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Chapter 45 - A New Morning
🕑 Added 2024-10-21 22:47:25 +0000 UTC
“Ah! Damn it!”
Oliver only had time to think that before a sharp pain hit his eyes. Combined with his body's exhaustion, it was enough for him to pass out on the bed.
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“THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!”
“Wake up, kid!”
“THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!”
“Come on! Open up.”
With the noise in the room, Oliver couldn't keep sleeping. His eyes were still heavy, but little by little, he began to remember where he was. Memories of the previous day started coming back.
He ran his hand over his face, and where his broken nose had been, it was now in the right place. His eyes finally opened, and he could see his room better. The day before, he had rushed straight to bed. Now he noticed there was a large window offering a great view of the city, especially of the dome, and if he looked closely, he could see Earth through the dome.
“Hmm,” Oliver grumbled.
Dragging himself, he went to the room's door and pressed the button beside it. The door quickly slid into the wall, revealing Nico.
“Finally. Let's go; you have a busy day today.” Nico entered the room, already talking about what they needed to do. But he stopped to take a good look at Oliver. He was still wearing his Academy uniform, but what really caught Nico's attention was that he no longer had any injuries and seemed a little taller.
“Huh?” Nico muttered. Without giving Oliver time to complain, he placed his hands on the boy's face, examining him closely.
“You didn't have a healing Boon, right? To have healed like this... Did you evolve from yesterday to today?” Nico asked.
Oliver finally remembered that he had pressed the evolution button before sleeping. His eyes widened at the thought that his body might have changed. He quickly walked to the bathroom, where he could see his face in a metallic mirror.
“Everything looks normal,” Oliver thought as he examined his face. “Maybe he noticed just because I healed? Huh?!”
Oliver realized what had changed. He did feel a bit taller, and his skin seemed better, but the biggest change was in one of his eyes. His left eye, or at least the iris, was no longer brown like the right one. It had changed to a light green.
“Apparently, I evolved?” Oliver commented.
“Don't worry; it happens, especially after a lot of training and stressful moments. I just didn't expect you to evolve on the first floor,” Nico remarked.
“Maybe this week will be even more useful for you than I thought,” Nico said. “But before we start the day, let's get something to eat and... maybe some new clothes.” Nico looked at the boy, assessing the clothes he was still wearing.
They left the room, walking toward one of the elevators.
“Let's start with a good breakfast. This hotel isn't as luxurious as the others, but it has breakfast, which is perfect!” Nico exclaimed.
Oliver nodded but was focused on another task. He was looking at his Gauntlet to understand what had changed during his evolution.
[+1 Constitution Point!]
[+1 Strength Point!]
[You got a new Boon!]
[You got a new Boon!]
“Damn! Constitution and Strength will help. It would have been better if it was Agility, but at least I got two Boons!” Oliver thought.
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Status Page
User: Oliver [Nameless]
Level: 3 [Pawn]
Experience: [10/300]
Stats
Strength: 7 [Pawn]
Agility: 14 [Knight]
Constitution: 6 [Pawn]
Energy: 14 [Knight]
Boons
Insight [Pawn][Growth]
[Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]
Observation [Pawn][Growth]
[Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]
Left Eye of Learning [Knight]
Right Eye of ■■■■■ [Knight]
[Evolve to Unlock]
Skills
Ranger Weapon Handling [Knight]
Ranger Weapon
Energy Pistol
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“One of the Boons is locked?” Oliver wondered.
He tried clicking on the Boon to read its description, but nothing happened. Not knowing what else to do, he selected 'Left Eye of Learning.'
Left Eye of Learning
Your vision continues to evolve, but each part of your body is seeking to specialize.
Your left eye is capable of learning and replicating what it sees.
With a Boon level of [Knight], you can learn abilities and techniques of this level or lower.
‘Not bad. It'll help me keep improving,’ Oliver thought.
He continued following Nico until they reached a spacious restaurant. They both sat at a table, and Nico began ordering the dishes.
“You need to eat well, especially after evolving,” Nico said, pointing at Oliver. “After the evolution process, your body is still adapting to the changes and needs nutrients.”
While Nico explained more about the effects of evolution, dishes started arriving at the table: eggs, bacon, some fruits, and drinks that Oliver had never had the chance to try.
"The last time I evolved... hmm. It was a long time ago," Nico began to explain. "We were still at war, and I was on a newly conquered planet. We barely had any food when they attacked, trying to reclaim the surface. I had to fight for hours without being able to use my boons since I hadn't eaten or rested. Horrible experience. Would not recommend."
Oliver didn't wait and began tasting each dish on the table. That's when he noticed that, once again, the people serving them were two androids, both feminine in appearance but this time looking like women in their thirties.
“Hmm... why do we still have to fight the Waves?” Oliver asked. “Especially when we can create androids.” He said the second part more quietly.
“Doesn't the Academy teach that in class? Ah, maybe it's something they cover in schools,” Nico said softly, scratching his head.
“Look, I'm not the best person to explain history—Caine would certainly know better. But basically, after the first Waves, the Empire was formed to fight the Orks, yada yada yada,” Nico said.
“The Empire's main focus was weapon production. Back then, we only had the Z-Crystal and Ranger Armor. With the Z-Crystal, every company started testing what was previously impossible,” Nico continued.
He pointed at the androids and explained, “Droidtech began producing androids, but many others tried cloning, mechs, tanks, lasers—you name it, it was tested.”
“But if all that was tested, why do we still have humans on the front lines?” Oliver asked.
“Because of the Z-Crystal. I can't explain the exact reason—you'd need to talk to a scientist. But the crystal's full potential can only be extracted by regular human beings. Using clones doesn't work, and neither do androids. Sure, we still have tanks and mechs, but they consume an absurd amount of energy. It's not easy to find crystals large enough to power those machines,” Nico explained.
Oliver nodded, trying to absorb everything Nico was saying. There was a lot of propaganda about the front lines and fighting the Orks, but he didn't know what kind of arsenal was used. He hadn't even seen mechs before.
“Now that I've answered one of your questions, it's your turn to answer one of mine,” Nico pointed at him. “Who are you? Actually, how do you even exist?”
“Huh?” Oliver replied, not understanding the question.
“I'm bad at history, but I remember that Asia was one of the first places destroyed during the early Waves. In theory, we shouldn't have any Nameless left, at least not ones who look like you, especially at your age,” Nico explained.
“... In the last Waves, weren't there any attacks on cities in all of Asia?” Oliver asked.
“Hey! Don't dodge the question. And no, Earth hasn't been attacked much recently, except for a few isolated invasions. Most recent Waves have occurred in the colonies,” Nico said.
“I-I'm from the first Wave. For almost a century, I was frozen in one of the VATs,” Oliver explained, trying to gauge Nico's reaction. It was hard for people to believe something like that, especially since surviving the early VATs was rare.
“Holy shit! Of all the possibilities I considered, that one didn't even cross my mind,” Nico exclaimed, hitting the table as he judged the boy.
“You believe me?” Oliver was surprised by Nico's reaction.
“Why would you lie? Besides, what you said is so absurd it must be true,” Nico ran a hand through his hair, trying to put himself in the boy's shoes. “So you knew the world before the war...”
Oliver nodded.
“That's rough,” Nico said. “And your family?”
Oliver shrugged. “I have no idea, but they're probably dead.”
“No confirmation?” Nico asked.
“No. There's hardly any record from that time; it's been over a hundred years. They could be buried, under rubble, or even in VATs. God only knows,” Oliver explained.
“Is that why you're at the Academy?” Nico asked.
“What do you mean?” Oliver responded.
“To find out what happened to your parents,” Nico said.
“No. Actually, I don't know. I'm just trying to survive just another day. I didn't even thought I could try to find out something like that,” Oliver explained.
“You have no idea of the records a Ranger can access. If you want to find out what happened to them, becoming a NEA Ranger would be a good start,” Nico suggested.
“Hmm... thanks,” Oliver said gratefully.
“No problem. Besides, you made me some money yesterday, and if you keep it up, who knows—I might earn a small fortune,” Nico said.
He clapped his hands twice quickly, catching Oliver's attention.
“Speaking of fortune and money, it's time to get you ready.” Nico stood up, signaling for Oliver to follow.
“Where are we going this time?” Oliver asked.
“We're going back to the Trial Tower, but this time we're heading to the Zeroth Floor,” Nico explained.
