"Right… Don't worry about us, little brother. We've been holed up in here for a few weeks now. A few more minutes won't make a difference."
The captain said wryly.
"Then keep the door shut while I am gone. I will be back shortly."
Albion stated.
"Sure, sure, we will do that."
After Albion was gone, the captive crew members inched towards the bloody messes pinned to the walls. Some gagged at the gory scene.
"These people deserve it, but still, this is rather gruesome… Bleurgh—"
"What kind of strength is needed to reproduce an effect like this? Really makes one curious what level that little brother has reached."
"If someone this powerful can be defeated by pirates, it really makes one wonder how much more powerful the pirates are."
"You still believe that? I find it hard to believe. That little brother must be a fairly high-level Hunter. The little brother's reason for being here should be a secret. Since he did not tell us the whole truth, we should not try to pry."
"That's right. No matter what, he is our savior and benefactor. We must treat him with our utmost respect. His origins are unknown, but it will not hurt to befriend someone this strong."
The captive captain and crew discussed solemnly.
"Captain, some of these weapons are still useable, and there are some spare magazines… Maybe we should—"
"I know what you are thinking, but it won't be necessary. With that person's strength, would he even need our assistance?"
The captain said.
"Eh, yeah… That person is so strong he can block bullets with his bare body. We would only get in the way."
"Still, I wonder what the Bloodmoon Gang have been smuggling. Firearms can be bought on the black market, but it is not easy to arm an entire group with them, especially since the country enforced the weapons ban act. It must have costed a fortune."
"That's for sure. We can only check after safety is secured outside."
…
Shortly after Albion left the spare storage room, he glanced at the hands he used to kill humans for the first time.
"I thought killing people will traumatize me, but strangely, I feel nothing. It's like I just stepped on an ant and nothing more. Is this the effect of swallowing the Dark Emperor's memories? The more memory I digest, the more I become like the Dark Emperor?"
Albion pondered.
In the end, if he swallowed all of the Dark Emperor's memories, would he still be himself? Or will he be the new Dark Emperor? He felt like he was losing his humanity.
"It seems I have been too dependent on the Dark Emperor's memories. I need to rely on myself more in the future."
He frowned.
"Goldfinger, tell me about the special ability-users those people previously mentioned. What's that about?"
[Special ability-users are people who have awakened the innate psychic power that lies dormant within the human bodies. Higher-level Hunters have higher chances of awakening their psychic ability, while ordinary untrained humans will normally never awaken it throughout their lifetime.]
Goldfinger faithfully answered.
Albion was surprised to hear this and said, "Psychic powers is actually a thing? I thought it just something made up for fiction stories. If humans always had this ability, why hasn't it been prevalent until now?"
[This is due to the stringent conditions needed to be met before humans can awaken their psychic ability. For example, humans only consciously use roughly 10% of their brain capacity on average. Some use more, some use less, but it is around 10% on average.]
[However, this does not mean that the other 90% of human brain capacity is idle. In fact, 100% of the human brain capacity is used at all times. The other 90% is attributed to maintaining bodily functions autonomously.]
[Mental training can raise the % of conscious usage, while physical training can increase efficiency and lower the % needed for maintaining bodily functions. 20% is the minimum requirement for awakening psychic abilities, but not many humans can consciously use 20% of their brain capacity.]
Goldfinger explained.
"I see, very few humans engage in both mental and physical training to reach such a level. Most humans only focus on one aspect and rarely both. This is how there are gifted individuals with high intellect with disabilities. Some bodily functions were sacrificed for higher % conscious usage of their brain capacity."
Albion understood.
There was no need for him to ask further. The rest can be understood. Hunters have incredible fitness levels, which allows for optimized efficiency in the maintenance of bodily functions.
However, even if high-level Hunters are guaranteed access to 20% of their human brain capacity, it does not mean that they are guaranteed to be intelligent. Intelligence is gained through the process of mental training such as learning, studying, research.
[That is correct.]
Goldfinger admitted.
"It seems the commotion and gunshots below had alarmed the people outside and attracted them here."
Albion mused.
A series of hurried footsteps were heard drawing nearer while Albion made his way to the higher deck. Shortly after, a group of five appeared before him.
"Who the hell are you? What happened down there? You better speak truthfully if you don't want me to put a bullet in you!" A burly man barked.
"Stop! did you hear what I said? Are you deaf?!"
Seeing Albion continue to advance whilst ignoring him, the burly roared in anger.
"F*ck! Asking for death!"
"Kill him!"
Bang! Bang! Ahh!
A series of gunshots and screams were heard before the group of five men was killed by Albion. Each person had their neck bent in strange angles after being chopped.
Albion held up one body with a frown as he tried to fix the head back into back, but it flopped back to the side.
[Goldfinger cannot understand what the host is trying to achieve.]
Goldfinger voiced.
Albion tossed the corpse to the side and shook his head with a sigh.
"I was trying to knock them out and keep them alive for interrogation later, but I failed to control my strength and broke all their necks."
Albion shrugged.