The hivemind is conquering for me?

“Well.” Nerissa started. “I would say your technique is very solid and refined. You have no rigidity problems and are able to switch between multiple stances with ease. However, this was also your first fault at the start of the fight, you saw me in my guard and assumed I would attack your left. Failing to realise I could faint, forced you on the backfoot immediately.”

I absorbed everything Nerissa was saying. This was valuable battle data.

“You also actually used your armour which is another point for you. Many people in armour still try to remain overly agile, dashing and dodging out of the way of strikes. Instead of missing an opportunity trying to evade my strike to your head, which you would have failed. Sure at the start of the fight, I was still able to counter you with your own momentum, but when you brought out Sapphire, taking those strikes so she could get her attacks in was the correct strategy. That being said, you should still try and evade when you can as if this spar was an unarmoured fight, it would have been over after the first engagement.”

I scratched the back of my head embarrassed. It was true, before Chonkimous maximus came out, I was clearly on the backfoot. It was only because of her I held out for so long. In an unarmoured scrap, she was right, I would have been a goner much faster, but at the same time, my armour is my war gear. I would almost always have it ready in a fight, I had learnt my lesson from the drug den fiasco and always kept it stored within my arm, ready to go.

Nerissa then continued. ” One flaw you have, Apollo, is ironically your Psionics. You are a powerful Psionic user for a human with a myriad of abilities, but you only have limited Psionic firepower. You only used two attacks against me, your Gyrokinesis, which you can’t use on me as my Psionics are stronger and purer than yours, making it obsolete and your Pyro-Psionic bullets. While fast and can definitely pack a punch, after the first few as you saw, I got used to them and could dodge them effectively. It is a good thing you are not obtuse Apollo and have come to the college as broadening your horizons might yield results in your Psionic firepower.”

Once again Nerissa was right. On a battlefield with chaff, my Psionic bullets with my Psionic zone of vision were deadly. I could snipe all day long and rack up a massive kill count, but against someone stronger, someone that can close the gap? I couldn’t do much.

Especially against Nerissa. I couldn’t use my Gyrokinesis on her, even her axe took a crap ton of energy on my part. I couldn’t use my telekinesis, her body composition made it so she was too ‘heavy’ to lift. I couldn’t even go brain burster mode and use my telepathy to breach her mind if I wanted to use that option, as I just instinctively knew her mental defences were more powerful than my own.

I had also locked myself out of my Cryokinesis capabilities since connecting with Sol. I could still use them, as they played a part in my Thermokinesis, but it was much harder to manipulate the colder temperatures than it was hotter temperatures.

“Anything else? I am open to all criticism, though if you are too mean, I might cry.” I jested, prompting a smile to flicker across Nerissa’s lips for a moment.

“Honestly Apollo? There is not much else to critique, your battle IQ is phenomenal. You had actually pushed me to act hastily a few times and I certainly did not expect to be grounded at all, nor did I expect you to be able to draw blood. If you like however, I would not mind becoming a part of your training regime, helping you weed out slight errors in technique, helping you become accustomed to fighting other weapons etcetera. It would be my honour to do so.”

If any other Spartari noble just heard that offer come from the mouth of a Praetorian, they would shit themselves as they would have died from shock and elation. Apollo, however.

“Sure, sounds like a blast. I would love to add you to the roster. So I now have my seductive sister, my Milfy mother and now a Naughty Nymph? Heh, Apollo’s angels.” I chuckled to myself.

“Angels?” Nerissa asked, confused, it sounded like the old language word for messenger, but it didn’t make sense with what he just said.

I stared blankly at Nerissa for a moment before my mind changed subjects. “I need a tree.” Nerissa grew confused. “I thought you only expelled waste when you drink too much too quickly? Go ahead, I will wait here then we can go.”

“What? No. I need a tree to feed my armour.” I said, clarifying. Nerissa, gaining clarity, looked at the armour on the ground, specifically towards the purple orbs on the front of the armour.

She was still unsure of the orb’s origins, but unlike what she thought, it was most definitely not a weak spot. If anything it was a large bait as when she struck it with her axe earlier, it took away a large chip from the weapon and the orbs were completely unharmed.

“Very well, but follow me, we need to choose the correct tree.” She said before walking off. I then followed her into the jungle. She moved with purpose and familiarity, like she was walking through her home garden. It was only a minute or so before we arrived at a dense patch of trees.

“Does the tree have to be living or can you accept a dead one Apollo?” She asked. “Preferably alive, the healthier the better basically.” While dead trees still contained a lot of biomass, a living tree meant that things would go smoother for the armour. I would prefer using meat, but this is a nature reserve, I was using Nerissa as the legal loophole she was for this bit of deforesting.

“Very well, we can use this one then. Its felling will provide the surroundings more growth in the end. Here.” Nerissa picked out the tree before handing me an axe she materialised. IT wasn’t the big unwieldy one she used in our spar, it was a simple felling axe.

“You are the one that needs the tree, I would rather not have its sap on my hands.”

…

An hour or so later of rhythmic chopping the tree came down. It was quite a thick tree and even with my strength and stamina aiding the speed of the felling process, I was exhausted. I took a moment’s rest while Nerissa looked on, emotionless.

I still needed to cut it up into manageable sizes for my armour to absorb as just holding my chest up against the tree was going to be tedious. Still though, I got back up, I needed to go and actually retrieve the armour.

With it only being a couple minutes away, I was back… in a couple of minutes, however, I immediately became confused as a creature was sniffing my armour curiously. It was a small, stout white bear, totally out of place within the jungle. And I had seen the bear before, only days ago.

As soon as I emerged from the foliage, the bear looked up at me before scurrying off on its tiny legs. It was adorable, but I was honestly worried as that bear had an owner. ‘Let’s just hope I don’t get snitched on for being out here…’ I thought to myself before putting on my scrap metal and heading back to Nerissa for a few more hours of log cutting.

…

Onyx was slightly perplexed as she watched Apollo work his wood. She had been looking out for danger the entire fight. While she was impressed with this Pretorian, who was much stronger than the one she ambushed, that was not enough to distract her from her job.

Which is why it perplexed her so much that she was unable to spot that little ursine. She wanted to go and explore this phenomenon, but this entire planet was strange. It wasn’t just the thick amount of natural Psionics in the air, the ground, the water and the inhabitants. There was a strange sensation in the back of her mind. One that she trusted as it rarely ever flared up.

There was a mystery on this planet. She wasn’t sure what it was, yet. But she knew that it was no threat to her mate. It was, however, a threat to her and to a significantly lesser extent, Orchid.

And with her Foresight currently hindered due to all the power upon the planet, she was relatively blind. In truth, at this moment, she was not an apex predator.

However, this caused her to smile sadistically, her tongue rushing over her teeth. She could play the long game. She was used to it before Apollo. Thousands of years on one planet, destroying it slowly methodically. She was used to it.

Whatever this ‘threat’ was. She would bide her time… And prove she was the ultimate predator.

Hmmmm? Another mystery?

(Do you like the long mysteries btw? I know alot of them have yet to be fully opened, but you are getting glimpses here and there. Like Sol took a while, but we got to her eventually… And then another mystery opened itself from that lol)