27 Increase In Compatibility Rate
"Are they still..." John paused with a worrisome look.
"Lately, I've been feeling much better than before," Dennis said while placing his hand on John's shoulder.
"I'll be fine," He assured John.
John nodded slightly in response, "If only Kaori could see you now."
The room was plagued with an air of sentimentality as everywhere briefly quietened.
John moved towards the dining area, "Let me prepare a meal before you leave."
"No, no, you don't have to do that," Dennis quickly dismissed the gesture.
"But, why?" John asked, looking quite baffled.
"We've been out all day. You need to eat."
"We already got stuff from Old Benson's place. Let's just settle with that," Dennis displayed a wry smile as his stomach internally twisted from the fear of how things would have gone if he had allowed John to cook again.
"But I don't know when next I will be seeing you again after tomorrow. You deserve a proper meal," John said with a tone of worry.
"This will be enough," Dennis placed pieces of meat wrapped in aluminium foils on the dining table.
John finally gave in, and they proceeded to sit.
"Dennis, you no longer say grace," John called out after noticing that Dennis had begun digging in.
"Who would I be saying grace to?" Dennis inquired after swallowing another chunk of meat.
"God, of course," John almost couldn't believe his ears.
"Grow up, John," Dennis responded before focusing on his meat.
"I'm still going to say grace," John didn't let Dennis's remark get to him.
"Yeah, do remind him of the billions that died while begging for salvation and mercy. All cries which he ignored," Dennis chipped in.
"We're still alive, aren't we?"
"Not because of him."
"Isn't that... Blasphemous?"
"I don't care."
"...you have changed..."
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{The Next Morning}
In one corner, a group of young researchers huddled around a holographic display, engrossed in a virtual simulation of molecular structures.
"This is unbelievable. It went up again," one of them voiced in disbelief.
The sound of shoes tapping against a smooth surface was heard in the next instant, and three middle-aged-looking men in lab coats walked in.
"Mr Ansel," the young researchers greeted the man in the middle with respect.
They also greeted the other two on his right and left; Belmos and Graham.
"I take it, Dennis Slark has arrived?" Mr Ansel questioned while stepping forward.
"Yes, sir. We ran the usual diagnostics and discovered something, sir," They moved aside while one of them pointed at the monitor.
"Hmm, his compatibility rate is now at 99.17%... 0.08% higher than the last time we checked," Mr Ansel stroked his bushy beard as he stared at the statistics.
"How are his vitals? Any sign of a defect?" Belmos questioned from the side.
"None that we've noticed, sir," one of the female researchers answered.
"Hmm, the compatibility dampener is ready. Are we still using it on him?" Graham asked Mr Ansel with a straight look.
"Hold on. Let me have a one-on-one with him first," Mr Ansel replied before moving towards the entry point of the space where Dennis had been instructed to stay.
He walked in to see Dennis seated on a metallic-looking medical bed of sorts.
Transparent crystalline tubes with what Dennis could now recognise were corpses of mutated beasts, which were arranged in a lined-up format across the corners of the space.
Wires from these tubes were connected to Dennis's body as he sat in place with a blank expression.
The moment Sir Ansel stepped in, he turned to stare at him, "Can I go now?"
"Not quite yet, Dennis," Mr Ansel responded while placing his hands behind and interlocking them.
"You see, we noticed something a little concerning," Mr Ansel pointed out.
"Oh? What is it this time?" Dennis's eyebrows furrowed.
"Your compatibility rate went up by nearly 0.1%." Mr Ansel revealed while twirling his beard.
"That's not a lot. What is the issue?" Dennis looked slightly baffled.
"The thing is when you're nearly at a 100% compatibility rate... even 0.01% is considered a lot. Not to mention a whole 0.1%. It isn't news that your high compatibility rate has been putting your life at risk, so we get concerned when it goes even higher," Mr Ansel explained.
"But I feel fine... I haven't burned out in a while," Dennis stated while rubbing the area where the circular disk was planted on his chest.
"I was just about to ask you a few questions on that," Mr Ansel pointed before proceeding to add more.
Dennis and Mr Ansel talked at length about how he had been holding up in the last month.
Dennis explained that the extreme fatigue and burning sensation he usually felt had stopped. He mentioned that he couldn't recall exactly when it all stopped, but it had been a while since he last felt any of those negative effects he got from having the highest compatibility rate.
"You did what?!" Mr Ansel raised his voice with a look of disbelief.
"I didn't have a choice. How else was I expected to participate in the challenge?" Dennis shrugged slightly.
"I specifically told you it must never be used outside of this laboratory. What if you had gotten yourself killed?" Mr Ansel reached out to grab Dennis's arm and pulled his sleeves back.
"But I am fine," Dennis responded.
"Take it off," Mr Ansel commanded.
"The UV..."
"Your shirt, take it off," He elucidated.
Dennis proceeded to take off his shirt, and Mr Ansel took out a tool from his coat pocket.
He poked at the areas surrounding the disk-like item a few times before drawing Dennis's blood.
"I'll be back," He said while turning around to leave.
Dennis had informed him about using the UVS to get through the Javelin challenge. Since Mr Ansel was trying to confirm that he hadn't felt any of the negative effects in a while, Dennis had decided to chip in that he had used the UVS three weeks back and didn't pass out.
Dennis ended up slightly regretting that he told him, 'Maybe I should have kept it a secret.'
After thinking about it, Dennis recalled that the time they conducted the test might have been the period when he stopped feeling the negative effects.
'Could it be that I am no longer affected by it since I became physically stronger?' He wondered.
Minutes later, Mr Ansel returned with a perturbed expression.
"We created a compatibility dampener to help you, but now I am not so sure if you need it anymore," Mr Ansel voiced.
"What happens if my compatibility rate gets to 100%?" Dennis suddenly inquired.
"We can't say for sure, but we have a list of possibilities... the UVS could be used at full power and evolution on a different scale entirely since having such a high compatibility is originally supposed to come with a lot of perks or..." Mr Ansel paused at that point.
"Or?" Dennis had an intrigued expression.
"Death," Mr Ansel revealed.
Gulp~
Dennis gulped saliva after hearing his last response, 'This new earth sure threatens the life of Dennis a lot.'
"But it's all just theoretical... Nothing confirmed," Mr Ansel added to ease Dennis's mind.
'Well, if I was to die, it really wouldn't matter since I shouldn't be alive anyway. It would be a waste though,' While in his thoughts, Dennis suddenly recalled something.
"The times I fully equipped the UVS, I usually notice a panel that displays a bunch of information briefly. I saw a part that displayed, CORES HARVESTED... what does that mean?" Dennis inquired.
"That's the apex of the UVS creation. What you've tasted is merely the tip of its capabilities. It can do way more," Mr Ansel moved to Dennis's side and took a seat.
"The beings we need to defend ourselves from are all on different levels of strength and I am sure you know by now that the UVS can not contend with every one of them on its current level of power," Mr Ansel continued.
'Is he talking about the Xintropians?' Dennis thought while listening attentively.
"The UVS was created to be mankind's salvation, and that is because it can self-improve and upgrade to be a stronger... better version," The moment Mr Ansel got to this point, Dennis recalled something.
"Is that what the 'level' is for?" Dennis recalled the panel that displayed his information also showed that he was at level one.
"Yes, that is indeed one of the reasons," Mr Ansel confirmed.
"So increasing the level will make the UVS more powerful," Dennis's face displayed a contemplative look.
"Generally, yes."
"So how do I increase the level?... With the Cores Harvested?" Dennis's eyes lit up in realisation.
"You are quite sharp. That is once again correct," Mr Ansel replied.
"I'm still confused. What are these cores? And how do I harvest them?" Dennis questioned.
"The cores are..."
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