Death of Olympus

Chapter 9

I let out a heavy breath, sweat dripping from my chin and soaking my torso as I bent down into a running position, ready to sprint for my target. I'd already taken out five of the Enhanced Role Simulating Artificially Intelligent Automatons (we called them Ersa's for short), and this was the last one. Unfortunately for me, their experiences were all stored in the training room database, meaning that each one learned from the defeat of its brothers. I'd used all my tricks on the last five, so this would prove to be much, much harder than they had been. I slid behind a hard-light wall as the humanoid robot turned its head slightly, nearly spotting me. I let out another heavy breath, tapping the metallic bands on my wrists together to bring up a holographic menu. I selected a sniper rifle setting, and the weapon materialized in my hands. I tapped the bands again to dispel it as I began to leap and climb quietly up the hard-light obstacles I was hiding behind. The ersa began to move around the environment, its slender, white form made from ultra-lite carbon polymers moving so fluidly it almost seemed to be human. It leaped up a hard-light structure imitating a stack of crates, looking around for indications of my presence. I climbed faster as it zeroed in on traces of my sweat where I'd been observing it from before. I reached the top of the structure I was climbing, and tapped my bands to summon the rifle. I looked through the scope, placing the ersa in the centre of the sights just as is leaped from its vantage point, moving slowly towards the puddle of sweat I'd left. I tried to get it in my sights again, but I was no sniper, and moving targets were my weakest point. I clicked my wrists together just as the robot was getting close enough to see me, and I dropped over the other side of the wall just as it circled around. I sprinted towards a hard-light barrier on the other side of the room, but as I ran my foot came down too fast and I slammed roughly into the luminescent white floor. I heard the ersa turn towards my position, and scrambled to my feet as it cleared the wall I'd just left in one leap. It stared me down with an almost curious look (Even though it only had two optical lenses on its face). I breathed heavily as I stood straight, facing it boldly. "Well? You just gonna stand there?" I clapped my bands together, sliding them apart to summon my default weapon. A well-balanced spatha materialized in my right hand, along with a shielded bracer on my left. The ersa turned its body towards me, summoning dual swords as it strutted my way. I raised my arms into a fighting stance, stepping back and circling the robot. It seemed amused at my attempt to intimidate it, but it followed my lead and began to circle. It made its first strike, lightning fast with one blade swinging for my neck and the other for my leg. I blocked them with both arms, sliding with a twist into a turning elbow. The ersa dodged easily, and stepped forward for a roundhouse kick. It blocked with its arm, thrusting its other blade-first towards my chest. I swiped its attack to the side, lunging forward in a flurry of strokes and jabs, weaving my sword around its impeccable defenses. After ten seconds of endless buffeting, it took a step back and thrust its fist forward, slamming me in the chest and sending me flying into a hard-light wall. As I slumped to the ground, it rushed me, blades raised. I hefted my bracer arm to block its attack, pushing up as I stood. It took a step back, then launched itself at me, jabbing and slicing at me with its swords. I blocked most of the blows, but it got one or two good cuts in. I slammed my knee into its leg, buckling its stance. Before it could recover, I drove it to the ground with a hammerfist. It fell on its hands an knees, and I followed up with a hatchet kick, pouncing on its back and driving my blade between its shoulders. I let out a heavy breath as the sword flickered out of existence and the cuts and damage to me and the robot disappeared, along with the pain. "Man... that pain simulator..." "Awful, eh?" Hephaestus's voice crackled over the intercom as the hard-light environment faded away. "I was gonna say awesome. I mean, how do you create an accurate enough simulation of pain that your body reacts so realistically? It's incredible!" Hephaestus chuckled. "Well, you better get up here and get yourself cleaned up; you've got an appointment with the Jackson boy." I waved a hand dismissively. "Bah. He can wait. I need a nap." I pushed the training room door open, sluggishly making my way to the wash room.