CHAPTER 43

Savio was a proud scientist. He always deems himself as one of the best, the most intelligent, and someone above all else, especially around his peers.

He takes pride in all of his achievements and findings from experiments, even if the children end up dead. Nothing is more important than research and children. Because to him, they are valuable test subjects. Without them, there would be no progress toward his goal.

Savio was not the one to fear failure. He's not scared of the children's rage or their rampage. His only fear was being unable to attain his ambition and walk towards it. He always felt this way until a magnificent child was offered to him. It was Hirayon.

Hirayon was a rare son of a Clan Chief and a child with strong regeneration and healing cells compared to other children. He heals faster, grows faster, learns faster, and, most importantly, adapts faster than any other child—a perfect test subject.

That is why the temptation to experiment on him quickly devoured Savio when he learned about his existence. He awaited his arrival and looked forward to their first experiment with so much want. He had prepared for days, and when the child arrived, he could see the potential of Hirayon's body with his own keen eyes.

For the first time in his life, the dream of creating the most powerful child became within reach. It was in front of him, enticing him to reach out and be more obsessed with obtaining it. He could not see anything else until he was faced with death in the form of a scrawny child with black hair and bluish-violet eyes.

When warm blood flowed from his head and muddled his eyes to see nothing but red, Savio felt dread. Resting in a pool of his blood, feeling nothing but pain, it was the first time that Savio trembled in horror and fright. Never in his life had he thought that a small child who would help him accomplish his dream would be a killer in disguise and turn his dream into a nightmare.

He got scared, not at the eyes of death dawning on him but at the fact that he could die first before reaching his ambition.

Savio thought the only person who could make him shiver in fear was dead. But here he is, watching his potential killer struggle to accept Bind in his body.

"Hold it in," he stated while Hirayon jerked his body, already covered in sweat. The child was still grumbling in pain and exhaustion.

It had been ten minutes, and the Bind's torture on Hirayon should have been nearly done. According to past records, the Bind takes an average of 12 minutes to successfully enter a child's system. If it exceeds 15 minutes, it would be dangerous for the child as his mind could break.

'It's about time. Please work.' Savio prayed. He was not a huge believer in the Deities, but he didn't care now as the road to his goal was at stake.

After taking in Hirayon, Savio sees the child as a double-edged sword. Hirayon could lead him to reach his dream, and at the same time, the child could also be the one to crush all of his dreams, including his life. Time will tell what Savio will end up first, but he is willing to gamble everything. To achieve his ambition, he will do everything he can and give up everything he has, even his life. But before he loses everything, he will ensure that he succeeds in making the most powerful child in Diwana.

"Ugh!"

Hirayon felt something burst within him, bringing waves of numbing pain. He could hear a loud buzz in his ears until it got hushed. His quick, heavy breathing rang in his ears, and before it dawned on him that the pain was gone, he blacked out and fell into a deep slumber.

"He survived, "FORT685 sighed in relief.

"Good job, child," Savio stated before inspecting Hirayon's body. Although it looked better than his forsaken appearance in the last experiment, Savio could tell that the child had more difficulty holding onto his life with this experiment.

After noting every change he saw in the child's system, Savio ordered FORT685 to clean Hirayon before leaving the room.

With his white robe flapping as he walked quickly in the hallway, Savio hurried to get into his laboratory. With all the data he gathered, he planned to compare Hirayon's experiment to other children. He wanted to analyze everything to see if he could find why Bind was unpredictable. He wouldn't get too excited if it was any other average child. But as it was Hirayon, he could already foresee a groundbreaking discovery to make the Bind a perfect substance.

***

Hirayon woke up feeling weary. He put effort into opening his heavy eyelids and stared dazedly at the white ceiling. When he realized he was in his room, he felt extreme relief.

'I'm not dead.'

Even though Savio and FORT685 believed he would survive the experiment, Hirayon thought he would die. Initially, he trusted himself as well, but his confidence wavered when the pain started to spread. He thought he wouldn't be able to open his eyes the next time.

Wanting to get up, Hirayon slowly moved his aching body and sat properly on the bed. He looked at his arms, limbs, then his entire body. He ran his hands everywhere to check if any side effects changed his physical form. Seeing that he was still the same, he let out another sigh and thought he was fortunate for everything to work out.

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'There's nothing amiss. I hope I didn't have any hidden side effects.' He wished.

Hirayon was thinking of getting some water beside the bed when the doors slid open, and Savio and FORT685 entered the room.

"How are you feeling?" Savio asked while his grey eyes were glowing. He checked Hirayon's body inside and out to see any changes but didn't see anything.

"Tired," Hirayon answered. Even though he didn't want to talk to the man, he needed to know if the experiment was successful and that his elements were all in harmony.

"Naturally. You even slept for three days," Savio said, opening a hologram with a table listing different tests.

"Before you eat, we need to check if your elements were bound and you didn't receive any side effects."

Hirayon nodded and willingly underwent all the tests, which took a long time before it finally finished. Once done, Hirayon's stomach was already aching with hunger, so he hurriedly went to a table filled with food that FORT685 prepared. The child ate hungrily and consumed more than what FORT685 anticipated. It was like looking at a starved adult who had not eaten for weeks.

"Is that normal?" FORT685 whispered to Savio, who was also watching the child transform into a hungry beast.

"Yes. The more OWS59 strengthens, the more his appetite will get large. I think you didn't bring enough," he said when he noticed each dish getting eaten in mere seconds.

"Are you sure it's not a side effect?" FORT685 asked. Although it was his first time having a master as great as Hirayon, he still couldn't believe his eyes. He even wondered where all the food goes.

Savio glared at the servant. "How dare you doubt me?"

FORT685 immediately bowed when he realized he had overstepped his line. This was the second time, and he feared that Savio would punish him. "I'm sorry, Trainer."

Savio tilted his head and squinted at the servant. He wasn't planning on making a fuss, but he wants FORT685 to remember his role. What's more, he hated being questioned; that's why he automatically reacted.

Ignoring the nervous servant, Savio spoke to Hirayon.

"While you are eating, I want to discuss a few things," he started.

"The experiment is successful, and your elements are now in harmony. However, it is better to say that your Water Element is now holding down the other two to work together and not mess up your body. Next, you will be able to use your abilities better. It doesn't look that way during the tests because of exhaustion, but the Bind made them more powerful, so I suggest you check them in Opod and properly train them. I don't want to experience a different version of Manic Phase." He explained and whispered the last one.

"And lastly, train your Blood Ability. You might need it on the next game."

Hirayon swallowed his food and looked up at Savio. "How do you know I'll need it?"

"The next game was postponed and was rescheduled two weeks from now. When that happens, there's either a problem in the facility or the game is much more difficult, so more preparation must be done. I also heard that most trainers are rushing the children to wield their first element, so most players will use their abilities starting the next game."

Savio was about to leave when he remembered something. "Also, don't be too complacent and think every game would be about getting the most points. The games would also test your compatibility with others, leadership, analytical skills, and more. So try harder and don't sleep," he reminded. He was worried that Hirayon might sleep again in the next game.

Hirayons shrugged his shoulders. "I was feeling too slugging."

Nodding his head, Savio spoke. "I figured that might be because of the second element."

'An element that makes the oddity tired and sleepy?'

"What element does that?" He asked.

Savio gave Hirayon a condescending look. "You should figure it out for yourself. That way you'll have more fun. You like studying, right? Then you must also like discovering things." He said and turned around, leaving the room.

Feeling annoyed, Hirayon stared at the chicken dish in front of him. He was ransacking his brain to see what element does that, but he couldn't figure it out.

Seeing that, FORT685 silently pushed more plates toward Hirayon, urging him to eat more.

After eating, Hirayon slept briefly and woke up after a few hours. Instead of getting up, he remained in bed and closed his eyes again.

The next moment he opened them, he saw vast darkness with a ring-like light and a giant orb. He was in his Core Space.

"I can't waste any time."

Although tired, Hirayon did his usual training routine before enhancing his Water Abilities. Savio also told him to train his Blood Ability, but he figured his Blood Element was similar to his Water Element. He thought it would be easier to train it if he mastered control of his Water Abilities.

With that in mind, Hirayon trained like crazy. He stayed in his Core Space for a long time but appeared peacefully asleep in his room.

Savio and FORT685 thought he was just exhausted from the experiment, which is why he slept more, but they did not know that Hirayon was training like a madman. Seemingly like an obsessed kid over sweets after the first time he had sugar.

As Bind worked too well. Hirayon got addicted to training and decided to spend most of his time in Core Space.

He also did not clarify FORT685 and Savio's misunderstanding that he was always exhausted and asleep. He saw that as an opportunity to secretly train his body inside the Core Space more in the future. But because of that, Savio concluded that Hirayon received a side effect after getting the third element that makes the child always sleepy.

Savio wanted to make a medicine for Hirayon to fight his sleepiness as the sleep consumed most of the child's time, leaving little to no time for Hirayon to train. But since Hirayon seemed to get stronger the more he slept, Savio decided to observe first and was already on another research to confirm if Hirayon's third element could strengthen one's body by mere sleeping.

So while Hirayon was on his two-week training journey, Savio was also on his own, burying himself with texts, articles, and research to find whether his theory about the third element was correct.

Unfortunately for him, he will never prove it, as it was all Hirayon's plot to hide that he can now enter his Core Space and train.

Days passed like that until it was time for the next game.

Standing in the middle of White Arena, Hirayon couldn't help but notice the presence of the children. Thanks to his training, he could feel the oddity's presence and their auras better. But what caught his attention was the fact that most children got stronger. Some clearly exude confidence because of their newly obtained strength, while some quietly wait for an opportunity to show their capabilities.

After the melodious bell rang, the whole arena got dark. A spotlight opened above, lighting a massive shiny bubble slowly descending to the slightly elevated stage. Inside the bubble was swirling dark blue smoke that looked dazzling like the midnight sky.

When it was only a few meters above the ground, the bubble burst open with a loud pop, and the smoke smoothly flowed toward the children. A second later, the smoke revealed a floating bear man in a light blue work jumpsuit. He was holding a pickaxe that was resting on his shoulder.

When the spotlight focused on him, the tip of the sharp axe shone with one of his canines that appeared when he smirked.

"Are you ready, Players?"

"Welcome to the third game! The Labyrinth!"

R E H I L I Y A