CHAPTER 22 - WELCOME TO THE CITY OF HARDKNOCKS!
A brand new day dawned, the solar lights of the station illuminated the Golden Mile with an almost ethereal glow. Striding through the godrays and ethereal sanctity of the halls, CAL proudly made his way to the training room. Stopping before the monolithic doors in front of him, he took a moment to study the architectural monuments. Towering nearly 40 feet above him, painted black and red, and covered in thousands of nicks , gashes and cuts. It was as imposing as a set of doors could be without having the words: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, plastered across the front of it. Nevertheless, CAL pushed the doors open, greeting the ephemeral darkness behind it with baited breath and unending eagerness.
The golden lights of the hall barely pierced through the density of the darkness. Even his scanner failed to see through it as he continued to walk through the room. Stopping only when he began hearing an intense growl echoing around him. Suddenly, the doors behind him slammed shut.
“You’re the whelp who's been causing such an uproar? I expected a more impressive specimen.”
The voice before him growled with a strength and sense of pride CAL had never felt before. Feeling the force of every syllable as he spoke.
“Naught told me so much about you. Your skills, your prowess, your weaknesses. He wet my appetite with such a stellar review of your power.”
A light, though its source was undetectable to him, illuminated the entire area where CAL was standing.
“I genuinely can’t wait to break you like the fragile matchstick you are.” The voice, dripping with anticipation and wrathful pride, held onto every syllable as he spoke. A distinctly animalistic growl emanated with every word, akin to a predator eager teasing it’s prey, yet frothing at the mouth to sink its fangs into the tender flesh. “But where are my manners… We haven’t even been properly introduced.”
In waves of uncountable numbers, CAL watched as lights illuminated the endlessly expanding field of the “room” he now stood in. Stretching for miles to the left, he turned to his right, seeing the same endlessness extend far beyond what his eyes could see. The lights in front of him continued to activate one infinite line after the other, illuminating the massive complex before him. The cubic floor itself shifted and molded to the form of an ever ascending obstacle course. A lone figure stood atop the peak of the complex, his voice like that of an apex predator evaluating his prey. Deep, dark, and filled with violent thoughts and intentions.
“I am Austarion the Star Killer, Lord of the Hunt. Welcome to the City of HardKnocks, my domain and your tormentor!”
Austarion, even from nearly 400 meters away, was a giant. Another member of that fearsome cat race, his appearance resembled that of a lion. A golden mane flowed around his head and down the back of his neck. His beard, though growing white with age, was tied tightly into three strong braids, the two on either side of his face barely half the length of his main one, all three ending in a red band. His entire body was clad in black armor, each ornately crafted piece was rimmed with gold, a script etched in an ancient language on every piece. Every plate was decorated with obsidian spikes, ranging in size from a couple inches to a solid foot. Even the iridescent red cloth hanging from his pauldrons, waist and cape were embroidered with spiked golden plates.
“So boy, what do you think? Are you ready for a proper introduction to the City of Hardknocks? I’ve prepared a nice little toddler course to assess your skills before we jump into the fun games.”
CAL stood firm, unfazed by Austarion’s beastly bluster.
“Let’s skip the introduction and just get to the good stuff, I need to train and train fast, so let’s-”
Unleashing a mighty, bellowing roar like laugh, he drowned out CAL’s words. Even from the near half mile distance between them, he felt Austarion’s crimson eyes boring a twin set of holes straight through CAL skull. Blinking, if only to get a momentary cessation from the oppressive gaze, CAL felt a hand firmly grasp his shoulder. Wrapping his arm around CAL’s neck, Austarion stood next to him.
His entire body stiffened, paralyzed with fear and bewilderment. Though his mind failed to comprehend the absolute monster standing beside him, his body did not, instinctively attempting to put distance between himself and the threat. Only to feel Austarion’s armored hand reaffirm it’s grasp, sternly holding him in place.
Feeling the musculature of CAL’s body tense in preparation to summon a weapon, Austarion smiled, his grasp upon CAL’s shoulder lessening.
“Oh? Oh no, Boy. I wouldn’t do that If I were you.”
The cold anticipatory joy slathering that sentence, shot a jet of ice through CAL’s entire body. An entirely new sensation over took him, freezing him solid, unable to move, Unable to think, only listen.
“How about we stick to the basics, and you learn like the rest of them. What you just asked for is a one v one against me, and I’m so far outside your league, boy, We ain’t even playing the same game. You really don’t want to run this battle.”
“You see these hands, boy?” Austarion extended his massive clawed hand out in front of them, allowing CAL to get a good look at it, front to back. “These hands killed beasts mightier than planets, and clashed with beings that’d look at you and wouldn’t spit on the ground you walk on out of disgust for your weakness. You don’t want to catch these hands, you really don’t. Let’s just keep to the basics, and you won’t have to learn why I’m called the Star Killer.”
Laughing once again as he released CAL whose legs struggled to hold himself aloft.
“I didn’t even see him move… he didn’t even trigger my senses. Yet he appeared like it was a jaunt in the park. What the hell is he?”
While he struggled to comprehend the absolute unit that was Austarion, he took further note of the beastly man, now walking toward the city. He was the size of, if not slightly shorter than, Naught, though like most of the Lion men he has encountered he walks with a noticeable hunch. His pauldrons and cuirass were each molded into the face of a horn cat, each pauldron having one horn while the cuirass and its gaping maw held two. But above all else, the most intimidating piece of equipment on his body was the utterly monstrous battleaxe on his back. Beautifully designed, blacker than the night itself, the gold plating adorning the Armor was replaced by a deep crimson on the axe. The wailing face of some poor, forgotten creature was sculpted into the crimson plating. Even the edge of the axe was specially designed, both the large and small sides were equipped with a toothy jagged chainsaw. Each tooth coated in glowing plasma.
“Since we got a nice and good understanding of the pecking order, let’s get to the toddler test.”
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Six Grueling Hours Later:
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Is that the best you can do?”
Austarion’s booming voice echoed through the city, as CAL took another hammer to the face. The force of the blow sent him flying through several of the freshly constructed buildings.
“Naught made you sound special! Made you sound like a fun experiment! But all I’m seeing is a child drowning in an ocean of failure.”
CAL sat up, rubbing the side of his head, watching the two grey knights approach him, weapons drawn and combat ready.
“This is the 12th pair of these constructs, doesn’t he have anything else?”
“Of course I do!”
CAL jumped, turning to see Austarion standing right behind him.
“Just not for you. The Knights are the weakest construct here, yet you complain about them like they are a challenge. They aren’t even your objective, you’re supposed to get to the end of the obstacle course. But you're here whining like a child.”
“I’m not whining. Every 20 feet another one of these knights appears. If I run by them, the next one have ranged weapons, if I escape those the next ones have grappling equipment, If I stop to fight those the next one are amped twice as much. I only have so many weapons I can use on them, and even my hardlight mode is failing. What do you expect me to do? Not vent my frustrations?”
The two stared at one another in silence for a moment, Austarion’s glowing red eyes and CAL’s blue body lights being the only illumination to the darkened room
Austarion’s Predatory smile faded, leaving little more than disgust on his face, “I expect you to Get Good.”
Austarion violently grabbed CAL by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
“I’ve sat here for hours, boy, watching you flounder around like some quadriplegic ape, struggling with simple com bots the most basic and fragile constructs on the station. Doing nothing but eating the same shit they beat out of you. Seems you don’t even understand how your own body works. We’ll need to fix that, but first…”
CAL’s futile struggle to free himself amounted to nothing as Austarion tossed him in the air in front of him, backhanding him across the entirety of the city. Crashing like a meteor, he cratered the ground and caused several of the buildings around him to collapse. Slowly lifting himself off the ground, reeling from the impact, he crawled forward. Meeting the familiar and horrifying sight of a clawed boot.
“Your weakness is plain as day now, clear as the skies of Balooma after the wars of Halcix 9. You know nothing of yourself, nothing of your species.” Austarion’s words were venomous and scornful, gone was the predatory glee, replaced by disgust and displeasure. “You’re limited by your own preconceived notions of strength, and fooled by your so-called powers and armors. You’re weak through and through.”
CAL dug his fingers into the ground, watching the beast pace in a circle around him.
“I am sick and tired of everyone calling me weak. I’m not weak.” The embers of rage sparking with every word he spoke.
“Oh? Is that right?” Austarion squatted down next to him, a wicked smile across his face. “Then why did you let everyone on Durst die?”
CAL froze, shock and rage bubbling up within him.
“Oh yes, I know all about that. If you were strong, you would have been fast enough to dodge the blade, you would have been fast enough to save the people you love, you wouldn’t be here, on your hands and knees like the bitch you are, crying about a couple constructs.”
He placed a finger on CAL’s head, forcing him to the ground, digging his face into the cold nano steel..
“But no. No, no, no, no. You didn’t do any of that, you laid there like a freshly hammered flank steak. Useless and pathetic while your nanite clad fleshlight of a girlfriend dragged you and a handful of your friends to safety.”
CAL’s blue lights began to fade, shifting to the familiar deep, violent crimson of before.
“You’re pathetic, barely even worth my time to train. Naught should’ve thrown you back to that radioactive dustball you created. Left you among the bones of everyone you failed, like Zav. Let you rot lik-”
CAL exploded with fury, forcing Austarion to take a step back, the smile on his face widened as he saw CAL fully armored in a red variant of his hardlight mode.
“What’s wrong, boy? Did I touch a nerve?”
CAL lunged at him, summoning a giant buster blade, and slamming it into him.
Austarion shattered it with a flick of his wrist. Reaching for CAL’s neck as he fell towards him, he avoided his hand, spinning his entire body around Austarion mid air. Summoning a Warhammer, CAL slammed it into his back to no avail. Austarion merely laughed, turning to see CAL catch himself before lunging at him once more with the hammer.
“This is what I was looking for! That flash of rage I saw against Calica.” With every word he spoke, Austarion effortlessly dodged a swing of CAL’s warhammer. “ The most pristine time to educate you on your weakness is while you believe you’re at your peak.”
“Lesson 1: Bigger doesn’t mean better, it just gives your enemy a bigger target.”
Austarion caught the hammer by the handle, grabbing CAL by the shoulder. He headbutted him before ripping the hammer out of his hands and batting him away with it.
“Lesson 2: Put all of your focus into your weapons otherwise…” He snapped the hammer in two, casting it aside like a broken matchstick. “...Anyone can break it with enough force.”
CAL jumped to his feet, running at his beastly foe and throwing several dozen daggers at him. Austarion stood unflinching, each blade shattered like glass against the hardened plates of his armor. Summoning a kusarigama, he threw the weighted side around Austarion’s neck, launching himself forward and using the chain to reel himself in even faster.
“Lesson 3 and 4 can go together since you’re so boldly stupid: Chains are one of the most predictable weapons, you always know where the attacker is if he’s using one.”
Armoring his fists, and going in for a massive punch. Austarion caught him by the hand mid air.
“And your “Hardlight Mode” is utterly useless if it covers your entire body.”
…
…
…
CAL’s rage had been stifled in the moments before impact. He hadn’t even felt it yet, though the force of the blow had already started to send him backwards. From his perspective, time itself had slowed to a momentary crawl. The crimson light erupting from Austarion’s fist colliding with his stomach began to engulf them, and the nuclear heat began vaporizing his innards. CAL’s only thought in that fractionary bubble of frozen time:
“Is this what real power feels like?”
With a single punch, Austarion hit CAL with the force of an erupting supervolcano, a strike dwarfing that of even the most powerful nuclear detonations of the time. The blow shifted the entirety of the station, though that mattered little to CAL, who was sent flying at hypersonic speed. Crashing through the city and leaving a dragline nearly 8 miles long.
CAL laid there in absolute agony. Austarion’s single punch practically tore CAL in half, his twisted and broken lower half hung on to him via a handful of coils and organs.
The sounds of half a dozen alarms blaring kept him on the precipice of consciousness. Through his shattered visor, he saw Austarion appear in front of him, holding the flash frozen husk of his Hardlight Armor. Dropping it, the husk broke like a ceramic dish upon the metallic ground.
“Lesson 5: Never fight when you’re angry. You’ll make stupid mistakes, that will get you killed.”
Austarion’s gleeful smile faded as he walked away from CAL.
“Naught will be teaching you tomorrow, try not to be as disappointingly pathetic as you were today.”
CAL fell unconscious, Austarion’s many lessons rattling in his head as he did so.