- Oliver -

  As Oliver activated his [Insight], he braced himself for the familiar onsught of information—a torrent of hundreds of thousands of data points flooding his mind. Usually, only a fragment of this flood would linger long enough to grant him a deeper understanding of a system's mechanics or schematics.

  But this time, nothing happened.

  No surge of knowledge. No cascade of images or blueprints fshing before his eyes. His mind remained bnk.

  Oliver found himself standing in utter darkness. He looked around, but his eyes could not penetrate the void. It wasn't just his sight that was dulled—his other senses were also dulled. He felt nothing against his skin—no warmth or chill, not even the pressure of his own weight. The air was devoid of scent, and an oppressive silence swallowed any sound he might have heard.

  Pure emptiness.

  Yet, Oliver didn't have long to ponder this strange sensation.

  Beneath his feet, a gentle light began to glow—not too bright, but enough to illuminate his surroundings. He seemed to be floating in the vastness of space. Below him, thousands of kilometers away, was a pnet entirely shrouded in blue. There were no continents, no patches of nd—just an unbroken expanse of water. It was clear he wasn't looking at Earth.

  The pnet rotated swiftly, its spin unnaturally accelerated, as if he were watching a time pse in fast forward.

  As the blue pnet whirled beneath him, a fleet of resplendent starships emerged from the depths of space. Their elongated, curving forms appeared as if sculpted in stone. Each vessel was a fwless fusion of art and function. Luminous hulls, crafted from interwoven natural fibers, glowed with a golden light that pulsed rhythmically like a heartbeat.

  These delicate and intricate ships glided through the cosmos with astounding grace. Every fiment of their construction vibrated with energy as though they were alive and in harmony with the universe itself.

  As the fleet approached the azure world, it dissolved its tight formation. Surrounding the pnet, each ship took up a unique position, forming a vast network around the globe.

  Gradually, tiny sparks of energy began to dance in front of the ships, forming small orbs that flickered with intense light. With each passing second, these orbs grew rger and rger, their luminescence intensifying as they swelled. Finally, the spheres disintegrated, transforming into monstrous beams that surged toward the pnet below.

  Oliver couldn't see what transpired on the pnet's surface, but he could well imagine the devastation that such pure energy bsts would wreak. The thought of it sent a chill through him, a mix of awe and dread at the sheer power unleashed.

  Suddenly, his vision went dark once more. But just as quickly, the darkness began to lift.

  As his sight adjusted, he found himself at the bottom of a vast ocean. The water around him was murky, shadows obscuring his view beyond a few feet. Yet he could make out figures moving in and out of an enormous temple. Their faces were etched with fear and anxiety.

  They resembled humans in many ways but bore distinct differences: gills fred on their necks, translucent membranes stretched between their fingers and toes, and their skin was composed of snake-like scales with a bluish tint that blended with the surrounding waters.

  This time, Oliver found he could move. Though he felt no ground beneath his feet, he propelled himself forward, entering the temple alongside the frantic beings.

  He couldn't hear their voices—the water seemed to swallow all sound—but their panic was palpable. They darted back and forth in desperation, their movements sharp and urgent.

  Passing through the temple's grand entrance, fnked by towering columns inscribed with glowing runes, Oliver pressed onward.

  At the pinnacle of the temple stood a throne carved from white marble. Seated upon it was a majestic woman of considerable stature, her cascading blue hair flowing over her shoulders.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Oliver recognized her instantly. ‘Athena’, he thought.

  But her expression was unlike any he had seen before. Gone was the stoic serenity he associated with her. Instead, her face was a portrait of pain and agony, eyes filled with a turmoil of emotions. It was as if she longed to act but was restrained by forces beyond her control. Her hands were csped tightly together, knuckles white as she gripped them with fervor, as though sheer willpower might alter their fate.

  She wore her customary armor—a gleaming blue adorned with golden accents—but now it appeared more aggressive, almost primal in design. The edges were sharper, the patterns more intricate, exuding an aura of untamed power.

  In her eyes burned a fierce fury—a terrible, consuming rage that seemed to eclipse all else.

  And then, abruptly, it all vanished.

  Darkness enveloped him once more, but this time, no new visions emerged from the void. Instead, a small notification flickered before him.

  | You have unlocked: Blue Crystal - History [First Part]

  | Your synchronization improved

  | Synchronization Status| ??86% [Excellent]| ??2% [Critical]

  | [Insight] Failed

  | You absorbed too much information.

  | Rolling your penalty…

  Oliver couldn't discern which penalty had been assigned to him.

  His consciousness returned in fragmented pieces as if he were surfacing from the depths of a vast ocean. First came sound—the low, distant hum of electronic equipment, the soft rustling of fabric nearby. Then sensation—a heavy, uncomfortable weight pressing against his chest and a dull throbbing at the base of his skull, as if something within protested his awakening.

  His eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking against the pale, artificial light that washed over the stark white ceiling above him.

  ‘I… I'm awake?’ Oliver thought, scarcely believing that the vivid images had ceased. To verify that he was truly back in reality, he attempted to move a finger, focusing intently on the slightest motion.

  It worked. A flicker of relief sparked within him. Encouraged, he tried to move his head, but a wave of dull pain radiated from the base of his skull, causing a groan to escape his lips before he could suppress it.

  "Damn," he muttered inwardly, wincing at the discomfort.

  It was then he realized he wasn't alone. A blurry figure shifted at the edge of his vision, and a voice—soft and cautious—spoke to him. The words were muffled as though he were still submerged in that haze between sleep and wakefulness. Blinking again, he struggled to anchor himself in the moment. The insistent pounding in his head and the unsettling weight on his chest were his only certainties.

  Gradually, the figure beside him came into focus. It was a young woman he didn't recognize, dressed entirely in white. A brooch bearing the insignia of the Sixth Division was pinned to her uniform.

  "Don't try to move," she advised gently. "You're not yet in a condition to get up."

  "Wh-where am I?" Oliver asked, his voice barely more than a strained whisper.

  "You're in the infirmary of the Sixth Division," the woman replied. "I'm the medical officer on duty. I was doing my rounds when you began to wake up."

  Oliver's gaze drifted around the room. The sterile environment was filled with advanced medical equipment—monitors dispying his vital signs, hovering holographic interfaces, and machines emitting soft glows and rhythmic sounds. Tubes connected his body to various devices, and a lightweight neural cap rested on his head, likely monitoring his brain activity.

  "What… happened?" he mumbled, trying to piece together his fragmented memories.

  "Your instructor found you unconscious this morning," the medic expined gently. "We believe some kind of incident may have caused a head injury. You arrived exhibiting symptoms of a concussion."

  "Oh! How much time has passed?" Oliver pressed, concern edging his tone.

  "A few hours," she replied. "You fainted at some point yesterday and have been here all day." She resumed her routine, checking monitors and adjusting equipment with practiced efficiency.

  Oliver realized there was no need to ask further questions; he figured the system could provide the remaining answers he sought.

  ‘Shit, I've lost an entire day, and to make matters worse, I haven't improved my situation,’ he thought bitterly.

  He still had one st card up his sleeve—an idea that had occurred to him the day before. However, it was perhaps even riskier than using [Insight]. Though it didn't rely on randomness, there was a very real possibility it could blind him or, in the worst-case scenario, even kill him.

  Unfortunately, despite all his determination, he still needed to recover. It took two more days before he could be discharged from the infirmary again. Of his two weeks, only six days remained for him to learn how to control his armor and master the technique for concealing his Energy.

  Like in the previous days, he stayed until no one else was in the room before beginning his tests.

  ‘Finally. Time for another gamble.’

  GCLopes