About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

86. Sister, why does your staff look so weird?

Not far away, Kal'tsit watched the battle silently, occasionally lowering her head to write something on a piece of paper.

"Kal'tsit, you really care about that new operator."

Doberman, who was standing by, looked at Kal'tsit and said something surprising.

"I don't think gathering intelligence is a sign of 'caring.' Besides—he's just a patient coming to Rhodes Island for treatment of oripathy. As a core member of the Reunion Movement, Dr. Orson won't be an operator we can command."

"If that's the case, then why did you take him through these tests, and why did you keep following him the entire time—even though you had to use your rest time to process the accumulated mission materials afterwards?"

"...Dobin, how is the progress between you and ACE?"

“Pfft—Tutu, why are you suddenly saying this?!”

Du Bin, who was a cold-faced instructor just now, suddenly felt blood rushing to his face and turned red.

"Change the subject."

Kal'tsit responded indifferently, and then filled in the evaluation of "excellent" in the column of Orson's combat skills.

The reason for not giving Orson Excellence is not because Kal'tsit is partial or has some selfish desire, but simply because Orson's body is too fragile, and there is another reason.

Even so, watching "Doctor" defeat Lin Guang head-on in the training room still made Kal'tsit a little dazed.

"Doctor Kal'tsit! Can my combat skills also be rated as excellent?"

After the battle, Orson and Lin Guang greeted each other and then returned to Kal'tsit.

"Put your hand out." Kal'tsit said coldly to Orson.

"Hmm? Are you going to give me a medal—Aaaaaaaaa!!"

"Bear with it. This burn ointment heals the fastest. Apply it evenly yourself. Also, the evaluation result is 'Excellent'."

Kal'tsit squeezed a dot of ointment onto Orson's hand, then turned her eyes to the documents in her hand.

"Eh...why is it excellent?" Orson was a little confused.

"Because—Rhodes Island's operators never fight with 'self-sacrifice' as their guiding principle. The purpose of fighting is to survive, to change something, not to satisfy one's own personal heroism. When you can achieve victory using a combat method that insulates you from injury, I will consider changing your rating. Or, are you so adept at using human lives as pawns that you've even considered yourself a disposable strategic resource?"

"Hmm, I didn't quite understand. Anyway, I'll pay more attention next time. Thank you, Dr. Kelsey."

Kal'tsit mocked the "Doctor", but Orson just looked silly as if he didn't understand. He spread the ointment evenly while thanking Kal'tsit.

"...Ha, time for the final test."

Kal'tsit sighed softly, feeling as if she was punching cotton with all her strength, and was simply making herself uncomfortable.

The final comprehensive test item is [Originium Skill Adaptability]. As the name suggests, it is to test the operator's proficiency in using Originium skills.

Unlike the various fancy training rooms before, this one is an extremely ordinary open space with a structure somewhat similar to a shooting range.

"Rhodes Island's facilities are truly comprehensive... Speaking of which, there are a lot of plow marks here that look like they were left by an excavator. Was that intentional?"

Orson saw some signs of damage around the "shooting range" that looked like it had been caused by a bulldozer.

"No, it was the previous 'Operator' who caused it carelessly. Anyway, it won't affect your test. Instructor Doberman has other things to attend to. You've met the 'instructor' in charge of this assessment before—Amiya."

"Here, Dr. Kelsey!"

Not far away, a pair of rabbit ears trembled, and the petite Rhodes Island public leader, wearing the slightly loose Rhodes Island standard jacket, walked over with a box in his hands, staggering and looking a little labored.

"Because time is running out, I can only collect these staffs——Ugh!?"

Amiya, who was holding a cardboard box that completely blocked her head, suddenly missed a step while speaking, and fell forward with a rabbit-like cry.

"Be careful, Amiya." "Watch your step."

Rest and Mon3tr emerged from behind Orson and Kal'tsit at the same time, protecting Amiya and the box in her hand respectively.

"Sorry... Thank you very much, Dr. Kelsey, Orson."

Amiya nodded to the two of them and placed the cardboard box on the table beside them.

"Anyway, I brought all the staffs I could find. I should be able to measure Orson's adaptability to Originium techniques!"

Amiya took out several staffs of different shapes from the box with great enthusiasm and held them in her hands.

"Uh...how do we measure it specifically?"

Orson looked at the cardboard box, which was filled with wands of various shapes.

"It's simple. Just aim at a distant target and unleash the most basic Originium attack. I'll grade you based on your accuracy, speed, destructive power, and fluency. Just like this."

Amiya raised her palm towards the target in the distance, and the next second, with a loud bang, the farthest target was shattered into pieces.

"...I understand. As expected of Amiya, you're amazing."

Orson blinked and murmured in admiration.

"Hey hey hey...it's okay."

Amiya rubbed her hair awkwardly, then pushed the cardboard box in front of Orson.

"Staves made with different craftsmanship and textures have different effects on guiding Originium skills. Orson, take a look and see if there's a stave here that suits you."

"Okay, then I'll give it a try."

Orson took out a most ordinary staff from the cardboard box, aimed it at the target, and used the Originium technique.

噗

"...?"

The attack did not occur, but instead there was a sound similar to a muffled fart.

"Well, maybe Orson and this staff aren't very compatible. How about trying another one?"

To ease the embarrassment, Amiya handed Orson another staff with a guard and decorations.

"Pfft~"

It was still a muffled fart.

814 The Thirty-year-old Kirin

"..."

After several misfires, Orson took out another staff, and this time it was finally a little different.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of metal biting startled Orson and Amiya.

"This... this sound, this feel—this is a baton, right, Amiya?"

Orson weighed the stick in his hand, which was written as a staff and read as a baton, and looked at the little rabbit.

"Sorry, because Dr. Kal'tsit's notification was so urgent, I brought everything that looked like a staff..."

Amiya bowed her head to apologize. Before Orson could say "It's okay", Kal'tsit stared at him fiercely with a murderous look that told him to "Just tell me it's okay".

"It's okay. This has little to do with the staff. It seems to be my own fault. Whenever I use a 'catalyst', no matter what form it takes, it seems to affect the use of Originium techniques."

While comforting Amiya, Orson took out a "staff" with a strong electric current coming out of the front end. In a sense, this thing is much more useful than a staff.

While Orson was constantly farting with some fancy staff, Kal'tsit was staring at the boy in front of her with a frown as he continued to wave the staff.

——No external Originium can be activated; only the Originium hidden within his body can trigger the use of Originium techniques. What does this mean? Will the Originium outside the body be unconsciously silenced?

[Originium Skill] is [Silent Originium Skill]. This fact itself is bizarre enough, but Orson, who possesses this ability, is not bad at operating Originium Skill at all.

This only shows that "Silence" and "Tuning" are actually two completely different sets of ability systems, but because of the function of the fusion transcription module, they were given to Orson at the same time.

——What on earth are you thinking about... Doctor?

"Hmm? Is this also a staff?"

On the other side, Orson, unwilling to give up, took out a ring from the cardboard box.

"Ah—that was one of the Doctor's old belongings."

Amiya blinked, apologizing for her recklessness.

"Doctor—'s, item—?"

Orson stared at the dense patterns on the ring and suddenly felt dizzy.

"what……?"

The ground suddenly crashed towards him, and Orson was hit before he could react.

"Sudden fainting——The activity rate of the Originium in the body suddenly increased——"

Kal'tsit's voice seemed to come into my ears.

"Krosier, is the infirmary available? Now, immediately!"

What are they talking about?

"Vital signs are unstable, prepare hexamethasone injection—"

[You don't have to bear the fate of saving the world. As long as you survive, that is my salvation... Orson]

Finally, consciousness fell into complete silence.

87. Oh my god, the moment I opened my eyes, I saw the Queen Mother stabbing me!

Well……

In a daze, Orson struggled to open his eyes and found himself lying on an operating table.

Orson noticed that he was surrounded by all kinds of machines whose uses he didn't know, and his body was full of thick and thin tubes.

——What’s going on…?

Although there was a tube in his mouth, which was not sure whether it was an oxygen tube or something else, Orson didn't need it to speak.

"—"

Orson activated the Originium skill, but found that he was now as if silenced. He was completely unable to use the Originium skill, and he couldn't simulate the vocal cords to make any sound.

——By the way, I touched a ring before and then fell unconscious... So is this the Rhodes Island infirmary now?

Slowly recalling what happened before, Orson's first thought was "whether his Originium skill adaptability would be rated as a 'defect' level."

"The infection rate is twice that of a normal person, but the blood itself resists the erosion of Originium... Although it's a Chimera, its situation is somewhat different from Amiya's."

——Kal'tsit?

Kal'tsit's voice was faintly heard not far away. Orson turned his head reluctantly and saw Kal'tsit standing next to the monitor, staring at the screen intently and taking notes.

Unlike her riddles and her extreme behavior when they first met, Kal'tsit, who was observing and recording seriously and occasionally rummaging through medicine bottles for comparison, looked like a real doctor.

"The degree of crystallization in the organs within the body is higher than expected. Does this require radical treatment? But it's possible... huh?"

Kal'tsit seemed to notice the abnormal reading and then came to Orson's bedside.

"..."

Orson still couldn't make a sound, and his limbs were out of control. He could only say, "That's too bad. I'm going to glare at him."

"Have you regained consciousness? It seems your blood is indeed different from others. Ordinary drugs are barely absorbed by your body. It took almost four hours just to anesthetize you and prevent the pain from the surgery from causing sudden death."

Kal'tsit muttered to herself with a clear conscience while checking Orson's pupils, pulse and breathing condition.

——Then what anesthetized me in the end?

Orson thought confusedly, and Kal'tsit guessed Orson's confusion as if she could read his mind.

"We ended up using high-concentration alcohol instead of anaesthetic – and it worked much better than we expected."

——…Ah, I guess I should never touch alcoholic beverages again.

"I need to tell you that your vocal cords are completely destroyed. While it's possible to regenerate them using artificial organs, this surgery can't be performed in Rhodes Island. This is because Rhodes Island's main target is mineral sickness. You won't be able to speak naturally for now, and you won't be able to use Originium techniques to simulate your vocal cords like before—it's an interesting way to use Originium techniques, but now's not the time."

Kal'tsit prepared a tube of reagent, and after confirming that the ingredients of the reagent were correct, she injected it into Orson's vein.

"Under normal circumstances, you shouldn't be awake now, Dr. Orson. This operation is very important and will last a long time, so continue to rest."

"The anesthesia process will now proceed."