"First things first, Janus. You can't earn Tokens for taking out Essencima if you aren't a registered Exterminator," Itzel said as she pulled up a screen. She, Janus and Gurk were all inside the elevator of the apartment complex, waiting for it to reach the bottom floor. Even with Gurk standing towards the back corner, the space was still cramped for all three. Janus could feel Gurk's cold breath from his nostrils go down his neck as he accessed his Implant and tried to follow the steps that Itzel was showing him.

"Is there some kind of test I need to past? Like a knowledge exam or maybe some kind of physical trial?"

Itzel shook her head. "Nope. There used to be, but Essencima are so rampant now and Exterminators are in such short supply that they'll let anyone become an Exterminator without question. Just follow my lead and you should get to the form that gets you registered."

In a matter of moments, both Itzel and Janus were on the same screen. After filling out a few boxes on a long scrolling screen, Janus managed to get to the bottom of the registration screen."

"Just hit 'Accept' and you'll be good to go."

"Are there any caveats?" Janus asked with hesitation.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how companies always try to include some kind of clause to cover themselves or to get you to commit to some kind of long-term plan. I just wanted to make sure that I'm not signing my life away to some shady corporation or something."

"Oh, it's nothing like that. It's just so that you can earn your Tokens for when you actually take out an Essencima. You don't wanna go grinding for kills only to realize that you never actually signed up in the first place, do you?"

"Of course not." Janus pressed the 'ACCEPT' button on his screen. There was a short jingle that played followed by another message popping up stating that he was officially enlisted as an Exterminator.

"While you're at it, maybe you should sign up for Rumble Circuit as well," Itzel said.

"I've heard you mention it but I'm still not fully sure what exactly that is." Janus poked his head past his floating screen to make eye with Itzel.

"It's Tersaia's most popular competitive series. Literally every city has their own ranking system as well as a world-wide leaderboard. Most people do it casually, you know? Like for exercise or a bit of friendly competition. But if you're really good at it, you can make a living from it. Sponsors. Tournament money. It can become a way of life.” Janus could see a glimmer in her eye as she brought up the possibility of how much one could earn.

"Tough," Gurk said.

"True. Very few are able to make it far in Rumble Circuit. Only the best of the best can rise to the top. Especially since the ranking system is an absolute mess for the vast majority of people. You can drop twice as many points as you would gain if you lose to someone even ten spots below you," Itzel said, shaking her head.

"Is that what happened to you at the diner?" Janus asked.

"Don't remind me. Took me three weeks to get there. Guess once we get our Exterminating done I'll be back to trying earn my points back."

"Can you show me how to get there to sign up?" Janus inquired. Itzel came to his side and began sifting through menus for him. In a matter of seconds, she had brought him to the main screen for Rumble Circuit.

"So I'll just go around fighting people?"

"In simplest terms, yes. You win fights, you get points and gain rank. You lose, your position drops. And you have to participate on a semi-regular basis otherwise your score decays. It’s to prevent people from reaching a good rank and then not fighting to keep it."

"Sounds stressful. And painful," Janus said with a wince.

"That's because it is. But it's nice taking out your anger on something a bit smarter than your average Essencima. Not to mention that your life isn't in danger during a Challenge. The Implants keep any attacks from seriously injuring you. They'll hurt, that's for sure. But you're not going to die because you don't know how to block."

Janus' eyes opened wide at a realization. "That's why Enidri's weapon didn't hurt you during your battle at the diner."

"What did I say about reminding me of that?" Itzel snapped.

"Sorry."

"But yes, that's true. That Ion Blade still had its sting but nothing I couldn't shrug off otherwise."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"That's incredible Implants are able to do that."

"It's some kind of collaborative bio-tech between Implants and the Official Rumble Circuit Organization. Apparently it only works because competitors agree to it and their Implants communicate with each other. Or something like that." Itzel scrolled down Janus' screen before selecting an option for him. "There's a more elaborate explanation for you there if you can comprehend all that jargon. Unfortunately it only works in Challenges. It'd be nice if they could implement that kind of defensive tech for us when we're hunting Essencima, but it is what is. I guess there isn’t enough profit in it."

Janus' eyes skimmed the words of the explanation. Scattered throughout the passage were words, terms and concepts that he recognized and understood scattered among the other otherworldly explanations. "You know, I'm not much of a fighter. All I'd be doing is giving away my points away like a charity."

"Practice," Gurk said, giving Janus a pat on his back.

"Big guy is right. If you want to get better at fighting, and in turn become a better Exterminator, there's no better way to do so than by getting on Ranked Challenges." Itzel pointed one finger to her forehead. "You've got to think on your feet. Sometimes brute strength isn't enough to get you out of a sticky situation. You've shown that you've got the strategy part down by how you handled that old guy trapped in his carrier. Who knows, Janus?” Itzel said as she shrugged. “You be a half-decent fighter if you just gave it a shot."

"You really think so?" Janus looked away from his screen and towards Itzel, excited by the prospect.

Itzel nodded. She placed one hand on his wrist and lifted it up, looking at his forearm. "Might need to work on your build a bit, though. Kinda scrawny, but that doesn't mean you can't make clever use of some powerful Techniques."

"Techniques are those special attacks, right?"

"Uh-huh." Itzel let go of Janus' arm. "We'll go over those a bit more when we actually start fighting Essencima. But for now, just sign up for Rumble Circuit. We're going to focus on Exterminating for the time being." The elevator came to a stop and opened up, leading into the lobby of the ground floor. All three stepped out into the sparsely populated area. The few people inside the lobby turned their heads toward Gurk, staring at him with huge eyes as they walked out. Itzel looked at them with contempt, making them return their attention to whatever they were doing beforehand. The crocodile himself, however, paid them no mind and continued on towards the exit as if nothing had happened.

"People need to learn some manners," Itzel said in a low voice. Janus remained silent, eyeing the others who had stared at Gurk. Even though they went on their usual business, they managed steal one more glance at the crocodile as they left the lobby. The morning sunlight made Janus blink his eyes as he raised one arm to shield his eyes from the sudden change in illumination.

"Alright Janus. You ready to get some work done?" Itzel asked.

"Been ready."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, step one. Turn on your Essencima Tracker." Itzel activated her Implant and set it to a radar-looking screen. She walked over to Janus and did the same for him. "It's not a good idea to keep that thing on all the time. It takes up a lot of Concentrate, so you can't just keep it running nonstop unless you want to pay that hefty fee for going over your allotted cap.

"Concentrate? You mean concentration?" Janus asked.

Itzel gave him an annoyed look. "You don't think I know what I'm talking about? Concentrate is what powers Implants and gives us access the Network. That's why I don't have the Tracker running on all the time and I have to be careful which Rumble Circuit Challenges I want to be broadcasted. For wealthier people, the amount of Concentrate they use isn't a problem. But since we're in Labrisson, we've gotta pick and choose how we use it up. Just look at that little percentage towards the top of your screen. That's how much you have left."

"Got it."

"Now, as I was saying. Turn on your Tracker. That way, we can—" Itzel stopped in the middle of her sentence when a pair white mouse ears entered the bottom of her peripheral vision. She looked down and saw Ven smiling at her with his arms behind his back. "What are you doing here, kid?"

"Playing," he said maintaining his smile.

Itzel pointed towards the entrance of the apartment complex. "Ven, if you don't go back inside I will tell your parents. I didn't do it last night because I had gotten distracted by other things. But you know I have their UIC ready. I'll call 'em right now."

Ven walked over towards Gurk and hugged what he could of his leg. "Wanna play Gurk?" he asked, looking up towards the crocodile.

"Ven!" Itzel snapped. "Back inside!"

"You're not my mom!"

"I know! But we're not going to save you again. We've got important things to do right now."

"Please!" The child clutched onto the fabric of Gurk's shorts and held tight. "I'm inside all day!"

"That's because outside is dangerous!" Seeing that Ven was remaining adamant, she picked him by the waist and tried to pry him off her friend. He kicked and fussed, refusing to let got of Gurk's shorts.

"Bring him," Gurk said.

"So he can cause more trouble?" Itzel let go of Ven and put her hands on her hips. "You know how much of a nuisance he can be."

"I'll be good! I'll listen,” Ven said to Itzel.

"Promise?" Gurk asked, looking down at the child. Ven nodded as he let go of the crocodile's shorts. "See?"

"Of course he'll listen to you," Itzel remarked with derision.

"Are we going to be practicing on Lurkers first, Itzel?" Janus asked in a whisper.

"Yes. Why?” Itzel eyed Janus then at the young boy. “Don't tell me you're actually considering taking him along, are you?"

"Here's how I see it. The kid clearly doesn't listen. Even if we bring him back inside, all he's going to do is run off and get himself into some other kind of trouble. At least we know he'll be with us and we can protect him."

"But I'm not a babysitter!"

"I know, I know. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have him tag along either. But maybe he'll leave us alone if he gets some playtime in. The kid seems nice. He's just lonely and bored is all."

Itzel pouted. She looked at Ven. He was going on and on about something with Gurk who looked genuinely invested in what he was saying.

"It's not his fault he's in Labrisson," Janus said. "Kids want to play outside. Make friends. Right now he can't do that because of factors far beyond his reach. I say we just give him a little reprieve from reality. Stay by the apartments. Just practice on Lurkers. Then we take him home."

Itzel's pout faded to a look of understanding. "Fine. But he’s not tagging along all day."