Chapter 8:
Catalyst -Volume.01:Inbound
Part 4
14:20 – Campus ward. July 21th
It has been almost two hours since Martin passed out. It was almost time for his exams and he was still not waking up. During that time, he was left to rest and regain consciousness in the Campus ward. The ward was occupied only by Him. The doors were completely automated but the beds and most of the equipment were traditional rather than futuristic. Nobody had checked upon him for a while until a male and female doctor showed up to see how he was doing. The female doctor went to the right of the bed, and pressed a plate on the wall, causing light from the ceiling to scan Martin.
Martin Bogdan Irinov
Status – new student.
Is in a state of regaining consciousness.
Injuries – Non-lethal.
Brain functionality – average.
Blood flow- normal.
Mana vaccine – not injected.
! M.B.F.A. – D*T**TE*G … Error
“What?!” said the female doctor.
“Hey, Henry!” she called out.
“Yes?” he responded.
“Come here.”
Henry was a fresh recruit, wearing a white coat with a red cross, a light blue blazer, a lime green tie, a white dress shirt, and brown pants who was just finishing his observation on an old lady, who had a panic attack He put down his patient research notes and came to her.
“What is it?”
“This thing is malfunctioning. Fix it.”
He then looked at How the cables were connected, then the tubes which analyzed his condition, after that he gave the same order.
Martin Bogdan Irinov
Status – new student.
Regaining consciousness.
Injuries – lethal.
Brain functionality – above average.
Blood flow- abnormal.
Mana vaccine – not injected.
M.B.F.A. – clear
Mana flow – fluid
Body – re-energized
Mana materialization – non-existent
Mana absorption – functional
Energy capacity – 65%
Warning!
Vital signs – critical
SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION$%&*
… error
“Huh?”
They both looked at the screen and then at Martin if there was some change. Martin on the other hand was lying silently on the bed where he was put to rest.
“Be right back.”
Then Henry headed out of the room to get something. The female doctor said some strange words which caused her eyes to glow in a white-orange-reddish light, then she examined his body for any traces of abnormalities if he has ever taken or used upon himself. The result was obvious – clear. Right after that Henry returned with a black suitcase. In the suitcase were some strange colored rocks, which all were painted in the colors of the rainbow plus others as well.
He first got the red rock and placed him in Martin`s hand.
No reaction. He then tried the black one. No reaction. 10 minutes later after trying every stone and getting no reaction, they both looked back at the screen. For a moment they felt that the air in the room was getting colder, but did not pay any attention to it. They tried everything they learned and could have thought of. Eventually, they called for help. The female doctor went to the sink and pressed one of the plates on the wall, which caused a smaller screen from the ceiling of the room to pop up.
“Head doctor, do you hear me?” Henry called through the secret panel.
Then an elderly figure showed up on the screen.
“Loud and clear, what is it?” said the figure.
“There are some malfunctions with the equipment, plus we cannot identify the condition of the patient.” said Henry.
“Did you try everything?”
“Everything, we are not of options.”
“Have you tried a normal procedure?”
“No, but judging by how he is looking and not showing any signs of damage when unconscious or any vitals being torn or bubbled up, I believe that normal procedures do not need.”
“I trust you on your observations, so I won`t push any further. Tell me the name of the patient.”
“Martin Bogdan Irinov.”
“Hmm…” he did not say anything else.
A full minute of silence went by after his humming. Then two, three, and on the fifth one, he finally came back from his mind.
“Um, sir?” the female doctor called him.
“Ah, yes, sorry. I am going to look into it so do not worry. You are free for now.” then the conversation ended.
They both headed out into the yard. It was lunch break. The female doctor started smoking.
“What is the deal with this boy?”
“If I have to guess he had a rough past or is a runaway guinea pig.” Henry said while completely lost look on his face to the situation.
She got shocked by his immediate conclusion.
“What do you mean! He is from the outside; how can he be a runaway experiment!?”
“That was just a guess, okay jeez relax.”
Then they continued with what they were doing. They were not speaking for a while. Finally, the female doctor broke the ice.
“You know about the 2025 incident, right?”
“You mean the meteor shower?” he replied unsurely.
“No, not that.”
“Then tell me about it.”
“After the meteor shower, the chemical from the wreckage was spread in the air, which caused illnesses and abnormalities in the human body, if the subject has inhaled a heavy amount of mana in his body he or she dies on spot or after a few minutes. A lot of people have died for 2 years straight. Those who managed to suppress the symptoms and managed to endure the change, turn out to be very high-level intelligent people, plus being highly adaptive, muscle management like a highly trained martial arts fighter, fast-thinking, and almost split-second problem-solving. In conclusion – an elite among elites. But will only happen if you endure and don`t give up halfway.”
“Oh, I remember now.” Henry said with a blank expression. “My mother passed away, due to it.”
“Oh, my condolences.” she replied with a little shock.
“Thank you. If it wasn`t for her death, I wonder where would I have been.”
“You mean that you came here after she has passed away?”
“Well, yeah, I do not want people to have the same fate as me.”
“Hu, hu, how kind of you.” she said as well as poking him.
“Stop it, you are going to make me blush.” embarrassed he squeaked out quietly.
“That is the point!” she said with a smile on her face as well as continued poking him.
After finishing his lunch, they headed in. Now the female doctor was looking at him with a new playful and interesting look, but Henry paid no heed.
“I can tell only thing though.” he said as they were walking inside “The first possibility is that he is something we never encountered before. The second is that maybe there are malfunctions in the equipment, but I doubt that.”
“Why, so?”
“Although I may not be the best technician, I have been giving up-to-date checkups on the software, so it`s not like I don`t know the equipment in the ward. That`s why I said that it can`t be malfunctioning, the only possibility is that his mind or somewhere along the way he has either inhaled a heavy amount of mana, but this argument could be broken down by the fact that he did not have any injuries on his body or abnormalities, which leads me to think that he has an adaptive nature to environments, but if that was true, he should have been at home, so there is only one possibility.”
“Which is?” she asked with an excited look.
“He is a high-level priority.”
“What!??” she jumped in shock. “Bu-u-tt he just came a day ago, how can he be a high-level priority, unless…”
“Unless he has delayed his coming, but even if he is there should be signs of them but he hasn`t shown any of these.”
“I have heard that people who have been outside and have inhaled mixed air with high and low mana may not experience the change, because they were not overwhelmed by it. So, there is a chance that it may not even occur because the body has developed antibodies for the chemical.”
“That is true, but for now… We cannot be sure on a hundred percent due to the malfunction.”
They made it to the ward just on time. A beeping sound could be heard from the inside. Henry and the female doctor rushed in to see the cause, just to be astonished at the data showing on the screen. Martin on the other hand was red-faced, sweating heavily and his whole body was glowing.
SYSTEM – OVERLOAD!
Martin Bogdan Irinov
Body – OVERLOAD!
Energy capacity- 101%
Mana absorption – HIGHLY ACTIVE!
Injuries – MAJOR!
Brain functionality – OVERLOADING!
Blood flow- EXTREMELY FAST!
Mana flow – TRANSPARENT!!
Mana materialization – SUPER DEFINED!
Mana absorption – VOID LEVEL!!!
VITAL SIGNS ARE DROPPING!
Henry and the doctor were now in full shock and disbelief at what was shown on Martin`s screen examiner.
M.B.F.A – IN CONSTRUCTION!!
PERFORM DETOXIFICATION IMMEDIATELY!
They finally got out of stasis and started to prepare the equipment.
“Henry, get the book from under my desk fast! I will try to calm his my so he does not overdo himself!” she ordered as she got out a pair of strange-looking gloves from the dwarf near the bed Martin was lying in.
“Just a moment!” he said as he rushed out of the ward.
The doctor`s gloves started glowing in bluish-white mixed with dark red, then said something under her breath, which caused her to change into a very tight suit plus her eyes glowing, then she placed her hands on his head.
“S-M-W-Y-T-E-E! Begin!”
After that, his body began to turn normal, but at a very slow pace. The female doctor`s face started to go pale, her hands were shaking and her eyelids were starting to feel heavy.
(Hurry up dammit!)
Her muscles began to hurt, her veins were starting to show up. Her face from pale went to red for a split second. She felt that she losing power.
(Dammit, where is that idiot!)
She then closed her eyes for a moment due to the pain, but that was a grave mistake. She then began to scream and cry at the same, because the pain felt more and more.
Just as she was going to go despair, Henry came with the book and gave it to the female doctor.
“I`ve got the book!”
“We don`t have time, quickly throw it!”
“Catch!”
She got one of her hands out to catch the book as she tried to not lose grip of the situation.
“Now is time for you to wake up!”
The book then opened automatically to a certain page and strange symbols were strange to project over his head.
“D-R-R-C! Execute!”
After that glowing stopped. His sweatiness stopped and he returned to sleeping soundlessly. As they were about to seat, they felt that the air was getting colder and turned over to Martin. The air around him was starting to turn into vaporized water, yet went touched or moved by was felt as touching liquid nitrogen. His body emitted small cold waves within a small interval. After a couple of small invisible cold waves, a lot of sparkles came out of his body, causing a big invisible fire wave, which almost cause the equipment to malfunction as well as making the air as hot as being on a holiday in Hawaii.
For the second wave, the doctor created a shield out of the air so that they can evade the wave. After all this trouble everything got back to normal.
“My god!” Henry said with relief.
“Honestly, that is my first time being pushed to my limits.” she said after the danger was gone.
She then crumbled, because of exhaustion. Henry got her and put her on the bed next to Martin.
“You did a good job. I will take it from here.” Henry said with a relaxed expression.
“You owe me a dinn..” she did not finish her sentence, because of the exhaustion and went to sleep.
“Yeah, yeah, sure, now take a break.”
As for Martin, his hand started to move, and his face wrinkled. He was about to wake up.
Part 5
“Ugh, my head hurts so much!”
After he opened his eyes, he saw a man wearing a white coat with a red cross, silently sitting on a chair on the opposite side of him.
“Um, hello?” he said timidly.
“Oh, you finally woke up.” he said smilingly.
“What do you mean?”
The doctor was about to say something but decided to slide it under the rug, rather asked a more meaningful question.
“What was the last thing you remember?” the doctor asked pulling out a strange list.
“Well, I was hit in the head with something and from then on I didn`t remember a thing.”
He started to write down something, after that he asked him again.
“Do you remember something else?”
“No, my mind is blank.”
There was a moment of silence. Henry who looking at Martin, expecting him to hear some crazy story or tell him that he felt his body strange, because of what happened a few moments ago, was not expecting that.
“Huh, is that all?” he jumped surprised.
“What do you mean?” Martin said worriedly.
“Well, nothing, anyway it`s 14:23, so you better head to the exam rooms.”
“Right…” he sighed.
Martin was standing on the bed, motionless. Henry after watching him for a few seconds caught up to why he was not moving.
“Do you know where are your exams going to be taking?”
Martin only shook his head.
`Would you want me to show you?”
“Yes, please.”
“Follow me and do not fall behind.” the doctor said after taking with him his notes.
After that, they went down the hallway.
The inside of the university was a mix of labs, classrooms, lecture rooms, and many more specialized rooms than anyone could think of in a sci-fi film. Above all, it is not your everyday environment.
“This is so cool…” Martin mentioned.
“Indeed, it is. And it is going to be even cooler the further we go down.” Henry replied.
The floor where Martin was the research part of the university. As Martin was looking around like a child who went behind the scenes of some theatre show, he had to constantly catch up to the doctor who was walking slowly but without stopping. If somebody walked past them, he might think that the doctor was his father and he was his child. The first door Martin looked at was a strange lab with engravings on the walls.
“What is happening here?”
“Look for yourself.”
The symbols resembled drawings as well as scientific symbols used in mathematical and physics equations. One of the researchers (If they could be called like that) got out from a container a strange brown rock, almost bronze-like color then placed it on their table. After that a strange cloud appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the rock, the symbols on the walls started to light up in various colors, then the stone floated a little above ground as well as glowing, after that a flashbang happened.
“AH!”
During that time Martin had to cover his eyes if he wanted to keep using them.
“You can lower your hands now.” said Henry.
He removed his hands from his head to see that the stone made itself into a block of bronze-like material. Although he had put on a stoic face, his inner child was satisfied beyond his imagination.
“What do you think of that?”
“It was kind of cool…”
“Whatever you say. Now let`s keep going.”
He could almost feel the trembling from excitement just from what he saw, thinking that this might be not the first time he would see something like that. The next room he looked at was an experimental weapon room, where a device that looked like a weapon was just tested.
What he saw was that when it fired, it shot fast mini bolts of lightning that left a bullet hole, which indicated to him that this weapon was not a projectile weapon but a solid hit weapon. Something that made him pay attention was that the weapon could be charged. His instinctive gaming experience (which he had even though he was a young workaholic) led him to a conclusion that if charged to a certain limit, it could penetrate masses of objects in a fraction of time. One of the scientists decided to charge the weapon. The targets were a blank target and a blank target behind a concrete wall plus bulletproof glass. The first target was already hit and it was time for the second one. After 10 seconds of charging, the scientist pointed at the concrete wall and released the trigger just in time to make an uproar from the firing shot which caused him to fall back from the knockback as well as make a straight circular hole that pierced the center of the target.
“Now this! This is what I am talking about!” said Martin now super satisfied.
“So, you like guns huh?”
“Yeah! A lot! Now let`s see the others!”
Henry only sighed and continued forward.
In another lab with strange-looking costumes, people were saying strange things and fogs of strange color were hovering in the air, there were lights and flashbangs as well and it was just too much for him. The doctor after finally going to a normal door with a retinal hand scanner looked back, just to see Martin looking around as if he was a child in a zoo looking at the different animals.
Henry sighed again and went back to him.
“I know that this must be very exciting for you but we have to get moving or you won`t make it in time for your theoretical part of the exam.”
“Oh!” he squeaked.
“How can you still scream like a woman, aren’t you a man already?”
Martin was dumbfounded by this question.
“…What?”
“Well, aren`t you around my age?”
“I turned 17 this year.”
The doctor`s eyes had lightened up by the answer that Martin gave him.
“WHAT!!? YOU LOOK OLDER THAN ME!”
“Well…Yeah, what can I do.”
After the short conversation, they went to the retinal scanner.
(This is amazing! I never thought that I will be studying in such an awesome place!)
Then they entered a room of 16 desks with only his being empty. The doctor waved goodbye and headed back to the lab section. His excitement quickly then faded away.
Before Martin was about to sit, he looked around to see who was going to take the exam.
(Just as I expected, there are mostly girls… Better keep cool.)
The girls were an amazing sight for any single guy while the boys…
(Well… That`s how any typical boy would dress…)
The exam hasn`t started yet, so the girls were chatting and the boys collected themselves into a small group.
(I guess only the middle desk is not taken…Whatever.)
Martin then sat on his seat. Silence then followed by.
(Hmm?)
He looked around and saw that both camps were looking at him.
(Okay…)
Both left and right emitted ominous energy. He looked at the girls from his peripheral view. Bad idea.
“What are you looking at?” said one of the girls.
Martin did not answer.
“Hey! I asked you a question!”
Martin still remained silent but a smile grew on his face.
The girl then stood up and got in front of his desk.
“Okay loser, tell me why should I now report-”
“Am I prohibited from looking at girls?”
“Well, you are-”
“Why? Is there a reason for it? Is it stated in a law? Or maybe is there a cultural shift? Are you shy? Do you blush easily…”
Martin continued to bombard her with questions while as well not giving her any ground for her to speak her mind.
(Oh, damn you!)
Some of the girls giggled while others were giving him a questioned look.
“I get it, fine! I will leave you alone!” The girl then clicked her tongue and got back to her seat while giving him an awful look.
He sighed afterward.
(What the hell is with those looks!?? Am I such an ugly duckling!??)
As for the boys… Their gaze was the same as the girls.
(Jeez… Problems just don`t stop coming, huh?)
It appeared that Martin was the only young man which knew how to dress while looking like their dad in conjunction with the fact that he knew some things were not so simple as they seemed.
(I am pretty sure that at least one half here is from the inside. It might be a tough battle for me…)
Martin then looked at his desk. Today as yesterday was a little too much for him. It should be fine for him but even time couldn`t ease the pain from being overwhelmed with various events.
(If only it was like 2 years ago…)
His inner visualization of old times was suddenly disrupted because the examiner entered.
“Please put your phones in this box, all the tests you will take on your phones.”
After all the phones were taken, a screen popped up underneath the desk showing a bunch of options.
“As you all know, you have 4 hours to complete the exams, good luck.”
Then he left with the phones from the room. The students started to work except Martin… Martin stood in front of the screen for a minute or two, so that he can process what was going on.
(So, he entered, got our phones, and just walked out… Fantastic.)
He then stared at the screen for a few seconds.
(How the hell am I supposed to work with this!?)
The kids were not moving an inch. They were staring at the screen with deep focus.
“Beep! Beep!” an alarm started to come out of his screen.
That scarred him out a little bit.
“Agh!”
With his “Professional technical skills”, managed to stop the beeping from his desk.
(Phew, finally…?)
An ad popped up.
(Cheating is prohibited…Okay, thank you for the useless information… Now to find how to start this stupid thing…)
After touching the screen randomly something finally showed up.
“Hello, User.” The guide then introduced himself.
Martin stared at the screen confused for a second.
“Hello, I am the S city guide program for exam taking. There were three options to do the test. Now choose between virtual, psionic, and classic style.”
(Ohh!! Thank you, whoever did this! Thank you!)
Martin`s eyes had lightened as light bulbs, just from hearing that you can do it and those options. But something still bothered him from pressing any option. He was looking at the first and most unique option: psionic.
(Psionic you say? You mean you are going to send a signal in my mind to do the test right? But if I …)
He shivered for a bit.
(Noo…Okay what else…)
Virtual.
(Hmmm…I mean…No.)
He decided to go classic.
(Better be safe than sorry.)
“Option accepted. The papers will be printed out in a moment. You have until 1800 hours to finish your exam. You can put it in the box below. After that press the finish button on the screen. Good luck and we hope that you become one of our amazing and hardworking students!”
The papers got printed out and they came with a pen as well from another tube.
Martin then gave a check on the papers.
(So, we got Physics, Math, Native Langue, English and…Social intelligence…)
He sighed.
(I guess I am going to start with Physics…)
Time passed by quickly when you have something to do.
* * *
17:30 - 3rd Break time.
“Wooh! I going to go out this time!” said relieved Martin. (Now let`s get something to drink -I`m so thirsty.)
He went out of the classroom where everyone was and headed toward the vending machines.
“Now let`s see what you`ve got.” He smirked.
There were numerous types of vending machines: normal, western, eastern, middle-west, and middle-east stocked vending machines. He of course hopped for the normal. Got a water bottle and sat on one of the numerous chairs which were around the vending machines.
(Damn, it was very easy. But was it worth it…)
He was about to sink into his thoughts when a girl came by and made some noise for starting one of the vending machines. Martin snapped back without checking if somebody had gone by and looked at the clock.
17:45.
(I think it`s time to go back.)
He looked up. The was a girl.
She sat on the opposite side of him. (The vending machines are on opposite walls and next to them are the chairs.) She was just standing there drinking water as well.
The girl was really beautiful with long dark black hair, wearing a white dress shirt, a black tie, and blue short pants. Her bangs were falling all over her body. Her posture was open, almost expecting somebody to come and talk to her. Almost as if she is expecting him to come and talk to her.
Martin felt that something was watching him and turned around to see if there was somebody around and saw that girl. Of course, at that moment she looked at him as well. Their eyes met for a couple of seconds, and Martin was the first to break the contact.
(She is really beautiful.)
After that they did the same thing another two times, the girl`s legs were starting to shake a little, due to him not doing anything. Her eyes were starting to light up, her posture went from open and friendly to shy and unsure.
(What is taking him so long!)
Finally, Martin stood up and…Went back to the classroom. Kind of an anticlimax.
The girl who was standing there did nothing but watch how her “bad boy” was walking away. Her face went red as well as calmness from a 100 to a 0, just from seeing him not doing anything.
(What the hell happened just now?)
She gave herself a quick check on one of the mirrors in the hall.
(I do look good today, right?)
So many guys were after her, so it was interesting for her that he walked away.
(I doubt that he is different…But why he didn`t look at me!)
Martin sat back on his chair to fulfill his last exam: Social intelligence.
Martin started at the paper for a second before doing the exam.
(Social norms, ethics, traditions, etc. Why is this a Subject?)
Martin`s brain turned off.
(How would you FEEL if your best friend cheated on you with your significant other…What kind of question is this?)
He answered accordingly.
Then the next one.
(If you were put in a social setting what`s the likelihood of you being harassed/approached by the opposite gender…)
His mind turned off for a moment. After his head fell on the desk, he regained consciousness.
(Okay…)
He answered accordingly again.
A few questions later he gave the shocked look again.
(If you were in a big fight or big hostile scenario, what is the best course of action?)
This rose all kinds of questions but one that pop up the most was: (Okay but would the girls do? Cry? Panic? Call the police? Scatter? Hide? Fight? Also…Just why!!? Who thought that those are good questions for 17-year-old kids?!)
He suddenly felt how his left wrist`s muscles were strengthening back and forth like wanting to grab something and throwing against the wall. Martin then tried to calm down in his mind and focused his thought back on the question.
(Dammit! I better not lose my temper or I’m going to be thrown out.)
“Phew!”
Finally, he finished. He looked around – nobody was there by the time he had finished.
(Well… I guess I didn`t realize that I was the only one left.)
Then he looked around for the box with the phones.
(Not here…Better find the teacher then.)
He then went to the building`s guide and searched for the teachers ‘room.
Thankfully the teacher who took his phone was still there with the box.
“Excuse me.”
“Ah, it`s you. Finally, you decided to show up. I thought you were gone.”
“Well, no I wasn`t. I was doing the test on papers.” Martin then entered to get his phone.
“Oh, I see.” Said the teacher while giving him his phone. “Then I hope that you did well on your exams.”
“Thank you for the kind words.” Said Martin while he was at the exit door. “Well then, goodbye, and have a pleasant evening.”
“Thank you.” Replied the teacher.
Now that he got out, it was time to head home… In a building which he did not know…
(Amazing…How do I get out from this hellish labyrinth…)
He looked at the guide again. Then he looked at the teachers `room.
(Maybe I can…)
He thought for a moment but then quickly shook that idea from his mind. He suddenly got embarrassed.
(Not in a million years I am asking him for directions! Now then.) He looked at the guide (Time to find out how to get out of here.)
After 20 minutes of trying to get out of the labyrinth-university/Grand kingdom, he finally got out to where he first came in.
Something caught his gaze.
On one of the benches in the yard was the girl from an hour ago.
(Oh, it`s her again.)
He gave a quick look and then headed toward the gates.
“Hey! Are you just going to go by me without saying a thing!”
Martin stopped and sighed.
“What do you want me to say?”
“What do you mean!?? You glared at me so many times, even smiled! Are you telling me that you played games with my emotions!?”
“Okay then…” he paused for a couple of seconds. She started to play with her hands at that moment. After him looking at her without feeling threatened by her gaze, he finally gave a push to his comment. “Well, all I want to say is that you are beautiful.”
A moment of silence came in from both parties. Her playfulness with the finger stopped and her face got gloomy.
“Is that it?” she asked unsatisfied and bored.
“Yes. Have you expected something else?”
“No, nothing in particular.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
She did not reply but just stood there motionless on the bench. He saw that she was thinking about something else and left the scene. Something was tearing her from the inside, yet it was not physical. She felt that a hole was shot right through her. She then looked into the position Martin have walked off.
“Is this the first time that I was rejected or it is just my imagination for speeding stuff quickly?”
After that, she headed back inside the school.
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