Cistro nudged Marco. "Siobhan didn't come to school for two days, and her hair was long and black last time. Now it's light blue. She must have taken the Ice Cat D-rank genetic medicine."
Marco glanced at Rain. "Rain, today you need to show Luke you've opened your spiritual gate. Two days ago, when he opened his, he looked down on you and even told you to stop talking to Siobhan."
Rain knew his predecessor had liked Siobhan, but she was the goddess of the school—kind, polite, and always smiling at him, yet distant with him. As for Luke, he had always been his rival. Rain's eyes narrowed. "Let's see how things go," he muttered.
As the three of them entered the school hallway, following the group ahead, Rain abruptly turned to Marco and Cistro. "Let's split up here. I need to inform the principal that I've broken through the spiritual gate." Without waiting for a response, he began walking toward the principal's office, leaving them behind.
Marco watched Rain's retreating figure with a frown. "Rain's changed. Before, whenever he saw Siobhan walking with Luke, he'd try to join them. It's like he's possessed by an evil ghost."
Cistro shook his head. "No way. You saw Rain talking to us normally, right? Rain's just opened his spiritual gate, and once that happens, a person gains more control over their emotions."
Satisfied with Cistro's explanation, the two headed off toward their class, discussing the day's lessons.
Rain reached the principal's office door and knocked. From behind the door, he heard a firm voice, "Enter."
Stepping inside, Rain greeted him, "Principal Gupta."
Principal Gupta, a sturdy warrior who had reached peak C-rank strength but suffered an injury while attempting to break through to B-rank, looked up from his desk. As he glanced at Rain, his gaze sharpened, studying him closely. Rain felt a flicker of nervousness. Although the thought of being suspected of possession by an evil ghost crossed his mind, he knew there was no reason for concern; all that had happened was the awakening of his memories. The thorough review for possession, which lasted 15 days, would find nothing unusual.
After a long pause, Principal Gupta smiled and said, "You've opened your spiritual gate, haven't you?"
Rain smiled nervously, taking an imaginary deep breath. "How did you know, Principal Gupta?"
"There's a certain light in your eyes when someone opens their spiritual gate. If you look carefully, it's unmistakable. Congratulations, Rain. You managed to do it just ten days before graduation."
"Thank you," Rain replied.
Principal Gupta stood up from behind his desk and walked around it. "Follow me. You need to register, and then you can decide whether to sign the contract and choose the genetic medicine you want."
Rain followed him as they walked through the hallway. They reached a locker room, and Principal Gupta unlocked the door with his fingerprint. Inside, Rain noticed eight lockers along the right wall and a large machine at the back of the room. He recognized it as a machine used to measure punch strength, but this one looked more advanced.
Principal Gupta operated the machine and called him over. "Place your hand on the screen to scan your fingerprint."
Rain followed the instructions, placing his hand on the screen, and after a moment, the machine beeped, showing "Done" on the screen. "Now press 'Done' and position your face in front of the scanner," Gupta instructed.
Rain moved forward, allowing the machine to scan his eye. Once again, "Done" appeared, and he pressed the button. A small box slid out from inside the machine.
Principal Gupta handed him a pin. "Prick your finger and drop some blood into the box."
Rain pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall into the box. The machine pulled the box back inside and scanned it. After 10 seconds, his photo, name, and ID number appeared on the screen, along with an option: *Check Punch Power.* Principal Gupta selected the option, and a screen with three zeros appeared.
"Now," Principal Gupta said, "give it your full-strength punch."
Rain took a deep breath, feeling the enhanced control over his body after opening his spiritual gate. He punched the pad with all his strength. As his fist connected, the numbers on the screen rapidly climbed, stopping at 376 kg.
"Impressive," Principal Gupta nodded. "Before you opened your spiritual gate, your punch was 191 kg. You've nearly doubled your strength. For someone who's just opened their spiritual gate, a punch power of 300 kg is considered the baseline."
A new screen appeared on the machine, divided into two sections: 'Underground Walter City Police' on the left and 'Surface Explorer' on the right.
Principal Gupta turned to him. "I suggest you sign the contract with the Underground Walter City Police. You'll get stronger, and once your contract is complete, you can choose to join the surface explorers or explore on your own the surface world."
Rain carefully considered Principal Gupta's advice. Joining the Underground Walter City Police seemed like the most practical choice. Not only would it allow him to explore the world beyond Walter, but it also provided a structured environment to deepen his understanding of how genetic warriors trained and operated. The surface was still rife with unknown dangers, so starting within the relatively safe confines of the city seemed like the wisest move for now.
As he read through the contract, Rain absorbed the key details:
1. Service Duration: He was required to serve the Underground Walter City Police for a minimum of five years. However, this time could be shortened by earning merit points through successful missions.
2. Access to Resources: He could purchase resources, such as cultivation method, combat technique, cultivation medicine and specialized gear, from the Underground Walter City Police using either merit points or credits. All purchases would come with a 30% discount from standard market prices.
3. Initial Credits and Salary: Upon joining, he would receive 3,000 credits as a sign-on bonus. His monthly salary was also set at 3,000 credits, with additional pay for overtime and strong performance.
4. Work Hours: His duty hours would be from 8 AM to 8 PM, a long but manageable shift, considering the benefits.
Rain nodded to himself as he finished reading the terms. The contract seemed fair, offering a balance between duty and reward, and the merit system gave him a chance to rise quickly through the ranks if he performed well. This could be the start of something promising, even if it was just the beginning of his journey. so without checking the contract of surface explorer he sign the contract with the Underground city police.
Rain nodded, absorbing the new information as he finalized his decision to join the Underground City Guard without even considering the contract for surface explorers. Once his choice was confirmed, a new screen appeared in front of him, displaying eight images of different beasts, each representing a genetic medicine.
Principal Gupta gestured toward the screen. "You might already be familiar with these eight genetic medicines, but I'm required to explain them in detail. The first three are widely available to all forces across the continent, which makes them the most common choices. Additionally, they each have higher-rank versions available for future upgrades:
1. Stone Monkey
2. Blood Hound
3. Giant Ant
"The next three are exclusive to Spark Technology, and like the first set, they have upper-rank genetic medicines available for further evolution:
4. Ice Cat
5. Red Pupil Crow
6. Iron Rhino
"Finally, the last two medicines are also developed by Spark Technology, but so far only the D-rank versions have been researched. Higher-rank evolutions haven't been discovered yet:
7. Super Healing Lizard
8. Electric Eel.
Rain's eyes lingered on the final two. He had already felt a strong affinity for the *Super Healing Lizard* due to its remarkable regenerative abilities. Now, seeing it listed on the screen as an option, his choice was reaffirmed. Principal Gupta continued explaining the strengths and drawbacks of each option, but Rain's mind was already made up. The *Super Healing Lizard* was calling to him.