Chapter 9 : Alisia Super Serious Mode

Today, I find myself in the training room, which is larger than I anticipated based on my experiences in Arknights. This makes sense, as this is where operators come to train and hone their skills. After all, Rosmontis's power involves creating a massive shield that is twice her size.

But why am I facing Blaze right now? There’s also an audience, including Kal'tsit, who is already taking notes on what appears to be a tablet.

(I realize I chose to agree to this training, but facing one of the elite operators feels a bit overwhelming, doesn’t it? Am I the only one who thinks this? Just because my power level isn’t typical doesn’t mean this is standard.)

As I ponder this, Blaze activates her art, causing the chainsaw in her hand to glow a faint red.

(Seriously, she’s going all out from the start?)

Panicking, I load a special bullet into my railgun and aim at her, opting to rely on the active state of my second skill rather than anything more elaborate.

As I predicted, Blaze parries the bullet, which is a significant mistake because the last Hervorrufung art I used was cryo-based, intended for making a cold drink for Amiya. Its effects have partially sealed her art, though I’m unsure how long that will last, so I prepare to fire another bullet.

To my surprise, Blaze charges at me, knowing that fighting at long range puts her at a disadvantage. I anticipate this and transform the bottom part of my railgun into a blade, ready to parry her chainsaw.

(Although I used Verbesserung art to reinforce myself, her strike is heavy, as expected from an elite operator. But if I continue like this, I will surely lose.)

I freeze for a moment, questioning whether I really need this win.

Since this is a practice round, I’ve already demonstrated my capabilities. Even if I lose, it should still satisfy Kal'tsit. Just as I’m reflecting on this...

"Thinking while fighting is rude, Alishia."

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach, and the next thing I know, I’ve been kicked and slammed into the wall of the training ground.

(That hurt more than I expected. If I don’t use Verbesserung art to reinforce my body, I might pass out from that.)

"Wake up now?"

"Yeah, that really hurt."

(You know what? I’m done holding back. This really hurt, so blame yourself for this, Blaze.)

I activate my first skill to create the strongest bullet I can muster, and I get lucky; I trigger the passive state of my second skill. The bullet turns dark red, resembling dying blood.

I load it into my railgun and continue dodging Blaze's attacks. Then, I push her away with a punch, reinforced by gravity to make her lighter and my punch heavier, creating more distance than usual.

I aim at her while unleashing the full power of my railgun, including an electric boost to enhance its effect. As I pull the trigger, I’m met with a blinding flash of light.

Once my vision clears, I see a massive hole in the wall where Blaze was supposed to be. I can’t tell how far the bullet traveled, but somehow, without my noticing, Mon3tr has already covered Blaze, and she’s in a battered condition.

(Oh, it looks like I was too serious. If that had hit Blaze, she surely would have died.)

When Mon3tr disappears to rest inside Kal'tsit’s body, I see Blaze sitting there, and to my surprise, she’s leaking. This is the first time I’ve seen someone as cool as Blaze in such a state.

Blaze slowly attempted to stand, her legs shaking like a newborn fawn—kind of cute, but then she suddenly shouted with a loud voice.

"ARE YOU PLANNING TO KILL ME, ALISIA?!"

I can’t blame her; that nearly killed her. Still, if I had known my power was this strong, I should have used the railgun function without the special bullet. However, since I triggered the passive state of my second skill, I doubt I could reliably wield that power.

(Wait, if I’m already this powerful at a lower Originium density, how much power would I have at 0.9 u/L?)

I shook my head slowly, realizing I probably wouldn’t have many opportunities to use such destructive power.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my head. I turned to see Blaze, who had apparently snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What are you thinking? You almost killed me for a second there."

"Well, your kick hurt so much that I didn't bother to hold back anymore."

Blaze sighed, scratching her head while gently patting mine.

"Looks like I’m to blame, but if you unleash that much power, you could seriously hurt someone, you know."

"Well, that was a lucky shot. Besides, you’re fine since Mon3tr covered you, right? That was the first time I got that serious, so I was just thinking about how much lower I need to go to protect myself without hurting someone."

Hearing my reply, Blaze, who had been smiling, began to twitch her lips. Just then, Kal'tsit approached with an excited Amiya.

"That was awesome, Alisia! Is that your full power?"

"Yes and no. If you’re asking whether I've used all my skills at full power, then the answer is no. But if you mean the full power of just one of my skills, then yes."

"Wait, you haven't gone all out yet?"

"Of course not! Even though I didn't hold back with that last shot, I know that if I unleashed all my power, this ship might not be able to handle it. I’d rather not risk being buried alive, so no thanks."

As I shook my head, Blaze looked astonished while Amiya's eyes sparkled. Kal'tsit was focused on typing something on her tablet.

"While your power is indeed terrifying, you lack the control to hold back. If you want to be an operator, it seems you need to train to manage your strength."

"That's impressive, Alisia. Usually, people train to become stronger, but you’re training to avoid accidentally harming someone."

Amiya's kind words struck me deeply, reminding me that I needed to consider my options, especially since this was the first time I fought using almost all my power.

(Thinking about it, if I activated my second skill...)

Just the thought sent shivers down my spine. I could probably summon explosive power rivaling that of the Londinium citadel artillery, which is larger and more powerful than Wis'adel's Explosive Dawn skill. The damage difference is significant, but the range is nearly the same.

Contemplating this made me eager to unleash it and witness the explosive power of my shot, though I would likely face a ban on using it in the future.

Kal'tsit observed the recording of the match between Blaze and Alisia, and she noticed that Alisia was making bullets in the same way she had created Originium back then.

"How's the new kid, Doctor Kal'tsit?" Ace asked.

"You arrived at the right time, Ace. See for yourself," Kal'tsit replied.

Ace stepped up behind Kal'tsit, accompanied by nearly every Elite operator in Rhodes Island, except for Scout, who was monitoring Reunion's movements.

As the video playback continued, some of the Elite operators began to consider the implications of what they were watching, while Ace slowly turned his gaze to Kal'tsit.

"Are you planning to recruit her, Doctor Kal'tsit?" he inquired.

"I was already considering it before you mentioned it, but as the leader of the Elite Operators, what do you think, Ace?" she responded.

"Well, her potential is evident; she’s on the same level as little Rosmontis," Ace said.

At this, everyone turned to look at Rosmontis, who was swinging her legs and watching the video with sparkling eyes.

"I'm curious about her weapon. From what I've heard, she created it herself, right?"

"Yes, Mechanist, that gun was crafted by Alisia using her expertise in Originium, as she mentioned to me."

"Does she have any other tricks up her sleeve, Doctor Kal'tsit?"

"Excellent question, Misery. According to her, that's not all she has to offer."

As Kal'tsit spoke, she played another video showcasing Alisia using her powers and art.

"So far, we have confirmed that Alisia can manipulate Originium to a degree that rivals Theresa—"

"Wait, what do you mean 'rivals Theresa,' Doctor Kal'tsit?"

"I'm not finished explaining, Pith. But yes, according to her, she can control Originium to some extent, even absorbing it from Oripathy patients."

Kal'tsit then showed a video of Alisia curing a Stage III Oripathy patient, but Raidian raised her hand, her expression turning serious.

"Kal'tsit, does she feel pain while doing this?"

"Raidian... While I'm not completely sure, I think she does, since her expression changes whenever she cures a patient, especially with Stage III cases."

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU STOP IT?"

Raidian shouted, releasing a short burst of electricity, but Outcast patted her on the head.

"Calm down, Raidian. I know you care deeply for children, but don't let that blind you to the current objective. Besides, if you look closely, Blaze is standing frozen at the door and can't move. The same may be true for the medical staff, so even if you’re angry about it, no one capable was there to stop her at that time."

Hearing this, Raidian slowly looked around as another Elite Operator grinned while Rosmontis trembled in fear. Raidian gently hugged Rosmontis from behind.

"Ah, sorry, Rosmontis. Did I scare you?"

"Now, let's return to the topic at hand. Besides manipulating Originium, Alisia has mastered six schools of art. Please watch the next video."

Kal'tsit then proceeded to show a series of videos featuring Alisia using her art, from healing a child who had fallen and scraped his knee, to creating ice for Amiya to drink, and much more.

"From our observations over the past day, her mastery of art rivals that of Logos. We predict she can hold her own against him. As for the details of the physical exam, here are the files."

Kal'tsit then displayed the results of Alisia's physical exam on the screen.

[Physical strength] Outstanding

[Mobility] Standard

[Physical Resilience] Excellent

[Tactical Acumen] Standard

[Combat Skill] Excellent

[Originium Art Assimilation] Flawed

As the Mantra raised her hand, the operators around her were taken by surprise.

"Doctor Kal'tsit, is the result of the exam in?"

"We've tested it a few times, so it shouldn't be incorrect."

"But from what I hear, she has a high density of Originium in her blood, right?"

"As expected of Mantra. Did you learn this from the staff, or did you use your art? Yes, Alisia had a high density of Originium in her blood."

"Wait, 'had'?"

Kal'tsit then proceeded to show the clinical analysis report for Alisia.

Clinical Analysis Result

Imagin test reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sigh of infection. but the originium in her blood is dense that is a mystery on why she doesn't show any symptoms of infection at all.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation]  0%

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.79u/L

 [Classified Log]

Alisia began curing patients at the age of 12. Her first case was a severe Oripathy patient who had been marked for euthanasia. Against all odds, Alisia managed to cure him, making it seem as though he was never infected. However, in the process, she passed out and exhibited signs of Oripathy herself. Fortunately, when she awoke, the signs had disappeared.

Since that day, Alisia has continued to treat every Oripathy patient she encounters, successfully curing them. However, the severity of each case correlates with the intensity of the Oripathy symptoms that appear on her body, which eventually fade away.

- Pastor Ruciel

Raidian trembled as she read the report, imagining a child too young to be bearing such burdens, smiling while enduring the pain. Anger welled up inside her toward the adults who allowed this situation to unfold. But Kal'tsit's voice brought her back to reality.

"This is the clinical analysis report from when Alisia first joined Rhodes Island and collapsed after curing a stage III patient in the isolation facility. And here is the report from after she regained consciousness."

Clinical Analysis Result

Imagin test reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sigh of infection. but the originium in her blood is dense that is a mystery on why she doesn't show any symptoms of infection at all.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation]  0%

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.35u/L

While her Originium is quite dense, she has shown no signs of Oripathy that would require further examination to investigate the mystery of how this is occurring.

"It goes down?"

Ace's voice prompted the others to look at the report with serious expressions as they glanced toward Kal'tsit.

"Yes, as you can see here, her Originium levels have decreased, and I am investigating why this happened."

Kal'tsit proceeded to show a video of Alisia confined in a quarantine room. Initially, everyone wondered why Kal'tsit was presenting this video, but then they noticed a lump of Originium slowly forming and latching onto the top of the door, where it would go unnoticed if one wasn't paying attention.

This shocked everyone, especially Misery, who raised his hand.

"Doctor Kal'tsit, is this—?"

"That's right. While no one has seen this video except for me and you all, my analysis suggests that Alisia is converting the Originium inside her body into stable Originium shards."

That statement alone shocked the entire group of elite operators watching the video.

"So, Alisia will be classified as a special case operator while simultaneously being included among the elite operators. Does anyone have any objections?"

When Kal'tsit posed this question, no one raised their hand or voiced any concerns—except for Ace, who raised his hand.

"Who will be in charge of monitoring her?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I think it will be Pith or Sharp."

Hearing this, Raidian stood up in protest.

"Why not me, Kal'tsit?"

"Because I believe you would spoil Alisia. Can you say no if she gives you a pitiful look?"

Raidian fell silent, knowing she couldn't refuse if Alisia displayed a sad face. Ultimately, the responsibility of monitoring Alisia fell to Pith, as both of them are women.