Sam sat on the levistone, staring blankly off to the side as he thought about his last fight. James’ talent was impressive, and if Ellie hadn’t tricked Tamara into surrendering, there wasn’t a way for Sam to win the fight without having Raindu grievously injure the man by removing his body parts.
“What are you looking at, Sam?” Ellie asked, leaning forward to look past Sam and towards the direction he was staring in. “We’ve been down this road before. There’s nothing new to look at.”
Sam grunted in response. In the past two months, he learned a lot. Sometimes Ellie talked because she liked hearing her own voice; she wasn’t always expecting Sam to answer her. Sam turned to look ahead, but upon seeing a levistone full of reptilians, his gaze shifted onto the floor of Ellie’s vehicle. Had he done the right thing by beating James? He should’ve lost and switched his owner to Tamara if he wanted to succeed in stealing the GMC. However….
“Here’s a treat, Sam!” Ellie said and held a piece of popcorn chicken out in front of Sam’s face. “You did such a good job competing today!”
Sam grabbed the treat and ate it. His clothes were bloody, but his injuries had been healed, his body jiggled back to the peak of health. Honestly, life in Et Serpentium was better than life as a talentless in the city: he didn’t have to worry about where his next meal was coming from; he didn’t have to worry about the owners of the house he was squatting in suddenly returning; he didn’t have to worry about building a career. Everything he needed was provided, and everything he wanted, he could ask for. Apparently, his face was too derpy for Ellie to resist spoiling him; how could she say no to such a derp?
“Are you sad, Sam?” Ellie asked, leaning far over her seat to stare up at his face from underneath. “What’s the matter?”
Sam blinked at the green reptilian eyes. Although two months had passed, Ellie’s eyes never failed to send chills down his spine whenever he made direct contact with them. “I’m not sad, sundak,” he said. “I was just thinking about my opponent’s talent.”
“Oh,” Ellie said and sat up straight. She kicked her legs and looked up at the sky—which was the glowing ceiling of Et Serpentium. “It was a nice talent.” She blinked at Sam. “Do you want it?”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. Another thing he learned in the past two months was to always respond with a clear answer instead of a question. She was offering Sam a chance at obtaining James’ talent, and he wasn’t going to question how or why she was going to do it; she might get frustrated and decide against getting it for him if he did.
“Okay!” Ellie said and tapped her feet against the floor of the levistone. The color of Sam’s bench changed color as the levistone made a turn, heading down a street and rounding a few corners Sam wasn’t familiar with. “We’re going to the technique shop.”
Sam was unaware one of those existed, but he didn’t question it. “Okay, thank you, sundak,” he said. “You’re the best.”
Ellie beamed. “Aren’t I?” she asked and giggled to herself. The levistone stopped in front of a cube, a sight Sam was used to. Ellie hopped off the levistone and snapped her fingers. Sam got off the levistone and followed behind Ellie. A clicking sound echoed through the air, and Sam extended his hand forward. A second later, a treat landed in his palm. He placed it in his mouth and chewed, the action almost unconscious.
Ellie opened the cube, creating an entrance for her and Sam to step through. After walking down a corridor, they arrived at a room with a stone cube floating in the center. Ellie poked at the cube, not touching it but still causing it to move regardless. As it spun, different images appeared on the interface with symbols Sam couldn’t understand. Eventually, Ellie stopped poking at air, and the cube fell to the ground before transforming, expanding into the shape of a coffin. Ellie gestured with her tail, pointing inside the stone coffin.
Sam climbed inside, and Ellie clicked on her bracelet. Sam held out his hand, but this time, no popcorn chicken appeared. Although he was a bit disappointed, Sam lowered his hand, knowing he wouldn’t get treated for every click. Sam observed the interior of the jiggler. The more time Sam spent in Et Serpentium, the greater of an appreciation he had for the coffin-like contraptions.
The reptilians were masters of manipulating a biological creature’s vibration. The idea behind it, as far as Sam understood, was simple. When humans were happy, their bodies vibrated at a different frequency from when they were sad, or when their bodies were healing. Reptilians simply vibrated humans at the corresponding frequency to induce the desired effects. Perhaps when humans awakened their talents, they vibrated at a certain frequency that the reptilians could replicate on a different human, inducing an awakening.
Sam closed his eyes and let the jiggler do its work. His body hummed, chills running down from the crown of his head to the tips of his fingers and toes. The chills faded as his body heated up. His muscles tensed to accommodate the sensation, and soon, his flesh burned as the jiggler’s intensity increased. When Sam was certain he was in a microwave and not a jiggler, the burning sensation stopped, replaced by a chill that spread from his crotch and washed over his whole body. The unpleasant feeling of being roasted alive was replaced by one of taking a cold shower after a long day of work under the sun.
Sam allowed the chilling sensation in his root chakra to absorb the vibrations of the jiggler, the chills turning into a pulsation that echoed through his body. It was similar to the pulsation he had felt while riding the surdock, but it pulsed slower, traveling through his body like syrup through a tube. Sam immersed himself in the feeling, and after a while, the coffin lid popped open, a gush of steam rushing out.
Ellie stood on her tiptoes and peered into the coffin. “Are you alright, Sam?”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. He winced as he stood up, his tender skin brushing against the interior of the coffin. He glanced down at himself before looking at Ellie. “Sundak, was that all?” Rather than giving him a talent that increased his toughness, the jiggler practically sanded off a layer of skin.
“Yeah,” Ellie said, beaming at Sam. “You won a lot today, so you deserve it!”
Sam inspected his body again. He scratched at his skin, leaving a red mark on the surface. He raised his head. “Sundak, how do I use the talent?”
“It’s like Sick Attack,” Ellie said. “You copy the vibrations of the surdock with your root chakra, right?”
Sam nodded. “Yes, sundak.”
“The vibrations in there,” the small reptilian pointed at the jiggler and said, “those were the surclue’s vibrations when it’s hardening its exoskeleton. Copy them.”
Sam didn’t know what a surclue was, but he didn’t need to know to copy its vibrations, not after having been exposed to them in the jiggler. He closed his eyes and focused on his root chakra, summoning forth the chilling pulsation, something Ellie forced him to practice every day for the past two months upon learning he had ridden a surdock. After a few seconds, a pulse ran through Sam’s body; then, it surged in frequency until Sam’s muscles were tensed from the sensation.
Ellie’s eyes gleamed, and she stepped forward while swinging her hand at Sam, raking her claws across his chest. The tips of her nails tore through Sam’s clothes, but when they made contact with his skin, only a few white marks were left behind. Sam opened his eyes and glanced down, his hand reaching up to touch his pectoral muscles. They felt like iron coils underneath his skin. Sam balled his hand up into a fist and rapped on his chest with his knuckles. Sounds of metal colliding rang through the room, causing Sam to raise an eyebrow.
“Wow,” Ellie said. “You learned that technique really quickly! Good job!” She clicked her bracelet and handed Sam a treat; he accepted it.
“Thank you, sundak,” Sam said and placed the treat in his mouth. “While we’re here”—his eyes shifted onto the jiggler—“are there any other techniques you can teach me?”
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“No,” Ellie said. She frowned at Sam. “Don’t look at me like that. How about this? If you win three more fights, I’ll let you learn another one, okay?”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. “You’re the best. Thank you.” As long as he made Ellie happy, she’d do her best to fulfill his requests. In a sense, it was no different than working at Monarch: complete tasks for the company and be rewarded; complete tasks for Ellie and be rewarded. No one told him he couldn’t work for other employers—at least, in his mind he thought that was true; if he had read the contract before signing it, he might’ve thought otherwise.
Ellie beamed and turned around, her tail swishing as she walked into the corridor and out the exit. The two got on the levistone, and Ellie tapped on the floor of the vehicle with her feet, starting it up. She glanced at Sam before looking down at her bracelet. “There’s still some time before we have to go home,” she said and looked up at the glowing, orange ceiling of Et Serpentium. Her eyes widened and she blinked before turning to smile at Sam. “Let’s go to the human park!”
“Okay, sundak,” Sam said, agreeing despite never having gone to the human park before.
“Great!” Ellie leaned to the side, causing the levistone to turn, and she leaned forward, sending the floating vehicle accelerating down the lane.
“Your mother told me to tell you not to speed if I saw you doing it, sundak,” Sam said, gripping onto the bench with whitening hands. His body tensed, and he concentrated on his root chakra, activating the new technique he had learned, Toughen. He didn’t know its name, so he named it appropriately. With Toughen activated, even if Ellie drove the levistone into a wall, theoretically, he would be fine, but it’d be better if she didn’t.
“Good job for telling me, Sam,” Ellie said and pressed her bracelet while passing him a treat. “Now, don’t tell Mommy I sped, okay?”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said, keeping his muscles tensed. He couldn’t look around, or he’d lose concentration and lose the effect of Toughen. Rather than making his body tough, Toughen seemed like it froze his body into position. If he wanted to make use of the technique in a fight, he’d have to activate it faster. Still, it was better to have the technique than not. It might be a counter to another talent someday.
Ellie turned her head to look at Sam despite how fast the levistone was traveling. “Sam, what happened to your pet ferret?” she asked. “I haven’t seen it around.”
Sam nodded at Ellie. “I’m afraid it might get hurt while I compete or train,” he said, “and it likes sleeping in the bed, so I leave it at home to sleep and eat.”
“Oh,” Ellie said. “You have to take care of it properly. It depends on you to survive, so you can’t mistreat it.”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. It was a good thing he had such a wonderful and caring reptilian owner. Perhaps Wendy knew this would happen and sold him off to Ellie’s mother for this very reason. Wendy was a mind reader, so it wasn’t that far-fetched of an idea. Of course, the simpler reason was he had been tricked and sold because he wasn’t actually an S-ranked talent, and he was worthless to Monarch. Meeting James and Tamara today did put some holes in that theory though; they didn’t have to keep up the appearances if he was actually tricked.
The buildings whizzed past, and Sam turned to look at Ellie. The small reptilian was humming to herself while tapping the claws of her feet on the floor of the vehicle. “Brace yourself, Sam,” Ellie said and stomped down hard. The levistone decelerated, and if Sam hadn’t been warned prior, he would’ve flown forward. Ellie stood up and nodded. “We’re here!”
Sam allowed his muscles to relax, canceling his Toughen technique. He followed Ellie off the levistone and into a building. Loud sounds greeted Sam’s ears, and he raised an eyebrow at the dim lighting. Usually, reptilians liked well-lit interiors with everything visible. There was one well-lit section with reptilians sitting around, chatting and eating. In the dimmer sections, there were humans on all sorts of machines, talking and laughing with each other while playing games.
“Okay, Sam,” Ellie said and walked over to a stone column. She tapped on it, and eventually, a green card made of stone popped out. She handed it to Sam. “You can use this to play games or buy things.”
Sam accepted the card. “Thank you, sundak,” he said.
“Of course!” Ellie said and pointed at the well-lit section. “I’m going to go over there. Go socialize with other humans; it’s important. When you’re done, come find me.”
“Yes, sundak,” Sam said and watched as Ellie left his side. She took a seat on a bench and waved at Sam, gesturing for him to head over to the arcade-like region. Sam nodded and held the green card as he went over to an unoccupied machine. There were two stone guns attached to it, and on the screen, there were humanoid insects clawing at the viewer.
“Hey,” a bubbly voice said from beside Sam as he was reading the instructions—which were surprisingly in English—on the machine near the controls. Sam raised his head and blinked at the human woman who had approached him. “You’re a new face.”
Sam blinked. “Yes,” he said, almost adding the word sundak out of habit. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to do at the human park, but Ellie had told him to socialize—something he had always been terrible at, especially later on when his talent refused to appear.
“Recently captured?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow at Sam while smiling at him. “Well, your owner is nice enough to take you to the human park, so life can’t be too bad for you, eh?” The woman extended her hand. “My name’s Diane, but everyone calls me Dee for short.”
Sam stared at Dee’s hand before turning to look towards the well-lit portion of the room. Ellie made eye contact with him and gave him two thumbs-up while bobbing her head up and down. Sam blinked before turning his attention back onto Dee and shaking her hand. “Sam.”
“Well, Sam,” Dee said and gestured towards the display with her head. “Shall we shoot some mantids?” She leaned over, resting her body on the machine, and picked up one of the stone guns while flashing Sam a smile.
“Okay,” Sam said. Since Ellie wanted him to socialize, to make her happy, he’d have to socialize. If shooting mantids was one way for humans to do that at the human park, then so be it. He tapped his green card against the machine before picking up the other stone gun and shooting at the display.
“Have you ever played this before?” Dee asked, aiming at the screen while holding the gun with both hands.
“No,” Sam said, staring at the screen. The scene of a stone column descending from space and landing onto a wet, jungle-like terrain played out. The column opened up, and two reptilians came out with stone guns and stone armor. Then, the view switched to first person as the machine vibrated, causing an air of tension to engulf Sam and Dee.
“Alright,” Dee said. “For mantids, you have to shoot their shoulders to disable their blade arms first. Then, you aim for the mandibles before finishing them off with seven hits to the head between their eyes.”
“Okay,” Sam said. Mantids came into view, humanoid creatures with compound eyes and mandibles on an insect-like head. Their shoulders were thin, spherical structures with skinny arms attached to them. Sam pointed the stone gun at the mantid’s shoulder and pulled the trigger. The ball-like structure exploded, and one of the mantid’s arms fell off as it flinched and staggered backwards by three steps. Before Sam could shoot the creature’s other shoulder, it exploded, and he looked over to see Dee flash him a smile.
Sam turned his attention back onto the screen and shot at the creature’s mandibles, his accuracy not exactly the greatest because the mantid, shockingly, didn’t want to get shot, it’s mandibles and head flailing around as blood splashed on Sam’s display. With Dee’s aid, the mantid only mauled half of Sam’s on-screen health bar away before perishing. A frown appeared on Sam’s face; at this rate, he wouldn’t get very far before dying.
“Not bad,” Dee said. “Most beginners die during the first fight.” She scanned Sam from head to toe. “Are you a competitor?”
“More are coming,” Sam said, not answering Dee’s question as he pointed at the display with his gun and pulled the trigger. Two mantids were rushing towards the display from the distance, and one of their arms were blown off as their shoulder exploded. A furrow appeared on Sam’s brow as he looked down at the stone gun. There was no ammo in the game, but each shot he fired seemed to increase the weight of the gun he was holding.
Dee raised her gun and pulled the trigger three times, knocking off the rest of the mantids’ arms. “If you wait before firing, the weight will return to normal,” she said. “Aim carefully, or you’ll die.”
Sam aimed carefully, but he died anyway, missing the mandibles as the mantids shredded his display to pieces before attacking Dee’s side of the screen. Sam docked the gun back inside the machine. Although he could use the points stored in the green card to continue, he had a feeling he wouldn’t get very far in the game even if he spent everything Ellie had given him.
Dee let out a sigh as the mantids bloodied her side of the display, and she gave Sam a wry smile as she slipped the gun back inside the machine. “Sorry for wasting your points like that,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Sam said. He looked around the dimly lit area. There was a section with a bar and bartender with people sitting around as others stood in line to order drinks. Other than that, there were also couches with large screens displaying movies from every era.
“Where do you want to go next?” Dee asked. “Drinks? Movies? Gift shop?”
“Gift shop,” Sam said after thinking for a bit. Perhaps he should buy something nice for Ellie and her mother as thanks for treating him so well. Did reptilians expect gifts from their pets? Sam wasn’t sure, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He glanced at the well-lit section of the room. Ellie was standing on her tiptoes, watching him while holding onto a railing that separated the humans from the reptilians. She waved at him when she saw him looking, and she pointed at him while talking to the reptilian beside her as if she were showing off.
“Is that your owner?” Dee asked.
“Yes,” Sam said, waving back at Ellie.
“You’ve really bonded with her, haven’t you?” Dee asked, raising an eyebrow. “She must treat you well.”
Sam blinked. Although she enjoyed beating him under the guise of training and play, she did treat him well: shelter, food, attention, everything he could ask for, Ellie provided. Maybe that’s why he struggled so hard in the fight against James. Sam nodded. “Yes, she treats me very well.”