Family and the Virtual Zone

After a few short phrases, Adam headed for the exit. Silvana was still standing in the same spot.

"Adam, if you don't mind I want to clarify something." Silvana uttered, turning to him.

"Hmm?"

Silvana coughed before saying, "You know all the information about me, even what kind of underwear I have, so in case you try to get close - you better not. I'll just reject you, and it will critically interfere with our working relationship. There are enough people in the world to find a lover outside of a working relationship. If you want, I can help you with that."

Adam got a strange look. Perhaps he had expected Silvana to bring it up, but not like this.

"Don't worry, it won't happen. You and I are partners, that's more than enough to be the best versions of ourselves."

Silvana nodded silently.

...

"Daddy, what's going on?" A 7-year-old girl with black hair and blue eyes muttered, looking around anxiously.

Gary, a middle-aged man with gray hair and green eyes, struggled to smile and said bitterly, "I don't know... Trici, I think everything will be fine! We just have to wait, right?"

He turned to a tall figure in a military uniform, who was standing by a white-washed wall, on the first floor of a two-story house in the Third Ring.

However, the military man did not answer, he did not even look in Gary's direction.

"Hey! Damn it! You have to answer our questions if you forcefully brought us here!" A woman with long black hair and azure eyes said sternly, not afraid at all.

"Leona... Maybe we shouldn't..." Gary said uncertainly.

"We've already explained everything to you." The military man suddenly replied.

Then, he turned to Leona.

"We are following orders and are not at liberty to tell you anything. We ask you to wait a little longer." The military man calmly answered.

"Tsk. Surely nothing good awaits us!" Leona snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

A few minutes later, they heard the sound of a car, a shortstop, and the car drove off. Nothing out of the ordinary, but soon the door opened, and a young man wearing desert clothes and a surprised look came inside.

"Mom...? Dad...? Trici...?" Adam muttered with wide eyes.

"Adam? What...? What's going on here? We were told you'd be staying at Morton Observatory temporarily."

"Well... It's a long story."

At the same moment, the military men nodded to each other and quickly left the house like ghosts. Their mission was accomplished, the rest was up to Adam.

...

Only in the middle of the night, when Trici had long since fallen asleep, Adam was able to explain everything properly. However, he did not tell that Aiden Henk had sent him to his death and that he had become a Natural Phantom. Only Douglas and Silvana knew the full version of events. 

Nevertheless, the fact that he became a Phantom was a real celebration for their family.

"It's unbelievable... my son became a Phantom. It's more like a dream than reality." Gary whispered, fumbling nervously with his fingers.

"I've always believed in you. I hope you don't slack off because this is just the beginning of your journey." Leona said sternly but didn't hide her satisfied smile.

Adam smirked, "Sure, tomorrow will be my first training, and soon new missions await me. This is our new home now, and we'll never have to go back to the slums again."

There was silence, a simple silence where only their breathing could be heard. But there was no need for words, for their happy smiles showed everything.

...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

6 AM, Adam's NEP erupted from several messages, bringing him out of a deep and much-desired sleep. A lot had happened the previous day, so he needed a reboot.

"Agh...? What's going on?" Adam mumbled sleepily, pressing the NEP.

A 3D hologram with Silvana in gym clothes flashed above the bracelet.

"Adam, are you still sleeping? We have a workout from 7 to 9, then we'll have the virtual zone available all day. Should I call you a car, or will you get there yourself?" Silvana said quickly.

That Adam was surprised and puzzled it was clear from his baffled look, but he quickly realized that staying asleep was not an option.

"Sure... Call me a car, only I have to take a shower first."

"Whatever you say." Silvana nodded, disconnecting herself. 

Adam took a deep breath, looking out the window at the view of the Third Ring. Dozens of houses and windows glistened in the sunlight that had only recently risen from the horizon.

"Well, I should have been ready for this, right?"

...

Silvana had already done her morning workout and handed the protein shake prepared for Adam, she watched his workout.

The gym was divided into two sections or rather each piece of equipment was duplicated twice for regular humans and Phantoms. The strength of the Phantoms was on a different level, so some of the heaviest weights for regular humans for the Phantoms were beginner weights.

"Shit! How much more is left?" Adam gritted his teeth as he lifted the heavy-weight barbell. He felt like his chest was about to burst, but each time, he eventually made it through.

"Two more sets, and we're done for the day. I've recorded all your metrics, and next time I'll create a workout program more suited to you." Silvana uttered, tapping something on her tablet.

As always she was completely serious in every aspect.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Adam breathed heavily, coming to his senses. Today was the first time he had ever worked out in general, after all, where would a slum resident get the money for a gym?

"Didn't think I'd say this, but I'm ready to do a few more sets." Adam said with an excited smile. 

Silvana shook her head, "That's not a good idea."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Adam, you're a Phantom, if you overestimate your strength and can't lift the weight, there's no way I'm helping you. To me, even 30% of what you lift is like a mountain. Don't forget that we are different." Silvana calmly explained, making Adam think for a moment.

"So... Now can we go to the Virtual Zone?" Adam asked with curiosity in his eyes.

Silvana nodded.

"Normally, to get access to the Virtual Zone, you have to wait a few days, the line is long, and the rooms are few, but since you are Naturalborn in the system you have a special position. Only the department heads know about it, so don't worry about getting in trouble with other Phantoms because of it." Silvana explained.

"I see... Well, I'm ready!"

"By the way, I also picked up a suitable mission for you. Would you like to see it? In that case, I'll create similar monsters." Silvana suggested while handing him the tablet.

[Extract Paws of the Living Strings (White Threat Level V1)]

"Living String...? I've never heard of such a monster." Adam muttered, reading the information about the task he could start as early as tomorrow.

"They're monsters from the White Book. Their population isn't the largest, but they're extremely useful and would be great opponents for a first mission. Not too easy, but not difficult either." Silvana said calmly, "I'm sure, considering you defeated a Green Threat Level Monster earlier, you'll do fine."

Adam nodded.

...

The Virtual Zone department at Fort Norton - third floor.

"What?! Why can't I use the virtual zone chamber?!" A young man with two swords behind his back shouted irritably.

"Sorry, we already sent you that it was a bug in the system. You and the other Phantom logged into the S-03 chamber at the same time. However, the other Phantom was a few seconds faster, but your name was written. We deeply apologize." The girl bowed low in a formal manner.

"Oren... It happens sometimes, can we just rest today?" The shy-looking girl muttered, touching his sleeve. She was clearly the Operator. 

The young man frowned, "Zola, this is wrong. Even if it's a mistake, aren't we entitled to compensation? Could there be another option?!"

At the same moment, two silhouettes approached her and walked up to the window.

"Good morning. We have a virtual zone camera rented at 9:05. Here is our ID." Silvana calmly said.

"Sure! Camera S-03. It is at your disposal today!" The girl said excitedly.

"Thank you." Silvana nodded, heading onward. Adam followed her with interest, looking around.

There were a lot of Phantoms here besides him. Phantoms were very rare in the slums, so Adam had only seen them a few times in his life, however, now there were more of them in one hall than he had ever seen before.

Only a small fraction of them had Operators.

'I see... As Douglas said, getting a personal operator is a privilege. I'm really lucky, and I should take advantage of it!' Adam enthused.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Suddenly, Oren stood between him and Silvana with great grimace.

"Wait a minute..." Oren muttered, ''It looks like we're the ones who caused the system to malfunction. We applied almost at the same time, so... How about we find out who's more deserves it?!"

Oren gripped the hilt of his swords crossed behind his back, ready for battle.

"Agree!"

Silvana and Zola didn't say anything, they just waited for their Phantoms to make a decision.

"Nah, there's no point in me fighting humans."

Adam just waved his hand, walking past Oren.

Silvana's mouth corners went up.

Oren froze in place, but soon, his face contorted in anger, and he threw one of his swords straight at Adam.

Thanks to his reflexes, Adam dodged easily, tilting his head slightly to the side as the sword swept over his shoulder.

However, Silvana didn't have the same ability, and there was no way she could dodge.

Splash!

Silvana's eyes went wide when the tip of the sword stopped right in front of her pupil. The wind rippled her hair because of how sharply Adam gripped the sword hilt, practically twisting his wrist.