After Raven and Miles linked arms, they began to walk down to the lower level together. Although Raven had seen some of the upper floors of the mansion, he hadn’t descended below the ground floor since arriving. He didn’t know what kind of place Miles was taking him to or what he would encounter when they got there. After descending the winding staircase, they finally arrived. What met Raven’s gaze was a place that looked like a hospital, with white floors and walls. There were numerous tables with chemical apparatus Raven didn’t understand. Apart from a few people, the room was otherwise empty. Although they wore white coats, beneath them were uniforms marking them as employees of the Hunter family. Raven surmised that this was where the Hunter family handled their chemistry work and thought they might be highly advanced people scientifically if they worked for the Hunters.
As Raven continued to observe his surroundings, he noticed different doors around the room. Although some of the doors were glass, they didn’t pass close enough for him to see what was behind them. While Raven was glancing curiously at the doors, Miles led him through a glass door with a white frame similar to the others. Immediately after they went through, they descended a small set of stairs. This time, what lay in front of Raven were numerous technological devices. He assumed this was likely where simulation parts and similar technological work were done. Meanwhile, Miles released Raven’s arm and began walking toward one of the tables. Raven followed slowly. After Miles pressed a few floating blue buttons, the machine in front of him extended an object to him, shaped like a diamond in shades of black and blue. Since Raven didn’t understand what was happening, he watched with his mouth agape as Miles, putting on a leather glove, held out the piece to Raven. “Here it is—this is the ticket that will let me enter the tournament.”
Raven was still watching, wide-eyed, switching his gaze between the floating transparent blue buttons and the black-and-blue crystal-like object in Miles’ hand. Noticing that Raven hadn’t grasped what was happening, Miles patted his back twice with his ungloved hand. “Alright, brother, I guess I need to explain from the beginning. This blue screen is one of the Hunter family’s technologies. Of course, it was later sold to other families and armies, but the production and patent belong to the Hunters. It provides simple access to any technology you connect to it, and since it’s not a solid object, every lab generally has one.” After Raven glanced once more at the transparent blue screen, he turned to Miles and asked, “I remember there wasn’t one of these in the training simulation area; why was there just a flat panel?”
Miles chuckled, pointing to his left with his ungloved hand. He was pointing at a massive, server-like structure. “That giant machine over there powers this technology. Although it seems like a compact feature, it needs large spaces to operate. There’s no room for something like this on the training field, and since there’s not much to control there, we thought it would be unnecessary, even if space was available. Plus, it’s simple enough for even you to understand.” Raven, after briefly looking at the machine, turned back to Miles with a neutral expression. “Should I take that as an insult?” Miles laughed, placing the crystal-like device back on the table. “Not quite, but since you understand so little about technology, I think I have the right to tease you.”
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Raven shook his head from side to side, then lifted his head to speak. “Anyway, I remember you mentioning a mask, but I don’t see one here.” After laughing, Miles brought his wrist closer to the crystal on the table. When he lifted his hand, the crystal had disappeared from the table. After questioning what was happening once again, Raven noticed that Miles had taken off the glove and was showing him his wrist—the crystal appeared to be attached to the front of his wrist. Raven asked in surprise, “What’s that?” Miles tapped the crystal with his other hand, and his face suddenly morphed into Raven’s. Raven recoiled, stepping back and reflexively reaching for the sword on his back, only to remember he didn’t have it. Miles, still wearing Raven’s face, laughed, then reverted to his own face. Miles collapsed to his knees, wiping away tears of laughter at Raven’s reaction.
Realizing how foolish he’d just looked, Raven blushed. “Alright, go on with the explanation.” Wiping the last tear from his eye, Miles stood up, trying to regain his composure. “As you can see, this device lets me change my face however I want.” He tapped his wrist again, and his face morphed into Edward Hunter’s. However, since Miles’ body was much smaller and shorter than his father’s, he looked rather comical. This time, it was Raven who burst out laughing. Miles quickly reverted his face to normal, but Raven had found enough material for teasing. “Alright, my friend, we’re even now. Stop laughing already.” Raven, still chuckling, stood up and tried to keep a straight face. After a moment of silence, they both regained their composure and continued their conversation.
Raven was the first to speak. “Did you make such a technology yourself?” Miles looked at the crystal and nodded in affirmation, and Raven continued. “To be serious, this might be the best thing I’ve ever seen. Especially for an agent, it’s an incredibly powerful tool. If you decide to sell this to other units, it could create massive upheaval in the world.” Miles replied after Raven, “When I talked with my father and the scientists of the Hunter family, they said that selling it was out of the question—not even considered. It’s certain this would have a big impact in wars, and it’s the thing my father is proudest of me for.”
After realizing the gravity of the invention, Raven continued, “You keep calling such a major breakthrough a ‘device.’ Haven’t you named it yet?” Miles removed the crystal from his wrist and placed it back into the machine’s clamp, replying, “Mimic-Veil.”