My Scumbag System

Chapter 560: Committee of Sadists with Tenure

The ferry cut across dark water toward the Atoll, and I stood at the bow watching the Crucible Arena grow larger against a sky the color of old bruises. Storm clouds gathered along the eastern horizon. Fitting weather for what was about to happen.

Natalia pressed against my left side. Emi occupied my right, her healing aura already humming faintly beneath her skin like a generator warming up. Skylar leaned against the railing two feet away, headphones around her neck, her violet eyes tracking the approaching island with the cold focus of someone planning surgical strikes. Cel sat on a bench behind us with Noah standing guard, both women watching the water with the quiet composure of soldiers heading back to a familiar warzone. Akari had claimed the highest point on the ferry’s observation deck and was filming everything for social media content she’d probably title something like "MY BOYFRIEND IS ABOUT TO GET ELECTROCUTED (NOT CLICKBAIT)."

The rest of the Hounds spread across the deck in various states of readiness. Raphael shadowboxed near the stern, his fists trailing faint gold sparks each time his knuckles connected with invisible opponents. Marco did stretches while Malachi dissolved into and reformed from his shadow in repetitive drills that made the ferry crew deeply uncomfortable. Hikari hung upside down from the observation railing doing sit-ups and counting in Japanese. Jacob had three datapads open simultaneously and kept muttering about spawn variance algorithms. Monica whispered encouragement to Copernicus, whose copper leaves caught the morning light in ways that shouldn’t have been possible for a houseplant.

Jaime stood at the center of it all, shirtless despite the morning chill, flexing for nobody in particular.

"The muscles speak of conquest! Today we write our legend in sweat and glory!"

"Put on a shirt," Juan said from somewhere inside the cabin. "You’re scaring the dolphins."

"Dolphins APPRECIATE the human form in its most perfect state!" freewebnøvel.com

"They’re mammals, Jaime. They have standards."

Braxton materialized beside me with the silence of a man who’d spent too many years in places where noise got you killed. His synth-cigarette dangled unlit from his lips. The bags under his eyes had bags of their own.

"Status report."

"Alive. Mostly intact. Mildly terrified."

"Good enough." He leaned on the railing and watched the Atoll grow closer. "Six events. You’re registered for four. Reyna’s in three of those four."

"I’m aware."

"The combat simulation comes first. Controlled environment. AI-generated threats. Individual performance ranking based on clear time, kill count, and damage taken."

"Easy enough."

"The obstacle course is second. Physical endurance. No Aspect usage allowed. Pure athletic performance."

"That one’s going to hurt."

"Third event is one-on-one duels. Single elimination bracket. This is where it gets bloody."

"Looking forward to it."

"You shouldn’t be." He pulled the synth-cigarette from his mouth and examined it like it held answers. "Reyna’s bracket puts her on a collision course with you in the semifinals. If you both win your preliminary matches, you’ll face each other with cameras rolling and twenty million people watching."

"Romantic."

Braxton didn’t smile. "The Aspect demonstration is fourth. You showcase the range and control of your registered power. Judges score based on creativity, output, and tactical application."

"I showcase Thermal Incision. The thing that’s officially a C-Rank with A-Rank potential."

"Correct."

"While hiding the fact that I can absorb lightning, phase through solid matter, turn invulnerable for ten seconds, and sense the location of every person I’ve ever had sex with."

Braxton’s jaw worked around the synth-cigarette. "Maybe don’t say that part out loud."

"Just clarifying the challenge."

"The tactical challenge is fifth. Team-based problem solving. You get assigned random teammates from other guilds and must coordinate to complete an objective. This one tests leadership under pressure with people who don’t trust you."

"Fun."

"Sixth event is the mystery. Nobody knows what it is until the announcement. Could be anything from a relay race to a Battle Royale. Last year they made everyone fight blindfolded in a swimming pool."

"Who designs these things?"

"Committee of sadists with tenure." Braxton stuck the cigarette back between his lips. "Win four out of six. That’s what your divine babysitter wants?"

"Win everything. Top three isn’t enough."

"For who? You or the gods?"

"Does it matter?"

"It should." He straightened and adjusted his collar. The morning light caught scars on his knuckles that hadn’t come from any classroom. "The gods watch for entertainment. The VHC watches for threats. I watch because it’s my job, and these idiots are my responsibility."

He gestured vaguely at the entire ferry full of superpowered teenagers.

"Win for the right reasons, kid. Everything else is noise."

He walked away. Carmen intercepted him with her flask. They exchanged words too quiet to hear, and Carmen laughed at something that made Braxton’s expression soften by exactly one degree.

Natalia tugged my sleeve. "Braxton knows."

"Knows what specifically? I’ve got a long list of secrets."

"That you’re not what your file says. He watches you when you fight. The way your body moves, the speed you shouldn’t have, the way you recover from hits that should put C-Ranks in hospital for weeks."

"He’s suspicious. There’s a difference between suspicion and knowledge."

"The difference gets smaller every time you absorb a lightning bolt on national television."

Fair point.

The Atoll materialized out of morning mist like a fortress rising from the ocean. The Spire pierced low clouds. The biodomes of the Gauntlet caught sunlight and threw it back in rainbow fragments. And the Crucible Arena sat at the peak of everything, a colosseum carved into volcanic rock where thousands of people were already filing into seats at seven in the morning.

My phone vibrated. Message from Kimiko.

KIMIKO: Watching from the VIP section. Seraphina’s helicopter is very impressive and also very quiet which I find concerning. Your father says to protect your ribs. I say protect everything. We love you. Please eat something with protein before your first event.

Below that, a second message:

KIMIKO: Also the woman with red hair keeps looking at me like she’s appraising furniture. I don’t like her.

That would be Veronica. Of course Veronica was already sizing up my mother. Information gathering was a family trait for the Cabanas, apparently.

SATORI: Stay away from her. She’s a corporate shark who turns people into brand deals.

KIMIKO: I survived Graystone Park. I can handle a woman in expensive shoes.