Gerri gave him a small smile when he sat down, Leru quick glance. Greger glared. "Where is the other idiot?"
"Working on some project." Jake had forgotten about Jon. He turned to look into the arena and was surprised to see Nira there. The arena was different, set up with half crumbled buildings making it far distinct from the smooth empty field he had fought on earlier.
"The arena changed?" Jake asked.
"It does that, yes." Leru confirmed still watching. Nira had her back to a stone pillar that was being sprayed by a woman shooting some box fed gun while standing out in the open. The rounds chipped away at the stone filling the air with dust around the fire mage.
"I wonder what kind of gun that is, it looks like a normal gun. Most of the ones I see people use have lights." Jake commented.
"Appears based on a MK 23 Mod 0. A weapon from the same era our town is set in. But I don't think they are a tech based, to be honest." It was Greger of all people speaking.
"A magic faction using a gun? That wouldn't be right. Jon explained it to me. Normal weapons aren't very useful against monsters. Our weapons only work against them because we…" Jake hesitated as he recalled the right word. "Infuse them with the unique energy flowing through us."
"Correct. But that weapon, it isn't core craft. I have to agree with Captain Greger." Leru tilted her head. Suddenly the spray of bullets ended. The woman wielding the heavy gun casually dropped the box and started reloading. Nira didn't hesitate and leaned out around the pillar. Flames roared forth from her hands and engulfed the woman. For several long seconds, the crowd held their breath. The stream of flames sputtered out and Nira ducked back behind the pillar.
Jake blinked. He had seen Nira use that same attack a few times. Even against him. The flames normally went out when she finished but instead they were swirling around the other woman. Did Nira get another ability he wasn't aware of?
The cocoon of flames rolled back into a roiling cloud behind the unharmed woman. She had finished loading her gun and Jake could see the white of her smile as she started firing again.
As the gun roared spraying more bullets again the mass of flames behind them swirled and moved. The bullets didn't chip into the pillar but instead curved around it. They hammered into Nira like a swarm of angry stinging insects rocking her slender form back and forth. Only the high end armor nullifying the physical damage from the weapon kept her from being turned to swiss cheese.
Pushing off from the pillar she dived away from it into the open. The other woman tracked her firing away. The already fired rounds curving to chase after Nira as she scrambled away.
"An enchanter. That makes more sense." Leru hummed in interest.
"Whats an enchanter?" Gerri beat Jake to the punch.
"They infuse mundane weapons with special properties. Normally the process is long and drawn out which makes it impractical for combat. But if I am right she is using Nira's own power as fuel for some very crude but effective short term enchantments. They really must be skilled to pull that off on so many projectiles so quickly." Leru was watching the match with greater interest as Nira dodged and dived yet still managed to fire off attacks. Despite her effort, she was being constantly hammered by bullets. Jake knew just how effective her armor was and figured it was still anyone's match. That enchanter woman was likely to run out of ammunition long before Nira's armor broke.
"So she is like Jon? Can he do stuff like that too?" Gerri asked with an almost excited tone.
"No, Jon isn't an evolver. We call them resistant. Those here at Haven call them the failed. They can handle greater exposure to Earth than someone like us could. But they can't evolve. She is more like Leah. An Evolver with abilities not normally suited for combat." Gerri's face fell some as they watched the rest of the match. Nira ended up winning simply because the enchanter woman lacked the firepower to pierce her armor. Eventually running out of ammunition. It was far from a satisfactory win tho and based on Nira's expression she felt the same way.
"Where is Leah now that you mention it." Jake looked around realizing the mechanic wasn't there.
"She went to meet up with some others of a similar class. Something about sharing information." Leru smiled.
Jake wasn't sure he liked that idea. But Leah was a grown woman, older than him at least. She could do what she wanted.
"So how did your meeting go?" Gerri asked.
Jake's hand went to his pants pocket unconsciously. "It was not what I expected." Jake leaned in towards Leru and Gerri while ignoring Greger. "We might have another coming back with us."
"Not another like Jon right? You went to see someone he considered a colleague, right?" Leru looked a bit worried.
Jake thought back and did his best not to let them see him shiver. He hadn't gotten on that table. But he had allowed her to scan him and take a small blood sample. It wasn't the only fluid sample she wanted but it was all she got. In return, he had gotten a refined skill mutagen. One she assured him was exactly what he was looking for.
Overload. It was normally a tech based skill designed for what sounded a lot like a mech suit user. The Flesh Sculptor, whose real name he actually still didn't know, assured him he could use it. His equipment had fused with his body in a way that she described as "delectable" and "fascinating". It would temporarily boost all his attributes and abilities by an extreme margin. Making it extremely powerful but even more useful is the cooldown triggered by the strain on his body would prevent his Survivor's Fury from triggering. Sure it didn't heal him and wouldn't keep him from dying but at the same time, he didn't have to worry about going on a killing spree. Until he got that under control this was his best option.
He fondled the injector through the cloth of his pants and for the first time really wished his AI was working. For some reason, Haven blocked him from connecting to them. He wasn't sure he trusted the tiny scientist so hadn't injected the skill yet. He would see if Jon could confirm it first.
The rest of that day's matches were rather uninteresting in Jake's opinion. The others agreed other than the enchanter Nira fought the rest seemed pretty basic. No other unusual classes or abilities. On the tech side, it was mostly automatic rifles firing ballistics or one of a number of energy types.
For the magic faction, it was all elemental casters like Nira. Most weren't even as strong as Nira and it was mostly the equivalent of magical slug fests. The winner being the one with the greatest raw power to overcome the elemental shielding. Fights across factions were a bit more exciting and short lived as both were vulnerable to the other's attacks. Jake wondered if that was intentional. There was so little known about the origin of the classes and skills.
Jake had barely stepped out of the arena when a set of slender arms wrapped around one of his and a soft body was suddenly melting against his. With his heart pounding he turned to stare into Rose's brilliant eyes so close. His throat tightened and his mouth was dry as she smiled at him. "OUCH" Jake flinched and glared at Gerri who had just pinched the back of his other arm. "What was that for?"
"No reason." Gerri just looked him directly in the eye.
"Aww is she jealous? She can join us if you want." Rose smiled and Jake remembered she was still plastered against him. He pulled his arm free causing her to pout. His heart was still pounding but the surprise had worn off.
"Not happening." He suddenly turned to Gerri. "Not that anything happens. I sent her away last time." Rose giggled at his antics.
"He really did. I had to stand outside his room all night. It was soooo cold." She stuck out her lower lip when he glanced at her. "You won't leave me out in the cold again will you?" She moved to grab his arm again and he dodged away.
"I told you and your boss to leave me alone. I'm just here for the tournament." Jake glared at her with all the intensity he could muster, she remained unphased pouting. Jake shook his head, and glanced at Leru and the others getting nothing from them. Instead, he grabbed Gerri's hand. "Come on. I told you I'd let you show me the city. I haven't gotten to explore at all."
They hadn't gotten very far before Gerri asked. "What was that about?"
"I don't know. She is a spy I think?" Jake confessed.
"A honey trap more like it." Gerri said, glancing back the way they came from.
"A what?" Jake resisted the urge to glance back, he could feel her eyes on him still.
"Never mind." Gerri hooked her arm with his and leaned in on him as they walked in a fashion very similar to what Rose had done. He couldn't help but compare them.
**********
"Once again the Demon of the Wastelands enters our grand arena. After his brutal assault against Maverick one of Haven's greatest Heroes." Once again the arena was flat and empty. The announcer's voice boomed over the hateful screams of the crowd.
Jake once again wore only his cloth pants as he stepped out on the arena before equipping his full armerments in the same explosive manner as he had for his last match. There was no listing of his evil deeds or any other propaganda. He had barely gotten his equipment on when his opponent appeared. Striding into the arena.
They were a knight. There was no other way to describe them. In full shiny plate armor complete with a bassinet helmet. A heavy kite shield was held in their left arm and a naked slender sword grasped tightly in their right. "Again it is one of Haven's proud heroes that faces this dastardly demon. But not just any hero. It is Maverick's own sister! Will she find vengeance for her brother who even now remains in recovery? "
The crowd roared and chanted "The Dame!" Over and over. Jake sighed, another crowd favorite from Haven? Coincidence?
Across from him the knight pushed up their viser and true enough he found a woman's face glaring at him. She was tall like her brother and fair of complexion. Blue eyes were hard with hatred as she glared at him. Her armor wasn't feminine in any way, had they not told him he would have never known they weren't a man. "Xavier… Never mind. Just know, I will make you pay for what you did."
Jake shrugged his voice deep coming from his mask. "He isn't dead. You can't die doing this. So what is the big deal?" Jake was annoyed, he had almost felt bad for taking his frustration about Haven out on his opponent yesterday. But all during their walk around town he had gotten the cold shoulder at best. Often openly harassed at other times. Jake was shocked all these "normal" oppressed people would be so brave against an Evolver. Until he realized there were constantly guards around them. For his protection they assured him. Nor had he slept well, Rose had stayed outside his door whimpering all night very loudly. Several times he almost gave up and let her in. It didn't help that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, just laying eyes on her was enough to make his heart race. Whenever she touched him it was like his head was full of pleasant wonderful cotton.
The sound of the knight's visor lowering angrily drew him out of his daydreams. She had been saying something else but he wasn't paying attention. She took a stance behind her shield with her sword held slightly out from her body. Jake wasn't sure about sword fighting. In fact, he realized she was also the first other melee evolver he had met.
When the announcer shouted out the start of the fight Jake didn't hesitate. Rift Jumping behind them. He intended to use the same attack as he had the day before. It worked well. Even if their armor was actually tech based he was sure to drain a lot of their shielding.
The scream of pain and splattering of blood signaled his sudden appearance behind the Dame. Jake crumpled to the ground and forced himself to stop screaming as he clutched the stump of his right arm. Everything from just above the elbow down landed on the ground next to him with a heavy thud. The armored arm smacked loudly into the ground as blood spilled from the severed end of it as well.
"Did you really think such a crude method would work on me?" Her voice reverberated and echoed from her helmet cutting through the wild screaming of the crowd. "No finesse. No skill. Nothing but a surprise attack and a bit of raw power. Pathetic." Jake could feel them sneering down at him in that short pause. "You were right. No one will die. But did you know severed limbs if left detached long enough can't be reattached? So don't worry. This fight isn't going to end any time soon." There was a loud metallic ringing as she smashed her shield into his face knocking him prone from his kneeling position.