Chapter 57 – Demonstration

'Well...that's unfortunate...'

Rain stares back at Nik, making sure to wear a shocked look on his face. Internally, however, he's quickly weighing his options. Nik was clearly sure from the start that Ronin wasn't responsible for the score, so he already knows that someone else must be. The question is...

'Why did he assume me? He obviously suspected me before we even started sparring...'

Rain's sure of one thing – whatever evidence Nik has, it must be pretty compelling for him to be so sure. He knows Nik that well, at least. Plus, even if he could make him doubt what he currently thinks, this short exchange proves just how well Nik understands him. Rain would probably slip up eventually and end up in a similar or worse position.

Hence, he likely has little to gain by denying Nik's claim, only something to lose – his rapport with Nik. He's not particularly comfortable with Nik knowing about that Talent, but that's the reality he's facing. If he has any chance of convincing Nik that the Talent isn't as remarkable as it seems, then he'll need his trust to do it. So, he has no choice but to lean into this.

Rain looks back at his friend, who's just watching him carefully, and he sighs deeply. Then, he flashes an amused smile at Nik. The response seem to surprise the Legacy, because his eyes widen noticeably. Rain's voice comes out flippant. 

"Well, I won't insult your intelligence by denying it. Care to tell me how you figured me out? It sounds like this isn't a new suspicion, so I'm also curious why you haven't confronted me sooner."

Nik looks at him with a blank expression for several long moments, his voice surprised when he eventually responds. 

"Oh...uhm...I didn't expect you to be so forthright. But...sure, I don't mind telling you. For the record, you don't need to worry about anyone else figuring you out. Anyway, after I was sure that Lady Ronin couldn't have produced the score, I knew that someone else had to have produced it and credited her, either to draw attention to her or away from themselves.

"For a while, you never even crossed by mind as a suspect...until Lady Ronin came to track you down, so inexplicably determined to form an alliance. No offense. At that point, I began to rack my brain over why she'd do such a thing – give you a Relic in exchange, no less. Your explanation about helping her learn more about other students didn't make sense, not on its own – you were far from the most qualified person available for that. 

"There was also the matter of her refusing to talk in front of me, despite you insisting that you'd tell me about your alliance after the fact. Eventually, the idea that she may have sought out the person who framed her occurred to me. If that person was you, then all those unexplained factors made sense. That only left me wondering if it was possible for you to possess strength like that. I was skeptical at first, but...then I remembered that first sword blow you landed on me.

"I have a good frame of reference for just how much force you put behind the strike in question. Even with Ichor reinforcement, I don't think there's any student here who could have knocked me back like that without a Talent. So, either you have the first God Bloodline ever, or you have a physical enhancement Talent. Once you started playing too dumb just now, that was the last evidence I needed to be sure.

"I didn't confront you sooner because...well...in addition to not being certain, I didn't think I had any right to pry. After all, you obviously wanted your ability to remain secret, and I haven't told you anything about my own Lineage abilities. Despite that, you haven't asked me about them, so it seemed unreasonable to do that to you. Still, my curiosity flared too much when you started talking about Lady Ronin's score earlier...sorry."

Nik finishes his explanation looking genuinely apologetic. Rain isn't upset, though, he's relieved at what he's just learned. For someone to suspect Rain, they'd need to first doubt Ronin's score is hers, and nobody else should know about her foresight Talent. So, as long as Nik and Ronin don't spread this information, nobody else should find out what he did. Ronin hasn't yet, and Nik doesn't sound like he's going to either, so Rain's not too concerned about that. 

It does seem that Nik misinterpreted some of the events in question, like why Ronin sought him out or why Rain's strength was anomalous, but that's way better than Nik knowing the truth. In fact, him 'discovering' these false explanations on his own is...perfect. He's less likely to think that Rain wanted Nik to make those conclusions. 

Deciding that he has no need to specifically address anything in Nik's explanation, Rain just nods his understanding to the Legacy with another amused smile. 

"Well, you're sharp as ever, buddy...credit where credit is due. So, uhm...we good?"

Nik just gives him a bewildered expression. He seems to be watching Rain carefully. 

"Rain, you seem rather...dismissive...about me learning this secret of yours. Is this not something you want to discuss, or you have concerns about? That Talent of yours is monstrously strong...unprecedented for a Champion. I'm admittedly curious how you came to possess something so powerful."

Rain shrugs, sighing deeply. He doesn't mind Nik knowing about a physical enhancement Talent, or even a strong one, but if he's going to start recognizing it like some paradigm-shifting ability...that's a problem. Friend or not, he doesn't need anyone else recognizing how strong his abilities are. Rain thinks he should nip this in the bud, if possible...he needs to downplay the Talent. 

"What is there to discuss? The Talent isn't as powerful as you think it is...that kind of score can't be produced reliably. As for being concerned about anything...do I have a reason to be? It doesn't sound like you're upset I kept it from you, or are going to tell anyone else."

A bit of doubt forms in Nik's expression, and he speaks hesitantly. 

"Well, no...you're correct that I'm not going to alienate my ally by doing something like that. And as I said, I have no reason to be upset. But...is the Talent really that unreliable? It seems hard to believe that Lady Ronin would ally with you if it was."

'Well...guess he's going to remain a skeptic until I convince him the hard way...'

Rain rolls his eyes at Nik and gestures for him to follow him, and the Legacy follows with a confused but curious expression. Rain walks to the impact machine, activates it, then turns to Nik.

"Alright, I'm going to punch this thing as hard as I can with the Talent active...like, a lot. See for yourself where it gets me most of the time."

Nik's eyes widen in anticipation, turning his gaze to the machine intently. Returning his focus to the machine, Rain lines up...and punches as hard as he can.

*****

Nik's eyes study Rain with a conflicted expression, then he sighs in disappointment and shakes his head. 

"I see what you mean...that is a bit disappointing. After maybe 30 hits, most of your strikes scored in the upper 70s, a few were around 100, and your highest was only 148. The Talent obviously gives you a bit of a boost every time, but you rarely reach the strength of even normal physical enhancement Talents. It's impressive that it's theoretically possible, but I can only imagine how long it would take you to get another score in the 800s at that rate. Honestly, the fluctuations seem like more of a hindrance to combat than a benefit."

Rain outwardly sighs in frustration, hiding his internal glee at fooling Nik. He just varied the amount of Ichor he used on top of base punches to get the distribution of scores that Nik mentioned. Since Nik assumes that scores in that range are outside the realm of possibility for non-Talent punches, he has to conclude that they were all assisted by the Talent. So, the Talent must be unreliable. 

"I tried to tell you, but it was clear that you didn't believe me. So, satisfied with shaming me about my crappy Talent yet? I need to leave soon...a hot date, and whatnot."

Nik shifts uncomfortably, his demeanor becoming embarrassed, and he casts a regretful glance at Rain as he clears his throat uncomfortably. 

"Ehem...uhm...sorry about that, please forgive me, Rain. I'm...guessing that Lady Ronin does not know about this...err, caveat?"

Rain makes a show of glaring at him as though he's annoyed. 

"No...she doesn't. But before you lecture me, need I remind you that my life depends on having all the good allies I can find? Besides, I didn't lie to her and say I could reproduce that score...she just never asked. That's not my fault."

Nik's expression once again becomes conflicted, and he looks like he wants to say something, but then he seems to decide against it. He gives an awkward but polite smile and nods, his tone becoming slightly uncomfortable. 

"Err, I suppose that the specifics of your and Lady Ronin's alliance is none of my business. Well, I'll leave you to it then, Rain. Uhm...sorry again, and...see you tomorrow for training."

With a sheepish wave over his shoulder, Nik hurriedly departs from the room without waiting for a response. When he's gone, Rain lets out a sigh of relief – he's glad that situation has been dealt with. Then, he looks after Nik with an amused grin.

'How adorable...he always gets so formal when he's flustered...'