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“It’s always nice when new fighters don’t give up after their first loss, isn’t it, ladies and gentlemen?” The same announcer as Nil’s first Pit fight spoke in his ear. “You might’ve not recognized Little Fist in his new outfit, but he’s back!”

The organizers had kept the colors the same, but he now wore a skin-tight T-shirt instead of a vest. The mask covered his nose, cheekbones, side of his head, and back. Unlike the previous version, it didn’t go over the top of his head and let the hair on top hang free. Instead, it went around his ears, under his chin, and down the neck before merging with the top. Nil preferred the new version and hoped his opponent wouldn’t shred it like Burning Sands had.

“He claims to be a Brute, but anyone who watched his debut fight knows better,” the announcer continued. “Knight or mage? The bookmakers are desperate to know. Put on a good show for us. Alright, buddy?”

The venue had changed. Instead of a warehouse in west London, Andrew and Nil ended up at an old mall. The abandoned shops served as staging areas and changing rooms, and the upper levels were viewing areas. When Nil crossed the glowing line on the ground floor, the organizers transported him to an old trainyard. The luminous flora and fungus suggested that they were in a part of the world destroyed by the cataclysm.

Nil and Andrew considered the tactic intelligent. Holding the fights in an abandoned part of the world lowered the chances of the authorities detecting it. However, the pair couldn’t help but wonder how they got the tech to teleport people to the locations and also secure the areas against the beasts that haunted the world. It suggested their operation was far more profitable than one would assume from their humble venues, and they had connections in high places.

“Facing Little Fist, we have a fighter back by popular demand! I present Winter Hunter! Woo!” Nil couldn’t hear the audience, but the announcer cheered enough for a giant crowd. Nil saw no vest flash in the distance. “Rogue or Knight? Who cares? He puts on an amazing show. Let's see how he slices up this wide-eyed hopeful.”

Rogue or knight?

The announcer’s words suggested he was up against a speedy opponent. Winter Hunter's title indicated that he was tough, stealthy, or both. There was also a chance of the opponent using ranged attacks. So, Nil relied on his usual tactics of minimizing noise with Absorb as he moved between the long-abandoned trains. He regretted not dedicating more time to the arcade games. An extra unit of Finesse would’ve made his life significantly easier. Besides motor skills, the attribute also sharpened one’s senses and improved reaction time. Both felt vital against a foe of the rogue discipline.

Nil glanced at the visage, hoping his soul weapon would help him find his foe. The entity wearing Aisha’s skin casually walked around the trainyard, inspecting the luminous flora.

A warm breeze flowed through the train depot. The sound of clinking chains and branches scraping against train cars followed. Nil kept his eyes sharp, listening for his opponent. The last fight had taught him that Pit fighters had no qualms regarding using lethal moves to win. Nil didn’t want to kill anyone, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t respond accordingly if his life were on the line. Watching Aisha die, then living and working around Soho, had made him numb to death. He had seen several corpses during the emergency quest, and they hadn’t fazed him. However, seeing dead bodies and being responsible for them weren’t the same.

Energy Instinct proved invaluable. Nil had spent the two days between his ascension and the fight training. When channeling the ability, he could almost see curse energy. It looked like thick black smoke full of bright pink and violet embers floating within. The energy lingered around his arms. Nil sometimes struggled to tell which limb housed the energy’s container. One morning, the cursed energy flowed from his left arm, and the next, it did the right.

Best of all, the new ability helped him track Brutal Battery better. Layla had somehow integrated Energy Instinct with his Schema interface. When Nil thought about it, a solid red bar manifested, floating in the periphery of his vision. It currently showed his stores at sixty percent.

Energy Instinct also helped him detect an energy trail along the top of the train to his right. Nil couldn’t identify or explain it. When channeling the ability, his environment had a slight yellow-orange hue. It reminded Nil of the warm filter akin to the tools on many image-altering apps. Meanwhile, the space above the train used a cold filter, which was rapidly edging towards neutral. The trail had almost caught up with the local hue ahead of him but grew stronger further back.

Energy Instinct has progressed to Mortal 2!

It has to be Winter Hunter.

Nil expected an attack to come from the rear but didn’t give his wariness away by locking back. Instead, he focused on Energy Instinct. It didn't just give him visual feedback. In fact, Layla had warned him that the visual feedback was a crutch and was meant to assist him while his ability level was still low. It had granted him a sixth sense, and he needed to learn to feel energy. So, he did just that. It was weak, but he had learned to identify some of the stimuli. The arm surrounded by cursed energy felt marginally heavier and more sluggish than the other. The rest of him felt warm and comfortable like being wrapped in a cozy blanket. The sensation intensified whenever he approached a source of bioluminescence. However, the purple-blue flowers gave him a sick feeling, and he gave them a wide berth. Finally, a new sensation joined the mix. It was cold and prickly and intensified at the back of his neck.

Nil spun, swinging his left fist in a wide arc. A slender feminine figure leaped away from him, holding a pair of long stiletto daggers. One blade grazed his right arm. Absorb ensured it didn't break the skin. However, the cold, prickly feeling intensified along the line it traced. Frost spread from it. Nil's body temperature rapidly dropped as a little layer of hard ice formed on and around the contact point.

“Hi,” Winter Hunter said before racing at him. She moved far faster than an ordinary human. It was almost too fast for Nil to react. Each step was elegant and appeared carefully picked as she raced him. The world around her lost its warm hue, and blue followed.

Nil fell into a defensive stance. When she lunged, he grabbed at an extended arm and prepared to direct the stiletto away from the torso. Unfortunately, his body reacted a fraction slower than usual. Winter Hunter stopped just outside of his reach, ducked, and bobbed to the side. She stabbed at his abdomen as she ran by.

The stiletto stayed behind, and its owner stumbled as she ran from Nil. Absorb robbed the weapon of all of its momentum, stopping it as soon as the tip made combat. The ability almost did the same to Winter Hunter, but she was quick enough to release the weapon before it happened to her. Nil believed the sudden stop had something to do with her stumble. He guessed her Finesse had to be in the Iron Realm.

How else could she have reacted in time to release the stiletto and flee?

Nil doubted her agility, and the reaction time came from the attribute alone. He recalled the description of Serpent Tactics. The power had offered to enhance his movements and the bonus scaled with Finesse. He guessed his opponent had similar benefits. The chill spreading from the touch point toward his diaphragm and genitals was likely a Spark-fuelled gift.

There was no telling if it would work, but Nil used Expend. Now that he saw a bar instead of a balloon, how he visualized releasing power had changed. He turned the tap for just a heartbeat and released the energy from his arms and torso before twisting it closed. The ice shattered and flew off him, and his body warmed. Best of all, his stored energy dropped by only a fifth of the maximum. Before Energy Instinct, he would've blown most, if not all, of his stores. It was a surprise when none of his clothes ripped from the Expend.

“How the fuck did you do that?” The visage lingered around her. It squatted, closely studying her weapon. It extended a finger at the point but never made contact.

Winter Hunter spun around, studying him. Her outfit involved a black gilet with grey fur lining the hood, collar, and hems. She also wore black leather trousers and combat boots. Instead of fleeing, she dashed at Nil again. Feeling warmer and more confident now, he fell into a low grab stance. His opponent bobbed and weaved under both of his grab attempts. She ran a stiletto against his knee and thigh while grabbing the dropped weapon before speeding away. The speedy attacker slipped between two neighboring train cars and disappeared.

“Dickhead!”

The woman sounded young. A pair of ski goggles hid the upper half of her face, so he couldn't be sure, but Winter Hunter looked and sounded like someone barely in their adulthood. He couldn't help but wonder why a teenager or young adult would risk themselves in the pit. Several incredible opportunities awaited them. Someone of her caliber could get a job with a security company or even find sponsorship for Apocalypse Arena.

Unless she is an unregistered Summoned.

The Pits and working for the gangs were probably the only source of income for them on earth.

Now that Nil knew what he was dealing with, he relied on Energy Instinct to look and feel for Winter Hunter. Stabbing cold pain lanced from his right leg where her weapon had touched him. He smashed the ice and brushed it off without switching to Expend. The chill remained, limiting his range of mobility. However, his opponent didn't hit hard enough to charge Brutal Battery sufficiently. So, he conserved energy and relied on jogging to warm himself up.

Ascending Spark to Iron Realm had significantly increased his storage. Nil couldn't be sure, but his control had increased, too. Switching between Brutal Battery’s two abilities had become smoother and swifter—during training, at least. Live combat.

Ascending a train engine and standing atop its chimney gave Nil a better view of his surroundings. He saw Winter Hunter's energy trail and traced it to where it was thickest. He didn't look directly at it but could feel her eyes on him. The woman was lying in wait, looking for an opening or waiting for him to turn around until she unleashed another attack. Nil gave her no such opportunity.

Before climbing the train, Nil had grabbed a railroad spike he found on the ground. His cargo pants gave him plenty of pockets to carry it. He tightly gripped the item, took a moment to take aim, and threw it, putting Expend's power behind the attack. He wasn't surprised when it missed. The visage laughed at Nip, but he ignored it.

Winter Hunter dove for cover, and the ground exploded where she had crouched a moment later. He had an opening now that she was prone. Nil leaped after, using Expend to propel himself forward. A quick switch to Absorb made his landing silent and stable while also refilling a part of his stores. Then he was burning energy again, closing in on the woman. He reached her just as she stood up, wiping blood from her sliced-open cheek.

A low kick brought her back down to the ground. Winter Hunter's awkward attempt at a counter told him she didn't have much martial training. The young woman had only learned enough to pull off ambush attacks and use hit-and-run tactics. He dropped on her swinging arm with his knee. Winter Hunter screamed when something crunched, and the limb got stuck under Nil's weight. He grabbed her other arm around the wrist as she wildly swung the stiletto at him. The woman frantically kicked her legs but failed against his Might.

“Give up,” Nil said calmly. After the emergency quest, the Pit fight felt like a cakewalk. Anxiety didn't make his heart and temples pound. Slow breathing kept him calm and his thoughts clear. Meanwhile, his opponent appeared to have lost her nerve. Failing to pierce Nil's skin and his shrugging off the ice appeared to have unnerved her. He doubted the broken arm helped. “I don't want to break any more bones.”

“Fuck you!” Winter Hunter spat, still struggling.

Nil knocked the blades out of her grip, brought her wrists together, and held both in one hand. She screamed as her squirming jostled the damaged limb. He pulled her onto her feet and held her against a train car, face pressed against rusted metal.

“I can wait you out, you know. The organizers would probably pay me extra to make a show of choking you out or breaking things until you're a drooling mess. I don't want that.”

Winter Hunter's struggling ceased when he twisted the broken limb around her back. “Fine!” She screamed. “I give up. You win. Just let me the fuck go.”

Nil waited a moment until the organizer spoke in his ear. “You heard the lady. Little Fist has his fist win.” She sounded annoyed. “What a boring end to an entertaining fight. Please walk into the glowing pillar.”

A beam of light shone at the end of the train yard. Nil kept a hold on Winter Hunter’s good arm and dragged her toward it. She kicked him a couple of times, but he ignored her.