Do you like big guns? Cus I do!

Ben POV

It's been a few days since my MANTIS procedure, and after talking with Mobius, I decided to tell the girl I had knowledge on them and their worlds. Goddamn, did Caenis not react well.

As I headed to the lounge to meet Nat for breakfast, I saw Caenis in the corridor. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Morning, Caenis. You need something." I greeted her with a warm smile.

Caenis pushed off the wall, her usual tough exterior softening just a bit. "I just wanted to talk, that's all," she replied, with her voice surprisingly softer and gentler than usual.

"Sure, let's talk," I said, gesturing for her to walk with me to the lounge. I couldn't help but wonder what had her so subdued.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, breaking the silence.

I was not expecting that. "For what?" I asked, genuinely curious

"I overreacted. S-"

"It's fine," I interrupted her, knowing where this was going. "I would have reacted the same way If someone I had never met before told me they had inmate knowledge of me and my life. Also, we are all still stressed, and we show it in different ways.

With a smile, she responded, "Thanks."

Wow. She looks so damn pretty when she smiles. She has me blushing.

As we walked into the lounge, our attention turned to Nat, who was already sitting at a table with plates of food. She smiled as she saw us approaching.

"Morning, you two," Natasha greeted us cheerfully. "I hope you're both doing well."

"Morning, Nat! We just had a little talk, and everything's good now," I replied, sitting next to Natasha. Caenis sat across from us, her expression more relaxed than before.

"Hehe. That's good to hear." Nat chuckled before taking a more serious expression. "Speaking of which, I am worried about Sumeragi?"

"I haven't seen her since the day you told us the thing," Caenis said, taking a bite of her food.

"I haven't either," I added, concern for Sumeragi filling my thoughts. "She already seemed a bit distant during these past few days. I think she's the one who took it the hardest. I probably shouldn't have said fictional. She was already in a bad state."

Natasha nodded sympathetically. "Don't blame yourself," she said to me in a gentle voice. "I am worried about her, though. She's been locked up in her room since then. I've tried talking to her, but she's not responding to anyone. "

"Maybe we should give her some space for now," I suggested, taking a sip of my coffee. "She might just need some time to process everything. We can try talking to her again later."

Natasha and Caenis agreed with my suggestion, and we continued with our breakfast, chatting about things to lighten the mood. Afterward, I decided to take a stroll in the Atrium and bring Mobius some food before going for training.

Entering the training room, I found Ghislaine already inside, engaged in a rigorous workout routine. She paused when she saw me, giving me a nod of acknowledgement.

I picked up a practice sword and prepared for the training session with Ghislaine. As I approached her, she wore her usual expressionless face.

"Today, we'll work on learning the foundations of the Sword God Style," Ghislaine declared, her voice firm and commanding.

"So-"

Before I could even start my sentence, I felt itch. Instinctively, I brought up my sword to block the strike. Even with my newly enhanced strength, I felt pain shoot through my arm. And that was with her holding back.

"Again," she commanded, her voice firm. "Blocking isn't enough," Ghislaine stepped back to create some distance. "In the Sword God Style, victory goes to he who moves first. If you're relying on blocking, you'll never be able to defeat your opponent."

Ghislaine wasted no time, lunging at me with lightning speed, her sword aimed at my side. She left me with little time to react. Thankfully, my enhanced reflexes allowed me to dodge and counter. She effortlessly parried the attack. The impact knocked my sword up, leaving all my vitals exposed. Seeing the sword coming for my neck, I used the momentum and weight of the sword to go into a spinning back kick to counter her.

Ghislaine reacted quickly, blocking the kick with the side of her blade. Using all the strength I could muster, I managed to push her back. Not missing this chance, I stepped through, lunging at her with my sword.

But it was for naught. Ghislaine casually stepped forward, using her sword to subtly redirect my lunge. And before I knew it, she was right in front of me, with her sword pressed against my neck.

"Good reflexes and instincts," Ghislaine acknowledged with a hint of approval. She began to walk to her initial spot. "Your strength and flexibility are also good. But you worry too much. You only countered that attack because I let you. Le-"

Before she could get in position or finish her sentence, I went in for an attack, slashing at her neck.

"Ooof."

An instant later, I found myself crashing against the wall, the air escaping my lungs as I fell to the ground. She somehow landed a kick on me.

Slowly getting up from the ground to look at Ghislaine, I saw a slight smile on her face, her tail swaying back and forth.

"Better. Your Instincts really are amazing. Your body instantly reacted and minimized the impact." She commented a small glimmer of approval in her eyes. "But you're still holding back. You need to embrace the aggression."

I nodded, determined to prove myself.

We continued our training for a while. More like I spent the rest of the morning getting my ass handed to me. Thank god for Nat's Elixir. And thank god I have Mobius tweak it to heal injuries cus Ghislaine broke a few of my bones.

As the training session neared its end, I found myself panting and drenched in sweat. Ghislaine, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. She was barely sweating, but seeing her drink water as I was dead on the floor, I couldn't help but find her hot AF.

"You have potential," she said, her expression softening slightly. "But you still have a long way to go."

Heading to the shower room. I was surprised to see her join me. I forgot who she was for a moment. For an adventurer like her, this was probably normal and meant nothing.

I didn't mind her joining. Who would say no to such great eye candy? I was confident about my body before this. Well, certain parts of it. After my MANTIS procedure, I was no longer a skinny boy. I was still short tho.

General POV

"Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating."

Standing in front of an incubation chamber. Mobius was staring at her latest experiment with an indifferent expression.

"IRIS. Confirmation of the absence of sentience and any outside influences on subject-SEHB114."

"Confirmed, Dr. Mobius. Subject-S114 is entirely devoid of sentience and free from outside influences."

"Excellent. Stability?"

"Stability is at 20% and dropping."

Mobius seemed unfazed by the decreasing stability.

"Increase Honkai Energy input."

As Mobius gave the command to increase the Honkai Energy input, the incubation chamber hummed. The energy levels surged, causing subject-SEHB114 to twitch and convulse inside the chamber.

"Stability at 15% and still dropping," IRIS reported.

Mobius watched, still uninterested, as the subject's body continued to react to the increased energy, showing signs of strain and stress.

"Stability at 0%. Subject-SEHB114 shows no signs of life. Terminating Honkai Energy input. Purging failed subject."

"Nnhhmmn," Stretching her body Mobius let out a groan. "Another failure."

"IRIS, log the data from this experiment and shut off all systems. I'm taking a break."

The lab fell silent as IRIS logged the data and shut off all systems as instructed. Leaving the lab, Mobius went next door to her private quarters.

Once inside her room, she fell back onto her bed. Her mind was racing with thoughts. "Why did it fail again?" she muttered to herself. "I created the Symbiote using the same genes as the host Honaki Beast."

"I've accounted for all the variables," Mobius mumbled to herself, her frustration evident. "Could it be the source of the Honkai Energy? No, it showed no signs of rejection."

"Whatever. I'll look over the data later."

"Sorry to interrupt your thinking, Dr. Mobius," AURA's soothing voice filled her room. "Ben is requesting you in the lounge."

Mobius' frustration vanished and was replaced with excitement. Her dear captain was always exciting. "Alright, AURA. Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."

As she entered the lounge, she saw Ben sitting at a table, looking deep in thought. He seemed to be studying something on a data pad.

"Hey, Captain~ You wanted to talk?"

Ben looked up from the data pad and smiled. "Yeah, I did. Here take a look."

Mobius walked over to the table, taking the data pad from Ben and examining the information displayed on it. Her curiosity was piqued, and she focused on the data, her eyes scanning the graphs and charts.

"What is this?" Mobius inquired, her tone intrigued.

"It's called a Power Sword. Can you make it?"

"Power Sword, huh? Fascinating," Mobius said as she studied the data.

"Hmm. I certainly can make the power cell, and the synthesizer can most likely make Adamantium. But I can't forge a sword."

"That's perfect!" Ben exclaimed with happiness, his eyes widening with excitement as he grabbed Mobius' hands. "Wait. Can you also make this?"

Mobius glanced at the blueprint Ben had handed her. "BFG 9000? Well, according to this data, I can. Not only make it but probably make it even stronger."

Ben's eyes lit up like fireworks. "Seriously? You're the best, Mobius! This is going to be epic!" He said while hugging her.

Mobius was taken aback by Ben's enthusiastic response and sudden hug but couldn't help but welcomed it, smiling at her captain's excitement.

"Alright, alright," she chuckled softly, patting his back gently. "That's enough hugging for now," Mobius said playfully. "But I'm glad you're excited."

Ben released her from the hug, still grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks, Mobius."

"I'm glad I can help," Mobius replied, feeling a warmth in her heart at Ben's genuine thanks and bright smile.

"I can't wait to try them out," Ben said with excitement in his voice. "Haha! I can picture killing an entire monster wave in 1-shot."

"Great. Now that that's done, me and the girls, save for Sumeragi, plan on watching a movie. Wanna join us?"

"Thanks for asking, but I want to get to work on your things. Maybe next time."

"Come on~ We still have a lot of time. You can work on them later. Join us." Ben pleaded jokingly.

Mobius sighed but smiled. "Fine. If you insist."