July 27th 3039 A.D

Augur Research and Development Institute (ARDI),

Central, Kudan.

The Augur Research and Development Institute was a collection of multiple buildings, all dedicated to the scientific miracles that were Augurs, as well as finding numerous ways to increase the life expectancy of those who braved the radiated wastelands in search of resources for the cities. Although by no means the tallest building in Central, the collection of buildings occupied the largest square area of all the structures in the domed city. For a city in which every square inch was viewed as precious, it could be seen just how highly these buildings and the staffs within were viewed by the government.

Despite its massive size, its hallways were always filled with numerous adventurers and Augurs rushing back and forth to get upgrades on either their gear or themselves. Some Radi exchanged the cores they possessed for sterilized versions, which upon ingestion, would either increase their affinity towards certain elements or gain new abilities. Both Radi and Augur could also exchange the points they gained from each level-up to increase their base stats.

Shifting through the mass of people, Dayle made his way towards Building C, which was where the newcomer Augurs were spawned. He winced as someone bumped into his shoulder which still ached from the stabbing of a giant needle. The young man cringed as he recalled the set of needles attached to robotic arms which hung over the operation table. Who knew the stat upgrade would require being stabbed repeatedly? Why couldn't it be like RPG's where your body just gets stronger after allocating the points? Well, maybe that's the consequence of playing a sci-fi game.

Dayle, like everyone else, started the game with ten points in all stats. He gained fifty stat points from the level-ups, of which he allocated twenty to Agility, ten to Strength, ten to Constitution, and the final ten to Dexterity. His 'evolution' added an extra forty points to his constitution, thirty to his strength and twenty to his agility. As such his stats now looked like this:

Dayle clucked his tongue as he examined his stats. Although they looked quite powerful on the surface, he knew he did not have that much of an advantage over other users. For reference, the average user would only have the fifty stat points from the level-ups, of which the most common practice was to allocate the bulk of the points to Constitution, a few to Dexterity, then leaving barely anything for Strength and Agility.

This phenomenon occurred because Constitution was the stat required to don advanced suits. These Suits, capable of jumping several meters in the air and running at speeds approaching the sonic barrier, placed huge strains on the body. A level 1 user donning a suit capable of breaking the sonic barrier would find his body snapped in half when he attempted to sprint. Hence, higher leveled suits required higher Constitution to don. As a bonus however, these Suits came with an added bonus to both Strength and Agility, as well as a protective kinetic barrier. So really, the trade-off was quite fair.

At his current level, Dayle estimated the average suits would have about twenty-thirty strength and fifteen-twenty agility. Those expensive rare ones, however, would likely be approaching Dayle's current Strength and Agility. With their defense and kinetic barriers, they more than made up the ground against the young agent. What's worse, the energy field around Dayle had strengthened from the evolution. As a result, he could not wear most suits as they would short-circuit when worn. Even the regular Radi suits were now a no-go for the young man. If he still wanted to wear a suit, he would need to have one tailor-made, which by the way, was hella expensive. It wasn't all bad though, the trade-off being of course that Dayle didn't need to fear the Radiation and if he ever met any enemy without his/her suit on... hmph!

In the midst of his self-reflection, Dayle finally made his way to the entrance hall of the New Recruits Department. He registered his bio-data at the RV station nearby, then confidently strode to a clerk who sat at the reception. The young lady, probably in her twenties, held a charming smile as she greeted Dayle and asked whom he wanted to see. Upon hearing the name, Dr. Grey, her eyes widened with shock before quickly placing a call to the appropriate office. A short time later, she told Dayle he could take a seat while someone came down to pick him up.

Dayle, meanwhile, had other plans. Since it was clearly a slow night at the office, he decided to hang around and chat with the receptionist while he waited for whoever to come pick him up. Although she was slightly hesitant at first, under Dayle's cajoling, she began to freely chat with him, spilling all the information about herself.

The clerk's name was Tessa Tully, a young twenty-one-year-old woman who had just graduated from the University. Apparently, although she graduated with double degrees in Accounting & Economics, her dream initially was to be an adventurer, rushing out to fight with the RADs and earning big money for her and her brother. She deliberately crushed her dreams, however, when, in her first year, she took the land shuttle across the wastelands to Venoir, the domed city which housed thousands of schools, also known as the City of Scholars.

Along the way, the shuttle was attacked by a rampaging RAD, leading to multiple casualties. They were only saved by a Fireteam who had been tracking the RAD for miles. Even with their superior numbers, the adventurers still lost two of their companions, with a third sacrificing her arm before they were able to take down the beast. Ever since then, the fairy tale fantasy she had of adventurers instantly disappeared. She immediately decided to focus on her studies instead. Even if the pay for an accounting graduate could not be compared to that of an adventurer, she was relatively safer and would not be abandoning her brother for some quick cash.

"Wise choice," Dayle complimented with a grin that hid the heavy shiver that ran down his spine. What the hell!? For a moment there, he had completely forgotten this was a game world! This young lady had memories going back four-five years at the very least. How much of that was simulated, and how much was real? Try as he might, Dayle could not even begin to comprehend. Damn, whoever made this game was a real monster, no question about it. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Tessa as he softly said, "Choosing to sacrifice your personal dreams for someone you love's an admirable trait." Dayle let out a wistful sigh, "I wish I had a big sister who would do the same for me."

Tessa chuckled, eyes sparkling as she said, "It doesn't have to be a big sister does it?"

Dayle met her gaze, a smile suffusing on his lips. "You're totally right," he remarked, leaning over the counter, right hand reaching for her cheek. His eyes, like two burning suns, sparkled with a certain light as he whispered, "A little sister would be nice too."

"Your Sister!" Tessa swatted Dayle's arm as she let out a hearty laugh. "Why does it have to be a sister!?"

Dayle grinned, about to reply when a well-dressed middle aged man suddenly came into view. Upon seeing this middle-aged man, Tessa quickly sat upright, her entire demeanor immediately shifting to that of a serious clerk. "Professor Terry, I didn't think you would be the one to come."

The middle-aged man smiled, stretching old laugh lines on his face. He seemed to be an amiable man, as he only reprimanded Tessa softly, "Be careful little Tess. There are many people who wouldn't overlook what I just saw." He turned from Tessa to Dayle, holding out his hand with a befriending smile. "You must be the Dayle Butcher Ferza spoke of. I'm Professor Terry Osborne, but most people here call me Prof. Didn't think you would be back so soon. I trust you have something good to show us?"

Dayle grabbed the man's hand, appreciating the strong, honest grip with which he was received. You could tell a lot about a man from his handshake alone. From those who were competitive, trying to take the lead, to those who looked down on others, seizing hands by force and exerting their dominance by squeezing harder than others, to those who were naturally subservient, usually only having a meek, weak grip, following the other's lead when they shook his/her hand however they wanted.

This Professor Terry had a strong grip which didn't lose out to Dayle's in any way, which noted his confident nature, but he did not attempt to shake Dayle's hand however he liked, nor did he tighten his grip, which showed the respect he had for the opposite party.

"Naturally," Dayle said as his arm dropped to his side. "I wouldn't have returned otherwise. You guys'll probably freak out with excitement once you see it."

"Haha, this sounds promising," Professor Terry chuckled as he rubbed his palms together. "Well then, this way Mr. Butcher." He gestured to an elevator behind the receptionist.

"See you later lil sis," Dayle joked, to which Tessa responded with a thrown out tongue. Laughing, Dayle followed the Professor into the elevator. Soothing music on the elevator promoted a restful mind, subtly urging the occupants to peruse the informatics on the elevator walls which advertised the latest in bionic prosthetics.

A few seconds later, Dayle, with a new understanding of some of the new bionic arms on the market, followed the Professor off the elevator into a familiar pristine white hallway. Upon seeing the familiar site, he could not help but ask, "Is this..."

"New recruits are on the seventeenth to twentieth floor," Professor Terry replied with a shake of his head. "We are on the fourteenth floor. The fourteenth floor houses the personal labs of some esteemed researchers. Our Dr. Grey is one of them."

Dayle whistled. "So she's a big deal huh. Wouldn't have guessed it from the way she acted."

"Haha, Ferza's not the boasting type," Professor Terry said as he stopped in front of a door. "In fact, if it were not for the fact we are required to personally process a minimum number of recruits every month, she would not step out of her lab." With that, he tapped twice on the door which the immediately slid open of its own accord.

Dayle followed the Professor into the room, nose instantly scrunching up as strong smells of formaldehyde, blood, and sulfur simultaneously assaulted him. While he waited for his nose to acclimatize to the stench, he performed a quick survey of the room.

As expected of a doctor, Dayle could not help but think to himself as he took in the vast arrays of test tubes and vats with unidentified specimens and liquids. On a table was a set which reminded him of the distillery project he once did in a chemistry course in the University. A course which made him decide to switch to the Social Sciences instead. Turning his eyes, he took in the cadaver from which most of the stench was oozing.

It was a large bullrog, a bull-like RAD with massive curved horns which it used to smash transport vehicles and potential predators. Huge plates on its body protected it from most attacks, allowing it to focus on attack without fear. Although it was a pack animal and an herbivore to boot, it was notorious for attacking any being that approached its feeding grounds without restraint. Many adventurers had died when ambushed by a horde of these beasts.

Dayle's gaze turned from the bullrog to the middle-aged woman with a slight frown on her face as she examined the beast's insides, seemingly searching for something. She was so engrossed on her autopsy, she did not seem to notice the blood splatter on her cheekbones and clothes, even less so the two gentlemen who just walked into the room.

Only when Professor Terry coughed did Dr. Grey look up from the cadaver to notice the two men. "Mr. Butcher!" Dr. Grey called, eyes gleaming as she took off her gloves and approached him. "I didn't think we would be meeting again so soon." She sent Professor Terry a grateful nod. "Thanks Prof. Couldn't get myself away from this one."

"It was no problem," Professor Terry assured with a chuckle. "So, did you find out the cause of the abnormality?"

"Abnormality?" Dayle asked, turning from one scientist to the other.

"Yes, yes," Dr. Grey replied, with a worrisome frown. "Lately, there've been reports of unusual activity from several RADs. They've been attacking caravans and outposts with increased frequency recently."

"Couldn't it just be a rare uptick in activity?" Dayle asked. He was no expert, but he knew there were moments when animal activity shot up in the wild, usually spurred on by one natural event or another.

"We thought the same at first," Dr. Grey said. "That changed when a herd of bullrogs stampeded two outposts and a RV station to dust, killing all the guards present." At Dayle's raised brows, she added, "The outposts were miles away from their feeding grounds, neither of which were on their migratory routes. Even stranger, these outposts are far apart from each other. Destroying one is an accident, destroying two's a weird coincidence. But when you add the destruction of an RV, a pattern begins to emerge. I'm trying to figure out what could have sparked such a dramatic change in these beasts."

Dayle's eyes widened as he thought back to the wasps in the tunnels beneath Hasuni. Indeed, those wasps had acted strange, almost subservient to the Vorg. Although he wasn't sure, he could not help but draw a connection between the two incidents. "I might have something that can help," Dayle said as a corpse retriever defragged onto his hand. He explained the events that occurred at Hasuni, not bothering to hide a single thing as he handed the corpse retriever to Dr. Grey, who accepted it with wide eyes.

"A new humanoid species no one has heard of," Dr. Grey exclaimed as she quickly twisted the corpse retriever, causing its contents to materialize onto the table. She studied the dead Vorg, smacking her lips in awe of the magnificent specimen. Indeed corpse-retrievers were the best. They kept the specimen in perfect condition. Even the blood had yet to dry up. "Humanoid female," she muttered as she examined the Vorg. "Tough skin, very dense muscles. A warrior species. Red blood suggests presence of haemoglobin. Likely requires oxygen to breathe. However, its cornea is mostly dark, suggesting they have adapted to living without light." She grabbed a device from a nearby table and held it over some blood.

Dayle's eyes went wide as he saw some circular patterns in the doctor's pupils begin to move, revealing the fact that her eyes were cybernetics.

"Blood does not react negatively to radiation. On the contrary, it seems to propagate cell growth!" Dr. Grey exclaimed with a muffled scream. She looked up from the cadaver to Dayle, an excited gleam in her eyes. "There's even an eighty-five percent correlation between its DNA and that of a human." Voice rising as she went further, she snapped towards the young man, "Dayle, do you have any idea what you just found!?"

"Nope." Dayle shook his head, "But I get the feeling you're gonna tell me."

"Haha, young man your contribution cannot be understated," Professor Terry said with a light chuckle. Although he appeared calm on the outside, the spark in his eyes belied his current excitement. "You found the answer we have been searching for, for so many years. You finally found a road map for the evolution of mankind."

Dayle let out an embarrassing chuckle. "That's a good thing I guess?"

"Good?" Professor Terry could not help but lament the bliss of the simple-minded. "This is beyond 'good!' This is an achievement which could shorten humanity's race for survival on this devastated planet. Can you imagine what we would be able to accomplish if we did not need to fear the Radiation? You tell me if this is a 'good' thing or not?"

"It's a good thing then," Dayle conceded with a sheepish smile. Turning to Dr. Grey, he said with a huge grin, "So, does this qualify me for a date?"

Dr. Grey looked up from the cadaver, eyes wide with shock. Only now did she remember the promise she had made. She regarded the young man with an interested look. Tall, nicely-proportioned muscles, a brilliant, square jawline, and eyes like twin suns. Indeed he wasn't bad looking. A sly grin spread up her lips as she said, "You've raised my expectations kid. You'll have to one-up this if you want to earn that date."

Dayle clucked his tongue. Damn, he shoulda started with something small before revealing the vorg. How the hell was he supposed to top mankind's map for evolution?

As if sensing the young man's distress, Dr. Grey added with a coy grin, "If you can top this, consider me swept off my feet. Who knows, that date might have some added perks."

Like handing a bottle of water to a man who had been stranded in a desert, light instantly returned to Dayle's eyes. A large grin spread on his face as he said, "Well, you're busy Doc. I should leave you to it."

Dr. Grey could not help but roll her eyes at this prime example of shamelessness. She waved him off, chuckling to herself as the young man left the lab. She then turned her eyes back to the vorg, then to the bullrog. "There's a connection between you two. Let's start with seeing if I can find that."

In the hallway outside, Professor Terry bid Dayle goodbye as he quickly made his way to his own lab. He intended to pack up some things and return to Dr. Grey's lab post-haste. This was a huge discovery! He would be damned if he did not take part in it.

Dayle, meanwhile exited the elevator at the lobby, just in time to see Tessa swapping shifts with a handsome young man. Dayle walked up to the young woman, a large grin on his face as he asked, "Getting off?"

"Yeah," Tessa said, eyeing the young man. "Just gonna report to my boss for a moment."

Dayle tucked his hands in his pockets, adopting a carefree attitude. "I'll wait."

Tessa folded her arms, brows burrowing in a mock-frown. "And who said I want you to wait for me?"

"What kinda brother doesn't wait on his little sis?" Dayle asked with a straight face like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

This earned him a well-deserved pinch on his arm from an enraged Tessa. "Who wants to be your little sister!?" Calming herself somewhat, she glanced at the infuriating Dayle through the corners of her eyes. Eventually, she muttered, "I'll be back in a bit. Make sure you wait for me."

Dayle chuckled as he watched her dash off. Looked like tonight would be an eventful one.

!.ߥf

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A/N: Hey Guys! Been a while! For personal reasons which I shall not bore you guys with, I have not been able to access the Internet for quite some time or write for that matter. It's been a tough month, but I pulled through and I'm back stronger than ever. Well, I'm back in school for my final year, which is both a good and bad thing for Parallel. On one hand, I gotta study, so I can't write often, but on the other hand, my school crams all my classes within Monday to Wednesday which gives me Thursdays and Fridays free.

Now, since I'm not the type to be able to study for forty-eight hours straight, I'll be able to put out at least a chapter a week from here on out. Two chapters if I'm really on the level. 

In regards to the main Parallel series, I am pushing it to October so I can finalize some story points I've been working on. haven't put pen to paper yet, but my notepad's filled with random encounters that have been churning in my mind. Just tryna organize 'em all into a coherent line. So, Parallel Vol. 4 will be out in October.

However, in order to put some pressure on myself, I'll put out an actual release date. Let's see October 7th! First Saturday of October.

So, there you have it. The release date for Parallel Vol.4 will be Saturday, October 7th.

Love you guys! Thanks for all the support while I've been gone. Been going through my page and inbox the past two days. Got a lotta replying to do...