Everyone is training in hand-to-hand combat here in the gray and yellow soil of Mount Osore, and it’s a wonderful scene to behold.

With Esther putting the finishing touches on the Multiverse Portal Generator over near the temple, the rest of us spend the day preparing ourselves in the art of hand-to-hand combat, and in these last weeks, we have all proven to be increasingly adept at it. Our collective combat performance has improved threefold since we first arrived. Will that be enough to face down the forces of the U.S. military system with the strength of the Destiny Deck System on their side? No, but it will improve our ability to survive long enough to gather allies who can.

Right now, Francis and Pablo Rosas are battling it out. Two muscled, very handsome shirtless men brawling it out. It’s a scene that would drive ladies and men of a certain persuasion and many others to squealing, and in fact The Goddess is doing exactly that right now. I’m merely glad to see that my boyfriend Francis is holding his own against a warrior with a rigid olive oil and grape-based diet who has gained superpowers through his superfood-exclusive consumption and rigorous daily hot springs usage.

I will say that Pablo Rosas’s intense demands when it comes to keeping up his non-training training have taken a toll on the Systemless Squad’s budget. Olive oil and grapes are quite expensive in this part of Japan, and he continues to order it by delivery instead of going to the store himself, further racking up the bill cost. Luckily, hot springs are highly affordable since there are so many onsens around here. Also, money is no real object when a very real dystopian apocalypse appears imminent. If we lose, debt is the least of our worries.

Francis does his best against his foe, but unfortunately this time he is unable to claim victory, and Pablo kicks his stomach in and pushes him to the ground.

Next, Delta and The Goddess face off. While Delta makes a series of rapid, unstoppably bold attacks in every direction, The Goddess is too quick, too nimble, and weaves her way through all of them. Being a formerly semi-omniscient being has given her an incredible amount of foresight when it comes to the human body, and she is able to dodge just about everything Delta throws at her.

But not everything. The Goddess, for all her skill, refuses to throw a single punch. She’s a lover, not a fighter, she says. And that’s why, after Delta finally gets a single blow in, she calls it and gives up.

I admire her for the deity she once was, but she does not inspire great confidence on the battlefield. Delta, though, is as reliable as ever, and—Oh, please, brain, don’t think about The Kids Are All Right again, no thank you.

Next match is between Abby Faulkner and Julie. Actually, Abby is a very similar fighter to Delta, prioritizing speed and aggression to disorient and pummel opponents into submission. If she allows them time to think, she might allow them to gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately for Abby, Julie closes her palm and captures her in mid-action. Freezes her in place, no matter how much her limbs squirm trying to break free. The battle is over before any real action can begin.

The crowd is bored and displeased.

Next match is supposed to be me versus Master Keitou, but the others have become too annoyed with Julie Rafati’s shows of superiority, and most of them have jumped back into the ring.

Francis, Delta, Abby, and Pablo all face off against Julie, attacking her at once and trying to take as much attention off of them as possible. Out of the four, Pablo Rosas is definitely the strongest, which is why Julie focuses all her attention on him... But at the cost of three other fine warriors getting at her.

It’s a sight to behold. Julie wooshes around, even does a needless short-range teleportation to dodge an attack. She looks less like a North Spiran fighter and more like a horrific A-rank necromancer [Mage] who is possessing a North Spiran’s body.

This is truly powerful.

Even Master Keitou jumps in now to lend a hand. I stay back, content to observe things, but I am shocked by how well Julie is holding up to these now five allies all dueling against her.

I take a few steps back, and see a short plucky figure next to me. I jump in surprise.

“Oh, Esther. Hello,” I say.

“Mom’s great, isn’t she?” she asks.

“Wonderful.”

“Mount Osore’s given her so much power,” she says. “But I wonder if this extra power will help in the end, if it’s concentrated in just one woman. But who am I to say?”

“I certainly have learned that lesson with my own solo capabilities,” I say.

“It would be very fortuitous if we could gather more system users on our side.” Esther folds her arms together and puts one hand on her chin. “And if my Mom got her system back, she’d be pretty wonderful too, wouldn’t she? In fact, the system might be the key we need for everything.”

“So we need a Sorting Scepter of our own.”

“I’ll leave it up to the will of Destiny to decide.” And with that, Esther turns back around and continues to work on the portal.

What a peculiar child.

The battle just about ends once Pablo is pushed out of the combat ring. Keitou’s magic holds its own against Julie’s, but it’s not enough, and soon all five of them are ringed-out.

I clap to celebrate Julie’s victory, although the others don’t seem so enthused.

Everyone dusts themselves off, and Master Keitou takes this opportunity to give another one of her rousing speeches.

“This is the final training session we will undergo, as you all know,” she says. “Tomorrow, we will begin our first scouting mission. Our goals are to uncover worlds that the U.S. government has not yet conquered, and to find allies we can trust to aid us in the liberation of Mystix. If we can also find any information to allow us to create a Quantum Decryptor for The Goddess, that will also allow us to do great things.

“So rest up, everyone. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat more amazing scallops and curry and all the mabo dofu you can find. And, this evening before dinner, we shall all go to the Ohata district and soak in a wonderful onsen. That is an order. Do you have me clear?”

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouts half-heartedly.

Our great mission is almost here, but first it is time for a final hot springs trip we can enjoy together as a team.