It was obvious that Yoren, the experimental subject, had shown signs of losing control this time. But afterward, Saria only disclosed the details to Hemer and did not report the incident to the top management of Rhine Life. As the head of the Defense Department, she had her own judgment.
She didn't want Yoren to be subjected to more compulsory isolation measures over an incident that had already been brought under control. Because, in a sense, Yoren and Ifrit were the same.
May 14, Rhine Life Science Experimental Base No. 4.
In the early morning, Yoren was awakened on time by his biological clock. He opened his eyes and found that his surroundings had changed once again.
On the 22nd day of his time at Rhine Life, he was back in his exclusive room on the fourth floor of the base—fully equipped, familiar, yet subtly different.
Somehow, his quarantine had been lifted, and he had regained the right to move freely around the base.
The door creaked open, and a small head peeked in.
It was Snowsant.
Seeing Yoren sitting on the bed, her face lit up with joy, and she ran straight to him.
"Big Windmill! Where have you been these past two days? I heard from them that your condition changed and that you were transferred somewhere else for treatment. I... I thought you were dead."
Yoren was momentarily speechless.
"Damn, could you not say something so unlucky?"
"Hehe."
Snowsant walked over to the table and picked up a piece of candy that Ifrit had left behind. She peeled off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth, speaking through muffled words.
"Big Windmill, since you're back, that means you're all better now, right?"
Alright? That was impossible. It would never be alright in this lifetime.
To be honest, Yoren felt stranger than ever. Not only had his illness not improved, but that eerie sensation inside him had grown stronger—like a balloon filled with water swaying unsteadily within his body. Yet, somehow, he had learned to grasp it, keeping it from bursting apart.
"I don't know why I'm back. Maybe it's because I'm just that handsome."
At that moment, a voice came from outside the door.
"You were able to return because Dr. Hemer won."
Looking up, Yoren saw White-Faced Owl, Aina, and Hemer walking in. Saria, trailing behind them, didn't seem keen on entering; she simply stood at the doorway in quiet observation.
When Yoren spotted Hemer, his face brightened. She had promised him before that he would know the full truth in a few days.
"Hemer?"
Aina cleared her throat with a light cough.
"Ahem. Let me introduce you properly. This is the new head of our Rhine Life Originium project. She has also been promoted to hold the highest authority at Experimental Base No. 4. Everyone, this is Dr. Hemer! Applause!"
"Pah pah pah pah pah pah pah!"
White-Faced Owl and Aina clapped with measured enthusiasm. Snowsant, not entirely sure what was going on, still joined in with an eager, silly smile. Even Saria at the doorway offered a few claps.
Yoren sat on the bed, looking thoroughly confused.
"Wait, Hemer, you're the new head of the Originium project now?"
Hemer adjusted her glasses and spoke calmly.
"That's right."
White-Faced Owl, her expression as neutral as ever, elaborated further.
"Dr. Hemer won the silent battle and earned this position through her solid expertise and unwavering conviction. She is a researcher worthy of respect. It is thanks to her that you were able to leave the underground quarantine area."
Though her tone seemed like a mere statement of fact, there was a trace of admiration in her words. It was clear that while she maintained neutrality, she truly respected Hemer.
Hemer sighed. "It's not that dramatic. I simply found the former director's approach to be fundamentally flawed. The experimental subjects have self-awareness. Relying solely on drugs to manipulate their nerves will never yield the desired results. In my opinion, voluntary cooperation allows experiments to progress more smoothly and prevents uncontrollable incidents. That is my judgment."
And just like that, Yoren understood.
Everything that had happened to him was a result of the previous director's orders. During those long nights, Rhine Life had used a special drug to control his nerves, forcing him into subconscious states to conduct their experiments. But Hemer had deemed this method ineffective. She believed in allowing experimental subjects to act of their own free will.
And when she told him he would learn the truth in a few days… in reality, she had been staging a quiet coup. And judging from the results, she had succeeded effortlessly.
This sleepy-looking owl was far sharper than she appeared.
After the others left, only Hemer remained in the room with Yoren.
He had a million questions but didn't know where to begin.
After a moment of thought, he noticed someone had been missing from the gathering.
"By the way, where's Ifrit?"
"Don't worry," Hemer reassured him. "She was also released from quarantine. She just needs to undergo some routine examinations, but you'll see her this afternoon. She'll be living on the fourth floor from now on. She's a good child. And with Saria around, I have no concerns."
"Oh, that's good."
"Yes, I care about Ifrit deeply, but the experiment must continue. As a researcher at Rhine Life, I have a duty to see it through."
"I understand."
The air between them turned heavy.
Yoren knew that one day, Hemer would be forced to choose between Ifrit and the experiment. In that moment, she would leave Rhine Life and defect to Rhodes Island with Ifrit.
But he had no intention of telling her about that future. There was no point.
Besides, with his presence here, the history of Terra had already changed. The future was no longer set in stone.
Changing the subject, Yoren focused on himself.
"Hemer, I want to know what's happening to me."
"Your case is complicated," she admitted. "I can't explain everything in a few words. Tomorrow, at the lab, I'll tell you the full story based on the data we've collected."
"Alright."
It seemed he would have to wait a little longer.
Then, recalling his experience over the past twenty days, Yoren asked another question.
"Hemer, if the former director didn't want subjects to have free will in experiments, why were you still so kind to me? Why allow me to move freely? Wouldn't it have been easier to just keep me locked up?"
Hemer's answer was simple.
"Because we needed to regulate your emotions."
"My emotions?"
"Yes. The power within you reacts strangely to emotional fluctuations. We tried controlling it through neural stimulation, but that approach proved unstable. If your emotions spiral, your power becomes uncontrollable. That's why we had to ensure you remained stable."
Everything clicked.
Rhine Life had treated him like a guest, not out of kindness, but because they needed him calm.
But then another question arose.
"Then why did you suddenly lock me in isolation three days ago?"
Hemer's gaze met his.
"Because your power had grown beyond our control."
After Hemer left, Yoren lay on the bed, lost in thought.
The SP experiment, also known as the Flame Demon Project, was a top-secret initiative conducted by Rhine Life. Ifrit was the 19th subject. Yoren didn't need to think hard to guess that the previous eighteen were all dead.
His own designation at Rhine Life was 020-SP.
Hemer had told him that the mutation experiment performed on his body was connected to the Flame Demon Project, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't piece together the connection.
If he traced it back to when the changes in his body first occurred, it was during the battle between Mandel City and Dark Crow. Though calling it a battle was a stretch—the moment it began, it was already over.
At the time, he had just been infected with oripathy, his body wounded and weak. He had no means to fight back and was quickly overpowered. In the end, Dark Crow forced two hard objects down his throat.
He had been on the verge of losing consciousness and didn't know exactly what those objects were. But through the haze of pain, he vaguely remembered Dark Crow sneering, "Aren't you afraid of Ore Sickness? Then I'll make sure you get enough of it."
From that, he could only assume that what he had swallowed was clusters of Originium.
The cause of his mutation most likely stemmed from those two clusters.
There were two possibilities.
The first was that his body, fundamentally different from the inhabitants of Terra, had reacted in some unknown way to the Originium. Unlike the sub-humans with animal traits, he was purely human—the weakest race in this world. Perhaps his physiology triggered some unusual chemical reaction with Terra's Originium.
The second possibility was that those two clusters of Originium weren't ordinary at all. Instead, they contained some kind of power. His body had become a battlefield of black and white forces—opposing yet entangled energies, as though they had been sealed within the stones.
With what he knew about Terra and the reports from Rhine Life—one of the most authoritative research organizations in the world—he understood one thing: his condition was unprecedented.
The mutation could have been caused by the first possibility, the second, or a fusion of both.
Yoren didn't yet understand how this tied into the SP experiment, but he did know one thing—three years from now, the "Flame Demon Incident" would be recorded in Operator White Owl's files.
May 16, Rhine Life Science Experimental Base No. 4.
As agreed with Hemer, Yoren would undergo today's experiment in a fully conscious state. He would also finally learn the results of the past few days' tests.
At dawn, he stepped out of his room to find Hemer already waiting outside.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Following her, Yoren arrived at a secret elevator. He had seen it before, but his fingerprint had never granted him access.
Beep!
Hemer pressed her finger against the scanner, and the heavy doors slid open.
Yoren took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Silence filled the space as they descended. Hemer wore her usual white lab coat, her face bearing that ever-present sleepy expression.
From the weightlessness in his stomach, Yoren could tell they were going down.
Before long, the elevator came to a stop. The metal doors hissed open.
"We're here," Hemer announced, stepping out first.
Yoren hesitated. "Where exactly is 'here'?"
"The third underground level of Experimental Base No. 4. Oh, that's right—you've been here before, but not while conscious. Don't be nervous, let's go."
So, the four floors aboveground were just a facade. The real work of Rhine Life—the kind of research they wanted to keep buried—was carried out down here.
Ten minutes later, Yoren sat in a dimly lit lab, staring at the screen in front of him, his eyes widening at the lines of data scrolling across it.
"Hemer... these numbers..."
Nearby, Hemer sipped from her coffee cup. "That's your personal experiment data from the last twenty days."
Rhine Life S-Level Confidential Data
Date: April 25, 1093
Subject No.: 020-SP
Somatic Cell and Originium Fusion Rate: 12%
Blood Originium Crystal Density: 0.48u/L
State of Abnormal Substances: Stable
Physical Function Test Level: A2
Individual Strength: 504
Physiological Tolerance: 107
Somatic Cell Activity: 231
Originium Technique Adaptability: Unknown
Originium Energy Conversion Rate: 447
The faint glow of the monitor cast shadows on Yoren's face, reflecting his confusion.
What do these numbers even mean?
Noticing his expression, Hemer set her cup down. "These are simplified reports of our test results from April 25. The full data set is even more complex, but we figured this summary would be easier to grasp."
Yoren frowned. "I don't even understand this simplified version."
Hemer sighed, pulling a pen from her pocket. Using it like a pointer, she gestured at the screen. "Alright, I'll explain."
"Somatic Cell and Originium Fusion Rate and Blood Originium Crystal Density—you can take them at face value."
"Got it. What about the rest?"
"Physical Function Level is a classification system we use for biological strength. The tiers go from S at the top, followed by A, B, and C. Each tier is further divided into levels from 1 to 8. The average person, with no special abilities, generally falls within C. A rare few reach B1 or B2."
Yoren processed this. If A2 was his reading, that put him well beyond ordinary people. Yet, in his normal state, he didn't feel any different from them. That meant these results were likely recorded when his mutation was active.
Hemer continued, "Next, Individual Strength—it's straightforward, referring to pure physical power. The average adult's strength value ranges from 70 to 100. Professionally trained individuals can push it to 200 or 400. However, Originium techniques can temporarily boost strength beyond these limits. Most infected individuals rely on this kind of enhancement. Some non-infected races also naturally possess extraordinary values, but they're extremely rare."
Yoren nodded in understanding. He actually knew one of those rare individuals—Vina.
His own value of 504 was already absurd compared to an average person. But this was only his initial recorded data. He recalled that back in Mandel City, when he struck the ground in a moment of rage, his punch had shattered an entire floor.
And that was just the beginning.