Chapter 45: The Exceptional Nerd

He watched as the young man directed his attention toward the band before quickly tapping it and turning back to look at him.

"The Boss requests that you follow me," Alvaro said as he rose from the sofa and headed toward one of the doors.

Finally, Arlo was freed from the grasp of the men, although they still had to place one more cup of popcorn into his palms before he quickly entered the elevator with Alvaro.

The door closed with a DIING before shuttling them upward.

"Quite the innocent one, no?" one of the old men behind the sofa said.

He was lanky, with a dark hat on his head and a cigarette burning between the fingers of his left hand.

"Aye, but not for long. He will start realizing a thing or two once he begins going on various missions with the Boss," Pinkie replied, rubbing his nonexistent beard as a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

"You belong to the Prime Class, right?"

The voice gently rang in Arlo’s ears as he followed Alvaro down the long corridor, the only thing waiting for them after exiting the elevator.

"Yes. Captain Ennessa told you that..." Arlo said, already aware that only Ennessa knew.

"No, she did not. She told me to get a suitable cyber sword for you. I guessed you were a Prime Class Awakener from that, and you just confirmed it to me," Alvaro replied, his gaze never once leaving the book he was reading as they arrived at the end of the corridor, right in front of a door with four words written on it:

Apex Techs Cyber Labs.

CLINK.

Stretching his hand forward, Alvaro grabbed the doorknob, which Arlo could swear blinked the instant he touched it.

"Come on in," he said, and Arlo followed him inside, the door automatically shutting behind them.

[An unrecognized visitor has been detected. How would you like to tag this visitor in case of future events?]

"Stranger," Alvaro replied to the AI.

"Record has been kept. The guest will be unable to access the lab without your presence," it replied before going quiet.

’Strange...’

"A sword, you say?" Alvaro’s voice rang out as Arlo looked around the room, where close to a hundred different weapons had been placed all around him.

Although they were clearly made of metal, these weapons were vastly different from anything he had known before.

"I will have to take your weight, hand span, and height so I can get a befitting cyber sword for you, if you do not mind," Alvaro asked politely, and Arlo responded with a shrug.

If Captain Ennessa had asked him to do this, then he had little reason to worry.

Besides, they were gifting him a free sword. Who was he to refuse such an act of benevolence?

"Okay."

In less than three minutes, everything needed was rapidly scanned, after which Arlo was taken to the far end of the room, where a few standalone weapons were displayed: a trident, a large axe, a bow, a shield, a spear, and a sword.

His eyes immediately settled on the sword.

It was pitch black, with a red-lined hilt and an astral gold blade instead of the usual silver-white.

Its tip was shaped somewhat like that of a katana, making it one of the most beautiful swords Arlo had ever seen.

"I think the G-Cut Zero 09 will be a great option."

"Amazing," Arlo called out in pleasant surprise as Alvaro shifted to the side and nudged him forward.

Arlo did not stand on ceremony. He immediately approached the sword, stretched out his hands, and grabbed the hilt.

SLICE.

SLICE.

Powerful slashing sounds echoed through the room as Arlo swung the sword left and right around his body, immediately feeling how naturally it rested within his palms.

"It is very light, making it lightning fast in my hands, and it is also incredibly smooth. It slices through the air without much resistance at all," Arlo listed as Alvaro’s eyes flashed with pride.

"Glad you like it. It is a Grade Two cybernetic weapon, after all. Now grab the sheath over there and come with me," Alvaro said as he turned away.

Arlo hurriedly took the sword’s sheath, properly sheathed the blade, and then ran after Alvaro.

Finally, they arrived at another section of the room, one filled with glass cases containing hundreds of familiar pairs of boots, their metallic sheen reflecting beneath the bright lights.

"I remember these. This is what I wore when that strange metal covered my body," Arlo said, remembering how he had worn one of those things before a strange layer of armor surrounded him.

"It is called a Cybernetic Nanosuit, one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments," Alvaro said with a hint of grandeur in his voice as he tapped the empty space before him.

A holographic display instantly bloomed into existence, revealing thousands of images of different suits alongside cryptic words and symbols.

Alvaro tapped through them with deadly precision until the images disappeared, leaving behind a single picture.

It was a pitch-black battle suit, as dark as the deepest night, with strange splashes of crimson around its chest, shoulders, and knees.

"This is what appears when I input your stats."

"The Viid 01 Cyber Model. A suit equipped with the special ability to increase the speed of your joints, including your shoulders, knees, wrists, and elbows," Alvaro explained before finally tapping the image.

One of the boots within the glass showcase immediately blinked with a red light.

Alvaro walked over, removed the pair from the rack, and placed them directly in front of Arlo.

"Try them out."

Arlo removed his shoes and put on the new pair, and immediately...

WHIIIIRIIIIIING.

The sound of the suit activating rang through the room as thousands of nanobots flashed from the boots and coated Arlo’s body with deadly precision, assembling themselves in a perfectly ordered pattern.

Soon, a true cyber warrior stood before Alvaro, dressed in a demonic-looking suit with his astral gold sword resting in his hand.

"How does it feel?" Alvaro’s voice rang out through the suit’s cyber mask extension, reaching Arlo’s ears with perfect clarity.

A faint smirk appeared on Arlo’s lips as he took a single step forward, and then...

VROOOOOOOM!

A violent ripple of air exploded from where he had been standing as Arlo instantly vanished from sight.

In the next second, he appeared behind Alvaro.

SHRIIIIIIIING...

The sound of his sword being unsheathed rang out with a deadly echo as Arlo slashed toward the young man’s neck.

Shock.

That was all Alvaro could feel.

He was shocked by how devastatingly fast Arlo had been able to move while wearing a cybersuit that should have added to his weight and left him disoriented for some time.

Yet Arlo had vanished, appeared behind him, and unsheathed his blade almost simultaneously.

"Hahaha, perfect it is then," Alvaro murmured with a wide smile, even as the sword moved dangerously close to his neck.

With a speed that appeared incredibly slow to Arlo, Alvaro removed his hands from his pockets. A strange phantom of hundreds of hands followed the motion, and then...

CLAAAAMP!

Two fingers clamped around Arlo’s sword, stopping it dead in its tracks.

Alvaro slowly raised his left leg before smashing it against the ground, creating another ripple that collided with the one Arlo’s movement had formed and effectively canceled it before it could reach the glass cases around the room.

"I will take that as confirmation that the suit is perfect," he said, releasing Arlo’s sword from between his fingers before turning to look at him.

"You blocked my sword with two fingers!?" Arlo asked, completely dumbfounded.

"It really is not much. If you had been a Second Gate expert, I might have been forced to dodge instead. That said, have you activated the suit’s AI?" Alvaro asked.

Arlo sheathed his sword, forcing himself to push aside the thoughts running through his head.

"And how do I do that?"

"Just say, ’Activate,’" Alvaro replied, and Arlo did exactly that.

"Activate."

Instantly, various holographic interfaces appeared before Arlo’s eyes, displaying several options.

"How many options are on the interface?" Alvaro asked from outside.

"Sensory Map, Suit Skill, and Damage Counter," Arlo replied, reading each of them out.

"Good. Those are the functions your AI is capable of."

"Your Sensory Map enables you to detect Vorath locations and lock onto targets within your sensory range."

"Your Suit Skill increases your joint speed, just as I told you before."

"And the Damage Counter tells you how much longer your suit can maintain its defenses before collapsing, similar to a lifespan meter."

"The more damage you take, the more your suit deteriorates, and the Damage Counter simply calculates that for you so you do not get shocked when the suit suddenly powers down during a mission."

"Do you understand?"

Arlo nodded.

"Also, you only need to use your voice commands to interact with the interface, not tap the air."

"Now deactivate the suit," Alvaro ordered.

Arlo ordered the suit to deactivate, and instantly, the nanobots surrounding his body began retracting until they condensed back into the same pair of boots, which he then took off.

"Now you are ready for a mission."

"These are truly impressive works. I wonder if the Xecno Group crafted them all," Arlo said as he looked around the room filled with high-tech gadgets.

He turned to follow Alvaro but noticed that the young man had stopped, rooted to the spot as he gazed at the various devices surrounding them.

"I made them. Every single one."

Arlo’s jaw dropped.

The hundreds of cybernetic nanosuits and the entire arsenal of cyber weapons, from guns to swords and spears, had all been created by this nerdy-looking young man.