"What do you mean by 'easy', you clown?" A frown settled on both Na-Ri's and Adela's faces as they demanded an answer.
In truth, they had long suspected how he had managed a breakthrough despite never undertaking any body refinement training, and despite his habitual idleness whenever such matters arose.
He rarely attended the morning drills or the lectures.
Kyle, on the other hand, scarcely cared about their suspicions.
He had only just met them, and although he could not afford to trust whatever they might present to him, he recognised that he needed this breakthrough in order to grow stronger and survive the brutal world outside.
For that, he had to abandon ignorance and arrogance alike.
Even so, that did not mean he would cease despising human nature and the warped structures of the mind, a contempt born of his past.
If anything, he was more prepared than ever to achieve the breakthrough and move forward without being shackled by others.
And in the back of his mind lingered the reminder that he still needed to evolve the Ice Control Bond Imprint.
The method was... umm... positioned directly before him at this very moment.
'No, no, no. Concentrate, Kyle. Do not let it get into your head.'
The pretty boy suddenly began chuckling awkwardly, scratching the back of his head while deliberately avoiding the fiery stares of the two girls.
It was understandable, since it might not end well.
Adela was already seething again, even though he had only just apologised for an entirely different matter.
Na-Ri's usually detached expression had tightened into a frown, and if Orion's memory served him correctly, such moments often ended poorly.
Kyle himself remained indifferent to the rising tension, idly wondering how long it would take for them to abandon these emotional digressions and address the matter at hand.
Or had everyone abruptly forgotten that doom was rapidly approaching and that they were all trapped here like caged animals?
"...Follow me to my room, then," Orion muttered in a hoarse voice, already moving ahead and putting distance between himself and the two girls.
'Finally,' Kyle thought in a triumphant tone.
***
They arrived at Orion's room, which was as immaculate as a showroom floor, all his materials neatly arranged in a single corner.
The chamber was situated directly above Kyle's, on the third and final level of the building.
Only three rooms existed on this floor.
The walls were lined with drawings depicting life and nature, revealing the pretty boy to be something of a fanatic.
The room itself was no different in size or structure from the others, including Kyle's.
Adela still wore a frown, while Na-Ri had quietened, waiting for Orion to reveal the shortcut he had used to achieve his breakthrough.
Kyle's eyes wandered across the drawings, though he recognised none of the places they represented.
Every landscape appeared strangely alien.
Na-Ri noticed his curiosity and muttered quietly to him:
"...Umm... that was how the world looked before Qi corruption seeped into the world."
He glanced at her, then back at the drawings, grimacing.
'It was... beautiful, supposedly. Pfft.'
Orion suddenly began rummaging through a chest similar to the one in Kyle's room.
From it, he produced a small box, then approached the trio with a calm expression.
He pulled the curtain across the room, letting a shadow settle over them.
'…Is it a pill?' Kyle wondered, familiarly curious about what was inside the box before the pretty boy even opened it.
"So, guys. Once again, Lee and Adela, definitely not sorry for this shortcut, but realistically, this is the best way. Training your body for five years or more, going through all that pain? Not it. I know, Lee holds the record for the fastest breakthrough; three months of endless—"
Orion cut himself short as his eyes drifted to Na-Ri.
She gave him a look sharp enough to warn that if he didn't shut his mouth, she'd gladly do it for him.
Kyle, on the other hand, wasn't remotely surprised by yet another revelation about the beautiful stranger and her rapid power growth.
He simply didn't give a fuck about their world, so long as it didn't touch his.
"Well, open the box already and stop dragging this out with your dramatic suspense." Kyle's voice carried an edge of irritation.
If there was one thing he despised, it was the dramatic, emotional monologues these three seemed addicted to since he'd met them.
Orion only grinned and flipped the lid without hesitation.
A blinding burst of light flared across the room, followed by a drift of icy fog spilling from the box.
"That's so bright." Kyle muttered, turning his eyes away from the opened box.
They all had to shield their faces until the glare finally ebbed.
Inside lay five capsules, no larger than a fingernail, their colour caught somewhere between ash and bone.
The three of them recognised it instantly. No matter how far back history stretched, there had never been a pill that could hasten a breakthrough.
"A Vitara Pill? How…?" Kyle blurted, his tone dipped in irony, while Na-Ri and Adela turned to Orion, both utterly dumbstruck.
The young man blinked twice, smiling like a criminal suddenly eager to reveal his method.
Kyle's memory was clear. The Vitara Pill had been branded the pinnacle of uselessness. At best, it was a folk remedy for surviving the poison of a venom-type mutated beast.
Kyle gave him a look of disgust and said:
"...So who the hell scammed you into believing this could help with a breakthrough?"
"Heh? Of course not. I was not deceived. Taking two of these would in fact refine the body and push it towards the threshold of a breakthrough, though no one ever realised it. However, three of them would amount to poison and certain death." The pretty boy responded with a flat tone.
The three of them fixed their attention on him, their expressions marked by bewilderment.
"And how precisely do you know that?" Na-Ri asked, already anticipating Orion's demise.