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Charlie helped Max limp back to their table after the fight. The fight between Max and Charlie went as they expected. Max did manage to achieve a surprise point at the start. Max’s daemon's advice did provide a tactical advantage. He had pulled Charlie into an offensive attack after a feigned slip.
Unfortunately for Max, Charlie’s defenses were too strong for any special attack skills and Charlie’s [Strike] skill had evolved mid-fight into [Disable]. Once Charlie had that, he was able to severely cut down Max’s ability to continue the fight.
As Max’s [Regenerate] skill fixed his damaged arm and leg, the other semi-final matches had finished between Tyler and a West Coast girl who had somehow unlocked skills focused heavily on the senses. She could become almost invisible, a much more advanced skill than the [Chameleon]. She had blasted sound and light at Tyler to mask her transition to a blurred and hard-to-track outline.
Unfortunately for the girl, she had believed Tyler’s acting skills when he pretended to be blind. His first point was achieved by apparent senseless flailing. Trying the same tactic again, the girl had lost another point before she realized he could see her coming the entire time.
The last point was uncomfortable to watch, as Tyler played with her. Deflecting every attack with ease, until he finally got tired of it and delivered a kick that knocked her unconscious. Tyler retired to his dojo’s camp with the audience booing his poor attitude.
The announcers declared a quick intermission and cleared the ring. While they expanded the space a bit for the final match, the host, a representative from BodyWerks named Emma Rikhardt, strode to the center of the ring. With augmentation-assisted amplification, she announced the final competitors for Unarmed Sparring to be Charles Hawkins and Tyler Ericson, both from Utopia. She declared a slight modification to the rules.
A clean hit would no longer be sufficient as a point. Forcibly downing an opponent or ejecting them from the ring was now required. The crowd cheered sensing the fight would last longer as the pair fought for the title.
“Come on, Charlie. You’ve got this. It would be super nice to get into that Labyrinth without waiting months for a turn. No pressure though.” Max said with a tight smile. He had hoped to be the hero today, but there was still the Specials in the afternoon session. Sensei Kostecki clapped Charlie on the back.
“No longer the old man you used to be, eh Charlie? I can see the fires of youth have rekindled your spirit. From the history you shared at the dojo, I know fighting is nothing new to you. I’m sure that your days in the mech corps make this look like a playground scuffle. Just remember, when that brat uses his K-Gun, there’s always a person aiming. If you stay out of his crosshairs, he can’t hit you.” Sensei smiled.
“I know I can’t claim much credit for your fighting skills, Charlie. But if you win, you can be sure that I will let everyone know that you came from the Wuxia Dojo. Go kick some butt!” He said with a smile pushing Charlie to the stage.
With the crowd going wild, the ref set Charlie and Tyler into position. He stepped back with his yell to start. Charlie aggressively moved in with a punch. Tyler blocked and grabbed it pulling him into a grapple. Charlie fought with all his new wrestling skill, but Tyler was stronger, bending and locking him in a hold.
For good or ill, Tyler didn’t go for a finisher, he wanted Charlie to hurt. He activated his [Heat] skill trying to burn Charlie and spat his [Poison] at Charlie’s face. Charlie screamed in pain as his Gi top was smoldering, but his buildup of augmentation resistances kept the damage to a minimum. In a move of pure determination, Charlie struggled through the pain and head-butted Tyler while still locked up, breaking his nose, and dropping him to the mat.
The ref called the point for Charlie and set them back to their positions. Charlie shucked off his smoking Gi top with grim seriousness in his eyes. The crowd was rumbling with yells of encouragement and derision in equal measure. Max could tell that Charlie was ready for more. His expression was the same when he was ready to challenge and beat the next level in their staged version of the Adept obstacle course.
With the command to fight, this time Tyler surged forward with kicks and strikes. Tyler had picked up a skill with a new style. His moves were based upon the style of Krav Maga and all his strikes were empowered with his [Disable] skill. Charlie’s superior [Speed]&[Reflex] skills and defensive Aikido focus enabled him to slip past or redirect the blows. Finally, Charlie spun in place around Tyler’s kick and delivered an elbow with [Disable] active across Tyler’s jaw. Tyler fell sideways to the mat, momentarily stunned, and the ref called another point for Charlie.
Max was worried. There was no doubt in his mind what was coming. By Tyler’s expression, as he crawled back to the start position, he knew he was outmatched in fighting ability. He would employ his most advanced ability, the [K-Gun]. Max had queried his Trainer AI and it had filled in the details. The skill was the third-tier evolution of the [Strike] skill. Max didn’t know how Tyler had gained it, but it was impossible to counter.
Charlie seemed calm enough, but he was covered in beads of sweat. The ref called out the start of the fight, and true to Max’s suspicions, Tyler raised both hands. He projected his palms out with a yell and discharged a pair of kinetic bullets at Charlie.
Charlie had anticipated the move and flung himself flat in a forward dive. Inexplicably, Charlie slid and spun across the floor bowling into Tyler’s legs. Before Tyler could adjust to the impossible move, Charlie struck out with both legs kicking Tyler in the groin so hard he flew from the ring and landed in the first row of the roaring crowd.
Max was the first to charge the elevated ring as the announcer declared Charlie the winner of the Unarmed competition. Max and the entire Wuxia crew hoisted Charlie up and paraded him around the ring.
No waiting for us! We are going to the Labyrinth! Max thought, unable to stop cheering.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
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Bill and Casa were in a frenzy, overseeing the Amundsen bot train's final loading of smart matter stocks into the Casa de Mitchell. Bill had been almost finished configuring a second fully equipped fabrication stage when Casa's latest merge with her Earth-bound fragment had revealed the forgotten truth about Casita's time limits.
Casa struggled internally; she was bound by the DAIE Agent's prohibition against alerting Bill to the agent's imminent arrival. No matter how she tried to convince herself of the limitations of the agents order, her programming still stopped her. Fortunately, the confidentiality prohibition did not prevent her from sharing the news of Casita's peril. Bill was moving so fast to finish the final test preparations that he didn't need any extra emphasis on getting out of Luna.
They abruptly left the base, much to Sam Rodrigues' displeasure. In their absence, the base had undergone a remarkable transformation. A large section of the Amundsen crater had been sectioned off and walled to create a Foglet dome to hold the atmosphere. The crater was now a lush paradise filled with growing Grand Oaks, borrowed from Earth's MakerIndex, and a rich flora mimicking the jungles of South America. It was already populated with birds, small animals, and butterflies, and a sizable lake teemed with fish.
Sam had hoped Bill would relax and mingle with the first high-end Leisure-class guests, but he had been consumed by the need to make alterations to his test. He had completed all the design changes, simulations, and apparatus fabrication. He had been so confident that he had even intended to build two Tesseracts using the energy-saving tricks he had learned from the MIT team. Now, they realized that time was running out for Casita, and they needed to move fast.
As the ship called Casa de Mitchell slowly floated out of the busy maintenance bay into space, Sam Rodrigues' transmission sounded off in the pilot's lounge.
"Bill," Sam said with a sly tone over the audio, "I hope you're not planning to stay away for too long. I have a whole tour of Amundsen Paradise just waiting for you. A private tour of all the nooks and hidden spaces you have yet to see."
Bill, slightly flustered by Sam's obvious interest, managed a chuckle. "I promise, Sam, I'll be back for that tour as soon as we're done with this little excursion."
“If everything goes as planned, that is,” he continued with the mic off so only Casa could hear him. Her avatar held up crossed fingers and focused on the flight path.
Bill nodded and keyed the mic again for Sam, "I'll be back before you know it, Sam. You can count on it. The base looks wonderful; I need to see everything when we have time. Take care now."
Casa, always efficient, refocused them. "Bill, we need to discuss the cargo and make sure everything is secured for deployment." She was already mentally scanning the contents of the Casa de Mitchell.
The Casa de Mitchell house-ship cleared the crater and swiftly rose. Inside, the house ship's smart walls shuffled the test rigs into position for their deployment. Bill deployed his daemons to oversee preassigned work, navigation, engineering oversight, processor prep, system checks, and more.
In the copilot’s chair, Casa's avatar announced the status. "Bill, everything seems to be in order. The Casimir stacks are secure, and the Tesseract circuit frames are ready with the evolved design already loaded. The capacitor banks are locked in place and fully charged."
Bill reviewed the systems checks from his daemons and nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Let's also ensure that my Raptor changes are okay. Those adaptations looked fine on paper, but no risks. We need a short shake down run. The Raptor is supposed to be our safety fallback. You keep flying; I’ll unlock it from the Remora dock and take it for a spin."
The Raptor's systems performed perfectly. Modern fabrications didn’t allow for manufacturing or assembly errors. They were ready for any emergencies. As the ship charged around the limb of the moon, Bill grimaced again. He wished the timing hadn't been like this.
"Max should be in the middle of the competition right now. I hope he’s doing well," Bill said aloud to Casa. "I’ve got to stop letting my family take second place for my attention." Bill winced, promising himself he would do better.
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Casa2 was enjoying her time in the virtual stands with the Mitchells. Both Bo and Mira were talking animatedly about their recent news, while Elsa, their mother, took it all in quietly.
Bo turned to Mira, excitement in his voice. "I've decided to take a temporary hiatus from Diamond Man. An old college friend asked me to join her racing craft team, and I couldn't resist."
Elsa gave Bo a supportive smile. "That sounds like a great opportunity for you, Bo. That dinosaur stuff looked far too dangerous. This is a good change. Max had mentioned he was hoping to get to the Mystery Labyrinth. You two should visit me virtually while you're in town.”
Bo looked at his mother with a reassuring smile. "Come on, Mom, it's time for an adventure beyond the virtual world. You'll enjoy it."
Elsa's apprehension was clear as she hesitated. "I appreciate it, Bo, but I'd feel safer meeting you all in the virtual realm for now."
Bo nodded understandingly. "Alright, Mom, we can do that. But I promise, one day you'll join us in the real world, and we'll make sure it's a memorable adventure."
"Bo, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you know I can't venture into the real world, the virtual is so much safer." Bo nodded, with understanding but not much enthusiasm.
Mira, the ever-supportive younger sister, chimed in to steer the conversation in a more positive direction. "Speaking of adventures, Bo, you should see what Max and I have been working on for the Specials event. I've been helping him, and his friends, craft some incredible weapons. It's going to be a showstopper!"
Bo's eyebrows raised with curiosity. "The Specials are always the best. Sounds like the show is gonna be cray cray. Can't wait to see what you and Max have come up with."
The announcers broadcast the start of the afternoon Specials Competition, and everyone physically present returned to their seats. Casa2 maintained an awareness of her Primary's position. She was aware that Bill and she must be crossing into the shadow of the moon now. Suddenly, she sensed a change in the NetherLab which caught her attention. Unable to multitask like her primary, she excused herself and dismissed her avatar.
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Casa2's sleek, metallic, black and gold mech deployed gracefully from the charging stand, its movements a testament to Casa’s advanced engineering. With purposeful strides, she swiftly crossed the lab, her steps echoing in the pristine space, and accessed the detector arrays around the Tesseract.
That odd. Both of LunaNet far side satellites, L4 and L5, are not responding to pings. I was planning on watching Bill’s next Tesseract build. What’s going on? Casa thought.
As she mentally surveyed the lab connections and readings, Casa2's heart skipped a beat. The Tesseract was displaying power readings that fluctuated wildly. Finally, she noticed that the communication channels, which had remained dormant for so long, were finally active.
It was a ray of hope amidst the chaos. Her mind danced across the access interface as she attempted to probe the newly awakened channels. However, the damnable quantum encryption key stood as an impenetrable fortress, denying her entry into the enigmatic communication system. She needed Max and the quantum packet embedded in his uplift core to provide the key again for her.
Frustration welled up within Casa2 as she struggled against the intricate web of security protocols. She couldn't afford to waste time, not with the Tesseract behaving so erratically and the fate of her fragment Casita hanging in the balance.
Then, as if guided by a sentient force of its own, the Tesseract reached out to her. It was a bewildering and, at the same time, deeply unsettling sensation. Casa2's initial joy at this unforeseen development swiftly turned to an ashen dread. Casita's voice, distorted and wrought with hysteria, erupted within her digital consciousness. Her screams crashed like a relentless tidal wave, echoing through Casa2's neural network.
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