Busujima

Jacques was up by 4 a.m., an hour before her normal routine would begin so she took the time to read a good book. She wasn’t a big fan of romance, still wasn’t, but there was a bliss that she could relate to. She would laugh at the characters’ pursuits and moments when they were meant to be oblivious to each other’s feelings. She’s been tempted to do the same in real life but her friends would probably give her an evil eye so she didn’t. That would probably be better than what she was currently going through.

There was no true purpose to the suffering here. She could understand why the army needed to toughen her. There were wars to be won and people to be carried from the frontlines when the opportunity called for it. The harshness of the training was meant to fully integrate the soldier into war easily. What she witnessed here was just torture. You only needed to smell the rotting flesh that squeezed through the small openings each room could accommodate to know. There had to be someone that felt entertained by the entire charade. The only reason she could not bring herself to scream while she was fighting was the ungodly wails that came from the paper-thin walls in the arena. It let her know that she wasn’t the only one there. But it also let her know that someone was going through worse than she ever could.

Her eyes turned to the floor. She grabbed a small pebble and carved a straight line. There were now 28 so she had been here for about 4 weeks. There can’t have been many that got this far into the program. No need to worry about that now. She got back to her book to finish the chapter. The main heroine had now become frustrated at how many signs were being ignored by her love interest. Jacques was annoyed and threw the book away. 15 minutes left. She straightened her hair and fished for lubrication in her shredded jacket. The tube coughed out the little that remained and she sighed. Smearing the gel on her left metal arm and tuning the arm a little to return flexibility to the gears, she then added the rest to her metal leg. The gel was probably good for another 3 days before she would begin to lose traction in her foreign limbs. Normally, her arms would go for weeks without much lubrication but the environment forced more usage out of her arms than normal. 5 minutes.

A few push-ups and squats and she was ready. Bring it on…

The safe zone was a circular room which made predicting where the doors would open difficult. However, with a smile on his face, Bobo was able to figure out exactly where that was. He jogged on the spot eagerly, punching his gloved fists in the air as his eyes were charged with a reckless joy.

The doors creaked open and smoke filled the safe zone. Bobo closed his eyes and punched like a madman. On his fourth hit, there was contact and Bobo willed his arm to pack a greater force and for the first time in 28 days, was able to send one of the monsters flying to the ground. The feeling of triumph shot like adrenaline through Bobo’s nerves but he resisted the urge to lose focus. There was no time to celebrate. And until these creatures were dead, there was no reason to. One of the creatures willed a circular chainsaw to existence and drove it towards Bobo. He leapt out of the way but was forced out of the safe zone into the rectangular mission zone that surrounded it.

“Special defenses down. Manual activation required.”

Bobo clicked, hoping to survive about two or more before he lost the advantage of the safe zone. The zone gave passive offence and defense and ensured that no matter how much damage you took, you could technically not die. But once those bastards were able to knock you down, it wouldn’t matter if you couldn’t die so staying in the zone was not an option for Bobo. He had to keep fighting them or at least die trying.

A spear was aimed for his ribs but he dodged effortlessly. He had to be careful. He willfully missed a punch and dodged another attack from behind. That was probably worth enough marks to arouse suspicion. He had to take one of the attacks soon no matter what. His eyes scanned for the weapon with the lowest pain threshold and found one of the monsters had a machete. That was good enough. He skillfully waited for the right moment and placed himself in a position to take the machete. However, the monsters were trapping him. The machete wielder purposefully drove him to the chainsaw monster who went for the attack. A chainsaw attack was at best going to damage his stamina. But if he dodged this, the monsters would go all the way to Level 2. He didn’t want that. There was no time to think. The saw was seconds away. Bobo took a couple of heavy breaths before deciding it wasn’t worth it to be attacked.

This obstacle course turned me into a coward. No more.

Bobo dodged in time. The monsters’ heads, which were marked with a safe Level 1 Red beep turned blue.

Promotion to Level 2. Psychological attacks, enabled.

The creatures roared with a disgusting squeal that Bobo was accustomed enough not to block his ears. He steadied his shaking hands and decided that Level 2 was going to be the last level he’d face today. He was going to live and he was going to make these creatures pay. He spat on the ground, fixed his mouth guard, eased his jaw, hopped for a few seconds and rushed for the monsters.

Jacques ran towards the monsters, grabbing one by its neck and sent her metal knee towards its chin, stunning it and picking its weapon which was a big cleaver and drove it towards the neck, aiming for a blood vessel if it had any and watched in horror as green sewage-like fluids burst out of the creature as it groaned in fury. Jacques’ ears began to ring but she fought the temptation to be disoriented. There was no escaping it. Her move had officially landed her at Level 2. It was too early and she was going to pay for it. There were already shouts around the institution which meant that several were either dying or choosing to be tortured in their respective safe zones.

The pool before her nearly forced bile out of her system. There were 4 other creatures that could enter the safe zone so she vowed to stick around until they were in Level 3. Suddenly, she felt like gravity was slowly decreasing and she was floating in the air. This was bad. She began to swim in the air, hoping to reattach her consciousness to her body. One of the creatures slowly shot a spear towards her and it was aimed for her head. She couldn’t die in the safe zone but that would break her stamina enough to suffer for more hours than she was willing to. The spear was close. She panicked. She wasn’t going to get there fast enough.

The room began to crawl with scorpions. They seemed to grow larger in size as they approached him. They were not real, Bobo knew that, but there was no way to shake the feeling that they were. He was slowly losing his breath. He had to get back to the safe zone. He weaved around the melee weapons and took a leap at one of the creatures, aiming a punch to its jaw. Instead he found himself caught and the machete being driven to his back. He coughed blood and was thrown to the floor.

Major stamina depletion. Rush to the safe zone immediately.

I know that, Bobo said with a silent curse. Most of the blood he used to have had been depleted and replaced with a fluid that looked like blood but was instead filled with stamina. A reward for having survived this long, he was told. It still stung to be cut and losing stamina meant he had to depend on the safe zone during fights but it was better than dying. The first few days had him responding with anger but that always meant taking a beating. There was a moment he was waiting for. For now, he had to play it safe. He found his footing and began the race towards the safe zone. It took more than dodging and doing light strikes to trigger Level 3 so he was fine for now. There was no need for any unnecessary moves.

The creatures in the darkness noticed his swiftness and one of them pressed a button. Sorry, Bobo. We’re not going to give you a pass this time.

He could see his safe zone. It was just a few steps away. However, to his horror, Bobo saw as the blue light got replaced by a yellow light and in confusion, fell to the ground.

Promotion to Level 3. Instant Death Access, granted.

What in the world is going on? Bobo was too stunned to move.

Marco was tired. There was something about constantly being in danger that slowly wore him. He was more than ready to end things and this time, give everyone a chance to move on like he once did for X and Y.

Wood Regeneration: Cleansed Hands

The creatures were ready to use Level 3. Of late, he never even got the option of seeing Levels 1 and 2 anymore. The voices in the shadows were tired of him and wanted him to slowly suffer so he would never forget it. He didn’t care. Vines sprout all over his arms, slowly twirling around his arms before drilling themselves into his shoulders. He found himself surging with power and pain. He was able to see a projection from afar and evaded it. It was time to do this dance one last time.

Wood Shelter: Double Stack

This allowed him to temporarily boost the safety of the safe zone while damaging his sight in the process. He’d seen this in a movie once but never really thought that one day, he’d be this good at it. A monster chucked a missile towards Marco. He raised his hand, spun with an inhuman speed and caught the missile, the vines slowly tearing into it.

“You might want to consider not using projectiles. I can assure you none of them will reach me if you do.”

One of the shadowed figures laughed.

The monster dropped the launcher and willed a giant spiked bat. It hit the ground and tore through the earth before the monster lifted it with glee. Marco took a stance and the monster hit him with all its might. The bat ripped skin and very nearly bone and the vines struggled to heal the attack.

“My turn.”

Wood Shelter: Roots

Vines burst from the ground and held on to the monster as Marco rushed toward it. With an open fist, Marco struck its chest, cracking some of its chest cavity before rapidly striking with his palms in several spots, drowning the monster in confusion. Enraged, the monster swung the bat wildly, hoping to hit Marco but Marco evaded most of them, taking one or two to the face.

A claymore hit his shoulder and slightly severed the vines. Marco tilted the sword away and turned to receive a headbutt from another monster. This came with a psychic blast that immediately sent him towards his memories and the floor.

“Marco Valentino with the ball…He’s expertly tackling the defense…Ladies and gentlemen we are witnessing a football genius. Look at that precise timing with the kick…It’s as if the entire field bends to his will…”

Memories used as an illusion. But knowing is no different than actually doing something. He had to get back to his body before…A weak deformed hand began to form from the ground. Dirty nails, pale skin, bald head, he could picture the details as they formed.

“Bro…brother…”

The monster with the claymore struck his shoulder again and his arm was severed. Marco groaned in pain. The monster aimed for the other arm and Marco decided enough was enough. No. This wasn’t how he wanted to remember his brother. He forced his will towards a power he had not used in several weeks.

Wood Coating: Hope

The vines regenerated his arm and he played around with his fingers for a moment. Coating gave him 20 seconds of complete invulnerability but cost enough stamina to know he wouldn’t save as many people as he normally would. Marco lunged for one of the monsters and used the strength he got from coating to rip his head out of his body. The other monsters noticed and took a step back. There was only one response to this. Green Light.

Promotion to Level 4, Safe Zone Removal, granted.

But Marco was counting on that being the case so he prepared to use his final attack.

Jacques was late, very much so. The spear struck her head as she got back and a large portion of stamina was lost. Luckily she was still in the safe zone so she was able to prevent complete exhaustion. She took it out and was on her knees as slow healing occurred. If this was how bad things looked when she was dealing with Level 2, she couldn’t begin to imagine how bad things would get if she pushed things all the way to Level 4.

She has the potential too. Give her Level 3 as well. The button from the shadows was lightly tapped.

Promotion to Level 3, Instant Death Access, granted.

One of the monsters willed a broadsword and swung it towards an exhausted Jacques. I’m not going to die like this. Her arms began to glow.

I’m going to destroy all of you. Bobo thought as his mind finally snapped. He could feel the sensation rush through his bloody hands and the power he had been honing for all of his time in this horrid place was finally able to show up at will. But he was not in the safe zone and he was too tired to use it. He had taken a great stamina hit so he was most likely going to pass out.

Jacques could feel her power forming but she was too mentally exhausted to do anything but hold her arms in the air as she anticipated her end. Maybe she was finally tired of surviving.

Wood Regeneration: Monstrous Healing

At the cost of his last embers of stamina, Marco formed a great seal around the entire station. Vines violently burst through walls and shot through concrete, very nearly getting through to the shadow room before it was immediately held back by one of the shadowed figures.

Marco has grown too strong. We can not entertain him anymore. Kill him.

Coating was done and Marco was exhausted. One of the monsters struck Marco and channeled unknown power through him, slowly drawing life from him. Marco used the last of his life to laugh.

“I knew I would finally rattle you! It might not be me but one day…”

The last thing that ran through Marco’s mind was his unfulfilled wish. Football was his way of taking care of the young kids in the cancer ward back home. He’d hope that a wish was better than the money he always got them. He’d hope he would have gotten out soon so he can return to them. But the facility never lets go of potential. It will always hold on to those strong enough to survive their games. Marco thus opted to use his new life to do something he believed mattered.

Whether that was going to work out was up to the new blood. Marco died with a smile on his lips.

Jacques was stung by a vine and immediately felt her stamina boost to levels where she was finally able to conjure up her ability.

Water Shield: Rondache

A spherical shield sprouted from her hands and clashed with the broadsword, the impact sending small waves across the arena. She found the strength to stand and the ability to form another one of her abilities.

Water Axe: Ice Axe

It wasn’t a traditional weapon but it gave her options. She swung her axe for one of the monster’s heads, hit the jaw and ripped it right out. A second swing for the head and with her new found stamina, she was able to send the creature to the ground. The monster with the sword shortened it to a standard one and began hacking away at her shield. It kept out of her way each time she tried to reach for it with her axe and seemed to wait for her abilities to cool off before attacking. She had to take a risk if this creature was to go down. Waiting for the right moment, she parried an attack, willed her shield away, spun and dug her axe in the opponent’s arm. The monster groaned in pain. She took it out immediately, and willed her ice axe away for a new technique.

Water Axe: Tomahawk

She threw her axe which sliced the monster’s head clean as the body fell to the ground with a thud. Her shield was back up and her axe turned back to water and dropped to the floor. There was one monster left.

The monster’s yellow light turned to green. Level 4.

The moment Bobo saw the vines, he was ecstatic. He woke up with vigour and the liquid he considered blood dried around his fists before bulging like giant veins.

Blood, eh? Give him Level 4. Let’s see how long he-

Bobo went berserk with his new ability, his speed and rage enhanced. He boxed one of the monsters with enough force to break its skull in two as it fell to the ground. He disappeared from the other monster’s eyes and appeared with a series of hooks for another. He went for vitals and his jabs were quick and precise, breaking posture and aiming for the head as the final attack. He was practically in a zone of his own, so much so that he didn’t seem to need a safe zone anymore. Any time a creature got close to attacking, he always dodged.

Blood Work: Spear Knockout

As soon as his punch connected, his blood would solidify and stab the opponent.

Blood Work: Javelin Expert

Bobo threw a spear made from his blood which struck the final monster in the room before rushing through the field and launching his final attack.

Blood Work: Bloody Choke

With the goo of the monster exposed, Bobo slowly restricted the entire flow in its system, slowly choking the monster. Bobo then took its chainsaw and rummaged through the creature’s chest as he asked…

“Every time I’ve won in the ring, it’s always been a thing of mine to hear my opponent say my name just once. So tell me, what’s my name?” The creature was silent so Bobo persisted with the chainsaw. The creature dematerialized the weapon so Bobo used the last of his stamina.

Blood Work: Chainsaw

Using the opponent’s blood, Bobo made a new chainsaw and continued to torment the creature.

“I don’t want you to die before you answer, man. You’ve heard it before. I’ve heard you guys talk before. So spit it out. What’s my name?” The creature finally croaked.

“Bo…bo.”

The monster died and Bobo sighed as he dematerialized the chainsaw.

“And don’t you and your friends ever forget it.”

Bobo sounds like he’ll be a piece of work. But nothing that has never been humbled before. With that the shadows were done. A doctor was called into the room of shadows. How many were able to survive this time?

The camera feed showed Jacques desperately trying to gasp for air as she sits on the final monster, her arm raised in victory.

“Seven. All of them have manifested their abilities.”

Good. Set X and Y free. We can finally begin the next phase of our plan. Let’s see how they perform against the monks.