Mirakuru

After meeting Slade and returning to Fyers' camp, David relaxed and helped himself to the contents of Fyers' personal refrigerator and the food the mercenaries left behind. After stuffing himself with meals and sweet drinks, he utilized the boost of energy to practice with the sword till evening.

Since sleep no longer existed for him, he planned to meditate till morning. Right as he closed his eyes to start though, Fyers' sat phone, which he kept on him at all times, buzzed with a call. Thinking the boat had arrived ahead of schedule, he grabbed it and answered, only to hear a distorted voice ask, "What's the status?"

David, who expected something along the lines of "The boat is here" instantly lost patience and hung up the phone with a "Tch.." He dropped it and grumbled, "What status? You made me answer for nothing… and I hate phone calls."

He then went back to meditating, unaware of the decision being taken because of his actions.

...…..

In another dimly lit place, an overweight dark skinned woman sat behind a desk and perused some data on her computer. A knock on her door broke the air of intense concentration in the room, causing her to raise an eyebrow. Her head, however, remained lowered as she said, "Come in."

A man entered the room with a tablet on hand and stated the reason for his visit, knowing how his boss hated beating about the bush. "Ma'am, it seems the operation has been compromised. Fyers is likely dead."

Raising up her head, the woman asked, "Likely?"

The man passed the tablet to her and said, "All the camps have lost their heat signatures, and when I contacted Fyers, someone else answered."

As the woman examined the satellite images of the island, a small frown crept onto her features. "Scrap the operation and get rid of anything that ties us to it. That means any survivor on the island and whomever answered your call," she said and passed the tablet back to him.

"Do it fast."

"Yes ma'am," the man said, and left the office.

After he left, the woman brought up a profile on her computer screen and rubbed her temples. It was of an Asian woman with snow white hair, her name, Chien Na Wei. She gazed at it for a while and dismissed it, uttering in a tone of suppressed anger.

"Dammit!"

.....

[You cannot die by any means, be it a grievous injury, terrible disease, or lack of sustenance. Your mind, body and soul can heal from any damage. You will only die if your soul is annihilated.]

Seated on the bed in Fyers' personal tent, David read the description for [Ultimate Regeneration] and brought his right hand to eye level. In it, he held a syringe containing a viscous green substance, one that brought forth many memories, both of the amazing and worrying kind.

"Mirakuru," Japanese for "Miracle," was an apt name for this drug, for it allowed the survivors of its excruciating baptism to perform feats that could only be described as such. Miraculous as it may be, its effects on the minds of its users made him wary. Lessened self-control and increased aggression were a no-no for him.

Even though he desired power and freedom more than anything in this life, the Mirakuru promised the former at the price of the latter. What was the point of power if you weren't yourself to enjoy it? That's why his hesitation made him recheck the description for his regeneration ability.

If everything he'd survived so far were anything to go by, the system's definition of the ability was accurate. Since he could survive anything short of soul annihilation, Mirakuru should be light work. However, the bit about healing the mind gave him doubt, until he recalled some comics about Wolverine and his own experience with trauma.

He read somewhere about how Wolverine's healing factor allowed him to recover from trauma quicker than the average person. Not only that, his repeated traumatic experiences caused him to develop mental scars that allowed him to resist outside mental intrusions and the negative effects of said traumas.

This brought to mind his own experience with Wintergreen and Fyers and what they put him through. After he escaped that day, some part of him kept bringing up the torture he suffered. Even if he was focused on another task, out of nowhere he'd relive getting shot or cut, and he'd feel afraid and freeze up as a result.

This is one of the things that made the loss of sleep much worse. He couldn't just close his eyes and forget everything.

Such episodes occurred frequently, but little by little they reduced in number until they ceased entirely. 'Now that I think about it, I still remember the pain and being cut again and again, but the memory no longer bothers me. My body does not seize up when I think about it,' he thought and read the description once more.

'The regeneration hasn't failed me so far. There is no reason to doubt it now.'

Dismissing the system screen, he held up the syringe and took a deep breath. With great effort, he steadied his hand and brought it to his neck, sticking the needle in and pushing the plunger. -Clink- The syringe then fell to the ground as intense agony seized him.

As if he just injected liquid fire, a burning sensation spread throughout his body and came with it the urge to scream out his lungs. But, this not being his first rodeo, he grit his teeth and endured the pain, writhing on the bed and staining the sheets with the blood that flowed from his eyes.

Just when he thought he could not endure anymore, he lost sense of everything and blacked out.

...

One hour later…

With his senses experiencing an ungodly amount of feedback, David ambled out of the tent with the grace of a drunkard. Once outside, he stopped and just stood still, controlling his breathing to focus on reducing the feedback from the surroundings. It turns out he didn't need to, as he adjusted to the massive input right away.

Reopening his eyes, he instantly noted the vibrant colors and vivid details, distant yet adjacent sounds, and the cold eastern wind brushing against his bare arms. He sauntered around in the camp and basked in the sensory experience for a full minute before summoning the system to see the changes.

....................................

Name: Oliver Jonas Queen

Race: Human/Isu Hybrid

Bloodline: Isu (50.00%)

Strength: 80

Agility: 80

Durability: 80

Vitality: ∞

Senses: 80

Mind: 8

Radiant Energy: 10

Spectral Energy: 99 *(marked gun)

Available Points: 57

....................................

David gazed at his fist and clenched it, remembering how he broke someone's neck with just a punch. 'A ten times increase?' he thought with a smile. 'That's what I'm talking about.'

If he could break bones before, what could he do now?

His available points beckoned like an ad informing him of a milf nearby, but he ignored it and proceeded to test his new strength. Vanishing with a whoosh, he reappeared near one of the military humvees and examined it before bending down.

Grabbing the lower front of the vehicle, he ensured a tight grip and straightened himself. Slowly, he came up with the vehicle, supporting its almost three ton weight with his new strength and its rear tires. "Hahaha.." A laugh escaped his mouth as he pushed up the vehicle till his body was completely straight.

Content with the test, he zipped back to a safe distance and let me humvee fall, kicking up a cloud of dust. Bringing out the spirit marked pistol, he exerted pressure on it with his hands and crumpled it into a ball. His perfectionist tendencies then set in, making him spend an unnecessary while trying to smooth it out into a perfect sphere.

It didn't take him long to come out of his own head and accept that it just wasn't possible. Once he did, he clutched it tight and flung it into the distance. Right as it left his hand and disappeared over the horizon, he dashed after it, his form becoming an imperceptible blur that flashed through the verdant jungle like a heat-seeking missile.

Each stride propelled him at least a hundred and fifty meters forward. He was so fast he left deep craters and ruined plants in his wake. Yet, he couldn't even see the metal ball, his only guidance to its whereabouts the spirit mark he placed on it.

'I need to get faster…'

A few seconds after the ball stopped, he arrived at its location, the shores of the island. Strewn about these shores were innumerable rocks of all shapes and sizes. But, his powerful eyesight and marking ability allowed him to find the ball the instant he arrived.

Picking it up and tossing it up and down, he gazed at the endless sea. 'It's probably best I learn how to swim before the boat arrives,' he thought. 'Driving and shooting too…'

Snatching the ball out of the air after one last toss, he disappeared from the beach.

...…

[Lian Yu, 08:32 AM, 6 days to boat arrival…]

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Wearing a black tank shirt with pants and boots of the same color, David stood there in his neon tattooed glory and fired a pistol at a makeshift target over 50 meters away. 15 shots echoed throughout the camp, and 15 tings of metal echoed in response.

The combination of his senses, aptitude, and outstanding physical control gave him perfect aim despite being a novice at using firearms. On another note, despite firing supersonic rounds so close to himself, his enhanced hearing didn't give him much problem.

Having received a rude shock on his first attempt at shooting, he was forced to find a way around this.

All he did was focus his mind on reducing his hearing sensitivity to the barest minimum and maintaining it with supreme concentration. He couldn't do it at the drop of a hat however, and required a few seconds to achieve it. However, the results were worth it, as it gave him ample practice on the mind-body technique and improved his multitasking ability.

After he examined his handiwork on the target as if it were right in front of him, he returned to a table hosting various weapons to select another for practice. In the midst of this selection, he paused for a second and resumed as he felt a gaze on him.

All humans could somehow tell if someone was watching them. The sensitivity however, differed from person to person. Some were insensitive to it, others could tell right away, and a few could even pinpoint the location of the gaze.

[Enhanced Synesthesia] being a combination of senses, practically unlocked this ability to the max for him.

Not only could he sense this gaze and its location, the gold ripples in his mind revealed to him the identity of the person and the intent behind the gaze.

It could only be one of two people; Slade or Yao Fei. Activating [Eagle Pulse], he restricted it to just 100 of its improved 800 meter radius and confirmed the identity of his stalker.

'Slade. Took you long enough…'

After meeting with the man, he deduced his next step would be to confirm whether he could be trusted.

Meaning, for Slade to be here, he had to have visited the airstrip and discovered David's handiwork. He didn't know about the staging area, but the scene at the airstrip should've convinced him of the validity of David's offer.

If David indeed had a way out, it meant the obstacle known as Fyers was no more. After all, there was no way the mercenary would let them escape to warn the outside world of his goal here. Having confirmed this fact, Slade entered the camp and drew closer to his mysterious benefactor.

"Hey kid."