Chapter 22 - Combat Trail

"For combat… how about an old-fashioned spar?" Asked Jack.

"You sure? I haven't shown you my combat abilities." Responded Ashe.

"I'll be fine. Do you know what score in combat you are? I'll adjust my strength to test you." Said Jack while doing a quick warmup.

"I'm aiming for 35 in combat or a 20 in any combat category," Ashe said while trying to mimic Jack's warmup routine.

"Aiming for? What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I really need to qualify for a mission, It's incredibly important to me," Ashe responded with a determined voice.

"Then let's make it a deal, if you beat me in this spar I'll give you a 35 in combat. How does that sound?" Jack said with a grin.

"Deal! So what are the rules of the spar?"

"The rules will be simple I will win if I pin you down or if you forfeit. You win when you've dealt enough damage to me, so basically when I forfeit, or if you manage to pin me down. Don't worry about holding back I'm quite durable."

"Okay, I'm ready." Said Ashe as he took a stance on one side of the training arena.

Jack walked over to the other side before speaking.

"The duel will begin when you make your first move, good luck."

The arena went silent as Ashe thought of a plan before moving.

'The fastest way to end this duel would be to pin him down somehow. But that could be risky since I don't know what his mutation is or how strong he will be. I'll stay on the defense and adapt to my opponent.'

After careful consideration, Ashe sighed before imbuing his legs with demon energy and creating a sword in his hand.

Before Ashe could even finish creating his sword Jack took one step forward before crouching down as if preparing a giant leap.

'Wait! That counted as a move?!'

Ashe sped up and finished creating the sword before assuming a makeshift defensive stance.

Jack stopped in his crouched position and looked at Ashe with an eerie smile. Before Ashe could read into his opponent's strange actions Jack leaped at Ashe with monstrous speed.

With that single jump, Jack closed the distance between the two and they were now face to face.

Ashe tried slashing with his sword but his attack was just too slow and Jack sidestepped the slash before landing a devastating kick to Ashe's side.

Ashe was pushed back slightly but before he could recover Jack quickly followed up with a punch. Ashe landed on the ground and dropped his sword.

"My bad. I'll give you some time to strategize now that you know my powers too." Jack said while gazing down at Ashe.

Ashe didn't respond while picking himself off the ground.

'He's fast! I don't know any stances or how to wield a weapon either. My best shot will be to catch him off guard with as much power as I can in a single counterattack. And I'll ask Sap if it can teach me how to fight more effectively later.'

As Ashe walked away from Jack he started condensing as much energy as he could into a small ball the size of a golf ball. He hid the ball in his hand and after a couple of minutes of condensing energy, no more would fit inside the ball.

'This small orb contains a bit under one-third of my entire demon energy. It's so dense with energy that I can control it in the air at almost triple the speed. If I surprise that examiner I'm sure it'll be too fast for him to react.'

Ashe turned towards Jack while spreading the rest of his demon energy into his body to enhance his reaction time. He took another improvised stance before speaking up.

"I'm ready!"

'No weapon? Is that kid planning something?' Jack thought before taking a much more intimidating stance.

The two of them had locked eyes and Jack yet again initiated the battle.

He sprinted at incredible speed toward Ashe before jumping and readying a powerful mid-air kick.

Ashe quickly sent his energy to his left arm before getting ready to block the kick with it.

As Jack approached he unwinded his kick which landed directly on Ashe's arm which recoiled a bit from the power of the kick.

Ashe let go of the grip on his right arm and the red orb started flying toward Jack.

Jack quickly reacted by sending a lightning-fast kick to Ashe's arm with his second leg. He used the recoil of the kick to jump backward and quickly made distance between himself and the orb.

The orb hadn't even made it halfway toward Jack, and now he was suddenly back on the other side of the arena.

Now the ball was out in the open, and Jack was left unscathed.

'Shit. Did he know I was planning something?' Ashe panicked.

'What's up with that ball? Is he trying to capture me with it?' Thought Jack in response.

Once more Jack sprinted at Ashe while trying to outspeed the orb which was blocking his way.

In response, Ashe kept moving the ball to always be between him and Jack.

'I've got an idea!' Ashe thought.

He started slowly condensing energy in his fist again.

However, the energy exiting his body left him with dulled senses which Jack noticed as the ball started to take longer to react to his turns.

'Is he getting worn out already? I guess I was overestimating him.' Jack thought before suddenly switching directions and sprinting towards Ashe.

Right as the orb was about to connect with Jack, he swiftly changed directions. Ashe was too slow to react and when the ball started following Jack again, he was already behind it.

As he approached Ashe he prepared a full power punch.

When the two of them were within a meter of each other, Ashe released the energy he had been condensing.

Instead of making it explode, he spread it out into a wall of flames that briefly stood between him and Jack.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to stop himself from getting scorched by the flames. He dug one of his feet into the steel floor stopping himself right before the flames.

The flames quickly died down, only lasting for about a second.

Boom!

The orb finally caught up with Jack and exploded square on his back. The moment would have carried him away but because he anchored himself to the ground he managed to stay still.

'Shit! how is he still standing?!'

Now the two of them stared at each other in silence. Ashe had no more tricks up his sleeves, While Jack looked almost completely fine.

"Sigh… you win," Jack spoke up before walking away towards the side of the room. He sat down on the ground before taking out his phone.

Ashe sighed in relief, before resting on the ground. His gaze landed on Jack's chest which caught his attention.

The explosion ripped off his t-shirt, revealing dark grey metal skin covering most of his torso. The skin itself also had wavy patterns all expanding from the middle of his chest.

Ashe looked on slightly horrified at the sight.

'I didn't do that did I?' He thought.

Jack wasn't paying him any mind however because he had an important job to do. Give the final score.

'Firstly let's start with utility. For area control/lockdown utility

I'd give him a… 26. He can use that weird liquid to create traps or close an opening or two, but the traps are small. If he had more of that fluid he'd score higher.'

'Secondly expedition/transportation utility.

I'd give him a 15. He can't lift more than 2 people can if he barely lifted me. Especially not over a long period.'

'Thirdly work utility.

A solid 33. I see him doing well on a construction site of some kind. Maybe I'll bump it up to 34.'

'Lastly special utility.

A clear 0. Special is just the bonus points category, and he doesn't seem to have any non-accounted-for utility.'

'So that brings us to the final Utility score. The average is 25 but I think he deserves a 30.'

As soon as Jack finished his inner review he started typing things into his phone.

Utility - 30

area control/lockdown utility - 24

expedition/transportation utility - 15

work utility - 33

special utility - 0

'Now for combat. Firstly protection.

He has a sturdy body and he even blocked my kick without falling back. He can also create shields pretty quickly, I'll give him a… 27'

'Secondly agility.

He didn't move much but his attack at the start was pretty fast. I'll give him a 16.'

'Thirdly strength.

That explosion really hurt, it even hit me at my toughest point yet it still hurts. It's around 50, maybe even in the sixties… I'll say 56.'

'Lastly, Special.

He has amazing control over the battlefield. That flying orb was a giant hurdle that stopped me from being able to approach him.

I'll give him a 30 here.'

Yet again Jack quickly typed in some more information into his phone but this time left a note in the system.

Combat - 46

protection - 37

agility - 16

strength - 56

special - 30

Note* if he keeps improving at a steady pace, he would be a great applicant for full-time employment.

After about ten minutes of Jack sitting on the ground and typing, he finally stood up. He walked over to Ashe before showing him his phone.

"Do you have any problems with these statistics?" Jack asked.

Upon looking at the number Ashe realized he was eligible for the expedition. He didn't care about the details of his stats so he shook his head.

"Then you're free to go," Jack said before walking out of the room himself.

Ashe walked out as well before heading back towards the elevator.

'With this sorted, I want to get back and spend some time with mom and Roy. I won't be seeing them for a long time…'

______

It was still before noon when Ashe arrived back home. He had managed to dodge all his moms' questions about where he was or what he was doing, by saying that he'll tell her later.

After Roy had joined them in the living room they all started talking with laughter filling the room. One would assume the atmosphere was lively and happy, but that was all an act.

The tension and feelings of guilt were evident on Ashe's and Catherine's faces. Roy was kept in the dark about his brother's death, at least for the time being. Now the two of them had to act as if nothing ever happened, which made Ashe slightly sick.

Acting as if his brother's death didn't matter made Ashe infuriated, even if it was only acting. And keeping such a large secret from his mother made him feel incredibly guilty.

While Catherine knew that her son was hiding something, she was too scared to drive him away by being too nosey. Leaving her alone with Roy, while not knowing if her husband would ever come back.

This little charade went on for some time, as the family spent the rest of the day together. When Ashe was laying in bed before going to sleep, tears started forming in his eyes. He stayed silent, to not cause his younger brother to worry.

'I need to get dad back, and then everything will be better...'