First challenger

Ace was crouching over the box with fish and the AC. He had reached a hypothesis about the white gas from last time and was pondering on its viability. Two things had lead to his conclusion.

The first was the condition of the fish. The uncooked pieces were absolutely radiant and the cooked fish was the same as before he put it in the box. In order to make a comparison Ace had also stored a few pieces of fish in another box with surprisingly different results. The raw pieces had withered almost completely in just several hours and the cooked pieces had dried a bit. It was a drastic difference compared to the first raw pieces that had been stored in a similar environment far longer.

Ace had tried roasting the withered pieces but they were completely tasteless and only had trace amounts of energy in them. A few more hours and there would probably not be any energy at all.

To make a fair judgment Ace naturally had to try the pieces that had been properly preserved.

They were without a doubt superior even to fresh fish, especially the energy levels. Ace was stumped at the situation but soon rejoiced as he might have found a solution to his lack of progress in training and the decreasing efficacy of the regular fish.

The different effects on the fish and with the properties of water vapor, where it's visible ion high concentration but invisible to the naked eye otherwise, Ace guessed that the AC was capable of increasing the concentration of the natural energy in the air. And that when placed in an environment where the surroundings have less energy and there is nothing keeping it in place, objects with energy within would slowly lose that energy.

How the AC was able to affect the energy was a complete mystery and most likely not intentional. However, considering that the AC was one of the few modern inventions whose creation was top secret in an era of free access to any and all peaceful information and technology, there were definitely som suspicious circumstances.

With his new findings in consideration Ace decided to store a bunch of raw fish and a bowl of tree sap in a large container alongside the AC and open it only when needed. Still, since he had opened it and taken out some enhanced fish already he wanted to see if it could help him progress in his training.

***

In the middle of training after eating the fish one of the things Ace dreaded, finally happened again. An encounter with the local wildlife. This time, fortunately, it wasn't on the level of the deer but it was still a beast he would never see back home and only very rarely something similar might appear on the colonies or in space.

A chill ran down Ace's spine right before he heard the chip's voice,

[Approaching biological lifeform detected]

[Velocity: 10 km/h]

[Size: Height: 2 meters, Length: 10 Meters]

[Reptilian characteristics identified]

As the chip finished it automatic report Ace could see the creature exiting the forest a few trees away from where he had gathered bark and wood. When it saw Ace it slowed to a an almost standstill, observing him and the campsite with it's four pairs of eyes, although it focused most of it's attention on the spacecraft that was both the largest object and the one closest to it. It's eyes also darted to the flickering flame and the roasting fish, seemingly drawn to the scent based on the flaring nostrils, before finally stopping on Ace.

The two of them stood still and observed each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Ace's spear was stuck in the ground next to the campfire and he was confident in reaching it before the lizard could reach him so he started observing and listing potential weaknesses in preparation for a fight. It was part of his theoretical training and a necessity to make the most of his martial art that put weight on targeting weak spots and using the opponents strength against themselves.

The creature, that looked like an oversized, mutated horned lizard, seemed unsure of what to do as it was confronted with several unusual things in front of it. The lizard's hesitation gave Ace time to analyze it.

The most obvious weak spots on most creatures, the eyes were small and surrounded by spikes. Although only small compared to it's size they would still be difficult to target when moving.

Rough, scaly and spiked hide covered body, head, tail and the six legs. Usually taking out limbs by using structural weaknesses to incapacitate an opponent is a go-to strat when facing someone stronger. If they can't move, they can't deal damage. But with the short, stocky legs covered in spikes it would be difficult get close to them without getting hurt, even more so considering they ended in four sharp claws.

Thankfully, there are several ways to immobilize enemies. Large and bulky enemies have an especially characteristic weakness.

***

Several of Ace's missions have been infiltrating military-grade labs and research institutes and basically do recon. And while Ace did have a near perfect track record there are always situation that while perfect on paper aren't perfect in reality. During espionage and stealth missions, the gold standard for clearing it is 'no witnesses', in extension if there is no one alive, there are no witnesses.

Following that ideology, on the rare occasions things went south, Ace made it go even further south.

There were a few times things got chaotic when he infiltrated experimental defense bases and the like. The places with too much money, too much free time and too many crazy ideas. Two of the scars on his right shoulder were from a floating orb that shot lasers if you took a step with the right foot first.

However, there were several places that liked building mech suits of varying types. Some humanoid and some in the shapes of animals or whatever strange ideas popped into the creators head, but they were all brought down by the same person in the end.

***

Ace noticed the lizard had realized there was no immediate danger and to seize the initiative, which was imperative in a situation like this he had to move first. He quickly grabbed his spear with a single step and started running away from the campsite and the lizard hoping it would chase him, which it did.

As he kept running while looking back now and then Ace realized he could outrun the lizard if he ran at top speed but that would defeat the purpose in luring it after him, and outlasting it is another matter.

Ace began slowing down to let the lizard gradually catch up to him before increasing the distance slightly and then doing it again a few times.

Seeing it's presumed easy snack always slipping away from it right before it could take a bite the lizard started getting angry and irritated.

Feeling the difference in it's gaze and movements Ace knew it was time for the exciting part of the plan.

As Ace turned left toward the forest with a sharp turn, the lizard, with it's tunnel vision only focused on following him. Due to the lizards momentum its body slid on the sandy beach while it's head tried to follow Ace.

Ace knew he had to have perfect timing so he didn't hesitate to crouch down low, under the lizards cheek, before pushing upwards with all his might.

When the head moved, the body, attached through a stiff and inflexible neck, had no choice but to follow. The upward push and the sideways momentum lifted the left side of the lizard's body off the ground. But it wasn't enough to completely flip it.

Ace took a few quick steps back before charging at the lizard's foremost shoulder with the spear to completely tilt it.

When the lizard finally realized what was going on, it started panicking and as it floundered around it flipped itself over on it's back. It landed with a large thud that shook the ground and sent up a cloud of sand.