Every 5 years, a game unites 10 realms offering the ultimate champion, immortality. Those who are not as successful, will live in wealth and infamy. There is really no loss, isn't it? For sure, there is nothing nefarious about this, right?
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ZOLTA SIEC HQ,OLNIGRAD, THE UNION CAPITAL THE VHARG UNION OF REPUBLICS
24 HOURS AGO
"I said turn around," Inessa repeated with a hint of annoyance as Nikolai finally complied, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "What exactly am I supposed to look for?" she inquired, her right eye glowing as a holographic light beamed out, scanning Nikolai's body.
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Nikolai began recounting what he observed from the footage, detailing a half-second delay on his left arm occurring every 7 hits. "That guy seems to know the delay, doubling his hitting strength after 7 hits, as if he anticipates my arm shield glitching at the perfect moment," he explained.
Inessa shifted her attention to Nikolai's right arm, a fusion of both gear and organic components using a newly discovered material, as robust as titanium but non-metallic. "Interesting," she whispered, her eyes following an artery in his arm.
"What do you see?" Nikolai demanded, prompting Inessa to use her technopathic abilities to flash a holoscreen in front of him. "What am I looking at?" he asked, confused.
"Here," Inessa pointed at the screen, highlighting an artery. "This is your modified axillary artery," she said, sliding her finger towards the upper arm. "Extending up to your modified brachial artery," she continued.
"Yeah?" Nikolai probed.
"Well, this artery should have a continuous flow of the new material, but here," Inessa clicked on the holoscreen, zooming in to show a cross-section of the artery. "There's a break here, very tiny, before the new material starts again. There shouldn't be one there," she explained, moving closer to the holoscreen.
"Have you found anything, Inessa?" interrupted Dr. Kalashnik, who had just finished preparing the operation tank.
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With a simple tap on the holoscreen, Inessa transmitted the cross-section of the brachial artery to the doctor's handheld. "I'm not sure what that is, doc, but it shouldn't be there," Inessa remarked.
Dr. Kalashnik scrutinized the cross-section. "It definitely should not be there. You are correct, Inessa, though we're still uncertain about what this anomaly is."
