The door to the room opened, ushering in a woman Kelvin immediately identified as medical personnel by the white coat she wore.
Her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, the swinging end flicking in and out of view behind her—right, then left.
"Oh, you're awake." She smiled animatedly, glancing up from the tablet in her hand.
Kelvin took in her features: gleaming emerald eyes, framed by glasses with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern; plump red lips, stretched into a smile that accentuated her striking cheekbones.
The lighting in the room cast her in perfect clarity.
Beneath the coat, she wore a white, puffy turtleneck sweater, but with a pear-shaped cutout just above the swell of her chest. It was paired with a tailored black gabardine skirt—short, at least three inches above her knees—revealing legs that, to Kelvin's eyes, were like a dancer's.
Most actresses on Earth wouldn't hold a candle to this fine specimen.
The thought startled him.
Fine specimen? The words had surfaced unbidden. What the hell was that?
A seasoned soldier like him, caught off guard by beauty? He chalked it up to the youthful pheromones of his new body reacting to her presence.
He definitely wasn't seasoned for her beauty.
"So, how are you feeling?" she asked, a subtle smile playing at her lips as she began inspecting his body.
'Great. She caught me staring.'
Kelvin inwardly berated himself, but his thoughts were quickly overtaken by something else.
The moment her hands touched his shoulders, an odd sensation gripped him.
Something flowed from her fingertips—something unseen yet perceptible. It moved through his body like a current, spreading outward in channels he hadn't known existed.
But when it reached his torso, it was repelled.
The feeling was strange. Ethereal, yet undeniably real. Like vaporous gas forced through tight canals. The temperature fluctuated—sometimes hot, sometimes cold, sometimes neutral.
He was so caught up in the experience that he didn't notice the way she was watching him.
"Hmm… I also heard there's a possibility you've awakened." She murmured the words, withdrawing her hand to tap something into her device.
Kelvin barely registered her actions, still reeling from the sensation coursing through him.
"—Hmmm, you felt that, didn't you?"
Her cherry voice snapped him out of his daze.
Normally, he would have answered instantly. But with his fractured memories, he had to be careful.
Two languages. Don't mix them up. Hethough.
He took his time before replying.
"Uh… yeah. Yes."
The words still came out clumsy.
She didn't seem to mind.
"Good. Now, can you describe what you felt?"
Kelvin hesitated.
This time, not because of his words, but because he genuinely didn't know how to explain it.
"I… I can't really say," he admitted, brows furrowing. "Magical, I guess?"
Her smile widened.
"Congratulations, Mr.—" she glanced at her tablet, "Ah! I'scarus Quinn. You're the Empire's newest Awakener."
The words sank in.
A swell of elation tried to surface, but he pushed it down, keeping his expression neutral.
But she looked excited for him, beaming as if his success was hers.
Kelvin forced himself to smile back. It would be strange not to.
After all, only ten percent of humans could naturally awaken. Showing no emotion at all would seem unnatural.
But even as he played along, a subtle alarm ticked at the back of his mind.
A feeling. An instinct.
It wasn't the kind of danger he was used to—the immediate, visceral sense of an enemy in his sights. No, this was more subtle. A whisper at the edges of his consciousness.
Something about her.
"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself. How unprofessional."
She chuckled, soft and melodic.
"Emery Jamen. Fourth year, Dawn Academy."
Her pale-pink lips glistened as she spoke.
Fourth year? That part made sense. But Dawn Academy…? The name was unfamiliar.
She continued, undeterred.
"I'm also an Awakener, like you. See…"
She extended a hand in front of him, palm up.
A faint blue mist manifested in the air above her hand. Slowly, it coalesced into a shimmering liquid blob, defying gravity as it hovered in place.
"This is what we Awakeners can do."
Kelvin watched, transfixed, as the liquid shifted, stretching into a twisting coil of water that slithered up her arm like a living thing.
He could see the effort on her face—subtle, but there.
Then, as suddenly as it had formed, the water lost its shape, dissolving into tiny motes of blue dew that were swiftly whisked away by the room's ventilation system.
"Whew! That was a bit exhausting," she admitted with a playful grin.
Kelvin noted the slight fatigue in her expression. It had taken a toll on her.
Her green eyes flickered back to him.
"You know, I just couldn't contain my curiosity," she said, her gaze subtly scouring his body.
Kelvin felt an odd chill.
"I've never heard of a newly awakened from Shantytown killing a magical beast."
The last part stung.
She left out the unspoken "and surviving almost unscathed."
The title Awakener echoed in his mind again, triggering another flicker of unfamiliar joy.
He recognized it as an emotion belonging to this body's original owner—not him.
'How could I feel excitement for something I don't fully understand?'
Her gaze met his puzzled one.
"Come on, you're supposed to be excited." She gently poked his shoulder, pulling him back to reality.
This time, instead of forcing another expression, he gave a simple answer.
"A-am just a li-little shocked."
Emery laughed at his embarrassment.
She understood.
For someone to be working in the mines at his age meant one of two things—he was either an orphan, or he had deliberately sought awakening through the mines.
The latter wasn't unheard of.
Officials of KQFM-21 had long spread rumors that the mines contained the highest level of World Essence on the planet. Desperate hopefuls often flocked there, dreaming of awakening.
But Emery knew the truth.
This planet simply didn't have the capacity to sustain enough World Essence to awaken people naturally.
And yet… he had.
That made him important.
"Oh, you're being too humble."
Her pearly white teeth glinted in the light as she smiled.
Kelvin remained silent, only half-listening.
His mind was split between her words and the lingering sensation of power coursing through him.
"Seems like you're all set to go."
She finished unwrapping his bandages, looking satisfied.