After tracing his steps back, Cain finally arrived at the dirt field where his morning training had begun.
An orange glow colored the empty field, giving it an ethereal impression that soothed the boy's heart. Cain glanced to his right side, and next to the field, a paved stone path adorned with hedges on every side stretched far.
He walked away, his footsteps slow, as if trying to imprint the surrounding scenery into his brain.
'Oh yeah, I almost forgot.'
His hand reached for the second microchip from his other pocket. Without thinking, his black iris turned blue to analyze the item.
[Scan Protocol activated.]
[Microchip = a device that stores a fragment of knowledge about firearms.]
...
[Scanning the Information… Basic knowledge of Firearms. …Scan Complete.]
[Decompressing it into Data!]
[Data successfully saved.]
[Would you like Data Reconstruction to absorb it into your brain? Y/N]
As usual, a blue panel blocked Cain's vision, causing his footsteps to halt briefly.
He nodded, telling himself to accept all the data acquired. The data emerged as a clump of ball light before turning into a white laser shot from the blue panel, penetrating his forehead.
[Copying complete.]
[Data Acquired: Basic Firearms (Aspire)]
The boy closed his eyes as he felt his vision blur due to his brain suddenly being overloaded with new knowledge.
Cain held his throbbing head, massaging it slowly while sighing in surprise.
'Am I that exhausted?'
No wonder he ran across the vast field until noon, then joined the kenjutsu training until the skies turned red. Although he felt the growth thanks to the system, his body was that of a human, as if all those training sessions had sapped his mental strength.
He looked left and right, and about tens of meters away, there was a vending machine layered in white neon, glowing like a lighthouse in the night.
Beside it, a metal bench stood upright, seemingly calling for the boy's consciousness to sit on it.
"Well, a little break can't hurt."
Cain lifted his feet and approached the vending machine. In front of him, several variants of drinks, from mineral water to flavoured water, were separated by transparent synthetic glass.
From all the available options, Cain pressed his smartwatch against the scanner device on the side and pushed one of the buttons. It made a 'beep' sound before a mechanical tune rang as the bottom part of the vending machine opened.
He crouched to take the canned drink, then sat on the bench beside it.
"Huff, I didn't expect just sitting like this could feel so comfortable."
With a pull of his finger, the can hissed, splattering a burst of bubbles that was contained within.
Cain put the can to his mouth and gulped the contents. His eyebrows furrowed as the fresh liquid filled his mouth, accompanied by the bursting sensation of soda that washed away his fatigue.
"Burp!"
He blocked his mouth, which let out a long burp. After all the air was expelled, the boy lowered his hand and raised the can.
"Urp! I drank it too fast."
One gulp of the water was enough to lift his spirits again. Cain sipped the rest until the can was weightless.
A metal box with a small hole at the top stood between the vending machine and the bench. Cain pushed the can into the hole.
"I better continue my training."
He took a brief rest, but time seemed to pass quickly as the reddish light from the horizon started to fade into black.
The boy stood up from his seat and continued his light steps toward a tall, circular building with a flat top.
Standing at the entrance, or the twin gates made of iron, the same metal that coated the building itself. As the indicator light turned green, the gate slid to the side, exhaling a metallic wind that pierced Cain's pores.
He stepped inside a long corridor and met a monitor board on his left. The board displayed a three-dimensional map that anyone could interact with.
From the screen, an emoji appeared, opening its flat mouth that sent a soothing voice of a little boy from the speaker.
{Hi cadet, welcome to the training building. How can I help you?}
Cain's step halted, his widened eyes stared at the happy emoji in the large monitor.
"U-Um, I want to go to the shooting range."
The emoji on the screen shook as if nodding, and the three-dimensional map next to it rotated and showed a virtual image of Cain's location.
{Alright, bring your smartwatch closer, and I will send the coordinates to you.}
Cain's left hand turned stiff, his fingertips twitching before he clenched his fist tightly and pressed the watch close to the monitor.
'Here goes nothing.'
His body jolted when he felt a brief vibration on his wrist. He waited a few seconds but did not experience what he feared.
He sighed in relief while wiping the sweat streaming down his forehead.
"T-Thank you for your help."
{You're welcome.}
The emoji smiled widely, then its image began to shrink and disappear. Cain shifted his gaze to his watch.
"Let's try it!"
He touched the small screen, and a simple floor plan immediately appeared, complete with directions.
'Good.'
Without further thought, Cain followed the directions from the watch, and after passing through several long corridors, he finally arrived at the training ground.
'Whoa, so this is the place.'
When the hatch opened, he saw a brightly lit white room stretching for tens of meters. On the side, a black metal counter separated the safe zone from the shooting area.
Behind it was a vast, empty space. The air around it felt heavy, as if holding its breath. It was a place for bullets to travel—crossing a distance in a millisecond before piercing the target marked at the end of the room.
A loud 'bang' echoed, followed by the sharp smell of gunpowder, drawing Cain's attention toward it. His eyebrows rose as he saw two female figures he recognized.
"Is this enough, Senior?"
"Um, your progress is really good on the first day of training."
"T-Thank you."
Rika nodded, her lips parted with a faint blush on her cheek, before the silver-haired girl.
The red-haired girl put the headphones back on her head. She immediately took a position, aimed the pistol straight, then pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A series of shots reverberated in the large, empty room. Cain plugged his ears using his index fingers and approached them.
"Excuse me!"
Cain shouted, making the two girls look towards him. Rika's eyes widened, while the silver-haired senior pulled the headphones off her head.
"Cain, why are you here?"
Rika took off the headphones and placed them around her neck.
"I also took the microchip for shooting training."
"Is that so? I didn't realize that."
She flicked her red ponytail and looked toward the senior who stared intently at Cain.
Cain alternated his gaze toward Rika and the senior, yet no matter how many seconds passed, the silver-haired girl intensified her glare.
"Your name?"
As usual, the silver-haired girl's melodious voice wrapped in the sharp coldness that pierced Cain's pores, causing his body to shiver.
'What is it? Did I do something to her?'
Cain swallowed and extended his right hand.
"My name is Cain! Nice to meet you, senior."
Rika and the senior blinked, pausing momentarily as if the world was frozen due to the awkwardness.
However, that illusion shattered into pieces when Cain's body jolted, feeling a softness gripping his hand that ignited warmth on his cheeks.
"I'm Luna Snowfall. Nice to meet you, Cain."
Their hands separated, making Cain sigh with regret. He shook his head and nodded.
"Y-Yes, likewise."
"Then, what training did you do earlier that made you come here at this hour?"
Rika broke the warmth in Cain's heart, making the boy look toward her.
"Besides shooting, I also took Kenjutsu for close combat."
"Hmm, so you also took two training sessions, huh?" Rika added.
Cain paused briefly while shifting his gaze past the counter where the target stood in the distance.
"Yes, I realized that only close range might not be enough for me, so I decided to take the pistol for medium range."
It might sound strange because the pistol itself is a long-range weapon. However, because the world order has changed, such a perception has also been warped.
A pistol is basically a basic firearm in its class. It is still deadly to humans, but it was nothing when it came to the Corrupted or Virus Beasts.
A pistol may only cause a momentary distraction and dent in the opponent's armour.
There was a possibility that a pistol could kill a Corrupted or a Virus Beast if it hit their weak vital spot, like the eye area. However, that was difficult to attempt because the enemies don't just stand still waiting to be shot.
Other than that, Cain still didn't know if a pistol was designed strong enough to penetrate the surface of the amalgams roaming beyond that wall. If it exists, he wants to obtain it no matter the cost.
"I see, then."
Rika shrugged her shoulders, then put the headphones back on her head.
"Cain."
Hearing his name called, Cain turned his neck toward the source of the voice and found Luna standing at the counter next to Rika.
He approached, and a large-calibre pistol, commonly called a 'Winter Hawk,' was on top of the counter.
"Are you ready to train?"
Luna's sentence brought his scattered focus back, and Cain's black eyes shone with determination.
"Please guide me."