Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

Aleph roughly expected this scenario to happen. Most of the people he met before belonged to the military. They treated him with respect due to the contributions he made. They were clear that his existence saved thousands.

That wasn't the case for civilians and non-combatants.

While most people 'admire' him, there were a select few who spread their doubts, mainly the future of 'super-strong' soldiers.

Will it make a huge rift from normal humans?

Will they abuse their powers given enough time?

Will it be the MANTISes' turn to destroy cities and human life after the Honkai was defeated?

Such doubts could not be eliminated from a short span of time.

Looking at Pardofelis' anxious look, he had an urge to pat her head. Only then did he realize the girl did not have her iconic cat ears and tails yet.

'It's in the gene bank. Her physique is the only problem…'

Not everyone could become a MANTIS. No problems emerged from the first batch as all of them—Aleph, Kevin, Mobius, Sakura—all had trained their bodies. Mobius was an exception due to her earlier operation on herself.

As for the next batch, they were the lower-ranked officers in the frontlines as well as talented civilians.

It was from this point that the problem regarding 'physique' and qualifications arose.

Honkai resistance wasn't a problem as it was something innate. It was tied to both the body and the mind of an individual.

However, the physique wasn't as such.

The only case when someone with an 'untrained physique' succeeded was Mei, and that was her using one of the two 'Gene Stabilizers' Aleph obtained over the entire year.

'The Senzu Bean Project was halted… which was expected. I wonder how far Mobius already got to it…'

Thinking of the remaining 'Gene Stabilizer' he gave to Mobius, he knew it was only a matter of time until she replicated its effect. This situation was akin to a straight-A student having access to the answer sheet. All that was left is to understand why the answers turned out to be like that.

"I heard you received an invitation from Vill-V."

"Ah, yes. I did…"

She meekly took out the invitation card from her pocket. It was one of the few things she kept close to herself.

"She's flashy as always." He commented. "Anyways, you must have heard about the ongoing recruitment. I was hoping you can join."

"Me..?"

Pardofelis became slightly confused. She does not really know why two high-ranking Fire MOTH officers came to recruit her. She did not have anything special to her, or so she thinks.

Aleph saw through her confusion and decided to clear it out.

"You must have heard of the concept of honkai resistance."

"Um. It's one of the requirements for the MANTIS recruitment."

"It's divided into two parts, physical and mental. The former requires the body to counteract… to stop and rein the honkai energy from the body. The latter requires the individual to have a strong will to stop the urge coming from the chosen honkai beast genome… or what others know as the ICHOR. If you can't control the urge, you'll turn into a honkai beast."

"..."

Pardofelis fell silent. This information wasn't included in Fire MOTH's propaganda. It was a deliberate design on their part. They wouldn't hide this knowledge and would gladly explain it to others. Though, it would be downplayed as a "small risk of turning into a honkai beast".

"A kid of your age is playing house and the likes, yet you are here stealing and scavenging supplies for the people inside."

He pointed to the cart behind her, and then to the sanatorium.

"This is why I think you are more than qualified."

"...I understand, Mister Aleph."

A few words passed by until she trotted to the sanatorium. 

On the way, she passed by someone—a familiar acquaintance who safeguarded the sanatorium from bad guys.

The moment she met Kalpas' gaze, she hurriedly evaded it and ran to the courtyard. The latter did not care about it.

'...He's changed.'

Kalpas saw through Aleph's changes in one go. His senses were sharper than Sakura's, thus she was able to see through more things.

If Sakura thought of Aleph as an extremely dangerous person, Kalpas saw him as a 'bottomless abyss'.

It was similar to the analogy of a smart student and his exam. There were students brilliant enough that the only reason they got a perfect score was due to the fact that there was only 'one hundred marks' in it.

Meaning, if the exam was well over a hundred, they would be able to score higher.

Sakura's vision limited her to just that. Only Kalpas, someone who came outside of Earth, saw through more things.

'...A god.'

That thought entered his mind. 

"Well, you must be surprised… by my visit."

A hint of a joking tone was heard from his words.

Kalpas' reactions did not escape from Aleph's eyes. The latter was well-aware of how sharp Kalpas' senses are.

"Do you want to give it a shot?"

Without hesitation, Kalpas' figure blurred. His speed exceeded what most humans could see. The nearby streets and walls cracked under his charge's impact.

Sou-!

Bam-!

Rumble.

A huge shockwave appeared from Kalpas' fist and Aleph's hand. The wind generated went straight to Aleph's face, yet he did not even blink.

The concrete behind him was shattered. A part of the sanatorium's walls crumbled down.

Despite the changes in the surroundings, Kalpas' gaze was met with Aleph's calm look. Unlike before, Aleph blocked it in his base form. He did not need the partial Meta-Morph Activation to withstand Kalpas' blow.

"Happy?"

"...Tsk."

Kalpas' fist was badly broken. He did not hold back from that punch, yet he could not even make Aleph move an inch.

A clump of white light covered Kalpas' fist. Moments later, he found out that he was fully healed.

He looked back and forth between his fist and Aleph.

'...I can't even force out his cards..!'

"That one's free for this time. I might charge you next time, however."

Just like before, Kalpas saw an air of playfulness around him—like how a strong person acts around a weaker foe.

Kalpas hated it.

This translated to his grumpy look outwardly.

"I came here for the three of you." Aleph stated.

"The girl from before? Are you forcing her to fight?!"

"No. I am planning to make her the head of logistics. You know how short-staffed Fire MOTH was right now… and I wouldn't force a child to fight in a dangerous war."

From the way Pardofelis' role emerged in the original timeline, Aleph knew that she must have a knack or two regarding logistics. Add to that her skills as a thief, her abilities are more than enough to serve as a special logistics who deliver 'strategic-level' items to the frontline.

The allocation of logistics made of MANTISes was part of the plan. There were no less than fifteen percent of their supplies lost due to the land and aerial attacks of honkai beast.

At the very least, even the weakest MANTIS could react faster than most humans.

As for Kalpas…

"Are you interested in becoming stronger?"