18 The Haber Realm I

A/N: I'll try my best to keep the daily updates consistent. This chapter is dedicated to Daoist961469, Kenjihayamura and Pockyslee. Thanks for motivating me to continue the story. The novel is contracted but rest assured I won't be locking until at least a hundred chapters have been published. Please motivate me with many Powerstones, Golden Tickets and Gifts.

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"You're right on time. Good. Take off your clothes and get in the pod," Scientist Ella said, pointing to a big, human-sized pod-like machine.

"What did you just say?" Jordan asked, taking a step back.

Ella stopped the work she was doing on a computer and turned back to Jordan.

"Take off your clothes and get in the pod!" she repeated with a bit of command in her voice.

"That's not how this is going to work! You didn't really expect me to blindly follow your commands without knowing shit about the plan. I'm not going to do anything until someone explains to me what exactly the Haber Process is." Jordan sat with his arms crossed over his chest. He had gotten the attention of all the scientists in the room.

A young man, probably in his late thirties wearing a white lab coat heaved a sigh from the far end of the laboratory. He had dirty blond hair that was evenly trimmed at the sides, hazel-brown eyes supported by a pair of glasses, and a buffed physique. Jordan raised a brow when he noticed him. The man wasn't in the lab when he came with the General the other day. The man kept walking until he was a few paces from Jordan.

"I see. So you're the idiot muggle who volunteered for the Haber Experiment," he chuckled lightly, giving off an authoritative aura similar to the General's. "Stand up when I'm talking to you, boy!" Instinctively, Jordan stood up. The man walked behind Jordan's chair and rested his hands on Jordan's shoulders. "I tolerate a lot of things. Muggles who think they can order Senior Mages around isn't one of those things. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir," Jordan responded sharply. There was something about the man that disturbed Jordan. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Good. Now that we have that sorted out, I believe introductions should be done." The man circled back to Jordan's front and stretched out his hand for a shake. His tone had taken a 360-degree turn from cold to friendly. "I am Nicholas Kress, Head Scientist of the Rivian Military. You can call me Nick, and you are?"

"Jordan Crown, Muggle Private, Sir." Jordan shook his hand softly.

Nick didn't need Jordan to tell him who he was. He knew all about him from his file. Maybe even more than what Jordan knew about himself.

"Jordan, I presume you are already familiar with Ella, Klint, and Mira. I was on a mission the day you checked in." Jordan glanced at the other scientists in the room and nodded to Nick. "Good. With your cooperation, the four of us will help you break the limits of your body and become an awakened Mage. Given the risks involved, I believe it's proper that you know everything there is to about the Haber Process, but right now, I can't tell you anything other than it's a challenge in which you'll be rewarded with a Magical affinity if you win."

"And if I lose, Sir?" Jordan asked with a feint smile.

"Besides dying and losing your soul to a Demon in Hell, nothing much," Nick chuckled again, heading towards the machine with the design of a pod. "But, that's not going to happen. You're not the only one with something to lose if this experiment doesn't turn out a success." He said the last statement in a low whisper.

"What is that, Sir?" Jordan pointed at the pod machine.

Nick turned to Jordan and said, "Drop the 'sir'. You don't have to act so formal with me." He turned back to the machine. "Think of this machine as the gateway to the arena where the challenge awaits you. You need to be sealed within it to enable your mind to pass through that gateway. Unless you have a spare set of uniforms on you, I advise you take that off and stand inside the pod. The clock's still ticking so be fast about it."

"Here?"

Seeing Jordan delay in taking off his clothes, Nick waved his hand in the air and the nanobots around disintegrated every piece of clothing on Jordan, leaving him naked. Jordan wasn't at all comfortable with showing his nude skinny self to the team of scientists, especially the ladies but if this was the only path to becoming a Mage, he was willing to tolerate it. Definitely, he was going to make each and every one of them pay a heavy price for the embarrassment later on.

Nick twirled his index finger in the air in a circle and the group of nanobots formed a thin metallic ring around Jordan's head. Its golden color made it look like a crown. With Klint's help, Jordan was sealed in the purple pod. Surprisingly, being inside was way more comfortable than Jordan imagined.

"You're confident and brave. I'll give you that." Nick smiled, operating on the machine. "The ring on your head serves as a telecommunication device amongst other things."

"What now?" Jordan asked, looking around the pod.

From what Nick had told him about the pod, he could tell it was some sort of teleportation device, but he still wasn't sure how it worked. Then again, there was the thought of the General's initial question about the amount of pain his body could take. Jordan had a lot of questions but Nick didn't seem to want to answer any of them.

"In a few minutes, your mind will be transported to the Haber Realm," Nick replied while pressing different flashy buttons on the machine very fast. The others stood operating other machines that were linked to the Pod.

"What am I supposed to do exactly?"

"I'll let you know when the time comes." Nick pressed the final button and the lights in the lab began to blink continuously. The white light in the lab turned red and a computer voice could be heard. "Alert! Alert!"

"Commencing Haber Experiment Number DC99. The subject will be transported to the Haber Realm in 10 seconds," Klint called out.

"Is this going to hurt?" Jordan suddenly felt the need to ask, bracing himself for the worst.

"Yes," they all chorused.

Jordan got a bit nervous, but he wasn't the slightest afraid.

"Pain worse than you could ever imagine…"