Page 68 of Guiding Reason
The Guardians and Conduits that had followed them inside chattered in hushed voices, bubbling excitement building in that group. Presumably Taros getting Hyran’s nose bloody was more important than making a show of the Grounds being safe, and Taros agreed.
“It’s not anger. I’m just objective where Hyran here’s concerned.”
Hyran glared.
“Where are you taking us?” Hyran asked when they turned right, leaving the pool area on their left and the elevators behind them.
“We train downstairs. You’ll like it.”
There were elevators. Shoda led them down the stairs. The signs announced more than one training level. Shoda picked the first one.
It had a solid door, wide enough to allow equipment to pass through. Taros was familiar with the setup from when Targun had started out, when he’d gotten better, when he’d been unable to shut his mouth about the games for more than ten minutes.
With the frisson of annoyance anything Guardian Games related always brought nipping at him, Taros said, “This is stress and endurance conditioning.”
He looked around at the temperature boxes that helped one get used to all the extremes, the climbing garden that made champions go up ropes, walls, ladders and so forth on repeat, the treadmills. Targun liked boasting how he’d broken several ofthose treadmills, though Taros had assumed it had been due to clumsiness.
“Exactly. You two will be competing here.”
Shoda took them right, an area hidden behind movable walls that didn’t connect with the ceiling although there were nets up there that served as an additional barrier.
Taros recognized the nets right away. “The Beating? You are serious?”
Hyran, from his silence, was confused or had never heard of that training method.
Shoda clasped his hands behind his head as the three of them rounded the walls and the training fields came into view.
“Of course I’m serious. This is the best way, and it’s measurable. That makes it an excellent challenge for Guardians such as yourselves. Your powers will matter less, because you will get hit either way, and you’ll still be of use to your beautiful team lead after this. Imagine if you walked into the suite all limping and bloody, and with your clothes torn off. What would he think?”
Hyran’s brow furrowed. Taros smirked.Good. He’s worried.
Taros rolled his shoulders. “I don’t bleed that easily, but if you think it would be better for my new teammate…”
“As I told you, Taros, you cannot catch me as easily as you think.”
Shoda put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Oh, stop, you wild Guardians! Hyran, are you familiar with the Beating as well?”
Hyran looked at the setup. “No.”
Shoda nodded. “I’ll explain.” He walked to two elevated platforms, only about three decimeters off the ground. This area had about ten or so, standard going by all the trainings Taros had been forced to attend in order to support his brother.
Shoda pointed at a platform. “You will be on this platform, and Taros will be on the other. Projectiles come at you from there.” He pointed above to where projectile bots hung on their railings, unmoving but waiting. “There is a standard rate of projectiles per minute that will come at you, but if you succeed in dodging or blocking, your opponent will get hit with even more. Likewise, if you fail to dodge or block, your own rate will increase. We’ll set it up so that the rate can only go up, not down, since this is a challenge and not training. And for projectiles…the bots have options. Viscoelastic polymers and such. We’ll just set that to auto. Questions?”
Hyran put his hands on his hips as if he’d already won at a game he’d never played. “No.”
Taros cleared his throat. “The winner is the one who doesn’t abandon his platform, and crouching and remaining unmoving for ten seconds or more constitutes forfeiting, right?”
Shoda hummed. “Those are the rules of this game. Oh, goggles! Just to be safe.”
Shoda jogged off, leaving Taros and Hyran while he found them eye protection in a locker nearby.
Hyran leveled his green gaze at Taros. “Abandoning your platform would be like abandoning your Conduit in a fight, and I’m not ever going to do that.”
Audacious fucker.“But isn’t running your specialty?”
“Not when it means leaving my Conduit behind. Or my team.”
Taros snorted. “You never had a team.”
