Live & Learn [2]

https://discord.gg/ZrWk2jqjbV

AN: My discord has channels for complaints and suggestions btw, I read most of the comments within the first hours of uploading a chapter, but I might not pay attention to later ones so if you want a higher chance of having them read here you go.

Oh and my DMs are always open so if you want to spam them go ahead.

—

A week has passed since I've started creating these…and it hasn't gone well—no, that's an understatement, my progress has been abysmal, all my effort was for naught.

A few hours ago I was just checking on the cell bank I had as I normally had, to make sure the condition of the cells are fine, as well as to count how many I have.

And they were all…ruined. Each one of them had been destroyed, I had made a thousand of them during this week, and they're all gone…just like that.

Apparently, they were all ticking time bombs, for the first six days all was going well. But today Azazel's nuclei began destroying the rest of the subcellular structures in my cells.

I don't get it…there was no sign of rejection, corrosion or anything of the sort before now—what had changed? I triple checked them each morning, there's no way I could have missed anything.

My assumption is that Azazel's nucleus was somehow applying too much stress on my cells which eventually caused them to rupture—which should be why I'm only seeing such a reaction now. But even then—I would have seen something…

Anyhow, the damage has been done, and as distraught as I am over it I have no choice other than to start from scratch once again, for now I'm going to create one extra Crow Cell and set it aside, even with the frequency at which I was monitoring them, there's still a slim chance that I failed to notice something.

Was I too hasty? Did I rush the process too much? Is my theoretical knowledge lacking? Wait—did Azazel know about this the entire time?

Did he really exert all that effort just to teach me a lesson? But this is Azazel I'm talking about, so it's within reason…

Shit, I want to lash out at him but I just can't find it in me to do so, because if my theory is correct, that means he was right. I rushed…

Following this realization it feels like I've just snapped out of a trance—what was I thinking this whole time, that I could accomplish something like this in merely a few weeks? How stupid. How rash, I keep thinking that I'm mature because of my age, but in reality I really am no different from a child.

Dammit, all I can do now is go through everything from the bottom up and think of something else, hopefully the prospect of progressive mutation was correct to some degree, if not then I really am lost in what to do.

I went to get a cup of coffee only to notice the machine was empty—I guess it's time to get a refill.

As I opened my lab door, a tall man with a handsome figure, black hair and blonde bangs was standing right outside with a smug expression—it was Azazel.

"Answer me honestly, did you plan this?" I was too tired to be surprised by his presence.

"Mhm, and aren't you glad I did?" he retorted.

"To an extent, but did you have to wait until the damage was done to teach me a lesson?" I didn't hide any of my annoyance in my voice.

"Oh? Is this the same brat who was nagging me about wanting to be independent? And here I thought you didn't need my help" I did say that didn't I….fuck.

"Don't look so grim, your creativity is the real deal, there's no doubt about it, but you lack the theoretical knowledge to execute what you're trying to achieve"

"But I've been studying for months…"

"Every researcher here has had years of experience and tutelage under their belts—and not even I who has had centuries has even attempted what you're trying to accomplish"

"So you're saying…it was impossible from the start"

"Haha, did you forget where you are? This is Grigori, it's our jobs to make the impossible possible"

"But you just sa-'' he smirked at me and began scratching his chin.

"I didn't say I couldn't do it, I said I hadn't attempted it—so how about this, from now on I'll help you with the Crow Project, no matter how many books you read, without someone to help you truly grasp their meaning, you won't be making much progress"

I suppose I can no longer try soloing something of this scale, and learning from Azazel is way to good of an opportunity to pass up, turns out my whole wanting to be "independent" was me just acting childish and wanting to prove myself, and to think I gave Valia that whole talk…hah.

I gave him a nod to which he responded with a toothy grin.

"Wait, I thought you didn't have time for such a thing?" Isn't that the reason he allowed me to undertake the resonance band project on my own?

"What kind of father can't find time for their own son?" Oh so now he uses that term? Not that I'm against it…no no I'm not some kind of tsundere high school girl, get it together Koen.

…

It's been about two days since Azazel has begun teaching me—and boy have things changed. It almost feels like having him as a teacher is a cheat in itself, the way he explains things makes learning cell structure seem easier than your ABC's.

Ok that might have been an exaggeration but you get my point, what I'm trying to say is I really overestimated myself, to think I had been missing so much knowledge.

I've learned to start setting aside my ego and have destroyed any notion that I'm on the same level as other researchers here. Sure I completed the resonance band, but it's only now that I've found out no one else had actually tried.

Tricked once again…haha.

Although my knowledge is improving greatly, I don't know if I can say the same about my strength. I haven't forgotten that very soon Valia is going to judge me to see if I can be her training partner, and I'm determined to meet her expectations.

I'm considering asking Azazel to help me, but I always find myself hesitating. I know in reality he's pushing himself like crazy to tutor me and manage Grigori at the same time, adding to that burden just seems cruel.

This is definitely going to be a long term project, much longer that I anticipated—there's no doubt about that, so for now my schedule consists of learning from Azazel, and working on blueprints for the Flare Project.

Which according to Azazel—I'm actually headed in the right direction so far, a pleasant and needed surprise to lighten my mood.

I've actually been permitted to gather some of the Fire Kelp for myself, and as for the method of sustaining it, it's pretty primitive.

With my current [Flame Shake] a single dosage of my power can keep Fire Kelp alive for about 30 hours, so literally all I'm doing is waking up every morning and giving my farm a quick dosage.

Originally I wanted to just bring the soil over but it faces the same problem as Fire Kelp where if it's disconnected from my power for a certain amount of time it withers away, so that quickly becomes a pointless endeavor.

No matter, the process of putting a bit of my power into my miniature-farm isn't very taxing so it doesn't bother me all that much.

As for the Flare Project itself, I've actually gone ahead and scratched the idea of making a whole new organ—more so an addition. I'm essentially creating another aorta for my heart that will pump Flare to the rest of my body rather than blood.

A simple solution on paper, but a working one.

Also I'll most likely finish the Flare Project before the Crow Project so a less risky solution is more than welcome, wonder why I didn't think of it earlier.

Ah well, you win some you lose some—I'm pretty exhausted so for now I'm just going to hit the hay.

(Third Person Perspective)

Koen found himself in an odd space, there was no sky, his surroundings were completely blackened, looking downwards his confusion only spiked.

The entire surface was water, he was standing on water, but he couldn't feel the sensation of wetness where his feet stood.

[Image]

'What's happening? Did someone put me into an illusion or what?' Once he glanced in front of him he could see a figure—one he knew all too well.

The figure had tanned skin, and seemed to be middle aged. He was wearing a spotted shirt alongside a tie, he wore black slacks and donned formal footwear—his most notable feature however, were two heavy eyebags putting emphasis on the figure's exhaustion.

How did Koen recognize the figure? Why wouldn't he know? It was himself after all.

"Well then, is this supposed to be one of these 'finding yourself' moments or what?" Koen somehow concluded that he was in a dream, there was no need to take it seriously; he would wake up eventually after all.

"So, you seem to think you've changed?" The figure's voice was dull and weary, but Koen could sense the mockery hidden within it.

"Oh please—the last thing I need is a chuunibyou speech from myself, are you going to recite Pain's cycle of hatred or something?"

A bottle of Jack Daniel's appeared in the figure's hand. "Remember this?"

"Trying to tell me I'm still my alcoholic self or something? Well I'll have you, or I'll have myself know I haven't drank even a drop since I arrived in this world"

"Haha, I didn't expect myself to be so stupid" The figure's voice began to annoy Koen.

"Do you really think just because you've replaced one obsession with another it makes you a changed man?"

"Actually I do—if you didn't know, there's a huge difference between drinking yourself to death, and pursuing science" Koen just wanted to wake up already, the figure's words were making no sense, and were in fact beginning to annoy him.

"Is there? You only started this "pursuit" of yours recently, and you've already gotten to trying to fuck up your body—I fail to see this 'difference' you're talking about" The figure's face warped into a smug grin.

And the figure was correct—it took merely one project for Koen to move on to playing around with his own body, could he really tell himself that he had changed?

"What's the point of telling me this? And why now of all times?" Koen began glaring daggers at the figure.

"Now now, no need to get so defensive—I'm doing you a favor after all, I'm helping you come to terms with who you are—but more importantly, who you will be" The last words coming from the figure had a clear sliver of ice contained within them.

"So you're some kind of fortune teller?" He scoffed.

"Fortune teller, magician—whatever floats your boat, now watch carefully, I'm about to show you a magic trick" The figure's grin became sinister, Koen felt his palms begin to sweat and a sickening sense of unease took over him.