Child of Destiny

Just like what Professor Henry was expecting, Shin regained himself and snapped out of the trance after a little over 12 hours of reading.

Shin was surprised at the mysterious state that he was in, which made him become even more amazed at the old professor. This pretty much confirmed that Professor Henry was no ordinary individual. ．

This way of teaching his students was very different from the method that Professor Plum and Grandmaster Benn were using, but they were as effective, nevertheless.

Professor Plum was giving him a training course that he had to follow where he could build a solid foundation while also discovering his strengths and weaknesses along the way. That training course was meant to lead to a specific answer, but he had to work for it to reach that goal.

On the other hand, Grandmaster Benn was always giving him specific tasks that would target a particular ability that he had to learn. Once he repeatedly completed those tasks with increasing difficulty, he would realize that a lot of things were taught to him despite doing a single task.

Professor Herny was a little different since he was more like a lecturer when teaching his students. He would be giving Shin and the rest a specific ‘lesson’ that they had to learn, which would also target the problem that they were currently facing. But regardless, the students still needed to work hard to find those answers themselves.

The three methods were somewhat different, but their goals were all the same. They would be giving the students the solution that they needed, but they also wanted the students to learn the answers by themselves and solve those problems with their own methods.

Shin was confident that these three old men were close friends after learning this, especially after discovering that their teaching methods were similar, albeit also having a lot of differences.

“Heh! Those three are interesting. Are they some sort of brothers or something?” muttered Shin as he could not help but compare his relationship with Arthur and Leonard with these three old men who were teaching him.

He found that they were somewhat similar.

A few moments later, when he was organizing his thoughts, he discovered that it was already dark outside. He realized that he was already running late for his schedule inside the game.

He abruptly stood up, planning to leave, and wanting to get back in the game as soon as possible. “Sh*t! The ‘party’ should have started already!”

At this point, Benedict came out from the room adjacent to the living room. He yawned and stretched his waist and arms, seemingly signifying that he had just woken up from sleep. And when he saw Shin finally come out of his trance, he nodded his head and greeted. “You are up? The professor is really on point.”

“Do you want to stay here for the night or are you going to head back home already?” he asked immediately after.

Shin thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No. I’m fine. I have other plans already.”

Benedict curled his lips a little before offering. “How about a meal before you leave? You have not eaten anything since you came here. You must be very hungry.”

Shin shook his head repeatedly as he refused politely. “I am fine, Senior. Thank you for the offer. I will grab something along the way. I am really running late for my ‘appointment’ already!”

Benedict chuckled and nodded. “Is that so? It can’t be helped then.”

“Go. I will take care of everything here. You can go to your appointment. Just make sure to come back at the same time tomorrow, alright? I will be overseeing your physical training, so don’t be late. I am not fond of being behind the schedule,” he added jokingly while waving Shin goodbye.

Shin bowed at Benedict before running out of the house. “Thank you, Senior! See you tomorrow!”

Benedict watched Shin for a moment before chuckling once again. “He must be excited to try the things that he learned from the books that the professor has given him.”

He stretched his body for another time as he reminisced about his experience. “The game, huh? It has been a while since I am online. I wonder what chances they have now. I hear that the main servers are already in the middle stages.”

“When will the dimensional portals be opened so that ‘us’ from the secret servers can join the fun?” he mumbled as he went to check if everything within the house was properly locked and if the secret formations were properly working.

*********

At the same time, within one of the largest laboratories within the World Research Center, Professor Henry was reading a series of data from his tablet while nodding his head from time to time.

Not long after, a young man suddenly came out from a huge steel capsule in front of him. The steam coming out from the capsule enveloped the young man as he walked out of him while he was trying to catch his breath.

The old professor did not look at the young man as he said. “Everything is already fine. Your body can now withstand that state for a certain period of time. But I still want to warn you to use it as limited as possible.”

“Your Hyperactive Immersion is a very special one given that personal in-game technique that your father has created. I must say that it is somewhat a special program that he personally built without violating any laws of the virtual world.”

“He did not infiltrate the main system of the game, but he built a hidden program by just repeatedly doing a specific set of movement practice and training routines. I can’t help but be impressed.”

“The only suspicious thing is that recording and analyzing system. But it can at most be considered as a special technique or self-created skill after taking a closer look at it, so it is still in the acceptable range of the gaming company.”

It was at that moment when Professor Herny looked at the young man and said with full sincerity. “I am truly impressed at your old man, Little Wade.”

Wade, who took a towel from one of the research assistants, bowed at the old professor and embarrassedly said. “I should be the one saying that Sir. My father looks up to you very much.”

“Your father is a very competent student when he is learning under me. I should be proud of him,” said the professor with a smile.

After that, he signaled one of his assistants to give Wade the serum that they had prepared.

“This is a concentrated nutrient serum that can help you stabilize your overall condition. It will help you satiate the intense hunger of your cells,” said Professor Henry while pointing at the steel capsule that Wade was currently holding.

He then lowered the tablet before continuing his explanation. “It is the best solution that we have to deal with your current state as soon as possible but there are some risks accompanying it.”

“Just like having too much of food intake after you starve for a long period of time and over-exhausting yourself, your body may undergo some indigestion problem after taking them.”

“Your body will not be able to keep up with the sudden injection of these concentrated nutrients, which can cause you a lot in the process. It can even cripple you if it is the worst-case scenario.”

“But since you are already in very bad shape, if we don’t take this risk, then the long-term damages that you will suffer will only accumulate and make it hard for us to treat you.”

“So, in order to prepare your body, we have to let you undergo these series of exercises and tests as soon as possible.”

Professor Henry paused for a moment and looked at Wade before continuing. “Now, we have prepared your body well enough, and even lower all the risk from the worst-case scenario. You can take this serum without worrying too much about the consequences.”

“I assure you that you will be fine,” he added, reassuring that everything was under control.

Wade nodded his head and looked at the cylindrical container in his hand before a determined look surfaced in his eyes.

After that, he pressed a button from its side, making a needle appear from one of its ends. Then he injected it into his arm without any hint of hesitation and emptied its contents immediately after.

There was no immediate change after that. But not long after, Wade felt that the temperature of his body was increasing at a rapid rate. He also could feel the minuscule movements within his body as if every cell in it was swelling and shrinking in a chaotic rhythm.

He was starting to panic when he saw that even his skin was moving, seemingly adjusting with the micro-movements of his cells. It was as if those cells were showing their satisfaction after absorbing all the nutrients that he had injected.

It was a scary sight despite fully understanding what was happening. But after seeing the calm expression that Professor Henry had and the assistants standing behind him, Wade was able to calm himself down while immersing himself in the current state of his body.

It seemed like he was trying to feel all the changes that his cells were undergoing and engraving all of it in his mind.

He felt that he might need it in the future.

And when the old professor saw that, he could not help but smile in satisfaction. He clearly acknowledged how sharp this young man was in front of him.

The changes that his body was undergoing were a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It would give him a special ability that he would not be expecting.

Wade might not be able to reach the level where he could control every cellular movement within his body, but it could at least help him have better control over his muscles, which would give him unimaginable flexibility and ability to execute some extremely hard maneuvers, particularly in battle.

‘This kid will surely bring the new age of virtual games. He is the same as the troublesome kid of that particular couple,’ thought the professor while watching Wade.

It took Wade quite a while before the cells within his body calmed down. He stayed still for a few more moments to make sure that the entire process had already ended before opening his eyes.

Then he heard the voice of the old professor asking him. “How is it? How do you feel?”

He did not immediately reply as he looked at his hands first before opening and closing them repeatedly. After that, he replied with a smile. “I feel much better than before. I feel like I can do anything right now.”

Professor Herny nodded his head repeatedly as he commented. “That ends up better than we have expected.”

After that, he turned to his assistants and instructed. “Lead him to the exercise room and let him use our equipment there. Start with the most basic ones before proceeding to the advanced equipment. Don’t make him overwork himself.”

“Make him do each exercise three times so that we can have the smallest margin of error then record all the data that you will gather before sending them to me via email. I’ll read through them later.”

After that, they turned back to Wade and said. “Follow them for now and finish all the exercises. It will not take much time, so you don’t have to worry. When you are done, then you are free to do whatever you want. But I suggest you rest immediately after and relax your body.”

He then paused for a moment before quickly adding. “If you don’t want to remain idle, then you can also enter the virtual world and play some games there. But limit your usage of the Hyperactive Immersion and your Demon’s Eyes until further notice.”

Wade felt a little excited to move since he felt too good right now. His body was currently full of energy that he needed to expand.

He was about to follow the research assistants when Professor Henry suddenly remembered something and added. “Ah! I heard that the game you are planning just entered a huge update.”

“Then, if possible, look for a ‘martial manual’ when you get back in the game. But don’t pick any random ones, choose the ones that are perfectly suited for your current class and fighting style. It will help you improve much faster both inside the game and here in the real world.”

After that, he turned around and headed toward another research laboratory.

In the meantime, Wade put the suggestion to his heart. Even though he was not sure about this so-called ‘martial manual’ since it was his first time hearing it, he was sure that the professor had his reasons for suggesting such a thing.

“Martial manuals, huh? I guess I need to use my special channels to investigate about them,” he muttered as he followed behind the assistants of the professor.

…