novelraw Chapter 321: Awakening an Ability
Chapter 321: Awakening an Ability
As the serum entered, Kate felt a cold sensation at where she was being injected. But a few seconds after the injection, she felt nothing.
But this did not last long, as just a few seconds later, she felt heat, originating from where she had been injected. And in the next moment, the heat begins spreading.
It spread too fast, starting at her arm and flooding through her chest, her spine, her skull. Her body reacted before her mind could catch up. Muscles tightened sharply, her back pressing against the chair as her breath hitched.
Her vision blurred for a moment, then snapped back into focus as pain followed the heat.
This type of pain, it was unlike anything that she had ever felt before. It was deep and internal, but she could not exactly tell where she felt the pain.
It was as though she was feeling the pain all over her body, as if everywhere in her body was hurting. At the same time, she felt another sensation, like something inside her was being forced to change shape.
Her fingers clenched against the restraints, tendons standing out as she fought to stay still.
"Try to stay calm, don’t think too much, and try to maintain position. This can help quite a bit," the staff member said, already watching her readings. He then said out loud, obviously addressing someone else other than Kate, "Stabilization in progress."
Kate, upon hearing those words, did not hesitate, as she tried as much as possible to remain calm. And to ensure this, she began thinking about her family, Michael, and her dreams.
At this point, she felt determined, she felt that she had to hold on. No matter what, she could not accept to die. So, she would have to force her way through this, even if she was not supposed to survive.
But while she was thinking about this, to her left, someone suddenly screamed. The scream was so loud and pained, attracting Kate’s attention.
Kate turned her head slightly to see what was happening. Another recruit was jerking violently against the restraints, her body arching unnaturally as the monitors beside her spiked. Her breathing broke into uneven gasps,.
"Hey, hey, look at me," a medic next to her said quickly. "Stay with me. Don’t thrash. You’re going to hurt yourself."
"I c-can’t! I-I can’t!" The recruit stammered a response.
"Yes, you can. Stay with my voice." The technician said encouragingly.
On another side, another technician called out. "Vitals are unstable, pressure’s dropping."
As for the one that was attending to the recruit who was thrashing on the chair, he was already sweating. "Come on... come on..." the medic muttered, watching the screen.
A flat tone sounded. At that, the medic let out a helpless sigh, as he remained silent for a few seconds.
"Time of death, mark it," The lead medic said, having observed the situation from the side.
"Clear the station when you’re ready," he added, before he focused on the other recruits.
"Easy, easy," a technician said to another recruit. "Don’t clench your jaw like that. You’ll crack something."
"It feels like my chest i-" the recruit struggled to respond.
"I know, it’s pressure. Just ride it out." The medic responded as she nodded, then, observing the monitor, she said, "Neural activity’s spiking."
"Still within range," the lead medic replied. "Let it stabilize."
Seeing someone die, in front of their own eyes, it was quite a shock to the recruits. Even though they had already been informed that there was a possibility of death, they found it hard to believe.
But now, seeing one of them die, especially those that were quite familiar with the recruit that had just died, they felt melancholic.
Even Kate, who slept not far away from where that recruit usually slept, they had interacted a few times. While their relationship was not very good, at least, it was at the level of acquaintances.
Regardless, the moment that one of them died, another one was shocked, to the extent that he passed out. And, because he was not able to hold out, just a few seconds later, he also passed away.
A few others were also trying to hold on, understanding that if they did not, they would be next. So, they gritted their teeth, trying to hold on as much as possible.
Kate’s breathing steadied slightly, as she remembered what Michael had told her. Since she trusted him, she decided to let everything go smoothly, without struggling.
The trust that she had in Michael, allowed her to relax completely, not struggling against the sensation, but allowing it to flow smoothly, despite how uncomfortable it felt.
"Good," the technician beside her said As he noticed. Then, he added, "Try to maintain that state, you’re leveling out."
Another flat line sounded in the background, indicating that yet another person had died. This time, this person did not die with much of a commotion, so, Kate had not noticed until she heard the words of the medics.
But despite knowing that someone had died, she did not dare to look over. She just decided to wait until everything was done, before focusing on who had died.
But in her heart, she just hoped that it would not be Lina. At least, the two of them were close, and she did not want Lina to be the unfortunate one.
Kate, while she was trying as much as possible to ignore the sensation that she was feeling, it was impossible to completely ignore it.
She felt the heat inside her surging again, stronger this time. Her pulse hammered heavily against her ribs, but she endured.
At this moment, the lead staff member said, "Proceed with next phase,"
Kate’s body trembled, but the reaction began to settle. The heat pulled inward, compressing, stabilizing. Her breathing slowed by force. The pain dulled into a tight pressure beneath her skin, her monitor steadied.
"Subject stabilizing," the technician beside her noted.
A subtle shift passed through Kate’s body. The tension in her muscles adjusted on its own, correcting balance, redistributing strain, refining itself without conscious effort. It felt as though her body had begun to observe itself, identifying weakness and responding to it in real time.
At the same time, Kate felt that she had awakened some kind of ability. At first, she could not understand what it was, and just knew that there was something that had awakened inside her.
But in the next moment, she felt that she had began to understand what it was. Understanding followed naturally, forming in her mind without confusion.
From what she could tell, it seemed that her body would be capable of adapting. This adaptation would be rapid, in response to what it faced.
Damage would not simply be simply endured, instead, it would be analyzed, processed, and resisted. The more she was exposed to a specific form of harm, the less effective it would become against her.
The implication settled deeper as the sensation stabilized. This was not limited to pain alone.
Impact, pressure, fatigue, even the patterns behind an attack, her body would begin to recognize them, adjust to them, and reduce their effectiveness with each encounter. What threatened her once would not hold the same weight the next time.
Additionally, this ability allowed her body to adapt rapidly to strain, turning repeated overexertion into steady improvement.
Exercises that pushed her past her limits would, after enough exposure, become manageable, then effortless, as her muscles, reflexes, and endurance adjusted to meet the demand.
Over time, this constant adaptation would enhance her strength, flexibility, and agility, allowing her to grow beyond normal physical limits simply by surviving and repeating the stress placed on her.
At the same time, a clear boundary revealed itself. Adaptation required survival. If the damage exceeded what her body could endure before it adjusted, there would be no recovery. The process would end before the adaptation began.
At this point, Kate felt quite emotional. At the same time, she remembered the conversation that she had with Michael a few days ago.
At that time, Michael had asked her, if she was given a chance of getting a supernatural ability, which one would it be?
Back then, she was not sure why Michael was asking her this. Still, she responded honestly, and she mentioned the ability of the body to adapt to circumstances.
This was something that she had only thought about back then when she was training hard, after her father had been killed.
At that time, she was feeling a lot of pressure from the training, which was why she came up with that thought. If there was a possibility of the body quickly adapting to the pressure and strain of the exercises, she would definitely be able to get stronger and faster.
Even when she grew up, since she was still continuously training, she thought, if she could have such an ability, that would be awesome.
And now, based on the information that had suddenly appeared in her subconscious, she understood that she had definitely gotten what she was dreaming of.
And this was the exact ability that he had mentioned to Michael. And considering how Michael had spoken to her confidently, could it be that he was the one who had made this arrangements?
At the thought of this, she was left wondering, just what kind of background did Michael possess? For him to be able to ensure not only her safety, but allow her to gain the ability that she wanted, just who was he?
While she was thinking about this, the medical staff beside her suddenly took action, unlocking the restraints on her.
Feeling that she had been freed, Kate sat up on the chair, before she gazed towards the direction that Lina was in. Here, they had not been assigned the chairs according to the recruit number.
With her heart beating, she looked over, feeling quite nervous about what she was about to see.