Broker-Chapter 276

There were many things that Sonya’s body didn’t need to do anymore. Eating was more of a hobby these days, as her bones were entirely metal and her muscles were basically supported by mana from her Heavenly Jade Heart. She still wasn’t entirely sure whether or not the ‘heart’ was metaphorical since she could still feel her own pulse. Staying hydrated was also not much of an issue. She could go for days if she wanted, probably even weeks. Yet the biggest change was sleep.

After Nick died, she’d fallen apart at the seams, her mind splintering and her emotional state dragging her down into a near-perpetual state of weariness. She’d slept a lot during that time and had felt refreshed when she made it through a night without nightmares. It wasn’t until she had cleared her head and truly wrested control of her heart and mind back that she had noticed it: she didn’t need to sleep at all anymore. Her cybernetic brain kept her thoughts orderly and processed the information that normally one slept to deal with in real time.

In fact, it was a little shocking to notice that she was sharper after several days of non-stop consciousness than from sleeping. Every day her mind was clearer, more honed, and that was one of the few things about herself left that truly scared her.

The covers shifted next to her, and she felt a hand slide down her arm, fingers tangling between hers. “So it’s been three days?” Carla asked.

Sonya nodded. “It’s not a bad feeling,” she admitted, “but I can’t really tell if I like it or not. I’m not sure what to make of it.”

“What did Ishtar say?”

Sonya turned to look at the beautiful woman leaning into her shoulder. The sheets were wrapped around her shoulders, and all that Sonya could see of her was her face and that collar around her neck - platinum with a thumb-sized pink diamond hanging from it. In retrospect, the gesture had been a little cringy, but she didn’t regret it like some of the other things she had done during her ‘blue period.’ Carla was always a stabilizing force whenever she was present and someone willing to listen. Just because she was over her depression didn’t mean that the things Sonya did didn’t make her feel.

Sonya scoffed. “My sister said that I should test and see if there was a limit to it when I wasn’t in the midst of a plan.”

Carla chuckled. “Pragmatic as always.”

Sonya ran her thumb over Carla’s knuckle. “You got to know her without me around. I didn’t get to ask you what it was like.”

“Ishtar,” Carla began, her expression turning thoughtful, “is charming in her own way…” She trailed off and tapped her lips with a finger. “She was like a very smart child. Brilliant, but had no idea what to do with her emotions. It was as if she didn’t have an emotional foundation to work with, just the mind of a schemer. Ruthless, but almost… cute when she expressed herself.”

Sonya barked out a laugh. “I think you’re the only person on earth who has the guts to call Ishtar cute.”

Carla snickered. “I’m pretty sure Chunhua thought the same thing.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Sonya said. “They hate each other.”

“I wonder why? Both of them care about you,” Carla said with a frown.

Sonya kissed her temple. “That’s exactly why. Both see one another as my biggest problem.”

Carla’s frown deepened before she nodded with resignation. “That makes sense.” She stretched out languidly and flopped back onto the pillow before staring up at the ceiling. “So not sleeping is making you sharper,” she said and rolled onto her side. “I wonder if abandoning sleep is part of the process.”

“Process of what?” Sonya asked.

“Becoming more than human,” Carla said with a shrug. “Something greater.”

Sonya met her eyes and held them for a heartbeat before falling back and staring up at the ceiling as well. “I’m ready to fight this war of mine,” she said with a sigh. “But I don’t think I’m ready to stop being human. Not yet.”

Carla pushed herself up a little and grinned down at her, the bob of her hair falling down around her face. “Then I’ll help you get some sleep.”

–

Nietz’s new room was less of a living space and more of a modified dojo. The area actually dedicated to where he would eat and sleep barely made up a tenth of the overall footprint. It was more like a bunk cubby and kitchenette combo crammed into the rear of the room with an attached washroom that had just enough space to get in and out of the facilities within. The rest was dedicated to a part-gymnasium part-sparring floor combo. The various pieces of workout gear looked familiar, but their designs screamed post-Pandora tomfoolery.

Doctor Carter is a bit of a legend when it comes to inventing random things. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he whipped up some weights. Nietz thought as he tossed his duffle onto the ground and walked over to a tablet on the wall. For ordering food and sundries, temperature control, and… What’s ADCS?

He tapped the word on the touch screen, and a menu appeared. There were faces of several people he knew either personally or by some degree of separation. One of the faces was Sonya Chernovna herself. “...Close combat?”

He shrugged and tapped her face, and it asked for a difficulty level. He licked his lips as he realized what the thing was. It was some sort of combat simulator. Fancy as hell. Was this Sonya’s doing, or did Doctor Carter get carried away? He scratched his head. Easy, Medium, Hard, and… Full?

He glanced around; nobody was watching as far as he knew, and he didn’t see any cameras in the room. How bad could it be? I heard she was good with a knife or something. He tapped ‘Full,’ and a warning alerted him that the simulation was hard-coded for non-lethal combat. He chuckled and confirmed it, and another notice told him to proceed to the open area in the room. He walked over as a faint chime rang above him followed, by a feminine voice.

<Proceeding with Active Doll Combat Simulation. Setting: Sonya Chernovna, Full Martial Skillset.>

The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Across from him a wall opened and a doll stepped out. It looked just like the ones that had run around carrying injured heroes during the preliminaries but shinier. A silver mannequin with glowing blue eyes strode confidently onto the mat across from him. It was holding what looked like a combat knife in its right hand. The blade didn’t seem all that sharp, though. Blunted for training.

The mannequin walked rigidly to its starting position before immediately relaxing into a confident slouch. Both arms hung at its sides as its head tilted to the right, turning a little to look at him with one eye. That’s eerie.

<Three… Two…>

Oh, we’re starting now! he thought and got into his own posture, raising his fists.

<..one. Begin!>

The doll was just… gone. It took his brain a split second to process that it had dove low and darted towards him with speed comparable to a professional sprinter. He looked down in time to see it plant its hand on the ground. He shifted his weight backwards, preparing to avoid the sweep at his legs, only for it to push up into a full handstand and bring its heel down on top of his head. The blunt force wasn’t enough to get through his resistances, but it was enough to surprise him.

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His eyes flicked to the left as the leg twisted against his face. He ignored it and raised his arm to block the follow-up heel as it spun on the handstand. He pushed back, and the doll responded, pushing off the ground into a flip that brought the tip of its foot up towards his chin. He threw his head back to avoid the strike. He didn’t even have time to think or plan a response, only time to move as the doll landed and darted towards his right, its right hand whipping out. He caught the glint out of the corner of his eye and turned instead to block his left side. The knife had changed hands.

When-

A metallic hand grabbed him by the shirt, an ankle wrapped around his own, and he was on the ground a moment later. The breath was pushed from his lungs as his eyes fluttered. He felt something hard press against his throat and went still.

<Win/Loss record: 0/1> The pleasant voice announced, and the doll hopped off of him.

He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That was… humiliating.”

“Her fightin’ style’s all about deception, ain’t it?” a slurred voice cut into his thoughts.

Nietz scowled at the ceiling before sitting up to look at the person who had invaded his space. The scowl turned to shock when he saw First Wind leaning against the doorframe with a grin on his face. “Got your ass kicked, didn’t ya, derro?”

Nietz scrambled to his feet. “Hero First Wind!” he blurted. “I- what- why?” free𝑤ebnovel.com

The International-class Hero walked in with his hands in his pockets and a slight sway to his step. He’d clearly been drinking. “Couldn’t sleep, so I figgurt I’d come check out the guy who can simultaneously intrigue and annoy the piss out of the Voice,” he slurred before coming to a stop a few feet away from Nietz, looking him in the eyes.

He reeks of beer. What the hell? This is worse than back at Headquarters. Is this what he’s like without supervision?

First Wind grinned. “Not bad, mate. You got good instincts, but yer body can’t keep up.”

Despite knowing better than to challenge the International, Nietz’s pride chafed at the comment. “You think you can do better?”

First Wind shrugged. “Sure, I could do it sloshed.”

Aren’t you sloshed now?

“Reset it,” First Wind commanded. “I’ll show’ya. No powers even.”

Nietz frowned but nodded. He walked over to the panel and tapped a few times before the pleasant voice came back.

<New user recognized. Hero First Wind. Mythic-tier. Proceeding with Active Doll Combat Simulation. Setting: Sonya Chernovna, Full Martial Skillset.>

Nietz leaned against the wall next to the tablet with a frown and watched the drunk hero stretch his arms and roll his shoulders. He bounced on the balls of his feet a few times before nodding to the doll that had returned to the lazy stance from before.

“Speed, flexibility, trickery, sleight of hand,” First Wind said. “She’s fast and can do splits for days. Pro knife fighter. Moment she got the first hit’n you were done, mate.”

Nietz crossed his arms. “Is she really that good?”

“Nah,” First Wind said as the timer started. He tilted his chin up and looked down at the doll as he extended a hand, palm up in an inviting gesture.

<...one.>

Instead of waiting and letting the doll come as his posture had suggested, First Wind launched himself forward with a barking laugh. The doll moved just as fast, this time darting to the right while remaining low to the ground. Nietz saw the knife change hands this time with a single flick of a wrist before the doll lunged at First Wind’s side, planting a hand on the ground and diving into a sweeping kick. First Wind fell.

Then something happened that Nietz couldn’t make heads or tails of.

As First Wind fell, he let his body get carried by the movement of the doll’s kick and turned his body to fall back-first towards the ground. His hand snapped out and grabbed the knife-wielding wrist before he practically did an alligator roll in midair. He wrenched the doll with him and slammed it into the ground with enough force to knock a human being out before hitting the mat himself.

<Win/Loss record: 1/0>

First Wind performed a quick kip-up and landed on his feet, brushing himself off before turning a smug smile on Nietz. Nietz looked down at the beaten doll that was slowly rising to return to the waiting position and back up at First Wind. He looked at the exercise equipment and swallowed hard. With the new regeneration, feature I should be able to make some real progress with the equipment, but I need more. He looked back to First Wind. The worst he can say is no.

“Teach me,” he said quickly.

First Wind picked at his ear. “Sure.”

Nietz blinked. “Wh- really?”

First Wind shrugged. “What else am I gonna do for the next couple weeks? Get picked at by Song Xi?” he asked with a yawn before walking towards the door. “We start tomorrow.”

Training from an International Hero! This is it! He clenched his fists. “Thank you!” he said. I don’t really care that he has a bad reputation. He knows how to fight, and that’s what matters. If he’s willing to help, I’m willing to listen.

Nietz didn’t see the dark smile that spread across the hero's face.

–

Sonya came out of her shower the next morning in a t-shirt and swim trunks. She wasn’t interested in going fashionista for a lazy day. With everything over in Australia and all boxes checked off as far as her plan was concerned, she was looking forward to chilling out on the way to the Bay of Bengal and their next stop on the tour. That would be the staging ground for the Dharan event and the China competition. There were some dungeons in that area she was interested in as well that she could hit in the meantime and get more resources.

Despite the anticipation, sea travel took time, and there were heroes around the world now racing to prepare for the qualifier in Dharan. There would be even more after Glint made his first public appearance as a newly minted Mythic. It’s going to take about twenty to thirty days to take this big ol’ ship to the Bay, she thought as she brushed her hair over her ear, lost in thought. Plenty of time to square away a few things.

She glanced up and spotted Carla sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. Her hands were on her knees, and her eyes were closed. Sonya raised an eyebrow, only for her eyes to widen a little as she sensed mana move through Carla’s body. She blinked and eyed Carla’s nametag.

<Carla Mint, Unawakened>

It only took a few seconds to realize what she was seeing. “Spending more time with Chunhua? I’m jealous.”

Carla snorted out a laugh. “Good morning to you too,” she said. “Yes. Chunhua taught me a few things and helped me prime my meridians. I can’t pull mana in - she says that’s a more advanced technique to accomplish through pure meditation - but I can use what’s already in me.”

“And you have it in you?” Sonya asked.

“Everyone does, according to Chunhua,” Carla said.

“Huh,” Sonya said thoughtfully. “Is-”

“-she doing this for other people? Yes,” Carla asked for her with a laugh. “Chunhua wants to build a school to start training people in her style. She thinks she can actually pass down her ability with enough effort, though it’s just a theory. She’s only taking unawakened students right now to prove the concept.”

Based on something Set said during my last visit to my inner world, I don’t think it’s just a theory, Sonya thought before sitting on the bed. “You know I could just awaken your ability for you now. You’ve seen the news, right? People are just awakening on their own now.”

Carla nodded. “I have, but I don’t want you to do that for me. This feels right.”

Sonya smirked. “Badass Chairwoman wants to do it herself.”

“Damn right,” Carla nodded and slipped off the bed. She walked towards the wardrobe where Marta had already distributed her clothes. “Though, I wouldn’t mind you finally telling me that little tidbit you’ve known since we first met.”

Sonya blanched and cleared her throat. “Ah, right,” she rubbed her neck. “That.”

Sonya hadn’t thought about her first and very hostile encounter with Carla in a long, long time. She’d shaken the woman’s hand, of course, and acquired a copy of her innate ability: Toxic Blood. Shortly after that, she had used it and Autarch of Shadow to turn Park Beyol into the supervillain Blackrazor. She considered weaseling her way around the topic but decided, for once, she wouldn’t play coy.

She sighed. “It’s called Toxic Blood. I’ve already given it to someone - Blackrazor.”

Carla paused halfway through lifting a t-shirt out of the drawer and glanced back at her. “My blood is toxic?”

“It will be, I’m guessing. Once you awaken,” Sonya said.

Carla frowned and looked down at the shirt. She rubbed her thumb over the fabric before pulling it on over her head. “Sounds useful.”

Sonya raised a brow. “Not the reaction I was expecting.”

Carla put her hand on her hip and turned to face her. “I’m not the woman you met back then either. I’m not afraid to admit I can be a little toxic if I need to be.”