With one hand on his chin, Damien took a look to the side.
'Everything checks out, so I did get sent into the game. Now that I think about it, the game did say something about that. Crap, I'm no longer in my former world, and I left my PC on. Anyone can access my search history if they walk into my room… right, I live alone—'
"Hello…"
Hearing her voice, Damien turned his gaze to the side.
"Are you ignoring me again?" Radia had her arms tucked under her pompous chest.
Still maintaining his stoic look, another thought swarmed in Damien's head.
'Radia is the head of the medical department, and she said she is from Nox. That's not right. I was sure she was from a different faction in the ga—oww!'
The sharp pain he felt on his hand quickly snapped him out of his thoughts.
Right there, stuck in his hand, was a large syringe, with blue liquid pouring through the needle down into his body.
"Why did you do that?!"
Damien was about to pull the syringe out when Radia suddenly slapped his hand.
"You weren't paying attention. I called your name several times, and you just didn't answer."
"No, you didn't! And what in the hell did you inject me with?"
Damien pulled the syringe out, but by then, most of the chemical was already inside his body.
"Relax, it's not poison…"
Radia stood up, her hips swaying back and forth as she moved toward the back of the room while speaking.
"It's an antidote to kill off any virus you might have gotten from the Raptors."
Damien slowly looked down, and there, a scar was glued to his stomach.
Raptors were known to be alien-like monsters that appeared out of nowhere and nearly drove humanity to extinction. They came in different types and races, but they all had the same instinct and hunger to wipe out the human race.
It was said that a single scratch from a Raptor could turn you into a corrupted, or as some would call it, the walking dead.
'I see…'
Damien knew the fact he hadn't turned meant Radia had already healed him, which was extremely lucky on his part, since most never get that kind of opportunity.
"Thank you," he uttered out loud.
Turning around, Radia threw him a white t-shirt she had picked from her drawer, handing it to Damien to wear.
Damien took it and put it on.
"There's no reason to thank me, if I'm being honest. By the time the team brought you in, the virus had nearly corrupted your whole system. It's a miracle that you're still alive."
Now fully wearing the shirt, Damien tried to stand up from the bed—
"Sorry, I can't let you do that yet."
Damien halted. "Why not?"
"You were found outside the city, on a mission to retake Cr2. For all we know, you might be a spy for the Raptors. There are still some tests I need to run on you before you can leave that bed. If you're innocent, you'll comply."
Damien didn't argue and remained seated.
In the game, there had truly been instances where Raptors took on human form just to sneak in and kill from within.
It was a highly effective way for the Raptors to invade and destroy a city from within. Or at least it was.
Humans discovered a way to identify these creatures through some simple processes and tests.
If said human happened to have multiple orbs that were invisible to the naked eye, swarming around inside him, said human was a Raptor.
"Okay then, I have taken everything I need. I'll go back to the lab and run a test on this…" said Radia as she shook the tube with Damien's blood in it.
"If the result comes back negative, what do you intend to do with me?" Damien rolled down his sleeves, not maintaining eye contact.
"Well, if it comes back negative, that's for the major to decide. I am merely a doctor. Sit tight. I'll be watching from the monitor. If you move an inch from that bed, I won't be responsible for what happens next."
With that, Radia was gone, the door closing behind her.
'Pretty girls can lie so effortlessly; it's quite scary.'
Damien stylishly scanned the room.
On all corners were security cams, and just as Radia had said, if he moved an inch from where he was, there were laser guns ready to fire at him.
He didn't care all that much since he didn't intend on moving in the first place.
Damien had already played the game; thus, he knew what to expect if his results were to come back positive.
Coming back positive meant he would be free and no longer be viewed as a threat, but that was just on the surface level.
In truth, he would immediately be recruited to join the military academy.
There were people known as Resonators, a title strictly for men only, as they were the ones capable of awakening the crystal hearts.
Those who had a crystal heart were capable of summoning special beings called Avatars; these beings were skilled in fighting the Raptors, depending on how strong they were.
Unfortunately, only about 10% of the male population ended up awakening these crystal hearts after years of training in the academy.
Once they graduated, they were offered their own bases and military recruits to help protect the city from the Raptors.
The remaining 80% were looked down upon for being useless, often becoming recruits of the latter's base and most times living their lives in the city as regular people.
Still, there was one single issue with this particular sector.
The number of Resonators had been declining yearly, to the point many parts of the city were open to Raptor attacks, forcing them to abandon certain homes and places.
The district was dying, and they knew this.
'In the game, didn't the MC end up in a better district? Nox was only introduced during the third arc, and it was the hardest arc there.'
Damien shook his head.
Having to attend the academy was not something he wanted, not that he had a choice, unless he wanted to go to another district, and even then, he would get the same treatment.
The academy was a waste of time, having to do classes while listening to people who were afraid to step outside of the city.
Whether he wanted it or not, he was already part of this world, which also meant he wanted to be as resourceful as possible.
If only there was a way he could awaken his crystal heart without having to attend the academy.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Gacha System.]
[You have obtained a Crystal Heart.]