Coyote Starrk stretched his arms above his head like someone who had just woken up from a nap. Then, he slowly stood up from his seat.
"As you wish, my liege," he said with a slight smirk on the edge of his lips.
Tsukuru wanted to smack his face.
"Oh, don't even start!" he grumbled, his shoulders slumping. "Just call me 'Tsukuru'."
"As you wish," Starrk replied as he began walking towards the door. He walked in a slouched position with his hands in his pockets.
However, once he reached Tsukuru, he stopped. He looked down at Tsukuru with an amused look.
"Lord Tsukuru," he replied.
Tsukuru let out a sigh. Apparently, that was the best he was going to get.
"Whatever," Tsukuru muttered, as he headed towards the door. "Let's just go."
***
Back in the VR Room, Quinn stared at the screen of his wristwatch as Tsukuru disconnected the call.
He then turned to look at Logan.
"So, you're Tsukuru's brother, huh?" Quinn asked with a smile.
Logan glanced to the side.
"Yep," he replied. Although the tone in his voice made it sound like a chore. He then turned back to Quinn.
"So, you got one of these 'Systems', too, huh?" he asked, before putting his hand on his chin. "I'm starting to wonder if whoever is making these 'Systems' has an Ability similar to mine. Although the use of inserting AI Systems into someone's brain has long since been banned. They were afraid that someone would come along who could control them and use them against the military."
Quinn looked at Logan. The boy couldn't seem to stop staring at him. Then, he remembered Vorden's words to Tsukuru in the Training Center. About seeing if he could help them with his "watch" situation.
And just in their short interaction, Quinn had to say that he agreed with Vorden. It was clear that Logan knew a lot about machines. And doing something like changing the number displayed on a wristwatch would probably be simplefor him.
Quinn let out a sigh.
"You can keep this a secret, right?" he asked.
Logan glanced away.
"I've known about Tsukuru's System since before the school year started," Logan replied, surprising Quinn. "What's one more secret to keep?"
Quinn smiled.
"You know…" Quinn replied, catching Logan's attention. "Maybe the three of us can work together? Perhaps we could find out who did this to Tsukuru and me."
The question of who exactly had made their "Systems" had come up in their conversations more than once.
Tsukuru had said that he had gotten his System from his mother, but she couldn't have been the one to have created their Systems. She died during the Dalki War while she was relatively young. And the book that Quinn had gotten his System from had been passed down in his family for generations.
"And…" Quinn said, glancing away. "There are a few things that I could use some help with."
Now that Logan wasn't preoccupied with other matterslike he had been when Tsukuru had first come to him after unlocking his System, he honestly couldn't deny that he found himself fascinated with these "Systems" of theirs. He had never seen anything like it before, hence his telling Tsukuru that something like this wasn't possible, and his curiosity was driving him mad.
Maybe it was even an Original who had found a way to pass on their Ability like a computer system rather than having to train the person.
But then, why did this…Quinn's wristwatch not display his actual Ability Level? Though, to be honest, Logan hadn't really seen Tsukuru that much. Maybe he was having the same problem.
"Of course," Logan said as he reached out his hand. "It would also give me the chance to study the two of you. Tsukuru's obviously already told you, but my name's Logan."
Quinn smiled.
"Yeah, same with me," he replied, reaching out his hand to join Logan's. "Tsukuru's already said my name, but I'm Quinn."
However, as soon as the two touched hands, a jolt was sent through Logan's body, and the same System message appeared.
[An Ability is attempting to access the System. Attempt has been blocked.]
Once again, Logan ripped his hand away.
"I don't think I like your System," Logan said, looking down at his hand. "It seems to be much more hostile towards me compared to Tsukuru's."
He then looked up at Quinn.
"Maybe we should avoid touching each other," he replied.
Quinn laughed nervously.
"Yeah," he replied. "Agreed."
However, Quinn's face then hardened.
He was starting to think that maybe it was the blonde-haired man who had created the Systems. He had said that "his 'experiment' was a success" during that little video that had played when Quinn had reached Level 10.
But, if he really did create the System, then why? And how did his family end up with it in the first place?
***
Elsewhere on the base, Tsukuru walked down the hall, Starrk trailing behind him. Each time the two passed a group of soldiers, they would turn and stare at Starrk. They had never seen this individual on the Base before. But he was also accompanying Hikiko Tsukuru, so no one wanted to be the one to say anything. The fact that Sergeant Shizuka had become incredibly bored these days had long since spread across the base. And there was nothing worse than a bored sadist.
Even if they confronted Tsukuru as nicely as possible, she would likely somehowtwist it into being something that she could punish them for.
As the two walked, Starrk's eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail of his new surroundings. This was going to be his new home for the foreseeable future, after all.
Despite the Base being quite large, Tsukuru knew the way to the VR Room by heart by this point. After all, ever since Quinn had discovered the VR Game a few weeks ago, the two of them had gone there every day after class.
The two of them snaked across hallway after hallway until Tsukuru finally stopped at a closed door.
"We're here," he muttered.
Starrk pulled his right hand out of his pocket and pushed the door open. As the door creaked open, Tsukuru could see the black-haired boy and the significantly smaller green-haired boy standing across from each other.
As soon as they heard the door creak, they both turned to look at him.
"Hey," Tsukuru replied, smiling as he saw them. "I miss the party?" he asked.
***
Far away from the VR Room, Sergeant Shizuka, Sergeant Faye, and General Nathan were standing in front of Head General Paul's desk in his office.
Currently, Nathan looked as though he wanted to sink into the floor. He resembled a student who had been called into the principal's office.
Paul slammed his fist onto his desk, causing it to shake slightly, jostling the stacks of paperwork.
"What do you mean, 'the mission was a failure'?!" Paul roared in anger. "How hard is it to salvage some materials?!" He then snapped his head towards Nathan. "And on top of that, we lost eight soldiers?!"
Nathan gulped and glanced away.
Sergeant Faye let out a sigh, causing Paul to turn to her, his glarestill on his face.
"We were attacked by a Beast Horde," she explained, telling him her lie. "It was a swarm of these…giant Bat things! Each one of them was the size of General Duke, and there was a whole colony of them!"
Faye had decided to use those "Death Bats" that Muka had told her about. But since she had never seen them before, she had no idea if she was exaggerating or being truthful.
Paul's eyes narrowed.
"What Tier were these Beasts?" he asked.
"Advanced-Tier," Faye replied instantly. "And while I would have been able to deal with one of them with little trouble, there were over thirty of them!" She then glanced back at Nathan. "Plus, I was busy trying to keep a squad of Level 2's alive." She said in a steely tone. She was still mad that Nathan had sent such weak soldiers on the mission. If he had sent Level 4's or 5's, they might have been able to last against Lexi until Muka had arrived.
Paul's head snapped towards Nathan. It looked as though he wanted to throttle the poor General.
Seeing the look, Nathan felt a cold sweat run down his back.
"It was supposed to be a simple mission!" he squeaked out.
"You can never be lax on a Red Portal Planet," Shizuka replied in a cold tone with her arms crossed. "And, even if it had been on a Green Portal Planet, I would have at least included a few Level 5's, just to be safe."
Faye let out another sigh. Then, she began approaching Paul's desk.
"I was able to salvage at least one of student Hikiko's daggers on my way back," Faye replied, placing the Basic-Tier Black Obsidian Dagger on Paul's desk. "That's at least something."