《What's lost is found》


 Chapter 1 - Gone, Again

    CHAPTER 1


    ¡°Strays¡± that¡¯s what we are called. Abandoned by humanity to leave outside their domes because of how worthless we are. Various small villages are set-up around the dome in hopes that we may get their empathy and protection. The villages do receive some supplies sometimes but they are mostly unwanted items such as cookers, lamps and occasionally food. I have no parents, I lost them to the first wave of the invasion. But that was 4 years ago when I was only 12. Now I live in a village near the central continent¡¯s mega city which is covered in a metallic dome. As I look from afar, only thoughts of anger and longing come as I look at the city entrance.


    ¡°Cornell, the hell you doing kiddo! Get over here and help me carry this thing.¡±


    The one who called me over was Grokkun, the village¡¯s hunter. We were out scavenging for some food to eat like plants, mushrooms and berries for the village. This is a daily routine that we do everyday for the past year. Although, I still mess up the edible and poisonous mushrooms. It wasn''t much, but enough to feed the whole village which consisted of about 20 people in total. By the time we reached back at the village, it was almost nightfall and the village came together to cook some soup to feed ourselves. As we sat around the Battery with our cookers, Brock the village¡¯s supply runner said,The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Ya know, i just came back from a supply run from the usual depo. N¡¯d guess what i saw, a goddamn ¡°Slayer¡±! They rarely show their faces around the outside yet alone givin out supplies. The hell¡¯s goin on here?¡±


    ¡°Slayer¡±, men and women that fused with the core of the invaders. Giving them powers and abilities that allows them to drive away the invaders. The survival rate of surviving a fusion with the core is below 10% but it¡¯s enough for the officials to test them out on humans they deem worthy. As the night passed, what Brock said about seeing a Slayer was on the back of my mind until I fell asleep.


    *CRAHHH*


    *CRAHHH*


    *CRAHHH*


    ¡°RUN! RUN! RUN!¡±


    I awoke to the loud sounds of crittering, metal grinding and people screaming. These noises were the same as the day i lost my parents. I remember these sounds distinctly. They¡¯re here, the invaders, the ¡°Steel Legion¡±. As i rushed outside to see what¡¯s going on, screams and blood splatter filled my vision, and it dawned onto me¡­


    We are under attack, and we are going to die.

 Alive but...

    Fear filled my head as I saw trails of blood and screaming in the background. Grokkun saw me nearby and ran towards me with a bloodied face.


    ¡°Run! Come on get the hell out of here! The legion is here, we have to head towards the city, maybe the slayers there can help us!¡±


    So we ran as fast as we could. Grokkun took with him the Battery and gave it to me. I looked at him with confusion and asked,


    ¡°What''s this for?¡±


    ¡°If a bug ever comes close, switch this to overdrive and throw it at them. It might be able to injure them or slow them down. Or in the worst case, kill yourself along with it.¡±


    I nodded to his plan. I had nothing to lose at this point, so if I could bring one of them down to hell with me I would be more than happy to die with them. As we were running in the direction of the dome,  I heard Grokkun scream and felt a warm liquid at the back of my head. I quickly turned to see Grokkun pierced in the shoulder by a metal claw and was lifted off the ground by the metal insect. I threw Grokkun the overdriven battery, looked at him and gave him a nod. As the insect opened its mouth to eat Grokkun, he threw the battery in and a large explosion ensued. I flung back and hit my head against a hard object and the last thing I remembered was a green round object landing beside my head before I passed out¡­


    When I awoke, my body was in excruciating pain and I couldn''t get up properly without wobbling. I saw the green object and picked it up to take a closer look at it. As I brought it closer to my face the object opened and flung itself towards my face. I fell on my back and tried to pull it off me. I was weakened by the explosion and the object-turned liquid proceeded to enter my mouth. I could feel it in my throat, lungs, stomach and it was doing something to my body. I could only cry at the pain that my body was going through, the only thought in my mind was that I was going to die becoming a vessel for the birth of another monster. The pain was too unbearable that I could feel my mind becoming more and more hazy and I knew I was going to pass out. So i clutched my stomach while trying my best not to pass out. It was then i heard some people shouting but i couldn¡¯t make out their word properly.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°There ¡­ Someone. We ¡­ kill ¡­ birth of ¡­ monster¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s different¡­ core ¡­ bonded with ¡­ Bring back¡­¡±


    *Just kill me already* I thought to myself.


    And then for a second time, i passed out¡­


    When I awoke, I saw a white ceiling with bright lights. I could feel that I was lying on something soft like a bed. I thought that I had died and this is the afterlife as that was the only explanation for this sense of comfort I was currently feeling. As i sat up from the bed, i saw a big tinted window in front of me with a speaker on top.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake boy. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Where am I? Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Im Doctor Sutr, Director of Science and technology of the Central City Cluster. You¡¯re in our biohazard room. We detected signs of Steel legion¡¯s essence in you and are currently observing your health. Can you tell me what you last remember?¡±


    ¡°I only remember holding a green sphere near my face and it suddenly sprung into my face. Then I only remembered pain and passing out. Why?¡±


    Through the intercom, I could hear chattering and then the doctor said


    ¡°Boy, what the sphere was is a Steel Core. It''s what make Slayers. Considering that it entered your body and you¡¯re still alive could only mean that you¡¯ve assimilated with it. But we will still need to conduct further test to confirm. But for now, Congratulations on becoming a Slayer!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±

 Chapter 3 - start of a new life

    ---


    Chapter 3


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Me, a Slayer? How is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, we detected the legion''s essence inside you, and it''s faint. But it usually means that you''ve become a Slayer. We''ll put you in our training program, but for now, rest up.¡±


    And uh, just like that, I became a Slayer? Wait, but isn''t the process supposed to be more complicated than just absorbing some sphere into my body? More questions than answers popped up in my head. But more importantly, I wondered whether the village people were dead or alive, and how they were doing.


    For the next four days, they conducted various tests on me. My awakening as a Slayer was nothing short of a miracle, seeing as I didn''t take any painkillers or any sort of body conditioning to assimilate with the core. They also gave me a little lesson on cores in general. Apparently, different cores have different attributes such as fire, water, wind, earth, and special.


    I asked them about this special attribute, and they told me that it comes from a range of unspecified abilities such as controlling space, mind, foresight, or time. I belonged to the special attribute, but they didn''t know which one. I had to activate my core to see what it was. Honestly, I was a little excited to see what it was and start a new life. It was like the old me died, and I was reborn anew.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    The day after the tests were finished, I was escorted to the ¡°training facility.¡± Along the way, I saw many things, such as the power plants, deployments of the city cannons, and the area that housed the shield generator underground, which was heavily guarded by Slayers and soldiers alike. And finally, I saw a floating island. Wait, what? A floating island?


    ¡°Hey, um¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, Cornell?¡±


    ¡°What''s that big floating island about? And how''s it floating?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that island is an academy for Slayers. It''s where you will train to use your powers and learn your duty in this new world.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. So, it wasn''t a ¡®training facility,¡¯ but an academy. Would it kill you to just say it''s an academy?¡±


    ¡°Saying it''s a training facility makes it sound more militaristic, doesn''t it? It helps give the people confidence in us and in the Slayers.¡±


    Maybe he has a point.


    We arrived at an airport and took a ship to the floating island. On the way up, they gave me a brief explanation of my life there as a student. Essentially, they would train me with basic survival knowledge, teach me how to hunt the legion, and show me how to use my abilities, as well as augment them.


    ¡°And here we are. Welcome to the academy. An assistant will bring you in and help you settle down. Once your training is over, I''ll come back to find you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Director.¡±


    I waved to him as he went back into the ship. He and the other scientists had treated me well while I was recuperating from my injury and awakening.


    When the ship finally departed, the doors to the academy opened. A silhouette of a woman appeared from beyond the door. Long silver hair and deep blue eyes. My breath was stuck in my throat as I forgot to breathe.


    ¡°Hi, I''m Amelia, your guide at the academy.¡±


    And with that, I took a deep breath and took my first steps toward becoming a Slayer.