Chapter 5: The Maverick
<hr>
Trust Issues (Or Why Axel Doesn’t Like Talking Computers)
Axel had made a lot of bad decisions in his life.
There was the time he tried to fake a student ID to sneak into Helix Academy’s combat trials two years early. (Didn’t work.)
There was the time he bet all his food credits on an underground fight between two Cipher Beasts—and lost. (Very bad.)
And then there was this—standing alone in a dark archive, talking to a rogue AI that wasn’t supposed to exist.
Tempo, perched on his shoulder, was completely unfazed. He scratched his chin, then knocked on the screen like he was testing if O.R.I.O.N. was real.
Axel exhaled. “Alright, Orion—”
<blockquote>
“O.R.I.O.N.,” the AI corrected, text flickering across the interface.
</blockquote>
Axel rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You obviously know something about Tempo. So let’s hear it.”
The screen glitched slightly, and for a second, it almost looked like the system was… thinking.
<blockquote>
“You’re impatient. That’s good. But are you ready for the answer?”
</blockquote>
Axel crossed his arms. “Try me.”
<blockquote>
“Fine. Your Cipher Beast… isn’t normal.”
</blockquote>
Axel sighed. “Yeah, no kidding.”
<blockquote>
“No. You don’t understand. Tempo doesn’t follow standard evolution pathways because he wasn’t made to.”
</blockquote>
Axel frowned. “What do you mean, ‘made to’?”
<blockquote>
“There are rules to how Cipher Beasts grow. They evolve along pre-set genetic structures. They are predictable. Trainable. Measurable.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Tempo? He’s none of those things.”
</blockquote>
Axel felt a cold sensation crawl up his spine.
<blockquote>
“Your Cipher Beast doesn’t evolve,” O.R.I.O.N. continued. “He adapts.”
</blockquote>
Axel’s brain stalled.
“…What?”
<blockquote>
“Unlike other Cipher Beasts, he has no fixed endpoint. No final form. His strength isn’t determined by a pre-set evolution tree.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“It’s determined by you.”
</blockquote>
Axel stared.
That… that shouldn’t be possible.
Cipher Beasts had been studied for centuries—entire sciences dedicated to classifying their growth. If what O.R.I.O.N. was saying was true…
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Then Tempo wasn’t just rare.
He was one of a kind.
Tempo, meanwhile, had discovered a loose cable on the archive desk and was currently trying to eat it.
Axel dragged a hand down his face. “And how exactly do I train a Cipher Beast with ‘no limits’?”
<blockquote>
“That,” O.R.I.O.N. said, “is where you’ll need a teacher.”
</blockquote>
<hr>
The Maverick
Axel wasn’t sure what he expected when O.R.I.O.N. said he needed a mentor.
Some legendary instructor hidden deep within Helix Academy?
A former champion, retired and shrouded in mystery?
What he didn’t expect was to be standing in front of a door marked ‘Danger: Unstable Individual Inside’ in one of the academy’s off-limits sectors.
“This feels like a setup,” Axel muttered.
<blockquote>
“Relax.”
</blockquote>
Axel scowled. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have a physical body to get punched.”
<blockquote>
“True. But you do. And you’re about to learn how to use it properly.”
</blockquote>
Axel wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Before he could second-guess himself, the door burst open.
And out stepped a maniac.
Or at least, that’s what Axel’s first impression was.
The guy looked half-mad—mid-30s, wild white hair that stuck up at odd angles, cybernetic enhancements along his arms and shoulders, and an old academy jacket half-buttoned like he forgot how shirts worked.
He grinned wide.
“Well, well, well! Look at this fresh meat! O.R.I.O.N., you brought me a student?”
Axel blinked. “…What the hell am I looking at?”
<blockquote>
“Axel Mercer,” O.R.I.O.N. said dryly, “meet your new mentor. Elias Rook.”
</blockquote>
Axel squinted. “Wait… Rook? As in—”
“The one and only.” The man gave a dramatic bow, then clapped Axel on the back so hard it nearly knocked the air out of him.
“Welcome to the best bad decision of your life, kid.”
<hr>
Who the Hell is Elias Rook?
Axel had heard the name before.
Elias Rook had once been Helix Academy’s most infamous student—a prodigy who had dominated the Cipher Battle League for three years straight. The guy was a genius. A strategist. A legend.
He was also expelled.
Why?
Because he broke every rule imaginable.
He had a reputation for wild, unpredictable combat styles, pushing his Cipher Beast into unnatural evolutions, and generally treating the academy’s ranking system like a personal joke.
And now, apparently, he was supposed to train Axel.
Axel frowned. “Didn’t you get kicked out of the academy?”
Rook smirked. “I prefer the term ‘politely asked never to return.’”
Axel crossed his arms. “Uh-huh. And why exactly am I here?”
Rook’s grin widened.
“Because you, my friend, are an anomaly.”
He flicked Tempo on the forehead. Tempo squeaked and flipped backward, landing perfectly upright.
Rook nodded. “See that? Perfect adaptability. That’s what makes him different. That’s what makes you different.”
Axel frowned. “So what, I’m just supposed to train like a normal student and hope for the best?”
Rook snorted. “Hell no. The academy’s system isn’t built for guys like you. You don’t need ‘standard training.’”
His eyes gleamed.
“You need chaos.”
Axel suddenly felt like he was in way over his head.
<hr>
The Art of Unorthodox Combat
Axel expected some long-winded introduction to training. Maybe a speech about pushing limits or something dramatic.
Instead—
Rook shoved a metal training baton into Axel’s hands.
“Alright, kid. First lesson: If you can’t fight, your Cipher Beast can’t fight.”
Axel blinked. “Wait, what?”
Rook cracked his knuckles.
“Let’s see if you can survive five minutes.”
Axel took half a second too long to process that before Rook exploded toward him.
No warning. No countdown.
Just a blur of motion as the man swung at Axel’s head.
Axel yelped and barely dodged, Tempo screeching in alarm as he clung to Axel’s back.
Rook laughed. “Not bad, not bad! You might actually survive training.”
Axel cursed. This was insane.
And for some reason…
He was grinning.