POV: Recruit 79
As I entered, Zhang's presence, as well as his bodily humanoid figure, became clearly visible just in front of me.
His shirt proudly displayed the symbol of The New Order on his back, burning bright as the red light shines on it, almost with utmost perfection, like it was on purpose—staged, you could even say.
A ripped cloak barely hung to his waist, fluttering with his bolting movements.
Gusts of wind retaliated against his force, as he danced around different training logs and boulders, slicing them open with ease using a katana.
This wasn't him going all out.
He was just having fun.
"So this is what it looks like for the strongest, huh?"
As Zhang seemed to notice my presence, he quickly sheathed the slightly chipped katana, the only remaining evidence of his ruthless training regime that he seems to carry out.
'Does he do this everyday? That's insane...' I thought to myself.
"You've finally made it," Zhang spoke lightly. As he turned around, his face was shrouded within the shadows, unable to properly get a clear image of him. "It was too a point where I thought you wouldn't come."
I forcefully shoved my head all the way down to the ground out of respect.
It was too hard to gauge if he was more relaxed like Aurelian, or more casually serious like Zero, despite the more neutral setting.
Despite not being able to see, I could feel a smile on his face.
"I appreciate your respect, but please. You are my guest once again, so get up."
As I slowly stood back up, I noticed him walking towards me.
Every time he was about to walk into the light, it flickered away for just a moment, almost intentionally hiding his presence. His voice, as well, almost had a muffled tone to it, like it was purposefully distorted, but only slightly.
When he finally made it over to me, the red light shun upon us, giving me a clear perspective on his facial features.
Except, they weren't there. None of it.
His face was entirely distorted, like a glitched electronic artifact screen.
"U-Uhm," I stuttered. "Am I loosing my mind?" I whispered under my breath, but I clearly didn't hide it well enough, as Zhang began laughing.
"As much as that would be entertaining, you are not, boy."
I was confused.
What the hell was this?
Was his face injured from a battle, or something similar to that?
"Relax. It's simply a spell to mask my facial appearance. Even in my own home, I can't risk selling out information," he spoke calmly.
"What good will that do?" I asked, totally ignoring respective custom.
His smile never wavered. "It's better if you don't know."
'Well, I guess it would become pretty disrespectful if I keep trying to pry for more information,' I thought to myself, giving up on wanting to know more.
"Pardon me if I sound like I'm in a hurry, but—"
I sighed.
"What am I doing here?"
Zhang's expression shifted with a furrowed brow, a questioning look.
"Despite my recent... upbringing, there's nothing quite special about me. There's got to be a bigger reason for why I'm here."
He laughed. "You're overthinking it, boy."
"I'm not exactly some ominous person you should fear," he began explaining. "You sounded like a very interesting prospect, especially that labeled as a recruit. It gets a bit boring here, so far away from everything."
Those last few words left me with an abundance of questions I didn't dare to ask.
The fact that not only did I have to be knocked unconscious for the journey, but the lack of even the broader details, made this all the more confusing.
'Was this place really that secluded from the world?'
"Anyways, I've been made fully aware of your situation," Zhang broke the uncomfortable tension that hardened over these past few seconds. "My nexus evaluator is nearly 5,000% more effective than the standard issue one in the bases."
'5—holy shit!'
'I wonder what other type of technology he has around this manor..'
Zhang gestured for me to take his wake, of which I did in a heartbeat, as to not draw any suspicion from me.
There was nothing to be suspicious about, of course.
However, the way I was acting was not normal, so I didn't want the wrong impression.
We walked through the training room, walls painted with its own scratches and scars so large you'd think some prehistoric giant came ravaging through.
Old, hardened blood stains were plastered across the floor in groups, as it was very clear that whatever 'training' happened in here was beyond the title of extreme, also noticing all the perfectly snapped or totally gutted wooden logs thrown messily around the floor.
After a while, we had finally made it to what was supposed to be the nexus evaluator.
"This... is it?" My confusion leaking into my words.
"Yes, it is," Zhang reassured.
Unlike last time, it wasn't it's own room. This was a transparent chamber, and by the looks of it, barely big enough for me to even comfortably fit inside.
Wasting no time, I quickly pushed open the transparent glass door, and stepped inside.
The door had closed behind me on entry, startling me just a bit.
Zhang began walking over to some computing artifacts just off to the side. "Now, I watched the tape of what happened, and don't worry," his tone unsure, but confident at the same time. "That shouldn't happen here, as the tube is equipped with natural dampeners that should offer some push back against excessive force," he continued.
'So that explains all the gizmos that lined the flooring...' I thought to myself.
"Well now, are you ready?"
"Yes."
The machine turned on soon after.
Without the need for instructions, I began tugging at the overwhelming energy that swished around inside of me.
'Let's see what happens this time around...'
The nexus energy flowed out like a tsunami racing from that spherical core inside, quickly flowing to all corners of my body, the warmth feeling like a tight embrace, familiar yet very distant.
I managed to push a look over at Zhang.
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was... shocked?