Alonso stumbled back, his legs barely able to support his weight. Each step felt heavier than the last, his body screaming for rest. As he reached the shore, he noticed Ayu’s eyes were open, and she was watching him with a soft, refreshing smile. It was strange—comforting in a way.
He felt like he was on the verge of passing out. The exhaustion was overwhelming, and though he knew he couldn’t afford to collapse, his body had other ideas. He simply let himself fall to the ground, leaning back against a nearby palm tree. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, his sword slipping from his hand and landing with a dull thud next to him.
As he closed his eyes for a moment, a series of images flashed in his mind—sent from Ayu. The first image was a shark with the number 49 floating above it, followed by a skull emoji, and then a thumbs-up. The next was an image of him resting, accompanied by an alarm clock reading 4 hours with the word MAX underlined.
She’s suggesting I rest for four hours, Alonso thought, piecing the message together. But will that be enough?
His body screamed for more. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for days, to let his muscles finally relax after what felt like an eternity of nonstop battles. But… did he have a choice?
As soon as he set the EM Alarm, his body gave in. He drifted off into a heavy, dreamless sleep almost immediately, the exhaustion pulling him under like a wave. His breathing slowed, his body finally relaxing, though his mind remained on edge, even in sleep.
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Alonso jolted awake as his inner EM Alarm went off, not from any danger, but as a gentle nudge—four hours had passed.
He groaned slightly, feeling his body stiff and sore, but better than before. His muscles ached, a deep burn from all the exertion, but the short rest had done enough to take the edge off. At least he could move without everything screaming in protest now.
He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightness of the afternoon sun. His surroundings came into focus: the lake, still and serene, the dead sharks littering the shore, and the palm tree he was leaning against. He rubbed his eyes, blinking away the last remnants of sleep, and then his gaze landed on Ayu.
She was a bit farther off, practicing with her sword and buckler. Her movements were sharp, fluid, and surprisingly aggressive. Alonso found himself mesmerized, watching as she moved through a sequence of attacks and counters.
Ayu’s style was unlike anything Alonso had seen before. It was a fusion of aggressive martial arts and swordsmanship, combined with something that resembled kickboxing. She wasn’t just relying on her sword and shield—her elbows and knees were just as much a part of her arsenal. A quick jab with her buckler would flow into a sharp elbow strike, followed by a fluid thrust of her sword.
Alonso kept staring at her, still shaking off the sleep as he marveled at the uniqueness of her fighting style. He’d never seen anything like it, not even in movies. It was ruthless, primal, and yet… beautiful in its precision. Her strikes weren’t random—they were perfectly timed, perfectly executed. She moved around an invisible opponent with deadly grace, her body a weapon in itself. Even her shield seemed more like an offensive tool than a defensive one.
How does she manage to move like that? Alonso thought, still groggy but awake enough to appreciate what he was witnessing. He had seen countless fighters, both in these trials and in his life before, but none had combined styles quite like this. It was as if she had taken bits and pieces from various martial arts, molded them together, and created something uniquely her own.
“First Chiara, with her ridiculous EM control, now Ayu with a combat grace that makes me look like a toddler playing with sticks. Why are the women in the Oasis so ridiculously strong?”
“Well, think about it,” Houston’s voice cut in, dry and matter-of-fact. “You’ve got young, attractive women surviving in a kill-or-be-killed world, surrounded by a mostly male population. You think they’re just gonna rely on charm to get by? There’s a reason they’re thriving. And not only that—Chiara’s the faction leader, sure, but Ayu moving solo while everyone else sticks to groups of three? That tells you all you need to know about her strength.”
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As Ayu completed another rapid sequence, finishing with a powerful knee strike followed by a quick thrust, Alonso realized that her style wasn’t just aggressive—it was efficient. Every movement had a purpose, no wasted energy. She struck with precision, blocked with the buckler just enough to open a window for a counterattack, and then launched into another assault.
He watched her for a while longer, fascinated by the sheer control she had over every muscle in her body. She wasn’t just skilled—she was a master of her craft. Her movements were natural, fluid, as if the weapon and shield were extensions of her.
Alonso was sure of it now. Ayu hadn’t just learned combat here in these trials like him or Chiara. She had to have been involved in some kind of martial art or combat sport back on Earth. With that foundation, she had built upon it, combining sword, buckler, and EM control to create an aggressive and uniquely amazing style of her own.
Something he had to admit he lacked. Sure, he had a scientific approach to combat—minimizing energy and finding the best paths to attack—but that would only take him so far. He needed something to make his combat technique more fluid, to transition from one move to the next without wasting time calculating. He… also needed to create his own style.
Suddenly, Ayu stopped mid-motion, taking a deep breath. She turned in his direction, catching him off guard. Her eyes locked onto his, and she offered him a small, soft smile.
Her face was flushed from the training, beads of sweat running down her temples, and strands of her dark hair clung to her forehead. The sight of her standing there, with her chest rising and falling from the exertion, left Alonso momentarily speechless.
In that moment, the exhaustion and the harshness of the Oasis seemed to fade, and all Alonso could focus on was her.
He quickly cleared his throat, trying to shake off the feeling, but the image lingered in his mind. Ayu, unbothered by his stare, wiped her forehead and adjusted her stance, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
What the hell is wrong with me? he thought, shaking his head slightly. Focus, Alonso. You’ve got bigger things to worry about.
But even as he told himself that, he couldn’t help but steal another glance in her direction.
Ayu calmly walked toward him and sent some images into his mind: him sleeping, the four hours, and a questioning look. Alonso nodded and gave her a thumbs-up, indicating the rest had helped. Ayu smiled in acknowledgment before suddenly sending something strange.
She showed the lake, and a clock reading 7:00 AM. Then, out of nowhere, a rocky path appeared, stretching straight across the water to the center of the lake. In the middle was a small rocky outcrop, like a tiny island. The image zoomed in, revealing a tunnel leading straight down from the outcrop.
As the vision followed the tunnel's descent, Alonso saw someone entering it, only to be ambushed by giant spiders. Their sharp, spindly legs pierced through bodies, and massive webs trapped the unfortunate victims. Ayu quickly rewound the image, bringing them back up from the dark tunnel and showing the rocky island again. It seemed no more than 20 meters in diameter.
Then, the most curious part: at 7:05 AM, the rocky path leading to the island vanished, swallowed up by the lake, leaving only the small outcrop in the middle. The message was clear: the path was temporary and only appeared at 7:00 AM each day.
Alonso frowned, piecing it together. A path to the middle of the lake… but it’s only open for five minutes. Considering the lake had a radius of 5 km, that meant he had only 5 minutes to cover that distance, requiring an average speed of 60 km/h. With his current stage progress, if he focused on a sprint rather than endurance, it seemed doable—it wouldn’t even be that hard.
But the significance was clear. The people who ventured into this tunnel did it at the same time every day. Swimming or using a wooden raft seemed pointless, with the lake crawling with hungry sharks equipped with steel-like teeth.
Ayu gave him time to process this information, but then she continued, rewinding time in her images. Alonso saw a group of seven leaving for the tunnel earlier that day. Among them was one familiar figure—Siddharth.
Ayu then showed them returning two days later, again at exactly 7 AM, crossing the rocky path.
Wait. Alonso’s mind raced. If I go tomorrow to farm the spiders for orbs, doesn’t that mean I’ll meet Siddharth’s group head-on when they return? Both of us waiting for the rocky path to appear? Talk about awkward.
But if he didn’t go, how would he farm the spiders? The stage progress from those creatures would be significant. Missing that opportunity could make his upcoming fight with Siddharth even more of a death sentence.