'Found him!' Oliver thought as he spotted Nico.

  However, the excitement of finding his target faded quickly. This person was supposed to be important and powerful enough that his captain had explicitly sent him to see him in a moment of need.

  'He doesn't look that powerful,' Oliver thought, watg as some security guards were roughing up Nico. But the boy hadn't fotten the warning his professor had given him.

  "Don't uimate him," were some of the few words his captain had said before telep him to the spaceport.

  'I hope the captain is right,' Oliver thought as he approached the se.

  "Hey! Get him out of here. I don't want to see you again," the fat man yelled at Nico. "You're lucky you're high up oower, or I'd have finished you off."

  At that moment, the security guards grabbed Nico by the arms and dragged him out of the bar. When they reached the door, they threw Nito the hallway, causing him to crash into one of the statues.

  Oliver was startled by the se, especially by the destru of the statue he had assumed was extremely expensive.

  'At least I don't have to stay in the bar,' Oliver thought, trying to find something positive. He hurried to follow Nico out.

  Meanwhile, Nico was dusting himself off, trying to his clothes. As he stood up, he noticed he still had the champagtle in his hand.

  "Whew! You're still intact," Nico said, kissing the bottle before pulling off the cork and taking a deep swig. "Ugh! What garbage. I thought it would be better. That cheap, fat bastard."

  Oliver stood nearby, unsure how to start a versation.

  "Hey, kid! Are you just gonna stand there judging me, or are you going to say something?" Nico said, running a hand through his messy hair.

  Oliver was caught off guard, not realizing that Nico had already noticed him. But at least now he had a reason to speak.

  "Nico... sir," Oliver hesitated, feeling strange addressing Nico as "sir" since he didn't seem much older than Oliver himself. "My professor seo find you. He said you'd be able to help me."

  "Professor? Who's your professor?" Nico asked, now notig the Academy uniform the boy was wearing.

  "Captain e, sir," Oliver replied.

  "What? He's at the Academy?!" Nico's eyes widened in surprise.

  Oliver nodded.

  "Phew! e, e. You once more are sending me fug problems to fix." Nico said, taking an swing at the champagne.

  "Alright, we'd better get out of here before they decide to e back," Nico spoke, tossing the champagtle aside and motioning for Oliver to follow him into the elevator.

  "I'll take you to one of the best spots in this city! Way better than that bar," Nico excimed, clearly pleased to have someoo apany him.

  "Sir, I'm not old enough to drink," Oliver pointed out.

  "Really? Well, it's not the first or st w we're going to break in this city," Nico replied with a grin. "At least you'll get to watch me drink. Let's go."

  "It's somewhere around here," Nico said, searg for the entrance.

  Oliver was impressed. The street he had ehe o from wasn’t at ground level. There were actually several floors below the main street.

  Far from the spotlights, holograms, and neon lights, they found themselves in a narrow alley that seemed to stretdlessly.

  "This pce is only known to the well-ected. Aha! It's right there," Nico said excitedly, stopping before a wall. He looked both ways down the alley, and once he was sure they were alone, he tapped a card against the wall.

  'Huh?' Oliver thought as he watched the steel wall, which had been solid a moment before, start to lower, revealing a passage.

  "e on," Nico gestured for the boy to enter.

  Ohey passed through, the wall closed behind them. In front of them was a small staircase.

  "This part of the city isn't patrolled, but you still ’t do things out in the open. Many buildings require a 'special invitation,'" Nico said, making air quotes as they desded the stairs.

  At the bottom, there was a set of wooden double doors, somethiremely rare in this day and age. Nico pushed them open, revealing a small bar.

  Several tables were scattered around the room, most with a couple of people seated and a few others standing and . By the bar, only one bartender served a few ers seated on stools.

  "You should've seen what he did yesterday—wiped the floor with everyone. He brought a deck from before the first Wave! No oood a ce against him," a tall, skinny man said loudly he bartender.

  Oliver tried to stretch to get a look at one of the tables, but there were too many people in the way, and he couldn't see what was happening.

  "Rex, they're just old guys pying cards," Nico expined. "You probably don't even know what that is. It’s from before the Waves."

  They both sat down at the bar, and the bartender quickly approached them, eager to escape the tall man’s loud ents.

  "The usual," Nico ordered before the bartender could even say anything. "Pokemon Trading Card. It was one of the biggest games before the First Wave... I think. But after most of Asia was bombed, it became a rarity. Only a few old-timers still gather to py it."

  "Huh?!" Oliver hadn’t sidered what had happeo all the panies and games that inated in Asia. To make things worse, now those games were part of an underground se, pyed by a few elderly folks who still remembered the world before the Waves.

  The bartender pced a drink in front of Nico, a thick, green liquid with a radioactive glow. The smell of alcohol was s that even Oliver, seated a few feet away, could smell it.

  "Alright, now expin to me how an army officer, who’s seemingly training cadets, sent a kid from the Academy to e talk to me," Nico said, taking a sip of his drink and waiting for Oliver's response.

  The boy gnced around, notig that no one aying attention to them, not even the bartender, and then replied.

  "Mr. Nico, I had some problems at the Academy that led to me being suspended for seven days. But with the upis, a week could be enough to ruihing for me." Oliver sat sideways at the bar, trying to gauge Nico's expression. "Captain e told me you were the right person to see if I didn’t want to waste these days. He also mentiohat you owe him a favor."

  "Ahhh," Nico sighed as he listeo the expnation.

  The two sat in silence for a while, with Nico sipping the rest of his drink. When he finally fihe gss, he turo Oliver.

  "Alright. I owe e one, but that doesn’t mean I’m in the business of handing out favors for free." For the first time, Nico’s voice was serious, the pyful and charming tone gone.

  "Your captain must have a lot of faith in you—or he just doesn’t care what happens. But he’s n. If you o improve quickly, you’re in the right pce." Nico fshed a strange smile.

  Nico banged his empty gss on the bar and stood up. "Hey! Put it on my tab."

  "Screw you, you don’t have a tab," the bartender shot back, but Nico had already walked away. Oliver, unsure if he should pay, realized he didn’t have any money anyway. He quickly followed Nico out of the bar.

  They climbed the stairs aed the building. As they walked down the deserted street, Nico took off his jacket and draped it over his shoulders. He unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up, revealing his Gau.

  Oliver could see the clear differeween Nico’s and his own. Nico’s Z-Crystal was rger aed a strong yellow glow, whereas Oliver’s had no glow or color.

  "We’re almost there." They turned into another alley, but the building was much smaller and less noticeable this time. Only a tiny steel door stood out.

  “BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!”

  Niocked three times and waited.

  Seds ter, a small slot in the door opened. Oliver couldn’t see the person inside, but he caught a glimpse of eyes evaluating them. Nico raised his arm and presented his Gau.

  The door opened, allowing them to enter.

  "What you need, you'll find here," Nico said, pointing ihe building. "You need a challenge. Oppos who will push you to the brink of evolution, and there’s er pce than this."

  The guard standing by the door spoke as they passed through. "Wele to the Trial Tower."

  GCLopes