"You're a psychic," Beliz said raising an eyebrow as though to accuse of him of some mortal sin he has committed. How shall he be absolved of such actions?
The strap of metal floating in front of Ajax's chest dropped to the floor with a metallic clack. Ajax shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands at as if he was caught in lie.
Rad smiled at his son with the pride of a thousand suns. This was what he was betting on making his son win against Beliz.
Who would have thought that a living tower of a man, packed with muscles, be a psychic?
When Rad found out that his son wasn't a pugilist like he was or his father before him, he was surprised, not angered. However this new information didn't not change anything. Rad still subjected Ajax to the same training that he was forced to do at his age.
As a man in the military raising up the ranks, he knew very well the pro and cons of every type of every class. The main con of being a psychic was that there body's were very weak to any.
Rad thought that through training him as though he was a pugilist Ajax would be able to cover this weakness, or at least minimize it.
If Rad were to look at Ajax through the system, he would cry out of joy. His plan worked! But it worked too well.
His strength stat was the highest with his intelligence being the lowest!
Intelligence is the very cornerstone of the psychic class. This stat powers almost every skill and ability in the class. Almost all of the talents gained from class advancements boost intelligence as well!
However, Rad wasn't dumb with training him to be a pugilist. He knew that he was a psychic in the end and hired a tutor to train him.
However, Ajax is weak psychic. He can only do basic attacks and even then those attacks are significantly weakened as he doesn't have a high intelligence stat to help.
Ajax mind was strained as he tried to slow down the strap, he had to put in a lot of effort whenever he used any psychic abilities.
"This changes somethings," Beliz mumbled to himself, "It means that I can push a lot harder." He smiled a bit.
Well, maybe he shouldn't do that as his jaw hurts still.
Beliz made the first move as he sent of ribbon of metal to strike the side of Ajax. He felt the same resistance he felt before as his attacked was slowed down, giving Ajax a bigger window of time to close the gap as he rushed at Beliz.
Beliz raised his eyebrow again, he knew that Ajax was going to pull the same move as before. He sent multiple attacks coming from the floor at all directions.
He knew that the only way that Ajax was going to beat him was to get close, so he decided to pin him down.
Every time that Ajax slowed down an attack enough to dodge he had another sent to him from so different angle. He noted that all of the metal that Beliz was using so far had come from the floor.
While he was evading attacks from Beliz, he looked around at the testing room. Horror and fear filled his eyes at what he saw.
Everything was made out of metal. The floor was made of metal, so was the walls, the doors, and even the ceilings as well. Everything was made out of something that Beliz could control.
From the sidelines Rad could see his son look around the room and make connections. He saw the despair set into his eyes once filled with unearned brazen pride.
Ajax was never going to win against Beliz.
"This needed to be done," Rad said to himself as he sees his son start panicking. Ajax starts sweating as he is forced to dash away from attacks regardless of how much effort he tries to slow them down with his abilities. He had not been able to move from his position.
This could be considered a form of hazing, used to ensure loyalty to the leader, in which case is Beliz. Rad knew that Ajax would listen to him as he has been an authority figure in Ajax's whole life but didn't know how he would react to taking orders from Beliz.
Panic filled Ajax whole being during this moment. The clothes that he wore clung to his back as sweat poured out of him. His mind is pushed to the limit, it feels as though his brain is going to split in half.
He has no thoughts going through his head as he is focused on dodging attacks from Beliz. Never stopping for a short breath to relax. No open window to escape the barrage of attacks coming his way. Unrelenting, that is what the situation that Ajax was in.
In the flurry of attacks unleashed upon him Ajax caught a small glimpse of Beliz. He stood there, still as a statue, staring at Ajax with sadistic pleasure in his eyes. Beliz appears calm, tranquil even, his breathing is slow and steady.
This is the look of someone who is in complete control of the battle. He has set the tempo of the fight, no this is no longer considered a fight anymore. The gap in skill is apparent, Beliz is superior in every way. As for the terrain, it favors Beliz
Beliz stands still, rooted in place as though frozen in time, focused only on attacking Ajax from different angles. The only movement seen from him is his hand twitching as to direct the metal to attack Ajax.
Ajax on the other had is drenched in sweat, his hair sticks to his cheeks as he had been moving fast. As time progressed the tempo has changed, the barrage has gotten faster.
For as fast as he is Ajax can only dodge and evade for so long. Soon enough he slips up. A lucky strike of metal hits him in his gut. The metal isn't sharp enough to draw blood but the opposite, it was blunt. The strike hit him with powerful force causing him to lurch forward.
When Beliz saw this excitement filled his body and soul and took advantage of the situation. He sends another strike aiming for his face, with a lot more force than before. Now Beliz is exchanging rapid attacks for single powerful strikes.
It hits right between the eyes and Beliz swore saw Ajax's body lift off the ground from the force. He sends a strike from the back aiming for his kidney. It lands perfectly.
Then he another strike to his liver, then to both side of his ribs. He repeats this multiple times striking each spot where the organs or bones were in succession, never hitting the same spot twice and in random patterns. For as many times the metal strikes against Ajax's it never draws blood.
After Beliz is done, the floor is ripped to shreds as it has been the sole ammunition that he has been using to attack Ajax. Straps of metal litter the floor around them, all warped in some foreign shape unknown to geometry.
Ajax who once stood tall and erect, as though a tree unwilling to bend to the blowing force of the wind or shift it roots for the changing earth. His eyes were once lit with blazing innocent passion and unearned pride.
Now Ajax trembles with trepidation at the sight of Beliz. He stands limp, his shoulder slouched barely holding his body together. His breathing has turned haggard and uneven. His eyes are filled with shadows and unending fear. One arm warps around his chest as though to support his breathing as the other hangs limply from his shoulder like dead weight.
His liver and kidney feels to though they are about to bust from another strike.
And yet, he stands against Beliz.
Rad watched from the side, his heart twisted in knots seeing the sight of his son beaten and broken to this point. His body screams for him to protect his son from the danger that is Beliz, but he can not listen to such paternal feelings. He can not call off the match until one of them quits, draws too much blood, or breaks the rules.
Beliz raised one eyebrow at him, he commends Ajax's tenacity to persist through such pain.
Was it foolish of him to do so? Yes, in all aspects it is foolish.
Beliz summons a ribbon of metal, this time from the ceiling, and prepares it for an attack at a moments notice.
"Are you willing to forfeit?" Beliz says to Ajax.
Ajax looks at him with a still face, not like he can make one without a lot of pain. Ajax thought of this as an act of mercy. It was one, it ends the pain that he is in, he could get medical treatment immediately go back to his full health, maybe even be better.
But something clouds his judgement, his own pride. One that he has not earned. How could he forfeit? If he does that then he is considered a weakling, a coward. He will not let himself be perceived in such details.
What would his own father think?
Ajax stares at him in response. No sound came from his throat. He shook his head no.
'Commendable,' Beliz thought seeing him shake his head. He let out a deep sigh and rolled his shoulders back and shot the metal towards him.
This time he was aiming for his nose. He made sure that it was blunt as to not pierce his skin as striking the face with a sharp object might turn deadly.
Ajax tired from all of the dodging and evading and from the fight, stands rooted in his spot and takes the blow.
His nose breaks and spurts blood and snot all over the floor, his cloths, and face. He stumbles and bit and takes a few steps back to maintain his balance.
"This is getting boring," Beliz said as he pulls two straps of metal down and turns them into blunt objects. He knew that Ajax no longer had any fighting spirit and was only standing against him in spite and pride, how typical of a teenager.
He shoots both of the blunt straps at Ajax in one final blow, this time aiming for his eyes.
Ajax in the same fashion, stands still as he sees the two pieces of metal rocket towards him at his eyes. Once they hit he falls on his back and doesn't move.
Ajax is knocked out.
Upon seeing that Ajax is on the floor unresponsive, he rushes over to him and places to fingers at his neck to check for a pulse. There is one but it is faint.
Immediately a small emergency medicine team showed up in the testing room and put Ajax on a stretcher. They then rolled him away to their part of the facility.
Beliz looked surprised when he saw the team, he didn't call them over. He looked around and saw the general with a tablet.
"They gave me one when I asked," Rad said innocently.
"I am gonna get back to my work Rad," Beliz said getting up from the ground and walked towards the exit of the testing room.
Before he leaves he sticks his head out of the door, "And thank you for the idea, it was very helpful"
Beliz then went to his room, showered, and changed back into his research uniform and went to the observation room.