Chapter 9 - Inner Workings Of A Relic Hunter

Zenith was surprised, speaking with curiosity. "Can I, umm, use resonance runes with this?" He remembered the fight Fable had with the bodyguards; he definitely found it appealing if he could defend himself like that. Though Jenabell put his hopes down. "Unfortunately, that's not possible. Think of the outfit like a battery; it can power physical tools and itself, but if you want to manifest something without something physical, that's impossible, at least with current technology. We may have gear that's old, but it will still work its magic."

Jenabell pulled out a few things, placing them onto the table in front of Zenith. "How much do you know about humans and humanity?" She tested his knowledge. Zenith began to speak. "From what I know, humans are our ancestors and the creators of some species within the Retoran race. It's unknown, though, what role they had to play, if any, with the Eltanian's. We know that resonance itself is not natural to our universe but was caused by what is known as the First Resonance Event, which occurred an unknown amount of time ago, only pieced together through coordinated efforts and information sharing from relics and the factions."

Jenabell smiled, nodding and adding onto it. "Good kid, that's right. The humans vanished or whatever after the resonance event. Not a single living or dead one has ever been found, not even their home world. All we have to go off are records we can find that they left behind. In fact, a lot of today's technology is taken or inspired by humanity. We do know that they looked identical to us."

Zenith was a little curious as to why she brought up humanity. Jenabell, seeing Zenith wanted to ask something, spoke ahead of him. "I'm sure you are guessing why I brought up the humans, right? Well, the thing is, human technology gives off a different signature because it was made before the resonance event. We will see that they used different energy sources, and such. These energy sources are like dust that can be detected. We know zero-point energy. We don't know how the hell they accomplished it, but we know for a fact that they did. It's thanks to them that we can use electricity, solar energy, and nuclear fusion."

Zenith pondered, listening intently with interest, then looking at the tools on the table. "I take it then, these tools are used for detecting these energy signatures or, I guess, stuff that is contaminated by them, even if they have nothing to do with the energy sources?"

Jenabell smiled, Mirabell even clapping a little. "That's right! Good guess. That is how current Relic hunter organizations and others track relics. Though there are more advanced methods, we have to make do with some outdated stuff. It's a bit harder because an entire relic site will have different levels of contamination everywhere. It's sort of like looking for a needle in a haystack, with your visual sight and intuition being better than it at times, but hey, anything is better than nothing."

She moved a scanner to Zenith, a handheld device with some buttons, explaining how to use it and such, how to debug it. There was no issue in figuring it out; it even had a practice mode he could try.

"Okay, now the fun part," Jenabell and Mirabell moved several metallic cases to Zenith, opening them as they were filled with what looked like weapons and devices. "Kid, what weapon do you want?" Zenith seemed a bit surprised. "There's going to be danger?" Jenabell, hearing this, laughed a bit. "Don't worry, this is insurance in case anything goes bad. It never does, or very rarely does. We only get to purchase relic transport devices that have been sifted over again and again, then passed on when nothing of value is found. Even if something does go awry, Fable will be there. That brat may be an idiot, but he is enough."

Zenith seemed a bit lost. He remembered the sword that Fable had, though someone like Zenith instead grabbed at a device that used energy cells and resonance energy to form between a laser dagger or a short sword. He then grabbed what seemed like a bulky gloved gauntlet, though this used the same sources to create a round resonance shield, or allow the user to punch with an average force of 500kg and a maximum force of 1500kg. Though the higher the consumption.

"Not a bad choice. Laser dagger and sword if need be, and a battle gauntlet for shielding or melee combat. You know your limits; you're small and inexperienced. This is a good combo for you," Jenabell spoke. She would then spend some time telling Zenith about some information and paperwork, giving him instructions on field maintenance if need be, and several belts for his outfit that contained spare parts and rations.

For some reason, for Zenith, his heart was beating more and more, a little anxious as he learned more. He kept clarifying in his head that he was really going to be a relic hunter. This made him sweat a little.

Mirabell was the first to notice this. She opened her mouth to say something, a soft curious melody sounding out. Her grandma, Jenabell, noticed this and looked at Zenith, as if she had somehow understood Mirabell. "Kid, don't get nervous. Let me tell you, at most, the creatures you will find, if any at all, are small and weak, like chickens. These creatures have no known source and seem to vary from place to place, but they all have two things in common: they are all mutated by resonance, and everything about their bodies is worth credits. In fact, you should hope you encounter some, because it means you get paid more and us too." She grinned.

Zenith felt a little relieved and nodded. "Mirabell, show Zenith his quarters, let him relax a bit," Jenabell said, then looked at Zenith. "We are gonna be on this planet for a few days before leaving to a relic hunter port. You got your affairs in order?"

Zenith thought for a moment and smiled. "Almost. I'll handle the rest tomorrow." Jenabell then nodded. And soon Zenith was led by Mirabell to the rooms. As they walked, Mirabell would emit a chime and gentle tune, almost like elevator music. When they arrived at the rooms, she turned to Zenith quickly and bowed with a smile, soon walking away.

Zenith entered inside. The room was much smaller than his home, but it made sense; after all, there would be wash facilities and such on the vessel. He went inside, laying down on the bed connected to the wall. It was hard but not too uncomfortable. "This is my new life now, huh." He couldn't believe that he had taken the leap. He shut his eyes, trying to take a nap. He was fatigued for some reason and soon fell asleep.

His dreaming, of course, was no better than usual. Images and scenes flashing from his years at the Sygin household of his mother's family, the spoiled kids picking on him and his sister, calling them useless mutts. He had gotten into a fight with one of the youths for picking on his sister before he was taken away and beaten with a stick and rod for hurting a child of the family as an outside member.

His mother would try and try, but she couldn't do much. One might say she did the best she could. Zenith didn't blame her for that; he wished he could have done more for his sister and his mother. Yesterday he had sent a message to the individual who kept Zenith up to date every now and again about his mother and sister, telling them he had signed up to a relic hunter organization. The only reply he got in return was "confirmed, good luck." He wasn't sure if he would receive more updates and hoped for it.

Zenith woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of rhythmic knocking on his room's slide door, almost as if the person were messing around. He figured it would be Fable, so he stood up and walked over, the door opening. "Awake? Had a nice nap? Hehe. The time is..." he checked his device. "4:00 PM. Do you know what that means?" When Fable spoke, Zenith was a little confused, unsure where he was getting at.

"Uhh, I'm not sure. Lunchtime?" Zenith responded. Fable then laughed a little forcefully, then stopped immediately and gave a mocking look. "Training time. We need to teach you how to fight!" Hearing him speak, Zenith had a very bad feeling that he would be regretting his decision and that Fable was up to no good.

Grabbing Zenith's hand and yanking, Fable took him down the hall towards the training chamber, no doubt wanting to put fear into him. After all, if he had been through it, others had to as well.