My Infinite Investment System

Chapter 9: First Blood Price

Inspection day arrived after three days of training, with Northstar’s cameras covering every approach and Mika waiting outside to deny the recovery firm its excuse.

"Survive on camera, protect the regulator," she told him through the office doorway, "the witnesses win everything afterward."

"Does his contract pay for an incident or a murder?" Ryan asked, checking the baton in his jacket.

"Contracts develop ambition when people start losing," she replied, without much comfort in it.

Both scouts came in beside the E-rank enforcer and a notary who had clearly begun regretting the appointment somewhere in the car park.

"Has this venue experienced energetic incidents since scheduling?" the notary asked.

"Define energetic," Mika said from the doorway, arms folded.

He studied the repaired chair marks, then recorded that the question required follow-up.

The senior scout presented an order covering the regulator housing and its storage, while Ryan required signed acknowledgment before anybody went near it.

Procedure held for a full seven minutes.

During the eighth, the enforcer’s right shoulder settled toward his disruption rig, which was the exact habit Ryan had spent three days memorising.

He stumbled for the notary, though not for the cameras, sending the rig toward the regulator with enough force to invalidate its sale condition.

Ryan committed before the arc had finished travelling.

The baton extended between them and caught the harness rather than flesh, driving the whole rig away from the medical housing.

"Inspection authority does not permit destructive testing," Ryan said, loud enough for every lens in the room, "that was attempted asset damage."

"Then keep the equipment away from me," the enforcer replied, all the pretence gone out of his face as he pulled free.

His first real strike came off the shoulder exactly where the habit promised, and Ryan’s late parry still let the tool clip his upper arm.

Pain weakened his grip while the E-rank reset without any concern at all, which priced the gap between them more honestly than a registry chart ever had.

Ryan retreated along the bar with his point between them, which forced both scouts to choose visible involvement or drop the pretence entirely.

They chose to be visible about it, which cost them later.

One scout trapped the shaft against a rail until Ryan retracted it, then extended straight through the man’s approach, though the opening let the enforcer drive a shoulder into his chest.

The impact emptied his lungs against the bar, while shaking glassware flooded the reflex with detail he had no use for whatsoever.

’Three things,’ Ryan thought, cutting the fight down to what he could actually hold, ’the wrapped knee weakens on turns, the rig leads every committed attack, the shoulder tightens before force goes up.’

He only had to survive until all three occupied the same position.

The enforcer changed rhythm once he worked out that Ryan could read the committed swings.

A short strike came toward the fractured side before the rig reversed toward the regulator, so Ryan blocked the second line and took the first across his ribs, which bought the medical housing another clean camera frame.

"You’re spending your body to protect equipment," the enforcer said, almost conversational about it.

"Your employer decided which one costs more," Ryan replied, breathing badly.

That earned a sharper attack, which split the bar rail beside his hand and forced him to retract before trapped reach became a liability.

He drove the baton into the man’s forearm, extended it during contact, then watched an E-rank absorb the whole thing without giving up a step.

Power was not going to win this exchange, though position still might.

The enforcer chased him along the bar while the notary made for the exit, only for the senior scout to block the path with an inspection form.

"I want the record to show your client preventing the notary from reaching safety," Ryan said, parrying another strike.

"The record should show everyone becoming unreasonable," the notary replied, legally required to witness the disaster he was standing in.

Laughter outside made the enforcer press harder, which dragged the wrapped knee through a turn until it crossed a recessed cable channel Ryan had been drilling around for three days.

Ryan lowered his point toward the regulator and offered him an obvious mistake.

The enforcer committed through the right shoulder, expecting superior force to end it.

Harness cable across the chest, injured knee above the channel, wooden bar behind both of them.

Ryan stepped off-line instead of retreating, slid the spear under the disruption rig, then drove its point through an empty harness strap and into the bar.

The pinned equipment pulled the enforcer forward as his knee struck the channel lip, which let Ryan rotate the shaft and take his balance without ever piercing flesh.

Any resistance from here tightened the man’s own harness across his throat.

An F-rank analyst held an E-rank enforcer against the bar, underneath every camera the recovery firm had brought to use against him.

Both scouts advanced until Mika came through the door with the witnesses, a live feed, and two D-rank regulars serving as neutral security.

"The inspection appears energetic," she said brightly, "perhaps our notary has a professional opinion."

"The equipment-condition inspection has ended," he replied, gathering his forms, "the regulator remains undamaged, while the recovery tool does not."

Across the spear shaft, the enforcer looked at him for a moment, then released his grip in something close to formal surrender.

"That was a good trap," he said, once Ryan withdrew the point, "you watched my shoulder, used the cameras to keep my men visible, then waited for the cable channel."

"Your employer needs a better contract," Ryan replied, still holding the shaft.

"Next time they’ll price you as a hunter instead of staff," the enforcer said, with something like respect, on his way out.

The firm withdrew within the hour, because the footage showed attempted damage to certified medical equipment.

Victory collected its own price considerably more slowly than that did.

Outside, the live audience replayed the pin until the phrase started trending beside Northstar’s reservation page.

{f-rank checkmate. i’m going to be so normal about this}

{he didn’t beat him. he priced him}

That clip did not make Ryan look stronger than the enforcer, though it did make him look composed enough to design the exact second at which strength stopped mattering.

Mika refused three interview requests and accepted two paid appearance inquiries, converting the aftermath into leverage before the clinic transport arrived.

His left shoulder swelled, his wrist refused a full turn, and the bar carried a spear hole through its best surface.

The clinic confirmed a hairline fracture with deep bruising, while the repairs ate most of his auction fee.

Mika secured his wrist behind the bar while he formatted an incident report one-handed.

"You won one fight and wrote a quarterly summary about it," she said, tightening the wrap, "I’m filing this under unexpected assets."

"The floor, the harness, and the knee produced a combined position," Ryan replied, typing badly, "the report preserves the method."

"Your hand is shaking, so preserve that too," she said, watching it.

He stopped typing and discovered that she was right.

It got worse once he let himself look at the spear hole and picture the point landing several centimetres to the left.

Mika closed the laptop, then held his good hand under the counter until his fingers stopped moving.

"Winning doesn’t require enjoying what almost happened," she said, very quietly.

"I’m not certain which part I enjoyed," Ryan admitted, voice unsteady.

"You enjoyed being right," she replied, thumb moving once across his knuckles, "we’ll work on the rest."

[Active Investment Asset Defense: Verified]

[Combat Risk Accepted: Qualifying Investment]

[Stat Dividend Acquired: Agility]

[Rank Assessment Available: E]

Then the Exchange priced a stronger opponent and a protected asset as an earned return.

[Return Credits Awarded: 116]

[Current Balance: 120]

[Combat Valuation Unlock Available]

Ryan accepted the skill without stopping to think about it.

[Skill Acquired: Combat Valuation]

[New Reading: Defeat Conditions]

Another offer opened underneath the assessment.

[Host Combat Record: 1–0]

[Opening Position: 120 Return Credits]

[Warning: Purchase Will Exhaust Balance]

Mika finished wrapping the fractured wrist while reading whatever had just moved across his face.

"The registry opens at nine," she said, tying off the bandage, "I’m driving, because injured heroes do not take the bus."