Sleep was a luxury few Revenants could afford, even if it could be done during the day; having a snooze during the night brought a different kind of comfort.
It could be that the instinct ingrained in humans as diurnal animals cannot be erased even after death, or that leaving such a routine, done throughout most of their lives, was too hard to depart from without feeling less human.
Since Louis voiced his plans to meet with Davis tomorrow regarding the supplies they will receive and decide whether to embark on an expedition to the Depths, almost everyone tried to catch some rest from what was left of the night.
But Adam sneaked into the gym, Io following along.
He wasn't supposed to, but it's not like he will overdo it… right?
After frustratingly failing at grasping the strength he had before, he now focuses on something more.
*thud*
"Ugh"
'It's easier, but I can't do it the same as before like this…' Adam, after failing to step on air, lay on his back.
Through Ichos, he analyzed how waves traveled through the air and quickly understood something. It's easier to step on air in cool environments. It was more frigid, hence, easier to use as leverage.
The cold night helped him figure it out.
Indeed, and yet, he was failing.
It wasn't that he had forgotten how.
He was just being stubborn about doing more than one thing at once.
"...You know, I thought that whole muscle suit was rad and all, but you can't be trying it when you had Apoz for a few days." Yami entered the gym.
Still lying down, Adam said without looking, "I know that…"
The slime wasn't visible on Adam like it usually is. Not on his wrist, changing shapes like before.
It was under his clothes.
A dark purple liquid, with faint mirages reflecting many colors, slipped out through his sleeves and became a misshapen mannequin, lying on its back just beside its creator.
"Huh," Yami walked around the two figures.
The Apoz clone only resembled a mannequin. Sure, it didn't have defined proportions and muscle groups, but it was great progress for someone who could only make small formations the size of his palm some days ago.
"Well," he looked somewhat surprised, "looks like you have the next step figured out."
The slime took another form, a hand.
Adam's hand. The thumb, index, middle, ring, and little fingers were appropriately replicated. Nails, bending angles, and the creases of the palm were all there. It only lacked a few details, such as skin texture, hair, and veins.
If someone didn't know better, they could mistake it for a sculpture made of obsidian-like material.
"Yup, now that you can control it better and grasp the figures it coats around in your head with better accuracy, you can train more efficiently." Yami inspected the hand.
"Alright." Still lying down, he answered briefly. Adam was still focused on giving more life to the hand replica.
The hand moved to make a fist, but the illusion of a sculpture broke fast. Its movement was too soft and rubbery, making it obvious it had no bones and was a structure made out of slime.
"You know... Ren used to cover rocks and Thorns with Apoz, though I don't know the exact process to make crystal; it involved coating plenty of materials with the slime. Figuring out different structures with it like a new limb and all that."
He smiled, remembering something, "I'm pretty sure I saw him biting them a few times."
"... Oh, involving more senses than just what you can grasp through Apoz!" Adam's eyes light up.
Yami saw the slime take the shape of food and hunting rifles.
'Ain't no way he took that seriously?'
Seeing how concentrated he was on making new forms, the man looked at the other person in the gym.
*swish!*
A relaxed posture that one wouldn't expect her to strike…
*swish.*
The snake-like movement of her arms with a sharp hand shop…
*sw…sh.*
The vibrations- No, the lack of them as her hand smoothly cut through the air…
*s...sh*
An unusual concentrated look in her actions…
Yakumo's… it looked like Yakumo's unassuming posture before smacking Adam.
He had come to spar with Adam since Oliver was trying to tune the piano in the lounge room, but seeing how much he prioritized the mastering of Apoz, his brother's Blood Code, he lost some of his desire.
Now, seeing Io so focused on striking down Yakumo's hand whenever he tried the same thing when Adam attempted to apologize, Yami understood something. He knew it very well, especially after trying to smack Adam before…
'I'd better get out of here!'
Even after he left, Adam remained in his small trance.
Apoz was a unique tool. It was only limited by his control and imagination.
He could barely do shapes before, but now that his skill has improved, he can imitate certain structures. If he has coated anything with the slime, it would make it easier to recreate the item…
If he keeps at it, what if he gets to the point of bonding molecules to make something harder than a diamond? Perhaps, make them so loose that he can Uno reverse what Jack did to him?
A lot of control was required. It needed to become a new part of his body.
But for now, time to improve by coating and recreating items. But not any objects.
Something of more use. Things that could be used for fighting.
Where to find them?
Well, it's easy, really.
There is a treasure trove right at the base.
"Io," He called while getting up, "I'll be going to the workshop," and left the gym.
*...sh*
Rin could be said to be a workaholic on par with Louis, if not more. Even the researcher was resting while the girl headed back into her workshop.
"Wow. Already fixed?" Walking to the vault, Adam saw his Blood Veil and giant sword on the counter outside the entrance. They looked brand new.
Rin was currently submerging Oliver's hammer in a vat of lava.
*TSHhhhh*
"Yup," She answered without turning around, her plain tone growing heavier, "you are lucky to be alive, to be honest."
"... that bad?"
"I haven't seen such damage in equipment like this since I picked up smithing. A cut that clean in a Blood Veil is something even Greater Lost can't do, much less beat it up to that extent.
And your weapon getting such scrapes from a fight that lasted minutes is absurd… it shouldn't even be in such shape after days of expedition."
*TSHhhh*
(•_•) "... Dang, I was sure I had taken a calculated risk."
(ಠ_ಠ) "What's 867 x 90.5?"
(≖⌓≖) "Uhh-"
(ง •̀_•́)ง "Yeah, that's what I thought."
He was speechless for a second.
(ಠ︹ಠ) "Wha- You know that's not fair!"
(ง •̀o •́)ง "The world isn't fair!"
ヾ( •̀ O •́ )ﾉﾞ"Don't try to turn your nonsense into some life lesson!"
<(•◡•)> "Ok, I won't."
*TSHhhhh*
Again, Adam was at a loss for words a second time.
Rin had already gotten back to submerging another weapon in the container of lava.
It appeared that Rin wanted to just chatter for the fun of it, but just dropped it too fast. Her intention was something else.
She turned her head, giving him a deep look, "Just don't take another CaLCulAteD riSk and turn to ash."
Hearing about the difficulties the expedition group went through made her picture a grim situation.
She left the smithing and maintenance until now, since checking up on the somber group came first for her.
But now that she has worked on what Adam had used to fight the Hunter, she understood that it was much worse.
"... I don't know what the future holds." Adam plainly said.
"Not even throwing in a lie?" She snorted at the lack of certainty in the man's words.
Shrugging off her unusual, serious gaze, Adam walked closer to an Ichor container in the workshop. "When are you going to ask me why I'm here?"
She smiled innocently, going back to the attitude that Adam considered normal.
"Don't worry, I know you are here because you miss me-"
"-save the sleep talk until you are sleeping." Adam didn't let her finish and spoke his idea, "I'm thinking of using Apoz to help you with maintenance."
"Oh?"
"It absorbs heat like a sponge in water; it can be a great coolant."
"Uh-huh Uh-huh," She bobbed her head up and down, walking closer to the Ichor container that was about the size of a fridge.
Taking a tube that was connected to a glass container, she said, "Would you mind explaining while restocking the Ichor I spent in fixing your stuff?"
"No way this was all for my equipment…" Adam took the tube, its muzzle having five openings for him to stick his fingers in.
Quickly, he felt the needles cut his skin and readily drain his Ichor into the half-empty container.
His reserves were almost unlimited, so he still wouldn't worry if the container was empty.
"Yes way." Rin began to prepare another container for Adam's Apoz.
Its width and depth were similar to the vat of lava that she used to submerge the weapons in. Only this one was supposed to cool them.
"Anyway, once I master Apoz, I can probably help with-"
Adam explained how the slime worked to the little smithy. With this knowledge, she even gave a few ideas of her own… only after complaining to him about not telling her all this earlier.
Alas, that was for a future project.
The control he possessed at the moment wasn't good enough to bring that vision to life.
"You are right," Rin marveled at the state of a sword inside a machine.
The apparatus's appearance was similar to an MRI, but it was sealed off, and the item inside couldn't be interacted with.
Seeing how pristine the blade was on the display of the machine, she spoke, "This is incredible! Even after absorbing all the heat off that quickly, there are no signs of porosity-"
( ಠ‿ಠ ) "..." Her enthusiastic cheer was suppressed by bewilderment.
Adam, whose two hands were occupied by the two conduits absorbing his ichor, was biting a broken sword.
No, he was munching it.
Like a dog with a chew toy.
What remained of the weapon's shattered blade made it seem like a dagger.
"..."
A hand of Apoz slowly floated towards his mouth and grabbed the sword, freeing his mouth.
"I'm testing something," He justified.
"...The flavor?"
"No."
After the short answer, the broken blade was between his teeth again. The sound of his gnawing filled the empty air that the dumbfounded girl left.
"Ad- You can't just confuse me like that and expect me not to ask anything!"
A hand of slime took the blade out of his mouth again.
"Sure, I can." He bit it down soon after with an smug expression that said, 'Look at what I just did.'
"You-"
While Adam and Rin exchanged words like educated and mature individuals, Io kept training.
Her posture remained the same as it had been the moment she started.
Her body is leaning forward, with slightly bent knees and loose shoulders. Her figure exuded calmness. Laziness, even.
*swish!*
But she struck, recreating the movement she had seen.
*Swish*
And she repeated it again and again.
Though Yakumo's swift smack was done sitting down, upon some reflection, she figured it could be done from a standing position.
*Swish*
It didn't follow the fundamentals he unceasingly instills in Adam; it didn't start from the core, but was merely a simple arm movement.
*swi..sh*
His attack was more of a sleight of hand, a trick.
*swish*
And it was for such a reason that she found it…
*swish* *s…ish* *...wish* *...sh*
Irritating?
Her sore arms hung down from her body. They would need a few seconds of rest. Performing a repeated action hundreds of times without stopping could still affect her, even with the natural regeneration of the BOR Parasite that it gave its user.
In that short moment, she drank a Blood Bead as her muscles soothed.
Rin had always told them that letting the body heal without the use of gifts was better.
Blood Beads were required if a Revenant wished to build their body further after revival. It replaced the nutrition and energy needed to rebuild muscles back stronger when they were once human.
This was one of the reasons thralls couldn't escape enslavement even if their Gifts were strong. The difference between a starving Revenant and another with regular blood intake was almost night and day.
The peaks the strength of a trained Revenant reaches are far too high; in contrast, the valleys a starved Revenant are far too low.
Like a starved child fighting an adult.
'...not ready yet?' Io had to wander since her recovery felt longer than usual.
She began to ponder in the seconds that it took her arms to heal.
It was something she had seen her Successor do a lot. If Rin stopped his training, he would simply muse on his actions and practice making shapes with Apoz.
Io was bound to pick up some habits as she was glued to Adam almost all the time.
What are her actions for?
For Adam.
But he wasn't here…
He left.
Shouldn't she go after him?
'I should.'
Yet, she remained rooted on the spot.
'But I should also improve.' A smug face flashed across her mind.
Yakumo.
Was this annoyance?
'...I don't know.'
There are many things she doesn't know.
What is it that she feels?
'I, also, do not know.'
What exactly is the feeling that this one time makes her stay at the gym instead of leaving with Adam?
If it could be discerned between pleasant and unpleasant, it may be the latter.
She wanted to stay until she could do something about the trick Yakumo pulled. There was another feeling at the idea of being with Adam if she couldn't do anything about it…
Whether this train of thought had any cohesion or not, she readied herself to continue as her arms healed.
Like this, the moon fell, and the sun rose.
The day of the meeting with Davis had come, and everyone was attending, except for a few members of the base.
____________________________________________________________________________
Word Count: 2,409
I will try to explain how advanced the smithing thing is in another one of those "The More You Know" chapters if I get around to making one of those again.