Shin is panicking and mumbling wildly. I understand nothing of what he is saying but then he turns to me with incredible fervor in his eyes.
"We need to make some tests. If what you say is true then we should be able to find traces of heat or at least defenses against it in your flesh. Follow me."
Despite his voice still being very quiet the feebleness from before has disappeared. If I didn't know better I'd say he was replaced by a twin brother or something. But that can't be true since I've stood next to him this whole time, right?
He grabs my hand and with astonishing strength pulls me along. He drags me all the way over to a metal table that looks to me like an autopsy table. His thin, weak-looking arms lift me up without any difficulty and I'm placed on the table.
The cold metal is uncomfortable to lie on but the speed at which everything has happen leaves me too stunned to complain. After placing me down Shin hurries over to a terminal and operates it at blinding speeds with his fingers flying over the keyboard like falling raindrops. Never hitting at the exact same time yet at a speed that can't be tracked by the human eye.
Robotic whirring sounds and a mechanic arm descends from the white ceiling. At the end of the arm is a cone-shaped object that is placed onto the scales on the back of my hand. Blue light is emitted from the device and the back of my hand begins to feel strange.
I can't quite place the feeling and before I can think about it any more, the light turns red and I feel heat replace the weird sensation from before. The heat becomes painful so I try to pull back my hand but a cuff immediately emerges from the table and locks my wrist in place.
I struggle and try to wrench free my arm but the metal is unbending in the face of my efforts. Shin seems to notice my struggles and turns his head for a moment.
"Please bear with it and try not to move, the first test is nearly completed."
I want to refuse and tell him to stop the test but I doubt he would listen to anything I say. Since struggling appears to be wholly ineffective I try to ignore the searing heat and focus on the laboratory around me.
Now that I look at it the lab area seems kind of creepy. Everything here is white, the ceiling, the floor, the bookshelves, the book covers, the terminals, and even the mechanic arm. The table I'm lying on seems to be the only thing that isn't white but instead a silvery metal.
"Thank you for enduring, the test is over. The results are currently being processed so please wait for a moment."
On the screen of the terminal, a progress bar appears and slowly increases. I reckon that if it progresses linearly it will only take around five minutes to complete.
The mechanical arm is retracted into the ceiling and the metal cuff releases my wrist so I take the opportunity to sit up and let my legs dangle from the table.
"Shin, you are a real monster like most of the employees here right?"
Shin is staring fixedly at the screen and the progress bar and for a moment I think he didn't hear me. However, just as I convince myself that he didn't hear me he answers in an uninterested voice.
"You are correct. I'm a shadow reaper from the great labyrinth of death. After master Darwin picked me up I became a researcher in this place."
He seems distracted by watching the progress bar and like this, he'll answer all of my questions. That's great.
"I couldn't help but notice that you are quite strong. The dungeon of came from must be one of the really big ones, right?"
"The great labyrinth of death is one of the ten largest and strongest dungeons. It's owner, Hades is one of the most influential people in the dungeon alliance. Shadow reapers like me are also quite rare so me being strong should come as no surprise."
"The dungeon alliance? What's that?"
"Just as the name said it's an alliance by the various dungeons. After more and more of them were cleared and had their cores destroyed, the dungeons first summoned dungeon masters to help operate them. The most powerful of those dungeon masters then decided to form an alliance to fight those that attempted to clear them. They are also the prime sponsor for all our operations and have all the say when it comes to final decisions."
The progress bar reaches a hundred percent and suddenly Shin's head snaps around as he looks at me in shock.
"I'm not supposed to tell you that! Oh no, if senior Navi hears that I said too much again she's going to hit me again!"
"Didn't you just say that you are very strong, how are you scared of Navi?"
"You don't understand! Navi is... she is... SCARY!"
Navi sounds like such a nice lady. I can't think of her as scary in any way. Admittedly, I've never seen her but she can't be that bad, right? I have to try to meet her after this mission is over. Maybe I can see her in the employee dining hall. Pata's food is too good to pass up after all.
During my brief internal monologue, Shin has somewhat recovered from the trauma that befell him while thinking of Navi. He looks directly into my eyes and I think he is trying to push out his chest and seem intimidating.
"Don't tell anyone! Just wait until Darwin explains these things to you and pretend to not know them yet. Even better, forget all about the things I said!"
Navi? I thought you were busy with the mission.