After the mutation unlock, his senses improved by a large margin.

They were now more acute than others.

Emir could hear the slightest of sounds, smell the faintest of scents, taste the subtlest of flavors, see the tiniest of details, and feel the softest of touches.

He also knew how to move his body better.

It was like his senses were always on high alert, always ready to pick up on any stimuli around him.

But the pain he went through wasn't just for that.

If he started focusing, he could slow down time and process everything he saw at an incredible speed.

It was like he was in his own little world, where everything else moved at a snail's pace.

This ability, however, had a drawback...

It drained his mental energy, so he could only use it sparingly.

For now, he had learned how to be in that state for half a second.

Emir has a long way to go before mastering this ability.

In the Born in Ruins novel, this ability was called Time Dilation Sensory, or TDS for short.

There were many other abilities like this one, but all of them needed Cyberware tech to be installed or drugs to be taken.

From what he remembered in the novel, the UEF got under backlash for hiding this mutation from the public.

'...So for now, I'm probably one of the few people in this world who have it.'

Emir then thought about his plan and made sure of everything for the final time.

To master it, he planned to go down to the bunker located in this sector and fight random thugs his size.

He was bound to meet some slum kids down there interested in getting beat up for a few UC.

This was all so he could get accustomed to using it under pressure.

…

…

Present time

After all his planning, Emir was about to leave the house to go through with the plan...

But suddenly he heard a voice echo in his mind:

[Warning, a security breach has been detected in the bunker located in this sector. It is advised to avoid going there until further notice.]

He furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering what could have caused it.

'Is it related to the increase in security a few days ago?'

It was a heavily guarded facility, with advanced security measures and strict protocols.

It was almost impossible for anyone to breach it without getting caught.

Emir felt a sense of unease settle in the pit of his stomach.

'What could be so important in the bunker that someone would risk breaking in?'

'And why did it have to happen now, just when I was planning to go down there to train my ability?'

'...I'm so damn stupid.'

Emir felt that he trusted the novel too much and forgot that this was a real world in which many things happened that were never mentioned.

'But still... A security breach of this level is not something that should be ignored, even in the novel.'

'So why wasn't it mentioned?'

'I can only assume that the government kept this under wraps for some reason.'

To confirm that thought, he quickly accessed the local news network to see if there was any information about the security breach.

The news channel was displaying a breaking news banner that read:

{Death report in the north of sector 2-A, an announcement for all residents, stay indoors or you will be met with force.

[I repeat stay indoors or you will be met with force...}

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'As expected, they're hiding the breach...'

'Although I can't trust the voice, I know that whatever agenda it has needs me to be alive, so I can trust it in these situations.'

He decided to put his plans on hold and stay indoors, as advised by the voice and the news channel.

Emir then began searching online for any information he could find about the security breach.

He found nothing.

'I already anticipated this, but any information about this breach is blacklisted...'

'How am I going to train my TDS ability now?'

He pondered over this question, knowing that he had to come up with a new plan.

A plan that would allow him to train his ability without putting himself in unnecessary danger.

And as if sensing his intentions, the voice called out to him:

"Emir."

But this time the voice didn't echo from his head; instead, he felt that voice came from a certain direction.

So when he looked in said direction...

He caught sight of a stunning young woman, around twenty-two years of age, with snow-white hair and striking red eyes.

Her complexion was fair, and her expression appeared emotionless.

She was adorned in a flowing white dress that exuded elegance, and she simply had an aura around her that was not of this world.

'Who? …Is this what the voice looks like?'

"If you looked that beautiful, then why haven't you shown yourself earlier?" He asked.

Ignoring him once again, she replied:

"Pleased to see you, Emir; you may call me Lyra."

"I thought it was time for us to have a more personal interaction."

"As for your question, I have only shown myself now because I deemed it necessary."

"I am not just a voice, Emir."

"I am an AI designed to assist you in any way possible, and please do not ask about the organization that I come from, as you are not yet worthy to know."

Emir nodded, still in shock from seeing Lyra in person.

"So, what do you think I should do now that the bunker is compromised?"

"I need to train my TDS ability, but I can't risk going out there and getting involved in whatever is going on."

Lyra's face turned into a thoughtful expression as she considered his question.

"There's another way for you to train your abilities without leaving the safety of this sector."

"I can fight you in a simulation where I could 'kill' you, creating the sense of danger that you need and allowing you to train that ability."

His eyes widened at the idea.

"Hoh... that's smart. Can we really do that?"

"Of course," Lyra replied.

"But you must be wearing an augmented suit."

Emir's eyes remained locked on hers for a moment.

"...Sure, thanks, Lyra."

Lyra's lips went up a bit, barely noticeable even with his enhanced senses.

"It's what I'm here for, it's my job after all. So, when shall we get started?"

"Later, I'll join my family for lunch... I just told them that I'd be going out and it'd be weird for me to still be in the house."

She nodded her head as her hologram form disappeared, and Emir went to the kitchen to eat lunch with Laura and Lily.

After he hastily finished his meal, Lyra spoke:

[Go outside. There will be a package in a rucksack waiting for you.]

Following her instructions, he went out to fetch it, thinking that it housed the augmented suit he needed for the simulation.

Going back to his room, he quickly put on said augmented suit.

'Based on the novel and other articles I've found on the network, this augmented suit isn't anything special as it is mostly used for simulating senses and perception, so the strength increase isn't much.'

'What's special is that this suit's definitely provided by whatever secret organization Lyra's from.'

The suit was an E-type A-style augmented suit named 'Chrono-Sense,' it was one of the most advanced pieces of technology he had ever seen.

'Funnily enough, most people use this suit for questionable things...'

'Very, very questionable... it's capable of pain simulation, after all.'

'But yeah, let's not think about that.' He mused to himself.

As he put on the suit, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body.

It fit like a glove, and he could feel it syncing up with his Neural Network.

The suit was skintight with mechanical bone-like structures fitted on it, as well as a tight fit like a virtual reality headset that was as small as normal sunglasses.

It felt strange at first, but he soon got used to the weight and the way it made him move.

Lyra reappeared in front of him as a hologram.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

Emir took a deep breath and nodded.

"Let's do this."

They went to their backyard after he finished his preparations.

Lyra's charming voice then rang out:

"Close your eyes."

He did as he was told and took a deep breath, feeling his body relax.

Emir opened his eyes again, and he suddenly found himself in a simulated space, standing on a platform with the surroundings in clear white.

Lyra's hologram walked in front of him.

"Emir today we shall practice hand-to-hand combat, then we'll proceed with having you use your TDS ability."

"I'll use your augmented suit to create the sensation of you hitting something."

"Come try it."

She beckoned as she pointed at her stomach.

He nodded and approached, pausing for a moment then softly punching her.

And sure enough, he felt the impact.

'Wow... this is incredible I can actually feel it as if it was real.' He thought, struggling to hide his surprise.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

After seeing him nod, she didn't give him any time to adjust and instantly attacked.

Emir barely had a moment to react as Lyra's holographic form came at him with blinding speed.

He dodged her first punch, as he rolled out of the way, but she rushed him once again and kicked him off the ground.

It was a ridiculous sight.

A grown woman was beating up a little kid, and it almost looked like bullying.

But yes, it 'almost' looked like bullying.

The boy was fighting back... the suit he had on was doing wonders.

Emir would never allow himself to be defeated so easily.

So although her precise punches and kicks were fast, he still could keep up, albeit barely.

He quickly ducked under them and landed a few hits of his own.

Those attacks were all blocked, however.

The suit continued to help him move faster and hit harder, and soon they were engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand battle.

They exchanged blows, kicks, and blocks, with Lyra easily controlling the flow of the battle.

While fighting, she would point out his mistakes with no delay.

"Your gait is too feeble."

After blocking his punch she would say:

"Ensure your stance is correct."

And when he would try to recover, she would thrash him around while saying:

"Try to minimize your openings after attacking."

After hundreds of similar exchanges, Emir clumsily slipped on his sweat, and Lyra took advantage of that opportunity, swiftly launching a powerful kick straight to his head, causing him to feel as though his skull had been crushed.

He collapsed to the ground, and despite the pain only being a simulation, he struggled to stand back up.

And when he finally managed to stand up straight, he noticed something below his peripheral vision.

So he looked down to where he had just been and saw a hologram of his body with its head crushed simply lying there.

Dead.