IN VERSION

"A determining factor in battle between Ability Users is compatibility. The strength and potential of an Ability is meaningless if it has a poor compatibility with the opponent's own, placing it at a disadvantage. As such no Ability is absolute."

TIME PASSED: Approximately 30 minutes

LOCATION: VALERIA (Ruined World)

"What?" Tenny asked with his eyes widening in surprise.

Darey had just told them that their going to Orion depended on them actually beating him. Tenny knew Darey meant business, and he would not joke about something like this. He had also anticipated that Darey would provide a condition should they fail, but he never assumed it would be this harsh.

"You heard me" Darey stated. "The truth is that in your current condition you'll only slow me down. Also know that the both of you were not in my original plan, and so i can't afford to take aby chances, especially if it risks it."

Tenny felt a sting within him, but he did not react. He was sure that it was Darey's intention to motivate him, in order for him to try harder, and that was what he would do. Darey was yet to acknowledge him, and this was his perfect chance.

"I won't lose." Tenny said with conviction.

Darey looked down and smiled. He knew for a fact that they would definitely lose. Was he trying to get rid of them? Did he not intend on involving them at all in his Project? Or was it that he was curious about the outcome itself? None was certain, the only clear thing was that willpower would not be enough to win. He looked forward to the next month, and what would occur in it.

TIME PASSED: Approximately 11 hrs. 38 mins

"Shit" Tenny cursed under his breath.

It had been over 11 hours since they started the Game of Tag, and he was yet to land a single hit on Kyron. Of course Kyron could not reach him as well, which made the battle a stalemate. They had less than 8 hours left to spend in the Ruined world, and he had still not passed the first hurdle. He needed 3 hits to progress and he was yet to land even one, how pathetic.

He glanced at Kyron who appeared to be just as frustrated with the game as him, though he tried to hide it. Tenny was however not tired as Darey kept using his ability to revitalize him, as well as Kyron. He had thought up various strategies and had aimed for Kyron's behind and side, which were a person's most basic weak points, but Kyron's senses were too sharp for him to sneak up on him. Other than that, Tenny's speed and agility were no match for Kyron's. His reflexes had grown sharper, but he was still not on Kyron's level. Before he could land a hit, Kyron would notice him and attack, which would force Tenny to automatically retreat. Tenny hated to admit it, but the exercise seemed impossible to win.

Kyron glanced over at Tenny's direction. He was tired of the situation. It was not physically, since even without Darey's ability, his stamina was still plenty. He was mentally exhausted. He could not catch Tenny, and this irked him beyond description. Since he was a predatory creature, he instinctively obsessed over the subjugation of his prey. Since Darey had told him not to hold back, he had released his urge to hunt, but he could not connect.

Tenny was weaker than him in all departments, even speed, however, his automatic teleportation was a pain to deal with. As long as he had energy, Tenny could always evade his attacks, even if he could not land a hit. A great deal of time had passed since the game of tag began and it seemed to be heading nowhere. He did not want to lose to Tenny, but most of all, he did not want to be left behind by Darey. He had to keep going, and hope to land a hit should Tenny slip up.

Darey observed the situation and kept silent. He knew why the both of them could not hit the other, and he knew of a way to change that, but he chose not to say anything. This was a training, not just for their abilities, but for them as individuals.

"Tenny is weak in combat, so this is the perfect opportunity for him to get experience and improve. If he learns how to intentionally warp space, then that will also be a plus." Darey spoke to himself as he glanced at Tenny who seemed to be formulating another strategy which Darey knew would be pointless.

Darey glanced at Kyron who was waiting for Tenny to make a move so he would counter it. He shook his head.

Darey had learned a lot about both of them in the ensuing game. Tenny's automatic teleportation moved him to a random and unpredictable location, or so he had thought. Darey could not predict the location Tenny would appear in at the initial period of the match, but after some time had lapsed, he had began to see patterns, and could even predict where he would appear next.

His automatic teleportation's range was 20 meters, which limited the distance he could transverse. Next would be his exact destination. Darey had a hard time memorizing everything, but he finally did. There was a total of 201 locations that were possible for Darey to appear in, and they came in order of sequence. This meant that after he automatically teleports to location 1, location 2 would be next. The combinations were seemingly random, and the locations unpredictable, but after all 201 combinations were exhausted, it would start from the first again. After watching Tenny teleport countless times, he already knew all the patterns and so he was no longer surprised at Tenny's random teleportation

"If only Kyron observed the patterns" Darey said silently as he sighed.

Kyron's rate of assimilation and memorization was superhuman, Darey could even say it exceeded his own. Should Kyron have observed properly, it would only take him an hour at most to learn all of Tenny's combinations. Once that happened it would be game over for Tenny. However, Darey had almost concluded it was not happening, since Kyron showed no sign of improvement. He was wrong.

Tenny blinked as he teleported above Kyron, a few centimeters behind his nape. This was a major blind spot, and since he was attacking above ground, friction would not delay him. It was a sure win, or so Tenny had thought, but he was wrong. Kyron immediately reacted to this, and his fingers extended, nearly piercing Tenny, who could not even dodge since he was in mid air. Tenny automatically blinked, and flashes of blue radiated from him as he disappeared from his position.

Kyron quickly moved northwest from his position and his eyes quickly turned crimson. He was ready to fire. Tenny then emerged right in front of Kyron whose eyes were already emitting a blinding crimson light. His eyes blasted Tenny, who had still not realized what was occurring, as he had just appeared. The crimson ray hit Tenny's skin as it melted it like fried butter automatically causing Tenny to blink again and he was Teleported away from Kyron's location.

"Gahhh" Tenny let out an agonizing scream as he held his injured side in pain. He twitched on the cold floor and twisted on the ground.

"HEALER'S WISH" Darey said as the pain suddenly faded and the wounds closed up.

Tenny recoiled from the shock, and it took him some seconds before his mind processed what had actually occurred. Kyron had predicted his intended location and rushed there before Tenny appeared, preparing his crimson ray as he moved. All that had ensued must have taken less than 3 seconds. Tenny was shaken and at the same time entirely confused as to how Kyron knew his destination, something Tenny did not even know.

"H-How?" Tenny muttered as he slowly moved to sit.

"How indeed?" Darey said as he smiled at Kyron.

He was also surprised at Kyron's sudden movement, and his surprising prediction of Tenny's destination, as he never showed any sign of knowing Tenny's pattern. He was just as curious as Tenny, maybe even more.

"I read your mind" Kyron calmly spoke.

His answer shocked the both of them, and the look on their faces demonstrated that they needed further explanation.

"Well, it's not exactly mind reading." Kyron said a he rubbed his hair. "Due to my extremely sharp senses and amazing sight, if I focus really hard on someone, I can tell exactly what they are thinking. Their eye movements, heartbeat, pulse, dilution on their eyes, their bodily movements, breathing pattern, and all their bodily functions. By seeing through all of them, I can read a person's thoughts." Kyron explained.

"That doesn't explain how you knew where I will appear at. Even I don't know..." Tenny protested.

"That's because he didn't read your mind... He read mine. Right?" Darey said, finally grasping the situation.

"Yes, as expected of Mas... I mean Darey" Kyron said hesitantly, smiling in admiration of Darey, who felt embarrassed by it. "I realized you must have some idea to beat Tenny, so I read your mind and discovered his automatic teleportation had patterns and combinations."

Tenny was surprised to hear this. His seemingly random teleportation could be predicted? He was stunned as he looked to Darey, who looked unsure about something.

"I'm still confused on something" Darey said.

"What is it?" Kyron said in a tone of curiosity.

"When I used COMPLETE INVESTIGATION on you, I did not receive the information that you had such an ability. Did it get past my ability?" Darey asked, half speaking to himself.

"No. I never had such an ability when we fought. I only recently discovered this as i studied and learned more. This match would be the first time I would actively use it." Kyron said.

"Oh, I see..." Darey said, still seeming to be in deep thought.

"Besides, if I could read your mind back then, I would have definitely known of your plans from the start." Kyron said, just realizing the possibility.

"Yes, but such an ability should have a limitation." Darey said.

"Y-Yes, I don't know if it'll get better with practice, but currently, I can only read the thoughts of someone who is staying in a single position, and in my line of sight. It also takes me about a minute to fully begin reading the person's thoughts." Kyron said, looking a bit downcast.

"That's not an issue, you'll get better in time" Darey replied, as he looked at Kyron's face. "This is a new possibility I never considered. Interesting..." He finally said.

Darey had not even considered the possibility that was before him until now. He had initially thought that Kyron had mastered his abilities and all he needed was control, but that was wrong. Kyron still had room to improve, the recent discovery of a new ability proved that. He never thought a Cultivator could exhibit something only a few Ability Users could achieve. The Evolution of one's ability, an Advanced Ability.

TO BE CONTINUED....