Sorp’s eyes reflect his anger, his smile a bit wider and more teeth shown. As if he was an animal presenting his fangs. If one had to complain, it’s how difficult it is to gauge Sorp’s emotional state, because the constant smiling isn’t much to go on.

Sorp stood up slowly, his anger flaring, paying no attention to the three dozen men and women staring at him. There aren’t a lot of people that think more the merrier applies to group fights, but Sorp was one of them.

“What?”

Seeing that Sorp wasn’t addressing them even though he had walked up to them in a measured manner and stopped right in front of them, someone couldn't help but let out a question. It might seem unlikely, but Sorp didn’t get into many verbal arguments and therefore had no practice in them. This was only exacerbated by the fact that his friends had took over this role.

“The fuck do you all want?”

Sorp held a steady gaze at the group, but these weren’t his words. Jarem and Kom had snuck up behind him. They were glaring daggers at the crowd and Kom already felt like he had to say something as the silence was killing him.

The crowd looked at Kom and were a bit baffled. One has to remember that Kom doesn’t look like he’d be much of a fighter, even though his experience tells a different story. But above all, this group of people were more driven by curiosity rather than hostility.

“We’re here to check out commander Phallen’s new personal student.”

“Huh?”

It was now Kom’s turn to be confused, but even still he almost instantly realized they were talking about Sorp. he looked up and to the right. Sorp was still on high alarm and smiling an oddly vicious smile.

Kom was about to ask why they all knew about Sorp but then dismissed the thought, he had just been reading through the comprehensive information he received from the man from that registered Sorp earlier. He understood that these people must’ve been informed of Sorp joining the Two-step faction.

“Uh.”

Feeling like a slimy frog was stuck in his throat, Kom didn’t know how to proceed. Sorp did pick up on some hostility but nothing he’d have to worry about so he turned around and walked away.

“They’re not here to fight.”

Kom, Jarem and Sorp returned to the chairs they had been sitting in earlier. The cat was out of the bag however and now they were quickly surrounded and a barrage of questions thrown their way.

Sorp completely ignored these people, he did take a moment to study some of the more well built women before resuming his body tempering method. The women in question were painfully aware of that studious gaze of his.

Jarem was patiently answering questions but he only answered questions from women, Kom answered everything he could however. Kom looked like a fire coming to life, he didn’t only answer questions but also asked some of his own.

Most of the questions were directed at Sorp, mainly people trying to figure out how he became a commander’s personal student. Jarem and Kom didn’t have the insight to answer the questions correctly but that didn’t stop them from diving an answer that they thought was right, not forgetting to embellish their own role.

After the crowd began thinning it only took moments before they all left. Jarem and Kom appeared to be charged up and resumed their reading. After a while they realized they could use the study devices to bypass a portion of the difficulty of the test. They could learn the actual body tempering method.

The body tempering method was usually not made public to people until they met a certain threshold for B.F.M. manipulation. This was occasionally called a talent test, when in reality it was just a marker for whether they were good enough to actually begin training the body tempering method.

At some later point, perhaps the body tempering method will be widespread through information vendors, but for now they are locked behind certain organizations and factions. And even then the information won’t be accessed through devices where they can interface with them directly, but they’ll have to read and study in the traditional sense.

As soon as Kom and Jarem understood they could access a portion of the Two-step faction’s information database, they jumped at the opportunity. This time around, it was Sorp that followed them.

One has to remember that Sorp’s access within the Two-step faction is mountains beyond Kom and Jarems. There isn’t too much public information, most of it being about training, crafting and in rarest of cases some history of the faction. Things like history are usually considered trivial and is where most of Perpetuities lore can be found.

Majority of Perpetuity lore can’t be interfaced directly. It has to be discovered slowly and not any one person can strife to gather it without the help of information vendors.

Kom, Jarem and Sorp sat down at the information interface machines. A familiar screen appeared before them. The same screen they saw in the reinforcement camp. But that was the extent of it.

Previously the process had been very streamlined, making it hard to get lost in the interface. Now however, there are multiple categories to browse through. Some are straight forward but others are enigmatic to the point of being obtuse.

“Uh. Kom.”

“What?”

“Where is the test stuff?”

“I’m still looking.”

Perpetuity’s philosophy is the reason for the inconvenience. There is no technical reason as to why it the previously fluid interface has become as convoluted as it is. It all comes down to Perpetuity’s understanding of the human psyche.

Their standing is that people have a deep requirement for difficulty. That difficulty comes in numerous forms. However this particular difficulty comes in the form of unnecessary restrictions.

Sorp instantly became annoyed not knowing what to do. Sorp does have the capacity to act in an absurd way, a way that acts not from instincts or wisdom, but from ignorance. This has its benefits and deficits. And in this case, Sorp just began scouring one thing to another.

“I think i found it. Give me a second.”

“Where?”

“I said give me a second.”

As Kom and Jarem continued searching for the the particulars to the Two-step initiation test, Sorp continued to sift through one subject to another. Most of the information pertained to the Two-step faction. This can be considered a Perpetuity lore but it can also be considered as trivial Perpetuity lore.

It wasn’t just Sorp sifting through this nonsense, Kom and Jarem also had a taste of it, but they went through it faster and before long they found testimonies of Two-faction members. Similar to a person’s biography, except it all pertained to their journey to joining the Two-step faction and what they did once joining.

Unlike reading directly, the information interface machines directly deposited the knowledge into them. Most of the experience is passive but as people develop their B.F.M. related abilities, they can become more than just a passenger in these activities and even expand the bandwidth of data being processed.

When Kom and Jarem unlodged from the information machine, day had already turned to night. Down here, that means the faux sky reflected a magnificent starry sky. This sky isn´t just a recreation of the outside world but even more detailed and gives people the sense that they are only a speck of dust in this world.

When Sorp exited the machine he was fairly annoyed. He had also a greater understanding of the Two-step faction so he instantly began walking towards the inner sparring rooms. He wanted to vent his frustrations.

Kom and Jarem didn’t ask any questions and just followed alongside Sorp. They were chatting about everything between B.F.M. training and where to go party later. Jarem was making sure to eye up all the girls along the way, his mind running hundreds of simulations as to how to trick them.

Kom on the other hand was paying attention to people’s insignias, the ones that they themselves were automatically assigned when they registered to the first wave camp earlier.

There are two reasons why Sorp was heading towards the sparring arena. One is that his frustrations built up having to search through so much inane information and the second is that sparring is the best way to train his B.F.M body tempering.

Sorp being as big as he is, he got more than a glance from people, especially when he entered the inner sparring yard. Quite a few people were talking amongst themselves or watching a few matches.

While the sparring matches are supposed to be for training purposes, in truth, most matches came to be due to some indignation or another. They use the sparring as a guise to settle grievances. Not in all cases, but in many.

It can be said to be rare for people to randomly challenge people. So when Sorp leapt to an empty square softwood sparring arena he got some looks. As before, people were confused but once they saw his insignia that confusion turned into disdain.

“How long do you think this will take?”

“Uh. Depends on the first fight, if he just hammers someone down, I doubt more will come up. So like five or ten minutes?”

“Good. I think I have an angle on one the girls we passed earlier.”

“You’re still doing those things?”

“What? I can’t have fun?”

“What do you mean fun? Can’t you have fun without spinning a web of lies?”

“What do you know about having fun?”

Before Kom could respond, someone had already strolled onto the soft wood platform. She gave Sorp a look before waving her hand, as if to tell Sorp to attack.

“Well?”

Sorp was frustrated but not blind from anger. He can see the the woman’s insignia. The number thirty six and a deep blue color. Having just browsed through an extensive library of what Sorp considered pointless information, he surprisingly could identify these things.

The number thirty six meant she has completed most basic contracts in the first wave city and the deep blue color meant she had considerable B.F.M. energy pool. The color deepens as you dive deeper into the caverns. And as you dive deeper the more pressure is put on you, meaning your B.F.M. energy has to be a certain level.

Sorp wasn’t hesitating due to these factors, he just assumed this person was a degree stronger than other people. He has not actually fought any B.F.M. capable people before.

What was surprising was that the person is a woman. One has to remember that the strength difference between a man and a woman is traditionally not comparable. However with the addition of B.F.M. energy, these differences have been reduced to experience, skill and demeanor.

Many males would feel some hesitation to fight against a woman, even virtual humans hold these traditional thoughts. What has changed however, is that the physical barrier has began to crumble.

Kom and Jarem were not surprised when Sorp began his attack. They were surprised to see that the woman was countering Sorp’s attacks to the point where it looks like he is on the losing end.

“You came up here with just this skill?”

It has to be mentioned that Sorp is not a trained fighter in the sense he utilizes fancy techniques but that does not mean he has any disadvantage. Throughout the years he has developed a style of his own, and while it is not ideal, it is also not bad. After training in the Reinforcement camp and incorporating the techniques taught there, he can be considered skilled.

The woman was actually angry that she hadn’t floored Sorp yet, after spitting out some disparaging words she began taking a more offensive approach.

“Looks like she’s attacking Sorp now.”

“This doesn’t look too good.”

“What’s not good? Can’t you see Sorp’s expression?”

Not only had Sorp forgotten his previous frustrations he was now completely immersed in the fight. He felt his disadvantage when it came to B.F.M. energy. Not only did he have less of it, he couldn’t output as much as this woman.

To counter this, he began dodging and even going so far as to throw feints and trying to get in a attack without her being able to defend herself with B.F.M. energy. Which seems to be his only chance.

Sorp’s saving grace however was not this tactic of his, but his resilience. The woman has repeatedly struck Sorp. The pulsing pain is enough to cause him to feel light headed. But in turn the woman has similarly accumulated some of her own.

The difference is that Sorp has been on the losing end, so his wounds can be considered a few factors worse.

“Why won’t you fall!”

Seeing Sorp not showing any signs of giving up, she gave out a loud grunt and leapt of the platform. She was under no obligation to continue fighting and she didn’t want to swell into a pig.

“You’re lucky I got things to do.”

Not expecting his opponent to suddenly abandon the match Sorp stood there at a loss, but similarly he didn’t have it in him to chase after her. He understands this feeling well enough to know what comes next. So he mustered the strength to move to Kom and Jarem to sit down.

“I need to rest..”

“Here?”

“Oh the ground?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

Sorp didn’t have the energy to argue with them and just closed his eyes. Kom let a deep sigh and sat down. Jarem on the other hand gave Kom a look and took off back from where they came earlier. He has his sight on a short haired brunette.

“I am Hondura, remember it.”

Sorp opened his eyes the instant the words came out. His reaction was too abrupt for her, Sorp’s eyes shone with such ferocity that she was actually startled a bit. This added to her frustration but she couldn’t be too mad because of Sorp’s animalistic charm adding to his handsome features and sculpted physique.

In fact, it wasn’t just her but quite a few of the observes, even some men had to reconcile some fleeting thoughts. Kom seized the moment to look proud and aloof, his eyes skimming the crowd with a low hanging smile.