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'Talk to it...'
That was the request. Plain and simple.
It's not that the lead researcher doubted his abilities, because by now, everyone who works here believes that Cedric could indeed understand the language of the Void Creature.
The lead researcher simply has a different goal for this request. As for what that is, Cedric didn't ask; he didn't feel like he was supposed to know, either, since he's not an official mber of this team.
That said, this request actually stumped Cedric for a bit. Because while he could understand the language, it doesn't an that he could speak it just as easily.
The thought never even crossed his mind before, which surprises him as well since he saw himself as a person who likes to be prepared for anything.
See, the voices of the Void Creatures were bizarre. They could be saying the sa thing but sound completely different from each other. Moreover, each ti they speak, it's as if multiple people with different pitches were saying the sa thing at once. One could only imagine how difficult it is to replicate that.
But it was in the middle of this dilemma that the innate divine ability, All Speak, showed its brilliance.
Oooooo!!
This voice didn't co from the trapped Void Creature within the private lab. It ca from Cedric himself, and it's because he's making this sound, which awfully sounds like a void creature speaking already, that he's getting strange looks from the people around him.
Cedric thought that he had to try nonetheless. Because even though he's still undecided if he should join this team, the promise of compensation coming directly from the lead researcher himself was too good to pass.
Surprisingly, it ca to him easier than he expected. There's barely even an effort on his side. He started with focusing on the intent, trying to sound like those void creatures he had heard before. Then he began vocalizing for a bit.
It was awkward at his first three tries, but after that, he experienced so kind of enlightennt. It's as if he just suddenly understood how to do it properly, causing his next few attempts to beco better and better.
It's as if the built-in translator in his brain kicked into gear. Yet even with this, Cedric still doesn't completely understand how he's doing it because everything was happening subconsciously. He's just rely following what his mind was telling him to do.
And so, he suddenly found himself able to speak the language of the void. But of course, there are so unique features that co with it.
Languages are inherently powerful. The language of the void is no different; why else would he bleed and faint after hearing the last ssage during the summons if that wasn't the case?
Using this language costs energy, and the drain depends on how clear or detailed he wanted the ssage to co out.
When Cedric felt like he had an accurate grasp of the skill, he turned to Willow and Chief Blackwood, saying that he's ready to begin.
"Everyone, we're starting. Aside from him and the test subject, I don't want to hear anyone else speaking. Am I clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" All personnel replied solemnly.
After that, silence perated the entire room. Even the sounds of breathing were muted to their barest minimum under the Chief's orders.
Seeing this, the Chief looked at Cedric and nodded. He gestured to the podium where a microphone appeared, one that is connected to the tank containing the 'Test Subject.'.
The request of the chief was simple. He just wanted Cedric to talk to it. If he could provoke so kind of reaction from it, then it's a job well done. So, it ans that Cedric could practically say anything to it. He doesn't need to be friendly, coaxing, or kind.
Cedric took a deep breath and held the stand, then a deep and ominous sound flowed out of his lips.
OooouuuuUuuu!
The effect was almost imdiate. The machines connected to the tank began emitting crisp sounds of alert and notices. Strings of nurical values flowed like a waterfall, so much so that those who were monitoring them almost couldn't keep up.
But all of these were drowned by the spectacle before them.
The previously listless and seemingly docile Void Creature was now glaring in Cedric's direction. Its reptilian body was pressed on its prison, claws embedded in the thick glass container, unable to move even an inch forward.
It hissed at him, but the sound escaping from it wasn't any less deep and ominous than the sounds that Cedric emitted just now.
And even though most of the employees here didn't have an 'All Speak' that is as sharp as Cedric's, they could still feel the raging intent behind the sounds emitted by the 'Test Subject.'.
That, and its body language, all point to shock, surprise, and anger...mostly anger, actually.
"Wow, I never saw it so active. It usually just floats in there, listlessly. It never showed such strong emotions before. At least, not that I know of."
Willow comnted through the comms, making sure that his voice wouldn't be caught by the mic connected to the tank.
"What did you tell it, anyway? I didn't quite understand it, but I can tell that it's offended."
Cedric smiled wryly under his visor. He felt hesitant but still said it anyway.
"I called it 'Puny Thing,'." Cedric replied, filtering his words through the comms and seamlessly switching to the alliance's common language subconsciously.
"I guess it never expected soone to call it that. Especially not in a language it could understand. Now, it's challenging . It's telling to get in there and fight it to the death so that we can decide who's the true puny one."
Willow chuckled at that; he then looked at Chief Blackwood and said, "Well, there's the reaction you want. It looks alive and well to , but of course you'd trust actual data rather than obvious clues, so knock yourself out, I guess."
Chief Blackwood doesn't seem offended by Willow's casual words to him; it's as if he's been long used to it. He did release an audible sigh of relief, though. Saying:
"Good, that's good. It's 'alive,' I suppose. I thought we'd made it retarded after so many experints." Chief Blackwood doesn't seem to need any hard data to tell this much.
He then faced Cedric and said, "Thank you. Your skills truly are a blessing. You've saved us so much ti and effort for this. Don't worry; you can expect a generous compensation for this. I won't go back on my promise."
"Thank you, Sir," Cedric replied politely.
"And while we're on this topic, I hope you can seriously consider joining our team. Your skills are highly valuable to us, and here you can freely explore the full extent of your innate divine ability while being compensated generously."
"If you join us, you'd never have to worry about earning sufficient rit points to et your yearly quota. If you want to, you can be completely exempted from that. You can also gain access to more valuable resources by relying on our connections. Furthermore, since your work here already touches the existence of the Void Creatures, you will never be forced to Void Walk again."
Both Master and Student joined powers to tempt Cedric into joining the Occult Decoding Team.
Hearing about it and seeing it in action were two completely different things. They still had reservations before eting Cedric in person, and honestly, the impact of his divine skill showcase wasn't as stellar as seeing it in person.
But just now, they bore witness to Cedric's actual skill level. And he managed to do sothing that would take an imnse effort for all of them to do, and he did it in re minutes after his first encounter with the test subject.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that Cedric was born to be a mber of this team. And it would be such a sha if he were to reject their heartfelt invitation.
Cedric heard them, but his focus wasn't entirely on them. It's not that he's trying to ignore them or anything; it's just hard to focus when the creature he provoked just now was still screeching at him angrily.
If it was just that, Cedric could've simply ignored it too. But since he's got a built-in translator in his brain in the form of 'All Speak,' he was hearing words that are simply too difficult to ignore.
And it would seem that both Willow and Chief Blackwood noticed that his focus wasn't entirely on them, and they imdiately deduced that Cedric must be listening intently to whatever the 'Test Subject' was saying.
Then, Cedric held onto the mic and emitted a deep, long, and harrowing tune that reverberated at each corner of the lab.
And to everyone's surprise, the 'Test Subject' suddenly shrieked and swam deeper into its cell. Seemingly frightened out of its wits. It hid within the waters, shaking and refusing to make any sound, acting like a frightened rabbit.
This caused everybody to look at Cedric with varying expressions, but most of them were just awe.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It's too noisy, so I told it to shut up."
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"However, it kept yelling sothing called the 'Abyssal Death Valley.'. Any idea about what that is?"
Crash!
Blackwood dropped whatever it was he was holding. He instantly grabbed Cedric by the shoulders and got up real close to his face, saying:
"Tell everything."
Cedric instantly realized that that's not a request; it's a command that he couldn't defy, no matter what.
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