Page 292

--donation bonus (day #13, post 2/5)--
‘Hold on now,’ said Garovel. ‘Colt, you don’t even have an ability yet, do you? Hector would destroy you.’

“So what?” the man said. “It’s not like he can kill me, right? If it makes him feel better, then bring it on.”

‘Even so... what do you think, Hector?’

The thought was admittedly tempting. But he sighed and shook his head. “It wouldn’t change anything... and violence doesn’t really make me feel better...”

Colt folded his arms. “Come on. Don’t be a bitch.”

Hector rolled his eyes and turned the man into a statue. “Happy now, jackass?”

Bohwanox floated over and reached through the metal. After a moment, Colt broke out, tearing the iron from his body.

“Just stop,” said Hector. “Fighting won’t make a difference.”

Bohwanox drifted higher. ‘Actually, it might. Why don’t you let Colt teach you about basic combat?’

Hector lowered his brow, blinking.

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ said Garovel. ‘Hector might be able to show Colt a few things, too. Fighting with enhanced strength is quite different, y’know.’

Colt stretched his arms. “Sounds good to me. You up for it?”

He looked between everyone for a moment. “Alright...”

‘You have to refrain from using your metal powers,’ said Bohwanox. ‘At least until Colt develops his own ability.’

“Fine.”

They sparred. Even Colt’s hand-to-hand techniques were brutal. He broke Hector’s bones numerous times, even killing him once by jamming a thumb through the eye socket and reaching all the way to the brain. Hector, on the other hand, was able to demonstrate what new openings could be found when he could ignore body shots and broken limbs. It did not take Colt long to adapt and develop the advantage. After half an hour, however, the enhancements began to wear off, and Colt took the wave of pain and exhaustion much harder than Hector did.