Before we begin, what class are you in? I would like to know how hard it is to push. Mathies asked as he stretched his long arms. There was no doubt in Travones mind that the youth had a longer reach than him.
Am a shield class Travone said, bouncing on his feet, trying to get his blood pumping.
Since this was a used to spurring, he knew the two would not be using their weapon manifestation, but class skills would be acceptable. It was a known fact that drawing a weapon on the Athens platform was a declaration of intent to kill. Using skills, on the other hand, was acceptable because the skills interacted with one another based on stats, and this was considered less dangerous.
A shield class I may not have to hold back after all, he said, sparing a glance for Rai.
Travone did not wait for any more provocations, or rather, he was ignorant about the subtle political probs of the powerful houses of Earth and Sol.
He stepped into the ring and readied himself.
Travone jumped up and down and held his arms out in a boxer pose. Zishan had taught him he hoped to meet Zisahn again.
Mathies looked at him amused, and the two behind the youth laughed at his stance.
He's new at this.
No one fights monsters in that stance.
He doesn't have a stance skill.
Travone furrowed his brows. What's a stance skill?
Come on, boys, we all know his zeta; Mathies admonished his companions as he stepped into the ring.
Unlike Trayvon, who held his arms up, Mathies took on a relaxed pose. You can take the first step, he said.
I will wait.
—----
I will wait
He did not need more invitations than that. Travon launched himself forward, throwing one blow after another. Mathies moved with blows flowing like water and avoiding most of the blows. His miscalculation of Travones ability came a little too late when strength empowered blowe hit him in the chest, causing his eyes in irritated surprise; his irritation to grow with the second bow that glanced off his shoulder. Had they lied to him, Mathies thought he would be fighting a shield user, and they weren't known for their high dexterity or speed. He activated his skill, his hand glowing with a purple light. Travone had not forgotten what Rai had told him, and as soon as he saw the skill activate and, he moved to step back only for the blow to hit his chin causing him to stagger back to one end of the ring. Travone had not noticed anything; one minute, Mathies's hand were in a guard, and the next, he was stuck; remembering what Rai had told him, he focused on his constitution, quickly recovering from the daze.
You're pretty quick for a shield user, Mathies said.
And before Travone could register the words, Mathies was moving again. On instinct, Travone activated reflex guard and felt the muscles in his body tense and flow, guiding his actions with efficient grace; he blocked the first few blows. As he attacked, Mathies grew more confused by the minute. Was his speed really slower than that of a shield user, or was it something else? He used more of his dexterity and struck Travone in the gut; the blow that had been aimed to finish the fight, however, was parried with easy movement. His eyes widened in glee at the realisation. The boy was a shield user, and the thing that confused him became clear: Tarvon was using a skill he was familiar with.
The timing of the skill was not easy to time as the fight went on; using Reflex Guard had come easy at first, but Mathies had kept increasing his speed steadily in a perceptible burst. The change was timing when the bursts of speed would come, and in the few seconds he had to activate his skill, the third barrage of blows came, and Travone was only able to block and parried two blows, allowing three and two blows to land, what he had not accounted for was how high the other youths dexterity truly was, as those time had slowed for him his body moved sluggishly as Reflex Guard missed all the blows causing all the hits to land, Travone stepped back, but he was to slow he activated his barrier skill, but his control was not much for the other seeker's strength stat.
The barrier broke, and the blow struck him, sending Tarvone sending him back.
That's quite some skills for a shield user, Matheis said in a calm, chill voice. So far, you have used Reflex Guard and Barrier, which are good abilities for shield users, but this fight has become boring to me, so I will end it,
Travone activated Reflex Guard too late, and a blow caught him in the chest, causing him to wince in pain as he stumbled back.
Do you have anything else to show me?
Travone had a spectral arrow, but he doubted it would be able to do anything to the man, and then there was the other problem of his class using bow skill that would surely not go unnoticed.
Even now, Rai's conclusion about his new companion was tethering on the positive side more than anything; he watched as Travone struck the first blow, which was exceptional for someone with his class. The confusing problem came when Travone was put on the backside. He had used a skill that was rare among shield users. Reflex Guard from the books and guides he had been forced to read as a young child before he chose his class, he found that there were some skills that appeared across all classes, most of which were passives, the active skills, on the other hand, were rare to get and reflex guard was one of them, it was a skill primarily seen fast and foremost among blade class users, dagger class users and very rarely among hammer users and even more rarely among shield class users, the skill was one of the few defensives skills the dagger and blade classes got. But Travone had used it, and even more, telling was Rai sure to know that Travone used a special shield power gem to get his class.
When Travone saw that Mathies had the reach advantage, he resorted to another plan. He rushed the Epsilon and took him to the ground, then let out a fury of punches, most of which missed. On the ground was the worst place an agile fighter like Mathies could possibly be; he had not thought it possible.
Mathies had simply come here to advise another street rat away from Rai Tokisane, the so-called genius of four skills. The last thing he expected to find was another Zeta who could push him this way. He had tried to restrict his abilities to the lower ranks of his capabilities, but whenever he had, the street rat kept pushing him back. Tired of whatever joke Rai was playing at, he activated his new skill. He got at the Epsilon rank, his body became incorporeal, and he slipped out from under the Rai’s brute. The draw was going to cost him, but he didn't care at that moment
Travone stood up. He had been sure of his victory that time, but he had not expected a skill like that. he looked at his opponent and steadied himself in a fighting stance. Mathies simply gave him an angry glare. He was tired of playing games when TRavone made his move. Mathies did not hold back, using his tats to the fullest. He dodged the punch aimed for his face, and he punched the Trvne with all the power of his stats.
Tarvone did not know what happened; he stumbled back, dazed as pain coursed through his body.
After that blow, Travone could barely stand the strain on his constitution stat, causing his body to shake. He tried to doge but the blow landed in his gut and sent him to the ground.
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Rai, I think your boys are done. He put up a good fight, but I am done playing games.
Am not done yet, Travone grabbed onto Mathies and pulled himself up. He brought his arms up, ready to continue.
Mathies punched him again, trying to get rid of the street rat.
Let go. Mathies punched down hard, and in anger, Travone held onto the man's hand.
he did not let him. If there was anything to prove this was it, he would get stronger.
Is that all you got? He smiled a toothy bloody grin.
Mathies.
That's enough, the UNE guard said, jumping into the arena and grabbing Mathies's arm. Stop, or I will arrest you.
Rai was looking down at Travon. It was not every day one from the families of the first generation was caught off guard by something new, something intriguing; in Rai's case, he had never cared for fascination
the rest of their siblings showed that he had never seen any merit in picking up the brightest star in the sky; he had never wanted it.
Ever since he was young, he had found the world so dull and empty, with nothing to hold him or his interests. After all, he had grown up to the sight of those very things, he had seen the fastest and newest jets, and tasted the most exotic of foods, and when he got to his class, that was the first time his life had been thrown out of its flow.
It all started when he visited his second grandfather, a man who had been lost to the stagnance of the world, the muteness of existing not enough to trouble a man like him. Like rumours said, he sat in his chambers meditating for hours , with no need to eat, or drink. For one, at the rank of Alpha, he was one of the simplest of men or women of the first generation. Often leaving his quarters to walk the streets like any ordinary man.
You want to truly find what you looking for. Perhaps you should find away from your father, he had said in a drunk cascade of ramblings.
That night, the man had had one of his ramblings. Although Okuma Tokisane was at the highest rank, he also liked to remind himself of his own humanity.
Rai shook him as he remembered the man; he looked at the Travone on the bed and shook his head in wonder. So what am I going to do with you?
In the Infamary on the 25th floor, Rai sat waiting. Thinking.
Don't worry about him, he will be alright in a couple of hours. The doctor said
Are you sure?
I am sure this always happens with new zetas who push their weight around.
Then, will he wake soon?
Soon, no, the medic said, perhaps in a few more hours or two.
Well then, I will leave him in your care.
Rai walked down the paths of the platform like any other person; he was not the son of the Tokisane house or grandchild of two powerful first generations here on the platform; there were people stronger than him, and even a few as well-established as him. It was a new feeling to be an average man on the among men. he felt relief.
Rai didn't know what he was doing. More to that, another question he asked was why he was doing this. He was Rai Tokisane, son of the house. He did not need to go be here, but here he was, standing in front of the elevator and waiting to take it to the lower floors.
It would all have been relaxing had he planned this journey, but no, he hadn't Travone had lit a spark in his eyes, and he had wondered what path someone like him took to be that strong, not physically but mentally, he wanted to feel what drove his new friend to take on such a foolish challenge.
As he had expected, the lower levels were nothing out of the ordinary the paths were narrow and wet, and dump and vendors filled the place selling warmed pre-canned food; he walked through the paths, turning and weaving through the messily constructed structures, and even he had to wonder how these people with no class got used to all these he looked at a miner seated with a few others watching an arena match toasting and eating all in joyful spirits, he turned to a man walking along the street buying something he folded in poster paper before moving. It was all like another world to him; this person did not care about power. They lived simpler lives , happier lives without any complications. A twinge of jealousy struck him. Then what would it be like to have an ordinary life? He shook his head and kept moving. He reached a residential quarter and reached into his pocket. He looked at the card, then back at the clustering of the sleeping crate. He grimaced.
this is really where he lives,
tuned back and left for the upper floor. Those few who saw him followed him with their eyes and never left him until he had left for the upper floors.
As for Travone, he knew he had done something seriously dumb. He should have listened to Rai and surrendered, or even better, he should have surrendered when he had been given the chance.
He opened his eyes, and he groaned at the sharp light striking his eyes.
Are you awake? Rai asked
Yes, I am,
Did you get what you wanted from that fight,
Yes, sure did, he said, smiling before opening his weapon interface.
Integration level up.
Staff skills Available:
Bind: Locks an enemy within translucent chains temporarily based on control and Strength.
Status
Name: Travone Lee
Class: Armoury Class
Integration Level: 6.0%
Rank: Zeta
Attributes
Attribute Value
Strength 5
Dexterity 5
Constitution 4>6
Control 4
Perception 3
Skills:
Barrier(Level 1>2 ), Reflex Guard (Level 2>4),Spectral Arrow(Level 1) Bind (Level1)
Armoury Class Passives: None
Mathies will not forget what you have done here, Rai said
Of course, he won't.
Should I be scared?
Maybe, but I can't know how he will react the next time he sees you.
Travone didn't care about how the other man reacted.
---------
Albin
Albin sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the halls of the main station, waiting for the call to come in and cursing his luck. His position in the UnitedNations of Earth on the Athens platform had been tenuous at best, with a few misdemeanours he thought he would work off with his time working with mining teams and helping discipline the new Zeta's who did not obey the orders of the superior in the UNE.
He thought for sure that his case was going to be held up by the useless backlog and give him time to prepare his story and justifications for losing a mining team on the dungeon planet. Soon after he had reduced his probationary period with the class gem he had delivered
Sadly, that was not the case. He had got the summons early that day to report to Captain Hector Naudé, a Gamma like himself who was in charge of overseeing his probationary sentence. There were some that were until he got stuck in the low levels of the Gamma rank, and Hector Naudé kept on receiving promotions and praise from the higher-ups. It was infuriating because whenever the other man got a chance to lord it over him, he did just.
Officer Albin, the captain will see you now the secretary said, looking down at him.
Albin, it hasn't been a long time since you stepped into my office. Captain Hector Naudé greeted