Harlow was bored as he slowly lifted a forkful of potatoes to his mouth. The cafeteria was almost always boring. For one thing, he couldn't really read his manga because there were too many people around. And he didn't want to get called out by the officers again. They were annoying.

Geez. I just want to read that story again. It was amazing. I knew Granny would send it to me. Hm...I wonder how she's doing. She's probably doing fine, though.

Harlow poked at his food. It didn't really taste good, so he didn't eat. Most days he didn't eat or drink much, but it was fine because he didn't feel the need to sustain himself in order to feel comfortable. He never quite understood why most people did.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and noticed a buff man with a beard and lots of body hair.

"Sup," Harlow said.

The man frowned. He grabbed Harlow's fork and tossed it on the floor. Harlow was confused.

"Uh...hey, what did you do that for?" Harlow asked, staring at the man. The man didn't reply. He just crossed his arms and walked away. Harlow watched him go, then looked at his fork lying on the ground.

Huh, wonder what his problem is. Oh well...

Harlow got up with his plate and made his way to the back of the cafeteria where they put the dirty dishes. When he put his dishes down, he noticed an officer on the upper floor staring at him. Harlow glanced at the officer before turning around and walking back to his seat.

When Harlow arrived at his seat, someone was already sitting in it. Harlow frowned.

"Hey, that's my seat," Harlow said, staring at the man. The man quickly got up and rolled up his sleeves.

"You wanna go, pretty boy?" The man said, staring intensely at Harlow. Harlow raised his eyebrows, looking more annoyed than afraid.

"No," Harlow replied simply. The man nodded and sat back down.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear. That's exactly what I want to hear..." The man replied.

Harlow turned around and started strolling. He didn't have anywhere to sit now, and breakfast was still going on.

Damn, I really wish I could read some manga right about now...

Harlow walked up to a wall and leaned against it. He was about to close his eyes and drift off until he heard rustling noises nearby. He quickly opened his eyes and saw the officers coming into the cafeteria.

Harlow straightened up.

"357!" The officer in front shouted.

Harlow slowly but surely walked towards the officer that shouted his number.

"Yeah?" Harlow replied.

"Follow me," The officer replied.

Harlow shrugged and followed the officer out of the cafeteria. The other officers left the cafeteria as soon as the first one did.

I hope they'll at least let me read some manga...

...

The interrogation room was silent. The officer stared at Harlow from across the table for a while before pulling out some papers and asking him questions.

"So, can you tell me why you're here?" The officer asked, looking at the papers.

Harlow scratched his head. Why was he here again? What was this place? He knew it was a place where people like him went for doing bad things, but what else? Hmm...he couldn't seem to remember.

"I...I don't know why I'm here. Why am I here again?" Harlow asked, folding his hands. The officer took off his cap.

"You're here because you beat up a group of boys. Do you remember that?" The officer asked.

Harlow frowned. No, he couldn't remember that. He couldn't remember doing anything like that. He wasn't the type to beat up people randomly anyway.

"No, I don't," Harlow said, scratching his head. The officer looked through the papers again.

"At the rate you're going, I reckon you won't be here for long, but we want to make sure that you don't make the same mistakes when you get out. Is that clear?" The officer asked.

Harlow nodded.

"Alright. Now, since you're of legal age, I have a proposal for you," The officer said. Harlow leaned in a bit, waiting to hear what the officer had to say.

"I could get you out of here sooner, but there's a test you have to take. You see, lately, there's been a spike in monster cases, and most of them were associated with males that had higher levels of aggression. If you take a monsterification test and you're below the threshold, you'll get out of here in no time," The officer explained.

Harlow nodded. He seemed to like the idea.

I could finally see Granny again.

Harlow stared at the papers in front of the officer.

"Sure," he said, scratching his head again. Looking at the officer, he repeated, "Yeah, I guess I will take the test."

The officer nodded.

"Great. Now, all you have to do is sign here," The officer said, handing Harlow the contract. Harlow looked at it. Most of the words and sentences were already confusing enough. He simply skimmed over them and went straight to the signature line. When he was done, he handed it over to the officer.

The officer smirked, stood up, and walked towards the door. He left the room, and Harlow followed. As Harlow was following the officer, he took note of the many weird-looking monster pictures on the walls.

What were they? Why were they kept like this?

Harlow continued to follow the officer to the top of the stairs that led to the basement. Harlow stared down below, thinking of what the monsterification test was going to be like. The officer glanced at Harlow then back at the stairs.

"You've got one shot. I'm sure you're like 0.09% or something like that, so you shouldn't have to worry too much. C'mon, follow me," The officer said, descending the stairs.

Harlow followed him. He was still somewhat reluctant—not because he was scared, but because he wanted to pass the monsterification test. He sighed. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the officer pointed at a door not too far from them.

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It was a red door which could be opened with an access card. The officer walked towards the door, Harlow by his side. When he reached the door, he used the access card to open it and stepped in.

Harlow watched him step in but didn't bother to go in yet. The officer looked around the lab.

TSSssss....Tssss....Tzzzzzzzzssss...

It sounded like someone was drilling something. Who could it have been?

Harlow walked with the officer as they continued exploring the lab. Harlow stopped to analyze a pair of prosthetic limbs.

He tried touching one of them, but someone screamed at him before he could even graze them with his finger.

"STOP!" Someone screamed. Harlow froze in his tracks, nonchalant about the whole thing.

Huh, why?

He looked up and noticed a slender, tall, old man approaching him. Harlow raised his eyebrows.

"Hey...I'm..." Harlow began, but the doctor immediately screamed, "NEVER—EVER—IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE DO YOU TOUCH THE EQUIPMENT! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!"

Harlow squinted his eyes. He had tuned out most of what the doctor had said, and it wasn't even a long sentence. The officer looked embarrassed. He laid a hand on the doctor's shoulders.

"Dr. Sunji, my apologies. This is Harlow Blackburne. I want him to take the monsterification test. If you're too busy now, we could do it another time, although I doubt it would take long to do the operation, given your skill set," the officer said.

Dr. Sunji gave the officer a side eye.

"You're Yowaya, right? Hmpth..." Dr. Sunji replied. Yowaya glanced at Harlow, who was leaning against the wall, picking his nose. Yowaya frowned. He looked back at Dr. Sunji, who was eager to get back to whatever he was doing.

"The kid doesn't belong here, doctor," Yowaya said.

Dr. Sunji stopped working, and he didn't even look back at Yowaya when he said, "Is that my problem?"

Yowaya slowly approached Dr. Sunji.

"Why don't we just check him and get this over with? You still owe me, remember?" Yowaya said.

Dr. Sunji finally faced Yowaya.

"And you want to waste it on me helping that brat? Okay, fine, I'll test him," Dr. Sunji said, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Yowaya pulled out the contract that Harlow had signed and gave it to Dr. Sunji. The doctor signed it and placed it on a table. Dr. Sunji sighed as he looked through a pack of syringes.

He finally took one of the syringes and analyzed it. He smirked and turned to Harlow, who was still leaning against the wall.

"Kid, you're up," Yowaya said to Harlow. Harlow didn't really hear Yowaya speak because he was somewhat half-asleep. It was only when he saw Yowaya walking up to him that he fully opened his eyes and leaned off the wall. He strolled to Dr. Sunji and sat on the chair.

"Try not to move," Dr. Sunji said. He looked at Harlow's right shoulder. He used an alcohol swab to clean the area where he was going to inject the needle and positioned Harlow's arm.

When Dr. Sunji tried to inject the syringe into Harlow's shoulder, the needle snapped in half. Dr. Sunji raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"I'm flabbergasted. You're human, right? Why is your skin so tough?" Dr. Sunji said. He glanced back at Yowaya, his face showing signs of extreme caution. He then looked back at Harlow, who was still somewhat half-asleep.

"Hey, brat, answer me. Are you a monster?" Dr. Sunji asked. Harlow frowned. Why would he be a monster? He was just a normal human, like everyone else. He'd felt normal all his life, so why would it be different now?

"No, I'm not a monster. Isn't that obvious? Can't you see I'm a human?" Harlow said, raising his eyebrows.

Dr. Sunji was somewhat taken aback, but he wasn't surprised. He knew that there were some monsters who lived a portion of their lives believing they were still human until they did something horrific that proved they were a monster. Harlow must have been like this.

"Brat, have you ever been hurt? Like...have you ever bled before? Have you ever broken a bone, gotten a splinter, or stubbed your toe? You get what I mean, right?" Dr. Sunji asked, staring into Harlow's eyes with a hint of curiosity. Harlow slowly shook his head.

"I'm so confused why you're asking me these questions," Harlow said.

Dr. Sunji stood up.

"If I can't pierce your skin, then there's another way to numerically check your monsterification status. Follow me," Dr. Sunji said, throwing the syringe away. Harlow stood up and followed Dr. Sunji to the back of the lab. Near the back of the lab was another door that presumably led to another room.

Dr. Sunji opened the door and stood to the side, waiting for Harlow to go inside. Harlow walked past the doctor and entered the room.

Yowaya did the same. When both of them were inside of the room, Dr. Sunji stepped inside himself and closed the door. Harlow stared at the pod in front of him.

What? It looks like something out of an alien movie. Yeah, like something aliens from outer space would crash on Earth with when their ship gets destroyed and they need to abort or something like that. Man, even that idea sounds so boring...

"Kid, pay attention. Do you want to leave this place or not?" Yowaya asked. Harlow stopped daydreaming and glanced at Yowaya, nodding. He then glanced back at the pod and watched it open.

"Alright, step in. It should take about fifteen seconds to start up. When I activate it, there'll be a total of twenty flashes within a short period of time. I recommend you close your eyes when I say 'flash.' Got it? Oh, and make sure to align your face with the screen inside," Dr. Sunji said.

Harlow nodded, not really caring for anything that Dr. Sunji had just said. He stepped into the pod and got comfortable. Dr. Sunji helped him stay fastened and went back to the computer. He typed in a couple of codes and activated the program.

The pod, originally red, turned green and began to close. Inside, it was hot, but Harlow wasn't bothered. Temperature extremes didn't affect him.

Yowaya approached Dr. Sunji.

"What's the average monsterification percentage?" Yowaya asked. Dr. Sunji, focused on monitoring the program, answered while typing.

"Around 0.07%, give or take. Why? You think he'll be higher? That's possible. I'd guess around 10%," Dr. Sunji said.

Yowaya was taken aback by Dr. Sunji's prediction.

"No way... but isn't anything over 5% already absurd? I doubt he's over ten; he has no monster features. Everything points to him being human, except for his skin, of course," Yowaya said. Dr. Sunji continued typing, considering this. He nodded.

"From your perspective, yes, I understand. But based on the database, it's different. There's a good chance he's above 10%," Dr. Sunji replied.

Yowaya stroked his chin.

"What's the highest ever recorded? Some say 60%, some say 90%. Based on the database, what have you seen?" Yowaya asked.

Dr. Sunji thought it over.

"The way you phrased that makes it irrelevant. A better question is, 'What's the limit for human monsterification?' And that, my friend, is 99.99%," Dr. Sunji said, grinning.

Yowaya frowned.

"So... basically 100," Yowaya said, baffled.

Dr. Sunji shook his head.

"Nope, 99.99. Think of it like Achilles' Paradox. It approaches 100 but never reaches it," Dr. Sunji explained.

Yowaya glanced at the pod. Harlow seemed fine. The signal light on top blinked, prompting Yowaya to begin.

"Here comes the truth," Dr. Sunji said, looking at Harlow.

"FLASH!" Dr. Sunji said, pressing "ENTER." Harlow closed his eyes as the flashes went off. When they finished, he slowly opened them.

Dr. Sunji saw the data transfer to his computer. He was shocked.

"...Wait... am I seeing things?" Dr. Sunji said, removing his glasses. Yowaya leaned in, trying to see the data too.

"Holy shit... that's 100% monsterification..." Yowaya said slowly. They looked at each other, then at Harlow through the pod.

"No, that can't be right. Something must be wrong with the equipment," Dr. Sunji said, immediately unplugging the cords connecting the pod to the computer.

The pod shut down and opened. Yowaya watched as Harlow slowly stepped out, confused by Yowaya's fearful expression.

"Hey, I got a low number, right? Can I go home soon?" Harlow asked, approaching Yowaya. Yowaya stared at the ground, eyes wide with fear. He finally looked at Harlow.

"No... you won't be going home anytime soon..." Yowaya said, slowly standing up.

Dr. Sunji closed the pod and observed them.

"I don't understand. Why can't I go home?" Harlow asked, turning to Dr. Sunji, who looked away. Harlow frowned.

"Hey, are you guys hiding something from me?" Harlow asked, pouting.

Yowaya put a hand on Harlow's shoulder.

"Kid, I'm sorry, but you're a monster. I mean, you're truly a monster..." Yowaya said firmly. Harlow frowned.

"No, I'm not. I don't look or feel like one, so I'm not," Harlow replied plainly.

Yowaya crossed his arms.

"The data showed you're 100% monsterized. That means none of you is human anymore, which shouldn't be possible, but it is. I'm sorry, kid, but you're not going anywhere," Yowaya said, staring at Harlow. Harlow sighed.

"Whatever. I want to go back and read my manga," Harlow said childishly. Yowaya was surprised but not displeased by Harlow's response. Dr. Sunji approached Yowaya to whisper.

"You realize I'm obligated to submit this contract and result to the database, and when I do, the kid will be executed..." Dr. Sunji whispered. Yowaya frowned.

"Then destroy it," Yowaya replied.

"And what should I say when they come down for questioning? You should know that they track our ins and outs..." the doctor replied. Yowaya bit his lip. He didn't know how to respond. Dr. Sunji shook his head in disappointment.

"Well, for what it's worth, that kid should be extremely powerful, and given how there's never been a case like him, who knows what he's capable of. The term 'superhuman' might be redefined sooner than you think..." Dr. Sunji mused, leaning back.

Yowaya and Dr. Sunji glanced at the door. Harlow had already left the room. He was probably doing something out there while he waited for Yowaya and the doctor.

Dr. Sunji's heart skipped a beat.

"WAIT! I CAN'T SEE YOU! I SWEAR IF YOU'RE TOUCHING SOMETHING..." Dr. Sunji yelled, storming out of the room. Yowaya stayed, still in disbelief. He thought about his girlfriend, Fukui, who was hundreds of miles away from him.