Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 25

There wasn’t a day that passed that I didn’t improve. Even though it probably would’ve been wiser for me to sleep more often, I tried not to. About once a week my mental fatigue caught up with me and I slept when Victoria did.

She attached herself to my side as we slept. It made me feel bad that I didn’t allow it of myself more often for her sake, but I was training for the same reason. Our future depended upon my progression. So did the future of Prodos, and possibly even the Earth, Ekseliksi conflict.

She didn’t complain once.

I spent ten to twelve hours per day training with Krato depending upon the amount of energy I had. After another month, my total energy reached what seemed like a preposterous level.

Psionic Energy: 9.6 million (Units)

3.9 to 9.6 million units. Victoria had reassured me that there was nothing odd about the jump. It just meant I was getting closer to the highest level of rank E. It was the same for Mel and everyone around the same level even if mine was a little on the high side.

I couldn’t give Destiny enough praise. Krato’s training did allow for efficiency, but it still cost me more energy than any other kind of training I’d ever done. If I started to run low, when I normally would’ve headed to the recovery chamber, she simply manipulated the simulation to allow me to practice the same skills without using any energy. How she tricked my body and mind, I didn’t know, but the reality was, regardless of the sim, I was on a Cube platform the entire time. She made it possible for me to keep training even when it shouldn’t have been.

What did that buy me? Far more time in the air. Whether I was with Krato, playing Destiny’s game, working with the Development Team, or fighting manticores and rank D psionic users, I was off the ground.

It was all about taking advantage of the variables extreme mobility afforded me. To be able to move up and down, side to side, and back and forth with such control that it would baffle the minds of my competition was the goal. At times, it seemed to be working.

At the same time, we kept a close eye on the competition. The closer we got to the third major event, the further victory seemed to be. When we were a week away, what would likely be the final count of rank D users came out. At the top of the list, Lethal Accord. The Real Major Jeff Wright would have nearly three squads worth of rank D users at his disposal. The Forefathers and The Burden Bearers were for all practical purposes tied with two squads. As for Prodos, we didn’t even make the top ten. We had one.

It didn’t mean that all rank D users were created equal. I was still personally ranked in the top 10. There was no way they were going to take me off the list despite there being more than a hundred and fifty total rank D users in Vanguard. Mel hadn’t been added.

Mel and I had been spending a lot more time together. Although, it felt a lot more like he was challenging me lately than asking for help. And rightly so. His defensive ability had reached a level that made the Manticore King look fragile. He wasn’t exactly immune to my full powered Dragonslayer technique, but neither could I seriously injure him in one hit. And if I struck his shield? He was as close to invulnerable as one could get.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could take the brunt of my Falling Spear. At least, I didn’t think he could.

Glancing over the edge of the half mile high wall, I spotted him below. He was ready.

A pulse of push rocketed me upward. With a subtle push through my foot, I corrected my trajectory and dove. My headset was a minimalist one but also shielded my eyes from small debris. It was more than enough.

With another burst of energy from my feet, I quickly reached full speed as I fell toward my target. A few micro-bursts perfected my heading. A stream of push became thrusters as I fell even faster. It was nowhere near Krato’s speed, but I couldn’t let some bird, the peregrine falcon, best me when I didn’t have to rely solely upon freefalling and aerodynamics.

I felt it was time as much as measured, when I cut my downward thrust and psionic energy gusted out the front of my body. It was like riding the world’s talent water slide and going down stomach first. All the while, my eyes never left my target.

Mel was low with his shield out in front of him. Green energy covered it and him.

As I pulled up, I waited until I felt the g-force bottom out. My energy flooded out my feet as I accelerated again. A mere moment before I reached him, the sharp energy of Akonizo covered my spear. I didn’t thrust it at him as much as let go.

My aim had improved to the point where I didn’t fear missing entirely. However, what Mel did next left me in awe.

While my eyes hadn’t left him, he hadn’t taken his off me either. He shifted his stance and the angle of his shield just in time. As I flew past him, my spear was diverted off to the side.

It wasn’t over. As soon as he blocked it, he reached back, sending rank D psionic bolts flying my way.

No longer did I struggle just trying to go straight. I swerved to the side in an evasive pattern drawing a small loop until I was a hundred yards away and started to climb. All the while, psionic bolts were flying by.

As I ascended, I used the wall like a flying pinball, pushing myself from side to side.

“Again,” he petitioned through my headset.

Even then, I wasn’t exactly jealous. He trained with me, trying to get used to flying, but it was as Krato said. It wasn’t the kind of thing someone should be able to become proficient at in just a month and a half. It was only because I was too hardheaded to stop, and rarely slept, that I’d come as far as I did.

Later that night, after dinner, Destiny contacted me with urgent news. We were getting ready to play around in her training sim, when she stopped me, insisting I watch.

The alien planet I was hovering above disappeared and a Manticore King took its place with one Brendon Black flashing toward it at the speed of rank D psionics. He swung from below. His double Akonizo slammed into its lower jaw.

The creature’s entire form rocked to the side.

Brendon didn’t let up, following the attack with another to its face on the same side. Over and over again, he battered the monster as if he was the larger of the two. After a few dozen strikes, he brough his twohanded hammer down on its skull, delivering the killing blow. The entire fight had lasted maybe fifteen seconds.

The next instant, Brendon was standing beside Mr. Rachet who was interviewing him on base while outside his Cube.

The professionally dressed, normal-sized man asked, “With all the different strategies the points system allows, what can we expect to see from the Forefathers?”

Standing there smugly, Brendon snorted. Seeing one of his men walking by, he stopped him and asked, “What’s our strategy?”

The man imitated the man’s smugness, and answered, “We’re going top ten hunting.”

Brendon gave Mr. Rachet a pointed look. “Was there ever any question? It’s the only real strategy any of the major contenders can take.”

“So you’ll be going after the likes of the Real Major, Ebrima Okoro, and Lucius Edwards?”

The man at the top of the ranking guffawed. “Lucius Edwards will be the easiest point to earn in the entire competition. I’ll be going after him first. Then we’ll see if the other two hide behind their men or not.”

The interviewer whistled, “So even with Lucius’s movement technique, you think he’ll be the easiest in the top ten to defeat?”

Brendon leaned toward Mr. Rachet as if he were getting annoyed. “It’s a joke that he’s even considered to be in the top one hundred. You saw the competition at the Gathering of the Guilds. He’s not even that fast against rank D psionics. If they want to pretend, then I’m more than happy to take advantage of a free point.”

Mr. Rachet was not normally one to back down, but in response to Brendon’s body language, he didn’t push it. “There you have it. Thank you, Master Sergeant, for taking the time.”

Spinning, Brendon waved and strolled off without another word.

“He’s not the only one that has said something similar, even if he’s certainly the bluntest about it,” Destiny said as the holographic reply disappeared.

“Any of the other big hitters?” I asked.

“If you mean Jeff Wright or Ebrima Okoro, then no. They’re always gracious in interviews. But there are several rank D users of lesser-known battalions that are looking to make a name for themselves in this next event. You’re a common target, and like Brendon said, considered one of the easiest points to get.”

“Are there any we need to be worried about?”

“Probably not, but a well-timed rank D bolt or blade that surprises you is all that they need. Brendon is the only one with the strength and personality that will likely come after you without think twice. And he has twenty rank D users backing him up.”

“Well, if they’re after me, that should make Mel and the others less of a target. It might even give our guys an opening if we played things right.”

Destiny appeared in the air about half the size of a real person with a war hammer twice as big as Brendon’s. A cartoony practice dummy that resembled him appeared below her and she proceeded to bash its head in.

After she had gone through a flurry of strikes, she stopped, acting like she was breathing hard. “I don’t like him,” she hissed.

“Obviously.”

She stuck out her tongue.

After Victoria had fallen asleep, I found myself a quarter mile off the ground slowly hovering two and fro between walls. It had become such a habit that I wasn’t descending or ascending while my mind was elsewhere.

We were getting so close and Prodos had improved across the board. Our rank D hunter squad didn’t have me, Kline, or Mel, and yet I was confident of them being able to take most squads that had only one rank D user. In some cases, two. Especially when the stealth team was there to back them up.

I’d also seen what was planned for the open arena of the coliseum. Unless someone stole details about our plan, I couldn’t find any holes in what Harrison had planned. There was backup contingency after backup. Getting our initial flag wasn’t something anyone could guarantee, but I was confident it would work. Especially if we could pull off what we were planning for the very beginning.

I was even fairly confident in being able to kill the most manticores. I wasn’t sure anyone else would even consider it as an option. It was just too difficult to move from tunnel to tunnel. Not to mention that any additional manticore killed would release another battalion into the mix. It was in many ways a double-edged sword. It was only my ability to move around the battlefield that convinced me it was the right move.

That left us with the same problem. If we could pull off two points, would it be enough? The answer was as obvious as Destiny’s annoyance with Brendon Black. Someone would get the point for most participants from opposing battalions killed. Another, maybe the same, would get one for killing the most officers. Some of the top battalions would even be able to assault the bases of battalions that had scored a flag. With one hundred flags in play not to mention the thirteen bonus points, I knew two points just wouldn’t be enough. The math didn’t work.

There was a final kink in our plan. If I died, one of our enemies would score a point. The very point that might make us lose.

The pressure I was feeling was extreme. I didn’t see a way to win. Achilles had taught me well enough to keep me from depression, but that didn’t mean my mind didn’t go there. When it did, the vice of discipline grabbed it by the throat and the same maxim that I vexed the Psionic Development Team with took center stage. There is no if. Only how.

In the end, I knew I was doing everything I could. That was all I could do. Whether it was enough or not, that wasn’t my place to say.

I’d been hovering there halfway to the top of the canyon tunnel when I felt a surprise aura. Victoria was awake and bounding from wall to wall in my direction.

When she reached me, she stopped across from me. With a smirk, she mimicked my side-to-side movement until we were moving in unison.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked.

“I’m just wondering it will be enough,” I replied.

“I figured as much.” She began to laugh.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about how often you distract me from myself. To pull me out of my own head. I think it’s my turn to return the favor.”

I let out a puff of air. “You’ve been returning that favor a lot recently.”

“Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean now isn’t a good time. If I haven’t told you before, one of my favorite things is playing around on a cliff face. It’s better when there’s a waterfall, but I’ll take what I can get. You should’ve seen how Peter reacted when I was a girl. It’s just about the most anxious I’d ever seen him.”

My eyes widened. “When exactly did you reach rank E?”

She smiled broadly. “How dare you ask a girl about her deepest secrets.”

I cocked a brow. “Really?”

She stuck out her tongue. “Most people aren’t crazy enough to try what you’re doing at rank E, Lucius. Well, except for someone like Aeneus Raptis. He didn’t have much choice, to be honest. But he was quite famous when still at the rank of Centurion for some of the acrobatics he pulled off.”

“You knew of him?”

She shook her head. “Peter thoroughly researched him and his family. His aerial abilities are rare, even for those at rank D. In that sense, he’s been a godsend as your trainer.”

I couldn’t deny it. “How does he compare to the Vasileia? His flying ability that is?”

Pursing her lips, she thought about it for a long moment. “He doesn’t have the power to remain mobile in the air if he’s not in the right environment.”

“And if he is?”

“His skill is undeniable. He would likely embarrass many Vasileia if flight was the only thing measured.”

I had to ask even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. “And could he defeat one?”

Her face lost most of its playfulness as she looked at me. “It wouldn’t be easy. It’s his deficiency that limits him to one primary psionic ability that has forced him to develop his mobility to the point that he has. However, it is still a deficiency. It would be very difficult for him to cause enough damage to a Vasileia that was ready for him. Maybe if he sacrificed himself in a head-on collusion... What makes him unstoppable against rank D and lower opponents in the right setting is what limits his effectiveness against Vasileia.”

“So it’s not impossible.”

“No. Now, enough of your questions. Come, kardia mou,” she said with an alluring tone. It was one of many pet names she had for me which meant “my heart”.

“If you catch me, I’ll massage your back.”

I snorted. “Tempting. What if I’m in the mood for something else?”

“If my husband has something in mind, all he has to do is ask—and catch me. Don’t forget that.”

Before saying another word, I launched myself toward her without changing position in the air.

She squealed as she spun, darting around me before propelling herself upward from one wall to the next. As she did, she flipped in the air while spinning. While upside down, she looked back at me while sticking out her tongue.

Then while she ascended, she mocked me further by changing into what might be considered an Epithumia dance unform that closely resembled a two-piece leotard. She’d been wearing it under her ballistic suit. In my mind, it was underwear even if she insisted otherwise.

And so, I chased after her as she spun around like some especially graceful but bored bird that wanted nothing to do with normal flying. She limited her psionics to rank E, so eventually I did catch her.

When morning was drawing near, I studied her features where she lay on the bed that Destiny had formed out of the floor. If she were only a pretty face, she’d be something to admire, but she was far more than that. Her just being some forbidden fruit I wasn’t allowed to touch was a thing of the past. She was my family.

Kline’s obnoxious grin flashed into my mind. Even as I cringed, I couldn’t deny that I considered him family as well. And Mel, Barrell… How far did it extend? Of course, there was also my mom and dad. Vector and Drool had helped with my courtship of Victoria at the drop of a hat, and I had to include Olivia on the list since she meant so much to Mel. If her cooking was as good as he said, then there was no way I couldn’t lump her in as well.

No. That wasn’t the extent of it. Only the beginning. Prodos was as much mine as it was Victoria’s. It was ours. All of ours. And numerous battalions were threatening the people I cared for most.

I think it was at that moment I understood what Major Jeffery Write was really trying to say during our private meeting at the Gathering of the Guilds. As nervous as I was in knowing it was unlikely for us to win, I was also secretly chopping at the bit. This is why I was here. A year and some months ago I’d seen a Combat Master in action. It had stirred something inside me that was only now fully realized. I’d want to know what it was like to have power like some of my favorite gaming characters that wielded super abilities at will. But now I sought to wield them with a level of skill no one had ever seen.

I was under no illusions. Krato Aeneus Raptis architect. The credit was all his. But I didn’t have the same limitations that he had, yet I was determined to reach the same level of mastery. Then I would take it even further with additional psionic techniques that I hoped could make up for his weaknesses.

The coming event was the first test. Could superior skill defeat superior power?

I remembered the first major even of Vanguard and the trouble I had with the Manticore King. I was not the same person, but the enemy wasn’t the same either.

I’d seen Brendon Black with a war hammer, and also carrying two shields. He would use whatever it took to accomplish what he sat his sights on.

Then there was the Real Major. He used a shield and a sword with an overcharging ability similar to Mel’s. He was possibly even more dangerous than Brendon. He was certainly more consistent and less likely to make mistakes.

And finally there was Ebrima Okoro. Out of the three, he possessed the freakiest athletic ability.

It was almost certain I wouldn’t get to fight them one on one. Neither did I know if I could defeat them if I did. But that part of me that remained after the responsibility and familial care was wiped away hoped that I’d get to try.