New Alexandria was a vast city located sixty kilometers from the north-western coast of the Mefi continent, the human-controlled one.
The metropolis had been created in 2940 by the newly established Frantian's military government as a consequence of "the criminal phase," a period 130 years long in which people started using their powers with few noble usages.
A phase of human history that birthed many criminal organizations that were still alive even now, albeit hiding in the shadows in fear of the blackguards' prosecution.
Following the economic boom of the 50s, many people moved to the city, and this didn't go unnoticed by the many criminal organizations around the newly established nation of Frant.
So, the place became a den of criminals. Many local gang leaders made their fortune inside the city, becoming rich and building palaces, skyscrapers, or villas in the metropolitan area. Some built entire districts there, making a considerable fortune.
The city occupied an area of more than 95,304 km2 holding the record for being the largest city on the planet. Countless were the roads, initially thought to accommodate the millions of cars that traveled on them each day.
Though, the city didn't lack sidewalks to hold the large number of pedestrians who walked the busy streets every day. Later, these streets became for pedestrians only once flying cars and vehicles started spreading among the population.
The city contained all manner of shops catering to every taste: clothing stores selling anything, whatever kind of clothes one wanted, and restaurants offering dishes prepared according to any conceivable recipe.
There were bookstores containing books written and published by Frantians, music halls with orchestras playing everything from classical pieces to jazz tunes played on instruments imported especially for this purpose, and art galleries exhibiting paintings made by some of the greatest painters ever born.
In short, New Alexandria offered what anyone wanted. Despite being heavily controlled by corrupt officials and criminal syndicates.
Following General Armand Becker's rise to power, the city started a reformation age. If initially, crime was rampant everywhere, gangs and criminal organizations ruled over the majority of it, the police were corrupt to the bones, and even the militaries weren't free from blame, following Becker's ascension to power, things started to change.
Massive manhunts were going on throughout the city, where thousands of criminals were rounded up and executed without trial or due process.
Those arrested couldn't afford bail because they could not pay it, so most remained behind bars until further notice. Those who were found guilty after a fair trial in front of judges picked by the new government were sent to hard labor camps or killed by a firing squad, depending on their crimes.
Some criminals escaped prison by bribing guards, while the most powerful ones used their superhuman abilities to break out of jail and escape.
Though, as the city was slowly healing, many people were left exposed to bribes, extortion, and other forms of corruption.
In this situation, a man slowly made his way into the underworld, known as Shade. No information was available about this man, but he had considerable control in the underworld.
Many tried to defy him, but none succeeded. He was the man you had to contact if you wanted a job done, and many organizations bent to his will.
He was always paid generously by the people who were ready to ask him to take care of any problematic business. Some wished to get rid of a competitor organization, some to kill a troublesome individual, while others to uncover something important. He could do any of these things.
His influence extended far beyond the metropolis's borders, reaching into neighboring cities. This was why no one dared oppose him.
Such man was picking up his phone from his pocket, as it started ringing incessantly a couple of seconds ago. He picked up the phone, but before he could say anything, the man on the other side started talking.
"Knowing what kind of person you are, I should assume you are already aware of the awakener that appeared in New Alexandria..." A man said while talking on the phone.
"Ah... yes..." Shade said. "Why are you perhaps interested in him?" he asked the other man.
"Let's just say that he has something I want..." the mysterious man said.
"Something that YOU want? That's interesting..."
"You know I won't tell you anything, don't even ask..." the man said.
"All right, All right... I assume you want something from me since you called me..."
"Indeed," the man said. "I want your men to follow the awakener and find out where he did hide what I'm searching for," he added.
"You should give me more information if you want the job done..." Shade replied.
"Don't act like you have no information, I know you are already aware of who the boy is. Just do your job, and I will pay you as usual."
Shade was irked by the man's tone, he was basically the leader of the underworld, and he didn't tolerate such disrespect.
"I want double the usual price...." Shade said.
"Are you serious? Double?"
"This or nothing. If the militaries found out I was investigating the young man, it would be my ass on the line... Double or nothing."
After some hesitation, the man on the phone agreed to Shade's request. Finding where the boy hid whatever his father had brought him was of the utmost importance.
***
After the spar against Amber, Erik took a shower and met with Floyd, Gwen, and his opponent.
"Whoa, Erik... I didn't think you were that strong," Floyd said, smiling.
"I'm not that strong; I couldn't even hold a candle to her, "Erik said while looking at a grinning Amber. She had a smug look plastered on her face that said how much she had fun bullying Erik in their spar. Though, she didn't say anything.
"You still have much to learn," Gwen said. "Your movements were easy to predict, and you relied too heavily on your strength. You need to work on your strategy next time."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind..." Erik replied. Gwen turned away and avoided eye contact with Erik.
Amber spoke first. "It's true that he needs to work on his moves. But he wasn't as bad as I thought he was. He just needs more sparring time and works on the basics for now. Once he gets down that pat, he can move on to the next level. You guys have been training long enough to know there isn't any rush here," Amber said.
"You are right, but the tournament is in 5 days... He needs to train a lot during this short time. I don't even think he will be able to do it..." Gwen replied.
"Why not," Floyd said. "He couldn't even throw a kick two weeks ago, and he is now able to spar. His achievements are pretty impressive if you want my opinion. If he was able to reach this level in this short amount of time, I don't understand why he shouldn't be able to do it now..." he added.
"Well, you are not wrong..." Gwen said. "But he will have to train day and night..."
Then Amber looked at Erik with her big eyes. She blinked several times while staring at Erik in a pondering look. "Do you think you could pull it off?" The woman asked.
"Well... I mean... Yes... I can try..." Erik said.
…
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Erik was pretty tired when he later arrived home, but luckily for him, he still had enough energy to do some Neural link training.
The last link he was able to make was the sharpening power one. Since he developed it, he found it much easier to channel the mana in the required way to use the power.
The mana consumption even slightly became more efficient than before. However, it wasn't very significant, and he noticed that he could improve the sharpness to a level he wasn't previously able to. It was a small gain, all in all, but again nonetheless.
Erik immediately sat on the couch after entering home and started focusing on his training.
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