The trainees dispersed shortly after Kashi's declaration of war. Accumulated fatigue from a long week of anticipation and strategizing, combined with the mental exhaustion from the mission took a toll on their young bodies, sending them rushing to their warm beds to recharge before L.N.E's resumption.

All except for Suzuki, who was ushered off to a medical facility for further checkups, with Dr. Yukino personally supervising the examination. She pulled him off to the side for a short word after the checks were complete and no abnormalities found.

Yukino scanned through the files on her tablet as she spoke to the quiet Suzuki. "Your heartbeat's triple the regular rate, and your blood and bone density have doubled since your awakening. A bit weird, but that's par for the course for expert pilots." Smiling, she set down the tablet and looked at Suzuki. "Otherwise, you are pretty normal. Your body's fine, but how about your mind? Is there anything you find different? Please feel free to share your thoughts. It will remain strictly confidential, and your experiences might help us better understand this phenomenon and serve those coming after you."

Suzuki's brows momentarily furrowed. He did not particularly care about confidentiality. He was just unsure how best to answer the question. "I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but I can sense that there's a 'source' for my strength. Like a conviction, for which will suffer consequences if I renege or backslide." Frown deepening, he muttered, "Perhaps its due to my past failure, my 'source' seems to be an intent to 'protect' at any costs. Kashi and I share the same 'source,' but our convictions solidified differently. In my case, my protection method is cutting down whoever is threatening whoever's under my protection. Kashi is a bit different. He's much stronger than I am, so all he needs to do is 'reach' whoever he needs to protect. His body can handle the rest."

"That is quite the detailed description," Yukino praised. "According to our records, it takes a few weeks for most expert pilots to identify and confirm their convictions. You possess an uncanny objective view of yourself."

"Is that impressive?"

"It is a rare trait, at the very least."

"Then I can't take the credit," said Suzuki with a shake of his head. "It's not that I have an objective view of myself. I have an objective view of Kashi, and he has the same for me. It's more like two people who live together, keeping tabs on each other's emotional states. There's nothing impressive about that. The really impressive thing is creating a second objective personality to live in the same body."

"But that—"

"Is not my ability." Suzuki's brows drooped, but not one to dwell on his shortcomings, he shook his head and changed the topic. "That aside, I've noticed I can easily recall a lot of 'useless' information. The number of seconds it takes to ride the elevator from the lobby to this floor, how many overhead lights on the hallway, and the number of spiders I saw outside."

"Improved rote memorization and information processing." Yukino nodded. "That is also normal."

"Will those affect Kashi in-game? Like, make it easier to learn or master skills?"

Yukino's eyes twitched. "Yes. You are really observant, Mato-kun."

Suzuki's brows rose. The woman opposite was smiling, but he felt like a tiger had locked onto him, ready to rip him to shreds if he asked any more questions. Normally, he would not care, but the game was only a few hours away. Kashi would find out everything anyway.

'Hey, don't forget you're in there too!' Kashi's snickers tormented the annoyed youth. 'You're not gonna let my daeben body die, are you? What kind of protector kills off one of his closest charge's lives?'

Suzuki inwardly cursed but chose to ignore the annoying voice. Instead, he looked at Yukino. "If there's nothing else, I'll be returning to my room. I need some sleep."

Yukino glanced at her tablet. Satisfied with the displayed information, she nodded, "You may go. Just remember to report early if you feel any abnormalities. This is not the time for macho sensibilities. Understood?"

"Do not worry, Yukino-san. If it can be avoided, I will never put this body in harm's way." Leaving her with those words, Suzuki left the office and made his way out of the office.

***

A few minutes later, Suzuki gently nodded his head to music blaring in his headphones while seated on a bench in the park. Gazing at the moonless sky, he spoke to the voice in his head.

"Why do you want me in the game? You and I both know that the game will provide an assist AI to control the daeben body if I don't return."

'Yeah, but that's an AI assist. It's not you. Efficiency-wise, do I need to explain the difference?'

"I knew I would regret calling you out to help."

'Heh, but you did anyway. Blame your irrational desire to win no matter the cost."

Suzuki snorted. "We do not share many things, but I'm certain you also have that insane desire to win."

'Perhaps. But that's precisely why we both know you don't have a choice. We need to work together to win. I can't defeat Razznik alone, and you can't fight off the aliens yourself.'

"Aliens..." Suzuki shook his head, testing the unfamiliar familiar word on his tongue. "Don't you find it weird how everyone accepted aliens so easily?"

'Shock, maybe? Or maybe we've fought so many weird things in VR, everyone's desensitized a little to foreign species. A part of us might still be treating this like a difficult raid. The reality won't set in until someone points the business end of a space rifle at our faces."

"Perhaps. But what if it's not a coincidence? Feels like a plot."

'Doesn't change anything. Genaco, in a roundabout way, trained up a bunch of child soldiers well-versed in facing terrible odds. Many will panic when the real thing happens, but enough will retain their training to affect the battlefield. The invasion is definite. Hate to say it, but we owe James for pushing humanity to train, even if disguised as a game.'

Suzuki frowned. "Sending one of their own to prepare a species for examination. What are these aliens thinking? Is there even worth in an examination where the subject has been affected by external stimuli?"

'Heh. That's assuming we're taking everything James said at face value. His existence is proof enough that aliens are real, which implies the invasion stands a high chance of being true. But, there's no proof to the claim that they're doing it as an examination, let alone for our species.'

"True. In the end, what we have to do hasn't changed. We can't risk Su's world." Suzuki's sharpened with strengthened resolve. "I'll help you unite Destia, and you'll help me complete as many missions as it takes to reach ace pilot."

'Ace pilot? Don't you think that's asking a bit much? I got the impression it's the kind of thing that takes years of mastery to reach.'

"Don't care. Taiga and Saeko are close to breaking through. If they can do it, so can we."

"Ha! There's that flavorful Su-chan's arrogance."

Suzuki turned around to see Taiga and the rest of the gang walking toward him. "What're you doing? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Nah." Taiga waved his hand as he hopped over the bench and sat on the backrest beside  Suzuki. "Knew you wouldn't go straight to bed, so we waited for you outside the building."

Suzuki's brow shot up. "So, what? You were stalking me? Why didn't you call out earlier?"

"Your brows were all scrunched up like this." Taiga exaggeratedly pulled his brows together with his fingers. "Didn't want to interrupt you. Heard self-therapy's important for growing kids."

Suzuki rolled his eyes at Taiga's nonsense. Instead, he looked at Jade and Saeko, who sat to his left. "What about you guys? Why did you go along with his insanity?"

Jade chuckled. "Taiga said he had something important to tell us. Seemed worth skipping an hour or two of sleep. Besides, watching him piss you off is worth the price of admission on its own."

Jade's words left Suzuki momentarily speechless. Remembering he was working with a bunch of sociopaths, he shook his head and changed the subject. "Taiga, you said you have something important to talk about. What is it?"

"Yeah," confirmed Taiga. "Has to do with what you were talking about with Kashi. That is Kashi you were talking with, right? You haven't lost what few marbles you've got left?"

Suzuki snorted. "Yes, it was Kashi. You were eavesdropping too?"

"Just kinda overheard." Taiga shamelessly shrugged. "That's not important, though. Want to talk to you all about what it takes to become an expert and an ace pilot. But before that, Sae-chan and I have some confessions to make. It's a bit long, but it'll make future discussions much easier."

Curiosity sparkled in Suzuki's eyes. He had always felt something off from both Taiga and Saeko. Now, he knew it was partly caused by both being expert pilots. But, the question still remained on how they both acquired their status and what did The Examiner mean when he said the other 'fully human' expert pilot was a failure?

"I can see the gears spinning in that head of yours." Taiga chuckled. Fortunately, he was not in the mood to drag things out tonight. "Alright, you should have guessed by now why Genaco prevented Sae-chan and me from participating in the test. As expert pilots, we would have swung the battle too much in our favour for the test to have any meaning. But how did we become expert pilots? That's what I'm going to explain to you guys. First, we'll start with Sae-chan."

Taiga slowly revealed every hidden truth about the power couple with a tight smile. Saeko was James' daughter, which meant she was half-alien. Genaco synthesized a serum from her blood to create the first batch of super soldiers, of which Taiga was a part. He explained how Genaco strengthened them, implanted the chips in his friends, and how it all went wrong.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I awakened on that day," revealed Taiga. "At the time, my only wish was to control my friends' Gladiators to prevent them from attacking me. Thanks to that, my 'conviction' is to control as many beings as possible to prevent tragedies like that from happening again. Unfortunately, I was way too weak to awaken then. Instead of a boon, I severely damaged my brain after the awakening. Right now, it's like it can only take a certain amount of stimuli before overheating and shutting down. Seki-tan's been sticking me in sensory deprivation chambers in induced comas every couple of months to 'destress' my brain, as he calls it." Chuckling, Taiga added with a wry smile, "Doesn't make a lick of sense, but it works. Each time he wakes me up, it's like I've wiped caches from my brain, giving me time to stack a new set of stimuli."

Glancing at Saeko, he said, "Sae-chan's case is a little different. Maybe because of her alien ancestry, she easily awakened as an expert pilot with a devotion to her sword. Her path to ace pilot also seems to be pretty smooth. Gotta say I'm pretty jealous."

The Crazy Heads reacted differently to Taiga's confession. Taki looked down; his expression troubled as he kicked a piece of stone in apparent frustration. Jade stood up and hugged Saeko's pale hands. She could see the fear in the older girl's eyes—the fear that Jade and the rest would reject her. Ayumi did not know what to say, so she just touched Taiga's shoulder. Her father taught her that, in the forces, sometimes a strong hand was better placed than a thousand flowery words.

Unlike the others, Suzuki's eyes narrowed. He had always suspected the duo but never thought their stories would be this tragic. Looking at Taiga, he asked, "What happens if you don't find a way to heal your brain?"

Taiga chuckled. "Are you worried? Don't worry. As long as I don't do anything crazy, I should still have a few years left to haunt your ass."

"What about the coma stuff? Won't that extend your life?"

Taiga's smile dimmed. "Hey, you've played games way more than me, so you should know about the sorry existences that are vampire elders. They sleep hundreds of years to keep the Eternal Sleep away. But, in that time, they miss the rise and fall of their family, friends and countries." Looking at Saeko, he smiled. "I could go to sleep today and wake up in a few months to find out you guys are dead. Maybe a meteor struck the earth, you got sent on a mission, or you caught some incurable disease. You want me to miss all that just so I can live longer?" Shaking his head, he said, "That doesn't help me at all. It'll make you feel a little better cause I'm 'alive,' but it'll be hell for me. Every time I wake up, you all would have changed, and I would have to play catch-up. Nah, that ain't for me."

"Perhaps, but you can't just resign yourself to death," Suzuki argued. "I can't let you die."

Taiga's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Isn't that ironic coming from Mr. Suicide himself? What? Have you changed your mind? You're gonna hang out with us living mortals?"

"I have not changed my mind, but that's not the point." Suzuki paused and then looked at the dense building clusters in the distance. "James is an alien right? His race is apparently immortal. If anyone knows—no, he definitely knows. It's just that he won't tell us how to fix you without some sort of game. Let's go ask him. I'll beat the truth out of him if I have to." Suzuki made to stand up but Taiga grabbed his shoulder, firmly holding him in place.

"Hang on, my shining dark knight," teased Taiga. "We'll go bother James, but that's not why I had y'all stay back. I want to teach you guys the trick to becoming an expert and then an ace pilot." Looking at Suzuki's disapproving frown, he chuckled. "Don't worry; I plan on sharing this info with the other teams too. I just wanted to tell my team first, face-to-face. You won't judge me for that, will you?"

When Suzuki looked away, Taiga smiled and raised a finger. "First, for us humans, we usually break through under high stress, preferably in the midst of combat. You need a strong 'conviction' that will determine your domain after your breakthrough. That 'conviction' will then form the basis of your being going forward. Any action contradicting that 'conviction' weakens your will, slowing your progress. Similarly, actions that reinforce your 'conviction' strengthen your will, boosting your progress."

Pointing at Suzuki, Taiga explained, "Using Su-chan as an example: I got the feeling his conviction is similar to cutting down anything threatening people he cares about. As a result, his 'Will' takes a severe hit if he ever backs down when his people are threatened. Conversely, whenever he saves a friend or cuts down a threat, his 'Will' strengthens. The path to ace pilot is built on continuously strengthening your conviction while improving your combat abilities until you eventually hit the wall."

Pausing, Taiga looked at Jade and Taki. "I hate to say it, but both of you are not suited to become expert pilots. You need to bask yourselves in combat to reach that realm, but neither of you particularly enjoys combat. But you're not without hope. Becoming an expert pilot is not the only way to become stronger." Looking pointedly at Taki, he said, "You guys passed the test. What's your current Clearance Level?"

Realizing Taiga's intention, Taki's eyes widened. He quickly whipped out his phone and checked his profile. "Level 3! We've been upgraded to level 3!"

Taiga smiled. "Good, then you can explain your bullshit 'ego-checking' abilities."

Taki revealed a wry smile, scratching the back of his head as he faced the group's curious gazes. "Alright. I'll explain. First, you all need to understand one thing. Genaco calling King's Journey, and then the first half of L.N.E, tutorials was not to troll us."

Suzuki leaned forward, his gaze frightening. "What do you mean?"

"Yes, well, how do I say this?" Taki took a moment to compose himself, then swore and spat out all at once, "Most of the powers we face in the game are exaggerated versions of their existence in reality. There are people with special abilities in the world hiding in plain sight. And, from what James said, the invading alien forces also likely have such abilities. So, we'll be facing but bullets and 'magic.'"

"...Are you joking?" Suzuki's bros furrowed, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Pointing at himself, Taki confessed, "I'm living proof. I can read 'minds,' but it's more accurate to say I can read 'egos.' Instead of your surface thoughts, I'm able to pry into the true depths of your psyche to know what moves you, what you love, what you hate and all that. It's why I blacked out when we first met. Your ego was like a black hole filled with empty, burning rage. There were no wants or desires. I had never experienced anything like that. It's also why I'm a damn good merchant. It's easier to cut deals when you can gleam a person's inner desires and true nature."

"How did you gain your abilities?" Ayumi asked, her gaze laced with curiosity. "Inherited, genetic experiments or what?"

Taki guiltily glanced at Ayumi. "I got it as a child after Genaco's experiments. I think your blood awakened a dormant gene or something." Looking at the others, he added, "By now you're familiar with the strengthening serums in the Full-Body Drives that make it so we can stay in there for several days and has been increasing our strength, speed and whatnot. The activator is a version of the serum that targets dormant 'mutant' genes. If my guess is right, Genaco will soon release the activator into the Full-Body Virtual Drives. For some reason, expert pilots can't activate the gene, nor can we mutants become expert pilots."

Taki looked at Jade. "You'll find it difficult to become an expert pilot with your disposition, but if you awaken a useful gene, you should still stand out on the battlefield for certain missions."

"So, the reason Genaco didn't release this activator early is so they don't cut off the path for potential expert pilots?" Jade asked, glancing at Suzuki.

"Yeah. There's no guarantee a mutant's ability will be any good, and even among the useful ones, a thousand mutants pale compared to the destructive potential of a single mech, let alone an expert mech. In Genaco's eyes, it is worth delaying the mutant genes to unearth as many potential expert pilots as possible. After the screening is done, they can begin awakening the rest of the world." Remembering a crucial detail, Taki added, "Ah! Not everyone has that dormant gene. From the tests, it's about five per cent of humanity. In comparison, potential Gladiator pilots with the required NS levels number around 0.02% of humanity. Do you understand why Genaco needed to wait to unearth the exceedingly rare mech pilots?"

"Yeah, I understand," Suzuki said. "We'll add this to the list of things to beat out of James. We'll get Jade that serum, work on getting Ayumi to an expert pilot, and find something to heal Taiga." Standing up, he glared at the distant buildings. "If there are no objections, let's get going. Knowing that slippery bastard, James will soon find a reason to run away before we can confront him."

Faced with Suzuki's determined gaze, Taiga's lips curled into a smile. "You know, it's weird. Seeing you like this, I actually think there's a chance we'll make it out of all this." Laughing, he stood up and slapped the young leader's back. "Lead the way, boss. We'll follow you to hell itself."

*****

A/N: Sorry I missed yesterday's upload. Had it prepped early, but forgot after a long ass day. Happy Sunday though. Hope y'all have a special week ahead.

Also, special thanks to our Patreons as always! Could not do this without your support