Bryan felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. With a low level ability like his own, it would be very unlikely for him to win.
("Okay, let's calm down. There's only one guy, right?") [Bryan]
Bryan took one glance at his opponent for his feet to go cold.
"Oh shit! Isn't that Eugene?!") [Bryan]
Eugene was an elite amongst the students of his school. Said to hold the power of the level 7 ability Psychokinesis.
("I'm so screwed! Royally screwed!") [Bryan]
Compared to him, Bryan only held a measly level 3 Smoke Creation.
"You're not going to run, are you?" [Eugene]
As he began to raise his hand, Bryan quickly summoned a cloud of smoke.
("I can't face him head on!") [Bryan]
The one weakness of psychokinesis was vision. In previous studies, line of sight was one of the few conditions of the level 7 ability.
("Maybe I can try to get him from behind or something?") [Bryan]
Bryan lurked in the smoke, keeping himself hidden.
"Smoke? That's adorable." [Eugene]
Motioning with both his hands, Eugene parted the smoke.
"What?!" [Bryan]
The lack of smoke revealed Bryan's form, in which he was quite surprised.
("He can use psychokinesis on smoke?!") [Bryan]
Within a panic, Bryan summoned more smoke.
"You're like a squid with its ink!" [Eugene]
Repeating the same actions, the smoke parted. However, Bryan was nowhere to be seen.
"Hm?" [Eugene]
He took a few cautious glances, but there appeared to be no one around.
("Impossible. There's no way he could run that fast.") [Eugene]
It was then that something caught his eye.
("...What is that?") [Eugene]
There was something about the air. Or maybe his vision? It was like a spot in space was slightly distorted.
("Am I hallucinating?") [Eugene]
Is what he thought until he heard a click and a bang.
("A light-!") [Eugene]
A small object flew at him with lightning speed, but Eugene managed to catch it with his ability.
("...A bullet?") [Eugene]
Then it clicked.
("The distortion in the air, and this bullet! He's using active camouflage!") [Eugene]
Then a few more bangs went off.
"Cheap tricks." [Eugene]
With just a wave of his hand, Eugene halted all the bullets.
("Are you kidding me?! What kind of monstrous reaction speed does this guy have?!") [Bryan]
Veiled in a digital camouflage he picked up at the firing range, he attempted to use equipment to close the level gap.
("How about this?") [Bryan]
Pulling a round object from his pocket, Bryan pulled a pin and tossed it.
"A grenade? Isn't that lethal?" [Eugene]
Inspecting it more closely, its design was a bit different from how Eugene imagined.
"A mana disruption grenade?!" [Eugene]
Reacting quickly, Eugene grabbed it with his ability and sent it right back.
("Aw fuck.") [Bryan]
The grenade let out a low hum, causing Bryan's mana pool to go into disarray.
("What terrible luck!") [Bryan]
It was then that his camouflage wore off.
"Ah- Damn! Stupid mana powered equipment!" [Bryan]
"Found you." [Eugene]
Without the mana to create smoke, Bryan was left vulnerable to Eugene's psychokinesis. In which case, Eugene used his ability to capture him. It felt like some kind of force was pressing down on Bryan from all sides, or it can be compared to getting squeezed by a giant hand.
"I don't really need to capture someone from your squad, but at least I can use you to make a trade. ...Hopefully." [Eugene]
Bryan put on a nervous smile.
"Really now? I don't think that's how it will go though." [Bryan]
"What makes you say that?" [Eugene]
Raising his hand, Eugene lifted Bryan into the air.
"What can you do from there?" [Eugene]
"Many things." [Bryan]
"Like what?" [Eugene]
Now was the time. Bryan had asked himself the question: "How can I beat someone several levels above me?" The answer was simple.
"Struggle." [Bryan]
He then dropped something from his back pocket.
"Hm? What is tha-" [Eugene]
"Checkmate." [Bryan]
Bryan shut his eyes as a bright light blinded Eugene, accompanied with an incredibly loud bang. It left Bryan's ears ringing, but the effect seemed far more potent against Eugene.
"A flashbang?!" [Eugene]
Images of what he last saw remained in his spotty vision. It became impossible for him to use his ability, allowing for Bryan to close the distance.
"You got too cocky." [Bryan]
Was what he said before striking Eugene with a taser. In an act of retaliation, Eugene reached out only to collapse.
"Call me a coward if you want. It's the only way I could win." [Bryan]
He then poked at Eugene to see if he was still awake.
"Lights out huh." [Bryan]
Bryan observed Eugene until satisfaction, then turned on his radio.
"Guys. Status report." [Bryan]
There was no reply.
"Helloooo? Guys?" [Bryan]
There was no reply.
"...Shit." [Bryan]