Prepone

Seeing his wife awake, maintaining a lively expression, and no longer looking skin and bones, Hancent teared up. He sprinted towards her, taking care not to trip onto the nearby medical apparatus, wrapping her in a bear hug. Feeling the muscle growth below her skin, the dense power hidden within them that seemed to grow with time, and the faint suffocating aura that emanated from her; Hancent felt relieved.

"I conversed with Old Man Bone yesterday, he said the family will bear the full expenses for your recovery," Hancent said, gently releasing his embrace. He found a spot on her berth, near her legs that had enough space for him to sit. Taking his seat, he noticed his wife sizing him up with worry. Upon his inquiry, she took a sip of her coffee, sighed once, and put down the empty cup.

"That crafty bastard will never do something like that without reason. He must be planning something; it is difficult to believe that he would be willing to help me." Henrietta shook her head.

Hubert, sitting on a nearby chair interjected, "Actually, more than 70% of the Warriors and Espers from Tier 3 and Tier 4 of our family have been drafted for this recent raid; this has prompted Old Man Bone from saving our assets for research and proactively support us. If, due to a lack of support, we were to lose family members in this dangerous mission, it might directly impact the standing of our family, no longer having enough strength to settle in Sector 12."

Hancent thought through his words for an instant, linking it to the behaviour of Old Man Bone when he met him the day before. "What he said makes sense."

Henrietta pondered, shaking her head as she thought about the inner workings of her family, deciding to gather information at a later date after making a complete recovery. "How is Heima? Is she feeling fine?"

"Not exactly," Hancent let out a wry smile, "But, she is showing signs of improvement. She has already accepted the changes to her body to a satisfactory level; only time will tell."

"Heima," Hubert felt a sense of admiration, "I never knew she had such a strong will. Getting such high Sync Rate; no wonder Old Man Bone is behaving strangely."

…

Walking out of their family mansion, Hancent entered the skyscraper opposite to it, boarding a lift to reach the 28th floor. Entering it, Hancent noticed Heima sitting before the TV, looking at a comedy show, her eyes a shade of green. Seeing him enter, the green shade in her eyes flickered for a second, dimming in radiance until it turned brown, reverting back to her original look.

"Dad, I just gained a Skill," Heima said, turning her eyes green once again. Hancent felt nothing different from being stared by her, it didn't feel like she had activated a Skill. Noticing his curiosity, Heima shook her head, displaying that she had yet to understand the workings of her Skill.

"I was just able to activate it 15 minutes ago, so, I practically know next to nothing about it. I could only see some fog around you after activating it, but I don't know what it entails yet." Heima said, deactivating her Skill, heaving a sigh of exhaustion. She picked a nearby kerchief and wiped her forehead slick with sweat.

Hancent was just about to pour her a glass of water when a ringing sound went off in one of their rooms. Noticing the room that gave out the ringing sounds, Hancent pushed open the door and watched a huge screen affixed on the wall flash into life. On it was the logo belonging to the 1st Academy, the name of the Principal below it. Hancent called Heima to the room, closing the door after she had entered.

The logo disappeared as the figure of a woman flashed; she looked like she was in her thirties but her actual age was greater than that, apparent in her demeanour. She smiled and greeted the two, her gaze lingering on Hancent for a second longer, making the hair on his hand involuntarily rise. Followed by a perfunctory greeting between the two parties, the Principal cleared her throat and stated the reason for her call.

"We are planning to prepone the annual military training scheduled for June 1st to begin from tomorrow. We thought too much time is wasted for them to adapt, which also diminishes their potential."

"Just a second," Hancent interjected, his face scrunched up, flushed red, barely reigning in his anger. "You should know the reason why this time-period is allotted to them in the first place. It is to ensure that their mental faculties are brought to normal, preventing problems from cropping up in the future. By preponing, you are giving them less time to adapt, increasing the chances of them losing control. Will you take responsibility if something happens to my daughter?"

"Please, you seem to have misunderstood me." The Principal waved her hands, calm and steady, as if she had experienced his rebuttal beforehand. "Until the end of this month, either the parent or a guardian can accompany the student to the training facility. This will ensure that no problems arise, giving the students ample time to adapt. Actually, if not for Rhachis Ancestor Strongest paying a visit, we wouldn't have even pushed forth such a notice. The higher-ups are pressuring all Academies of Sector 4 to enact this plan."

The Principal suddenly showed her back to the screen, engaging in a hushed conversation with a lady who had entered the room without notice. Finishing the conversation in a matter of seconds, the Principal sent her away, wiping the sweat on her forehead, her face pale as if she had experienced something horrifying. "I just wanted to inform you prior to the notice. In a couple of minutes, the Academy will send a written notification to your household. Bye," Hurriedly waving her hand, the Principal disconnected the call.

Heima, who stood in silence until now frowned, her body shivering, a trace of fear emerged on her face. "I don't want to go to school. Dad, can I apply for a leave of absence?"

"I am afraid that is not possible. Don't worry, I will accompany you throughout your military training. Watch some TV; I will contact my superior and apply for a leave." Hancent said, sending Heima away after some persuasion. Closing the door after she had left, Hancent swiped his ID card in a provision next to the screen, prompting the display to change. It displayed a banner that read, "7th Ring Unit Weapon Research Facility", a logo affixed to its left. The logo consisted of a shield with two swords crossed on its front, 7 concentric rings surrounding them.

Manoeuvring through the page, Hancent contacted his direct superior, Dr. Steven, Level 4 Research Fellow, Head of Armour Division, and Vice-Director of Tur-Shell Research Institute. The screen flashed to a middle-aged man, his hair white, his skin wrinkled as if he was in his seventies, wearing a white lab coat. The logo of the Research Facility was situated on his left, stitched with a fabric that looked real but at the same time, illusory.

"Hancent, what happened this time? Heima's situation is kind of complicated; many higher-ups are paying attention to her matter. It will be difficult to influence the military in such short notice. Anyway, we still have a year before her deployment to the fields, until then, let me try through my connections." Dr. Steven rattled like a machine gun, giving no time for Hancent to speak.

"Sir," Noticing that he had no intention to stop, Hancent raised his voice, carefully interjecting after Dr. Steven had finished a statement. "I just received a notice from the 1st Academy; it seems they have preponed the military training to tomorrow."

"What?" Dr. Steven shouted in shock, his scream reverberating through the room, making Hancent hear a faint buzzing sound in his ears. "Have they gone nuts? Those children need time to adapt; if they force them to train in such a sensitive period, it is asking them to lose control. Those brain-dead maggots!"

Hancent maintained his silence until his superior finished his shouts, continuing at where he had left, "It seems to have been a decision influenced by the visit of Rhachis Ancestor Strongest. Though, the Academy has allowed a single person, either parent or guardian to accompany the concerned students until their mental states have turned normal."

"Rhachis Ancestor Strongest…" Dr. Steven turned silent, murmuring something before his eyes lit up with comprehension. He picked up a nearby file, flipped through them, made a computer float before him, flashing various charts. After some time, Dr. Steven retracted his gaze from it, turning silent, seemingly in deep thought.

"Hmm, we are currently lacking in manpower," He muttered, "The Flying Signature Raid scheduled next month has increased the demand for full-body armour, placing great emphasis on its Psychic Shielding characteristics. We can't afford to have a Head Researcher absent in such conditions."

"But sir, my wife Henrietta has just attempted a breakthrough yesterday, barely managing to claim success. She is still weak, weak enough to not even be capable of lifting her head. At least, until she makes a full recovery, I need to be present for Heima."

"Hmm, you have a point," Dr. Steven thought in silence, "Let us do it this way; Heima's training wouldn't be in full swing so early, moreover, it would only be conducted during the day. You take the night shift from 10 PM until morning 6 AM, and return to take care of her after that. I just went through the details; they would be stationing plenty of caretakers there."

Pausing for a second, he continued, "Your presence is only intended as moral support for Heima, so, you can get plenty of shut time if you plan accordingly. Even if I wanted to give you a leave of absence, it is difficult in these pressing times. Moreover, if you find some free time, just head to work and finish your task early; you can then head back. Damn those Brain-Dead horses, giving us no time to rest. It's not like our bodies are as resilient as theirs; why can't it get through their shelled heads?"

"This arrangement is plenty enough, sir. Thank you!" Hancent made a curt bow, disconnecting the call after a couple more minutes, listening to his superior rant about the military men.

'2 hours of sleep in the morning, and some irregular shut-eye during the day, I can manage until Henrietta gets discharged. It seems I must make a trip to Laila's house once again, and leave Jyorta in their care.' Hancent thought, contacting Laila's mother and explaining the situation to her.