The Simulation - 1980s Gotham
On the way back to the safehouse, Cain stopped, a look of reverence on his bruised face.
"Boss," Cain said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"I met someone in the park today. A woman. I've fought pit fighters, assassins, and soldiers... but she moved like smoke. She put me on the ground in three seconds, and she didn't even spill her tea."
Ernst's interest was piqued. In this simulation, he had programmed the world to challenge him.
If Cain, the prodigy, was impressed, this woman was the apex predator.
"Take me to her," Ernst ordered.
The next morning, they walked to a secluded courtyard in the city's historic district.
Standing there, practicing a sequence of slow, fluid movements, was a woman.
She wore a simple gi, but her presence was regal, terrifying.
She was beautiful, cold, and radiated an aura of absolute lethality.
Lady Shiva. The Grandmaster.
Ernst watched her. In the real world, she was a legend of the DC universe.
Here, she was a construct of the Reality Stone, the embodiment of martial perfection.
Cain approached her respectfully, but Shiva's eyes flickered immediately to Ernst.
She sensed the intellect, the danger lurking behind his glasses.
"You brought a scholar to a fight, boy?" Shiva asked, her voice calm but sharp.
Ernst said nothing. He simply watched.
For seven days, Ernst sat on the bench, observing.
He watched Shiva dismantle challengers.
He watched her correct Cain's stance.
He said nothing.
On the eighth day, as Cain struggled with a high-impact kick, Ernst stood up.
"Stop," Ernst said.
Cain froze mid-motion.
Shiva turned, an eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Your fulcrum is wrong," Ernst stated, walking over to Cain.
He tapped the boy's hip.
"You are generating force from the knee. It's inefficient. Rotate the femur twelve degrees. Align the kinetic chain from the heel to the fist. It's simple physics."
Shiva scoffed. "Theory is not practice, scholar."
"Physics is universal," Ernst countered.
"Do it, Cain."
Cain adjusted his stance. He threw the kick.
The snap was louder, the impact against the bag devastating.
Shiva's eyes widened. She wasn't looking at a martial artist; she was looking at a man who understood the biological machine perfectly.
From that day on, the dynamic changed.
Ernst didn't just learn; he optimized. He traded bio-mechanical secrets for martial techniques.
He explained the limits of the human nervous system; Shiva taught him how to bypass them.
They discussed about pressure point strikes, targeting nerve clusters.
They discussed "Chi" not as magic, but as bio-electric focus.
Under Ernst's guidance, Cain became a monster.
Under Shiva's guidance, Ernst learned how to kill with a touch.
———
Chapter 16.5 - NSFW
———
Three months passed in the simulation.
Ernst had absorbed decades of combat theory.
One evening, as the sun set over the digital city, Ernst adjusted his coat.
"I am leaving," Ernst announced.
"Leaving?" Cain asked, confused.
"We haven't finished training."
Ernst sighed, looking at the two constructs.
They felt so real. He felt a bit of closeness.
"The lesson is over," Ernst said softly.
"This world... it is a beautiful painting, but I cannot live in a frame."
"What are you talking about?" Cain stepped forward.
"Wake up," Ernst whispered.
CRACK.
The sky shattered like glass.
The city, Cain, and Shiva dissolved into red mist.
Real World
Ernst gasped, his eyes snapping open.
He was back in the basement of the London manor.
The Reality Stone pulsed in his hand, warm to the touch.
He checked the wall clock. 2:00 AM.
He had lived three months in the simulation, but only ninety minutes had passed in the real world.
His head throbbed, a massive influx of data crashing against his synapses.
But his brain, enhanced by the CPH4 and the Reality Stone, processed it instantly.
He cataloged every punch, every block, every lesson.
Brain Development: 27.3%.
A small increase, but significant.
"I have the software," Ernst muttered, clenching his fist.
"Now I need to upgrade the hardware."
He realized a flaw in his new abilities.
He had the power of Energy Absorption (the X-Gene), but his body was still biologically human.
If he absorbed too much energy, his tissues would tear. He needed durability.
He needed a hull that wouldn't crack.
He thought back to the myths of "Iron Body" conditioning or the impenetrable skin of Luke Cage.
He needed techniques that focused on structural density.
"One more trip," Ernst decided.
He held the Reality Stone again.
"Simulation: Defense protocols. Bio-Shielding techniques. Filter for synergy with Energy Absorption."
FLASH.
He re-entered the void.
This time, he didn't stay for months.
He dove into a library of forgotten knowledge, stripping the mysticism from ancient conditioning techniques.
He didn't look for magic.
He looked for Bio-Feedback Reinforcement.
He found it. Techniques to mentally direct his bio-electricity to reinforce the dermis.
Methods to lock his skeletal structure to withstand impacts that would shatter concrete.
Techniques that acted like a biological forcefield.
Seven minutes later, Ernst opened his eyes.
He stood up, his body humming with potential.
The Reality Stone had tailored the knowledge specifically for his new mutant physiology.
He didn't just learn the moves; the Stone had imprinted the muscle memory directly into his nervous system.
"Perfect," Ernst smiled, locking the Reality Stone back into its lead case.
He checked his mental state.
He felt cold, logical, but the excitement of the hunt kept him grounded.
He was still human enough.
Ernst walked out of the laboratory, his steps silent and heavy.
He had the mind of a supercomputer, the skills of a grandmaster, and the potential of a nuclear reactor.
It was time to test his new strength.
————
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