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Nero Walker, Book 2 Ch.34 (66)
🕑 Added 2024-01-04 23:30:01 +0000 UTCRose was well aware how big an opportunity this was. Being an elite meant a big paycheck, free gear, top-notch training facilities, and intelligence straight from the mage tower. In short, she’d be part of a government sponsored hunter-squad. While the perks were nice, it was the growth she was really after. Elites had everything taken care of by the army, their only concern was their progress.
While thinking about the future, Rose was doing the morning workout. She’d had training before, but nothing like this. While the trainers were impressive, it was the recruits that had her nervous. She’d never seen people so talented.
Panting, she bent over with her hands on her knees. Having just completed her wind sprints, she was waiting for her turn on the peg ladder. Her fellow recruits looked tired, but she felt like she was barely keeping up. Every time she thought they were done, a new exercise was chosen. Light-headed, Rose was starting to feel like everything was blurring together.
Looking over to the right, she saw the reason she was here. The kid was so sweaty, he looked like someone had poured a bucket of water over his head. She couldn’t believe he was smiling. He was slow, weak, and generally pathetic. But she had to admit, she was still intimidated. Just looking at him, smiling while his entire body was failing him, it was like seeing someone smiling during a torture session. In fact, she was pretty sure she had seen him coughing up blood at one point. ‘Yup, it’s still staining his chin. Gross,’ she thought.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to stand back up and continue. Taking her turn, she felt her muscles burn while she stretched to reach each peg into the board. On her left, her fellow recruit was putting her to shame. Rose tried to ignore how weak she was, but she felt the trainer’s eyes watching her. There was no shouting, just silent judgment. It was very effective. Grunting with effort, she increased her pace.
Soon enough, she was back on the ground. Leaning her head back, she panted while looking at the sky. For the hundredth time, she wondered if this was the last task before breakfast. Hearing some shouting, she looked over to see her target yelling something to his group’s trainer. She watched him stand on shaky legs and take off at a run, that insane smile still on his face. If she wasn’t sure General Branson would hear about it from someone else, she might have left it out of her report. Who would believe it?
Eventually, they were sent to breakfast. While everyone else cleaned up and trudged toward breakfast in silence, too tired to speak, that freak of nature was bouncing around like he wanted more. He didn’t even bother to clean up after his training. She watched him eat like an animal, while blood was still drying all over his mouth. No one seemed to want to talk with him about it. Even his minders were too tired to ask him about it. But she had to know.
Asking him why he didn’t clean himself up, she was surprised at his response.
“We’re just going to be getting dirty again, what’s the point? If my manly musk is too much for you, don’t feel bad. I’ve been known to have that effect on people. But for you, I’ll try to keep it in check,” he said, while sounding like he was taking pity on her.
She watched him walk off, suppressing a shiver at his tone. It’s like the brutal training didn’t bother him at all. How did he ignore what he was doing to himself? That’s not normal.
When she was assigned to his group, she wasn’t surprised. The general would have given orders to keep her close to the target. None the less, Rose wasn’t happy about it.
When she found out that she would have to fight him, she was terrified. She listened as he asked what he was allowed to do to her, while she was standing right there! The kid was a monster. The fact that his bodyguard was just as brutal as Rose thought she would be, was just icing on the intimidation-cake.
Finally, it was time to face the music. She stood across from him and saw his crooked grin. He was just staring at her like he was thinking about how to dissect her. As she put her hands up, mentally she prepared for the fight of her young life.
Just then, she saw recognition in his eyes. It’s like he remembered her from somewhere. She watched as his grin vanished, then transitioned into a smirk. His eyes hardened, and she knew she was in trouble.
‘Oh shit! Does he remember me from when I was standing next to Ulric? Does he think I’m associated with the assassins? Not good. This is definitely not good.’ she thought as she involuntarily gulped in fear.
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Nero was expecting an ass-whooping, and he was alright with that. But if there was another plot to kill him, he was not going to die quietly. He’d been in some fights in high school and college. Nothing serious, but he used to watch the UFC. And, just because he couldn’t use magic, didn’t mean that he was without options. He still had his mana-armor running, and according to what he had read, it wouldn’t be totally useless.
After taking Ms. Averett’s warning about essence blades seriously, he had done some research. Essence shields were concentrated fields of essence that resisted changes subconsciously. They had no problem stopping magic, and essence in general. However, they were usually ignored by hand to hand, or anything with an independent will. As long as Nero could maintain his hold, it would still blunt the damage, but that was considered an advanced technique.
Nero hardened his resolve, and slammed his fist into his palm. Psyching himself up, Nero started hopping, to get the blood moving.
Eyes hard, his voice was cold as he said, “So who wants me dead this time? Is it the city-lord or another noble prick I haven’t heard of?”
Nero watched her eyes widen. Seeing her try to think up a response, he charged. If popular media had taught him anything, it was to never waste a distraction.
As he wasn’t very fast, she had plenty of time to set her feet and firm her guard. Nero started throwing punches like he was attacking a hanging bag. Since he was more than a foot shorter than her, he bulldozed through her guard to get close. She kept backing up to try and get some distance, but Nero wouldn’t let up. Although he didn’t seem to be hurting her, as most of his punches were hitting her elbows or just missing, he didn’t let up.
Rose seemed to realize that Nero wasn’t hitting that hard, and her stance firmed up. Taking a body blow, she used the opportunity of Nero’s over-extension to throw a tight elbow at his temple. She hit cleanly, but it didn’t seem to do any damage.
Nero felt the hit, but he managed to keep hold of his mage-armor. It felt like a ripple spreading from his temple, making his shield falter. Gritting his teeth, he realized that he just wasn’t strong enough to really hurt her. It was time to switch strategies.
While Rose had stopped backing up, and was preparing to follow-up her elbow with a combo, Nero dropped into a deep crouch and shoved his shoulder into her knee. Instead of doing a single leg take-down, he tried to hit it from the side and whip her into the ground. Even though the maneuver could be considered a success, he managed to face plant into the ground.
Rose felt her left leg get pulled up, and then she flailed as the ground rushed up to meet her. The back of her head hit the dirt as she had her wind knocked out. Her chest spasmed as she coughed. With her hands splayed out to her sides, she tried to sit up, but her head was dizzy. She felt Nero climbing up her legs and getting on top of her. In a panic, she tried to push him off.
Nero’s nose was bleeding, but he was too hyped-up to feel it. Eyes watering, he crawled over his opponent, trying to get on top of her. He felt her push her hands onto his chest, and he realized how much stronger she was than him. Nero felt like a little kid trying to wrestle an adult, which he supposed was an accurate description of what was happening.
Rather than fight her head-on, he did what every mixed martial artist on TV usually did. He grabbed her right arm and tried to get her in an arm bar. It didn’t work as well as he thought it would. Although he did manage to trap her arm, he fell off to her side. Instead of bending her elbow, he just managed to wedge her arm under his left shoulder. Nero’s left leg was on her chest, and his right was just above her face. She was squirming, and he didn’t know how long he could hold on. She was just too tall.
Without a lot of options, Nero tightened his grip on her arm and started kicking her in the head. As he wasn’t used to fighting, he didn’t realize he should stop when she stopped moving. His heart was pounding, and he thought he was fighting an assassin. It took a few seconds for the shouts of, “Alright, that’s enough! She’s out, you can stop! Medic!” from the on-lookers to register.
Nero felt himself being pulled out of the fight by his shoulders. He was swiftly yanked to his feet by a smiling Ms. Averett. His eyes were wide, and his breath was coming fast as he was almost hyperventilating. Nero managed to mutter, “Did I win?”
The scariest thing Nero had ever heard was the sound of Ms. Averett laughing. She just patted Nero on the back and turned her back on him to aid in his opponent’s recovery. Nero just stood there numbly, trying to catch his breath. His nose was busted, and the blood was dripping off his chin. Snot bubbles forced him to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. Nero looked down to see his arm covered in bright red blood. ‘Did she have a knife? Shit, I’m bleeding out!?!’ he thought.
Immediately, Nero cast the one healing spell he knew. In his panic, he made the spell form stronger than necessary. Regenerative essence flooded his body, and Nero felt like he was mainlining adrenaline. Part of his psyche was hurled through his body, witnessing each of the little muscle tears heal. All of his muscles felt renewed, and his aches and pains were gone. He wasn’t even out of breath anymore. Stunned at the changes, he muttered, “Holy shit.” Forcing himself to calm down, he cast a quick cleaning spell. Nero watched as the blood on his shirt seemed to evaporate, along with the dirt and grime. In seconds, his shirt was as good as new, along with everything else.
Looking up, Nero saw his opponent being helped to her feet. She had Sergeant Wesker, Nick, Ms. Averett, and a green-shirt all fussing over her. Nero figured this would be a good time to address the elephant in the room.
“You all know that she was here to kill me, right?” he asked with some venom.
Shocked faces snapped toward Nero. Ms. Averett was the first to recover, and a knife appeared in her hand like it had always been there. Faster than Nero thought possible, Ms. Averett was behind the assassin with a knife to her throat and holding her still.
In a cold voice, Ms. Averett said, “No sudden moves. Explain.”
Both the medic and Nick stood there looking like lumps, while the sergeant stepped back in order to make room in case he had to act. The assassin was frozen in panic. Her eyes were wide in terror, and started stuttering.
“I’m not an assassin. I was with them. But, I’m not anymore. I’m not here to kill him. I swear,” she pleaded.
Nero walked up to the group and crossed his arms. “She was with the group of assassins that tried to kill me with that challenge thing. It’s an awfully big coincidence that she’s here now. And was assigned to fight me, before I was taught how to defend myself. As the good sergeant Wesker said, training accidents happen.”
Sergeant Wesker bristled at that, but before he could say anything, the ‘not-assassin’ spoke up, “General Branson was there and assigned me here to spy on you. Look, it was a good opportunity to join the elites, but I’m not going to cross you. You’re fucking crazy. I’ll take my chances out in the wilds before I accept a contract on you. I’m a hunter dammit. I always wanted to be a hunter. I’m not cut out for this political crap. Let me go, and you’ll never see me again. I swear.”
Sergeant Wesker looked like he was just told that Santa didn’t exist. No one had told him the specifics of her assignment, and now he felt lost. He had just been told that she should be kept close to Walker. His training kicked in, and he shouted, “Captain, you’re needed at Ring 2!”
Ms. Averett hadn’t released her grip in the slightest. She seemed content to just sit there and watch the show. Nick was rubbing his chin in thought, while the medic was just standing there looking confused.
Nero didn’t wait for the captain, and walked up in front of the ‘not-assassin’. Looking her in the eyes, he asked, “What SPECIFICALLY were your orders. Tell me everything.”
Gulping, she stood very still as the knife rested against her neck. She said, “General Branson said that he might have a job for me after I told him and that other lord that I didn’t want anything to do with your assassination. When I met you, I realized you would win and would probably want payback. I just wanted to make it clear that I didn’t want to be involved. He said he could use someone who sees what others ignore. He put me in this training program and asked me report on your progress. That’s it. I just wanted to be a hunter.” By the time she had finished, she was nearly crying.
Nero looked into her blue eyes, and he could FEEL that she was being honest. Her psychic field was radiating tiredness and frustration. She didn’t want to deal with any of this. Nero felt for her. She just wanted to be a hunter. Nobles and powerful people got involved, and she was dragged into something she didn’t care about.
“What’s going on?” Captain Angelton said in his harsh voice. He walked up to the group, and assessed the situation.
Sergeant Wesker spoke first. “Sir, It seems Lord Walker has discovered a spy sent by General Branson. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you Sir? Because tainting a training field with politics could be considered treason.” His voice was filled with accusation and disappointment.
As Captain Angelton’s face paled, Nero could see that he was thinking through how he should respond. Nero decided to step in.
“Ms. Averett, let her go. We are all going to have a nice discussion along with some coffee. Right now,” Nero said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Turning on his heel, Nero stomped off toward the command building. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and woe be to anyone who stood in his way.
