Evolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero-Chapter 89: Bring Out The Best

I froze, the question but me harder than I expected. Like a bullet train. My hand instinctively drifted to my chest, where the Forever Core hummed faintly, warming the under of my skin constantly.

"I... Don’t think that’s possible. It’s not just tech, man. It’s now an essential part of me. If I could switch it off, I’m pretty sure I’d die."

A minute long silence followed after my last statement. Jake’s mighty grin faded for a second, then his head jerked and he glared straight into my eyes like he was trying to read the fine print on my soul.

Then, just as quick, his face split into a wicked smirk. "Well, screw it! Let’s go, bro. Show me what you’ve got! Unknown to you, I’ve been leveling up in my martial arts this whole time!"

Whoosh!

He charged at me while transitioning into a combat pose. He was fast, but I could definitely see his movements because my cognitive skills were too fast for him to outpace. His stance low and his movements were fluid like water flowing down the stream.

"Bujutsu?!" I muttered to myself. The Forever Core’s system cataloged the fighting style instantly without any instruction or input from me.

"When did you learn how to use Bujutsu?!" I said out loud as I weaved and dodged his attacks effectively, letting his limbs wing wide to miss.

Bujutsu is a martial art designed to enhance precision in strikes and to use your opponents momentum against them. It was uncanny, but Jake has been practicing, and he’s not half bad.

"Focus Reno..." I said out loud to his hearing to give him a sense of competition, it wasn’t even a spar— it was me allowing him to test his new skills on someone as indestructible as me.

Dodging a tight jab aimed at my ribs, I realized he’s got speed, but his footwork was a little too sloppy. If I countered with a Capoeira (A martial art developed in Brazil, involving complex acrobatic maneuvers and fast, flowing movements.) like the Forever Core’s system suggested, I could—

My thoughts cut off as Jake’s fist connected violently with my cheek, a solid book that sent my neck twisting and me staggering back a step or two.

It wasn’t painful— but I intentionally groaned a bit to give him that satisfaction of a connected punch.

"Gotcha!" Jake yelled, still bouncing on his tippy toes.

I rubbed my jaw dramatically, grinning to set that competitive atmosphere and fire within him.

"Your Bujutsu is tight bro... Congrats..." I said with a slight wince

Skrr!

Jakes snickers scraped against the concrete floor as he lunged again in attack.

Whoosh!

He followed with a flurry of attacks that surprised me in comparison to his old self. Although he was no match for me even without the armor I still was impressed by his resilience and hunger to get stronger.

A jab into a knee strike, then a spinning elbow. I weaved through them with ease, my body moving on pure instinct like I had done this a million times over and over again. It was all as a result of the Forever Core’s muscle memory.

I ducked under an elbow, stepping inside his guard closing the shot gap between us to prevent him from using his legs and elbows.

’Krav Maga...’, I thought to myself.

Grab!

I channeled the brutal and efficient style. I drove a short, controlled palm strike into his midsection, pulling back just enough to avoid breaking his ribs or damaging his internal organs.

"Argghhh!"

Jake grunted in pain as air whooshed out of him while stumbling backwards and hit the concrete ground first with his butt, clutching his stomach.

"Ugh... Damn Reno" he wheezed and also half laughing.

"Pull back on the attack a little bit, I’m still a human being..."

"I did..."

"Ehhhen?!!"

I laughed subtly and crouched a few steps in front of him, "That was really freaking great by the way, if you combine your moves with the full power of your Boomerang Man gear you’d be a formidable force, you’d be on par with an A-Class Hero..."

"You really think so?..." He asked with a half concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, there’s only one problem..."

Jake sat up and criss crossed his legs right on the concrete floor. "What’s that?"

"Jake, you don’t know how to bring out your best do you?"

Jakes face turned red and his expression twisted into that of someone that is offended like I said some sacrilegeous thing.

"Huh!? Are you saying I haven’t been giving it my best?!" He replied with an angry tone.

I spread out my palms against my chest as a sign of peace, "I’m not saying you haven’t, I’m saying you can’t..."

His face twisted even further, "Why because I don’t have meta powers like you?..."

"Well, it depends on how you look at it... It’s different for me because because I have the Core whos innate ability is continuous evolution— I have no limit, therefore theoretically I cannot give in my ’best’"

I pointed at him, "But for you, you have a limit... But you don’t know how to reach that limit— You don’t know how to bring out the best in you."

Jake let out a huge sigh and glanced at the floor before glancing back at me, "How do you suggest I bring out my best then... "

I shrugged my shoulders slightly, "That’s for you to find out, all I can do is tell you the problem..."

"Right now, you can only piece together undervalued data on yourself, you can’t imagine a version of yourself that has fully reached or better still surpassed his limits... "

"Sure you’ve gotten better and you have all these enhancements, but if you can’t imagine your peak, forget about beating me... You’ll never even be able to measure up to someone like Trooper or an A-Class Hero..."

"You have to piece together the data about yourself and put into a useful information that can help you succeed... I’m sorry I can’t tell you how to accomplish that because it’s easier for me with the Core but I just thought you should know..."

He nooded his head and bit his lips gently, I stood up and lend him a helping hand to get to his feet.

"Pizza?"

"Nahh... Baked beans..."

"Who the fuck eats baked beans..."