The Mock Battles are smaller versions of the Battle Simulation. It is done inside Deep Dive Tubes, which helps in full dive. An upgraded and safer version of NerveGear is used in institutions for training purposes. The environment will be the same as any game arena, its topography and setting can be adjusted by the moderators. The participant’s consciousness will enter the arena. No harm will be done to their physical bodies, however, extreme violence may sometimes result in mental trauma. That’s why the teachers are in constant monitoring of the situation as referees.

Pain and other sensory options are minimized, the map is small as well. Participants can use the full power of their EVO abilities. Also, they are given spatial storage to keep items for use in battle. It can be set before entering the tube.

The current battle will basically be a tag team match like old wrestling entertainments. The last man standing will win the match for their team or the one with greater damage if time runs out.

“As discussed then Professor..”, Ton left the battle room after a brief visit. The professor responsible for the Mock battle was setting the conditions for the battle. His eyes sparkled as he thought of the profits inbound.

Ton is the son of a powerful contractor affiliated with the Athena Corp. So he has a status in the academy. The teachers also wanted to favor him with returns in mind from his father. The teacher responsible for this match was in his pocket as it seems.

Things were getting tougher for Noah.

It is almost 12 PM and everyone has fixed their eyes on the clock to end the Literature period. The bell rang and instantly almost everyone rushed out towards the Battle Arena. That is obviously except for our two poor heroes - one shivering at the thought of battle, while the other is still working on his DreamGear.

The matches are broadcasted on Large screens in the Outdoor Arena. There was a good enough gathering for a match between Delta class students, even other classes came mostly because of Ton and Kaisha. Also, some people just enjoy a Trash beating.

The Battle Arena entrance was filled with cheers and shoutouts as Ton and Kaisha entered the room. “Ton is the best”, “Show them who’s the boss”, “Kaisha is the top beauty of RedRock”, Cheers kept on pouring.

While on the other side, it was like a Horror movie going on. Like some ghost has descended upon the once cheerful students and are glaring at Noah and Melv. Only one line was repeated, “Trash is just Trash”.

“Don’t listen to them Melv”, said Noah seeing the frightened Melv.

“You have a plan to beat them! That is why you are so calm.” Melv cheered up.

“Now then let’s see who's the boss. What were you saying you maggots?” Melv started taunting.

Sighed Noah. “Plan, let me think of one.”

Professor Hicks was in charge of the match. “You know the rules, anything goes within the Arena. Use your abilities, fight until the last one standing. The pain sensors are reduced. So don’t worry Noah and Melv. Give it your best. I will be monitoring in case.”, grinned Hicks.

The students entered the Tube. The Match Arena was a forest setup. Match Time: 30 minutes. If there is still no winner, the one dealing greater damage will be declared the Winner.

The combatants emerged on the Giant screens in the Outdoor Arena. They are given 2 minutes to set up their supplies and adjust to their surroundings.

A timer set message popped up in everyone’s Holo Device - Futuristic watch like Gadget.

Bet on the Match -

Ton’s Team - 2

Noah’s Team - 10

Starting Bid - 10 Silver Tokens (1 ST = 1 Dollar in previous times)

Time left: 2 minutes

Everyone started bidding. As you might have already understood 99.9% of bids were for Ton.

As 2 minutes came to an end, “Now it will be fun..” said Noah with a smirk on his face.

The bidding was done. The match was about to start. All preps done for both teams.

Let’s Start.

3

2

1

Begin!

The Statistics of all 4 players were displayed in the Jumbotron.

*Team Ton & Kaisha

Name - Ton (Alias, Original - Anton Odling)

Name - Kaisha (Alias, Original - Kaisha Wise)

Age - 16

Gender - M

Family - Tobias Odling, Renee Odling

EQ - 18

Ability Power - Chimpanzee

Strengths - Brute Strength

Age - 16

Gender - F

Family - Jordan Wise, Kemberly Wise

EQ - 17

Ability Power - Pink Charm Mountain Laurel

Strengths - Poison

*Team Noah & Melv

Name - Noah (Alias, Original - Unknown)

Name - Melv (Alias, Original - Melvin Barret)

Age - 16

Gender - M

EQ - 11

Ability Power - NA

Strengths - Intelligence, Hope

Age - 16

Gender - M

EQ - 12

Ability Power - Dung beetle

Strengths - Heavyweight

Hope is a sudden new addition it seems. Let’s discuss this after the match.

Ton quickly tapped his EQ and brought up his ability. So did Kaisha.

Ton has the ability of a Chimpanzee, our nearest ancestors. So, he can tap into brute strength.

In our body, muscle fibers tend to come in two varieties – slow-twitch and fast-twitch, each of which with its own characteristic pattern of myosin chains. Slow-twitch can work for longer periods without tiring and are the endurance champions among the muscle fibers. Fast-twitch, on the other hand, are the sprinters, tiring fast but putting in a strong effort quickly. Humanity on evolution chose the slow-twitch for endurance and gave up on strength. However, EVOs can now tap into that long-lost genetic ability and use it to the full extent. Thus, Ton is very strong.

Kaisha has the ability of Pink Charm Mountain Laurel. The charm is intense, as opponents delve into a trance. But the main ability is Poison. As encyclopedias suggest, it contains andromedotoxin and arbutin. Poisoning produces anorexia, repeated swallowing, profuse salivation, watering of the eyes, irregular or difficult breathing and longer exposure might even cause death. In short, Kaisha was a killer beauty.

Whereas, in contrast, Melv had the ability of a Dung Beetle. It has a miraculously strong shell as compared to its size. It is only half an inch long but can lift weights that are more than one thousand times its body weight. This strength is used to carry balls of dung. Not very user-friendly in fights against powerful abilities.

And, what to say….it said NA for Noah. NOT AVAILABLE. Because his EQ is 11, he never displayed any ability.

But all is not lost. He has HOPE.

“A small map. Can’t even run. What do we do? If I get caught Ton would make me mincemeat. Damn my luck. What are you thinking Noah?”

“Shut up and put these plugs on your nose and ears. You will need them.”, said Noah as he pulled out stuff from the Spatial storage or Inventory.

“Ton is a Strength type, while Kaisha will use poison. So, it will be basically using poison to disorient our concentration and attack head-on by Ton.”

“Melv, you need to single out Ton for 10minutes. I will deal with Kaisha. Here is the plan.”

…

Suddenly they heard a shout, “Ready you losers, get ready for some beating.” Ton immediately started to throw uprooted tree trunks at them. Both got separated but they had already made their plans. Kaisha was hiding on a tree behind Ton and spreading the poison pollens. Melv and Ton were in hand-to-hand combat. Though Melv was weak, having a beetle ability he can withstand the power of Ton. He had to hold Ton for 10minutes.

In the midst of battle, Noah disappeared. Even Kaisha was having a hard time locating Noah from her high lookout. However, she continues her task. They planned to spread poison on a designated area and then force Noah and Melv into it. Once poisoned they will lose their defending ability, Ton will beat them to a pulp.

But as we know things never go as planned.

5 minutes into the match. Ton and Melv almost cleared the entire forest area except for the position Kaisha were in. Ton had cleverly avoided that area. Melv was almost at his breakpoint. He wondered where Noah went.

Noah on the other hand was constructing a device out of his supplies in Inventory. He was hiding on the topmost branch of the tree Kaisha was in. He used a grappling hook to climb while her concentration moved towards Ton. He chose the safest place to assemble his device.

Almost 10 minutes into the battle, the worn-out Melv gave in. But it was the right time as Noah finished his task as well. The ear and nose plugs protected him from the poison pollen.

Kaisha gave the signal and Ton retreated towards his designated spot to trap Melv. As the tired Melv almost fell into the poison pit, Noah used his grappling hook and kicked Melv out of the area. It seemed like Melv fainted instantly and fell along a bush line.

Now it is 2 vs 1.

“One Trash down, one to go”, uttered Ton with a big laugh.

“With no abilities, you try to be arrogant. Bunch of fools”, said a disgusted Kaisha.

But no one was approaching each other. Ton was deliberately provoking Noah to make the first mistake and approach the pit.

Noah laughed and said, “I have a present for you. Wanna see?”

Ton and Kaisha looked at each other in surprise and thought that Noah had gone mad out of stress. Noah smiled and pushed a device button. Suddenly from the top of the tree, he was in, a small projectile flew up and exploded in the air. It created rain-like stuff in the area they were in.

Ton and Kaisha cautiously waited to check its aftereffects.

But as nothing happened, they started laughing.

“We overestimated your ability. But you are just Trash. Die like one”, said Kaisha as she tried to poison Noah with her pollen.

But nothing was happening. Ton looked angrily at Kaisha. “Don’t play games, finish him now”

“But I don’t know what happened, it’s not working anymore. My powers are gone.”, Kaisha fainted while speaking.

Seeing Kaisha’s condition Ton shouted, “What did you do Trash?”

“Well didn’t I say, I had a gift for you. The name is Herbicide. It can kill all herbs, so your ability is gone for now”. Noah used his Intelligence to outsmart them. He assembled a device that can spray herbicide and water to spread through the area.

Ton started rushing towards Noah, who used his grappling hooks elegantly to avoid all attacks.

Ton got really angry now. “Thought I would not have to use my new attack, but it seems to be your bad day.”

Ton recently got hold of his second attack ability. The first one uses super strength utilizing the muscle fibers. The second one was an agility type where he could cover a distance in a flash, he can almost compete with a cheetah at some point. Using this ability Ton started catching up to Noah. He got a hard punch to his face which he avoided but not fully. It grazed him. He could feel the pain as he groaned.

This was supposed to be a low sensory battle. Only one person could have altered it, the coordinator Prof. Hicks.

At this point, some people started supporting Noah for the valiance he had shown till now. Some wanted to support but feared their loss of money in the bet. While others shamelessly kept on calling him trash.

“The professor must have altered the sensitivity. That is not allowed. It is cheating.”

“Shh...don’t say loudly, if he hears it, we will be in trouble.” The students kept on whispering

The students can never report the Professor, who was smiling, sitting in his comfy chair.

However, things seemed grim for Noah as he kept on taking blow after blow. The match continued. Some observers asked to stop the match but neither the victor was clear nor the time ended. Therefore, the coordinator showed no intent of stopping the match.

Noah was almost on the verge of fainting and it was 2 mins left.

“See this is the difference between an EVO and a Trash. I win”, said Ton as he left Noah on the ground wriggling in pain.

“Bwwaat, your lwwimit iwws wwwp ws well, Mwelv over to you”, fainted Noah.

Suddenly, Melv who was thought to be out of the match rushed in rolling all the tree trunks that Ton uprooted in the beginning. Rolling is a trait of a beetle, so he can do it best.

Flashback Time!

Actually, when Noah kicked Melv and he fainted, he also threw some health potions. He knew Melv would be up in 15 mins. Out of the last 5 mins, if he takes 3 mins to heal up, that leaves the last 2 minutes for the decider. He pinned all his hopes on it. So, he dragged out a battle of endurance. He knew Ton would lose his ability at some point by overusing it.

Just as he thought, Ton’s muscles got overheated resulting in him losing his strength for the time being. Melv rushed in with the logs rolling and smashed him. Instant KO.

Last man standing Melv.

With proper preparation and execution, even the faintest hope might bring you luck. Hence, for mankind, Hope is not a disadvantage but an ultimate ability.

Because, like any Ultimate ability power, it has an impossibly long prep time and will give you returns rarely and in the most adverse times. No matter how bad things get, if you have Hope, anything is possible.

As the match ended, everyone was dumbfounded.

They could not believe their eyes. Everything seemed to be at a halt.

“Nice strategy. You have some ability. But you will grow more for sure.” A voice whispered among the spectators.

While in one corner of a room, someone has lost all clues in life. Sitting like a Zombie dropping his jaws out, a certain professor is yet to believe this outcome.

No one had dared thought even in their wildest dreams, this pair of Trash duo would outsmart the top in class.

The tubes opened and the four students came out.

“Noah this is not over yet. You will pay for this.”, shouted Ton.

“Ah Ton, what were you calling us before...Trash right!”

“Then people who lost to Trash will be...hmmm...right...Trash Plus Ultra”, laughed Melv as he got the opportunity he waited for.

Noah didn’t bother speaking to team Trash Plus Ultra. He kept on checking his Holo Device.

There was a shock on his face. After a moment of silence, shouted Noah, “Yesss!”

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Hoho”

“HAHAHAAHA”, Noah started laughing.

Melv was clueless as to what was more important than teasing Ton. “Have you gone mad?”

“We are RICH. We are RICH!”....shouted Noah.

…