80 Genius

{RIKU POV}

{REALM: THE SEA OF STARS}

{DEPTH 15}

'Nyx, can you tell me everything you know about this man?'

Riku patiently stood his ground as he waited for his goddess to give him vital information. In the meantime, he did his best to take in all that he could from the man currently standing menacingly in front of him. Unlike the last Champion that they came across, the old man exuded an air of wisdom to him that almost made him feel that he didn't have a single ounce of malice in his body. His stance was relaxed, and the pages orbiting around him told him that it was probably his main source of both attack and defense, something that was probably strong enough that he didn't even need to bother putting up a proper stance.

"Are you done observing my body language, young man?"

The former assassin blinked in surprise. That was the first time someone managed to catch him analyzing someone from sight alone. This was... This was no ordinary old man then.

"Which government did you work for?" Riku quickly asked.

"Government? I've worked multinationally for the longest time, son," the old man softly chuckled, seemingly uncaring of the ever freezing world around them. "Though I could say that I've worked with the US government the most."

'My Champion.'

Riku filed that one tidbit he got from the man on the wayside as he quickly shifted his mental focus on Nyx's voice. 'What do you have for me, Nyx?'

/That's Big Sister Mimir's Champion,/ Nyx began, her tone clearly partly distracted with something else. /Luke Hamilton, a college professor from the modern day./

The former assassin's eyes widened at that information. He had heard of the name... a renowned researcher and professor from America... Well, at least he wasn't a former government agent, but it was still something to consider based on how infamous his genius was back home. Hell, he even remembered the day the old man died. The entire scientific community was quick to give him a post humous Noble prize on some of his old work that got overshadowed by his many more achievements that he got later in life.

/I'm guessing you know him already then?/

'I know enough,' he promptly replied. 'Thank you, Nyx.'

/Just... give us some time out here, alright? Shizu and I are doing our best out here./

Before Riku could even question those words, he felt Nyx's connection wane, leaving him alone once more to contend with what was possibly the most intelligent man the modern world had ever seen since Einstein himself.

"I'd say that fits, Professor Hamilton," Riku addressed him by his proper title, his knife still at the ready as he slowly positioned himself away from the ice wall boxing him in. "I didn't think I'd see a legend in this Game."

"In fairness, I didn't think so either," the professor chuckled, the papers around him bouncing just as much as his shoulders. "I see that you've heard of me. Are you an admirer, perhaps? I'm afraid I can't do autograph signings now, especially in this environment."

The former assassin bid his time as he felt his position slowly improve. The ice spires around them didn't help much in terms of giving him a straight shot of running away, but they did make for good cover as he made sure to position himself near one in case the old man suddenly attacked him again. Likewise, he knew that his opponent was also eyeing him down based on how little by little the papers hovering above him shifted their angles. Were they projectiles like Stephen's planets then? Or was he capable of much more than that?

"I can see that you've already positioned yourself into a favorable position, young man," Luke casually pointed out.

"And I can see that you're also trying to box me in," Riku replied in kind. "Is it wise of you to tell me everything you're seeing?"

"Ah, I suppose it's simply my teaching instincts wanting me to point out flaws in a potential student's work," the old man mirthfully chuckled with a soft smile. "However, that isn't the case now, isn't it?"

Before Riku could reply, the very ice beneath him started to shake. Quickly looking around, he noticed a series of papers carefully blending into the ice encircling around him. They were glowing a dull orange, steam wafting off them as they seemingly melted the chunk of ice that he was currently standing in. When did those happen?

"I hope there are no hard feelings, Champion of Nyx," Luke lightly bowed to him as he slowly sank into the ocean. "As for your other companion, I'll do my best to make her end as swift and painless as possible. Though I do think that there is a way to eliminate other Champions without resorting to killing them..."

The former assassin felt his balance falter as the chunk of ice below him disintegrated into a puddle of water. Steam erupted from all sides as he was subjected to both scalding heat and freezing waters as his feet became submerged in the water. Then his body, then his face as he sank into the starry depths of the Sea of Stars. His body shivered as he lost body heat at an alarming rate, his heart hammering inside his chest as the sudden loss of air threatened to drown him before he could start swimming back up the small hole that he came from.

However, that didn't mean that he was out of the game. He had survived harsher conditions than this, and he was sure to pay the old man back as quickly as he could.

'Steady... Don't panic...'

Forcing his body to still, Riku ground his teeth as he forced his eyes open. With the limited light coming from above and both below through the stars around him, he immediately took note of the massive sheet of ice trapping him underneath the waters. Even worse, it would seem that Luke was smart enough to plug the hole that plunged him into the waters in the first place, leaving him defenseless and without a source of air with meters thick of ice barring him from survival.

Well, again, it was the first time for everything. Chipping through ice wasn't easy, and thankfully, Shizu's fire on his knife still looked like it was working based on how the waters around it sizzled.

Best get to work then before he ran out of air.