6 days have passed
Solaris sat on a bench staring off into the distance. A lush green park lay with a long, wavy river flowing a few feet in front of him. There were large mountains in the distance, and the sun was just above them, shining bright.
A tall girl slowly approached from a distance.
Solaris paid no attention to the girl, lost in thought.
This is truly incredible.
My training starts tomorrow, and I'm still not certain if this was the right decision.
I guess. I wasn't really given a choice.
Well, I suppose this is my life now.
His thoughts were interrupted by a girl sitting next to him on the bench.
He looked over to see Selen, the girl he had tried and possibly saved. even though the chances were that he had only put her in more danger. She wasn't just some frail girl; she was rather formidable, on par with a sergeant demon, being only a few off the one he'd first encountered her fighting. Yet this is only what he'd heard; he'd actually never met the girl; in fact, it was rather strange.
This was their first meeting.
No words were said for the first few minutes before Selen broke the silence.
"This is what you chose?"
Taken aback by the comment, Solaris glared at her with a small look of bafflement.
"Not anything wrong, just weird is all."
"Is that seriously the first thing you say to me?!! After I might have been your savior?!"
Solaris asked in an astonished tone.
The park they were in was, in fact, not a park; it was actually a simulated room that had been set up for him to live in. Solaris had decided a park would be a great change of pace, yet Selen clearly didn't agree.
Solaris had a vague idea of how the building's rooms worked; they were a sort of construct of the older man at the front desk. He had an ability, Solaris had now come to know as Extremicy, an extraordinarily rare gift that had been given to select humans by supposedly gods. Solaris wasn't sure he bought that idea, but he couldn't argue with the results. The man's name was Cedric. Solaris had talked to Cedric a handful of times and was, in fact, how he learned of the building and Extremicy.
"Sorry. I didn't know what to say."
Selen apologetically said while rubbing her hand.
Solaris sighed and spoke in a much less aggressive tone.
"It's fine, well, was there anything you came to talk about?"
"Yeah, umm, so thanks."
Raising one eyebrow at the girl before lowering it and returning to look over the scene, he replied simply.
"Yeah, of course."
With this final exchange, she stood up and said her goodbyes before leaving through a door seemingly just in the middle of the park.
Solaris stood up after a few moments and snapped his fingers. As soon as he did, the room shifted into a more normal room, a bed in the corner, and a desk at the end of it with a bathroom across the room and a large wardrobe opposite the bed and near the bathroom.
Solaris lay on the bed for a few moments before deciding to go for a walk around the building. His training was going to start tomorrow, and so he wanted to do one final walk to just relax before he was busy, for who knows how long.
Flinging himself up, he walked over to the door, opened it, and walked out into a small hallway. Taking a right, he was met by a massive man smoking a cigarette, ember. ember paid no mind to Solaris and simply passed by him and walked into his room three doors down from Solaris's.
After the short encounter, Solaris walked to the nearby staircase and started to descend it, dropping three floors before reaching the place he'd met Cedric the first time. Like always, he was behind the desk staring at the computer. No one knew what he was typing; perhaps he was writing a novel of some kind. Yet no one asked. Cedric was a very quiet man unless you started a conversation with him, then he'd talk your ear off.
Solaris stopped by the desk and asked if Sami was in her office. Cedric nodded and pointed down the hall.
Solaris had taken a liking to the woman; she was seemingly kind and rather knowledgeable about demon anatomy. During the last 6 days, he'd been learning nonstop about the demon race, more importantly, about how to kill them. thinking back, Solaris began to remember what Sami had told him.
Sami raised her hand, holding three fingers, and began to explain the way to kill the demons
"The process, in theory, was an easy one, but in practice, it was much more difficult.
First was the task of the skin demons, who had incredibly tough skin, ranging from plastic to titanium. For example, the one who had attacked Solaris was around a stone level of toughness, and the sargents were around a tree level.
Second, after puncturing the skin, you had to find the blood crystals located within the chest, and most often in the head. This is another difficult task, as high-ranking demons can have up to six blood crystals. These crystals form based on the amount of blood demons they have absorbed through their skin, or in the case of blood blade demons, the weapons themselves, mainly evolving the weapon rather than the being.
Third, shattering these crystals can be very difficult. The size of the crystal can range depending on the amount of blood the demon has absorbed. causing three main changes: one in the size, two in the density, and three in the amount.
Multiple tools of the trade are assigned to the hunters to take care of these problems."
Solaris remembered the lessons wisely, as these would eventually be his responsibility and the way he would survive the encounters.
Reaching the door, he knocked three times in a pattern to signify it was him. After a bit of scurrying, the door opened, and a beautiful woman appeared, greeting Solaris at the door.
She had pale skin and a small stature that matched her figure. Despite her youth, she possessed a mature look, as if she had seen much in her life. She wore an open, thick white lab coat over a brown inner layer, a basic tie, and a white shirt peeking out from the coat. A thigh-length black skirt and black tights completed her outfit.
Her light brown hair draped over her right eye, and a small smile glowed on her face as she invited Solaris into her office.
Per usual, the office was very messy, and yet she still seemed to know where everything was. quickly getting them both a mug of coffee. handing him his and taking a quick sip she broke the silence and asked a question.
"So, are you ready?"
Following the question, Solaris was put into deep thought.
Am I ready? It's only been six days
I've learned so much that I never would have thought could be real
But yet I still know nothing why the demons are at war with humans.
What even is extramicy?
Where did it come from?
thoughts bubbled in his head as Sami drank her drink in anticipation of his answer. Having spent a few days with him, she had picked up on this habit of his and gotten used to it by now.
She waited a few more minutes before asking again
"Well, are you?"
"No, I couldn't even begin to describe how unready I am, but at the same time, what choice do I have? I could run, but I'd never get away from Ember, and not to mention Cedric. If I run, I'm dead. If I stay, I could die, but I have a higher chance of living, so I guess my answer is yes, I am ready."
"That certainly was a roundabout way of saying yes."
Sami chuckled at his long rant and smiled.
The rest day went by more quickly, and before long, he left the room and headed around the building before ending up back at his room. Ember was waiting outside his door, spotting Solaris. He put out the cigarette and called out to him.
"Hey, sol come follow me real quick."
Sol was a nickname Ember had given him, even though it was rather uncreative; he didn't truly mind it that much. It certainly was better than his old one.
Following the large man, they went up two flights of stairs before ending up on the fifth floor. Solaris hadn't been to this floor before, as he'd been told to stay clear.
Upon Ember's opening of the door, Solaris was greeted by many, many weapons, too many to count, from swords to maces to even guns; the amount was countless.
"Pick a weapon, you'll be starting training tomorrow, and you're gonna need one till... well, I don't really know, just grab one."
The sudden stop mid-sentence paused Solaris's interest, but for only a moment before he proceeded into the room.
Looking through the weapons, he eyed a few that caught his eye: a katana, a pair of daggers, and a sword were the standouts, however. Lifting and feeling the grips of the first two, he had decided against them. Finally, he picked up a black straight sword with a long handle, grasping it firmly, glancing at the sheath, he slowly removed it, revealing a shiny silver blade below, giving a slight reflection to his face, showing his green eyes and black hair, something he hadn't seen in quite some time.