Chooser of the Slain

It was the first time Valkyrie had ever had a dream. It was the first time she’d ever wanted to pursue something that was beyond her—to fight.

She’d never fought before. Not before the mercenaries attacked. All she did was run. Away from her problems, away from her family… She would steal, make a living, and repeat the process until she’d forget.

It was easier like that. Easier to survive when she was alone. She abandoned her poor parents and baby brother when she was young. Ran away from their cheap, dilapidated apartment they could barely afford.

They were a deterrent. They didn’t want her to steal; they wanted her to pursue her dreams. But then how were they supposed to manage a household of four without the money she stole? Without any of the luxury items she swiped from those who were richer? How was she supposed to pursue anything other than money?

So she left.

Pickpocketing, swindling, robbing… She did anything for money. Anything to prove that she’d made the right choice to leave them behind. She’d steal from corporate executives, pilfer from the homeless. Nobody was out of her radar; morals were for the weak.

But she had a dream now. Something she’d never imagined having in her previous life. That electrifying excitement she’d felt before, she didn’t want it to be forgotten like her past. She didn’t want to keep running.

So she stopped. She wanted a career change. And the first thing she did was search for a coach.

She never knew she was going to be a boxer, but the cheapest fighting instructor happened to be free. And it was being given by a bearded guy named Coach—a black market arms dealer selling replacement limbs in the back alley of an abandoned airport. The training being free sounded too good to be true, and the man seemed shady as hell. But training was training. It couldn’t possibly be worse than nothing. And oddly enough, she was right.

The man was abnormally short. Apparently, he suffered from dwarfism in this sophisticated age of medical tech. He’d told her he was born with it. And because of that, nobody ever acknowledged his teachings in boxing. How could they? He couldn’t even perform his own techniques in the ring; he was physically unable to. But he wanted somebody to do it. To take his place and reach stardom with his own, personal boxing style. He wanted to show the world that he could make it too.

He was skeptical at first. Thought Valkyrie was here to make fun of him like the rest. But when he asked her why she wanted to fight, she surprised him.

“I want to dream again,” she had said.

And the sincerity in her voice was enough to tell him that she was the one. She had the desire to win. And without missing a beat, Coach began his teachings.

He trained her relentlessly. Starting from the basics, he made her run miles upon miles before even teaching her about the basic one-two punch. Then he taught her about using momentum and weight transferring. Then more combos. He made her repeat them for hours each day.

When he first learned about her cybernetic eyes, he told her not to rely on them too much. Boxing was more than just seeing. She had to learn to predict, master distance control, and breathe. It had to all become instinctual. He told her that breathing was fundamental; it’d relax her, conserve her stamina. And within a few months, a beginner like Valkyrie started to shine through.

She was ready to start taking on the world…

But before that, Coach used what little money he had to buy parts for a few arm upgrades. In this new age of sports, there were no weight divisions. Cybernetic enhancements had equalized the playing field.

So with that in mind, he installed a cheap external tension chassis on her left arm for increased speed and a personalized burst compressor enhancement on the right for more power. It was a simple set-up, but with her Prototype X-Razens, her upgraded legs from her thieving career, and a naturally nimble body, she didn’t need an extensive number of enhancements to be in tip-top condition. Only just enough to whittle her opponents down or knock them out with strong counters. And from then on, she sparred, learned, and finally entered the ring as an amateur boxer.

Lo and behold, she won every bout she fought.

Within two years, she’d earned an amateur record of 60-0, and not a single fighter ever landed a clean shot on her. The nickname she earned during that time was Vortex Valerie; her name wasn’t yet Valkyrie. But even with her undefeated record, she felt like something was missing. That adrenaline rush from close encounters with danger… It just wasn’t there anymore. She told Coach about it, and finally, he decided it was time…

It was time for the big leagues.

And at the start of the third year of her boxing career, she registered as a professional boxer under a name chosen by Coach himself—Valkyrie.