Sunday morning, Ah You woke up to his phone vibrating non-stop.
He grabbed it, squinting at the screen. Twelve missed calls. Eight text messages. All from the same number – Hafiz, Linda's driver.
The most recent message, sent two minutes ago:
Boss say you need to come NOW. Emergency. I'm outside your building.
Ah You sat up, his mind still foggy from sleep. It was 6:47 AM. What kind of emergency required him at this ungodly hour on a Sunday?
He threw on clothes – the same jeans and shirt from yesterday – and stumbled downstairs.
The black Camry was idling in front of the building, exhaust visible in the cool morning air. Hafiz looked stressed, fingers drumming on the steering wheel.
"Get in," he said as soon as Ah You appeared. "Boss is waiting."
"What's going on?"
"Don't know. She just said get you. Now."
They drove through empty Kuching streets. The city was still asleep – shops shuttered, streets quiet except for a few early morning coffee stall operators setting up. The river looked gray and still under the overcast sky.
Ah You tried calling Linda. No answer.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to a warehouse in the industrial area near the port. Not the kind of place Ah You had ever been. Definitely not the kind of place he expected Linda to be.
"Here?" he asked.
"This is the address she gave me."
The warehouse looked abandoned – rusted metal walls, broken windows, weeds growing through cracks in the concrete. But there were fresh tire tracks in the dirt, and the main door was slightly ajar.
Ah You got out of the car slowly.
"You're not coming?"
Hafiz shook his head. "Boss said drop you only. She'll call when you're done."
Great. Left alone at a sketchy warehouse at seven in the morning. This was definitely not in his job description.
The Camry drove away, leaving Ah You standing in the dirt parking lot.
He activated his Nature Sense instinctively, scanning the area. There were plants around – mostly weeds and some hardy shrubs that had forced their way through the concrete. Nothing threatening, but the ability didn't work on people, so that wasn't much comfort.
[WARNING: High-level esper signatures detected nearby]
[Recommendation: Proceed with extreme caution]
Oh, fantastic.
Ah You pushed open the warehouse door.
---
Inside was nothing like he expected.
The warehouse exterior was a disguise. Inside, it had been completely renovated – clean concrete floors, industrial lighting, air conditioning that actually worked. And people. Lots of people.
At least fifty individuals scattered around what looked like... was that a fighting arena?
The center of the warehouse had been converted into an octagonal cage, about ten meters across, surrounded by chain-link fencing. Around it, metal bleachers had been set up. Some people sat watching. Others stood in clusters, talking in low voices.
And the crowd... they didn't look like normal businesspeople.
There was a muscular Iban guy with traditional tattoos covering his arms, casually creating small flames in his palm. A Chinese woman in her thirties who seemed to be levitating a few centimeters off the ground. An Indian man whose eyes glowed faintly blue.
Espers. All of them.
"You must be Li Ah You."
He turned. A man approached – late forties, Chinese, wearing an expensive suit that somehow looked natural even in this industrial setting. His presence was... heavy. Not physically, but in the way that made Ah You's system immediately throw up warnings.
**[HIGH-LEVEL THREAT DETECTED]**
[Kenneth Tan - Level 28 Esper]
[Ability: Unknown]
[Danger Level: EXTREME]
Twenty-eight. Ah You was level two.
"I'm Kenneth Tan. I run this place." The man's smile was friendly, but his eyes were calculating. "Linda told me you'd be coming. She's upstairs in the office."
"What is this place?"
"The Arena. Where espers in Kuching come to train, test their abilities, settle disputes, and make money." Kenneth gestured around. "Think of it as... professional development for people like us."
"I didn't know places like this existed."
"Most people don't. That's intentional." Kenneth started walking toward a metal staircase leading to an upper level. "Come. Linda's waiting."
Ah You followed, very aware of the eyes tracking his movement. Some curious. Some dismissive. Some hungry.
The office was a glass-walled room overlooking the arena floor. Linda sat at a desk, reviewing something on a tablet. She looked up as they entered.
"You're late."
"I came as soon as Hafiz picked me up."
"I sent him forty-five minutes ago."
"I was asleep. It's Sunday morning."
Linda stood up, smoothing her blouse. "No such thing as weekends in our line of work. Sit."
Ah You sat. Kenneth leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching.
"I brought you here for two reasons," Linda said. "First, you need to understand the world you've entered. You're not just an ingredient consultant. You're an esper. That comes with opportunities and dangers you don't yet comprehend."
She pulled up something on her tablet and turned it to face him. It was a video of the arena floor below. Two people fighting – one throwing what looked like ice shards, the other moving with inhuman speed.
"This is where espers prove themselves. Where they gain recognition. Where they make connections that matter in our world."
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because," Linda said, "you're going to fight here."
Ah You nearly fell out of his chair. "What? I can't fight! I can sense vegetables!"
"You have an esper ability. That makes you valuable. But being valuable means being a target." She closed the tablet. "Kenneth runs the Arena. I've arranged for you to train here, learn to defend yourself, and understand how the esper world operates."
"I didn't agree to this."
"You agreed when you took my job offer." Her voice was steel. "The food industry contract was just the surface. I need people who can navigate both worlds – legitimate business and the esper underground. You can't do that if you're helpless."
Kenneth spoke up from the wall. "She's right, kid. You've already attracted attention. That test with Melissa's ginseng? Word spread. People know there's a new Nature-type esper in Kuching who can identify valuable plants."
"So?"
"So," Kenneth said, "in our world, valuable things get stolen. Or used. Or worse. You need to be able to protect yourself."
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: Arena Initiation]
[Description: Survive your first Arena evaluation match]
[Reward: Combat Training Access, +100 Esper Points, New Skill]
[Failure Penalty: Severe injury, loss of reputation]
[Accept? Y/N]
Ah You stared at the notification. He could refuse. Walk away right now. Go back to his apartment and pretend none of this was happening.
But who was he kidding? The moment the system awakened, his normal life ended.
And Linda was right about one thing – he'd already been marked. The mysterious esper who warned him about Linda proved that. People were watching him.
"What kind of fight?" he asked quietly.
Linda smiled. "That's the right question. Kenneth?"
"We'll start simple," Kenneth said. "Low-level evaluation match. You against another rookie. Non-lethal. First to surrender or get knocked out loses."
"When?"
"Today. Noon." Kenneth checked his watch. "Which gives you about four hours to prepare."
"Four hours?!"
"You'll have a trainer. Someone to show you the basics, help you understand how to use your ability in combat." Kenneth pushed off the wall. "Nature types aren't common, but they're not helpless either. You just need to think creatively."
Ah You looked between them. Linda's expression was unreadable. Kenneth seemed almost... amused?
This was insane. Completely insane.
But the alternative was being defenseless in a world where people literally had superpowers and might want to use him.
He selected 'Yes' on the quest notification.
[QUEST ACCEPTED: Arena Initiation]
[Good luck. You'll need it.]
"Fine," Ah You said. "I'll do it. But if I die, I'm haunting both of you."
Kenneth laughed. "That's the spirit. Come on. Let me introduce you to your trainer."
---
They descended the stairs back to the arena floor. The crowd had grown larger – maybe seventy people now. A match was happening in the cage. Ah You caught glimpses of someone manipulating water against someone generating electric shocks.
Kenneth led him to a corner of the warehouse where training equipment had been set up – punching bags, weights, what looked like obstacle courses.
A woman was there, doing one-handed pushups. She finished a set of twenty, then flipped to her feet in one smooth motion.
She was maybe late twenties, Malay, with her hair tied back in a tight bun. Wearing workout clothes that showed lean, defined muscles. Her eyes were sharp, assessing him instantly.
"This is the plant boy?" she asked Kenneth.
"Ah You, meet Zara. She's one of our best combat instructors." Kenneth clapped him on the shoulder. "You're in good hands. Listen to everything she says."
He walked away, leaving Ah You alone with Zara.
She circled him slowly, like a predator examining prey.
"What's your ability?" she asked.
"Nature Sense. I can... communicate with plants. Feel their properties."
"Range?"
"Fifteen meters."
"Level?"
"Two."
Zara stopped in front of him. "And Linda wants you to fight at noon?"
"Apparently."
"You're going to get destroyed."
"Thanks for the confidence."
"I'm being realistic." But she didn't look entirely unsympathetic. "Most espers train for months before their first Arena match. You have four hours. So we're going to focus on one thing: not dying."
She gestured to the floor around them. There were potted plants scattered around the training area – ferns, small trees, even some flowering bushes.
"Your ability is Nature Sense. Not Nature Control. Not Plant Manipulation. Just sensing, right?"
"I can do minor growth acceleration. And basic communication."
Zara's eyebrows went up slightly. "At level two? That's actually decent. Show me."
Ah You walked to the nearest potted fern. He focused, reaching out with his ability.
Grow. Extend your fronds.
The fern responded slowly. New shoots unfurled, growing a few centimeters over about ten seconds.
"Good," Zara said. "Now do it faster."
"I can't. It drains my MP too quickly."
"Then we need to make you more efficient. And we need to teach you how to use that ability tactically." She pulled out a small knife from her pocket. "In the Arena, you'll face someone who wants to hurt you. They'll have abilities designed for combat. You have plant powers. How do you win?"
Ah You thought about it. His fight with Jia Yang back at the restaurant had worked because he'd used the environment – water pipes, existing plants, terrain advantage.
"Environmental control," he said slowly. "Use what's already there."
"Exactly." Zara pointed to the arena cage. "The Arena floor has grass growing through cracks in the concrete. Not much, but it's there. There are also plants in pots around the edges for decoration. Those are your weapons."
She walked to a punching bag, knife still in hand.
"Your opponent will likely have a direct combat ability. Fire, electricity, enhanced strength – something straightforward. They'll come at you hard and fast, expecting an easy win against a support-type esper."
"Encouraging."
"Your advantage is that they'll underestimate you. Nature types are rare, and most people don't know how dangerous plants can actually be." She stabbed the knife into the punching bag. "Lesson one: Plants can hurt people. Thorns. Vines. Roots. Even pollen if you're creative."
Ah You hadn't thought of that. He'd been so focused on sensing and identifying plants that he hadn't considered their offensive potential.
"Can you make plants grow thorns?" Zara asked.
"I... don't know. I've never tried."
"Then try now."
She pointed to a small bush with smooth stems. Ah You focused on it, reaching out with his Nature Sense. He could feel the plant's structure, its growth patterns. Could he alter those patterns? Direct the growth not just in size, but in form?
Thorns, he thought. Grow thorns. Protect yourself.
The plant resisted at first. This was different from simple growth acceleration. This was asking it to change its fundamental structure.
But then, slowly, tiny points began forming on the stems. Small at first, then sharper, harder.
His MP dropped from 50 to 35.
The bush now had thorns.
"Holy shit," he breathed.
Zara nodded, impressed. "Good. That's lesson two: your ability is more versatile than you think. You're limited by imagination and energy, not by what the system explicitly tells you."
She spent the next hour drilling him on basics:
How to move in a fight. How to protect his head. How to fall without breaking bones. How to watch for openings while defending.
Then they worked on integrating his ability:
Growing trip-wires from grass. Using vines to restrict movement. Creating obstacles with rapid plant growth. Even using pollen to irritate eyes and lungs.
By ten AM, Ah You was exhausted and sweating through his shirt.
"Water break," Zara said. "Then we'll do some scenario practice."
Ah You collapsed onto a bench, gulping water. His MP was at 20 out of 50. His body ached. His head hurt from concentrating so intensely on the plants.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked. "I mean, really. Linda's paying you, but you seem actually invested."
Zara sat down next to him. "I was like you once. Awakened suddenly, thrown into this world with no preparation. My first Arena fight, I got my arm broken in three places." She rolled up her sleeve, showing a faint scar. "Took two weeks to heal, even with an esper healer."
"What's your ability?"
"Enhanced physical conditioning. Strength, speed, durability. Combat-focused from the start." She looked at him. "You're different. Support type, but forced into combat. It's not fair, but fairness doesn't exist here. Only survival."
The arena floor had cleared. A new match was about to start.
"Watch this," Zara said.
Two fighters entered the cage. One was a bulky Chinese guy, easily over six feet tall. The other was a smaller woman, maybe 5'4", Bidayuh ethnicity.
The announcer – Ah You hadn't even noticed there was an announcer – called out their names and abilities:
"Chen Wei, Earth Manipulation! Versus Siti Aminah, Metal Control!"
The fight started.
Chen Wei slammed his fists into the ground. The concrete floor buckled and rose, forming crude spikes that shot toward Siti.
But she was already moving. Metal plates materialized in the air around her – pulled from somewhere, maybe the cage itself – and formed a shield. The earth spikes shattered against it.
Then Siti went on offense. The metal plates reshaped into thin, sharp projectiles. They launched at Chen Wei like bullets.
He raised walls of earth to block, but the metal pierced through. One caught him in the shoulder. He grunted, blood visible on his shirt.
"Yield!" he shouted.
The match was over in forty seconds.
Ah You swallowed hard. "That's... that's what I'll be facing?"
"Lower level than that," Zara assured him. "But yes. Real abilities. Real danger. Real consequences."
She stood up. "Come on. We have ninety minutes left. Let's make them count."
---
By 11:45 AM, Ah You was at the arena floor, waiting for his match.
His MP had regenerated to 45 out of 50. His body was sore but functional. His mind was racing with everything Zara had taught him.
The crowd had grown to over a hundred people. Apparently, a rookie initiation match was entertainment.
Kenneth appeared at his side. "Nervous?"
"Terrified."
"Good. Fear keeps you sharp." He handed Ah You a small earpiece. "Zara will coach from outside the cage. Legal in initiation matches. Use it."
Ah You put the earpiece in. Zara's voice came through: "Remember – environment, creativity, surprise. You've got this."
He didn't feel like he had this at all.
The announcer's voice boomed across the warehouse:
"Ladies and gentlemen! Initiation match! In the red corner, we have Li Ah You, Nature Sense user, Level 2!"
Scattered applause. Some laughter. Someone shouted, "Plant boy's gonna get mulched!"
"In the blue corner, we have Raymond Ong, Fire Generation, Level 3!"
Louder applause.
Ah You looked across the cage.
Raymond was his age, maybe a year older. Lean, confident smirk on his face. His hands were already producing small flames.
[OPPONENT IDENTIFIED: Raymond Ong - Level 3]
[Ability: Fire Generation (Basic)]
[Threat Assessment: HIGH]
[Recommended Strategy: Maintain distance, use terrain, avoid direct confrontation]
Fire versus plants.
This was going to be really, really bad.
The referee – a neutral esper who apparently had some kind of barrier ability – entered the cage.
"Rules: fight until one fighter surrenders, is incapacitated, or I call the match. Lethal force prohibited. Severe injury prohibited. Understood?"
Both fighters nodded.
"Take your positions."
Ah You backed to his corner. His heart was hammering. His palms were sweaty.
He could sense the plants around the arena – the grass growing through concrete cracks, the decorative potted plants at the edges of the cage. Not much, but something.
Raymond was still smirking, flames dancing on his fingertips.
Zara's voice in his ear: "Breathe. Focus. Wait for your moment."
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Raymond didn't hesitate. He threw a fireball directly at Ah You's face.
---
[To Be Continued]