Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 22 - Nick: Prism Pistol

Chapter 22 - Nick: "Prism Pistol"

The physical basics weren't tough. Richard taught Nick breathing exercises, stretches, and basic hand-to-hand combat along with handling the knife that the members of the Guard used.

He also explained how missions were given, telling Nick that usually there were multiple different level cases, and each higher level held a higher reward at greater danger. Higher-level cases also could take longer, weeks even. The riskiest cases were Investigations, which meant Truth Sect had only gathered a little info on a case, and the creature hunters were responsible for figuring out the rest.

At the beginning of training, the hyena was worried that their large jackets would get in the way, but found that he was able to get punches and kicks out rather easily. Additionally, he got to discover how skilled Richard was, which was quite.

They did similar routines for multiple days and Nick was his same, energetic self the entire time, while Richard remained focused on the job. He did provide praise whenever the hyena earned it, though. Nick was woken up by Victor each day and escorted to the training room where the stoic raccoon was waiting. From there, they'd greet each other and begin the work. Always by the end of each session, Nick's muscles were on fire.

When he returned to his room, he was to order a meal along with a drink, which he would take a small green pill with that would get rid of his muscle ache over a short time. By the time he woke up, he was refreshed and ready to go.

In order to wash the outfit, a female Siberian tiger would visit every other day and cast a spell that cleaned it. She wasn't as social as Victor, so Nick didn't really become friends with her.

It was a cycle Nick started getting used to.

=^.^=

Today, when he entered the training room, the same Hephaestus Bot that handed him the clothes was there, holding a black case.

"Good day, Nicholas," Richard lifted his hand in a wave.

"Hey, Dick. What's this?" the hyena asked, eyes focused on the black container.

"We're going to begin the next part of training today," Richard explained. "Go ahead and open the case."

Nick flipped up each of the latches. With each satisfying click, his curiosity grew as to what could be inside. Opening the lid revealed a translucent gun-shaped object and a small tablet.

From his courses, Nick recognized each as a Prism Pistol and Retrieval Tablet, respectively. Each was surrounded by a black foam that they were nestled into. Along the side of the Prism Pistol, it read "N. Flynn." There was nothing of the sort on the Retrieval Tablet.

Nick smiled. "Oh shit, we're finally moving on to phase two, huh?!"

"Go ahead and take each item," Richard ordered, stepping forward. "These items are trained in tandem with each other because you need to use the Retrieval Tablet to get bullets for the Prism Pistol. Today, I will teach you—"

"Lemme guess, the basics?" Nick looked back, raising his brow with a goofy smile.

The raccoon nodded. "Yes."

Nick took each item and held them, making sure not to put his finger on the gun's trigger. The robot closed the box and stepped back.

The hyena turned around. "Alright, now I got 'em."

Richard uncrossed his arms and walked to a panel next to the entrance. "This room can transform depending on what I'm teaching." He tapped his digits on the device, and suddenly, parts of the ground sunk away and into the floor, while the same happened on the ceiling and walls.