Everybody stands and watches as Jane heals James's wound, she squeezes her eyelids tightly as beads of sweat start forming on her forehead. She groans, slowly beginning to lose strength as the green glow gradually dims. She decides to stop, letting out a deep sigh as she wipes the sweat off her forehead before finally talking. "I'm sorry I couldn't heal you completely, I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded."
"It's fine auntie, thank you," He responds, moving his arms and slightly stretching his back. "It feels a lot better than before."
She tries to get up, but falls back as her legs are weak. "I exerted myself against, haha," She says, placing a hand on her head. "I can't stand up."
"That was quite the impressive display," General Hart comments, walking up to Jane and reaching out a hand to her. "Allow me to help you up."
She takes his hand and he gently pulls her up. Arthur rushes to her and wraps her arm around his shoulder, supporting her with his other arm.
"Thank you," She says, letting go of his hand and leaning on Arthur.
"No problem, ma'am," He replies, turning his head to Sophia. "Sargent, help her to the truck."
He packs up the medical kit and goes to Sophia, gently picking her up and walking her to the vehicle. They all follow behind him, getting in the truck and heading back to the base.
They finally arrive at the Saddledome after a five minute drive. Upon reaching it, they notice numerous armored tanks stationed behind thick concrete barricades and groups of armed soldiers patrolling the area.
"Woah," Arthur exclaims, his mouth wide open as he looks around. "I've never seen this many soldiers in one place."
"Welcome to Alpha base," General Hart says, as they drive through the gates. The truck comes to a stop in front of the entrance and they all get down. The medics rush over to the vehicle with wheelchair, taking Jane and Sophia, escort them inside the dome to get checked as Arthur follows behind.
One of the medics walks over to James with the wheelchair, prompting him to sit but he declines. "It's fine, thank you. I can walk," He claims, in a soft spoken voice as he sends her away. He proceeds to walk to the entrance but is stopped by a call from behind.
"James," General Hart calls, walk up to him as James turns to face him. "Meet me at my tent after you're done being treated."
He nods and walks in, heading straight for the medical bay, where he sees Arthur standing in front of a door. He walks up to him to before asking. "Why're you just standing here?"
"I just finished my check up, mom and Sophia are still in there though. The doctor told them to stay until they're both able to walk, so they'll be resting here for now," He replies, pointing his thumb at the door. "You should get that checked too."
"Yeah, I was just about to do so," He says, walking into the medical bay.
Arthur stands silent for a moment, looking around at the numerous tents and crowds of people. He carefully observes, noticing the grim looks on some face, tears in the eyes of others and the joy of others who've reunited with a loved one. "Everyone's been through a lot," He claims, his voice somber.
He thinks for a while, wondering what to do before the others are discharged, finally he decides to explore. He goes on a walk looking around the place, passing by people covered in bandages. He continues on his exploration, coming across an area packed with a dense crowd.
The people push each other, struggling to get to the front as the ones in front fight to maintain their spot. The unusually large crowd makes him curious, so he decides to investigate the cause of the commotion. He notices a table with packaged food arranged on it, being distributed one by one.
"Please don't push, it'll reach everyone," A young female voice shouts from beyond the crowd, prompting him to move closer.
He squints his eyes, catching a glimpse of a girl with long curly brown hair cascading down her shoulders, her effortlessly beautiful face adorned with freckles, and alluring green eyes adding warmth to her features.
He stands in a daze, captivated by her appearance until the crowd blocks his view, snapping him back to his senses.
"Wow," He utters silently, thinking briefly before heading back to the medical bay. He paces in front of the door, arms crossed as he looks for a place to sit. He stops, sitting down on the floor next to the door with his back against the wall before speaking. "Hey Rex, there's something I wanted to ask."
[What could that be?]
"It's about the third eye. Earlier you said I couldn't see more than stats and levels because it was at the beginning stage, but why's it still like that when I've leveled up so much?" He asks, resting his head on the wall. "I thought all my abilities grow stronger as I level up."
[Normally they do, however, there are conditions that need to be fulfilled for that to happen.]
"What kind of conditions?" He asks.
[Your abilities grow based on your body's condition and how much it can handle, like a limiter to prevent your body from crumbling. For example weapon mastery which grows depending on your strength, agility and stamina stats. The third eye on the other hand correlates to your intelligence stat, which you haven't unlocked yet.]
"Intelligence stat? Why that?"
[Let me break it down. When you use the third eye, you read the properties of the target's aether, which your brain analyzes and translates to something you can understand. However, in your current state, the information it can analyze is very limited which is why you can only see stats and levels.]
"I see, but how do I unlock this intelligence stat?"
[You're gonna have to open the three aether channels in your head, but it comes with a very big risk.]
"What kind of risk?" He asks, leaning forward.
[If you attempt it and fail, it'll permanently damage your brain.]
"Woah, maybe I'll leave that for another time. Sigh…I feel like I've been here for hours," He says, tucking his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees. He sits quietly for a while until his stomach growls. "All that running and fighting made me hungry," He muffles, his head buried in his arms.
[END]
To be continued…