The next day, Theo stood before the training lab’s reflective wall, rolling his shoulders, flexing his fingers, and twisting his torso to get a feel for his new armor mesh. It clung to him like a second skin, a nearly invisible lattice of interwoven metallic strands that shifted with his every movement. He looked damn good in it—at least, he thought so.
"So, how badass do I look?" he asked, turning toward Raz with an exaggerated pose.
Raz barely glanced up from his console. "Like someone about to overestimate his own competence and break something expensive."
Theo smirked. "That sounds about right, actually."
The older man sighed, adjusting a few settings on the control panel before responding. "The mesh is a prototype exoskeletal enhancement. It reinforces your movements, locks your joints for stability, and redistributes impact forces to prevent trauma. Within reason."
Theo arched a dubious eyebrow. "And what’s ‘within reason’? Punch-a-hole-through-a-wall reasonable or survive-a-falling-boulder reasonable?"
"Depends on the type of wall and weight of the boulder, obviously," Raz said flatly, typing without looking at him. "The mesh absorbs impact, but you’ll still feel the force. It won’t make you invincible—just less breakable. There is a slightly enhanced strength function that will give you momentary bursts of power, but extended use will burn out the battery faster than your attention span wanes."
Theo clenched his fist and watched the mesh subtly tighten along his knuckles. "Fine. I won’t suplex a mountain on the first day. But you better not be holding out on me. I plan to put this thing through its paces."
Raz turned toward him, expression unreadable. "You’ll get plenty of chances."
The lab dimmed, and a holographic countdown appeared on the wall. Theo heard the whir of moving machinery as the training floor restructured, shifting walls and raising barriers to form an enclosed combat zone. It was impressive how fast this place could rearrange itself, like a giant Rubik’s cube of simulated violence.
"Before we begin," Raz said, "you need to understand the nature of the enemies you’ll be facing beyond this facility. The System has reshaped humanity. Strength and even skill alone will no longer dictate survival."
Theo crossed his arms. "Then what will?"
Raz swiped across the console, and a series of figures flickered to life in the air. Theo watched various combatants appear—some glowing with raw power, others moving like distorted shadows, some barely human at all.
"Those who survived the System's initiation and tutorials will be altered at a fundamental level," Raz explained. "Some embraced direct physical augmentation, others adapted to elemental magic, while a rare few evolved psionic abilities. Each type presents a distinct challenge."
Theo eyed the projections, watching a man punch through solid steel, another hurl a blast of blue fire, and a third who simply stood motionless while drones attacked, their bullets stopping mid-air as if hitting an invisible wall.
"Strengths, weaknesses?" Theo asked, watching the figures move.
Raz nodded. "Melee combatants will overpower anyone with lesser physical stats but rely on direct engagement. Ranged fighters can be lethal from a distance but struggle in close quarters. Magic users are unpredictable, their abilities ranging from destructive force to battlefield control. Psionics—" He hesitated slightly. "—are the most dangerous. They manipulate the fight itself. They turn reality against you."
Theo exhaled with dejection. "That sounds great. Luckily I can punch good."
Raz tapped the console. "We'll train against each type separately over the next few days. Learn their tactics. Exploit their weaknesses. If you can’t adapt, you won’t survive outside these walls. In that case we can begin your training as a beverage maid."
Theo grinned. "Can we just skip to the second part, I think that’s my true calling anyway."
"You cause me great concern." Raz pressed a button, and the first wave of melee drones activated.
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The first session was brutal but familiar. The melee drones came at him in rapid succession—purely physical combatants, designed to replicate human warriors. They moved well, fast and efficient, with attack patterns resembling trained fighters rather than predictable machines.
Theo grinned as the first one lunged. He sidestepped, caught its arm mid-swing, and twisted. The mesh locked in place, amplifying his hold, and he used the leverage to slam the drone into the ground.
There was a distinct advantage in speed, which Theo was informed was on the higher end for most early initiated beings in the system historically. The armour proved exceptionally resilient, particularly when it came to locking in holds, with a couple of drones having their necks crushed in the process.
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Theo did find his punches and kicks a little lacking, causing him to change his tactics and attempt to grapple more than strike with his metallic dance partners.
By the end of the session, Theo was panting but exhilarated. The mesh worked, responding instinctively, making his movements sharper. But Raz wasn’t impressed.
"Against baseline fighters, you perform adequately," he said, making notes on his tablet. "But brawlers alone aren’t really the threat. I will add a kinetic feedback loop to your device, which should help you deal more damage and maintain energy. This will essentially allow the mesh to absorb kinetic energy from incoming damage using piezoelectric nanofibers woven into the structure, storing the charge in micro capacitors throughout the—I don’t know why I’m telling you this part. Basically your suit will be able to use hits taken for power and discharge said energy when a limb is moving at a sufficient trajectory."
“Uhm… okay,” Theo said intelligently.
“Let’s wrap up training for today, and I will set about your upgrades. I should have a lot more resources to dip into from my gathering drones.” Erasmus stated, his eyes alight as he planned his latest technological advancement.
“So, you didn’t actually need me to go out and get those bits yesterday? Is that what you’re saying?” Theo asked with a deadpan expression.
Erasmus nearly didn’t reply as he was lost in thought. “Hmm? Oh, no. No, that was just to see how you would react in different situations so that I could plan training accordingly. You genuinely believed I created an entire defence mesh from some ore and plants? My god, you—”
“Whatever, I don’t even care at this point.” Theo grumpily muttered, trudging into the workshop as he shook his head.
Moments passed and Theo turned his head back through the doorway sharply, “In fact, screw you. I’ve been in this new world of yours for two days, why would I know anything about the laws of science or whatever? All the intellect you claim to possess and you can’t take a minute to understand what I might be going through? Fuck yourself.”
Theo saw Erasmus’s face twist in shock before quickly darting back behind the door, leaving him unable to reply. This was mainly to keep himself from completely unravelling and going into a fit of rage.
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Theo stomped his way over to one of the chairs present in the workshop and perched on it, still seething but also surprised at his overreaction. He was used to trading verbal tirades as a tool to sell fights, he almost never lost his cool.
“Why did he get to me so badly?” Theo thought to himself as he attempted to ascertain the fuel for this fire.
It began to dawn on him that he never really sat down and thought about his new reality. For the most part, he didn’t believe it was real. The most likely explanation was CTE or he had been knocked into a dream without realizing. Having actually slept, felt pain and events move in a linear pathway he felt the sense of reality setting in.
Life hadn’t been easy. He’d been fighting—literally—since he was a boy. He wasn’t exactly going to miss his family or anything. His coach Tom was something of a father figure, but he hoped the wily, old timer could find his way through this new world. This still didn’t address the core sensation of loss he was feeling.
Strength. Not even necessarily just physical. The ability to stand on one's own feet and merits. That meant a lot to Theo as it was his key to survival. He trained hard, earned his own money through street fighting before transitioning to the professional scene. People respected him, some feared him even.
Now? He was nothing. He had no strength anymore. Erasmus made it clear he would only fall further behind everyone else on the planet and his only hope for survival was handouts from a grumpy prick who only saw him as a burden, which he was. Would he ever even be able to thrive in this world? What if Erasmus had enough and decided to just kick him out. He was completely vulnerable. This was what was eating him up.
As Theo continued his introspection with a sunken feeling, he heard a slow shuffling of footsteps coming through the doorway to the training lab. Erasmus hesitantly crept behind Theo as he made his way to the centre of the room before turning to him.
Erasmus cleared his throat, clearly buying time as he was searching for the most efficient way of handling the situation. As his eyes wandered, Theo interjected before things got any weirder, “Sorry for the flip out. I guess I hadn’t really been taking this seriously and thought about what it means for me and it kind of… Boiled over.”
Erasmus shook his head graciously and replied in a softer tone than usually present, “No need for that. I probably had it coming. I’ve not really been around people for… Let’s just say a long time. I even adopted this face so that people would leave an old man alone. I guess we both have learning to do.”
Theo pondered the words, his eyebrow raising on the mention of Erasmus adopting a face, “I’m not sure I can even process what the face part means. I have to ask though, why are you doing this? Opening your life up to a total stranger?”
Erasmus gazed at the floor as he formulated his reply. “Well, you’re already aware that we share similar biological traits, one’s that no other human on the planet possesses. That is, of course, because you’re a descendant of mine. To be exact, I’m your great, times eighteen, grandfather. I didn’t actually think I had any surviving descendants but that’s a long story I don’t really care to share currently. The story made short is that with my race, I should never have attempted to play human and generations suffered for it.”
Theo stared at Erasmus with a sombre look, “Shit. That’s… a lot. I mean I assumed something similar but I’m sorry to hear about all the stuff after.”
He thought about asking for clarity on the issues that Erasmus alluded to, but sensed this wasn’t the time.
"Well, just know that I love you, Grandad,” he said with a cheeky tone, attempting to restore some levity to the situation.
“Take your goddamn shirt off.” Erasmus replied, shaking his head.
“Wow, we just had a moment and you’re already trying to seduce me?” Theo said as he clambered out of the chair with his hands raised.
“For the mesh device, you idiot.” Erasmus shrieked.
“Uh-huh. That’s what they all say.” Theo smirked before removing his shirt, hopping back on the chair and swivelling to reveal his device. “Please, be gentle.” he said, with a dramatic fake whimper. He could almost feel Eramus’ eyes roll out of his head.