Chapter 7: EGG OF STRENGTH

A week goes on and on and the first day of training begins. That day, when I am studying in my room, Ell comes and takes me away. What intrigued me the most is what excuse will he use to convince my mother like last time. Surely, he can't use the old trick again. Today, I am taken to another room, the inside is still painted in white but it's a bit murky and a bit cramped. There is nothing here but a table, two chairs, and a strange machine that looks like a giant egg. What is in front of me is completely different from what I thought.

“First, You are doing a general physical examination to assess your health condition. So, Catta, please step inside that machine.”

“What is that?”

 “It's called the Egg of Strength. After entering, your body will enter deep sleep, and the machine will make a detailed assessment of your body and ability to use the powers”

I feel a bit suspicious so I do not immediately agree, I hesitantly stare at the strange machine. It seems that this ARXX organization uses machines to select, yes, anyway, the number of members is not too large to be able to divide up to do so many things. But sometimes machines will also malfunction, now I and the people who have to participate in this exercise are no different than white mice to test this device. Ell seems to be using his powers to read my mind, and he replies:

 “Please rest assured, we will ensure your absolute safety. Only when you become an official member of ARXX, do we ask you to sign a pledge of your life. But as I observed from the first round of evaluations, you did not fear for your life. So, what makes you change like that, Catta?"

His words make me uncomfortable. I reply to him in an annoyed voice:

 “I simply don't want to be a test bed for unreliable inventions. Nor is there any proof to me that you and this organization are good people. Who knows, you guys are those aliens and are plotting to turn humans into monsters like that?”

The man hears me say that and smiles, but his smile is not of contempt but amusement.

 “It is also very possible. So why didn't you refuse to join the organization the first time or when I brought you to this organization to apply?"

I am silent for a moment and ask myself. I always ask myself, why did I agree to join such a strange organization? I ask myself the question, but there is none. Maybe I'm in puberty, so I have to make some sudden and bold decisions.

 “If you guys are those monsters, then sooner or later humans will be manipulated by you as well. It's better to inherit the power of monsters, and use that power to overthrow them"

Yes, the stupidest thing is to lend power to the enemy. This is like digging your own grave to bury yourself. I have noticed this through competitions at school, which seems to be the reason why I am not welcome in class. The man pushes up his glasses, his eyes turn in the other direction, he crosses his arms and replies:

 “You are also right. But please look at this” – The man hands me a certificate – “We are given this by the government, this is proof that new members like you trust us more”

I give it back to him. I don't need this to prove anything, just a piece of paper can't confirm anything. I don't believe this even more because he even faked a certificate of merit to trick my mother. But I also don't ask the man to continue to give evidence, because I almost belong to them anyway. To care about these things is nothing more than superfluous.

“How long does a sleep last?” – I ask him.

“Depending on the condition of each person, we cannot give an exact number. About 2 to 5 hours.”

This also means that I am not the first to use this device. Maybe the first members or a few new members used it before me. Thanks to that, I also feel a little more secure.

The man opens the 'Egg of Strength' through the device in his hand. As soon as the glass of the machine is opened, I immediately smell a slightly unpleasant smell. But even so, I decide to go inside and sit on the chair. Surrounded by wires, in front of me is a screen displaying the words "Connecting". He puts a device on my head and puts metal bracelets on my arms and legs.

“Can you mount this on your shoulder?”

He hands me two pieces of metal after I agree, then turns his face away. After I finish equipping it, a strange aura flashes through my body.

 “Are you ready, Catta?”

 "OK!"

The machine closes after a "beep", the inside is covered with red light, and the engine noise is accompanied by white smoke spewing from all sides. I slowly fall into a deep sleep.

Terrible pain and fatigue make it impossible for me to wake up immediately. But now that I have regained consciousness, I feel nothing but pain and heat. The pain tore through me, sending me into a state of half-awake, half-dream. I struggle subconsciously, wanting to get out of my current situation. Right now, my body feels like it's being torn to pieces, and my head feels like it's being pierced by thousands of nails. I am getting more and more exhausted and am almost being dragged into a horrible memory. The image of my mother's contorted face, gritting her teeth, and with a knife in her hand scares me. The knife slowly approaches me with a horrible scream that is almost hoarse, red blood slowly gushes out, a squeal of laughter…

 “AAAA!” I yell and wake up startled.

I open my eyes and find myself lying in the man's arms. Terrified, I push him away and fall to the floor. Look at him with menacing eyes.

“Sorry, Catta. Are you still okay?”

Because I am so tired, I can not say a word, I can’t even stand up on my own. The man sees this and comes over and helps me lean against the wall. I breathe slowly, he slowly wipes my sweat with a towel and gives me a pill and a glass of water. I squint at him. The man explains:

 “You should use this to aid in recovery. It's just a tonic, it's okay"

I don't like taking medicine so I refuse him with an annoyed expression on my face. When I was young, there was a time when I was seriously ill, but my mother was indifferent and didn't care, I took medicine by myself. But it's not a cold medicine, so I was hospitalized for more than a week in a state of delirium. Since then, I have also been obsessed with taking it. The man suddenly squeezes my face with his hand, quickly shoves the pill into my mouth, and slowly gives me water to drink. I gulp in surprise, looking at him puzzled. It's disgusting, why is he forcing me like that? He should have been polite and not touched me… Is he thinking he's superior to me and should have the right to do that?

“You seem to be very upset by this somewhat rude action. But that is the only way for you to recover your strength faster. I'm sorry, Catta"

If he knows that this is rude, why does he still do it? It's terrible… But just like he said, my health is much more stable. Even though I do not really want to, I still have to say thanks to him. It's also a courtesy.

 “The data is still being processed at the moment. There's something quite special about you, Catta. This is the first time someone has encountered the condition while using the Egg. Usually, people just go through a normal sleep. Maybe your power hasn't really been unleashed yet"

A special person? But especially in such a negative way, I don't want to at all. This is the first time someone has told me that. Because my way of life is like a shadow: silently and quietly. Even if I am ranked first or second in school, the number of people who knows me is extremely small. Part of the main reason is that I rarely participate in school and class activities. The only thing I do is study. Yes, just study, that's what my mother always wants.

 “It's sad to be a rather special person of ARXX” – I reply – “It seems that I can do nothing but doubt others?”

The man does not answer, he looks at the device again. Through the reflection in his glasses, I see a pale blue light.

“We have now updated your data. Overall, we find you to be more suited to the use of mental powers. Perhaps, your strength is somewhat similar to mine”

 "Really…? Looks like I can guess that too. I'm not suited to using physical strength. Like when I participated in that evaluation, I was completely exhausted but still couldn't keep up with you"

“But whether you like it or not, you still have to train physically and learn how to use weapons in case your ability reaches its limit”

Perhaps this is also one of the parts I look forward to the most today – a convincing lie. I look at the man and ask:

"So have you come up with a reason yet?"

Ell looks at me, his face a bit bright. Since every time, his eyes are always covered with thick glasses that have not been lost, this is the first time that I have seen this clearly. His eyes are quite sharp but slightly clear, and long eyelashes often droop. In short, his eyes are a bit sad. I'm not good at describing other people, but it seems his eyes are also pretty.

Seeing that I can not get up, he helps me up. He grabs my wrist slowly.

"I am fine thanks!"

"What excuse do you think I will make today?"

"I'm not sure. But I think you won't let my mother down"

The man looks at me and smiles a little, he seems to find this quite amusing as well. But then he replies:

"Your mother will be away today, we have already helped you with your homework. Now I just need to get you home before your mother!"