Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 115: Tryouts..

Restricted Sector

"... Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Yukino exhumed with a bright smile as she faced the stoic young man before her. Beautiful, dainty fingers clutched onto an electronic tablet, eyes scanning the man with undisguised interest. "It's not every day we get the pleasure of your presence."

Suzuki snorted, unwilling to spend any additional time with this woman. As someone who prided himself in studying human relations (absolute loner wisdom), he was especially sensitive to the hidden layers behind people's actions. His sensitivity to the faces hidden beneath polite masks caused him to develop a slight aversion to people with these masks. This was why Suzuki avoided most people, and also why he found it much easier to understand and get along with the 'villains' of the world.

The group of Taiga, Jade, and Saeko might have been weird in their own ways, but at least they were true to their emotions most of the time. If they were upset, they would speak frankly, and the opposite was true of their joy. Even though they inevitably held secrets as everyone in the world did, he could always be sure of what they felt at a particular time.

Glancing at Yukino, this woman whose very job dictated she kept a constantly amiable expression, Suzuki felt an urge to congratulate himself on not reflexively avoiding her. It was a sign of progress. Taking a deep breath, Suzuki buried his thoughts as he regarded the older woman with a measured gaze. "Have been busy."

Yukino's ensuing bright smile made the young man feel an urge to squint. "Oh, we are aware. We have been keeping tabs on your performance. I must say we have been very impressed."

"Is that so," Suzuki distractedly murmured as he stepped past the woman into the room, once again greeted by the sight of several Full-Body Virtual Drives, their cold metallic exterior creating the illusion of a cemetery.

Suzuki's entrance caught the attention of five people who stood off to the opposing corner, watching something on a row of monitors that took up the wall. Suzuki's eyes glossed over these people, failing to commit their faces to memory before landing on the nearest free Virtual Drive.

Suzuki unceremoniously dropped his bag to the floor and took off his shirt. He did not care for the involuntary gasp Yukino let out at the sight of his scars, only climbing into the Virtual Drive, the slight glint in his eyes betraying his hidden excitement. Nor did he spare a glance towards the other people in the room who suddenly had ferocious glares, mostly from being so blatantly ignored, but also from the irritating pressure they suffered during the brief millisecond his gaze passed over them.

Yes, like they were less than bugs beneath his feet. Utterly unworthy of his attention.

Suzuki did not know the thoughts passing through their heads right now. Then again, he would not have cared either way even if he knew. That was because, at that moment, he was entirely focused on one thing.

As the disorienting void welcomed him, Suzuki mused back to the day he watched the Deus Ex movies and wondered why humans would willingly give up so much just for a piece of mechanical body parts.

However, as his 'body' began to come to life, powered by several thousand jolts of electricity, which he could feel like they were his cells, Suzuki pushed that question to the back of his mind, seeing as the answer was quite obvious: Power!

Even without a direct connection to his body, Suzuki's heart raced as several terabytes of raw data flooded his brain, the stressed organ working in overdrive to sift through and classify the information quickly. Suzuki's body spasmed as he withstood the sharp pain, only relaxing when he finally managed to get the data stream under control.

Even though Suzuki felt like a truck rammed into his brain, he swiftly rode his momentum and activated the Gladiator. The Gladiator's spinal cord, which housed its primary operating system, flared up instantly, then started the millions of bio-engineered nerves that ran throughout its frame, bringing the numerous auxiliary systems directly under Suzuki's control.