"Nano-remodulation?" Lady Erendel mused quietly to herself, but then her brows furrowed even more, and she continued.

"No. You spilled your blood."

"That… personalized genetic coding implantation into the core, to eliminate drawbacks and unlock base power, making more pronounced effects beyond even Nano-Remodulation," she said all at once, and Everlearn's eyes shone in surprise.

'She caught up quite fast!'

"How did you even do that?" she asked him, and he shrugged

"I used to be a Mech Designer… once," he said, and while she wanted to know more, it was also clear he didn't wish to say more about it, making her drop it.

And indeed, she saved herself headaches, as Everlearn would have never said anything.

He had paid for this knowledge of his with his own death.

There was no way in the world he would give it out to anyone for free.

Picking up the core from him, she nodded before tapping on her spectacles, and Everlearn watched as one of the CoreFusion beds had its glassy surface opened up.

Without wasting a second, he moved over to the bed, taking off his shirt.

His torso was the only place that needed to be bare, and he moved atop the bed.

A binding chain appeared from the inside, tightening both his hands and legs on the edge.

The glass closed up, just as one of the robotic hands moved, bringing down a blue syringe that pierced into Everlearn's forehead before the blue liquid was pushed into his brain.

In the next moment, the world turned bright for one second as all the lights on the glass lit up before Everlearn fully lost his consciousness.

Huuuuuu

A deep exhale left the lips of Lady Erendel as she looked at the boy within the pod.

She had done this surgical procedure more times than she could count.

But an Anomalous Grade Fusion!?

She had only done that thrice, two of which were failures, and one was a success.

And now here she was, with a core that had undergone personalized encoded coding and nano-remodulation.

The possible effects are already impossible to predict.

But when she remembered the one who had given her the card,

'It was Ash. Boss Ash.'

"I'll do my best. Only for your trust, Ash," she whispered, and in the next moment, both of her hands withdrew their skin to reveal an underlying layer of thin Nano-hands, her fingers turning as thin as needles.

"Activate 100% Precise Focus Surgical Mode," she ordered, and in the next moment, the machines across the pod shuddered to life, extending all their hands outward like extras.

The lights in the room darkened, leaving only the illumination upon Everlearn.

Soon enough, a hole appeared in the glass, directly above where his heart was, and machines and hands soon joined together, blades slicing into his chest.

The surgery had begun.

________

Everlearn had no idea how long he remained in slumber.

That was beyond his comprehension.

But when he opened his eyes, he opened them to the sight of crimson rays that shone around the pitch-red ceiling above, with vents open.

He was lying atop a bed, the only object present in this red room apart from the various vents.

Sitting up, his head felt groggy, and he held it, just as,

STEP

STEP

STEP

His ears twitched all of a sudden, and his eyes snapped to a random area of the wall.

There was no door or visible entrance, but he could hear that sound from the other side of the wall.

Soon enough, runic lights gleamed all over the wall, forming a mapped-out door, and she stepped in.

"Lady Erendel?" Everlearn asked, watching the crimson-haired lady stepping into the room.

She had changed; her once-tied hair now flowed over her shoulders, and her black outfit had been replaced with a loose, crimson-colored pajama set.

She was visibly surprised by his waking up, but only for a moment.

"You're awake? That's abnormal, you ought to still be unconscious for eight hours more," she said, as Everlearn sat up straight.

But that made him pause, feeling pain, and his hands reached for his chest.

When he turned to it, he found his entire upper torso completely covered in bandages.

"The surgery?" He finally remembered, and in the next moment, she was before him, sitting by his side.

"You never told me your Talent affinity was D-grade," she said.

"Did that affect it?" he asked, and she nodded.

"It did. Your body absolutely refused fusion, and most of your cells completely broke down, unable to handle the destructive power."

"Thankfully, it all worked out in the end, though it was too much of a headache."

"A headache I normally wouldn't have signed up for,"

She said, obviously annoyed.

Guess the surgery must have really taken a hell of an effort for things to work out.

But,

"Thank you," Everlearn murmured, and she paused before her eyes softened.

"You're welcome."

"What time is it again?" he asked, as she dipped her hand into her pajamas.

"It's 10:56."

"Wow. That's… that's a lot of time."

He had come here at 10, and now it was 10 at night!

"You should be glad you survived at all. I wanted to do one last check-up before going to sleep," she said, watching him rise to his feet in the next moment.

"What are you doing?"

"Heading back to my dorm room?" he asked.

"You absolutely cannot do that! Your body is greatly unstable," she said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"But I got a class at 6:00 and also a challenge?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"And which exactly is worth your life?" she asked as his lips opened only to shut close.

"Refuse the challenge. You haven't refused one before, right?"

"As for the late class, you will only be deducted 10 points."

"If you're being challenged at all, then you must have quite the points, so that should be no problem."

"You need rest… a lot of it. At least an entire 24 hours of rest." She said, and he was about to shrug it off stubbornly when it flashed before him

║I would listen to her if I were you.║

The system panel appeared in his vision.

'It's… It's that bad?'

║Yes.║

It replied curtly, dispelling any remaining doubts in Everlearn's mind.

"Fine. I'll leave in the morning."

He said, crawling back to the bed and sinking into the mattress.

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