While Dan appreciated Kate’s odd gesture of unblocking his access to private channels, it still didn’t do him any good. While communications using private channels was supposed to be untraceable through conventional means, he was still in enemy territory. Trying to reach out to Jane or any of his friends would get himself into deep shit with Kodak. He couldn’t risk attempting to reach out to Li to discuss how to bust out of here.
After his nap from his conversation with Kate, Dan got out of bed and performed some basic exercises. Mostly pushups, situps and practicing a few punches and kicks and other moves he had learned from his flash training and from Jane kicking his ass.
The wall across from him shifted and shimmered and Dan was greeted to a bizarre sight outside of the cell. Three Kodak guards armed with nailguns laid sprawled on the floor unmoving. Dan stopped his practice session and slowly approached the wall to inspect the bodies on the ground outside of his cell. He crouched down and saw no traces of blood or any bullet holes or stab wounds. Possibilities flooded his mind on who did this.
The one theory that popped into his head was if Li had somehow found a way to bust out of his cell and he was clearing out the immediate area of guards before he busted Dan out.
The entire world around him briefly became even more greyscale. He squinted and saw tiny dust particles floating on the other side of the wall hung in the air frozen. A blurring figure dashed in front of him, leaving behind multi-colored afterimages before stopping. Dan looked up and saw the last person he expected to see.
Ada Havoc.
She glanced down at him and flashed his a brief smile before part of the wall slid open. The young Bloodknight leaned through the opening and peered her head inside.
“Am I safe in assuming staying indoors is getting boring?” she asked.
Dan stood up and shrugged. “It’s solitary confinement. What do you think?”
Ada still stood at the opened section at the transparent wall and extended her hand to him. “Come along with me then.”
Dan was confused but didn’t question it. He would take any opportunity to get out of this drab cell. As he walked toward the exit, Ada held up her hand, signalling him to stop. She drew her Bloodluster and shoved the tip of the blade into his collar. After disabling the collar, Ada grabbed the broken tech and ripped it off his neck.
“Help me drag their bodies in. They’ll be out for a while,” she said. “And don’t ask questions. What I’m doing is unauthorized.”
Dan simply nodded and helped Ada drag the three unconscious guards into his cell. After he finished, he followed Ada out of the cell and out into the hallway. The Bloodknight touched a panel on the wall and the cell’s front section became polarized, its interiors hidden from the world unless someone flicked a setting on the wall panel.
Ada immediately became her brisk walk and Dan followed closely behind the Bloodknight. “Stay close to me. You’ll have access to your warp dancer and we can evade any guards we encounter along the way. Knock out anyone if necessary but no killing. I don’t want to explain that mess to Judith.”
“No problem,” Dan said. “You’re the only Kodak agent I like anyways.”
As she walked, Dan noticed her footsteps were near silent even though she was in full body armor. Her armored suit didn’t appear to be built like a stealth suit compared to Dan or Li’s armor.
“How are your footsteps this quiet?” he whispered.
“Precise muscle control,” she said. “Though with Kodak’s bulky and non-subtle armor designs, that is easier said than done.”
Dan kept his mouth shut for most of the trip. He had no clue where Ada was taking him, but since she said this trip was unauthorized, he relaxed and decided to simply go with the flow. He thought about how bizarre this entire situation was. Dan was considered a powerful and dangerous prisoner to Kodak-Cresh and Ada had decided to bust him out on a whim without any permission from higher up. Even so, Dan still remained wary of Ada. If an attractive woman released him from prison, even temporarily, and was taking him somewhere without elaborating with details, then he had no idea what to expect. He smirked when his mind briefly wandered into the gutter about Ada’s true intentions with him but he quickly shoved those ridiculous thoughts aside and tightened his lips to a straight line.
She looked over her shoulder back at him. “I saw that,” Ada said.
Dan gave an amused huff. “No you didn’t.”
“If you’re wondering whether I’m secretly letting you go, the answer is no,” she said. “I have other plans for you that don’t involve Judith.”
“This is what I get for being popular,” he muttered.
Dan opened his mouth to ask something else but the Bloodknight abruptly pressed her hand on his chest. In the hallway in front of them, a duo of Kodak guards walked past, mostly talking about menial nonsense such as the upcoming shift changes.
Ada let the guards walked further away before she tapped on in the shoulder and signalled him to follow her. They turend the corner and Ada briefly activated her warp dancer. The significantly slowed perceptions was a short moment. Dan tried to comprehend what was happening around him. His right foot still hadn’t hit the ground yet mid-step. Then the sequence ended and his perception of time returned back to normal.
Down the hallway, Ada was around ten meters ahead standing beneath a security camera. Dan walked up to her and noticed the lack of lights or any other activity from the device.
“The warp dancer is an effective stealth tool,” she said. “Don’t worry, let me disable whatever cameras we encounter along the way.”
Dan smiled. “Of course, we can’t have Kodak knowing you’re taking me out on a walk.”
For a split second, Ada shot him some side eye before she continued down the hall. The rest of their walk was nothing eventful. Occasionally both would use their warp dancers to rush past unsuspecting guards. But most of the trip was walking down drab hallways without much more words exchanged.
Ada finally stopped in front of a set of double doors. She placed her hand on a side panel the the doble doors slid open for them. When Dan looked inside, his eyes widened at the familiar interiors. The far edges of the room were shrouded in dark shadows while the center had a bright spotlight that shined onto the floor. This was the same arena that Judith had thrown him into after his first attempt at breaking out of prison.
The young Bloodknight stepped into the arena and Dan followed behind her.
“So are you that bored? Are you going to make me fight people and watch just like Judith did? If that’s the case, you Kodak chicks need new hobbies,” Dan said. “Why can’t you girls be into normal shit like reading or hooking up? Does Kodak brainwash you into loving bloodshed and violence?”
Ada stopped and turned around to face him. “I know you’re saying that in jest, but your words are a lot more real than you realize. All agents, no matter what shard they serve, are living weapons. You either learn to enjoy the mayhem, or just stomach it enough to get the job done. And no, I’m not making you fight anyone. It will be just the two of us here.”
The doors shut behind him with a quick whoosh. She drew her sword and pointed her blade into the shadowy edges of the arena.
Dan knew that Ada liked using her swords as a substitution for her finger when it came to pointing at things. “Are you enjoying the gift I got you?” he said, referring to the Bloodluster sword.
The Bloodknight smiled. “Very. I smuggled your armor and Conservative into this area. Put your gear on. We’re training.”
A red hexagon that served as a waypoint given to him by a Kodak agent popped up in his vision and pointed him into the sidelines of the room shrouded in dark shadows. He walked a dozen meters before he found his armor and the scabbard that contained his sword. Ada tapped something on her her arm that extended the lighting of the arena to the edge where Dan stood.
“Thanks, putting on armor in the dark would have been rough,” he said.
Ada gave him a curt nod but didn’t say anything further.
Dan saw his stealth suit that had been methodically broken down into its separate sections. First was the undersuit and then the individual plating and pieces that would be installed on top of the suit. His long coat with his red dragon pattern was neatly folded. Though Dan could still see the shredded fabric thanks to the hits from the shadow blades.
Because the undersuit was skin tight, Dan had to take off his prison uniform first. He glanced awkwardly at Ada who still watched him.
“Uh… are you going to watch me change?”
“Why is that a problem? I had to shower together with the other trainees during my Bloodknight training. I’ve seen you without your shirt before. I’m sure seeing your bottom half won’t be an issue,” she said flatly. “If it makes you feel better, I won’t tell anyone what I saw. I highly doubt Judith needs to know what your naked body looks like.”
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“Gee thanks,” Dan said.
Dan continued as normal and pretended that Ada wasn’t watching him take off his prison uniform before putting on his undersuit. Once he got the undersuit on, he began installing each piece of armor plating one by one. He then slipped on his long coat then picked up his scabbard.
“Alright then. I’m ready when you are,” Dan said.
Ada nodded. “Good. I’ve noticed your physique has bulked up a bit since our first encounter.”
“I’ve jumped ten levels since then. I think that’s to be expected.”
Ada tilted her head and ran her fingers through her dark hair. “True. Your physique now looks… adequate.”
Dan blinked at her comment. “The hell? What does that mean?”
“Adequate means adequate,” she said, staring at him blankly. “How much clearer do I need to be?”
Ada’s pale skin tone combined with the bright spotlights from above gave her a ghostly look. Her raven-colored hair and bloodshot sclera also gave her white skin even more of a contrast. Though her cheeks seemed to have taken on a pink hue that made her face look less Kodak-like.
“Whatever you say,” Dan said. He stepped away from the far edges of the arena as the space behind him darkened. “So, what are we starting off with?”
“I’m going to help you refine your use of the warp dancer and maybe help you brush up on your swordsmanship skills. These are skills you’ll need to improve if you hope to take on any more enemies like the cult master,” she said. A small smile formed on her lips. “You won’t always have me around saving you at the last moment.”
Dan remembered his battle against the cult master and thought of how he was being choked to death after his attempt at attacking his enemy from behind failed. Ada had intervened and kept the Church agent busy while Dan opened up with an attack that combined his berserk with his warp dance.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Dan said. “So what should we start off with?”
“Blades first,” Ada said. “Mostly some practice swings and techniques. I’ve had some time to observe your moves and you form while wielding a blade could use improvement.”
Dan exhaled. “I was never a fan of swords. Back in New York, I always preferred a basic rusty knife or pipe to use up close. And when I did find a sword, I didn’t have the strength or patience to use it right.”
“It shows,” Ada stated bluntly. “Somehow, you’ve been winging it and haven’t gotten yourself killed.”
“I guess that’s just me using brute force to get my way,” he said. “If I can swing my sword faster and harder than everyone else, I’ll just win.”
“That only works for opponents who are weaker than you,” she said. “For enemies who are stronger or more skilled, or even both, you’ll die an embarassing death. I’ll do you a favor and help you sharpen your skills with a blade.”
“Ha. I see what you did there,” Dan said. He grabbed the hilt of the Conservative and drew the sword out of its scabbard. He walked and followed Ada into the center of the brightly lit arena.
“Has Kate unblocked your communication channels?”
“She has,” Dan replied. “She told me this was your doing.”
“Good, I’m sending you some demonstration videos through a private channel. They’re the same demonstrations I used when I practiced before I became an agent,” she said. “Pay attention and give the demonstrations the respect they deserve.”
Dan blinked and wondered what she meant.
“My father was a big fan of swords as weapons. He used to have a collection and taught me some techniques when he had the time. When his work hours became more intense, he decided to record tutorial videos for me instead. The resources used to form my skills today will also be aiding you in improving your own skills. If I catch you falling asleep, I’ll chop a finger off for every infraction.”
Ada’s tone matched the same seriousness Dan was used to hearing from Jane whenever she explained something important to him. The Bloodknight mentioned that her family was killed during an invasion by the Church when she was a child. Dan simply nodded.
When his HUD notified him of receiving video files, he opened the collection of videos.
“Watch them first and then we’ll practice together.”
Dan watched each of the numerous tutorials on swordsmanship. A man who appeared in his fifties with a lean build and short-cropped silver hair was in every video, demonstrating each technique. All the videos ranged from demonstrating simple techniques to explaining the difference between each type of sword. Katanas, rapiers, longswords, the man who Dan assumed to be Ada’s father had it all.
Dan felt a tap on his shoulder. “Our blades are as standard as they come in terms of size, so focus on the tutorials containing regular katanas,” she said.
“Right,” he said. Thanks to the cognitive enhancements, he was able to comprehend all the demonstrations fairly quickly even while playing the tutorials in his mind at increased speed.
Dan stood in place for about fifteen minutes before he looked at Ada and felt self-assured enough to begin actual practice.
“Alright Ada, let’s do this,” he said.
The Bloodknight nodded then grabbed her Bloodluster. Dan admired the purple trail the blade left as she waved the sword around. “Good, we’ll start by practicing a few swings and refining your footing before we spar.”
Ada stood a few meters away from him by his side. She held the Bloodluster with both hands and began with a simple diagonal strike, lifting her sword up to the top right and swinging it down to her bottom left.
Dan watched Ada’s performance while also remembering the exact technique from the training tutorial. He then performed the same basic technique on his own. He held the hilt with both hands, his right hand above his left as he lifted his Conservative up high to his right. He lashed out with a slash, bringing the blade down to his left.
“I see,” Ada said. “Do it again. A hundred more times.”
He jerked his head at her. “Say what?”
“Do it, or I’ll chop off a finger,” she said.
Dan didn’t bother questioning Ada and simply did what he was told. He had seen how deadly her Bloodluster sword was against flesh whem they both chopped up the cult master into pieces. While he continuously practiced the same attack, the young Bloodknight slowly circled around him while keeping her distance.
“Repetition is a must with these things,” she said. Ada stopped and stared at him with crossed arms. “Your form has improved since the last seventy swings.”
“Glad to hear that,” he said. “This is—”
“Focus.”
Dan continued the remainder of his required swings before pausing fro a short break. Ada’s eyes never left him for the entire time. She lifted her hand and kept her fingers stretched out and her palm flat. She simply tilted her flat hand back and forth at him.
“Not terrible, but nothing remarkable,” Ada said.
“Uh…”
The Bloodknight smiled. “Relax. We’re just warming up.”
***
The next two hours were a blur. Ada put Dan through more repetition when practicing various techniques. Jabs, lunges, and even a quickdraw type move called Iaido that involved swiftly drawing his sword to strike an opponent then re-sheathing the blade, all in a single motion. Ada told him it was easier to refer to the move as a draw cut.
The draw cut was his favorite move with a sword. Thanks to his superhuman strength gained from his recent level ups, he was able to perform this technique with sufficient proficiency. He even tried the draw cut while using his berserk mode to increase the speed and power of his swing.
Dan held onto his Conservative with both hands, performing a few basic swings. Ada wrapped her arms around him from behind. He turned and the Bloodknight flashed him a smile. “Somehow, those fools haven’t caught wind of you being out of your cell. We’ll have to hurry and combine sparring with swords and warp dancer training into one.”
“Fine by me,” Dan said.
He couldn’t help but notice that Ada’s arms lingered a bit longer than she should have after announcing the next phase of this training. He assumed that there would be more urgency on Ada’s end to wrap things up. But her arms were still wrapped around his long coat. Ada then leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” Dan asked.
Ada still didn’t let go of him. “Sorry, this training just feels… right. It reminds me of when Cammy and I would train with each other outside of the Bloodknight’s training program. No yelling from instructors, no news of a trainee dying, and no harsh twenty kilometer runs. It was just… us.”
Ada’s dark hair obscured the side of her face, but from her softened tone, this moment was special to her. Dan kept his mouth shut and just simply stood there. Together with someone who he couldn’t quite determine was an ally or enemy.
From the killing of cultists and Church agents, getting pissed off at Kate and Adam, or shit talking Overlord and Judith, this was the first real relaxing moment he experienced during this entire situation.
“Hey, you said we needed to speed things up right?” Dan said. “Kodak not knowing about this for two whole hours is funny and all, but we’ll get caught eventually. You said this was unauthorized, right?”
Ada lifted her head off his shoulder. “It is, but since Judith made me a full Bloodknight after sharing credit for killing the cult master, I have some leeway. Bloodknights have their own ranking structure completely separate from the rest of Kodak.”
“Ha! Nice.”
She let go of him and walked to the other side of the arena. Out of curiosity, Dan scanned Ada’s stats to see if she had leveled up after their battle against the cult master.
Agent: Ada Havoc
Age: 19 F
Shard: Kodak-Cresh (Bloodknight)
Rank: Tier 2 | Level 37
Strength: 47
Agility: 58
Endurance: 42
Intelligence: 38
Healing Factor: n/a
Supernatural: Practitioner
Like Dan, Ada had also leveled up from her fights against the forces from the Church. Now, the gap between the two was much smaller compared to their first meeting.
Dan walked toward the middle of the arena and stood in front of his sparring partner.
Ada began her explanation. “The warp dancer isn’t just a useful move in combat to outmaneuver your enemies, but it can also be used in bursts to get from point A to B quicker. You already saw how we evaded some of the guards on our way to this arena.”
“Yeah. Those guys couldn’t even see us. Plus you were taking out all the security cameras along the way.”
The Bloodknight looked down on her sword and inspected the blade. “Also remember that the warp dancer distorts the perception of others caught in the user’s presence. This will confuse your enemy and will prove invaluable in stealth and misdirection.”
“Too bad Li doesn’t have this,” Dan said. “That guy would be unstoppable if he had the warp dance too.”
Ada performed a few jabs and slashes with her Bloodluster. Every attack she performed with her corrosia-enhanced sword left behind faint purple trails. Dan’s ears picked up a faint but audible roar or shriek that came from the weapon itself. He wondered if that was the corrosia within the sword that did some weird shit everytime the weapon was used or if somehow the blade was possessed by some demon.
Considering this was a special sword looted from the Church of Nanotology, he wouldn’t be surprised.
“Ready for a fight?” Ada said. She settled into a stance where she held her sword with both hands and pulled back her blade while bending her knees.
Dan responded with a standard pose of standing straight while holding his Conservative low at around waist level.
“Anytime,” he said.
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