When he heard that welcoming gesture from the support AI, Cain froze, his expression turned deathly white as he stared at Abel's figure in the back.
Cain immediately turned and pulled Abel, who was silent, but his blue eyes gazed upward at the monitor, which displayed a cute girl character.
Once the boy entered the room. Cain grabbed the door and slammed it shut with a loud 'bam'.
The gray-haired boy leaned against the door, his black eyes meeting Abel's, who smiled softly, as if to imply something.
"You sure have some cheerful support…"
"Don't talk about it!"
Before Abel could finish speaking, Cain cut him off as he stepped close. He let out a long sigh. His shoulders slouched, feeling more tired than usual.
The issue with Luna was still stuck in his heart like a bent nail refusing to be pulled out. Then, the training of his new technique unknowingly drained more of his energy and mental strength.
There was also the matter of Peter's family, especially Chloe, who still harbored something that was gnawing at his mind.
All these things crashed at once, causing his skull to throb. Thus, Cain wanted this meeting to finish quickly and get some rest.
"Did you bring it?"
Abel nodded and took something from his pocket. He showed the chip clipped between his index finger and thumb.
"Here, you said you wanted to look at it for a moment, right?"
The boy offered it to Cain's hand as if it were nothing.
"Y-Yes, thank you for listening to my request, Abel."
"No problem."
Cain received the item about the size of his pinky nail, yet it felt so heavy in his consciousness. He blinked before his black iris turned blue, and a panel popped out in front of him.
[Scan Protocol activated.]
[Microchip = An object that stores a fragment of advanced swordsmanship knowledge. Recorded within it is a memory of the 'Heavenly Slash' technique.]
…
[Scanning the Information… Advanced technique of Heavenly Slash. …Scan Complete.]
[Decompressing it into Data!]
[Data successfully saved.]
[Would you like Data Reconstruction to absorb it into your brain? Y/N]
Despite the flurry of messages that kept appearing, blocking his view. Cain could not take his eyes off the words 'Advance technique,' listed on Abel's chip.
He alternated his gaze between Abel and the chip in his hand. The gray-haired boy realized that his right hand was starting to quiver under the sudden revelation.
"What's wrong, why do you look so surprised?"
Abel tilted his head sideways, stepping closer as he patted Cain's shoulder. Cain, who snapped out of his shock, returned the chip to his friend.
"I'm fine, thank you for worrying."
Cain shook his head, trying to get rid of unnecessary thoughts plaguing his brain. He stared at Abel's calm expression before opening his mouth.
"If I may ask, who gave you that chip?"
Without hesitation, the boy named Abel nodded, and after putting the chip back into his pants, he began to speak.
"I received this from my instructor. He said it was something kind of like direct order from the highest authority."
"Highest authority!?"
Hearing that name, Cain's eyebrows furrowed as he felt an intense throbbing in his brain. He sank into the darkness and saw the monitor flicker, then show only a blurry image.
The boy clicked his tongue as he felt a void begin to emerge from the deepest part of his heart, flooding his consciousness in black.
'It's no use, no matter how hard I try to remember it. I still can't figure out the identity of that highest authority.'
"Cain?"
A small call snapped Cain out of his reverie. He shifted his gaze and saw Abel peeking at his face from the side in worry.
To prevent Abel from digging more, Cain immediately racked his brain and took advantage of this situation to end their meeting.
"Sorry, I seem too tired from the training I underwent."
"Ah, so that's it. I wondered why you hadn't arrived even though it's already late, so you were doing extra training. As expected of you."
Abel nodded his head furiously as stars began to glimmer in his blue eyes.
"Yes, I was too enthusiastic in my training."
Cain clenched his fists tightly, almost ripping the skin of his hands. He felt guilty after making a selfish request and immediately told Abel to go home without giving a clear explanation.
'I'm sorry, Abel. I promise I will repay your kindness many times over.'
"Alright then, rest well and see you tomorrow."
"Thank you, I don't know how to thank you."
"Come on, don't be so dramatic! We are friends after all."
Abel grinned, his expression full of warmth that shone like the sun, illuminating Cain's darkening heart as the shadows slowly devoured his reason.
Cain escorted Abel to the door. Both raised their hands and returned to their respective rooms.
When he closed the door, a 'click' resounded as it locked from the inside. Cain, who was standing before the door, glanced at the monitor and opened his mouth.
"Prepare the pod. I want to clean myself before sleeping."
{Alright, opening the pod.}
The floor next to his bed split open, revealing a large tube that connected to the ceiling. It was tall and covered with a layer of synthetic glass resistant to hard impacts.
At the same time, the wall next to him opened, turning into a closet that housed Cain's everyday clothes, which neatly hung.
Cain took off his clothes and threw them into the corner of the closet, where a robot would clean them.
He approached the pod, and the glass slide opened upon his presence. When he entered, the glass closed tightly and immediately, from a tiny scattered inside. It began spraying warm, low-pressure water, enough to scrub the dirt from his body.
'Aaah, I feel alive!'
After spraying water for a few seconds, the pod began firing a purple laser that scanned Cain's entire body to eliminate any stubborn germs.
The laser turned red; its job was to suck out the liquid, leaving Cain's body dry in an instant without wasting much time.
He came out naked. The pod, having finished its task, immediately sank into the floor.
Cain immediately put on new clothes. He sat on the bed, and with just his thoughts, the blue panel reappeared in front of him, showing two new pieces of data.
'Eagle Eye and Heavenly Slash.'
Putting aside why the highest authority wanted to give Abel an advanced ability. The current Cain was more interested in the ability Rika received.
He let out a gentle sigh and whispered 'Yes,' and it immediately caused one of the panels to turn into a beam of light shot into his head.
However, as Cain gritted his teeth to prepare for what was coming to his head, a burning sensation suddenly scorched both his eyes, making the boy groan in pain.
"Aaakh!"
[Copying complete.]
[Data Acquired: Eagle Eye]
The burning sensation subsided after a few seconds. Cain's face was wet because the tears streamed nonstop during the implantation process.
Cain slowly opened his eyes, and the world looked sharp. The surrounding scenery felt clearer and broader.
"Th-this."
He couldn't string together words. When he looked out the window, his black pupils shrank, and the view stretched into a faraway building.
The grey-haired boy could clearly see an apartment room, enveloped in a warm atmosphere, where a little girl beamed, sitting at the dining table with her parents.
Cain gape, realizing the distance between the apartment building and the dormitory he occupied was around hundreds of meters or more.
When he blinked, his vision returned to normal. The boy immediately summoned his status system to analyze his new ability.
[Eagle Eye: An ability that will give you clear vision, and also allow you to see far away at a distance of hundreds or even thousands of meters, depending on how profound your mastery is.]
His lips were grinning; Cain was thrilled with the ability he copied from Rika.
"Thank you, Rika."
Now it was clear why Rika was awarded this ability. Cain's body shuddered as he imagined Rika with her deadly accuracy, then she received a sudden upgrade to her vision that made her unbeatable in long range.
"She's definitely someone I don't want to be an enemy with."
With a wave of his hand, his status panel disappeared. Cain climbed into his bed, then pulled the thin sheet while lying on his back facing the sky.
'Huff, good work today!'
He spoke to himself, and soon after, his eyelids closed and Cain sank into the darkness, a place where he could let go of everything and merge with the void.