Beads of sweat trickled down Ian's face as his anxiety got the best of him. The look in the man's eyes showed that he clearly meant it and he could even feel the scalpel digging into his skin and drawing a bit of blood as Chad stared at him with a calm expression.
"How can he look so calm while threatening someone's life?" Ian thought as his anxiety grew. He was so scared that he couldn't speak. He is sixteen years old after all. Even though he acts older than his age most times, his life has never been threatened by anyone before.
He could take a beating, but the fear gripping him right now was the same as the one he felt when he acquired the system. The fear made him never wish for death again.
Tears trickled down his cheeks as that seemed like the only thing he could do right now and he wasn't even in control of it.
Chad stared blankly at the crying kid for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"Don't make me regret this," he said as he withdrew the scalpel from Ian's neck and sat down on the couch where Jake had slept. "Before I ask you the question again, I would like to clear up a few things."
Ian could only nod as he bobbed his head up and down.
"I'm a trained doctor and also a decent fighter," Chad stated. "I know everything about the human body and the best places to either kill them or cause them unimaginable pain and discomfort."
Ian nodded to that also.
"If you try anything funny with me, you would be dead before you even know what hit you. Is that understood?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" Ian said in a panicked voice. He wanted nothing more than to leave that place right now.
"Now let's get to the question," Chad said calmly as he kept his face expressionless, worrying Ian even more. He couldn't tell what this devil's incarnation was thinking. All he knew for sure was that he was serious about killing him.
"What are you?"
"Um, I-I don't know," Ian said, hoping to get out of it by playing dumb.
"Now, I should tell you the consequences for lying," he said as he opened his robe and brought out different scalpels numbering up to 10. He placed each of them side by side on his side. "I am good at aiming since precision is one of the requirements to be a doctor.
As you can see, there are a lot of sharp objects around me. For every lie you tell, I'll be throwing a blade at a random part of your body. I must have you note that these throws won't be made with an aim to keep you alive. That would be based on my feelings.
Now, I am a very unstable person. Which means the first throw might be aimed at your head and will kill you."
Ian gulped audibly as Chad said the last sentence. What baffled him the most was how calm Chad was about it.
"Those eyes look more like that of an assassin than a doctor," Ian thought as his anxiety grew.
"Now let's try that again," Chad smiled. A smile that somehow scared Ian more than the expressionless face. He's been hoping for an expression but now that he got one, he wished it never came.
"What are you?"
"I swear that I don't know much about it either," Ian said. "But to the best of my knowledge, I am something called a Chimera."
"Chimera, huh?" Chad said. "Why did you come here?"
"To become strong," Ian answered immediately, more out of apprehension than eagerness.
"I see," Chad said. "How long have you known?"
"Just a few days ago," Ian replied. "I can't tell you how but I swear that I'm telling the truth."
"I'm interested in how, though," Chad said. "For all I know you could be a spy sent over to give information on us."
"I swear I'm not, sir," Ian replied immediately. "Please believe me."
"I want to know how," Chad insisted.
"But..., sir," Ian tried to say but Chad sat unmoved, staring back at Ian with tired eyes.
"I'm overworked right now," Chad sighed. "Let's get over this as quickly as possible. There are two options, die right now or prove your innocence and tell me how you discovered that."
"You might not believe me even if I told you," Ian stated as he felt conflicted about telling a stranger about the system.
"I don't believe you right now either," Chad stated. "It makes no difference. If I think you are lying to me, I'll kill you. It's as simple as that."
Ian gulped at how easily he said that, but he knew now that he had no choice.
"I have a system," Ian said.
"Everyone has a system."
"A system only I can see."
There was silence from Chad for a few minutes again before he let out another sigh.
"I can tell that you're not lying but your words aren't making sense."
"I told you earlier."
"That's not the point," Chad said. "You should be worried since I still think you are part of the Hybrids."
"Hybrids?" Ian asked. "What's that? I know nothing about it."
"They possess different energies in their body just like you," Chad said. "They were the ones the commander warned you about earlier today."
"I am not one of them!" Ian exclaimed. "I don't shapeshift or transform!"
"I know that," Chad said. "The energy within you doesn't feel like that of a beast."
Ian breathe a sigh of relief as he heard that.
"But there's still something bothersome about you," he continued and Ian froze. "I don't care about your system or whatever, but your body has more than one energy in it."
"Why is that a problem?"
"Hybrids can only possess one beast energy and only a few have managed to succeed in possessing two," Chad said, more to himself than Ian. "You possess more than two so that makes you an even more baffling case since I can't identify any of the energies within you. It's unlike anything I've ever felt."
Ian just sat there, confused and scared.
"You can go now," Chad finally said. "I'll be calling you frequently for experiments and a few other things whenever I need you."
"Okay, sir," Ian hurried out of the bed and made his way to the door.
"Do you have any idea who implanted that energy in you?" Chad asked before Ian left.
"No, sir. Why?" Ian asked
He just shrugged. "The person must either be a genius or hate you with a passion to do that to you."
"Why is that?"
Chad stared at him for a few seconds before replying. "You should be dead by now with so many contrasting energies in your body."