"Hey, watch your mouth! Who's teaching you that stuff?"
Z looked around, pretending not to understand.
"…Ph."
Of course it was him. I already had my suspicions, but I wanted to confirm. It was already hard enough to make her understand some things, and now he was teaching her this kind of stuff...
"Hey, idiot, I want to run one last test."
I raised an eyebrow, turning to face her.
"Proceed..."
She smiled that unmistakable smile. She was up to something.
"Let's go to the training room."
Here we go… She wouldn't try to kill me… right?
"I managed to install the traxian core in the base. Now we can use 100% of the capacity of everything here."
I followed Z to the training room.
At first, everything looked the same... until the hologram activated. Its light seemed brighter, like it had been running on power-saving mode before.
Z typed a few commands into the panel and the environment changed.
The scene turned into a clearing. One I knew very well.
And then he appeared.
That alien.
My expression hardened instantly.
"What's this about, Z? Didn't I already defeat him?"
"Yes and no." — She crossed her arms. — "That night, you beat him using only 30% of your strength."
My eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"The base didn't have the capacity to extract the full potential of the training room." — She touched the panel, and the data started to appear in a hologram next to us. — "But now, with the traxian core, you'll be able to face him with 100% of the power you had that night."
My chest tightened.
I know I've gotten stronger these last few months.
But that alien wasn't some random fighter.
He was an elite soldier. The first major obstacle for the Rangers.
The hologram stared at me. Even though it was just a projection, I could feel the weight of that gaze.
I took a deep breath and adjusted my stance.
"Z, no matter what happens, don't shut off the hologram."
I tried to control my breathing. My arm trembled slightly as I raised it.
Actually… "slightly" was putting it nicely.
I was shaking hard.
"Sword mode."
I took another deep breath, adjusted my stance, and waited.
The alien charged.
His claw shot toward me, aiming to impale me.
I dodged.
He spun and tried to hit me with a kick.
I dodged.
The next strike was a vertical slash, fast and precise.
Dodged again.
Something clicked in my mind.
Why is he so slow?
He repeated the sequence a few times. Coordinated attacks, methodical, cruel… But now, for me, they were just predictable moves.
That night, these same attacks had pushed me to my limit. But now?
Now they seemed… slow.
The alien tried to stab me again. The tip of his spear sank into the ground.
Opening.
In an instant, I was in the air, leaping over him.
The blade of my sword flashed.
Three quick, precise strikes.
Neck.
Torso.
Legs.
The hologram shattered before it even hit the ground. As soon as its digital fragments disappeared, the interface lit up:
[New record achieved: 11 minutes and 47 seconds → 6 seconds and 30 milliseconds.]
[Diagnostics updated: Swordsmanship 399% → 500%.]
I stood there in silence, feeling my heartbeat slow.
Aloinem trained me well. Maybe… a little too well.
This was my new record. But my friends… They had followed my advice once.
And now, they could all finish this fight in under a second.
My time is an absurd amount of time for a human.
But ridiculous for a Ranger.
The room returned to normal, its walls shifting back to the usual sterile metallic tone.
"Now you can defend yourself... or at least last without dying right away."
I looked at Z as I dematerialized my sword.
"Hearing that is very reassuring." — I said, my voice dripping with irony.
"I know it is."
The sound of the teleporter echoed through the training room. They were back.
Wasting no time, I headed toward the main hall.
"You guys were fast."
Neto, already shifting back to his normal form, shrugged.
"Yeah. After Z figured out that 'pattern', everything got easier."
I nodded and replied:
"Yeah, she analyzed countless recordings... I thought she was just replaying the videos for no reason."
I felt Z's eyes stabbing into me from behind.
The sound of hurried footsteps cut through the moment.
"Damn, I'm late for work!"
Ph took off, disappearing down the hallway.
"Me too! Crap..." — Aila ran in the opposite direction, just as rushed to get changed.
"Go rest. The computer didn't detect anything unusual today… besides this incident."
A chorus of "Okay" echoed from different directions.
Z crossed her arms behind me.
"Why did you say I was the one who discovered it? You were the first to notice."
"Who discovered it doesn't matter. What matters is what was discovered." — I answered, not breaking eye contact. — "Don't worry about it."
Strangely enough, today was calm. And why not take the opportunity to visit the mall? It was the middle of the week, so it should be empty… right?
Wrong.
The mall was packed, as if a celebrity were wandering around.
Luckily, the crowd was focused on the clothing and accessory stores, while my destination remained quiet: the hair salon.
After weeks without a haircut, I was starting to look like a hermit.
As I entered, I felt the cold air and saw the barbers' faces light up.
Tourists had driven away many customers, so a new client was a welcome relief for them.
I sat in one of the empty chairs, and soon one of the barbers came to take care of me.
He trimmed down the volume and gave me a simple, precise cut with scissors.
The price was a bit steep, but it was worth it.
As I left the salon, I started a transmission with Z.
"Why did you call me? Need something?"
"No. I just want you to see something."
I made my way to the food court. As expected, it was packed. Even to get a simple ice cream, there was a line. It took several long minutes to get my turn.
"What's this?" — I heard Z's voice through the glasses.
"This is called 'ice cream.' It's a cold and sweet dessert from Earth."
Silence on the line.
"Seriously, you called me for this?... Is it good?"
"It's one of the best human inventions."
"Human inventions are already below average compared to those from the galaxies. If this is the best, imagine the worst."
"It's just an expression, Z."
BOOM!
An explosion shook the mall.
My heart raced as I spun around to locate the source of the blast.
One of the corridors filled with dust and screams.
People started running frantically in all directions.
"Shit... Z, what's happening?!"
Before she could answer, her voice echoed through the mall's speakers.
"This is not a simulation. The location has been invaded. Proceed immediately to the nearest exit!"
Then, her voice returned directly to my ears through the communicator.
"Those bastards managed to bypass the computer's radar... Idiot, the place is under attack!"
Shit, shit, shit!
Chaos reigned.
People ran desperately to the emergency exits, pushing and shoving. Meanwhile, I moved toward the noise, trying to help those still caught in the middle of the confusion. With the help of the security guards, I managed to guide some people away from danger.
"Z, do you have access to the cameras?" — I asked, still running, my eyes scanning the area for anyone who needed help.
"I'm trying, but the systems are different. I'm syncing them now."
The sound of explosions started to die down, but the screams didn't stop. Cries echoed from all sides. They were calling for the Rangers.
"Idiot, bad news." — Z's voice sounded tense in my ears. — "It's not just one attack. It's three. Ph and Neto are handling one, and the rest of the team is at another..."
She paused before continuing in an even more serious tone.
"Run. You're alone."
Before I could respond, a cry for help pierced the air. My body reacted before my mind did. I dashed toward the cloud of dust, my sword materializing in my hand as my glasses transformed into a gas mask.
BLIN!
My blade collided with another, a brutal force pushing me backward. I managed to parry and dodge the strike, knocking the enemy's blade far enough away to grab the screaming person and sprint to safety.
"GO, RUN, DAMMIT!"
Z finally gained access to the cameras and transmitted the images to my mask.
"Look at this."
The footage appeared before my eyes, and what I saw made my stomach drop.
"No fucking way..."
Two?!
Two huge aliens, each over two meters tall, their forms resembling insects — ants, to be exact. Each one held a gigantic curved sword, with over a meter of blade.
They wouldn't have any trouble getting out of the mall and reaching the people outside. With the Rangers tied up, there was no one to stop them.
The situation was about to turn into a massacre.
I knew what I had to do.
"Z, tell the Rangers not to take too long."
"What are you going to do?" — Her voice faltered. — "NO. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! YOU'RE NOT AT THEIR LEVEL! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"
"Z, I'm buying time. There are too many people out there. No one else is getting hurt."
Silence took over the transmission.
I knew it was a stupid idea. Stupid as hell. But it was better to have one death... than hundreds.
"Shit... I didn't want to do this. It was supposed to be a surprise."
"What?" — I asked, confused.
This wasn't the time for jokes.
"Security code 222204. Combat mode."
Suddenly, I felt something wrapping around my body.
The sword began to emit a faint light as black bands emerged from the hilt and coiled around me, tightening firmly around every muscle. My glasses, which had already transformed into a mask, rearranged themselves into a black visor that connected seamlessly to the bands.
"What the hell is this?!"
A message flashed across the visor:
[Welcome to Z's Survival Armor, user ???]
"It's hard to explain." — Z spoke quickly. — "But the bands are made of carbon fiber. They'll give you extra resistance without compromising your agility. This armor will keep you fighting until the limit. If something dislocates or breaks, it'll temporarily stabilize it."
She paused before finishing:
"But don't overdo it. The visor will provide you real-time information if you need it."
In the middle of Z's explanation, a deafening blast echoed through the mall.
Before I could react — BOOM!
The shockwave hit me full force, throwing me sideways like a ragdoll. The impact made my body bounce across the ground. Fucking explosion!
Dust filled the air, clouding my vision. My visor automatically adjusted the filtering to improve clarity, and then...
They appeared.
Out of the thick cloud, the two aliens walked forward, towering, their forms resembling giant humanoid ants. Their black carapaces gleamed under the artificial light of the shattered mall.
Their multifaceted eyes shone with a predatory gleam as they stared at me.
The irony of fate.
I, an ordinary human, was now seen as just another insect by these creatures.