CHAPTER 83: THE CHEAT PLAN

First, he needed to talk to Riven alone, and with the way things were unfolding, that was starting to look increasingly unlikely.

He decided to try his luck anyway.

"Can I speak to her alone for a moment?" he asked, gesturing toward Riven.

He immediately noticed that this request sounded somewhat fishy, like he had some ulterior plan brewing, so he quickly added an explanation:

"I’m about to engage in a death battle. Anything can happen out there. I just... I need a moment."

The commander studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. She understood what Tatehan was trying to convey. She knew that Mub was exceptionally strong—their number one fighter, after all—so it was entirely possible that Tatehan might not survive this encounter.

"Allow them to be alone in one of the private rooms," the commander instructed the guards present. "Who knows, they might want to be intimate together for what could be the last time."

That particular comment amused Tatehan greatly, and he found himself wondering why this stern woman genuinely seemed to think that he and Riven were romantically involved or dating.

They were escorted and allowed to be alone inside a small private room. A guard led them there through the winding corridors. As they walked in silence, Tatehan still hadn’t seen any sign whatsoever of Mub anywhere in the compound.

He decided to ask the guard leading them about it.

"Where’s Mub right now?"

"I don’t know for certain, but it’s highly likely he’s currently engaging in one of his intense brutal training sessions," the guard replied casually.

Tatehan’s brow furrowed deeply at those specific words.

’Intense brutal training?’

His earlier panic that had temporarily gone away was now slowly returning, creeping back into his chest.

What the hell was "brutal training" supposed to mean?

How does brutal training even work in practice?

Tatehan scratched the back of his head nervously, glancing over at Riven, who seemingly wasn’t even paying attention to the conversation. He looked back to the guard and asked with genuine concern:

"Intense?"

The guard nodded solemnly in the affirmative.

"Trust me, you really don’t want to know the details."

Tatehan sighed heavily.

Mub was a beast for sure. Absolutely unhinged.

He tried to imagine what exactly "intense brutal training" would look like in practice, and he honestly couldn’t think of anything remotely pleasing that could be associated with those particular words combined together: ’Intense brutal training’.

It was one thing for training to be brutal on its own. It was another thing entirely for it to be intense separately. But intense AND brutal combined together? That only resulted in one terrifying word: absolute MADNESS!

He was about to fight a complete madman who trained like a psychopath.

The room they were eventually led into by the guard was fairly small and sparse, with only a small, simple bed resting against the corner by the wall. Apart from that single piece of furniture, Tatehan couldn’t honestly say there was anything particularly interesting or notable about the space.

Oh wait... it did have a small window too, at least. That was something.

The guard had told them that they had exactly ten minutes alone together, no more.

Now that it was only the two of them in the enclosed space, Tatehan wasted no time and went on to explain thoroughly to Riven about exactly what he was about to get himself into.

He made absolutely sure to check everywhere carefully, the corners, the ceiling, behind furniture, to see if there were any hidden cameras or devices spying on them. But his system quickly assured him there were none present:

[No one can hear or see what you do in this room]

[Privacy confirmed]

He didn’t tell her the full truth about what he had originally come to do with the clan or his real mission. He only told her how he had unknowingly and stupidly insulted Mub in front of everyone, and how it was rule number three of their clan code to never let a stranger insult you and walk out alive.

He told her that he was about to be forced into a duel to the death with someone whose primary power was literally transforming into a wild, murderous beast with enhanced strength, speed and durability.

Riven processed his words carefully for a moment, absorbing all the information.

And you know what she did in response?

She...

LAUGHED!

She laughed so hard that she almost choked on her own breath, doubling over slightly.

Tatehan watched her with mixed emotions, though a reluctant smile began smearing across his face despite the severity of his situation. This reaction was honestly a bit shocking, he genuinely hadn’t expected her to laugh at his predicament. This was definitely a surprise, though not necessarily an unwelcome one.

After she finally finished laughing and caught her breath, wiping a tear from her eye, she said:

"So you want my help with this mess you’ve gotten yourself into?"

"Yes..." Tatehan said plainly, some noticeable bit of frustration creeping into his voice and showing on his face.

Riven pondered on this request for a few seconds (three, to be precise) and in the end, she lifted her hand and placed her index finger thoughtfully on her lower lip.

"Ahhh..." she exclaimed slowly, her eyes lighting up as she realized exactly what Tatehan was about to ask of her. "In a normal, straightforward battle, you are extremely likely to lose badly. So you want a cheat, an advantage, and somehow I’m involved in providing it."

Tatehan had wanted to go direct and just tell her his plan outright, but seeing how she was now acting like some clever detective who was actively piecing together a mystery, he decided to play along with her deduction and so he kept quiet, letting her work it out.

She walked around the small room slowly, her face carrying an expression of deep thought and concentration. After a short while of pacing, she said confidently:

"You’re needing my help specifically... and my ability is to sense incoming attacks before they land..." She smiled knowingly. "So since you’re fighting a wild beast whose attacks you can’t possibly predict on your own, you desperately need someone with a special ability in exactly that area—someone who can predict attacks before they happen and warn you."

"It’s like discovering that grass is green," Tatehan said sarcastically.

Riven’s brow furrowed, and she looked genuinely surprised and confused by the comparison.

"Grass is green?" she asked, as if this was news to her.

Tatehan grimaced slightly. What was she going on about?

Words suddenly appeared across his retina in glowing text:

[The normal grass on Mars is brown in color. Some varieties are green, but it’s... kind of rare to see]

[The expression doesn’t translate well to Martian culture]

Tatehan smiled awkwardly, realizing his mistake.

"Oh right, we’re on Mars. I completely forgot about that detail for a moment."

Riven suddenly seemed genuinely curious about his slip-up.

"Why did you say that grass was—"

Tatehan immediately cut her off, not wanting to arouse any suspicion about his Earth origins.

"It was just a joke," he said quickly. "A bad one, apparently."

Riven shrugged casually, not dwelling on the matter for too long. She had bigger things to focus on.

"Alright, so the main problem now," Tatehan said, getting back to business, "is figuring out how exactly you’re supposed to communicate your predictions to me during an active fight. I can’t exactly stop in the middle of combat and ask you what’s coming next. Mub would tear me apart in seconds."

Riven’s face suddenly lit up with realization.

"Wait, I have something that might work perfectly," she said, reaching into a small pouch at her belt.

She pulled out what looked like a small communication device, something resembling the earbuds Tatehan remembered from Earth, but with a sleeker, more advanced design. There were two pieces, clearly meant to be worn by two different people.

"I have a headphone communication device," Riven explained, holding up the two pieces. "It’s an advanced audio pod system. If I wear one piece and you wear the other, we’ll be able to communicate directly with each other in real-time, even from a distance. I can watch the fight from a safe position and feed you information constantly about incoming attacks."

She demonstrated how they worked, showing him the nearly invisible earpiece that would sit in his ear.

"The range is excellent, up to several hundred meters, and the connection is completely secure. No one else can intercept or hear our communication. I can tell you exactly when to dodge, when to counter, when to use your gravity manipulation. It’ll be like having a tactical advisor directly in your head."

Tatehan’s eyes widened with genuine excitement.

This was perfect. This was exactly what he needed.

He almost hugged her right there in his excitement, barely restraining himself.

"BINGO!" he exclaimed loudly, a huge grin spreading across his face. "That’s absolutely perfect! You’re a genius!"

Riven smiled, a bit surprised at his excitement.

"You should do fine by the way," she said. "I’ve seen you fight, you’re good."