BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

"Why did Erik do that?" Floyd asked.

He had just beaten Euan senseless, and now the boy was in the corner of the ring, lying motionlessly on the floor. His face was covered with blood from many wounds, some small but some large enough for him to have a bad awakening.

The ring floor was stained with both the contestant's blood, but it was clear that Euan's was the most present.

"I don't know," Amber said. "It was like he wasn't himself anymore..."

Then Gwen asked, "Is it possible that they already knew each other and had some problems between them?"

"Not that I know it," Amber replied while shooking her head.

She seemed genuinely puzzled by Erik's behavior and wondered about what happened during the fight as if nothing short of insanity would explain such conduct. It was true that Erik got constantly beaten and bullied at school by Logan, Conal, and Orson. Still, it was mostly the trio who did it, while the other people insulted him at best.

Besides, even if they did beat him, it was not as bad as the trio of bullies, so Erik's behavior was weird by anyone's standards.

As Erik and Euan left the stage, the janitors quickly went up to the ring and started cleaning it, and soon, the referee called for the next match, the one where Anderson and Mikey were going to fight.

The two were good friends, but before joining the tournament, they agreed with Aaron to fight with all their might in case they would have faced each other.

Aaron and Mikey already knew that they were going to lose against Anderson. However, they wanted to fight him because it would be disrespectful to their friend if they didn't.

"Wait for me," Amber said to her two friends. "I will go talk to him..." She quickly left the area while Anderson and Mikey went up the ring.

"Don't go easy on me..." Mikey said to Anderson.

"I won't, don't worry," Anderson replied.

A staredown ensued, with the audience silent until a sudden cheer broke out when it became evident that there wouldn't be any holdups or tricks.

Then the referee shouted, signaling the start of the match, and the battle began. Mikey knew that in order to win this match, he had to take full advantage of the fact that Anderson wasn't going to use his power, lest he would blow out any people watching the fight.

For this reason, the young man's first step was to birth a small swarm of flesh-eating bugs, which immediately started to fly above Anderson's head.

Though, the young man wasn't intimidated the least, as during this last month, Anderson was able to make another neural link, bringing him to the RHO3 rank on the Idor scale.

Consequently, his strength, speed, and reflexes improved greatly during this month, allowing him to fight against any opponent easily. The match between the two friends then began.

Amber followed Erik amidst the crowd, he was heading toward the gym, and she was following him through the corridors, trying to keep quiet without attracting too much attention. Erik didn't notice Amber yet, as he was too deep into his thought to pay any mind to anything else around him.

<Why are these pricks so enraged by what I did?> Erik thought. <I don't get it; when it was me who was beat up that way, no one said anything. So, why? Why that reaction?>

"ERIK!" Amber shouted once they were alone.

"AMBER?!" Erik said, turning toward her friend. "Did you come here to scold me?" he added with some rage in his words.

"No, this isn't the reason why I came... I'm just worried about you... Did something happen between you and Euan? Why did you do that?"

Erik didn't know what to reply. After all, what could he have said to his friend besides, I simply did it because I liked it?

And what would she think about him if he said there wasn't a reason for what he did and that he simply got carried away by the heat of the moment?

Something was wrong inside of Erik since he killed Logan. It was like an urge had sprouted inside him, and he had trouble suppressing it whenever it resurfaced.

"Nothing happened between us..." Erik said.

"Then why?" Amber asked.

He still didn't say anything and stopped talking right there, unsure whether he should tell her everything that was troubling him or not. After all, he never talked about it to anyone.

The look on Amber's face changed entirely from being concerned over Erik's mental condition to astonishment. Her mouth opened wide open, and she looked at Erik with an expression that showed how disappointed she was that he wasn't telling her anything. Didn't he consider her a friend? Then why didn't he talk?

However, she noticed that Erik looked more tired than usual and also pale, probably due to the exhaustion from the previous match. And after seeing how he looked, she realized he needed to rest badly.

Amber sighed; taking Erik by the arm, she dragged him to the infirmary. Erik was confused by Ambers's sudden move but didn't oppose it.

"Whatever the reason was, Erik, I'm on your side. Whenever you think you are ready to talk to me, you will always find my doors open," his friend said.

"Thank you, Amber, really..."

Erik then sat on the infirmary's bed and tried to rest. Amber patiently sat beside him and waited until he fell asleep.

After a few minutes, the young woman decided to leave and return to Anderson's fight. She knew he would win, but he still wanted to study Anderson's fighting style to be prepared in case the two ended up against each other.

Anderson and Mikey were fighting. The first was spending most of the fight avoiding Mikey's swarm, trying to attack him whenever he had the opportunity.

Though it wasn't simple since Mikey himself was a good fighter, and he kept his distance from Anderson, trying, at the same time, to attack with his swarm. Mikey knew that it was just a matter of time before his opponent found a way to get close to him, and at that point, the fight would end.

Amber finally arrived where Floyd and Gwen were waiting. They watched the fight between Anderson and Mikey with rapt attention so as not to miss even a second. For now, things looked like they were in Mikey's favor, but it was clear that the young man had a look of apprehension plastered on his face.

Floyd and Gwen saw Amber coming toward their position and waved to her. Soon the young woman reached her friends.

"What did he say?" Gwen asked with her usual directness.

"Nothing, he told me nothing..." Amber replied.

Gwen looked at Amber with a contemplative look on her face but didn't say anything further. As for Floyd, he was worried about Erik, but since the bond, he shared with Amber was more profound than the one he had with him, he kept silent and trusted his friend's judgment. Everything was good until he said he was fine.

"Anyway, let's watch the fight, okay? There is nothing we can do for him. He must sort things out himself, as I think this must be related to the kind of life he lived until he awakened. Maybe a trauma or something of the sort," Amber said.

Both Floyd and Gwen nodded and turned their heads to watch the fight between Anderson and Mikey. Things were turning serious inside the match since Mikey sped things up by increasing the size of his swarm. But even with that, Anderson could keep the bugs out of him, and everyone marveled at the young man's prowess since it looked like he was doing all that effortlessly.