had never heard of anyone who had made it to 20. Maybe Paragon, but there was no actual data on that.
Jacob was not going to stop at Level 5. No way in hell.
Once the team matches were all over, Starman stepped out to explain the rules of the last duel, where they would be facing off against instructors. The applicants were to split off into duos, chosen however they wished. Once they entered themselves as a duo, they would be randomly assigned an instructor to face off against within one of the four squares. The rules were the same as the singles duels, with a few additions. The applicants won if they lasted more than three minutes, and only one of two had to make it. Starman once again stressed that winning was not all they tested for, and that showing their individual strengths as well as teamwork spirit was the most important part.
The subtext was clear. The applicants were expected to lose, even with it being two-on-one.
Jacob had a choice to make. He could either ask Bob or Johnny to be in his duo. Bob had gotten two wins and a draw. Arguably the draw had been his most impressive showing, but he had at least been able to show that he had a powerful Blessing, certainly above C-Rank material. He was probably safe.
Jacob felt that he should be safe, too. Despite not eking out many wins, he’d had good showing except with Johnny, which had admittedly been a bit of a shitshow. Regardless, if either of them needed a boost for the final evaluation, it was Jacob. So who would suit his build better? Bob or Johnny?
In the end, it had to be Bob. Even before learning of Favorite Child’s limitations, the risk of being outshined by Johnny’s luck was as present as it had been during the team matches.
Besides, he had been neglecting the robot too much lately, and they had to get some team building in at some point anyway.
Bob was happy to be called upon, but admitted that he still hadn’t recovered from his duel with Haden. Something about his ‘processors being overloaded’. He did promise that he could get off at least one or two shots with Clean Sweep, though.
Johnny teamed up with Priscilla, and the two of them went up against Starman. They lost. Haden teamed up with Aaron, and they went up against Red X, the female A-Rank. They also lost. In all the matches Jacob saw, across the board, the applicants lost, unable to put up much of a fight.
Jacob and Bob’s opponent was announced. They’d be facing Think Tank. The former S-Rank.
Fuck. Just couldn’t throw me an easy one, could you?
It was a bad matchup, too. Think Tank’s Blessing, Mirror Twin, allowed him to use both psychic attacks and telekinesis. Neither Jacob or Bob had any defense against psionics. He would have preferred Starman. Regardless of the odds, it would have been interesting to see how his abilities stacked up against the Beacon of Arcadia.
But there was no use whining about it. They’d have to make the best of it. And if they got lucky, Bob could sweep the instructor out of bounds before he got the chance to do anything. The pudgy old man didn’t look like he had put many points in physical attributes, after all.
They lined up against Think Tank inside Square 1, and the former S-Rank gave them a shallow bow with both of his heads.
“This will be my first time sparring in some time,” said the first head.
“Yes, a long time,” said the second head, shrunken and shrill-voiced.
He brought up a timer on his interface and hovered a finger above it. “On my mark, I will start the timer and we may begin.”
“And we may begin,” echoed the other head.
“How’s the visualization going?” Jacob asked the robot. “Can you see this guy as trash?”
“Yes,” Bob replied with a small nod.
“Good. You just focus on blowing him away. I’ll deal with the rest.”
“Okay, Jacob. You have got it.”
“Don’t say it like that. It’s ‘You’ve got it’.”
“Okay, Jacob. You’ve have got it.”
“You’re just fucking with me now, aren’t you?”
It was impossible to glean anything from that blank expression, but the mechanical giggle told him what he wanted to know.
“Now, let’s begin,” both of Think Tank’s heads spoke as one. He started the timer and swiped it away.
They had to finish this quickly. Jacob rushed forward, ready to take attention off Bob and onto himself. Think Tank stood there, stationary, watching Jacob come towards him with two equally calm sets of eyes.
Jacob bore into him, only for his arms to grasp at air. He tumbled to the floor and came up in a roll just shy of the red tape, looking around.
He couldn’t see anything. There was no one there, only the robot standing at the other end of the square.
Then came the pain. A horrible, skull-splitting headache, like rusty screws digging into his brain. It shouldn’t have been possible—he didn’t feel pain that way anymore, not after dying—but it was happening. It brought Jacob onto his hands and knees, and he let out a long, pained growl, strands of saliva escaping from between clenched teeth.
Bob pointed his broom forward.
A storm wind followed, and Think Tank materialized out of thin air as he was tossed high. The vice grip on Jacob’s head let up, and he was able to take a deep breath.
Think Tank would have left the square, but his momentum was suddenly halted mid-air, and he floated gently back down until his feet touched the floor. Likely a product of his own telekinesis.
“Aha, very interesting,” said Think Tank’s first head. “I’ve never tried to influence an artificial being before. It seems to be more…”
“Tricky,” the other chimed in.
“Yes, more tricky than expected.”
Jacob got to his feet. He had a decent shot while the instructor’s back was turned. He braced and Dashed towards him. Again Jacob passed straight through him and almost bore into Bob on the other side, but managed to stop himself just in time.
Wait, no, that wasn’t Bob. It was Think Tank standing in front of him. He was sure of it. Every detail was the same, down to the last wrinkle on that shrunken head.
But Jacob knew better.
“That’s you, Bob, isn’t it?” he asked, and reached out a hand for confirmation.
A hand that met with metal.
“Yes,” Bob replied. “Are you experiencing confusion?”
The illusion disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the robot’s appearance returned to normal.
“Not bad,” came Think Tank’s disembodied voice. “Not bad at all. But I think it would be cruel to toy with my food any longer.”
Expecting an attack, Jacob stepped away from Bob to put some distance between them and lessen the chance of both of them getting hit at once.
“Can you see him?” Jacob asked.
“Yes,” Bob said.
“Hit him again with your Blessing.”
“You’ve got it, Jacob.”
But they didn’t get the chance. An invisible force beat against Jacob, knocked him off his feet, dragged him across the floor until the red line passed by his peripheral vision. Looking over, he found Bob lying right there next to him.
“You lose,” said Think Tank’s shrunken head as the instructor stood over them. “You lasted…” He brought up his interface. “Forty-one seconds. Against an S-Rank, retired or not, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Jacob sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
Forty-one seconds.
Three losses, one win.
Not how I saw today going. I’ve got a long way to go if I want to get into the big leagues.