Kyrion stood in front of his opponent lazily, His expression bored.

“Go on. Hit me as hard as you can. So long as you aim below my heart I won’t bother blocking or dodging.”

“If you say so.” The man threw two daggers, one landing on each of his legs.

“Shatter and pierce.”

Kyrion watched as one dagger passed straight through his leg while the other attempted to split everything around the wound simultaneously. A minor irritation as he sent counter commands to the shatter wound, ordering his cells to stay in their natural state. His opponent was clearly dangerous.

“Huh. You’re quite durable.”

“Yes. It was surprising that you managed to pierce me. A shame.” Kyrion lied, and the wound healed and vanished in a moment.

“That isn’t fair.”

“Is anything fair. Sir?”

The man with oddly colored hair sighed, tapping his head. “I should report my loss.”

“Not gonna work here. And if you’re one of the few here who can injure me to begin with, does it count as a loss or are you someone they should invest in?”

“What do you mean?”

“We have some time, sir, why don’t you tell me your name?”

“I am Esper number 000 Gamma, formerly known as Jac Ol’atte.”

Kyrion noticed a trigger in Jac’s brain that signified resistance to the name. What’s worse, he had only recently heard that name. Jac was supposed to be twenty-six, but the person before him was much closer to seventeen than twenty. Some of his features were off, and his blood seemed wrong.

“Are you a homunculus?” Kyrion tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“No. I’m an Esper, where did you get that?”

“You feel like two people.”

“Oh that. It’s complicated.”

“How does your power work? I heard that there were experiments to artificially trigger abilities.”

“Oh, this?” Jac pulled up his sleeve, revealing a screen with numbers slowly counting down next to a percentage.

“What is that?”

“This measures the amount of caffeine in my blood along with the amplification percentage. I am currently at 110%, meaning my caffeine level is low for my powers. It was at 130% when I snuck in, and when it falls below 100%, I’ll be injected with a caffeine booster, which will push me to 150 unless I consume enough caffeine to keep it from falling that low.” Jac placed his watch under the monitor, allowing the number to be transported to the watch.

“Ah, what is caffeine?”

“You, haven’t had coffee?”

“I don’t know what that is. But what is caffeine?”

“A chemical that grants people the boost they need to get through the morning.”

“Oh…the jitter compound.” Kyrion poked Jac on his temple, imparting some mana.

“What did you?”

“Hastened thoughts,” Kyrion stated. From there, he watched the monitor increase 200%, then 300%, slowly stopping at 499%.

“Did you just fill me with ten expressos worth of caffeine in a toh--?” Jac bit his tongue while speaking.

“Hmm. As I thought, your brain isn’t in sync with your body.”

“End Hastened thoughts.” Kyrion moved the mana in his subject’s brain while applying a healing effect, slowly causing the damaged parts of the brain to fuse and return to a natural state. He was curious about what changes would happen as his brain returned to its natural state while incorporating new energy channels in his brain.

“Of course, the spell was hastened thoughts.” Jac held his head and scowled as his powers seemed easier to access.

“No, there is a lag between your perception and the orders you send to your body, the lag should have stayed the same not increased with that spell. Meaning your body can’t contain your ability yet.”

“How in the hell did you figure that out so fast?”

“I want you to watch.” Kyrion cracked his neck and increased his thought process by thirty percent, much slower than Jac could see.

Kyrion did an odd dance that involved spins and rotation, putting forth momentum and power. For a moment, Jac didn’t understand what he was looking at. That was when his enhanced vision began to see the afterimages that increased. In an instant, Kyrie threw out an apparent blow that would hit Jac head-on at a speed that Jac could see and process, yet his body wasn’t physically able to react.

Jac’s eyes widened as the blow, disguised by an odd dance, stopped inches away from a place near his heart.

“You weren’t that fast before.”

“You could see it, right?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t fast enough to dodge, it was as though you were moving at my speed despite not being able to use that ability.”

“I can use it at a much weaker level for a shorter period of time but no. This is a martial art developed for precise strikes that break down an opponent. It revolved around momentum, weight distribution, raw power, precision, and observation.”

“You have the potential for three or four of these, but lack the raw power…Unless you can add pierce to unarmed attacks.”

“Shatter amplifies the force of punches, while pierce allow me to break through barriers. Though I prefer knives or darts.”

“Well, I prefer scalpels and my Anesthesia.” Kyrion summoned a giant bat and slammed it against the ground, the impact shaking the area.

“You use a bat?”

“This is Anesthesia, my pain reliever, a sedative, and a tool to deal with unruly patients. Not a bat.”

Jac looked at him solemnly. “What do you want from me?”

“I want to know what you went through to become an Esper, then I’ll put you through a special training regime that will increase your physical prowess. That should round you out a bit.”

Jac scowled. “What do you get out of this aside from information?”

“Possibly leverage. I want to know if the experiments were humane and consented to.”

“Oh. No to both accounts. But the lab that created my batch was destroyed and the scientist behind it killed.”

Kyrion could see that Jac believed that to be the truth but doubted that getting rid of pests like that would be that easy. “I see. What year is it?”

“2001– no 2010!” Jac held his head and took two steps back.

Kyrion scowled. He sensed two sets of synapses light up from that question, confirming that two people shared a single brain. It was as though someone grafted two brains together.

“Watch my movements, then practice. You’re coming with me as a subordinate for the monster island hunts.”

“But I must report to my overseer!”

“Why is that?”

“My father.”

“Did your father have you go through experimentation?”

“It was a bad coincidence.”

Things cleared up. “I see. Is this why you haven’t seen your mother?”

“I was informed that she had a heart attack the morning after the fire. My father is my only family left.”

“No siblings, cousins, or relatives?”

“None? I am an only child.”

“I see. Jack must be a common name.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Jac, and it’s somewhat common in some circles.”

“I see.” Kyrion doubted the last name was a common one, however.

“What do you see?”

“Names are annoying here. So Jaq, got any favorite foods?”

“I love coffee.” Jac ignored the slip-up.

“The drink?”

“Yes.”

Kyrion scowled. He’d cross-examine what he heard with Moca when he got the chance. He didn’t know why, but something felt off about the whole situation.

“Interesting. Well I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“But we deploy tonight!”

“I should be clear. I’ll see you tomorrow. Get used to that new toy.” Kyrion opened a portal under his feet, sending Jac back to the house. Now, he was alone in his dungeon for only two minutes. He could get to monitoring his clubmates.

Lee, Isaac, Jin, Mira, and Moca stood outside a purple door-shaped haze. Jin wore a red tee shirt with black Fleur Elis in the center. Mira wore a black jacket and jeans, carrying two canisters of pepper spray. Moca wore a white barista uniform with a yellow bow tying up her hair. Lee was wearing a black shirt with a picture resembling a galaxy with tons of pinkish lights. Finally clad in green shorts and a white shirt, Issac had an old pair of cleats tied by their laces.

“None of them brought weapons…Do they expect to fight their way through?” Kyrion asked no one in particular.

Kilo arrived in blue form-fitting clothes with padding in a location to maximize protection without limiting motion.

“We’re rangers. Aren’t we.” Isaac stated with irritation.

Lee scowled. “But we have two black rangers. So that can’t be.”

“Think again pinky.” Mira stated.

Lee looked at his clothes and then at Mira. “Do I have time to get changed?”

“Insert the key within ten minutes to enter this dungeon.”

“Maybe I should just take off my shirt.” Keep it on, Lee.

Lee eyed the door with suspicion.

“Kyrion isn’t here?”

Kilo sighed, “He said he had to leave early for something.”

Kyrion smirked as he stepped through space to appear outside. He wore a black suit with purple trim and a white undershirt. His tie was excessively long and cartoonish but matched the trim. Black slacks made from flexible silk covered his legs, and a cane with a purple gem was in his right hand. The shoes were a pair of dress shoes that seemed more comfortable than they appeared.

“Uh…homecoming is next month.” Moca said bluntly.

“This is my battle suit.” Kyrion tossed his hair to the side as he put on a black hat with purple feathers.

“Battle suit?”

“Don’t worry about it. He believes that expensive clothes are more durable than regular clothing.”

“Where did he get the money?” Mira asked in suspicion.

“He has a talent for finding precious gems and metals.” Kilo added.

“I wanted something discreet.”

“Well you came here dressed like a godfather so…”

Kyrion ignored the jabs as he moved towards the hazy door. Placing his hand in front of it and scowling. “The Swordam Jin.”

“That was really a requirement?” Jin took the model kit out of his bag and placed it in front of the door.

“Requirements met, the dungeon will be open for five minutes. It will close down until the party completes it, -di– becomes incapacitated, or flees.”

“Now then, what do we do now?” Kyrion asked.

“We go in, take notes, and play along. We should try to get to the end,” Mira said.

“This is annoying.” Issac cracked his neck.

“How so?”

“Notes? Seriously. We have a door to some unknown space and you want us to take notes while exploring.”

“I second that. I doubt it would be safe enough for us to take notes here.” Kyrion added.

Kilo raised an eyebrow. “I’ll write up a report when we finish.”

“Alright. I just lost one of my custom kits. Let’s get this started.” Jin was the first to step in, followed by Mira, Kilo, and Moca.

“You can’t just…” Lee sighed as he followed.

Issac didn’t follow immediately. “What are you?”

“Hmmm? Human I believe.”

“I see.” Issac popped his neck.

“Ok Isaac 2, why are you suspicious?”

“You seem to have some sort of healing ability as well as a body more put together than most.”

“Is that so? I must have gotten it while in a forest or something tree-related,” Kyrion said bluntly.

“Fine.” Issac 2 entered the doorway, and Kyrion followed.

“The Last to enter shows signs of indecision and apprehension. Activating the first blood trap!” the dungeon loudly spoke through the ceiling.

Kyrion fell through the ground immediately. Issac 2 turned to catch him, but Kyrion needed to prepare better as he fell. He was the only thing that remained afterward.

While underground, Kyrion’s body morphed into that of a plant, and its clothes faded and vanished. Its body moves underground for the next part of the trial.

The real Kyrion was observing the interactions through the safety of his dungeon’s safe room. He needed better etiquette to help the people here navigate it when they needed the experience. Although he hadn’t expected to remotely manipulate a mimic plant, Karl had created. The fashion sense reminded Kyrion of his encounter with Mob Gremlins.

“Karl? Did you come from this world?”

“Not sure.”

“Fair enough.” Kyrion cracked open a can containing a light green soda. Downing it with ease and downing it in pleasure.

“Kyrion? That’s a hard seltzer.”

“Reminds me of tea.”

“Tea?

“An herbal concoction made through fermentation was an herbal mixture for a long time before it was safe to drink. Although these don’t seem to have the pain relievers mother puts in hers.”

“Kyrion. That’s alcohol.”

“No, it…Opp… Ah, my natural defenses are cleansing it out of my body.” Kyrion squinted at the can and finished it off before pulling out a tub of poutine he had procured from a food challenge in Idaho.

“Shouldn’t you watch the others?”

“This is weak…I expected my first drink to be stronger than this but it’s less alcoholic than a healing potion.”

“I don’t think that is your first drink…” Karl recalled an incident involving Kyrion having tea with his mother. It wasn’t that Kyrion couldn’t drink. He just didn’t do it knowingly and had a dangerously high tolerance. The healers set the drinking age to sixteen on Imala, as by then, one’s body should be strong enough to counter most of the effects.

Karl decided to make his life purpose in this world revolve around finding the amount of alcohol needed to get his master drunk.

“Oh, looks like they finally decided to move on. Is the first room a fight?”

“No. It’s a riddle. I spent years coming up with this one.”

A large cat plant hybrid asked and sat on a pedestal, watching the tiny humans enter the room. “I am the Phanix, you will answer my riddle. What goes on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon–”

“Man.” They all said at once with no hesitation.

“I didn’t finish. And three at night.”

“We won’t change our answer.” Jin stated.

The Phanix’s eye twitched as it looked to the ceiling for help.

“I’ll be honest. I haven’t heard that one before. Would have had me stumped for a minute. I’d have said a chimera that lost a leg. Or a hungover Gamodren. Crawls about early in the morning. Walks around normally during the day, then uses his cane when he goes out to party at night.” Kyrion stated.

“These earth humans must be geniuses.” Karl considered changing the answer but decided that any riddle he came up with would be seen through.

“Y-you must get three riddles correc–” The plant sphinx fell unconscious as it had been defeated, despite not wanting to give up.

“What was the next one?”

“When you look at me I look at you. When you blink, so do I. When you die, I go still. When you are gone I cease to be. When you touch me my form breaks. What am I?”

Kyrion was stumped. He’d ask Kilo for the answer later.

The next room contained four large buttons on the floor: a red square, a blue circle, a yellow triangle, and a green hexagon. Stemming from the buttons were various pathways that seemed to be tangled. On the opposite walls were four holes, each with a matching symbol up a wall.

“This is my devious pipeline puzzle. It should take them days to finish–”

“So we need to match the pipes from the buttons to the wall, then press the buttons simultaneously. How do we move the pipes?”

Lee walked over to the pipes and scowled as he was turned ninety degrees by the floor tile.

“It shot up an inch and rotated. Be careful they seem pressure based.” Isaac stated.

“That looks fun,” Moca responded before she jumped onto one of the pipes and jumped again, causing it to rotate again.

“This puzzle must have been designed for children. What do they think we are?”

Kyrion scowled as he watched them spend thirty minutes on the puzzle. Most of the time was spent resting to avoid getting vertigo. This puzzle would have taken a group of practitioners days to finish, and they wouldn’t have been trying to line them all up at once.

“How are they getting this?”

[Common earth riddle and standard puzzle in games and online brain teasers.] Kyrion’s eye answered without prompting.

“Oh. So these questions are easy. Well the gremlins won’t be so…”

The gremlins in little suits and hats were crying on the ground and begging for mercy. They had been given small clubs and slingshots to be used as weapons, but none of them were prepared to deal with the pepper spray bath that covered them.

“It feels like we’re bullying small children. Do we need to kill the monsters?” Isaac prepared to stomp on one of the gremlins until it disappeared.

The gremlins sunk into the ground and vanished. Momentarily.

“Kyrion? You’re up. They are walking through here too easily!”

“No. I’m not going to kill my friends to make you feel better.”

Karl took too long to respond. “I don’t want them dead. Just mildly inconvenienced. The next room involves finding a key while avoiding the monster in the labyrinth. I want you to control the beast.

“Really? Why me?”

“Because your senses are better.”

“I’d be cheating. I refuse.”

“Fine, then, you’ll just pilot the final boss then.”

Lee entered his meditation at the entrance to the labyrinth and sighed after five minutes of rest. “Pen and paper?”

Kilo produced a pen, and Mira made a notebook. Both were given to Lee, who began drawing the labyrinth like a simple maze. He then pulled the pathway the group needed and included the monster’s hiding routes and places to avoid it.

The plane went off without a hitch until they reached the exit without the key.

“My vision didn’t tell me about a key.” Lee stated glumly.

“It’s fine.” Moca produced a wooden pole and a hairpin. Within seconds, the lock to the next room was picked.

“Hacks! I call hacks!” The ordinarily stoic Karl was hysterical and frustrated.

“Did not know that dungeon locks could be picked.”

“Neither did I. But apparently they are! And just any human can figure it out.” Karl squinted.

“I did not know she could do that.”

“Get in the minotaur Kyrion.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Get in the minotaur.”

“Fine, but I’m wielding Anesthesia.” Kyrion stated.

“The nonlethal club…”

“Correct.”

“If you remove their head from their shoulders then it isn’t very non-lethal.”

“It can’t… I’ll be extra careful just in case the enchantment doesn’t work.” Kyrion let his club be brought down to a minotaur on the floor below. It had blank eyes and a dead expression. Within moments, Kyrion’s mind slipped into the creature, and it shot to life.