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The battle had concluded just before two in the morning, and after it was done, everybody tried to get as much sleep as possible, including Peter and Regina. It was not meant to be. At seven, the tent's zipper was opened, the curtain was thrown aside, and a boot kicked Peter's leg.
"Uh!" he moaned.
"Garbage?" a voice asked. It was a youngster dressed in Oxford's colors, carrying an immense garbage sack on his back. Behind him was one of the Tiger mothers.
"Whatcha want?" Peter stretched, trying to make sense of the scene.
"I was tasked by your leader to clean your camp before we leave," the boy explained. "Do you have anything you want me to pick? Plastic separately, please."
"What's she doing, then?" Peter pointed at the woman behind.
"She supervises me," the teen sulked.
The woman stared at the two with a freezing coldness."Because teens are filthy pigs. Took me five years to teach my son how to properly fold his socks."
In origami patterns or what? Peter thought but kept it to himself. "We're good, just go away."
Next to him, Regina was sleeping blissfully. Seeing her was enough to raise his desire, so he got out in the fresh morning, closing the tent behind to let her sleep. He showered with cold water, dressed in generic hiking gear, and sneaked out of the camp, Warping to Redroar's village.
He knocked at Redroar's door, three times, gently. A minute later, she opened the door. Naked.
"OH!" he yelped, covering his eyes with his elbow. "S-sorry to disturb you…"
"Wait here." The door slammed in his face. A few minutes later, she opened it again, this time dressed. She forwarded her hand without any word, and he put a gold coin in it.
"What's that haze about? Why is it dangerous?" he asked.
"Monsters appear, at night. Bad stuff. Some treasures appear during the dark, but it is not worth the risk."
"How can one control it?"
"Control it?" she snorted. "Impossible. If you’re lucky, you get in and out fast, grabbing whatever you find."
"The camp next to us was conquered by a faction who did just that. They controlled the fog."
"That's… unheard of…" Redroar said slowly. "Now, is it all or can I go back to sleep?"
"Can you spar with me for a few minutes?" he asked. "I have to test something."
"Fine…" she growled. "Let me grab a coffee, I'll be with you in five."
Ten minutes later, they were facing each other in the training meadow, Peter armed with a fifty-inch branch he cut from a tree, and Redroar with nothing.
"Bear with me, and don’t counterattack, just parry. I want to see if I can make my attacks land."
"As you wish," she shrugged.
Taking a deep breath, Peter put up his HUD, Redroar's contour highlighted. He activated his Inspect and kept it on. Information about the adversary began to flash, and he concentrated on making it smaller and half-transparent.
Instead of replying, Peter attacked. The Barbarian parried his swings and trust with a bored expression on her face, lazily moving her claws in front of his weapon. Yet, a bit of information flickered shinier than the rest.
That's when she activates her ability…
The activation of her skill was very short, but for a second after it, she was anticipating his moves. There was also a reason for when she did it, linked to his stance and the probability of a more dangerous attack. So, he took one of those stances. The flicker came. Flourishing his stick, Peter launched a cut at the barbarian's neck, and she moved her right hand to intercept.
Putting an Impulse behind the hit, Peter accelerated the weapon and Warped it through Redror’s arm. The branch struck her jaw.
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"Sorry!" he yelled.
Redroar jumped back, with her eyes widened. "Little cub, you grew up!" she exclaimed with awe. "How?"
"I used the same motion you anticipated but modified it a bit after your premonition window ended. It was an attack meant to counter your ability. I don't know how well it does against other opponents."
"If you figured out me, you'll do well with others too," she said. "Well done," she clapped. "But I'll count this as a training session."
"So be it," Peter sighed. "Thank you for the lessons.”
“You’re welcome. Next time don’t come so early,” Redroar said, going back to the village, while Peter remained behind, sitting on a fallen log, at the System’s suggestion.
"Yes. The HUD is a powerful tool, not a liability. Pro gamers always use their HUDs..." Peter hesitated a bit because the truth was he had no idea what professional gamers did, but it made sense.
“Sure,” Peter nodded. The two notifications were:
You have managed to evolve Inspect into a real-time ability that can be maintained ON: Inspect Skills (Rare type ability, currently at Novice tier) Cost: 5MP/second. The old Inspect skill is still available.
For scoring a hit against a vastly superior opponent, you have gained +2 Dex and unlocked the Combat Mastery passive, (Rare, currently at Novice tier).
Your System unlocks your third resource pool: Stamina. SPs: Dex+Level x 10 = 950 . SPs regen rate: 2.4% / minute = (Dexterity x 2)%/hour. Your new ability, Inspect Skill, will consume Stamina instead of Mana.*
*Dexterity is a stat that accesses reflexes and subconscious processes. As such, it can be used for scanning an enemy’s movements with maximum processing speed. The results, however, must be interpreted by using Intelligence for a conscious analysis.
“Bro... that’s fantastic!”
Because I’m undecided. Was thinking of paying a visit to my double, but I’d rather jog than Warp... but I don’t want to let Regina wait for me too much... if she wakes up.
Peter began running, Warped for a bit after ten minutes, and then ran again. Half an hour later, when he arrived at his destination, the bartender was there, cleaning the tables. When Peter reached him, he put a beer on the bar.
"Hi, Pete… oh… sorry. You're the other one," the man said, noticing Peter's height.
Peter stared at the stein with horror. The idea of drinking beer at that hour made him retch.
"Ain't you drinking it?" the barman pointed to the beer.
"No, thanks. But I'll pay it," he offered a ten-dollar bill, one of those from Earth-Two. "Does my twin drink beer at this hour in the morning?"
"Yeah. He's an abstinent, never takes whisky before noon."
I don’t care. Maybe he sleeps under the bar. “Do you know if... err... Pete is around?”
“He should be awake now, I’ll text him.” The elderly man took a phone and wrote a message. Seconds later, a buzzing sound signaled an answer. "He says: I'll be there in fifteen minutes, tell him to wait."
"Are you sure you don't want it?" the older man pointed to the mug.
"Absolutely."
The bartender grabbed the beer, drinking it slowly. Waiting was boring, Peter spent some time playing with his HUD's settings. It worked best when he had the helmet on, the light was perfect. His doppelganger arrived punctually, riding a small hovercraft. At first, seeing only the upper part, Peter thought it was a motorcycle.
"Hey, me," the double said, taking off his helmet.
"Hi. I have some questions."
"Let me tell you what I found meanwhile first."
"Go on," Peter said.
"A few decades ago, our Cultivator rulers found this Tower. It once belonged to a System that worked with core users, but for whatever reason, that System was gone and the Tower was empty. They managed to take control and thought: this will make us the top dog. In here, they're safe from any other sect.
"At first, they took inside their home planets, on the upper floors, then kidnapped a few star systems. Floors act like a Dyson sphere, taking the star’s energy to sustain the tower. With our Earths’ large population, they’ll also be able to train millions of warriors and use them to conquer rival sects. The first attack will be in a year."
"And what’s your plan?"
"Save our friends and loved ones from both the culling or becoming soldiers, obviously. We need to figure out a way to escape the Tower and reach the civilized worlds."
"Thank you for the news,” Peter said. “One question: is the haze as dangerous as some say?"
"Yes!" Peter from Two said. "Avoid being in it at night, at all costs."
"What is—"
"Mana nanites, quantum tech. There was a planet full of it on one of the floors, and they sent it here, to get rid of it. At night, it spawns monsters based on our cultures. I have no idea how it knows."
"Is there a way to control it?"
"Hahaha! Sorry… The Cultivators failed at it, you think you have a better chance? Don't mess with it."
"Thank you," Peter said, getting down from the stool. He wanted to ask his double if he had powers, but he had a feeling he wouldn't get any answer.
"I'll come on Earth One in a week. Find me someone to make fake IDs by then."
Peter waited for his doppelganger to go away, then gave a short goodbye to the bartender, and ran for five hundred yards before Warping. It was time to go back to camp and have breakfast with Regina.