When Ethan woke up, he found himself in a room that was not his own, but he was certain it wasn't a hospital- at least not the one he saw abroad.
He sat up and looked around, frowning. The room bore a strong resemblance to a facility where experiments were conducted, like in the movies on his previous life.
The walls were adorned with futuristic metallic panels, emitting a soft, soothing glow that contrasted with the pristine white floors and ceiling. Fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling further illuminated the space, casting an evenly distributed radiance. Why was everything so white?
"Young Master?" Ethan looked at Jihoon, who was standing not too far away. "I apologize for the inconvenience. We had to subject you to the lights to detect any poison in your body, thinking the assassin might have done something."
Ethan nodded. The technology on this Earth was far more advanced compared to his previous life, primarily due to the people who possessed Essentia.
After the Essentia users emerged following the 2nd World War, everything changed. Humanity had been forced to adapt when pioneering Essentia users started revealing their abilities to the world years ago. However, the real revelation came during the 3rd World War, caused by the conflict between Essentia users and non-Essentia users.
Since then, the medical and weaponry aspects of this world have advanced significantly because many governments focused on understanding, assisting, and tracking people with Essentia.
Ethan got up and immediately removed the wires from his chest. Then, he accepted the shirt that Jihoon handed him. "How is it?" he asked.
"We found nothing. We were just being cautious. Lately, many younger generations from other clans have been falling ill. One of Jeonghae's top healers believes it's due to an airborne virus designed to harm the younger generation of the major clans. Another form of biochemical warfare," Jihoon sighed.
Ethan frowned. Since he left Yeonsin, he had no information about matters considered a government secret known only to a few people, mostly the heads of the larger clans in Yeonsin. "Do we know anything about this virus?" he calmly asked.
"Unfortunately, no. At least, not now. Naturally, the humans would never admit to creating something like this," Jihoon calmly explained as he helped him put his suit on.
"Have you dealt with the Assassin?" Ethan changed the topic. The conflict between normal humans, greedy governments, and powerful Essentia users was the least of his concerns right now. His focus was on the assassin and his mission.
Crap…
His mission!
Ethan looked at the interface and found out that he had not failed the mission because of using the gas in that secret room. Before going to that place, Ethan already knew about the gas that would be released once he pressed the wrong code. He knew it would make him sleep, but he hoped it wasn't enough to be considered violent.
At this point, Ethan had guessed that the system would only consider something as violent if… blood was spilled. Meaning, the encounter with Cyrus in the past, was not an act of violence!
Using gas to make someone faint was not an act of violence either! After all, there was no blood.
What an entertaining system!
"Yes, shall I take you to the assassin?" Jihoon's words interrupted his stupor.
Ethan looked at the old man.
"Do you want to say something?" Ethan asked.
"I would like to apologize for not being there to help the young master fight the assassin."
THUD
Jihoon suddenly knelt, his knees hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"I would like to take responsibility."
"No…" Ethan uttered.
"P— Pardon?"
"Get up… I don't want to see the Assassin," Ethan shook his head. He looked at the time and realized it was already eight in the evening. "I have somewhere I need to be."
Jihoon nodded. "Then…."
"They will send more people to deal with me. Your presence won't be able to stop them," Ethan said. There was no point in blaming Jihoon or other people. His safety was his responsibility and his alone.
"Thank you, young master…" Jihoon once again bowed before he got up and gave him another bow.
Jihoon and Ethan then left the room. Jihoon expected Ethan to talk to Master Wu, but to his surprise, Ethan decided to go to the gym!
Seeing Ethan run on a specialized treadmill for Essentia Users, Jihoon immediately felt even more guilty. Earlier, he and Master Wu had been very busy entertaining the board members and other people who came to the Old Chairman's wake. They thought the young master would be safe inside the mansion.
They were wrong.
As a result, the young master almost died! He had just experienced another life-or-death situation. Yet, he was here, trying to exercise and make himself stronger.
In Jihoon's mind, the young master must have felt so scared and helpless that he thought only by making himself stronger would he have a chance to survive this place.
A sigh escaped Jihoon's lips.
This was all his fault.
He should have been there to protect Ethan. Jihoon lowered his head in shame.
Seeing this, Ethan frowned. He couldn't read minds, but he could somehow guess what the older man was thinking.
A smirk appeared on his face.
Unbeknownst to Jihoon, he was simply doing his daily task! Ah! He needed to finish it before midnight or the system would remove a few of his EXP points!
One hour of cardio and 2 hours of sparring meant he needed to sweat for 3 hours every day! It was already eight in the evening!
He needed to get his priorities straight, ah!
"Jihoon…." Ethan called out after an hour of running.
"Young Master?" Jihoon was quick to hand him a towel and water that had special electrolytes for Essentia Users.
"Shall we spar?" Ethan asked, ignoring the water that Jihoon handed. Ethan's eyes sparkled as he stared at the older man in front of him.
Jihoon hesitated, looking at Ethan. Was the young master wanting to spar as a form of punishment for his mistakes? Jihoon didn't say anything, but he took off his coat and bowed to Ethan.
"You can punish me as you see fit, young master..."
"..." Ethan didn't know how to respond.
....
A/N: When I created the outline, I immediately wanted something like earth but not really Earth? So, I created Yeonsin. Yeonsin is still a part of Asia. It is located in the Pacific. Gosh, I wanted to talk more about my world but I don't want to reveal too much and spoil the fun. hahahahaha ok bye.