Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 53 - Curiosity Kills
Point-of-View: Zoraiz Rafayet
———————————————————————————
Today’s the 21st of May, and just over two weeks had passed since I was brought to the Harmony base in Antarctica, along with Inoka and Alexis. We’d all more or less fully mastered both Aura control and output control at this point, and were currently busy trying to master techniques of our respective Skills.
Normally, Meta-Humans develop at least two Skills, so learning combination attacks are pretty common...but we’ve each only got one Skill, and while we seem to have higher maximum outputs than natural Metas, we’ve got less variety and options at our disposal since we don’t have multiple Skills.
Therefore, our best bets are to master as many techniques as possible, so that we can widen our arsenals to the absolute max. Oh, and Aura and output control aren’t enough on their own. In addition to controlling the amount of output, we also need to be able to focus and maintain that control.
Additionally, it takes a lot of practice to stay in control with high levels of output. I can easily turn up the heat and manifest my maximum output, but actually using that amount of Aura is a lot easier said than done.
For instance, if I use Accelerate at my maximum output, my physical speed will be far too fast for me to handle, and if I use Perception at that level of output, the amount of information my mind receives would be a bit too much to handle all at once.
Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to master being able to handle high levels of output, that’s something that requires continuous, repetitive training. I can comfortably boost my speed by five times, or at an output of 50 Aura, without a problem, but any more than that, and it gets tricky.
Even though I’m fully in control of the output level, I can’t instantly adapt to the sudden increase in speed of my body, I’ll only end up putting more strain on myself than I can handle. With constant practice, my body will get stronger and more accustomed to the sudden, drastic increases of higher levels of output...at least, that’s what was written in the book.
Anyway, this all applies to my Physical Skill, it works differently for Alexis and Inoka. Their powers don’t affect their bodies all that much, so staying in physical control at maximum output doesn’t have the same difficulties that my Physical Skill does.
But that said, it is still pretty difficult, according to them. And actually, both of them, on separate occasions, nearly destroyed this entire facility by accident, when they tried manifesting their maximum outputs and then struggled to handle the huge amount of energy.
Alexis formed a mass of lightning so immense that the entire place short-circuited, and it was so big that she couldn’t aim it or dissipate it. Mike managed to get in contact with Neo and got him to portal the lightning blast away.
Inoka did something similar with a Light Skill blast, though in his case, Neo didn’t make it in time. He managed to aim it downwards, so instead of damaging the ceiling or walls, he dug a massive hole straight down through the floor.
So, yeah, one of the training rooms is now completely unusable. Since then, progress has been slow, steady and boring for all three of us, with the basic training now complete. Pretty soon, once we’ve each mastered a reasonable number of techniques, we’re gonna undergo physical training.
As in, stuff like working out, hand to hand combat without using our powers, flexibility and agility training, etcetera. Which makes sense, it’s probably not a good idea to become too heavily reliant on our powers.
If we ever run out of Aura, or have to go up against someone like that girl from Eden with nullifying powers that Inoka encountered, we’ll have to solely rely on our physical abilities. Though, at the moment, it seems like we’re still a long way off before we’ll be allowed to leave this place.
Anyway, it was currently a little bit past 8 PM here, and just about a minute ago, several of those stationed in this base started saying something about Neo suddenly appearing and saying something along the lines of ’I found another Outlier, don’t provoke her, or I’ll kill you’.
Well, not those exact words, I don’t think, but that about covers the gist of it, based on what everyone was saying. Once I heard about it, my curiosity and interest were piqued, and I headed for the space where Neo had first portaled me and the other two to when we arrived at this base.
I mean, that seems like the most likely place he’ll pop in at...though, well, the only proof I had was that last time. That said, it looks like I wasn’t the only one who came to that conclusion. Most of the Metas in the base had gathered, and so had Inoka and Alexis.
"Hey...you guys also came to, uh, see the new Outlier too?" I greeted them, as I walked over.
I think my speech has gradually gotten better, bit by bit, since coming here, if I do say so myself. I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement though.
"Oh, hey, dude," Responded Inoka with a nod, "Yup, couldn’t help but feel curious, especially after Neo’s little display. Gotta say, hope it’s a girl, it’d be kind of a bummer if we now stand at three guys and just one girl."
"Hmph, normally, I’d call you a pig for that, but I have to agree...another girl would be nice," Alexis reluctantly agreed with him.
Don’t see why she has to agree...I mean, they may both want the same thing, but for entirely different reasons. And they’re overlooking something that’s a bit more significant than gender...
"There’s, uh, a chance that it’ll be someone way older or way younger than, uh, the three of us," I pointed out realistically.
They were both silent for a moment, as they took in the possibility that I’d just brought up...
"You know, it half feels like you’re just stating the obvious, but...I can’t exactly call you out on that since I hadn’t really considered that possibility," Smiled Inoka ruefully.
"Yeah, me too...I just hope it’s not someone too far removed from our age group," Frowned Alexis.
"Same, a cute girl with big boobs would be nice...and preferably not underage this time," He added, as he glanced at her briefly.
"Ugh...even if they are attractive, female and young but legal, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be into you, jerk," She shot back at him.
"Yeah, I know. But that’s beside the point. Well, not that I’d expect a kid like you to understand," He shrugged in response.
Whenever they start snipping at each, I can’t get a word in, makes me feel kinda awkward. I then spotted Kiyana enter the room, looking around and spotting us, before walking over.
"Hey, uh, how’s it going?" I greeted her as she neared us, the other two not having noticed her yet.
"Hi, you three. I see that those two are as friendly as ever," She replied with a slight smile.
She was pretty comfortable around us now, the nervousness and timidity she used to have were gone now, at least when she was with the three of us. She’s still kinda meek around most of the others here though.
"Oh, hey, Kiyana. Do you know anything about this new Outlier?" Alexis asked her.
"Sorry, no, I didn’t even know that another Outlier capture mission was underway at all, so I’m completely in the dark," She responded sheepishly.
"Look, a portal...hey, that must be the new Outlier," Remarked Inoka, as a woman with glasses and medium-long black hair with a couple of red streaks by each ear, stepped through the portal, a slight, pleasant smile on her face.
Can’t be, her Aura is suppressed...and it’s only a bit more dense than Kiyana’s.
"No, that’s one of our Category 1s, Miss Liling Jin. She must have been assisting Neo," Kiyana corrected him.
"Plus her Aura’s under control," Pointed out Alexis.
"Oh, right...should’ve noticed."
And then, someone else walked through, another woman. She had shortish, scruffy light blonde hair that framed her face, a tanned complexion, and most noticeably, the whites of her eyes were jet-black, and her irises were a glowing, dark yellow.
She was wearing a baggy orange hoodie and jeans, and she was carrying what looked like a young cheetah or some other big cat cub. But none of that was relevant...because all I could focus on was her Aura.
Wh-what is this...not only is it fully under control, but it’s...it’s so dense, way more dense than any of ours...
"Holy shit...," Muttered Inoka in disbelief, his eyes widening.
"No way, is that for real?" Added Alexis with a look of shock, while Kiyana was speechless.
A few of the other Metas were also dumbfounded, but it looked like not all of them had bothered to use Appraisal, and hadn’t noticed her Aura, nor had they caught on to the fact that her Aura wasn’t out of control. Huh, now that I take a closer look, her suppressed Aura is kinda shaped like the silhouette of a cat.
"Alright, everyone, back up and give her some space, stop crowding. And be nice, she-," Neo began, trying to calm down the Metas that were making a fuss.
"Sir Cronje, this is unacceptable...we cannot be expected to tolerate another one! And to have the audacity to bring a pet here-!" One of them began to exclaim.
"Stand down, right now...did you already forget my warning?" Neo threatened him with a dark look in his eyes, sending chills down my spine.
"B-but, sir! An animal will only stink up the place, why do we have to put up with that on top of having to tolerate another Outlier!? I saw we get rid of that cat or whatever it-," The guy continued to complain with a look of disapproval, before taking a step towards her.
The Outlier’s suppressed Aura spiked slightly as she tensed up with a murderous look on her face, sending chills down my spine and causing me to take a step back without even realizing it, but before she could move, Neo suddenly opened a portal around the guy’s head, before abruptly closing it...and decapitating him in an instant.
Huh? Did he just-...holy shit. He really killed him. Just like that. freёwebnovel.com
No one said a word, a stunned silence falling over the room as the headless body collapsed onto the ground with a lifeless thud, blood pouring out and forming a wide puddle around the body.
"I did warn you, didn’t I? What, did you think I was bluffing?" Neo remarked in an icy tone, before adding, "Okay, then...anyone else got something to say?"
Naturally, no one said a word. I-I mean...who would be stupid enough to try after what just happened?
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
