Hugo's Past

—Scope Secret Laboratory

*BOOM*

"What happened here, Mr. Hugo?" Dr. Inuim asked after getting inside the gym area after hearing the noise that Alex's Martial Arts did.

"I just tried to fight the Scope RTD with the Martial Art that my mother taught me," Alex said.

"It just launched off to the wall, what happened? This doesn't happen before whenever I do these consecutive attacks," Alex thought, surprised by how far the RTD was launched back by his fist.

"How did the RTD gets launched that far and with that force? Can you do that again so that we can check it, Mr. Hugo?" Dr. Inuim asked him.

"It's midnight but that doesn't matter, I need to know what he did that caused this even if the other scientists are asleep," Dr. Inuim thought.

He then prepared another SSL guard to turn into a Scope RTD or robot training dummy for Alex, Alex said to also remove the RTD's feature to recognize the Martial Arts that he's using to match it with the same so that the RTD has a chance.

"The Scope RTD is ready, Mr. Hugo, ready this Martial Art that your mother taught you," Dr. Inuim said.

Alex went on his stance, waving his arms in a flow of water, creating the subtle waveform just from his stance.

"Am I sleep-deprived? What are those waveforms that are gathering after Alex's hand's movement? Maybe it's something that 3 Super Soldier serums create for the Martial Arts that his mother taught him," Dr. Inuim thought.

Alex then charged at the RTD, when he fought it, the RTD used all of the Martial Arts it knows combined to fight Alex and take him down since that's also what Alex requested after seeing how much the previous RTD was struggling to fight him.

The Scope RTD fought Alex back, Alex almost struggled but he found out his new speed, strength, and reaction time is better than before so he continued his consecutive attacks at the RTD while dodging, parrying, and blocking the RTD's attack.

When he weakened the Scope RTD, Alex finalizes his attacks and then closed his hand into a fist form and punched the second Scope RTD to the face, launching it to the wall like the other RTD.

*BOOM*

"His combo attacks remind me of the place where I came from, it's definitely that," Dr. Inuim thought, remembering it.

Alex's Martial Arts reminded Dr. Inuim about the place he came from, the place he almost died after he tried to escape from its hell hole.

[Martial Arts] identified using [Super Computer #132]

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[Ark Style]

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"No," Dr. Inuim mumbled with dread after seeing the name.

"There's no way I'm naming it like that," Dr. Inuim thought, in denial.

He then coded the Super Computer to call it "Hugo Style" quickly before Alex and the other scientists in the lab see it.

"Doctor! So what's the name of the Martial Arts I used?!" Alex shouted, asking Dr. Inuim from afar.

"The Super Computer can't recognize your Martial Arts as well, Mr. Hugo! So is it fine if I call it Hugo Style?" Dr. Inuim asked after answering his question.

"That's fine, it does sound better than not having any name, I'm just calling it my mother's Martial Art. Wait, is it okay to call it Furio Style?" Alex said, asking Dr. Inuim.

"Um, no… since there's a Martial Art called Fury Style, Mr. Hugo, so we will be calling your mother's Martial Art, Hugo Style," Dr. Inuim said.

"Is that so?" Alex asked.

Dr. Inuim then picked up the second Scope RTD after they were done.

"How about getting some rest, Mr. Hugo? I'll have to evaluate this Hugo Style more since it's a new Martial Art that your mother created essentially," Dr. Inuim suggested to Alex.

"Sure, I am sweaty even though I'm half-naked and cold since it's nighttime, I still feel awkward and oily," Alex said, he grabbed his towel and then headed to his room.

"I don't really need to evaluate his Martial Art because I know this Martial Art all too well, it's one of the terrifying things that "he" created," Dr. Inuim thought, mentioning someone he knows about Alex's Hugo Style.

The next day then arrived, Alex continued training and performing the scientists' tests, like strength limit test, speed limit test, and fighting multiple Scope RTDs at once using his Hugo Style.

"It's unheard of that Mr. Hugo's mother created a new Martial Art that is not known by our Super Computer, there have been times that our Super Computer predicted the future by guessing and making its own name for many things we discovered,"

"Or Mr. Scope discovered,"

"Right, remember all of our projects wouldn't exist without Mr. Scope's great mind. I'm just flattered that he's still helping us to this day after disconnecting with us," Dr. Inuim said, grateful for Mr. Scope.

Alex then demonstrated the full power of the Hugo Style, he created a waveform that almost filled the gym area, and when Alex punched the Scope RTD it broke the wall of the gym area to the offices of the scientist on the other side.

"That's definitely not normal. Did the RTD at least survive that?"

"No, doctor, it's not normal alright, and it won't survive that punch from him, some kind of phenomenon is occurring while Mr. Hugo is doing this Hugo Style, his hands leave a waveform that I'm sure some of you can't see but to those who can, it's weird energy that gathers the longer Mr. Hugo uses the Hugo Style," Dr. Inuim explained to the other scientist as he shows a visual of this waveform in a monitor because some of them can't see it.

"Why can't I see these?"

"Why can I see these?"

"That's something we haven't figured out yet, for now, we should evaluate how he's able to create those waveforms first before delving into how they're all absorbed by his fist when he punches," Dr. Inuim said.

"Yes, doctor,"

"Right now, he's reached the level 1 of this Martial Art, most of its users in the place I was from are about level 0.5 if we have a scale for it, and the true creator of this Art is about level 100 because he might've cultivated this Martial Art for more than a hundred years, his understanding of it is already more profound," Dr. Inuim thoroughly thought as he evaluates Alex's Hugo Style.

The C-badged scientists then fixed the hole that Alex created.

"Mr. Hugo, take a bath first, we don't have any RTD for you since they're all limited in the lab," Dr. Inuim told him.

"I guess I won't be doing some sparring with the RTDs after I smashed them all today, that's a shame since even I discovered this Martial Art's effect for the first time," Alex thought.

"Okay." Alex then left the gym area.

Nighttime then arrived…

"Damn, I can't sleep, maybe I can look around the lab, I want to explore the Scope Secret Laboratory since this is a very secretive project to the point that it became a rumor, and it's close to being a myth," Alex said, exiting his room.

He then looked around the hallways of the SSL.

"Are the scientists already asleep?" Alex thought, asking himself.

When he reached the end of the hallway, he saw a door at the end of the hallway, Alex tried to open the door, but he felt that it was unlocked. He then entered the room.

"Whoa," Alex murmured after seeing what was inside the room he entered.

The room he entered is called the Cloud room. With a big window that shows the outside world, but it's a land of clouds, they're floating above the clouds.

"Mr. Hugo," Dr. Inuim called.

"Doctor, I didn't know you were here, what's this room?" Alex said, asking him.

"It is something we created, we had enough budget to buy a one-way glass this big, so we decided. If we want to stay here longer than our lives essentially, we need something to keep us sane. This is what we decided on," Dr. Inuim said, answering Alex's question.

"I haven't really seen the night sky for almost 3 years, jeez, thinking about it now, I can't believe I was in a coma for 3 years, is this what having a coma feels like?" Alex thought, reminding himself about that.

After Dr. Inuim revealed to Alex that it's been 3 years since the explosion incident, Alex was shocked.

Thinking that this only happened in just a few months and then it was actually longer than that.

"I guess I will have to live with the fact that I'm 3 years older even though I've experienced 3 years less, though I've learned a lot of things from what Dr. Inuim injected in my brain," Alex thought as he watches the clouds move around.

"Do you like it?" Dr. Inuim asked Alex.

"It definitely looks beautiful here, especially since it is nighttime, so the SSL is floating about these clouds? Is that why it is almost a myth in the Scope Enterprise," Alex said, asking Dr. Inuim.

"Yes, we've kept secrecy for 10 years now, working on Mr. Scope's greatest technology for him, so that he won't be extorted by the Lanima Region's Leaders for it, he wants absolute control over his own technology so that it won't fall into wrong hands, that's why we're here," Dr. Inuim said, answering Alex's question.

"It was the cause of World War 3, advance technology falling into the wrong hands and all," Dr. Inuim thought.

"It would be an honor to meet Mr. Scope, it was a dream of mine before, but seeing as I'm involved with his tech now, I have a sliver of a chance now," Alex thought.

"But… Why do you follow Mr. Scope? If you have all of his technology, you can use it against him, why didn't you is my question, doctor," Alex asked Dr. Inuim.

"Why do I follow Mr. Scope?" Dr. Inuim thought, asking himself first.

"I think I remember, I was saved by him, I was in a run, running from all of my problems, I'm thinking, these problems will be resolved if I just run away, I did. But I was chased after. And I was the luckiest man to bump into Mr. Scope at a crucial time,

I offered everything to him to get me out of that hell hole, he did give me the best life I could've dreamed of, I have a house, daily work, and half a day's rest since I work for him 8 hours a day every weekday, unlike before, where I came from, I worked 18 hours a day, every day, and I can only have a day of resting every year," Dr. Inuim explained, telling Alex his story.

"It seems like he had a hell of a past life," Alex thought while looking over the clouds.

"You seem to have a more interesting past story than me, I have a normal life, I lived in 2 houses with my mother, I haven't met my father because my mother doesn't want to mention him. She taught me the Hugo Style, and passed away, though I was miserable for a whole month, secluding myself in our house. But! I sucked it up, and then went back to the world," Alex explained his past to Dr. Inuim.

"If I may ask, Mr. Hugo, what was your mindset when you were in that one month's seclusion after your mother passed?" Dr. Inuim asked.

"Hmm… I haven't really thought of it seriously because I just wish to forget it, that's not really possible, so far, you and a close friend of mine, I mean she is my old friend now, are the only ones that asked about this," Alex said, he then sat down on the stair-like seats.

"How were you even able to get a job in Scope Enterprise? It's rare enough to be in Scope let alone become a Director of a branch at such a young age, did you get an awakening when you're in one-month seclusion, Mr. Hugo?" Dr. Inuim asked him.

"Not really, I was lucky enough to have a month's worth of food and water to eat and drink in our house after mother died, so I didn't seclude myself to the point of not moving in my room, I looked around our house and reminisce about the things we've done together even without a father," Alex said, answering Dr.Inuim's question.

"And then after that?" Dr. Inuim asked.

"I used my Ph.D. in Scope Engineering to get a bigger job than my bog-standard office job in a lower company, so I quit that job after 2 years of working there and applied at the lowest branch of Scope Enterprise," Alex said, answering Dr. Inuim's question.

"Oh, wow, Ph.D. in Scope Engineering, your mother must be very rich to afford your education for it," Dr. Inuim said, teasing Alex.

"Um, actually, no, since mother only has a Fast Food job, it's enough since there are only the two of us but because I entered college when I was 16," Alex said.

"Ah… you're a genius," Dr. Inuim said.

"I am, but I and my mother didn't want to capitalize on it because we think getting too much attention can be too bothersome, and I'm not as smart as 10% of Mr. Scope's mind for sure," Alex said.

A few minutes have passed…

"He's really pulling himself down," Dr. Inuim thought.

"Anyway, I'm going back to my room, good night, Mr. Hugo," Dr. Inuim said.

"Good night, doctor," Alex said. He then stayed in the Cloud room for a few hours.