Back in the space pocket hideout, Jason stood before an audio-only screen as he reported the findings of his researchers to his boss, before forwarding the actual file to him.
"That should be all, sir." He said with both hands clasped behind him.
[Mm. Have them send the collected cells to me. I'll have my own people take a look at them.] The voice over the audio said, the tone flat and devoid of any emotions.
"Yes, sir. It would be done as soon as possible."
[Good. One more thing… Have you heard of the recent happenings?]
Jason promptly replied, already knowing what his boss was referring to, "Yes, sir. There's been an increase in the appearance of void creatures coming from the veil tears as well as new ones opening in different regions."
[And what do you make of this?] The voice sounded intrigued.
"Well, I'm not sure. But I believe things will be turning chaotic real soon." Jason gave his input and the voice hummed in agreement.
[Exactly. Finding the boy now was a stroke of luck. With his cells, we might gain the ability to shrug off these incoming dangerous times. Continue with your work and keep a lookout for these dangers.]
"Yes, sir." Jason bowed as the secured line went off, ending the call. He returned to his seat and leaned in with a sigh.
"This region is relatively free from the emerging chaos, but things could change at any more. Better to set out protocols just in case."
With that thought, he proceeded to instruct his people to make preparations in the event they had to abandon this place.
Meanwhile, Alex remained calm in his pod, ignoring everything else going on around him. He had heard enough and could deduce what they wanted from him.
'It's time I find a way out of here…' He thought with closed eyes.
His body was growing stronger by the day and from what the doctor said, his body was becoming immune to the drugs keeping him weak and inactive.
'The key is my void core…' He used his senses to delve deeper into his body as he studied the processors ongoing in his system.
Dr. Venley and his team quickly noticed the change and quickly prepared to study him. "Record everything you can. This could be our only chance to see how his unique physiology works."
Their discovery of how Alex's manitoria turned into spinning vortexes gave them a clue to the Class S rank.
They had all heard how biologically different Class S awakened were and this seemed to be the reason behind it.
It pushed them to discover more and maybe also get a chance to break through that barrier once they got there.
First, Alex studied his circulatory system, watching as his energy-charged blood cells travelled through his body. Looking closer, he spotted his nanite storage going with the flow and ignored them.
He turned his senses as he eventually noticed the molecules of the drug his immune system was fighting.
'They swallow them and produce antibodies against them… but that is not all.' He noticed how the produced antibodies would soon change from defence to disregard after a certain amount of time.
The composition of the drug would change but the phenomenon still occurred. At the moment, he had countless combinations of sedative drugs that were now a part of his system and still continue to grow.
'So is my blood becoming a powerful sedative or something?' He found the observation funny and intriguing at the same time. Every time his body adapted, Alex would feel a slight pulse he hadn't noticed before—something even the researchers failed to detect.
The void energy was leading the adaptation and evolving process, incorporating the foreign molecules and identifying them as self.
Time passed as Alex continued to study himself, 'My cells aren't fighting the drugs anymore. It seems to just take it…' He smiled inwardly as he felt his strength returning to him.
But he made no moves and just stayed still, giving the impression that he was still weakened while the researchers continued their studies.
They had isolated the cells needed from his blood and moved on to his body cells and tissues. And their system revealed that Alex was still under the effects of their dosage.
Genome studies revealed no change in his genetic makeup, eliminating the theory of his uniqueness tied to his genes.
The question that the researchers and their patrons asked themselves was: what makes Alexander different?
Moving on, Alex now focused on his void core. Because there was nothing they could do about that energy, the researchers let it be until they found a way for their model to accept the A-cells.
In Alex's body, nearly imperceptible waves of void energy washed over him at all times and Alex eventually learned to control it.
'I see…I can choose to allow the void energy to infuse my body or I can hold it in the core for as long as I wish. Probably the principle behind the aura separation.'
It was a good discovery and like he thought, similar to how he could unleash just mana aura or a combination of both.
'If holding it in is possible, then it means there should be a space within the core where all that energy is being held.'
It was the most logical conclusion as he had come by it before. But he didn't actually attempt to look inside the core as it appeared too small and there was no hole in the middle of his core.
Back when he got his flame abilities, he noticed how his abilities were tainted with colours depicting their nature, and came out of his core when he called for it.
So he dived in and what he saw almost gave him a heart attack. His physical reaction outside caught the attention of the researchers.
They saw Alex's body tremble slightly as if he had been shocked by electrical currents. "Did anyone do something to him?" Dr. Venley asked but received only headshakes.
Alex had remained closed eyes for days now and hadn't reacted to anything done to him. 'What is he doing exactly?'
The researcher would pay good money to know what was going through Alex's head and void core.
Unfortunately…or fortunately, he didn't have that ability.