135: Ayaka's Condition

Ayaka's Condition

After receiving the reward, Kai quickly made his way back home.1

Surprisingly, upon entering his house, Michelle was the one who greeted him.

"Hehe… I knew you went to school." Michelle smirked before glancing at Tasha, who suddenly appeared beside her. "Have you done all the paperwork?"

"Yeah. We can use the helicopter anytime since we just need to call one day prior," Kai nodded, telling them the necessary information.

"I already know about it, so you don't need to worry." Michelle pointed her finger at Tasha and smirked. "But she needs some lessons about it. Should I, the great Michelle, teach you?"

"Hmph. If I'm going to have someone teach me, it would be Kai." Tasha snorted. 

Kai didn't say anything. Instead, he just threw the guide that he got from Mia. "Just learn everything from there. I've read it on my way here, so I don't need them anymore. It's only about fuel, schedule, and the standard operating procedure. Well, I'm the one who needs to deal with them, so you don't need to learn anything."

Even after telling her that she didn't need to read it, Tasha kept the papers, thinking that she might be able to help manage a portion of what Kai would need to do. Kai already had a lot on his plate, so it would be better to read them. 

Kai looked at Michelle and Tasha for a few seconds, wondering if he should tell them about the raid mission. He ended up not telling them because the mission itself had yet to be announced officially. Besides, Nathan would surely be the first to inform them.

"By the way, it's almost November. Then, there's your birthday in December. Do you want anything for a present?" Michelle asked him directly since she was in a dilemma. As a rich girl herself, she could buy practically anything in Kai's mind, but she was afraid that Kai wouldn't be happy with an expensive item. It was better to ask him first before buying them for him. Besides, there was no need to surprise him since by the end of the day, Kai would be able to hear it.

"I don't need anything at the moment. If I can choose, I'd rather have a quiet month." Kai shrugged.

"Ah, for the mission? Or me?" Michelle asked.

"For the mission, of course."

"We can just take a mission at the end of November. We need to take another mission in December, but we usually don't, because it would be hard to fight in the snow. Of course, on some occasions, there would be some battles, but most soldiers usually celebrate New Year in the base peacefully. That's why if we take one at the end of November, we only need to take another one in January if not February." Michelle grinned, trying to beat the system.

"Oh. Let's go with that." Kai nodded in agreement. "We can just take a simple mission."

"Sure." Michelle nodded.

"By the way, have you contacted Ayaka yet?" Tasha asked.

"I have, but she hasn't replied yet." Kai shrugged. "She must be training or participating in family matters." Kai shrugged. 

"Yeah. You must be right." Tasha nodded before walking to the living room and reading the papers.

Meanwhile, Michelle was talking to his mother. 

...

While they were talking about Ayaka, the real person finally opened her eyes after being unconscious for a whole day.

The white ceiling and the reeks of blood jolted her mind as the memory from the previous operation resurfaced in her mind. It was unbearably painful, and it made her begin to wonder what the first Zodiac had to go through. 

Kai, the first Zodiac, would surely have no prior information or guidance as Professor Ria also didn't know what would happen to him. Evan and Isabelle, at least, had some information even though there was only Kai as an example. There were two other people besides them, and they managed to endure the pain completely.

Ayaka remembered that the last blood that professor Ria injected could calm the berserk of the Wildebeest blood. She observed her surroundings and noticed that she was still in the operation room. 

Her entire body was still too weak. Even after struggling to move them, the best thing she could do was move her fingers a bit.

It wasn't until two hours later that Ria entered the room. At that time, Ayaka could already move her hand. 

"It seems that you're fine…" Ria said with a complicated expression. "Congratulations, I guess… You've won the gamble."

"Gamble?" Ayaka asked with a hoarse voice. "What gamble, Professor?"

The answer didn't come immediately as Ria Ross checked her body condition, blood pressure, and other things first. After ensuring that everything was normal, she grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed. 

"Tell me about your experience first, especially about the part when you couldn't endure it anymore." Ria opened her notebook, preparing to take note of Ayaka's experience.

Of course, Ayaka knew it would be better to discuss the operation first before going to that idle topic. She thought for a moment before describing, "When the first type of blood entered my body, it was fine as the pain was endurable. The pain suddenly spiked up when they began eating my organs: my heart, liver, and so on. After that, the second type of blood entered my body and reduced the pain. It was like the blood helped me control the Wildebeest blood."

"Hmm…" Ria recorded it on her personal note and stared at it. 

"Professor?" Ayaka tilted her head and called her as the professor began immersing in her own world. 

"Well… there are three types of blood inside your body right now. The first is your human blood. The other two are the blood of two magical beasts: Wildebeest and Leafcutter Ant. A few days ago,  I checked your blood to see its compatibility with magical beasts while I was training you. At that time, the Wildebeest came at the top while the Leafcutter Ant came at the third."

"Which blood came second?" Ayaka asked, wondering why she chose the third instead of the second. 

"The Wild Boar." Ria paused for a few seconds. "Its blood and Wildebeest blood are very active, so if I inject the Wild Boar's blood into your body, it will create a reaction against the Wildebeest blood. From my hypothesis, it would cause rejection and a high chance of death. That is why I decided to use the Leafcutter Ant… Leafcutter Ants are passive magical beasts, so theoretically, it should be able to contain the Wildebeest blood."

Ayaka was astonished, but she only understood half of them.

Noticing the confusion, Ria continued her explanation. "You should know about Leafcutter Ants before they evolved, right? How would they swarm food with their colonies and how easily they could be killed? That's the principle I used. When the Wildebeest started taking control of your body, the Leafcutter Ant felt threatened and attacked the Wildebeest. After that, you could easily suppress both types of blood."

"I see…" Ayaka sighed before looking at Ria with a serious expression. "Thank you, Professor."

"Don't be too happy yet. You've literally become a human with the blood of two animals inside you. There are still too many unknown factors that I need to observe first. That's why you are going to stay in this place for at least a month for further observation. We're going to see what kind of power you get too, and with your relationship with Kai, I don't mind helping you get your new fighting style." Ria shrugged. 

"Ehm… I'm sorry you have to do all this for me." Ayaka didn't know what to say. Despite all the resolve in her heart, she couldn't withstand the pain of the operation. 

"No need to beat yourself. You can be considered one of the Zodiacs now. As for which zodiac you are, I'll need to test your abilities first and leave the registration of your abilities later. For now, don't tell Kai that you've become one of the Zodiacs. I'm going to tell him myself." Ria sighed, finding the future looking bleak.

"I will also tell him at that time. After all, Professor only did this because of my request." Ayaka shook her head and said with determination. If Kai were to get angered by her decision in the near future, she would use the time to ask for forgiveness.

"What? Are you going to suck up to me with this? Sorry, but all your effort will be in vain. I'll only take one student in my life." Ria shrugged.

"No…"

"Anyway, go recover first. You should be able to move completely tomorrow, so meet me tomorrow to start our training."

"Understood."

Then, Ria left her for another day before she rechecked her.

By the next day, Ayaka could already walk around and flexibly stretch her body. It even astonished Ria Ross.

"How is your condition? Did you find out about your new abilities?" Ria asked.

"Hmm… I don't know what this is, but as soon as I could move my body again, I felt light. In fact, I could move faster. I feel as though if I run right now, I'll run through the wall…" Ayaka explained. She was also confused by this sudden change as it felt extremely surreal to her.

"I see. There's an increase in power and speed." Ria took a note.

"Besides, look at this, Professor." Ayaka suddenly walked toward her bed before lifting the bed with her two hands.

"Hmm…" Ria Ross narrowed her eyes. She didn't sense any magic power. This would mean that Ayaka had a great increase in strength.

"All right, put that bed down. If you run and destroy my wall or any other things, I won't hesitate to chase you away. Are we clear?" 

"Yes." 

"Follow me. We're going to check your physical ability."

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