Max and Danny exploded with laughter.
Victor shook his head while grinning. "I had no hand in this, bro. I swear."
Jake raised his middle finger at them.
"Dead to me," he muttered.
After recovering from the prank, the boys walked around Velcrest's enormous campus, taking in the sights.
Velcrest was stunning—modern glass buildings mixed with ancient architecture, making it a perfect blend of tradition and technology.
There were fountains, massive lecture halls, and even a large open park where students socialise.
Hyperloop transit pods zipped between buildings.
Floating holographic libraries provided instant knowledge access.
Quantum-lab research centers conducted AI-driven experiments, even integrating it into the ground itself.
Digital avatars of historic figures walked around, offering lectures.
"Man, this place is crazy," Danny voiced while watching students practice drone-racing.
Jake crossed his arms. "Yeah, too bad I'll have to share it with you dumbasses now…"
"Ah, you love us," Max teased.
As they walked, they bumped into a student handing out flyers.
"Yo, what's this?" Victor questioned while taking one.
The flyer had bold, flashy letters:
> UNDERRGROUND FIGHT CLUB – TONIGHT AT 8PM!
Winner Takes 200,000 Credits!
No Rules. No Mercy. Only Strength Matters!
Victor raised an eyebrow. "A fight club?"
Danny's eyes sparkled. "Bruh, 200,000 credits?? That's like… a year's rent!"
Max whistled. "That's a fat prize pool, man. You should enter."
Victor shrugged. "Might as well. I need the cash."
Jake narrowed his eyes. "Bro, I don't think this applies to awakeners... pretty sure anyone that enters would be a regular human."
Victor smirked. "Well… they don't have to know."
As the clock neared 8 PM, Victor and his friends navigated the dim streets near Velcrest University. The location of the underground fight club was deliberately obscured—hidden from authorities but well-known among the right circles.
The crowd of students moving in a particular direction was their best clue. Young men and women in university jackets walked with excitement and nervous energy, whispering about bets, past champions, and tonight's rumored competitors.
"Are we really doing this?" Jake muttered.
Danny smirked. "You aren't, but Victor is."
Victor cracked his knuckles. "It's just a fight, not war."
"You say that now," Max gestured at a nearby glowing sign, flickering with faint red light above an abandoned industrial warehouse. The entrance was a tunnel, leading underground.
As they descended the cracked metal stairs, the roar of the crowd grew louder. Harsh industrial lights illuminated a massive underground bunker, transformed into an illegal fight club.
They had barely entered when—
A body flew across the air, smashed through a reinforced caged wall, and landed right at their feet.
The guy's face was bloodied beyond recognition. Steam rose from his shattered cybernetic leg attachment with sparks flickering from broken circuits.
A commentator's voice boomed over the speakers—
> "AND ANOTHER VICTORY FOR TITAN-X! WHO CAN STOP THIS MONSTER?!"
The crowd exploded in cheers... some groaned in disappointment as bets were instantly settled.
Victor's group looked toward the ring—a caged arena lined with steel and reinforced wiring. Inside stood the victor—a brutish guy with his arms and legs enhanced by heavy-duty exoskeletal armor.
His hydraulic-powered joints hissed as he moved.
Max gawked. "What the hell?! Is that even legal?"
Jake scoffed. "It's an underground fight club. What part of that screams legal to you?"
Danny folded his arms. "Bro, this is basically Velcrest's research students testing weapons on each other."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. This place was made for students in Velcrest's engineering & cybernetics division. They build their own combat tech and use the fight club as a proving ground. No rules, no limits. If your gear is the best, you win."
Victor observed the arena. Several fighters had mech-enhanced limbs, shockwave gauntlets, nanotech shields, and even AI-guided drones assisting them mid-fight.
These weren't normal brawlers. They were engineers, physicists, and programmers who had turned their intelligence into destruction.
"Nothing's more dangerous than a violent nerd," Max muttered.
Victor watched another fight begin—a guy with jet-powered boots versus a girl in a magnetic exo-frame that bent steel bars with her hands.
"Damn…" Victor whispered.
Danny sighed. "You still sure about this, man?"
Victor smirked. "More than ever."
Victor walked toward the registration booth—a hastily set-up desk with a bored-looking girl, chewing a glowing green piece of gum and her fingers flying across a holo-screen.
She barely glanced up. "Name?"
She paused before finally looking up. "You don't have any combat gear?"
She scoffed. "No armor? No augments? No drones?"
Victor shook his head.
She typed something and sighed. "Look, kid. If you get your skull bashed in, we don't cover medical expenses. Hope you got good insurance."
A few guys in line snickered.
Victor simply smirked. "Noted."
She clicked "REGISTER" and nodded toward the waiting area. "Try not to die too fast."
As Victor walked away, a group of competitors whispered.
> "He's fighting without tech?"
"Titan-X is gonna flatten him."
As Victor waited, more fights took place.
One competitor stood out the most—a guy with large circular glasses, a thin frame, and wildly unkempt hair.
Everyone whispered his name—
> "That's Nova Cain."
"Dude's a genius. Built his own AI-enhanced combat suit."
"I heard his tech is years ahead of the market."
Victor watched closely.
Nova Cain stepped into the arena, wearing a flexible bodysuit. Unlike the heavy metal exoskeletons others used, his looked lightweight, almost like second skin.
His opponent charged in, wielding electromagnetic gauntlets—
> "LET'S SEE HOW SMART YOU REALLY ARE, NERD!"
Nova Cain tapped his wrist console—and instantly, his suit shifted colors, blending into the environment like a chameleon.
His opponent swung—only to hit thin air.
Before he could react, Nova Cain reappeared behind him and jammed a pulsing energy dagger into the guy's spine.
The opponent convulsed and collapsed as his gauntlets instantly lost power.
Nova pushed his glasses up with a bored look.
The crowd erupted in cheers, while Victor narrowed his eyes.
Jake whispered. "Bro… you better hope you don't face him."
Victor simply grinned. "I kinda hope I do."
Victor leaned back against the wall, waiting for his match to be announced.
Danny crossed his arms. "You sure you wanna do this, man?"
Victor cracked his knuckles. "Positive."
Jake sighed. "Fine. Just don't die, okay?"
Victor smirked. "No promises."
A voice boomed over the speakers—
> "NEXT FIGHT: TITAN-X VERSUS VCR!"