CHAPTER 390: IT’S HIM.

Neo-Vatra City, Moonstone district.

Under one of the high-rise buildings, a young man sat at the center of a large cubic room. His legs were crossed, and his eyes were closed. He appeared to be meditating, but the ears above his head kept twitching left and right.

[Is that what you call focused?] A voice echoed through the room.

The white, canine ears twitched once more, and the man’s brows drew close.

"I am focused." He said. "It’s just..."

[No excuses!]

"Fine, got it."

Drawing a deep breath, the young man relaxed his expression. His thoughts followed right after. His mind was as calm, free from anything and everything. Achieving this state was extremely difficult, but losing it was the exact opposite. It only took a few sounds to shatter the stillness, and in his case, they didn’t have to be ones normal people could hear.

He was supposedly in a soundproof room, yet despite that, the noise of the city still reached him. It was faint and distant, but much more difficult to tune out now that he was consciously trying to. Who knew that trying to achieve absolute focus would be this difficult?

[Don’t fall asleep now.]

Just when it felt like he was getting the hang of it, the voice spoke to him again. Sighing, he looked up at the speaker hanging in one of the corners.

"What’s the point of this, anyway? It’s not like everything will be quiet while on the job."

The reply to his question was slower than he had anticipated.

[You’re right. Maybe we should try this with rock music or something else.]

"That’s not what I meant..."

In a way, if he were going to train his ability to focus, adding distractions would likely yield better results. Wolf understood the logic, but that didn’t mean he liked it. He wasn’t a fan of loud, noisy music, after all. In his case, being forced to listen to it would undoubtedly lead to the opposite of what he was trying to achieve.

[The white room is supposed to give you a mental image.] The voice spoke to him again. [You’re supposed to use that image in other situations, not get so used to it that you would be unable to focus anywhere else.]

"Right..."

Sighing, Wolf took another breath and closed his eyes. He didn’t know if it would be possible, but he had to try it. He had to engrave that state of calm into his mind so he could return to it no matter the circumstances. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed with him still in that state. Eventually, the voice spoke to him again.

[Go on.] It said. [Transform.]

When he heard the words, his focus didn’t falter. With his mind as calm as an underground lake, willed his body to change. A familiar sensation spread through it, growing stronger following his command.

’Level 2... Level 3... Level 4...’

He counted the thresholds a he passed them by, relying entirely on the change to the sensation he had grown so familiar with. He soon passed what he once believed was his limit. That was when the sensation changed, quickly losing its familiarity. His senses grew stronger, and new ones seemed to manifest out of nowhere. Despite that, he felt more isolated than before.

Darkness filled his mind, fueling the illusion that he had been trapped in a land with no light. Wolf fought back, not letting the illusion break his focus. He was still in that cubic room, surrounded by bright white walls. He was still him, and nothing had changed.

’Level... Five...’

There were no barriers in his way, and no seal for him to break. There were no chains keeping him from advancing as well, yet despite that, rising above that final threshold had always proved to be an insurmountable challenge. But he did it. He passed the threshold, and he reached the new summit.

"I-"

Just as he thought to inform the others, something banished the darkness in his mind, and a cold sweat drenched his fur. He could feel it. It was there, hiding in the back of his mind, blending in the darkness. Startled by the presence, his focus turned to it, and he saw it.

A pair of blood red eyes.

"Gahh!!!"

[Wolf?]

His eyes snapped open, and his body collapsed forward. The floor soon came into focus, and as he panted for air, he caught sight of the arms he was propping himself with. Watching them gradually revert to human form, a wave of relief quickly washed over him.

[Wolf? Hey Wolf!]

"I’m... I’m okay..." He forced the words out, then shifted his body, dropping down and rolling onto his back. "I... I did it... I think..."

~[ ]~

Steam rose from a light brown porcelain cup. Wolf wondered when it had appeared before him, but it couldn’t have been that long ago. Looking up, he saw a petite woman with short black hair. She was holding a similar cup, and a she continued to stare at him, she brought it up to her mouth and took a sip.

"So, guess it’s not hopeless after all." Said Beatrice, her tone checking for confirmation.

"I... don’t know..." Wolf reached out and grabbed his mug.

"Hey, you still made good progress. Need me to remind you what happened last time?"

It was true—he did come a long way. When he first started, just pushing toward the upper limit of Level 4 was enough to rob him of control. Since then, he continued to reach higher and higher, and today, he finally reached Level 5 while still holding the ropes. That was a significant milestone, yet despite having reached it, the sense of accomplishment he should be feeling seemed to be missing.

"You saw them again?" Beatrice asked. "The eyes, I mean."

"Yeah," Wolf replied. "They were there. Almost as if... no, they were waiting. I could feel it."

"Great."

For a moment there, Wolf didn’t react. It took him a while to realize what he heard was real, and once he did, he turned to his leader, confusion panting his face.

"It’s as I said before." Said Beatrice. "You’re making progress."

"But-"

"You used to see them halfway through, right?"

"Well..."

"And now, they only appear once you get to Level 5." She took another sip, pausing to savor the taste of her hot chocolate. "You pushed them all the way up there. Who says you can’t push them farther?"

"I... don’t think it’s going to be easy..."

"Of course not. We’re talking about Level 5 here."

Wolf understood that extending his limit was what mattered. As of now, he wasn’t expected to handle situations that required Level 5. Even if one were to fall on his lap, he would still be able to solve it using the upper limits of his Level 4 abilities, so long as he had his team’s support.

In other words, he might never find himself in a situation where he would have to push himself past the Level 5 threshold. Anything of that caliber was better left to those who wouldn’t transform into mindless beasts in exchange for power.

"Level 5, huh..."

His ears twitched and turned around, severing his line of thought. Right after, another one of his teammates entered the living room. He was dressed in loose-fitting clothes, ones that appeared a couple of sizes bigger than him, and had his head covered with a hood that reached down to his eyes

"Hey, Kafka. Can’t sleep?" Wolf asked.

"It’s barely midnight." Kafka was going to add to his statement, but then he sighed. "Anyway. Are you done with your training?"

"Yeah. Just finished."

"Good. There is something I want you to look at."

The hooded man produced a smartphone at tapped the screen a few times. A hologram sprang up from the coffee table, forming a wide screen. On it, a short video began to play. It ended seconds after starting, yet it still managed to capture the heroes’ attention.

"Play it again," Wolf said.

The video showed a confrontation between nine rough-looking individuals and one youth with bright red hair. Going by the background, it appeared like a common scene from one of the poorer neighborhoods, but once the movement started, that impression instantly shattered.

One of the thugs had a bionic arm equipped with a rifle, which he didn’t hesitate to aim at the red-haired youth. Blood splattered the next moment, but it came from another thug whose head was blown to bits.

Seeing the red-haired youth holding onto the extended bionic arm, they realized it was he who had altered the shot’s trajectory so it would hit the other guy. From there, he proceeded to dominate the remaining eight, disarming them while evading everything they threw at him before violently beating them.

Wolf grabbed a remote control and went about studying the footage, rewinding it again and again. Beatrice left him to it for some time then turned to the one who brought it to their attention.

"It’s impressive and all, but..."

Being a hero, she had faced enough cyborgs to know one at first glance. Defeating nine people was an impressive feat, but nothing so mind-blowing that it had to be brought to their attention.

"Don’t tell me he escaped from the police or something..."

"I have already contacted the station that handled the incident," Kafka said. "They confirmed that they had all the perpetrators in custody."

"So? What’s the problem?"

"Well..." Glancing at their white haired friend, he hesitated a little before coming out and saying it. "When I first saw the video, the first thing that came to my mind was-"

"It’s him." Wolf interrupted, his eyes still locked to the floating screen. He had paused on a frame that showed a clear shot of the red-haired youth’s face.

"Are you sure?" Asked Beatrice.

"Yes. I’m completely sure."

Silence filled the room for a while, and Wolf went back to rewinding the video. Beatrice and Kafka exchanged a look, then turned to their white haired teammate. Clearing his throat, Kafka turned away and whispered.

"I know I’m the one who brought it, but..."