Boris's expression shifted from that of carefree to surprise when he heard Nyx's unexpected request. Why would this kid want to kill someone? What did he take the Hero Bureau for? A place where they keep humans to be killed for fun? Did he take them for psychopaths?
After a moment, Boris repeated what the red-haired boy said, perhaps he was hearing wrong. "Kill people, did I hear you correctly, lad?"
Nyx displayed a sheepish smile. "That's a mistake on my side. I wanted to test my abilities in a real combat scenario. I need to know if I have what it takes to face actual threats, not just in controlled training environments. So, if possible, I wanted to kill something, maybe monsters. Sorry if that might have come out wrong."
Boris considered Nyx's request carefully, understanding the significance behind it. He knew that real-world combat situations were vastly different from training exercises and simulations. However, allowing Nyx to kill something would not only test his combat skills but also his judgment, restraint, and thinking ability in life-and-death situations.
Even in the past, some of Boris's top clients, which were mostly people from prestigious clans, had demanded similar training for their children.
After a moment of contemplation, Boris nodded slowly. "Very well, Nyx. I understand your desire to push yourself and face challenges head-on. However, I must warn you to be careful with the way you speak. Talk about killing people outside, and they would straight up call you a villain and lock you up."
"Understood."
Nyx could only nod and decided not to comment about what Boris said. He just wondered how this man would react if he knew that Nyx actually meant what he said about killing people.
Boris gave Nyx a reassuring smile. "Good. Then let us arrange for a controlled scenario where you can put your skills to the test."
***
Master Boris, Momo, and Nyx stepped into a room with towering metal walls made out of strong alloy materials. Inside the hall, there were several advanced pieces of equipment that could greatly improve one's physical capabilities.
But with a closer look, some of this equipment was even found in the academy. This made Nyx send a curious glance at Momo. But the stoic man had long expected this, so he said while adjusting his glasses.
"I know. Many of these things are indeed similar to the ones at the academy, but there's one in particular that I believe will benefit you greatly."
He gestured towards a sleek, futuristic-looking contraption kept in the corner of the room. It was a high-tech robotic exoskeleton, and its design was sleek and sophisticated.
Nyx stared at the strange equipment with a bit of curiosity because he had never seen something like this before.
"That, Nyx, is the Hyper-Exo Suit," Boris explained with excitement in his voice. "It's an advanced piece of equipment designed specifically for strength training and enhancing physical performance. This equipment is the new product from Bruno Grey that is yet to be released to the public, but the Hero Bureau was given the privilege to be one of the beta testers."
"It's safe to say this suit is effective. Most of our clients have even reported an increase in strength just after a day," Boris continued rambling, making Nyx think he'll be successful in a marketing career.
"So what's special about this suit?" the red-haired boy said while running his hands on the machine. "Would this thing increase my strength?"
"Yes, it puts pressure on your muscles and restricts your movement, which in turn forces you to exert yourself, done by the suit sending signals to your brain. This helps you grow stronger with time. Merely moving around in that thing can increase your strength and make you adept to such pressure," Momo said calmly.
"In case you didn't know, this was the same suit Bob used. That kid was one of the few in his age to go past level 4," Boris chimed in.
"How do I use it?" Nyx asked, a bit impressed. If Boris was a marketer, he had succeeded in swindling over one client.
Boris motioned for Nyx to step into the suit, guiding him through the process of adjusting the settings to suit his preferences. "Once you're strapped in, the suit will provide resistance tailored to your strength level, gradually increasing the intensity as you progress. For now, I'll leave it in Level 1."
'Something that can increase my strength by merely walking around in it?' the red-haired boy thought with a bit of doubt as he stepped into the Hypo suit and strapped the safety belt on it. Thankfully, the suit also had capabilities to adapt to the operator's body frame.
'Heavy, it's truly heavy.' Nyx thought when he felt an overbearing weight crushing on him, and he was forced to his knees with a loud thud, but the red-haired was resilient as he staggered back to his feet a moment later with a fierce look in his eyes.
"He's quite the character, huh? Even Bob didn't adapt to the pressure so quickly." Boris smiled, and his impression about Nyx shot through the roof when he saw Nyx adapting fast to the pressure of the suit so quickly.
Step! Step!
Taking one step at a time, the red-haired boy was walking around in the suit, the pressure still weighing him down, so he was still sluggish. His gaze was fixed on his system status as he waited to see any changes to his status.
After a while more, when Nyx was getting impatient, changes happened to his system, and Nyx's eyes widened in shock because he could see an increase in his Attack Power, Defense Power, Stamina, and this was not just visually represented in his status. He could actually feel the power coursing through his pulse!
How was this possible! A suit that could increase his strength just by walking around in it? Wasn't this godsent! Inside the suit, Nyx couldn't help but laugh manically. He would exploit and abuse this suit to the maximum level possible!
"Whoever this Bruno Grey is, kudos to you!" Nyx spoke as greedy thoughts surfaced in his head. 'What would happen if I were to run in this thing?'