The absence of pain was the first thing Jin noticed, whether it was the warm amber lighting or the gentle hum of recycled air. The sharp, burning pain from his injuries had subsided to a dull throb, but his muscles still hurt as if he had been sleeping on concrete for days.
"Subject Jin. Neural stability: 82%. Status: Convalescent. Ti elapsed: 3 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes."
"Three days?" Jin croaked, his throat dry as sandpaper.
"You were drooling. Rosa took pictures. You’ve lost approximately 1.2 dignity points."
"Asha..." Jin groaned, dragging a hand over his face.
Jin moaned and rubbed his temples once more, then blinked as his HUD flickered again, this ti displaying a glowing status screen that was dimly visible in his field of vision.
> [HUD STATUS – VITAL MONITOR]
Subject: Jin Tsurugi
Level: 6
——————————————
HP: 160 / 160
STAMINA: 160 / 160
——————————————
Current Condition:
• No open wounds
• Muscle fatigue: Normal
• Fractures: Fully healed
• Bleeding: Resolved
• Infection Risk: None
——————————————
Recovery Log:
• Severe lacerations — Regenerated (1.5 days)
• Torn muscle fibers — Regenerated (2.1 days)
• Internal bruising — Resolved (2.8 days)
[Note: Estimated Recovery Ti for Normal Humans: 2–3 weeks]
[System Assessnt: Enhanced Regeneration Active]
Jin blinked at the screen.
"I healed... that fast?" he muttered, He first flexed his fingers, then his shoulders. He anticipated pain, tightness, and resistance. However, it was gone. Nothing more severe than training fatigue, just a slight soreness.
"Correction," Asha replied in her usual dry tone. "You healed 2.3 tis faster than expected based on standard human physiology. Either you’re secretly a half-lizard... Your blood contains microscopic nanomachines. They’re dormant most of the ti, but trauma seems to trigger a partial activation cycle."."
Jin stared at his arms, half-wondering if scales would start growing. "Please don’t joke about that..."
"It wasn’t a joke." He gulped.
Jin gasped and tried to sit up when he saw that he was wearing sothing that was definitely not his torn vault suit. The fabric was smooth against his skin, flexible but form-fitting, with a subtle golden trim that caught the light. He looked down at himself, bewildered.
"What the—"
"About ti, Sleeping Beauty."
He looked up at Rosa’s voice. Wearing an identical black uniform that gave her the appearance of an elite soldier, she was leaning against the doorfra while holding a ration bar. On her shoulder, the golden Phoenix Corps insignia shone..
"We were starting to wonder if you’d slipped into a coma just to avoid bath duty," she continued with a grin, then called over her shoulder. "Hey! The patient’s finally awake!"
Clara practically skidded into the room as the sound of hurried footsteps reverberated through the hallway, her face flushed with embarrassnt and relief.
"Y-You’re awake!? I an, yes! You’re okay! W-we thought you were—um—" Clara’s words tumbled over each other as she fidgeted with sothing in her hands, a pair of sleek glasses with faintly glowing blue-tinted lenses.
Sera erged in the doorway behind her, her shoulders clearly loosening but her expression carefully controlled. Despite wearing the sa black uniform, she sohow gave the impression that she was born to command.
"Hmmp.. you’re finally awake idiot" Sera said coolly, though Jin caught the way her eyes quickly scanned him for signs of injury. "We’ve been waiting for you."
"Translation: Sera has checked on you every four hours for the past three days," Asha’s voice whispered in his mind. "She also folded her jacket as a pillow for you. Twice."
Jin noticed the jacket neatly placed on a nearby chair and felt warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with the uniform.
"These clothes..." he started, looking down at himself again.
"Advanced Adaptive Environnt Combat Uniforms," Rosa said cheerfully. "Designation: A.A.E.C.U. Mark III. Found them in a restricted locker down the hall. Clara worked her magic on the security."
"I-It wasn’t magic," Clara stamred, adjusting her new glasses. "J-Just basic bypass protocols. The security system was already compromised from power fluctuations."
"These are military-grade tactical uniforms originally designed for Project Phoenix Field Agents,"* Asha explained. "Bullet-resistant, slash-resistant, climate-controlled, and—thankfully for your fashion-challenged squad—shockingly stylish."
"You dressed while I was unconscious?" Jin asked, his face reddening.
Rosa’s grin widened. "Oh, we drew straws for that honor."
"Rosa!" Clara squeaked, her face turning crimson.
"It was standard dical procedure," Sera said firmly, though her cheeks had a faint pink tinge. "You needed proper treatnt, and your vault suit was torn to shreds."
"I recorded everything for dical docuntation purposes," Asha added helpfully. "Would you like to compile a highlight reel?"
"No!" Jin said out loud, then caught the others’ confused expressions. "I an, uh... thank you. For taking care of ."
"Speaking of taking care," Rosa said, tossing him the ration bar, "you need to eat. And then we have a lot to show you."
The girls told Jin what they had found while he was eating. They had mapped out three levels of offices and dormitories, explored the majority of the Command Wing, and discovered enough supplies to last them months if properly rationed.
"T-The really interesting part," Clara said, her voice gaining confidence as she talked about tech, "is what we found in the Engineering section." She gestured to her glasses. "These are Vault Engineering Recon Glasses—Mk-VIS-RG. No AI integration, but they have circuit overlay functions, heat tracking, and diagnostic tools."
She demonstrated by looking at a wall panel, her glasses highlighting power flow patterns invisible to the naked eye. "I can see where systems are damaged, identify power bottlenecks, even predict component failures before they happen."
"Great," Sera said with approval.
Asha said privately to Jin. "During your recovery period, your neural pathways have stabilized enough to unlock dormant skill matrices. Congratulations—you’re no longer just a pipe-wielding delinquent."
A new HUD window appeared in Jin’s vision:
___
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION — NEW SKILL UNLOCKED]
Skill Unlocked: Sword Mastery (Lv. 1)
Classification: Passive / Combat
Description:
Passive boost to lee combat when wielding sword-type weapons. Includes basic kata and stance knowledge. Skill will evolve through continuous sword usage, live combat encounters, and mory re-synchronization.
Skill Effects:
10% lee accuracy with swords and bladed weapons
10% parry and counter timing window
-15% stamina consumption when using sword techniques
Increases combat reaction speed when wielding a sword
Enables advanced sword techniques and kata-based transitions
Unlocks compatibility with high-grade sword-type weapons
___
The mories flooded back, including the echo of his sensei’s voice, the weight of a blade in his hands, and the muscle mory of shapes and movents. Along with it ca a na that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.
"Tsurugi," he whispered.
"What was that?" Sera asked.
Reviews
All reviews (0)