7:30 PM, mansion of the Bone family, Henrietta Bone stood inside a dark room. One side of the room lacked a wall, replaced by glass windows that outlined another skyscraper. A certain house on the 28th floor of the building lacked any light, the destination of Henrietta's gaze. After a knock on the door, Hubert walked into the room, holding a document.
"I have obtained approval for you to visit Heima. You can accompany her for a week." Hubert said, handing over the document. On it was a short paragraph, the seal of the military academy affixed at the bottom.
Reading the paper, Henrietta smiled. "How are your preparations coming along? When are you scheduled for your Unranked Skill implantation?"
Hubert flashed a smile, "It is tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I have already starved myself for the past few days. I am also exercising nonstop to exhaust my body. This will raise the success rate of the implantation."
"That's good. Prepare well, and don't mess up." Henrietta said, nearing Hubert, whispering into his ears, "Father is changing, for the better. After finishing our family's Unranked Skill, he is focusing on the overall improvement of our strength. We have to make use of this chance to gain more benefits for ourselves."
'I know," Hubert nodded in all seriousness, "I won't miss this opportunity and give a chance for our cousins. Don't worry, sister, I won't be hasty and do something detrimental for the overall growth of our family."
"Focus on getting the Skill first. We'll plan later when I return after a week. Father hasn't become senile; he has just changed a little, so, we must be careful, as usual." Henrietta exited the room, taking a lift to descend, reaching the 50th floor where the metro passed through their building.
Carrying a small suitcase filled with clothes and having changed into a set of expensive clothing, Henrietta passed through a couple of checks, boarding a metro train. As she sat on an empty seat next to a window, she noticed many gazes falling on her. Only when she noticed her reflection on the window did she realise the reason as to why.
Large eyes with a black iris, eyelids with long eyelashes, and eyebrows that resembled the rippling sea waves; she had a long, sharp nose that had a small downward curve at the tip, matching her cherry lips, accentuating her sharp jaw. Just her facial features alone were beautiful enough to mesmerise the onlookers while her long, black hair that was tied into a bun gave her a mature charm.
After absorbing plenty of energy from the Tier 4 Frenzy Beast, Ring Worm, Henrietta had made a full recovery, giving her body plenty of nutrition. With her stature taller than an average man, her body proportions—slightly wider hips with breasts blessed in plumpness—made her look beautiful. Moreover, after becoming a shifter, she had grown to look more than a decade younger. At present, she looked like someone in her early twenties.
'I wonder how shocked Heima will be when she sees me. People might assume the two of us as sisters.' As she relished in her playful thoughts, a teenager sat next to her, a slight trace of redness on his face. He calmly opened a book and read it, looking as if he was concentrating but, all his attention was on the woman seated next to him.
It took a lot of guts for him to sit here; even if he wanted to strike a conversation, he felt his brain lacking in its ability to process thoughts. Henrietta saw the book in his hands, a slight sense of curiosity in her mind. After obtaining an Unranked Skill, she felt a lot at ease. Getting some familiarity with the Unranked Skill, her confidence in surviving the upcoming Flying Signature Raid further increased.
'Instructions for City Defence: Catapults, Cleavers, and Grubbers…this, why is this kid reading this document in public?' Henrietta immediately slammed the book shut, shocking the teenager. Just when he looked to be in fluster, not knowing what to say, he heard Henrietta speak.
"Boy, how old are you?"
"Ma'am, I will turn nineteen next month." The teenager replied in confusion, partly happy to have started a conversation with Henrietta.
"Have you been drafted for the Border Defence corps?" Henrietta inquired, thinking back to the hundred Warriors who ploughed through the Frenzy Beasts until they lost a soldier to the Ring Worm. They were usually composed of Tier 2 Amplifiers, lead by a Tier 3 Developer.
Seeing him nod, Henrietta felt the urge to give him a slap of reality; controlling her urges, she took a deep breath to calm herself, "That book contains confidential secrets that couldn't be known to the general public."
"But, I am just a Tier 2 Amplifier. Information accessible to Warriors like me should be known to practically everyone right?" The teenager retorted, not being able to understand her reasoning.
Henrietta pointed to a boy a couple of seats away from them. The boy looked to be 11-12 years old; he was busy playing a game, occasionally lifting his head to look for anything of interest in his surroundings. "It might be common knowledge for adults, but it is forbidden to reveal this knowledge to children under 16 years old."
Seeing the teenager's eyes widen in realisation, Henrietta continued, "Moreover, this tactic is typically used by the superiors to test your trustworthiness. If you can't even prevent such knowledge from leaking out, then they would never trust you with classified secrets."
"Ma'am, what you said makes sense, but how will my higher-ups know about this? There are no cameras inside the train, so I can't understand your reasoning." The teenager said, clearly looking like a fellow that liked to argue.
"See that uncle 3 seats away?" The teenager followed his finger, gazing at a man who smiled at him in return. "He could be your superior."
"See that aunty sitting at the last row?" The teenager noticed the aunty mentioned by Henrietta looking at him, sporting a calm gaze filled with boredom. "She could very well be your superior."
"Or," Henrietta pointed at herself, "I could also be your superior."
On seeing her flash a smile that almost dazed him, the boy hurriedly broke out of his daze, his back was drenched with cold sweat. "S-Sister, are y-you?"
"Who knows?" Henrietta flashed a smile, looking like a maiden of mysteries. Seeing that the train had arrived at her stop, she got off—carrying her luggage.
Before he could process the entirety of the events that had occurred in the past couple of minutes, a hand slumped over his shoulders as a youth, looking like he had just entered his twenties took the vacant seat, whispering, "Man, I saw you talking with that beautiful Shifter lady. Introduce me to her the next time you meet."
"S-Shifter?" The teenager blurted out in shock, unconsciously raising the volume of his voice. A second later, he apologised to the passengers who glared at him, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. He then lowered his voice, speaking to his friend who was a bit more than a year older.
"Wait, what do you mean by that beautiful lady being a shifter? She doesn't look older than you." The teenager said.
"Well, we encountered some Frenzy Beasts in Wild Zone 12 today, just regular cleanup. Suddenly, a Tier 4 Ring Worm ambushed us and I witnessed her taking down that worm in a couple of minutes, barely sustaining any injuries. After the battle, she looked like she had just strolled through a park, her injuries having completely healed. Moreover, she was accompanied by even more terrifying people that juggled with those Ring Worms. If she isn't a Shifter, then I don't know what else you can say about her." The youth said.
"Anyway, when the chance arises, introduce me to her. Maybe I can make her fall head over heels using my overflowing charm." The youth continued, flexing his muscles. The teenager let out a wry laugh, not forgetting to hide the book he had been reading away from prying eyes.
…
Sector 1, Military Academy Training Centre; Henrietta arrived at a hall, presenting her documents and inquiring about the details of Heima's dorm. She had barely taken a step when Hancent jumped into her embrace. She was taller and stronger than Hancent, acting like the bigger spoon as she enveloped him in a bear hug, silently shedding a tear.
"You feel stronger than before and look…beautifuller!" Hancent said, coughing to avoid the awkwardness as many third-party gazes fell on them.
"There is no such word as beautifuller." Henrietta chuckled, planting a kiss on his cheek, disregarding the others.
"Heima will be returning in a minute. Give her a good surprise. If not for their rule stating that only one parent can accompany the ward, I too would have joined. Anyway, I am in charge of the armours for the Flying Signature Raid, so I am rushed for work. Since you are back, I will try to finish my pending work." Hancent said, placing the key to Heima's dorm in her hands.
After another hug, Hancent left the scene, hurrying towards his work. Henrietta watched in silence until his back disappeared from her view, the luggage in her hands feeling a bit heavier. She heaved a deep breath, proceeding towards Indigo Building, Rhachis Block.
Everywhere she went, heads turned as the students stopped to admire her, thinking about her identity. After some days, even though they didn't know the names of all accompanying parents, they were definitely familiar with the faces. They could tell when an unfamiliar face arrived, and Henrietta was quite eye-catching with her tall stature and stunning appearance.
She ignored their gazes, liked a peacock, used to them by now. Her previous rotund figure was temporarily gained in preparations for her breakthrough, so she had always experienced such gazes. Stepping on the first floor of the indigo building, Henrietta unlocked the door to room 7, closing the door behind her.
She placed her bag on a nearby table, fishing out a book as she sat on the bed, flipping through it. After a minute passed—the sounds of the pages flipping being the only sound present in the room—rapid footsteps approached the door, slamming it open as an excited Heima entered.
"Mom! I heard you returned," Heima shouted in joy, only stopping to pause as she gazed at the familiar woman before her who looked younger than she should be.
"Welcome back, Heima" Henrietta closed her book, flashing a smile as she hugged Heima, enveloping her in a bear hug.