He stood up to welcome them, out of courtesy, but was met with a hug from jane, "You poor thing, I'm so sorry," she said, no doubt had already heard about the test
Henry was completely immersed in her bosom, his face exploring, whatever he could, "It's fine, it's no one's fault,"
he said, as Jane released him from his little adventure
"How are you holding up kid, it must be pretty hard," xavier said, as they all sat, Jane sitting beside henry while xavier opposite them
"I'm a bit sad, but life goes on i guess," henry replied with a wry smile
"I'm really sorry for giving you false hope, henry, but I'll make it up to you. You'll get the best education the world has to offer in whatever field you might want, i can even take you on martial arts, if you want," jane said with sympathy
"No, truly I'm fine, thanks for all the generosity and offer, i shall consider it," henry replied jane with a smile
"But i think, I'll focus on moving forward, starting with getting my memories back" he said, facing xavier
"Um...yeah, about that, I'm so sorry, but it's not happening," xavier said
"What, why?" henry asked, making sure to look very convincing, whereas he was smiling inwardly "This is so perfect, they'll forget about it," he thought
"The machine that scanned you, wasn't just a MC examiner, but a full body diagnosis machine. We scanned your brain also and...the results show that there are no memories at all to be recovered." xavier said
Jane continued. "We were wrong, your memories aren't encrypted, but totally wiped out, i doubt there's any machine, that can reverse the effect. I'm truly sorry henry," she said, placing her hand in his shoulder
"Oh i see," henryreplied dejectedly. "No use crying over spilt milk, I'll just new memories, with the hopes of recovering the old ones," he continued
"Good, that's the spirit, and we'll help you every step of the way. Won't we xavier," jane said
"Yeah, sure," xavier replied looking at henry curiously. "Shouldn't he be a little down, with not having abilities and not being able to recover his memories. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it," he thought
"Thank you all so much for the support, I'll do my best not to fail you," henry said with a smile
He felt relieved, everything was going smoothly, his secret was safe, organizing so he thought
"About your incident with the beast yesterday," xavier suddenly said
Henry froze, he thought he had escaped, that they won't question the fact he was able to heal without any mana cells. He was wrong
[Did you really think they won't be curious, these people are smart. But there is a way out of this, one that would keep your secret safe],
miley stated
"Really, how?" henry asked
[We eliminate them!],
she said
Henry: "..."
There was no way he would ever think of doing that to the ones who have done nothing but help him since they met. Even if he wanted to, he would be dead before he can lay a single finger on them
"It's okay, we already sorted it out, it appears the attack failed to deal any lethal damage to you, other than knocking you out," jane said, with a chuckle
"Yeah, we had assumed that you healed or something, but you were just lucky," xavier added
"Hahaha, luck shines on me again, i didn't even have to say anything," henry laughed in his head
"Yeah, you know i didn't even feel any impact when the ball of flames hit me, i guess i managed to escaped," he said with a light smile
"Oh, i see," xavier said, with his usual knowing look, one could tell, he wasn't buying any of it. He knew henry was hiding something, but as long as he wasn't a threat, he didn't bother much
"Alright, you must be hungry, why's don't you order whatever you want, then we can run some more tests, to see if you're in good shape," jane said
Henry nodded, with a grateful look, "Can i call you mother?" he asked
"Of course darling, you can," she smiled, stroking henry's hair gently
"Hm, she's picked up a stray, just like her mother picked me, this truly runs in the family," xavier thought, looking at henry who was enjoying every single second of having his hair stroked
Then a waiter arrived at their table and took their orders, henry ate all that he could, satisfying himself with a belly-filled breakfast.
They left the restaurant half an hour later, and headed to the medical bay, where henry took a general test.
Apart from his brain activity, the result showed that he was in great shape, and healthy as ever. Then he went for a recognition assessment, where his face was scanned to check his identity.
But it showed no result, he simply didn't exist, Jane and xavier weren't shocked at all, it was expected. Henry already knew it would be the case, afterall his body was built specially for him, he was literally just born the previous day.
Henry saw not having an identity a big advantage, so he requested to not upload any information yet. Heck, there was just nothing to upload.
He chatted with jane and xavier for a while before settling down in an isolated room, within the lounge.
He sat all by himself, alone in the room, exploring the web on his bracelet. The holographic screen displayed in his eyes, as he searched various things, from the currency of the world to other finance related subjects
The currency of the world was Apex credits(AC), and it was used in every nation as the only acceptable way of monetary trade.
It existed as electronic money, and cards, there was no such thing as physical cash, or coins "Of course, as expected of a futuristic world," he said, learning about other things, the way the world worked, the federation and the rules, the ranking system and most importantly, the best way to earn
In the world, where all techs run on beast cores, the best way to earn was to hunt beast's, and sell their cores, or crystals.
But the most profitable work was to become a mage, or a techno(tech mage), these were people who had abilities too, but are even more skilled and trained in various arts. They are typically stronger than a normal ability user.
They are recruited by guilds or factions, when they graduate from the mage academy, and later become hunters, warriors or join the most elite organization in the world, TRIAD
Same goes for technos, they are people who have abilities related to technology or are geniuses with a knack for innovation of advanced knowledge, basically the smart ones who create and invent the techs used in the world, therefore are very important and well appreciated
Henry saw how mages were being recognized, and he wished he could be one, but one could only become a mage by going to the academy, and the academy only recruited people with abilities or mana cell potential.
"Hmm, perhaps if I could unlock an ability, i can get in," he thought.
"But I'll have to start by hunting beast's, leveling up and making quick bucks,"
In the world, even ordinary people can become hunters, if they have the right set of equipment, good beast armor and weapons made from crystals, gotten from galactic beast's.
Galactic beast were much more of a threat than magical beasts, that even a F rank galactic beast can only be fought by a D rank mage, and they only appear through portals that suddenly open anywhere, anytime, but not all the time. Thus making their crystals rare and super expensive
"Hmm, if I hunt magical beasts, I'll level up, and get shop points or just sell the mana cores, and still get paid. It's a win win," he thought smiling widely
Henry had just discovered what he needed to do to become stronger and rich, in this world. He needed to hunt, and just keep hunting.
"Yes that's what I do, I'll hunt them all," he said loudly
"Are you sure about that, judging by your current situation, you're not fit to be a hunter," a female voice said, from behind him, the owner seemingly entering the room
Henry at first, thought it was miley, but the voice accent wasn't formal english, so he assumed it was jane instead, but when he turned to look at the person. It was a completely different beauty altogether, one he hadn't seen before.
Walking towards henry was 6'1 young lady, who seems to be in her early 20s, she had long white hair, with blue eyes. Her slender but well shaped body, radiated as she walked, she was a little busty, but not like that of a mature woman. She was dressed in a white jacket, complemented with a blue jean and white feminine boots.
Henry was a bit dazed, she didn't seem to care what henry had to say, she walked like she owned the room. Arriving at henry's table, she took a seat opposite him.
"Uh...who are you," he asked, raising his eyebrow, stylishly sizing her up
"That is not the question you should be asking, but let's just say, I'm someone who knows what you're thinking," she said, her blue eyes piercing.
Henry's mind raced.
"Care to explain?" Henry asked, trying to sound calm.
"You think you can become a hunter, just like that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Henry shrugged.
"Why not?"
She chuckled.
"You have no abilities, no mana cells or even fighting experience. Lord, you don't even have memories, you're as good as dead in the hunting world."
Henry's face remained neutral. but he was panicking inwardly
"Who the hell is she, how does she know so much about me. Who I'm i kidding that's literally everything about me in this world!" he thought
"I'll find a way." he said
She leaned forward.
"There is no way to find, you might even have problems with the authorities," she said calmly
Henry remained silent. "What does she mean by that," he thought
"I can help you." she continued
Henry's eyes narrowed.
"How, what kind of help?" he asked
She rested her back on the chair "Atleast he didn't reject me outrightly, that's a good start," she thought
"We're offering you a lot things, Infact it is the highest honor someone can ever receive, you'll have protection, fame, access to various equipments, enough credits that wouldn't need to work anymore, and a chance to boost your potentials," she stated
"This is almost everything I want in this world, I think. But this all sounds to good, it was definitely a deal with the devil, and it always has a catch, so he knew better than to suddenly jump at such an offer
She saw that he was hesitating, so she pulled her ace card
"With enough knowledge of martial arts and use of weapons, and with our help. You can even become a mage," she added
Henry's eye widened, this was the final straw, he would be foolish to not accept this offer, but stupid to, without proper information
"What's in it for you?"
She smiled. "Nothing but loyalty to the family,"
"That's all, but why me, a person without a life," he said
"Let's just say, I have my reasons."
Henry hesitated. "Why would anyone offer something like this, just for loyalty. It felt shady
What do you think, Miley?, he thought.
[Be cautious], Miley warned.
"Ok I'm listening," Henry said.
She leaned back in her chair.
"My name is Emily, I'm a student of the Atlas mage academy."
Henry's eyes widened.
"The mage academy?"
Emily nodded
Henry's mind whirled. It all seemed so surreal, just when he was about to start busting his ass to hard work, someone magically appears with a divine offer.
There was no way he'd reject, but if there's anything he learnt on the streets, something this good doesn't just come automatically
"Ok so how exactly does this all go? I'm sure there is something i must do before granted all the perks you mentioned?" he asked
Emily smiled and chuckled "You know for someone who has lost all his memories, you are a bit cheeky and untrusting,"
"But you're right," she continued "You'll have to sign an agreement first,"
Henry's wariness grew.
"What kind of agreement?"
Emily's smile hinted at mischief,
She pulled out a black, holographic tablet and placed it on the table
"Why don't you find out yourself," she replied, gesturing for him to take the device
Henry picked up the tablet, and read the contents throughly, he had a distorted look as he understood what it entailed
"Th...this is an adoption agreement!" he said in shock.