Chapter 96 - Accelerated Training

<---Chapter 95 - Bigger Picture|Table of Contents|Chapter 97 - Engineering Improvements--->

"How long you think the scrawny kid will survive? I bet he caps out at two." Niko yawned as he stretched his limbs, lazing on a sofa in a waiting room, attended to by goblin servers who offered the three vipers sitting opposite each other refreshments and food.

"Nah that kid got a fire in him. You've seen him during the strikes. He knows what it takes." Damian munched on a raw radish, crunching through the white juicy flesh which spluttered a few droplets across the room, earning the ire of Monica.

"You really like that shit? It's fucking tasteless!" Monica wiped off a splatter with a disgusted face.

"Don't know about you, but I learnt from a young age you eat whatever edible dish comes your way."

"Sure, I get that. But we're loaded now, we could eat at a fancy restaurant day in day out. Why eat... that?"

Damian pondered a moment, before taking a second bite. "Don't know. Guess I'm still stingy. Some things never change even if the world changes. Also, there is a slight spice to the radish, surprisingly refreshing. You should try it."

"No way. I heard that the spice is actually the radish's attempt at poisoning its would-be predators. That's why you dont see any Tusken Rabbits swarming the terrace farms. Also, sometimes these insane goblins put maggots in their Sahusa Stew"

"One animal's poison is another human's food."

"HEY! Are you two even listening?" Niko interjected the inane conversation, furious at being ignored.

"Listening to what? Why do you care so much about Culo? Worry about yourself first." Monica sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Worry about myself...? I can handle this training - it'll be easy as pie." Niko scoffed, leaning back into the sofa leisurely with a confident aura. "By the end of this month, I should be able to challenge Kyle for the position of gang leader."

Damian and Monica exchanged a glance, before bursting out into laughter, chunks of radish spluttering out of Damian's mouth in a violent fashion, frightening the goblin servers who scampered to clean up the mess.

"You? HAHA! You're fucking out of your mind!" Monica couldn't control her laughter, slapping the holster of her chair repeatedly.

"Wh-what?!" Niko shot an aggravated look at the other two vipers still rolling in their seats, laughing at his expense. "I ain't wrong, I know there's a tradition to duel for the gang leader's position!"

"You think we're laughing about that?!" Monica jeered. "We're laughing about you thinking you could even come close to beating Kyle! Maybe consider whether you can even beat another viper first!"

"I sure as hell can beat you, you mocking bitch! I'm your senior, I joined the gang before you! Don't think I'm weak just because I'm younger than you, it only means I got more potential!"

"We both became vipers at the same time. Don't flatter yourself, you couldn't hold a candle to me in a duel. Out of the five who came here, you might be the second weakest. Even I think Culo might overtake you with time."

"What the fuck?!" Niko shot straight up of his sofa. "I can handle you in a duel anytime, bitch. If we weren't in the same gang, I would have pummeled your face when you were captured by Damian!"

"Oh yea? Try me now." Monica held a self-satisfied grin.

Damian was still laughing about Niko thinking he could beat Kyle, only to realize that Niko and Monica was being serious about it. "Hold on, dont start a fight here. If you wanna fight, do it in the training caves or -"

"Fuck no, I'm going to beat up this bitch in front of everyone. Fight me in the main chamber, or maybe Monica is too scared to do it?"

"Like fucking hell I'll take shit from you."

The two of them stormed out of the waiting room, entering the spacious central chamber of Gulak's goblin den, the walls and ceiling slowly being expanded over the months to accomodate more and more personnel. Decorations aimed at appeasing the local goblin slave population has been erected across the originally vacant desolate chamber, now filled with bouts of glowing mushrooms and dazzling vines that spruced up the environment.

Goblins and human employees alike mingled and relaxed at the various benches and food stalls, enjoying a mix of imported food and drinks delivered through the express tunnel that ran through the den, the vibrations dampened by a large statue of King Sahusa dominating the center of the chamber, reminding the goblins of their allegiance to the kingdom and serving as a mask for the real power behind the kingdom: Kyle.

Gulak's tribesman now acted as overseers and adminstrators, no longer relegated to the lowly manual labours that other subjugated tribes were forced to do now, creating a clear hierarchy with the Seven Snakes at the very top. With a wide variety of delicacies from both Raktor and the Culdao Peaks, along with modern infrastructure like public bathhouses, centralized cooling and motorized transportation through the longer sections of the den, it was starting to developed into an advanced underground town in its own right.

Yet the usual routine of the goblins and human employees were starkly broken by the appearance of Niko and Monica, both of whom marched right into the chamber and began to face off against each other, hardly caring for the safety of others around. Some of the goblin warriors who recognized Monica immediately grabbed their Sahusa stews and rushed to a much further location, away from the imminent destruction that was about to unfold, while other unaware bystanders began to form a ring around the two vipers unknowingly.

"HEY, HEY, HEY! NO FIGHTING IN THE CHAMBER! IF YOU WANNA FIGHT , GO TO-" Feldon shoved his way through the ring of goblins that had already formed fast, finally squeezing through only to be faced with a violent glare by Monica and Niko. He yelped before scrambling back away through the ring, not wanting to mess with an angry viper.

"Where the fuck is your weapon?" Niko motioned with his chin, while he brandished a default sword and round shield, requisitioned from a unwilling goblin warrior nearby.

"Right here." Monica grinned as she sported brass knuckledusters, her arms in a boxing posture. "This should be good enough to pummel you down."

"We'll see about that."

"Alright, alright. Duel stops when I say so. Fight to kill, but no finishing blows. We got loads of healing potions anyway." Damian crossing his arms, overseeing the battle as an arbiter. "Ready?"

Niko nodded, clutching the leather straps of the default round shield in his left arm, his right hand's sword positioned high, ready to swing and chop in any direction. His eyes locked onto the burly figure of Monica, who still stood still, arms raised and locked.

"GO!"

Niko launched forward, his right foot driving into the gravel, preparing to close the gap in two strides as his right arm tensed up, ready to deliver a downward swing. But before he could follow up with another step of his left foot, Monica had already taken three strides, her body twisting to the right of Niko while her right fist shot forward like a bullet, forcing Niko to hurriedly block the incoming strike with his shield, his footing messed up.

The force of the punch cracked the shield slightly as Niko was knocked backwards, his two feet drawing lines in the ground. Niko tried to recover his posture, yet Monica stuck to him like glue, immediately following up with two more straights and a hook, Niko blocking each strike with the skin of his teeth.

Soon, the shield began to crumble apart, the edges flaking from the reverberation of Monica's heavy punches. Since when was she this strong?! Niko had never really seen Monica fight before, but he was still determined to win, quickly jabbing forward with his sword to earn some space.

Monica swivelled her body, avoiding the incoming stab before resting her entire weight on her left foot, her right leg kicking out towards the exposed Niko, who could not retract his sword arm in time. The shin of Monica's right leg drove deep into the guts of Niko, his mouth gagging with saliva choking outwards as he was lifted off the ground temporarily by the sheer impulse.

With no time to react, Niko ate a fearsome left hook into his cheek, the knuckledusters smacking and crushing his cheekbone while he was sent toppling to the ground in a bloody mess. The audience members cheered, already a few goblins clutching their heads in despair as impromtu bookies jumped on the chance to run bets on the duel as quick as they could.

"STOP!" Damian roared, immediately stepping inbetween Monica and Niko, preventing Monica from following up. He turned to help Niko up, only for his helping hand to be smacked away, Niko himself popping a health potion flask and chugging it, his injuries healing up quickly.

"You got guts, kid. But you certainly don't have the skill." A grinning Monica taunted, only making Niko far more irritated.

"I was using the wrong weapons!" Niko grunted as he wiped off a blood stain on his previously injured cheek. "I wasn't used to the sword and shield!"

"Oh yea? Go ahead and pick any weapon, I'll still beat you up." Monica motioned with her hand, inviting a second bout.

Niko tossed the sword and shield away onto the ground, before turning to a goblin warrior nearby and grabbing its spear, twirling it in his hands effortlessly before assuming a fighting posture, his palms gripping the rough surface of shaft tightly, the spearhead aimed low.

Damian was slightly impressed, knowing Niko chose the spear in order to create some distance between him and Monica's fist style. "Ready?" He shot a glance at Monica, who nodded back in response, content to use the same old knuckledusters agian.

"GO!"

This time, Niko pushed his legs to the limit, driving forward faster and trying to match Monica's speed. While he was still slower on the uptake, he managed to close the gap with ample preparation, the sharp tip of the spear already swinging at Monica's neck as she tried the same attack pattern on Niko.

The tip whizzed past as Monica recoiled, forced onto the backfoot with each step as Niko sent forward a quick strike and jab, mixing in wide arcing sweeps as well to keep Monica on her toes. The length of the spear prevented Monica from getting in close and delivering her punches, the threat of the spear too overwhelming.

As Niko performed a wide swing again, Monica took the opening while Niko was still retracting the spear, closing the gap as fast as she could only for her face to be met with the rear-end of the spear's shaft aimed right at her eyes. She swerved her head, narrowly dodging the blunt attack before crouching low and giving a fierce uppercut.

Yet Niko had a grin on his face, easily avoiding the predictable uppercut and instead reverse gripping the spear, stabbing the spear towards the crouching Monica.

She rolled fast onto the ground, creating distance and recovering into a fighting posture, a smile on her face. "Learning, are we?"

"Like I said, give me a month." Niko grinned, charging forward with more confidence now, Monica weaving through the strikes as the two vipers duel began to shift closer and closer to the audience, most of them now scrambling away to avoid getting hit. The pace of the battle was accelerating with time, moving ever quicker, both fighters' steps increasing in rhythm as they parried and fought across the chamber.

Unaware food stall customers were taken aback as the duel near them, some shouting and screaming at the two vipers to stop to no avail. Damian himself was still eating the same radish, hardly concerned with the chaos the duel was causing in the chamber.

"How long are you going to dodge!" Niko spat through gritted teeth, the muscles in his arms burning from the exhaustion of continuous stabs, his speed and combo beginning to slow down heavily.

"Dodge? I'm just letting you have your fun." Monica smirked, before she suddenly used her two hands to grab the spear itself, before tugging hard on it. The tired Niko was caught off-guard by the sudden change in attack, his body toppling over as he still clung onto the spear, being dragged forward.

He frantically released it, only to see Monica's knee speeding towards his face, his nose being crushed in as he tumbled and crashing into a stew stall, sending radishes, maggots and fruits scattering across the floor which was unceremoniously picked up by the opportunistic audience members around.

Monica snapped the spear on her knee easily, tossing the two halves apart before rushing up to Niko who now had no weapon. Or so she had thought, as a large black circular metal bowl swung towards her, an impromtu metal wok used as a weapon by the undeterred Niko. Sizzling oil and squirming maggots spluttered across the both of them, Niko unrelenting as he charged forward, unwilling to give up the fight as he landed a direct blow on Monica's shoulder, smacking her hard.

The metal wok knocked her off-balance, but her legs kicked out instantly, her foot nailing Niko in the chest once more and sending him crashing into the already half-broken food stall, the goblin owner tearing what remained of his beard out in a rage. <My maggots!>

"STOP! Monica wins again." Damian declared once more as he intervened. This time, Niko was far too exhausted from the longer duel to even raise an arm to feed himself a potion, reluctantly allowing Damian to pour a health and stamina potion into his mouth. His injuries still healed quickly, but the effect was reduced from the repetitive usage in such a short amount of time.

"Good fight." Monica herself rubbed a bruised shoulder, flexing her arms a little to loosen it up before offering a hand to Niko. "If only you trained harder instead of wasting your time hitting up girls and drinking all day, maybe you would have beaten Kyle by now."

Niko didn't reply, but he begrudingly accepted Monica's hand, hoisting himself up with her help, but the two of them soon found Damian chuckling behind them. "Why, what's so funny?"

"No... it's nothing. It's just that you two are really thinking too lightly of Kyle. Neither of you have trained with him yet, so you probably don't comprehend just how much better he is than all of us. Hell, I don't even think the two of you together could beat me, much less him."

"WHAT?!" Monica took offense. "I don't need Niko to beat you too! You're not that strong without your shield."

"Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that." Damian chortled, mocking Monica with a dismissive tone.

Monica gritted her teeth, before slapping Niko violently on the back. "Come on, punk, let's teach this dumbass a lesson!"

Niko stretched his limbs, his face grinning with anticipation. "If we beat you, we get to be underboss, right?"

"Sure. If any of you can take me down, that is." Damian accepted the offer. Instead of using his custom-made tower shield. Damian took a default tower shield onto his left arm, testing the range of motion that was available to him. "I'll use this. You two can use whatever you want."

Niko decided to take a spear once more, while Monica still kept her knuckledusters, raring to punch apart Damian's shield. "No tattoos, else that's cheating!" Monica warned.

"Of course. And no excuses - I see both your fatigue and injuries have already healed up." Damian nodded, before glancing over towards the audience who had now grown into the hundreds, some clambering to the top of stalls to get a better view. "FELDON! Stop hustling bets and come oversee the duel."

"Shit.... I mean, yes sir!" Feldon saluted, stuffing the rakels he earned into his coat before acting prim and proper like a arena official. "Ready? GO!"

Monica rushed ahead faster than Niko, charging right at the stationary Damian. She threw her right fist straight at the tower shield, expecting it to crack as it did for Niko, but instead she could only watch as the shield was shifted slightly outwards, her punch missing as it went past it towards Damian's body, Damian's reaction time far quicker.

In one fell swoop, Damian grabbed Monica's extended right arm and slammed it against the edge of the tower shield in a crushing move, almost breaking the arm off as Monica roared in pain. But Damian did not let go just yet, instead using his elbow to send Monica backwards, her body crashing into the lunging Niko who was caught off-guard.

Niko grunted as he staggered backwards, hoisting the full weight of Monica before pushing her aside. "Why the fuck are you so heavy?"

"Why the fuck are you not helping!"

"You're literally in my way! You should've let me attack first with my spear!"

"I don't need your stupid ass!"

Before the two could bicker any longer, Damian was already rushing at them with his tower shield front and center, slamming into the unprepared Niko and toppling him again. Monica tried to use her remaining good arm to grapple Damian's exposed body, lunging for his waist in an attempt to pin him to the ground. Yet even her strong arm was easily shrugged off, Damian using his free hand to punch Monica right in the face.

In just a minute, Damian stood towering over the two defeated vipers, Niko still struggling to get up while Monica was sprawled on the floor, suffering a heavy concussion. Feldon stared in shock at the disparity of power, before noticing Damian glaring at him. "Right, right - STOP! The duel is over, Damian wins!"

A few gambling goblins tossed their stew onto the ground in rage, some cursing Feldon out. <Why did I even bet on that dumbass Niko? I shouldn't have been lured by the high odds offered by that stinking human!>

Damian helped the two of them up, the potions used on their injuries, though this time Niko wasn't able to heal as much, still suffering from the slam from Damian. "Are we done comparing? If you can't even last more than a minute against me, you won't last against Kyle." Damian chided them as he checked their injuries. "You'll need more than this month of training to even come close to him."

The three vipers returned back to the waiting room, Niko weary from being defeated multiple times in a row, Monica depressed for having been shut up by the underboss, while Damian still munched on yet another radish, his obsession with it seemingly endless.

Soon, Kyle returned from the induction of Culo's training, before he noticed a few bruises on Niko and Monica with his keen eye, as well as their haggard breathing and empty potion flasks on the table in front of them. "Was there an attack?" He questioned Damian.

"No, sir, no attack. We were simply uhh... training with each other ahead of schedule."

"Hmm...good to see enthusiasm for the training. This month is meant for us to close the power disparity we have between us and Harrison, so we will need every ounce of effort dedicated towards our improvement. To that effect I have created a new training routine."

Kyle began to explain the plan to them. "From our experience against Harrison's hitmen, it's clear that not even Sasha can efficiently fight them one on one. Their technology and equipment far surpasses ours, them being able to use devices seemingly scoured from the Galactic Era. Our improved rifles were unable to penetrate their enhanced armor as well, which means we must find other avenues of improving our strength. While I will attempt to procure similar equipment, it is no secret that our fighting capability is concentrated in me, Sasha and Damian disproportionately."

Niko would have taken offense at that slight, but he was no longer hot-headed as he was before, having been humbled by both Monica and Damian. However, a fire still burned in his heart, his mind already thinking of ways to overcome his peers. Kyle could see the raw determination in Niko's eyes, Kyle nodding approvingly.

"As such, we will have two weeks of accelerated individual weapon training. I will dedicate an hour to instructing both Niko and Monica independently, to have them brought up to par, while Damian and Sasha will continue to duel one another. Following the individual trainings, Culo will join us and participate in group training. While we are members of the same gang and have effective squad strategies, we do not have efficient combat synergy when handling enemies that cannot be killed easily. Each of you have been acting independently thus far, but we also have to learn to fight with one another."

Monica held her head low in slight shame, knowing that if Kyle had seen the disastorous 2v1 duel between Damian and her with Niko, Kyle might have had them punished heavily for being so incompetent.

"With this, by the end of this month, the military exercise would begin, and we would be prepared to begin our entry to Versia. Adrian and Keith have already located potential smugglers and information dealers who are well-versed in Versia. They will compile and catalogue information that we need to get the most benefit of our expansion there. If we can get our hands on what technology and finances Harrison has in control, we would be a step ahead of any other gang in Raktor. Any questions?"

Niko and Monica shook their heads, ready to improve themselves and prove their worth. However, Damian raised his hand, wanting to ask a question. "Sir, you mentioned you'll only be training Niko and Monica for an hour each day. Are you not joining us for the rest of the training?"

"Of course not. If neither of you can beat Sasha, there is close to no reason I should be in the training - it would only lead to a one-sided beating with no practical learnings gained. Instead, I have something far more important to focus on - improving our equipment." Kyle smiled, tapping his Oriental Bloom handgun. "And once we are done, Harrison's men won't stand a chance against us."

<---Chapter 95 - Bigger Picture|Table of Contents|Chapter 97 - Engineering Improvements--->