Early the next morning, John went to Professor Ada's office. She asked him to follow her to the lab, which was separated into different sections.
"Today, I will show you some of the mutated animals and some gadgets that will help you track these animals," Professor Ada said, waving for John to follow her.
They entered one of the doors, revealing a room filled with instruments that John had no clue about. In the center of the room was a large autopsy table with the carcass of a huge Koala-looking animal.
A Koala is typically herbivorous, but the carcass on the table looked like a demonic version of one. Just looking at its blood-red eyes made John pause for a second.
"This Koala mutated near a dungeon. Since it mutated, it has become extremely aggressive, killing anything in its way and even eating the meat of its prey," Professor Ada explained.
"So, it changed from herbivorous to carnivorous? How does that work exactly?" John was confused about the change.
"Its DNA changed when it was contaminated by dungeon energy. It's not just a change in diet; it's like it lost its mind. It attacks for the sake of attacking, nothing else."
John paid close attention, circling the table to spot other differences besides the Koala's larger body. He noted its razor-sharp claws and the twisted look on its face.
"When it was alive, its claws could extend to double their normal size, becoming harder and more lethal." Professor Ada paused, her expression stern. "Don't underestimate any mutated animals just because they aren't dungeon monsters.
They can be even more dangerous. When you investigate any dungeon or suspicious sign, you must be aware that you will likely encounter these mutated animals. Their mutations come in all shapes and forms.
The higher the dungeon level, the weirder and stronger the mutations. While not as dense as dungeon monsters, these animals must be eliminated before clearing any dungeon to avoid being attacked when you're tired and bloody from dungeon clearing."
John nodded in understanding. "Is there any use for these mutated animals?"
"Yes. Their fur, claws, and other parts are used to create gadgets after processing. These items become what we call enchanted items or gadgets. They resonate with people of talent," Professor Ada explained.
John pondered for a moment before asking, "When we went to a dungeon earlier, we didn't harvest any items. Why is that?"
"Dungeon monsters' bodies decay faster than normal and become very unstable. Not all dungeons have useful items, especially level one normal dungeons," Professor Ada said patiently.
He handed him a dagger and continued, "Your first task is to skin the mutated animal for its fur and other useful parts. There are over five other carcasses in the storage behind you. I will show you how to do it first."
She caught him staring, his face a mix of curiosity and disbelief. She chuckled, "Don't give me that look. My dress is enhanced to prevent dust and filth from getting on it."
John's eyes widened in wonder. "Wait, what?! I thought enhanced items were like necklaces or other weird items, not clothes and stuff."
Ignoring him, she put on gloves, her hands glowing with a subtle blue light that traveled to the knife she held. The glow was so faint that John almost missed it.
She began to skin the mutated Koala, making a smooth incision from its belly to its head and then opening the pelt flat.
"When you're skinning, make sure not to cut any fat or meat with the skin," she instructed while working.
After skinning, she started dissecting the animal. "We don't eat mutated animal meat, but it's still useful for many experiments. Whether it's useful or not, you should bring back the whole carcass if you can. Secure it in a safe place and ask the technology and planning department to come and take it."
John asked in wonder, "Then what's the use of me learning this?"
"Think about it. Will you have the time or energy in a dungeon to take the whole carcass? As I said, not all dungeons have useful materials, but when they do, they're very precious for our research and item making. Clearing a dungeon is a long process, so it's not convenient or possible to drag everything out, especially after clearing the dungeon. The team will be on a timer to get out before the dimension becomes unstable," Professor Ada explained.
John didn't ask why they couldn't just kill all the monsters and wait for them to respawn because he had read about it in the book.
(When all the monsters in a dungeon die or more than half die, the dimension of the dungeon becomes unstable.
If the dungeon's creatures die but no one clears the dungeon, one of two things will happen: either the dungeon will collapse and cease to exist, or it will create monsters at an alarming rate with a 100% chance of a monster breakout.
If half the monsters die, the same scenario happens but it's over a longer period of time. Each dungeon's time may differ, so it's advisable to clear the dungeon in one go.
If a dungeon is left alone for too long, the monster numbers will become overwhelming, and a breakout will happen 100%.)
After Professor Ada finished, she moved away and gave John space to try his hand at the second carcass. Even though it was his first time skinning an animal, his double-focus talent worked wonders for his attention to detail during the professor's demonstration.
His hands were steady because of his talent, and while he made small mistakes, overall, it was better than the professor expected.
On the third carcass, he didn't make a single mistake, and he finished the rest in record time, looking like he had done this kind of job for years.
"You finished faster than I expected. Yesterday and today, you completed your tasks more quickly than anticipated. It seems your talent helps you learn things faster," Professor Ada said, studying John from head to toe, trying to gauge his hidden talent.
Scratching his head, John stood there awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. He changed the subject, "Professor, you said you would introduce a gadget to me and let me learn how to use it, so..."
"Ah, yes. Come with me. It's not in this room." She exited the room and went in another one as John followed.
The new room had six shelves, one after another, on the left side of the room. On the right side is another bunch of instruments that John still has no clue about.
Each shelf holds a number of items; some look like weapons, some look like accessories, and the others don't look like they belong to the same category.
Professor Ada went to one of the shelves and got back holding a box. As she went to the other size of the room.
"This item was designed especially for you; I just got it today from the technology and planning department."
John was confused. "Especially for me! Why?"
She answered while clicking on some kind of instrument, "The normal gadget to track mutant animals and dungeon energy was a hand-held scanner or upgraded version of the watch that will have this function. As your sensory type talent is rare, these gadgets help non-sensory talent in doing their job."
John replied almost immediately, "But mine is different."
"Yes. Your talent is different. We asked Maxwell and Toby how you were using your talent in the dungeon. And although your sensory is not X-ray vision, heat detection, or something of that sort. It is still pretty good at discovering clues, and with experience, your use of it will become more refined. I have high hopes for you."
Still confused, John asked, "But what will the gadget do for me than?"
She opened the box and took what looked like contact lenses and a small electronic chip. She puts them in the device, then she lifted her head to look in his direction while answering.
"It will enhance what you already have. It's supposed to work with your talent double focus. Anytime you notice something strange, it will start analyzing it for you. It has added functions such as Night Vision, Augmented reality displays (AR), Data Harvesting, Chemical Analysis Sensors, Holographic Projection, Energy Sensor."
John was overwhelmed. "Could you wait a second? What does all of that mean? And will my mind be able to handle all that?"
"That's why they sent it to me, not to you directly." A beep was heard from the device. The Professor clicked on something, and a reclining chair like those of the dentist's slid out of the device.
She continued,"I checked them, and it works fine. Now just take a seat at that chair and put the lenses, and this chip just place on the top of your watch, and I will calibrate it so it won't give you more info than you need or handle." She sent him a message on his watch, "I sent you what each function does roughly."
John opened the message, and the more he read, the more incredible he felt.
(Night vision: the ability to see in low-light conditions.
Augmented reality displays (AR): Smart contact lenses could overlay information directly onto the wearer's view. An investigator might see real-time data, maps, or even receive urgent messages without anyone else noticing.
Data Harvesting: smart contact lenses could harvest power from nearby radio sources or even a user's cell phone. This energy could be used to beam information directly to the lens, providing real-time updates or mission-critical data.
Chemical Analysis Sensors: Smart lenses equipped with miniature chemical sensors could detect toxins, drugs, or other substances. Investigators could discreetly analyze liquids or powders during their work, helping them uncover hidden clues.
Holographic Projection: project holographic images directly onto the wearer's retina. Investigators could visualize crime scenes, reconstruct events, or even display virtual evidence overlays.
Energy sensor: it detects the difference and the changes in the energy in the surrounding environment, if energy exceeds a certain limit, the user will be notified.)
"WOW! I'm impressed. But how do these functions have anything to do with my talent?" John still felt puzzled.
"Do what I told you first." She crossed her arms and looked intensely at him. She didn't avert her gaze until John placed the chip on his watch as it lit up and started downloading some program. Then he put the lenses on before sitting in the chair.
"The human mind usually makes us ignore a lot of details in our daily lives, even though now your attributes are above a normal human limit. Your mind still makes you ignore too much information. Unless you train for a very long time to make yourself pay attention to these details, your talent will never be fully utilized. You may not realize it yet, but some energy is in every person with a talent.
But everybody uses this energy differently. some body uses this energy, like your friend Toby, to control fire. Others do other things. We call this talent because he can't and would never be able to make his energy work as it works in your body. It just can't be done. Otherwise, we would have made tens of thousands of fire control users and made them demolition every dungeon."
The chair slid to a square box full of sensors and other things John couldn't recognize. The professor continued, "So, this energy is the drive to use your talent double focus. What the lenses do basically is latch in this energy when your talent gets activated and read all the details that could be read, whether you yourself put your attention on those details or not. And after processing, they will show it to you in a different format for easy reading. So, if another person puts these lenses on, it will not work. That's basically it."
John's eyes lit up in understanding, and curiosity filled his heart about how to use the new gadget. "So, how do I activate the lenses?"
Professor Ada smiled, sensing his eagerness. "Wait until the program downloads to your watch. From then on, with one click, you can turn it on or off. Or you can let it be on standby, automatically activating with your talent."
John nodded, excitement bubbling within him. The possibilities seemed endless, and he couldn't wait to see the world through his new lenses.