A great number of things could be assumed by the small encounter that Dallion had experienced. For starters, the initial target was wild and sloppy. He definitely wasn’t a late bloomer—a lot of training had gone into honing the skills he had, yet unlike the awakened world, he had done so in a complete vacuum. Any and all new experiences put him off his game entirely. If Dallion were to guess, he hadn’t seen a hostile awakened before, let alone faced one. That, in turn, brought to the second participant.

Way more experienced, she knew exactly how to act in combat, achieving the most with the least amount of effort. She had the ability to combat split, as well as at least an attack skill, giving her the upper hand. Atol would have to convince several dozen trained professionals to assist in order to have a chance at victory, and even then, nothing was guaranteed. With someone like that, there could only be one reason why the boy wasn’t more prepared: the woman never wanted him to have awakened powers. It also meant that the teen had trained himself in secret.

“What about this?” A court sketch artist showed a picture to Dallion and Atol.

Nearly all the features were drawn as described, but Dallion couldn’t help but feel that either of them would do a better job. In different circumstances, he would have had a go. Doing so now, though, was bound to raise further suspicions.

“Looks about right,” he said and turned to Atol.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Good thing that you have sharp memories,” the sketch artist said, handing the sheet of paper to the marshal.

“Lucky that she wasn’t wearing a helmet,” the old man noted. “I’d call that a pretty peculiar coincidence.” He cast Dallion a glance. “The first time you’re here after Lord knows how long and the suspect stumbles onto you less than a minute after your visit.”

“It’s a rather expensive car.” Dallion tried to play it down, but there was no denying it was too much of a coincidence.

The marshal gave him a look, as if Dallion’s fly was unzipped, then handed the sheet to his deputy.

“Anything on that, Jimmy?”

“Patricial Legrand,” the other said, barely glancing at the picture. “Has a small ranch a few hours from here. Used to be in a biker gang as a child. Lots of issues there, until one day she went straight and fixed her life in a single go. Has friends and family in Atlanta, which she avoids. Worked at the ranch as a farm hand for a while until the owner added her to the will. There was an investigation, but no foul play was suspected. The old man didn’t have much, plus most of his family didn't want anything to do with him.”

Everyone stared at the deputy marshal.

“She also has a son who graduated last year and was on the state champion's’ team. He didn’t play, but as part of the team he got a ring.” The man smirked. “I went through the files while you were busy with the sketch. Thought there might be some connection.”

“Looks like you found it,” Atol said. “Name?”

“Kul Legrand,” the deputy continued. “Tried to change it twice. Not the best name to have growing up. School must have been hell.”

“I bet.” The marshal nodded. “Got the address, Jimmy?”

“Absolutely, Marshal.”

The two men looked at each other. Even a non-awakened would clearly understand that they weren’t willing to share the information with civilians. Then again, none of them had a way to defend against Atol’s voice.

“Do we get to see?” she asked, using her music skills at full blast.

“It might not be the best idea,” the deputy said reluctantly. “We won’t have you chasing after her alone.”

“Now, Jimmy. Miss Waters won’t go out there alone, will you, miss?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, matt.” The woman smiled.

“What did I tell you? Get the car ready. We’ll be heading there after I finish my coffee.”

“Our car is faster,” Dallion said, and already regretted it. The glance that both men gave him made it clear they weren’t in the best of moods, and any arguments wouldn’t improve their composure.

In the end, things happened as the marshals wanted. Dallion and Atol had to suffer a ride in the back of a car, with Matt and Jimmy in front. It was just like going to a family outing, but worse. The speed was slow, the heat—unbearable, and if the deputy was to be believed, it would be at least three hours before they got anywhere near.

Hey, Dallion told the car.

Howdy, the old Ford replied.

Any chance you can fix the air conditioning?

Sorry, kid. Darned thing hasn’t worked for years. Don’t worry, though. That builds character. Just something a city slicker like you needs.

To some degree, it could be argued to be the case. Dallion, though, wasn’t in the mood.

SPHERE AREA AWAKENING

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Reality shifted.

The realm of the ford was a lot more rustic than one might expect. Metal and wood were combined, creating a multitude of bulky mechanisms that went all the way to the horizon.

“No wonder you’re in such a condition,” Dallion said, stepping towards a nearby iron pillar. Rust and corrosion covered every part of it, giving a fifty-fifty chance that it had completely hollowed out.

Carefully, Dallion slid a finger along the pillar while applying some pressure. The surface gave in, causing a small crack to form.

“I can fix that.” Dallion quickly pulled his finger back. “I can fix all of you, if you want.”

Almost on cue, a large entity emerged from the ground some fifty steps away. There was no doubt that it was the realm’s guardian. For one thing, it wasn’t a creature at all. It was both a combination of parts, but also not. Describing it was difficult, if not impossible. It had the notion of a car, yet wasn’t. gears and pistons composed its frame, yet remained unattached. If someone were to see a picture of it, they would say that someone had made a jigsaw of various car parts, placing them together just to make a whole.

“That’s the problem with you youngins,” the guardian said with its thick accent. “You never know what builds character and what not. You also never know when to leave things be.”

“I’m older than I look.” Dallion tried to summon a weapon again. Unfortunately, nothing happened. He also tried to concentrate and see the guardian’s information rectangle.

For a fraction of a second, a white outline flashed in and out of existence, yet didn’t remain long enough for him to make anything out.

“You’re different, kid. I can tell that much. You’re still too young to be meddling with things here.”

COMBAT INITIATED

At least fighting worked the same way. Seeing the rectangle, Dallion split into two instances and quickly leaped back.

A long slash attack followed. It was particularly frightening how parts of the guardian recombined, creating an arm with a rather long reach and a razor sharp edge. There had been no green markers, no warnings, no indication of what to do to defend himself.

Last time I complain about guard skills, Dallion thought as he changed direction, dashing forward with one of his instances. Already he knew that he couldn’t defeat the guardian as he was. Although his speed and reflexes were greater than those of normal humans, he’d need the effects of an awakened skill to win. On the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity to re-learn one.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion attempted to leap over the guardian’s next attack, then land a strike in the chest area where a series of pistons were moving.

By his estimation, there was a ten percent chance that such a hit did any damage. Unfortunately for him, the instance didn’t survive long enough for the attack. The car’s strike sliced him in two, forcing him to switch to the other reality.

“You seem to play it safe,” the guardian said. Unable to combat split, all he saw was Dallion retreat. “Winning is for the brave, kid. You can’t win if you don’t attack.”

“Who says I’m not?” Dallion split again.

This time, he attempted to slide beneath the arc strike with the aim of jumping back up later. The attempt was only marginally successful. While the initial attack was avoided, the guardian’s arm transformed again, causing a piston to burst through Dallion’s chest.

You really aren’t playing around, Dallion thought.

He didn’t have an emblem here, so there was no telling what would happen if he’d lose. In fact, if it wasn’t for the combat splitting, this would have proven quite perilous. Then again, without combat splitting, Dallion wouldn’t have been as reckless. There was one thing that the guardian was right about, though—there was no victory without attacking.

Time after time Dallion would combat split only to have another of his instances be dispatched out of existence. There was no doubt that he was getting better, but progress was painfully slow; also combat splitting was just as exhausting as he remembered. Barely had he gone through ten splits when he was already breathing heavily.

“You’re a total mess, kid,” the guardian said in disapproving fashion. “I see you have guts, but you’ll need more.”

That much was obvious. If things continued as they were, Dallion would slowly fizzle out until he could no longer combat split at all. Back in the awakened world, he’d have risked everything and gone on one final attack, but that would be wrong. The whole point of his attacks wasn’t to land a hit, but somehow to reignite his skill. Last time that had cost him a third of his health. Could it be that was the requirement?

Concentrating, Dallion focused on the guardian. The entity was twice as tall and lethal, though not outright aggressive; that meant it didn’t go on a rampage chasing after Dallion. Like an old veteran, its moves were precise, a result of decades of experience.

I just need to get hit, Dallion thought. But not killed.

Splitting again, he charged forward.

An attack followed—the same that had been killing his instance so many times so far. Unlike all previous approaches, Dallion didn’t attempt to evade it… at least not fully. Moving back just enough to prevent him from being severed.

As the sharp edge approached, Dallion gritted his teeth, blocking it with both hands.

MAJOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 50%

The pain swept through him, almost making him switch to his other instance. However, his strength of will proved greater. The healthy instance faded away, with the injured one becoming reality. That wasn’t all. Suddenly, a green cone became visible—the potential attack zone that he had to avoid.

Of course it would be guard. Dallion laughed internally as he quickly set off to complete a full sequence.

With everything he went through in his previous battles, he’d have thought that the guardian would do everything in its power to prevent that, but that wasn’t the case. A series of standard attacks followed, each just as fast and avoidable as the last.

Time slowed down more and more until it came to a complete stop.

“Sorry about this,” Dallion said. “But I really need the air conditioning.”

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

Next thing Dallion knew, he was back in the car, only this time he could feel a cool flow of air.

“That’s new,” the marshal said, then placed his hand on the car’s aircon to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. “Thought that thing was out of order.”

Immediately, Atol gave Dallion a warning glance. She strongly suspected that he was involved, and didn’t approve of it.

“Wake me when we get there,” Dallion said. Exhaustion made his eyelids feel like lead bars. “I’ll take a nap.”

“We’re less than two hours away,” the woman raised her voice, but it was already too late. Dallion had fallen asleep.