With a faint grin, Elenor closed the SUV door, slipped her hands into her pockets, and walked forward with a straight posture. The sharp sound of her heeled boots echoed through the hangar with each step.
She headed calmly toward the inner sections of the laboratory—then suddenly stopped.
'Better take precautions. Even if my grandfather's labs are secure thanks to the mountain structure, an incident of this magnitude could still cause a rift to open inside.'
Turning back, Elenor went to the SUV's trunk and tapped the touch panel. The trunk opened slowly. She examined the weapons, first taking a military belt and fastening it around her slim yet strong waist. The metallic silver belt, accented with red neon lights, locked magnetically; dormant lights flared to life along the clasp.
She then inspected the pistols and selected the most powerful one—a .50 caliber handgun with a twelve-round capacity, dark silver in color and decorated with blue neon lines. The weapon had a cold silver finish, its edges softened yet overall sharp and angular. The barrel wasn't round like a conventional pistol's but polygonal, heavy, and block-like. Thin blue neon lines ran along the barrel from both sides, embedded into the metal, glowing steadily and with restraint.
The grip was simple yet formidable—no unnecessary protrusions. Its matte surface was smooth, fitting perfectly into the palm, ergonomic without being flashy. The trigger guard was thick and angular, reinforcing the gun's heavy character. Instead of a traditional slide, the top featured a single integrated upper casing, giving the weapon an unusual, almost industrial appearance.
Elenor lifted the gun and briefly checked its condition, ejecting the magazine to inspect the rounds.
'Hmm… standard caliber rounds. Useful against humans and monsters below E+ level, but not effective for C-rank and above… Where are the other rounds?'
She opened the bag containing the magazines, examining each one carefully.
'Let's see… rifle mags, no… not these… Ah! Here they are—the .50 caliber pistol mags!'
She pulled out several crates, each roughly fifty centimeters wide and tall.
'Let's take a look—explosive rounds, poison rounds, freezing rounds, incendiary rounds, shock rounds… Wow… I never realized Aunt Amanda had such a diverse arsenal. So which should I take?'
Elenor studied the ammunition carefully, each type possessing a unique function. Explosive rounds, as the name suggested, reacted with the target's blood to trigger internal mechanisms, detonating the target from the inside.
'Absolutely not. The chance of monsters inside is low, but if there are any and I use these, I'll be the one cleaning up scattered organs and blood.'
She set the explosive rounds aside. Her elegant hand moved to the box of poison rounds—these burst lightly on impact, releasing toxins—but she rejected them as well.
'No. Even with filtration systems, I don't want to deal with poisons in a closed space—especially if that space is my home.'
A freezing round was ammunition containing a mixture with cryogenic properties; upon impact, it instantly froze the area it struck. Rather than killing outright, it was designed to slow down monsters by severely restricting their movement.
'This will do. There are also shock and armor-piercing rounds… Freezing is the best choice. Shock rounds could cause unintended interference with the laboratory's systems, and armor-piercing rounds could damage the lab if they hit the wrong place. The ideal option is freezing ammunition.'
Elenor picked up the box marked with a frost symbol and opened it, taking out a magazine and loading it into the weapon. The gun's neon lights shifted to an icy blue hue. She took the weapon's special holster and brought it close to her belt, touching a tactile button on the belt; the holster snapped into place, locking on with magnetic force. After placing the gun inside, she took a military knife from another bag and affixed it horizontally to the back of her belt in the same magnetic manner. Then she picked up a shotgun and loaded it with freezing ammunition as well.
'Alright. That took four minutes. Now it's time to take a look at my new home… I wish I could wear my combat armor… Being like this makes me feel naked.'
Elenor let out a deep sigh. Even though she was armed, the lack of protective gear made her feel exposed. Over the past two years, her body had continued to develop—her height was already 1.75 meters, and her chest and hips had grown slightly and were still developing. Because of this, her combat armor no longer fit. She shook her head and moved forward, tapping the touch panel of the first door. The door slid open. Elenor stepped inside, advancing as the sound of her heeled boots echoed down the corridor.
It had been a long time since Elenor had been here. The last time was thirteen years ago, and she had never entered beyond the hangar. She loved her grandfather—she truly did—but her family had died because of his work, and that fact had haunted her for a long time. Besides her exceptional intelligence, Elenor possessed another trait: a photographic memory. Normally, this would have been a gift, but for Elenor, it had been a curse for many years.
On the night her family was killed, they were all eating together when the assassins struck. Her family, her uncle and his family, her grandmother, her older brother, her older sister, her cousins—every one of them was murdered right before her eyes. If Omar had not arrived in time, Elenor would have died as well.
Because of her photographic memory, Elenor still remembered the massacre with painful clarity—every detail, every second. She shut herself off from the world for a long time, isolating herself completely. But through Omar's persistence and the love of his family, Elenor finally overcame the trauma at the age of seventeen.
After passing through the door, she found herself in a corridor and noticed four doors on each side. She stopped, closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing. Carefully, she listened to her surroundings, searching for any foreign sounds. She listened to every faint click and every hum, waiting for any sign that something was wrong. She stayed on alert like that for a full minute, but nothing seemed out of place.
Elenor opened her ruby-red eyes. She raised her shotgun and advanced in a ready stance. First, she pressed herself against the wall beside the first door on the left.
'Everything looks fine, but I won't relax until I'm sure. I need to reach the control room and put the lab on maximum security as soon as possible. I don't want to leave without checking every room.'
She touched the control panel, and the door opened. Elenor entered cautiously, aiming her shotgun as she quickly scanned left and right. The room she stepped into was nearly empty. There were two control panels on the walls and four robotic arms. In the center of the room stood a large drone—ten meters wide and ten meters long—along with four smaller rocket-equipped drones, each shorter than a meter but wider in build. The room was small, but not cramped.
In fact, this laboratory was an underground residence frequently used by Soren. At the same time, it served as a shelter for Omar's family and Elenor in emergencies like this. Although designed for research, it was not as large as the other laboratories.
Elenor carefully surveyed the area, moving with caution. Her finger stayed near the trigger, her breathing calm and steady. She checked every potential hiding spot in the room. After a few seconds, she let out a relaxed breath.
'Room clear.'
She lowered the barrel slightly, keeping the weapon at chest level as she advanced. Her gaze lingered on the two drones.
'Hmm… These are cargo drones.'
Curious, Elenor approached the larger one but did not open it, only inspecting its exterior. Then she moved to the smaller one and examined it more closely.
'Unlike the big one, this one's engine is still very warm. This is my grandfather's fastest cargo drone—so it must have arrived recently. This must be the special device he mentioned.'
After that thought, she glanced back at the larger drone.
'This one must be my gift… I just hope it's not something overly excessive again. The last thing he gave me was a heavy-class armor—five meters tall, completely covered in weapons… Honestly, I thought it was a next-generation mech. It was basically a walking tank. Thankfully, the Emperor confiscated it! I still don't understand what he expected me to do with that thing. It was far too cumbersome for me.'
She sighed deeply as another unpleasant memory surfaced.
'…Fighter jets, helicopters, space jets, heavy armored trucks, a spy smartwatch designed to watch and listen to me, a security drone that wiped out an entire street because a man harassed me… Grandpa, I'm begging you, please let it be something normal this time… At least don't let it be weapon-focused!'
Shaking her head, Elenor refocused and exited the cargo room.
'I won't open these now. I can't afford to get distracted—first, I need to explore the lab.'
She walked straight ahead toward the opposite room and, with the same caution, opened the door and stepped inside. What greeted her was a room filled with cages. Elenor froze in surprise and entered carefully.
'Why are there so many cages?'
She quickly checked the room and confirmed it was clear, then began to examine it more closely. Inside the cages were traces of scorched marks and liquids of different colors. Elenor leaned in for a closer look.
'…This is goblin blood. And the blue one over there is probably kaiju blood… So this is where Grandpa kept the monsters he studied.'
Elenor moved to a cabinet and opened it. Inside were various tools—two sniper rifles of different sizes and six ammunition cases. She examined the cases.
'These aren't for killing… Sedative rounds, stun rounds, paralysis rounds… Looks like I've found Grandpa's hunting room.'
She opened the next cabinet. Inside were several intriguing capture devices—two weapons of different sizes, one resembling a bazooka and the other a shotgun.
'These are net launchers… I might make use of this room in the future.'
Elenor opened the final cabinet. Inside was a wide-mouthed weapon, along with thick, high-tech ring-shaped devices. She picked one up and examined it closely, her fingers brushing over the metallic surface.
'Shock collars… Looks like Grandpa used these to keep monsters calm and obedient… They might come in handy later.'
After placing the collar back into the cabinet, Elenor turned her attention to the panels.
…No. First, I should secure the laboratory, then settle in. I'll be staying here for a long time—I'll have plenty of time to look through the files later.
After leaving the cage section, Elenor turned right and advanced toward the next room, entering it with the same level of caution. She quickly scanned the surroundings.
"Clear…"
She examined the room. It was filled with various research instruments. On the right side was a glass wall, and behind it was a room covered in claw marks. On the left were assorted tools, plants, medicines, and chemical materials. The laboratory was orderly.
'This place seems to be connected to the adjacent room… Looks like Grandpa examined monsters and conducted experiments here… That makes sense. By keeping the monsters closer to the outside, he created a safer environment. That way, even if a monster escaped, it wouldn't damage the core areas. And since it's next to the hangar, he could easily move captured monsters directly into cages… I'll investigate these two rooms later.'
Elenor turned around, exited the room, and headed to the final room in this corridor—the one directly across. She opened the door and stepped inside. The room contained two hospital beds and various medical supplies.
'This is the infirmary. I hope I won't have to use it often.'
Leaving the room, Elenor turned left and walked toward the door at the end of the corridor to enter the next area. She touched the panel to open it. At the sight before her, Elenor froze in surprise, her beautiful lips parting slightly.
A garden lay before her. At its center was a circular pool made of natural stone, four meters in diameter. Four different paths split the area, dividing it into four sections. The first two sections were gardens filled with various plants. The two sections farther ahead included, on the right, a resting area with a gazebo and flowering bushes, while the other side was an empty space. Sunlight filled the interior, and the sky was visible above.
After quickly scanning the area, Elenor analyzed it.
'Width: 12 meters. Length: 15 meters. Height: 9 meters. A total area of 180 square meters… Grandpa, is this what you meant by a greenhouse?'
She took her sunglasses from her pocket and put them on, lifting her head to look at the sun, her eyes narrowing.
'Hmm… A kind of glass dome powered by a sunstone, combined with a holographic sky and lighting system that creates an artificial atmosphere… There's probably a control mechanism that allows all four seasons to be simulated at will… I'd expect nothing less from you, Grandpa.'
Shaking her head, Elenor moved forward. Directly ahead stood a small yet luxurious two-story house. She nodded with a forced smile.
'The only person who would build something like this inside a mountain is my grandfather. This must be his summer house—an absolute madman… This was probably the only laboratory he designed as a shelter… And the reason is me. I survived that night, but Grandpa didn't—and it doesn't look like he ever will. He still blames himself.'
Elenor stepped closer to the central pool, looked inside, and murmured in disappointment.
"I guess expecting edible fish was a mistake… After all, this is a laboratory, not a farm."
She turned back and examined the plants on both sides.
'These are rift plants. I've never heard of some of them, but that one over there should be a Silver Rose—mana-restoring for awakened individuals, and also a component used in the liquid inside explosive rounds.'
She bent down and inhaled its scent.
'Smells nice. There are a lot of plants here—some of them I recognize as medicinal.'
Elenor then examined the plants on the opposite side.
'I recognize some of these too—plants used for poisons and sedative mixtures… Looks like I'll have plenty to keep myself busy.'
She moved toward the natural pool. There were doors on both the left and right sides of the area. Raising her shotgun, she advanced to the left and entered the room. Inside, she found an area roughly half the size of the greenhouse. There were various exercise machines, a simulation room, and weapons used for close-combat training.
'This is probably Uncle Omar's training area.'
Elenor carefully surveyed the space.
'This place is clean as well.'