CHAPTER 58: Was that even a Challenge?

Adam came back after chatting with the people working on the food. He carried with him a large wooden bowl, like you would use for salads, only it was full of peaches boiled with sugar. Peaches that he was shoveling into his mouth happily with a wooden spoon. The Colonel couldn’t imagine less than five people being required to eat that number of peaches.

“You’re still hungry?” asked Ron with a sigh.

Adam shrugged as he stuck his face in the bowl and licked the juice and sugar up. “You know how hard yesterday was. I need a lot of food after healing like that.”

“I know, Adam. It was hard on all of us.”

“Did you need a bit of Adam therapy?” asked Adam.

“You make it sound creepy. Maybe later. I had a lot of nightmares last night.”

“Just let me know. I already did what I could for my group.”

The Colonel just followed them and listened as they talked. It felt more like Adam was the adult and Ron was the child, except for Adam trying to get every last speck of peach out of the bowl. When Adam was satisfied no more was coming out, he suddenly rounded on the Colonel.

“Take out your gun,” he said seriously. The Colonel froze, not sure what was going on.

“What?” the Colonel asked, confused.

“Is that how you were taught to follow order? Get out your GUN!” At the words a pressure slammed into Colonel Davian.

The Colonel, still flabbergasted, pulled out his sidearm and aimed it forward. “Is this what you want?”

“Now shoot this bowl,” Adam ordered. He held it in his hand, so that the inside of the bowl faced away from the Colonel.

“Why am I…”

“JUST DO IT!” Adam ordered, glaring at the Colonel who felt pressure building all around him. His breathing became labored, and his vision got wobbly as he looked at Adam. When he felt like he couldn’t take Adam’s look any longer, he pulled the trigger.

The gun fired. The bullet pinged off the bottom of the bowl and ricocheted into the ground. Once more his jaw fell open. Adam inspected the barely nicked bowl and nodded with satisfaction.

“How was the bowl not shattered?” asked Charles after a moment spent to steady his own breathing.

“Elven wood. Ridiculously tough. I could barely nick it with the weapon I had at the time. Elf daggers were more effective, but Garrett still had a heck of a time shaping what he has.”

“You did that to show me what we will be up against?” asked the Colonel, still getting his breath back.

“Only kind of. I was also curious what bullets would do to it. Just to let you know, level 12 Elves couldn’t be hit with bullets. They had shields made of wind, and their base was full of wood like this.”

They continued walking. The Colonel didn’t even know what to ask after that. A truly bulletproof material was being used as a food bowl, and it came from a fairly low-level invader. The boy might be right, the Colonel thought. They might not be able to stand up to them.

Eventually they arrived at the briar building. It was much larger than it had looked at a distance. From up close it looked about half the size of a football stadium. The front of it had a sign that announced it as “The Adventure Guild.” The Colonel raised his eyebrow towards Adam at that.

“Jordan is a nerd,” was all he said as he opened the wide door and went inside. The entrance opened into a room with tables and chairs that led to a counter, where several people could be seated behind.

Off against the side wall was a large whiteboard with a schedule stuck to it and then signups for different programs. The Colonel took a moment to review it and realized that it was training programs. They had Yoga, Pilates, weight training classes, acrobatics, self-defense, and then a few odder options like fighting monsters and sword, spear, and shield classes.

Adam waited for him, and then led them down a hallway to the side of the large counter. They passed numerous doors. Everything in here was made with the same type of wood as the bowl. There were also no windows on any of the doors to show what was inside.

Eventually the hallway opened into a huge training field, half the size of a football field. A few rows of stadium seating ringed the field. The area they had entered also had a few benches and a covered porch with a wooden floor. A half wall rose from the ground to waist height to create separation from the field.

His troops were already on the field. Some were in the bleachers, while others were standing around watching other groups that were using part of the field. A tall man in his 20s was dressed in a tabard and was guiding a large group of high schoolers and adults in sword forms. Another group was doing weird exercises using discs of wood of varying sizes. Another group had people sparring, with a girl sitting nearby, looking like a medic, and a boy sitting next to her looking at what the Colonel guessed was an invisible screen.

The Colonel was shocked that several of the people had levels in the early twenties, while a good number of the adults, especially the ones in police T-shirts, had levels between 2 and 5. It wasn’t just Adam’s group that had leveled. They had found a way to get others leveled as well.

“What is all this?” the Colonel asked Adam.

“That guy is Lilliard, who is a competitive swordsman. He's teaching people how to use weapons. Some of my team are teaching spearman-ship and how to use shields. Then we have some people who have stats trying to do exercises to see if there’s a way to increase stats without leveling up. Finally, we just have people brawling to get better. The two in the stands are my group’s healers, though the boy is probably editing more videos right now.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Their entrance was noticed and quite a few people came over. Several of the groups, especially the combat practice, stopped as people meandered over to them, along with the healers. One boy walked up to Adam, put his arm around him and then began whispering. He nodded a few times before shouting, “Challenge time!”

That stopped everything. Instead of a meander, there was a scramble to get close enough to see what was going to happen. Both teens and adults excitedly hurried over. The boy who had shouted, the one from the TV interview, walked up to the Colonel. “Any special rules?”

The Colonel turned to the larger of the level 2 soldiers. “Doug, any special rules?”

“Uh, I’ll just try not to kill him,” Doug said with a generous smile, while pulling out a combat knife. Laughter erupted from everyone but the soldiers.

Without an ounce of concern, Adam walked about 50 paces from the soldier. He didn’t have a weapon. Tank top and sweatpants were all the armor he wore, not even putting on shoes. Closing his eyes, he took a leisurely breath and turned his head upwards.

Tom came to the side of them but kept his distance. He acted as referee. “Alright. Weapons are allowed, and Doug has the rule that he won’t kill the boss.” That required a wink to the audience, followed by more laughs. “Let me know when you're ready, Dougie.”

Doug stretched and flexed a bit. He was wearing lighter combat armor over top his fatigues. A few practice swings of his knife, held in a reverse grip, and then he nodded to Tom and stepped forward. He lowered himself into a combat position. Adam stood there, completely relaxed, head up turned, and breathing casually.

“Alright. Begin in 3 … 2 … 1 … NOW!”

BOOM!

The instant Tom had said “now,” Adam had disappeared. At the same time Doug was on his back, with the ground cracked underneath him. Adam had his hand on Doug’s chest, as he was bent down, having simply shoved Doug to the ground. Silence followed the sudden sound, as the army company took a moment to realize what had happened, and the group that was accustomed to this was just waiting.

“Winner, the boss! Was that even a challenge? Abbey, I think you’re needed,” Tom announced. Abbey came through the crowd with a “Combat Healer [6]” over her head and moved towards Doug. Adam just stood there with his arms crossed, looking indifferent.

“MEDIC!” cried one of the soldiers, as one of the troops rushed to Doug with a large first aid case. Doug was coughing up blood, struggling to breath.

“He has several broken ribs, probably a cracked spine. I think his lung is punctured too,” said the medic, opening his case.

“YOU!” shouted the Colonel as he strode forward in a fury. “You crippled my soldier?! All this posturing and providing info and then you nearly kill him?!” The other soldiers were still staring in shock. Several had their hands on their guns. Adam looked into the eyes of the Colonel, not changing his expression at all. He raised one hand and pointed to where Abbey was leaning over Doug.

“[Slight Heal],” Abbey said as her hand flashed red while touching Doug’s forehead. “[Slight Heal]. [Regenerate].”

Doug coughed once more, clearing some blood out of his lung, and then sat up. He was a bit wobbly, but Adam took his arm and effortlessly pulled the larger man to his feet while steadying him. The army medic just stared. The soldiers all stared. The Colonel, mid rant, stared. Abbey gave Adam a light kiss and then headed for the stands.

“What, uh, what just happened?” asked the Colonel.

“Your soldier lost the challenge. Then the lovely Abbey, already taken by the boss so don’t think of hitting on her, healed your soldier,” said Tom matter-of-factly. “The challenge is done.”

“But Doug didn’t even have a chance to move,” the Colonel blurted.

“Not our fault you brought a weak one,” replied Tom.

“But he’s level 2!” the Colonel practically cried.

“So? I’m level 21 and wouldn’t be able to touch the boss.”

“How is that possible?!”

Tom shook his head with a sorrowful look, as if commiserating with the Colonel. Then he theatrically thought while putting his fingers on his chin. Finally, he seemed to come up with an idea and walked over to the Colonel, who he disrespectfully put an arm over his shoulders.

“Listen, I feel bad for you, ya know?” he said like a typical conman. “Your guy, he just wasn’t ready, just didn’t understand what these fights are like.” The Colonel looked at Tom like he was insane. “How about we give you another chance.”

“Another chance?” asked the Colonel dubiously.

“That’s a great idea, having another chance!” Tom said as if the Colonel was the one who suggested it. “We’ll just tweak the rules a bit. How about in consolation, we’ll let you use ALL your soldiers at the same time.”

“All of them?” eyed the Colonel.

“Yeah, great! All of them. They can use any weapon they want, even their guns.”

“Isn’t that too much? People don’t walk away from gunshots.”

“See his neck scar? Boss, turn around and tilt your head. Yeah, like that. Ok, that was a gunshot wound. Cops shot him. I know what you are thinking but it wasn’t their fault. They were mind controlled.”

“Mind controlled?!”

“I know, right? Mind controlled! Invaders infiltrating authority, but I’m sure you guys already know about all that. Anyway, gunshot to the neck. Gruesome stuff. Really something to lose your lunch after seeing. I’ll show you the video after dinner. Didn’t even slow the boss down. No worries about guns. Go nuts with them.”

“This seems dangerous,” said the Colonel, trying to get away from Tom’s arm but failing to.

“Yeah. Right. Dangerous. No worries. Alright, since we’ve agreed, spectators to the stands. Soldiers form up. Ed, make sure you get a good angle. Boss, stand over there.” Tom forcibly led the Colonel out of the way.

The captain looked at the Colonel but only received a shrug in response. Since Adam still looked unconcerned, the captain started forming up ranks and having everyone get into position. Once they were there they looked between Adam and the captain.

“Are you sure this is ok?” asked the Colonel, having given up on escaping from Tom.

“Oh, no no no. This isn’t ok at all.” Then Tom shouted at the soldiers, “Guys, you need to shoot to kill. Why aren’t your guns already aiming at him? This is a challenge. Freakin’ point those guns. Seriously, who taught you slackers to prepare? Aim them…yeah, that’s right. Up. Yes, point them forward! Towards the boss.”

The soldiers were verbally berated until they complied and aimed their guns at Adam.

“Ok, Challenge will begin when I say now. Don’t forget that I’m rooting for you army guys. Point and shoot. Take that rat bastard boss of mine that I adore and fill him with holes. On the count of 3 … 2 … 1 … NOW!”

Adam had decided to handle this like he did the elves. He had formed the connections while they were getting coached by Tom. Then he intercepted the hostility and replaced it with friendship vibes. When the match began he smiled and thought about how everyone here was his good friend. When they began smiling at him, he slowly walked towards the center of the group. Almost 100 soldiers. The muzzles of their guns began pointing towards the ground as they chuckled and elbowed each other in comradery.

“What are they doing?” demanded the Colonel.

“Shh, I’m refereeing the match,” scolded Tom, causing the Colonel to frown.

Adam continued to smile at them as he walked forward. His smile was radiant, bringing happiness to all his buddies. Then Adam saw a bug was in their midst, on the ground. To keep his friends happy he had to squish the bug. Adam’s leg was lifted. A glow surrounded his bare foot. Then the foot was brought down with the force of a missile strike.

The ground didn’t just shake, it rippled like waves in the ocean, then exploded upwards. The soldiers all around Adam were thrown into the air. As they began falling, Adam moved as fast as he could. Rifles and handguns were taken and tossed to the side, safeties on. The first soldier’s knife was taken, and Adam scratched a line in the side of each soldier’s neck in the same place.

While Adam couldn’t get to everyone before they landed, there was enough disorientation and stumbling that Adam was able to weave in and out of the group, disarming and marking each of them. By the time he was done and had returned to his starting point, Tom was smiling hugely.

“Winner, the boss. Congratulations soldiers of the US Army! Wear that mark with pride. You are the first soldiers to learn just how truly screwed humanity is!”