You're Alive?

The realization that Atrixus had not only survived but triumphed against the Evo was a revelation that shook Kai to his core.

Although Uncommon Evos were the weakest rank of creatures in Shunri Paradise, they varied in strength and abilities depending on the species. And the one before them wasn't one that a new System Bearer would be able to defeat.

As they approached, Atrixus looked up, his gaze steady and imbued with a quiet strength. The remnants of his meal lay scattered before him, evidence of his victory and survival.

"Is he eating it raw?" Some of the System Bearers couldn't believe their eyes.

"Are you the Atrixus kid?" Kai's question caused Atrixus to pause his meal.

He turned to glance at him briefly with his lips smeared in yellow blood.

"Yes?"

Kai's expression betrayed a subtle hint of respect upon hearing that.

The other System Bearers, too, were struck by the sight, their expressions a mix of shock and admiration.

At that moment, Kai understood that Atrixus was no ordinary student; he had proven himself a true System Bearer.

The questions that hung in the air were: How did Atrixus manage to slay an Evo? Where had he been all this time? Why wasn't he in uniform? And, if he had been within Shunri Paradise all this time, how the hell did he survive?

However, the immediate concern was the safety of the students and the journey back to the green zone.

The journey back was quiet, and each member of the group was lost in thought. For Kai, the mission had transformed from a simple retrieval to a witness of a pivotal moment in the life of a young System Bearer.

The green zone soon came into view...

As Atrixus Timothy emerged from the wild heart of Shunri Paradise into the relative sanctuary of the green zone, the contrast between the untamed wilderness and this bastion of human resilience was stark.

The air there was filled with the hustle of System Bearers and the hubble of bungalow-like structures made from a mixture of materials within Shunri Paradise. It was a far cry from the survivalist silence he had grown accustomed to.

The first order of business, which seemed almost a luxury now, was to drink water.

The group that had followed Liora on her ill-advised venture was still reeling from the day's events. Their astonishment was palpable, the image of Atrixus defeating an uncommon Evo etched into their memories.

"How could a slum Bearer pull that off?" one whispered to another, their voices a mix of awe and disbelief.

Skepticism pervaded among the rest of the students who had stayed behind, disbelieving the tale until they overheard Kai and some other System Bearers discussing the incident.

"I saw it with my own two eyes—he was eating raw Evo flesh!" one of them exclaimed, lending credence to the story that seemed too fantastical to be true.

The students' confusion deepened as they observed Atrixus among them, his appearance akin to that of a figure from an ancient, wilder time. His tattered clothes and weathered face prompted whispered speculations and curious stares.

Grace, the class captain with her signature purple hair and chilly demeanor, was the first to approach Atrixus with the question on everyone's mind.

"Where have you been all this time, Atrixus?" Her voice, though cool, carried a hint of genuine curiosity.

Atrixus, caught off-guard by the directness of her inquiry, offered a vague response.

"Got into some trouble," he said, his tone noncommittal, his gaze avoiding hers.

The lack of detail only fueled their curiosity, but Atrixus wasn't inclined to share the depths of his ordeal.

Amidst the murmur of questions and speculative whispers, Kai announced the premature conclusion of their expedition.

"Given what's happened, we should end this expedition now," he declared with a note of finality in his voice.

Fortunately, none of the injured students lost their lives, but they needed medical attention nonetheless.

The other students, though disappointed, understood the gravity of the situation and began their trek back to the access point, their minds, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.

The return through the access point was a silent affair, each student lost in reflection over the day's extraordinary events. The school bus awaited them, and they all boarded it in no time.

After their departure, the green zone buzzed with the arrival of several System Bearers, their purpose clear and urgent.

They inquired about a boy, distributing sketches that bore an uncanny resemblance to Atrixus.

"We're looking for him," they stated, showing the drawing to anyone who might have seen him.

Recognition dawned on the faces of a few System Bearers who had witnessed Atrixus's return with Kai and the students. "Yes, I've seen him," one confirmed, the sketch in hand a mirror image of the boy.

"They went that way..."

■■■

After the whirlwind events in Shunri Paradise and the hasty retreat back to Sacred Heights High School, Atrixus Timothy found himself engulfed in a sea of inquiries and astonished stares.

The return to the slums, his makeshift home, was a journey back to reality, a stark reminder of the dual life he now led. Fresh from the school's facilities, where he had taken his first real bath in what felt like an eternity, Atrixus walked through the familiar, narrow alleys of the slums.

His mind, however, was far from peaceful, replaying the day's conversations and the barrage of questions from teachers and peers alike.

The air in the classroom had been electric with curiosity and disbelief when word spread of Atrixus's unexpected return and the heroic feats attributed to him.

Whispers turned into direct questions, each one probing deeper into the mystery that Atrixus had become.

"How did you survive out there?"

"What was it like, facing an Evo head-on?" The questions bombarded him, relentless waves that sought to erode the barrier of secrets he had clung to.

Among the barrage of inquiries, one question echoed louder, persistent, and underlying the wonder and awe: "How did he get a System Bearer's microchip?"

It was a question that gnawed at the minds of everyone, from the wide-eyed freshmen to the seasoned teachers who knew all too well the impossibility of surviving Shunri Paradise without the augmented abilities of a System Bearer.

Atrixus's use of an Assimilated Transformation had been the irrefutable proof, a revelation that silenced skeptics and turned doubters into believers.

Yet, the origin of his microchip, the key to his transformation and survival, remained shrouded in mystery, a tantalizing puzzle that no one could piece together.

The only two ways of getting a System Bearer's microchip were by passing an Evaluation either in the SBO or at prestigious high schools where Evaluators visited to perform the tests personally. The second way was by buying it off the black market.

Atrixus was known to have failed the evaluation, but no one believed he was capable of affording a System Bearer's microchip either because even the wackiest cost millions.

There was also the process of installation, which was yet another aspect that brought up a lot of unanswered questions... questions that Atrixus had no intention of answering.

Walking through the slums, Atrixus felt the weight of those unanswered questions, but he had questions of his own.

'What were those memories? Were they even memories? How did Father leave me a System Bearer's microchip? How did it get installed without the help of any installation facility? Why can I level up just from killing Evos alone? How can I see their health bars? How is it possible for a child to survive in Shunri Paradise?'

The familiar sights and sounds of his neighborhood, usually a comforting reminder of home, now seemed distant, as if he had crossed a threshold from which there was no return.

"I got into some trouble," he had half-heartedly told Grace, the class captain, earlier.

The understatement of his ordeal was a deliberate veil over the truth, a truth that intertwined his destiny with the mysterious legacy his father had left behind.

He didn't want to get into actual trouble for entering Shunri Paradise illegally so he could never tell anyone the real truth.

Atrixus Timothy's return to the familiar, narrow lanes of the slums was marked not by fanfare but by a sense of purpose.

With his modest dwelling behind him, he sifted through the meager possessions accumulated over the years.

That day, however, they served a singular purpose—to bring some semblance of comfort to his ailing mother in the hospital.

Clutching a small, worn-out bag filled with essentials and a few personal mementos, Atrixus stepped out into the fading light of the day, his thoughts preoccupied with the recent tumultuous events and their ramifications.

The slums, with their pulsing life and unyielding struggle, seemed to mirror the chaos that had taken root within him.

As he navigated the alleys, lost in thought about his next move and the revelations that had come to light, he was brought back to reality by a familiar voice.

"Atrixus! You're... You're alive?!"