Besieged (Book One): Rise of the Misfit

A Chubby Freakish Opponent

Finnian was at a loss for words and could feel the intensity of the fist heading towards his face. Nonetheless, in that split second before the fist could connect, Finnian ducked and swerved his body to the side, dodging the attack. Joel’s fist, though it hit nothing, still stirred quite some breeze. Just like one averting tragedy, Finnian felt that if he delayed a split second later, he would undoubtedly be thrown off the stage. And even if that didn’t happen, it would still be painful.

Joel, on the other hand, had a serious expression on his face, but amid that was also a faint look of astonishment. Personal records belonging to a Cyph were a secret between the officials and the Cyph in question. And according to Joel’s record, he had agility that far outstripped the average margin despite his look. This made it ironic as well as unexpected that someone so plump and chubby could have such speed.

Nonetheless, Joel was surprised for another reason altogether. Though he hadn’t used his ability, Joel still put forth a lot to move like that, and the audience could not only sense how terrifying that strike was but could see it with their eyes as it lightly stirred the air around them. Mrs. Ruth was moved when she sensed it too, but since Finnian was lucky enough to dodge, it was still safe to continue for now. As the instructor of this simulation, she had to consider the safety of the students. Then again, she was no doubt interested to know the limits of the students.

For the lad Gene Finnian, Mrs. Ruth had an inexplicable desire to see him in action one day. Dr. Hani, being the first to know of Finnian’s ‘floating’ problem, had to conduct the test once again in front of the Senior Commissioners stationed in the school before the report was officially sent to headquarters. Mrs. Ruth, being a Senior Commissioner, was present that day alongside her colleagues. At first, they were surprised that one of the Cyphs was flight class. But since the report from headquarters reached them, saying that Finnian was just experiencing weightlessness and there was nothing special or useful about it for the moment, they lost interest in the lad.

However, Mrs. Ruth and Dr. Hani were the only ones who paid little attention to him, secretly watching the lad from the side. Mrs. Ruth was also aware of the weighty clothes Finnian was wearing to stay on the ground, and just those who knew, she was surprised at how freely he could move around with it now; they were like normal clothes to him now. Finally seeing Finnian in action made her realize that she indeed has no record of this young man’s combat abilities. With such an opponent as strong as Joel, Finnian would have to put forth a lot of effort to resist the former’s attack. In that case, she couldn’t help the feeling of anticipation that welled up in her heart.

Joel slightly frowned. His attack didn’t connect though he was fast enough. He looked at Finnian was already a safe distance from him. Balling his fist again, Joel launched another attack, carrying the same momentum as the first strike. Finnian appeared to have anticipated the second attack and moved out of the way before Joel could reach him. Another blow failed to connect, then another, and another after that.

Now, Joel was getting irritated. He had struck out numerous times with the limit of the speed he could achieve at the time, but all his strikes failed to even reach Finnian. The only time the latter dodged was the first time he struck out. After that, it was more of Finnian anticipating his moves and evading them, than being taken unawares by Joel's speed. In fact, the advantage Joel had in speed was slowly turning ineffective as the match progressed. There was no doubt that if he, Joel, urged even a bit of his ability, that he would end this fight as quickly as he had anticipated. But then again, his current speed was nothing to be trifled with. He was garnering the attention of the audience because of his freakish movement and not the strength he possessed, which was the opposite of what he wanted to achieve. Joel wasn’t dissatisfied by that, to say the least, but what angered him more was how slippery Finnian surprisingly was.

Finnian flitted through the stage avoiding every strike thrown at him to the point where it seemed like he could read Joel’s movements. Of course, no one else could notice this except Joel himself, as well as Mrs. Ruth who had a curious look on her face. Joel very well knew the amount of strength and energy infused into every movement he made to achieve that level of speed that many here couldn’t hope to deal with. And even the lad Caesar silently admitted that he couldn’t deal with Joel’s speed so easily, and the time frame of two minutes made it a lot more difficult. But then Finnian seemed to only focus on evading the strikes and not strike back, so it would be relatively easier for Caesar if he was going with Finnian’s tactic.

The match was now less than 60 seconds into conclusion, and yet not a scratch. Time was running out, and Joel was becoming both impatient and irritated. In that state of mind, he wildly attacked, randomly throwing punches at all angles. At this time, even a graze was enough to satiate his irritation, but Finnian wasn’t letting up either. In the face of so many wild attacks, he moved in a precise manner; not too fast or too slow. Joel felt like he was fighting something lighter than a feather. Something so light that it was so easily blown away before his strike could connect. At some point, halfway through Joel’s crazy punching spree, he suddenly felt a chill run up his spine as the hairs all over his body stood on end. And before he could wonder why that was, he saw Finnian charge towards him!