Volume 2, Chapter 14-2: Checkup

“Long, I hope you don’t mind, but we would like to do a checkup,” Shane requested, carrying a clipboard in his right hand.

“Go ahead,” Zhuyu agreed, nodding his head.

“This might take awhile, so you might want to check out the attractions nearby. Tess, I would like you to stay behind. Feng too,” Emily suggested.

“As you wish,” Tess said.

“Tomo, don’t go anywhere. Since you’re a new hero, I would like to run a few tests on you too,” Shane said.

Kisai, En, Ichaival, Shan, and Shui departed the room. I took a seat near the table, waiting.

“Can you boot up the machine for me? Make sure the settings aren’t on default,” Emily asked, pushing the part back into the machine.

While Emily and Shane prepared the equipment, Tess walked over to me. Kyoi and Zhuyu were still talking. From my perspective, it appeared Kyoi was lecturing him on something. No doubt on the previous battle.

“Long, do you remember what to do?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, nothing has changed since last time, I hope?” he nodded, getting into the pod machine.

“We’ve brought in a newer model but it operates like the previous one,” Emily answered.

The cover closed and Emily plugged in wires. Shane adjusted his multiple screens and then gave a thumbs up to his wife. The whirring from the machine became loud at first but settled down into a reasonable volume.

“While they analyze Long’s compatibility with his power, let’s discuss what to do next,” Tess said, looking at me.

“Okay,” I said.

“We’ll get an analysis of your powers from Shane and Emily. From there, I’ll start assigning you to various locations each hero is affiliated with. It’ll give you an idea of how their powers work and also serve the dual purpose of everyone retrieving their ultimate weapon. The Traveler is working slow right now so we can afford to do the same,” Tess revealed.

“It’s a good thing too. We’ll need her to be at maximum potential if we end up facing a greater enemy,” Kyoi added.

“What are these ultimate weapons?” I asked.

“The highest tier weapons that paired with our powers. They served as the seals to each of our powers after the supposed final battle,” Kyoi replied.

“To fulfill the last part of the prophecy, everyone sealed their ultimate weapons and the majority of their powers within them. Thus, everyone must recover their weapons first,” Tess explained.

“Okay, I think I understand. So how’s it going to work? Will everyone just go in and search for it?” I asked.

“Yes. You’ll accompany different people on various days, learning more about their dimension, while gaining a better understanding of their powers,” Tess explained.

Tess stopped talking, glancing down at her tablet. Kyoi stood near a table with a screen, looking at it occasionally. This was a good chance to try a mind dive on the scary woman, especially with her guard lowered. I would go for it. Making sure she stared at the screen, I walked towards her. Perfect!

***

Memory Dive 3: A Contract?

Time Period Unknown

Zhuyu sat at a desk, writing something down on a piece of paper. He consulted a textbook on his left side from time to time. Great, not a battle scene yet again. I wondered how many more attempts it would take.

“Your answer’s wrong. Check your work there,” I heard Kyoi’s voice.

Zhuyu moved his pencil up and nodded. Kyoi sat near him, holding a red pen in her hand. Her facial expression was much softer than usual. There was no sign of her crazy, predator aura.

“I think I fixed it,” Zhuyu said, handing the piece of paper over to her.

“Let’s see. Everything seems to be right. Make sure to do one extra step though,” Kyoi said, writing with her red pen.

“Okay. Yeah, I can see why that would make it clearer,” Zhuyu agreed, watching Kyoi.

Kyoi returned the piece of paper. Nothing exciting happening here. When would I see something useful like a battle maneuver or tactics about fighting enemies? This was turning into filler.

“How’s Zhang?” Zhuyu asked, copying a problem from the book.

“Very good. He’s a fast learner. Although I expect you to be on par with me one day,” Kyoi replied, twirling her red pen in boredom.

“That’s an impossible task. I don’t have the speed or agility to pull that off,” Zhuyu disagreed.

“You’ll learn eventually. After all, you’re bounded me to by contract. There’s no way to get out of that,” Kyoi smiled.

“I’m already regretting it,” Zhuyu sighed.

“It’s too late for regrets now,” Kyoi said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Whatever. You are right about one thing. It is too late to go back. Although I am glad that you are helping me with my homework right now,” Zhuyu remarked.

I was interested in this contract Kyoi spoke of. Zhuyu mentioned it before too. I suddenly felt a piercing pain in my head. Dropping to my knees, I clutched my head. Crap, something was blocking me.

MIND DIVE 3 END

***

“Tomo, you should be more careful,” Kyoi said, staring at me with scary eyes. “Tomo, you should be more careful,” Kyoi said, staring at me with scary eyes.

I jumped back, striking the edge of the table, almost falling. Tess looked up from her tablet at the sound. Kyoi gave me an unpleasant smile. I should have been more careful.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I feigned innocence.

“Tess warned you, did she not?” Kyoi inquired, her expression unchanging.

“Wait, how do you know about that?” I asked, caught off guard by her statement.

“I can sense it. My magic is at a higher level than everyone else on the team. Even Jin. I can tell when your grimoire is activated,” Kyoi explained.

“You’re able to tell?” I asked, shocked by her observation skills.

“Yes. Mind diving is a technique I can do too. Although yours is more refined and advanced,” Kyoi replied.

“Fine, I won’t do it again without your permission,” I said.

“Just tell me. I’ll allow it,” Kyoi said.

“Right, I’ll do that next time,” I nodded.

“I’m glad that’s settled. If you had disagreed, I would have forced Tess into authorizing a battle between us. I’m sure you know the outcome, Tomo,” Kyoi warned.

“Not pleasant,” I said, taking a few steps back.

I was saved by Shane, who walked up to us. He handed Tess a stack of papers. Kyoi walked away, returning to her original position.

“Is everything as expected?” Tess asked, flipping through the papers.

“His powers are stabilized. Although, I don’t know how much more it can evolve, that’s up to him. It’s as if he’s purposely sealing his powers. I can only speculate though,” Shane answered.

“I see. Thank you for the data. Tomo, it’s your turn now,” Tess said, pointing at the pod machine.

Zhuyu stared at a computer screen with Emily, looking at several graphs. He nodded as she highlighted them. Arriving at the pod, I stared inside. There were wires coming out from the seat. Alright, let’s see what would happen.

Emily shut off the screen and then started hooking up wires. She placed one on my left arm and another on my forehead. Shutting the cover, Emily typed on her keyboard. After giving me instructions, Emily started the machine. I closed my eyes, thinking of days past.