The atmosphere froze, or more precisely, the world seemed to stop when the man's sword pierced the rigid body of the virus beast.
Seconds passed in suffocating silence before the monster's body shattered, dissolving into glitched code that disappeared into thin air.
Cain and the other cadets swallowed hard. Their reaction was noticed by General Dosh, who turned his neck and glared at them with his sharp eagle-like eyes.
"How is it? Are you interested in trying it?"
The General's question echoed in the ears of the cadets, who were still immersed in their subconscious.
However, on the one hand, they realized that the question was not a regular invitation, but also a test to gauge the mental fortitude of the cadets he had selected based on the scores from the test he had administered days ago.
The man folded his arms, waiting calmly, and saw that none of the cadets looked his way as they remained focused on the arena, which slowly faded and was replaced by a sterile white room.
Dosh glanced at his assistant. The woman acknowledged his action before typing something on her smartwatch, prompting the man in the arena to exit the stage.
The air thickened with slowed time that slowly locked the cadet's limbs, but all of that collapsed when one gray-haired boy raised his hand.
"General, can I go first?"
In an instant, the silence that enveloped the narrow room was broken, and all eyes were turned to Cain.
Abel, Rika, Peter, and Louise gaped with tense expressions. The pupils in their eyes shrank, struggling to move their stiff mouths.
Cain saw his reflection in the mirror in front of him. He let out a short sigh and turned to face the General, who was struggling to hide his grin.
He saw the General nod and look toward his assistant, then at the other cadets.
"You can wait or follow Cain with me to the preparation area."
The other cadets exchanged tense glances; they nodded in unison as they answered.
"We will follow you."
General Dosh lifted his lips in a slight smile. He then stepped away, followed by Cain behind him and the other cadets before the assistant.
As they walked on the dim, narrow corridor, filled with faint blue electric lines. Cain and the cadets stifled their breath, listening to their echoing, eerie footsteps.
They soon arrived at a spacious room. There were several advanced computers with holographic screens floating in the air. And the distinct sound of a 'beep,' as the hands of the workers wearing white coats danced over the holographic keyboard, became music in Cain's ears.
He saw a long metal table, and on top of it were several machines displaying images of several virus beasts they had researched for several generations.
"Dosh, so these are the kids you're talking about?"
A man wearing a white coat approached. He had a hunched posture with messy, shoulder-length black hair and dark bags under his gloomy eyes, which added to his sharp impression as a researcher.
"Yes, thank you for your help, Professor Albert."
"Hmph, let's just get started. I don't want my time to be wasted just looking after these snot-nosed brats."
Listening to that grumbling. The cadets, except for Cain, immediately wrinkled their eyebrows and unconsciously clenched their trembling fists, as if restraining something.
While the others were stirred, Cain's eyes were busy scanning the surrounding area. His black pupils turned blue, activating his analytical ability and allowing him to see several pieces of data, as well as monster information, clearly displayed on the floating monitor.
However, after glancing left and right, all the information he obtained turned out to be too advanced for his current ability.
'Tch, I regret hoping something useful would be able to be copied.'
His initial reason for doing that was to try to filter information from the data displayed on the monitor. Still, it was all complex code that programmed the stability of the augmentation space inside the capsule.
He shook his head, trying to disconnect the information that was flooding his brain.
"Cain, get ready."
The General's deep voice snapped the boy out of his reverie, making him shift his attention from the computer to him.
"Understood, then please guide me."
Cain turned toward Albert, his panda eyes glaring at him. He then sniffed irritably, but still told him to follow him to one of the long tables, on top of which was a black iron bracelet.
"Give me your wrist!"
The boy's hand flinched, and he unconsciously stared at the bracelet, which was familiar and worn by the man in the simulation earlier.
His gaze narrowed, then he let out a short sigh while raising his right hand.
'I hope there is no interference with the Null Sequence within me.'
Albert, who was already holding the bracelet in his hand, opened it, then placed it precisely on the boy's right wrist. Like the monster's pincer he saw earlier, the bracelet closed its mouth with a 'click,' and something happened.
"W-Woah, what is this?"
Cain's surprised voice rang in the room. He saw the item spewing out black particles that crawled on his skin, giving him a tingling sensation that made the hairs on his body stand up.
The particles spread to all limbs like black ants, except for the neck and face. Then they began to bind to each other, forming a solid armor suit to protect Cain's body from attacks.
After being tightly integrated, the armor on his body hissed, exhaling air and also creating circulation for the user's comfort.
'That's cool.'
"That's so cool."
Immediately, Abel's voice of admiration echoed in the room, giving an awkward effect that made the air around them thicken.
Beside him, Rika slapped her own face to hide the blush on her cheeks. As for Peter, he crossed his arms while nodding in agreement with Abel's statement. Meanwhile, Louise was still flustered by all of this, making her shrink further in the back of the group.
Cain looked toward Abel and proudly gave him a thumbs-up. He blinked when Albert, next to him, offered a white baton with a dangling cable.
"Take this and connect it to the bracelet on your right hand."
As usual, his voice was crisp, almost as if he didn't care about anything but research.
The boy received the black baton; its rough texture reminded him of a weapon hilt. And after finding its location, he poked its connector into the bracelet, causing the baton to vibrate slightly.
"What weapon do you use in training?"
"A Katana."
"...Alright!"
Albert raised his personal terminal and began typing something quickly. He turned to the other side, toward his subordinates who were sitting in front of the holographic computers, and they nodded.
"Good, open the hatch and prepare to run a simulation based on the outside world."
"Roger."
The door leading to the arena slid open, spewing out cold air that gently caressed Cain's cheek. His body jolted as the cold aura penetrated his spine.
"Enter!"
Following Abert's instruction, the gray-haired boy stared sharply at the arena. His breathing became ragged, and his fingertips froze, shivering in anxiety.
However, he inhaled a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before releasing it all at once.
"Alright."
Hesitantly, Cain lifted his heavy foot and walked toward the large, gaping capsule that swallowed him whole.
When he entered, the air seemed quiet and cold, as if hinting at the horror that a malicious storm was about to strike.
The sound of the door hissing raised his heartbeat spontaneously. And coupled with a 'humming' sound that cheerfully resonated through the air, mocking him who was frozen still.
Suddenly, the scenery in front of him was distorted. The space twisted and tore, thus forming a new reality that displayed a barren, red plain.
Cain's pupils turned into dots, his nose twitched, smelling something dry, a pungent scent of battlefield that stabbed his consciousness.
A projection began to form in front of him, turning into a Virus Beast, different from the one he saw earlier. It stood upright, its red core shining fiercely like the eye of a predator glaring at its prey.
The boy unconsciously tightened the grip on his baton. As if responding to the user, it shone in a mysterious glow and turned into a lengthened, single-edged blade that fit in his hand.
'Get a grip, me!'