Fighting for real

I helped Colin limp all the way to the infirmary. As soon as his butte hit the bed I tried to leave. The doctor stopped me.

"How did he get hurt?" she asked.

"Goliath was doing a training exorcise," I frowned since I wanted to get back to watching the other club members fight, "Can I go now?"

"That damn Goliath," she grumbled as she waved me away, "We're going to be busy for a little while."

I rushed out of the infirmary, and across campus at full speed. I got back to the club room pretty quickly, but Harley was already sitting in one of the seats all bruised up as Savannah. I kind of wanted to know what kind of magic she had, but I'd missed her fight. Carlson was in the arena displaying a pretty unique ability. His arms were coated in solid steel, and he was actually fairing pretty well against some sort of monkey creature.

He could only cover about a quarter of his body with metal though so some of the monkeys attacks were getting through. I switched to infrared vision, and watched his heart pound in his chest as a pulsating point of heat in his middle. His heart was beating pretty hard, but he wasn't panicking. I had to give him credit. He would have won the fight, but he was too slow to do a lot of damage to the monkey.

He had to be getting exhausted as well since his movement was getting slower. I frowned. He was loosing. Slowly, but there was no coming back once he was exhausted. His attacks were getting weaker by the second. The simulation stopped.

"Simulation failed," the computer spoke up.

He was bleeding in a few places, but still standing. He walked out of the arena slowly. Climbing up the ladder himself before walking over to sit down next to the other two that got beat up.

"Christine Hurtz," Goliath called out, "Your turn."

Sweet I leaned forward in my seat. A small half smile forming on my face. I wondered what she could do. Excitement boiled up in my middle, but something was bothering me. All consuming fear in a small spot at the back of my mind.

Was this how Ethan felt all the time? No wonder it was so hard for him to fight. It was bothering me enough that I couldn't focus properly. I might have to hypnotize Ethan so I could focus. Christine was standing in the middle of the simulated forest path now.

I needed to pay attention. Christine was one of the more hesitant people in the group. Not shy, but not someone who spoke up often. She was confronted by the snake beast like Colin. She was a level four. She wasn't the strongest kid in the class, but she was one of the top levels.

That fear coming from Ethan, and excitement battled in my mind as I tried to focus on the fight. Damn I frowned. It was really hard to focus with two emotions clouding my mind. The snake started moving suddenly. Christine pulled her belt off.

It extended out changing shape into a long leather whip while the belt buckle turned into it's handle. That kind of ability was pretty rare. Changing the shape of materials that you touched was more of a forgers ability. Not well suited for combat. At level four she had to be decent.

That was double the level I got on day one. I was pretty pathetic then when compared to now though. She whipped the snake at least half a dozen times causing it to recoil each time until the whip got caught, but once her whip got stuck she was done. Someone who'd learned to fight with weapons to make up for her lack of combat ability. Problem was once her weapon was caught she panicked.

Resorting to running away. Now unable to fight.

"Simulation Failed," the computer stopped the snake melting it back into the floor.

Apparently running was an automatic fail. So far Christine was the least injured out of the whole group.

"Ivan Giver," Goliath called.

Ivan didn't need to be told anymore. He was already nervously walking forward. He stepped over the rail, and climbed down the ladder. Walking to the middle slowly. He obviously wasn't very fit, and a level one.

What did he plan to do? A six legged red panther creature emerged from the floor slowly. That fear in the back of my mind from Ethan had dulled my excitement. The two conflicting emotions cancelled each other out, sort of. It was easier to focus now.

The simulation started, and Ivan dove for the floor. The panther stopped moving mid jump as it lounged for Ivan. A technopath! It actually made a lot of sense. Him scoring low was natural for someone like him.

Technopath's don't have any combat ability without a control panel or combat suite. By themselves they were pretty much useless. My body kept tensing, and relaxing as I tried to bury Ethan's fear. I wasn't in danger. Ethan wasn't in danger.

I would know if he was. I clung to those thoughts like a prayer. It helped me think straight.

"Amelia Jorden," Goliath called.

"Sir," Amelia stood up looking Goliath's way, "I don't want to fight right now sir. I could get hurt."

"That's the whole point," Goliath nodded to Ivan, and Ivan released control over the arena, "In a real battle there's always the threat of death. Even against the weakest of opponents."

"Ivan didn't have to fight," she let her shirt drop a little lower showing off a good amount of cleavage.

Ability use detected. You are immune to ability.

Ability use. I looked around to the other students, and back at Goliath. Even his cheeks were growing a little red. I wasn't the only one in the room that wasn't affected most of the girls in the room weren't affected by her either.

"Ivan is a technopath," Goliath glared at her as the other boys in the room drooled over her, "The arena is not the ideal place for Ivan to practice. If he had failed to stop the simulation than I would have failed him."