Legendary Shadow Blacksmith

"You… felt it moving toward you?"

Dr. May found herself completely at a loss as she stared at this handsome man in medieval pants and tunic in front of her, seemingly at a loss as to what to say. But after a few seconds, she turned her attention to her fellow scientist.

"...Did we set the speed right, Takumi-sensei?"

"...Yes," Dr. Takumi looked at his tablet, "It's at 100%, that's the standard speed."

"100%," Dr. May squinted her eyes as she also looked at her tablet, "...Has anyone dodged this on the first try?"

"There's two – the First Soldier, and that famous Otherworld Streamer… Ylrina?"

"This… might just be luck. What did he even mean by he felt it?"

And while the two scientists were discussing about Julian, Julian was just looking at the ball he just dodged; wondering where it came from. He had only gained the ability to see just several minutes ago, and everything just felt weird for him…

…and there was also the fact that it felt like he was feeling even the very air itself.

He had always been sensitive to everything around him, even as a child. He could feel the slightest change in temperature, he could feel the tiniest breeze, and he could hear people whisper – but now, it felt like everything was amplified.

The two scientists did say that his senses were enhanced several times – but now, the air actually felt like he was somewhat underwater; he could feel things fluctuating meters away from him.

…And right now, he could feel another ball shooting toward him from behind.

"He… he was able to dodge that!?" Dr. May could not help but once again express her shock, "I… could understand his senses being a lot higher than the Base level since he was born blind… but that ball literally came from behind him!"

"...Increase the speed to 120%," Dr. Takumi whispered, and Dr. May did not really even hesitate as she tapped her tablet several times. And as she did so, the next ball that shot toward Julian became faster.

But still, like a lint on water, Julian was able to swiftly move away gracefully.

"...140%."

The two continued to increase the speed, perhaps getting a little carried away as Julian continued to dodge the balls being thrown at him — and very soon, the speed doubled…

…and two balls shot toward Julian at the same time.

"!!!" Julian leaned his entire body to the side, and right when the two scientists thought he was going to be hit by the other ball… Julian caught it with his hand.

"What the—holy shit!"

"That was amazing, are you recording that!?"

And while the two scientists were losing their minds, Julian was examining the ball in his hands, "So… this is what a smooth ball looks like. What color is this?"

Julian turned toward the scientists, but alas, they were busy looking at their tablets. Julian had no idea what they were even looking at, but judging from the sound escaping from their curled lips… it probably was not any good.

"How about 400!?"

"Kh!" And as soon as Dr. May said that, Julian quickly grasped his stomach as the ball hit him without mercy.

"Oh… oh crap!" Dr. May could not help but wince as she saw Julian coughing, "We… we got too excited."

But while Dr. May was clasping her hair, Dr. Takumi's already small eyes squinted as he stared at Julian – it may have been brief and incredibly subtle…

…but Julian was actually able to react to the 400% speed.

"This… is amazing," Dr. Takumi could not help but let out a small chuckle.

"I know right!?" Dr. May also smiled, "If only his stream was already online, I imagine his chat would be going wild right about now."

"Excuse me…" Julian, who was finally able to recover from the sudden bazooka hitting him on the stomach, raised his hand to get the scientists' attention, "...What do I do now?"

"We move on to the next test," Dr. Takumi sneakily and subtly pushed Dr. May's arm as the two of them were losing track again, "It's just a simple measure of the explosiveness of your strength – I'm actually quite excited for this one since you're obviously strong judging from the size of your forearms."

"Hm," Julian looked at his arm before looking at Dr. Takumi's arm.

"Okay then, we'll start," Dr. Takumi tapped his tablet several times – and as he was done, a shadow suddenly appeared right at the center of the room. Julian quickly turned his shoulder to see what it was, only for him to see a mannequine.

But of course, Julian did not really know what it was, "That's… not a person?"

"It's a mannequin," Dr. May quickly answered, "Those who are born completely blind live in a completely different world, huh?"

"That's a mannequin?" Julian curiously approached the silver mannequin, "The… color of everything here seems close to each other."

"It's not like this everywhere," Dr. Takumi shook his head, "Sadly, I've already requested the higher-ups to add some color to the space station, but no one really listens to me and they just told me that everything needs to be professional – professional is boring."

"True, true," Dr. May nodded several times.

"Anyway, punch the mannequin with all that you have," Dr. Takumi then casually said.

"Punch it…? It's not a person, right?" Julian carefully started touching the mannequin's face, and as soon as he realized it was smooth, he just let out a small hm and took a step back.

"You can punch it whenever you are–!!!" Dr. Takumi and Dr. May could not help but flinch as a loud snap cracked in the air as Julian just punched the mannequin without any signal or warning at all – the mannequin, completely bending momentarily before standing upright again,

"This is…" Dr. Takumi and Dr. May looked at their tablets at the same time, and as soon as they saw the value of Julian's punch, their eyes started to widen.

"This… easily puts him in the top 10, right?" Dr. May asked.

"It does…" Dr. Takumi took in a small gulp and nodded, "...And that wasn't even a proper form at all. I think we got someone special here, May…

…let's put him on the list."

And while both the doctors were whispering to each other, Julian was just looking at his hands – and as soon as Dr. Takumi saw that, a small and somewhat proud smile crawled on his face.

"Artemia has 5 times the gravity of Earth," Dr. Takumi explained as he approached Julian, "How humanoid life even thrived there, well… it can be attributed to magic."

"Hm…" Julian listened.

"That means that the base strength of your body is around that level too," Dr. Takumi placed his hand on the mannequin, "But of course, in reality, it does not really matter since everything in Artemia, technically, is 5 times heavier too – but of course, in reality, you can grow stronger. And in Artemia, you can grow a whole lot stronger because it has different rules and laws than us. Awesome, right?"

"...I suppose it is?" Julian hummed – he really did not care for any of the increased strength at all, being able to see was enough of an upgrade for him.

"But I would be honest with you, Mr. Winters," Dr. Takumi let out a small groan as he stared at his tablet, "We have been checking your compatibility with your clone through our system... and we have a problem."

"Compatibility...?" Julian almost shook at the word. His entire life, he had always been told he was completely incompatible with all of the transplants and even the cyberwares Earth has to offer, "Don't... tell me I'm also incompatible with my own clone?"

"Oh, that's... not the case at all, I think," Dr. Takumi shook his head as he glanced at Dr. May, "It's just showing ERROR in our system. Usually, by now, it would have at least the value of 70 to 100%...

...but I'm sure it's just that, an error on our side."

"...Hm."

"Anyway, the last test is the most exciting," Dr. Takumi cleared his throat, "We are going to test your mana capacity and your aptitude for magic."

"Okay."

"...But not here," Dr. Takumi chuckled while shaking his head, "The procedure for the final test will be done in Artemia, Mr. Winters. Follow us."

"I finally get to go?" A small hint of excitement crawled on Julian's face as he followed the two out the hallway; his hand, still trailing across the wall since he did not have his cane.

"Most technology are rendered useless in Artemia, Mr. Winters," Dr. Takumi started orienting Julian while they walked, "Their ozone layer destroys almost anything foreign that passes through it. Well, almost everything – that is why we also have to genetically engineer a mix of human and hyum. Our scientists tried entering the planet in the past with their normal human bodies, and well…

…Let us just say it did not turn out well for them."

"But of course, some forms of technology can still pass through the planet's defense system," Dr. May raised her finger, "But that's not really for us to tell you. You are aware of the rules, right?"

"...Sorry, I skipped everything," Julian sighed.

"Well, there's really only one rule," Dr. May turned around and started walking backward so she could look Julian in the eyes, "Never tell the hyum that you are not one of them or that you are from outside the planet. The goal is to properly blend in with them — because Mr. Winters, if they found out you are from Earth… they will kill you in the most horrendous way possible."

"Hm…"

"And that's pretty much the only rule," Dr. May then shrugged as she looked at Julian from head to toe, "But you do need to be careful with your actions since you will be live streaming your entire adventure – I have a feeling you are going to be a popular Otherworld Streamer, Mr. Winters. Ohoho."

"Live streaming…?" Julian's steps halted,

"...You mean people will be watching me?"

"Oh yes…" A small grin crawled on Dr. May's face,

"...We'll all be watching you, Mr. Winters."