NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65: First Version
"So you didn't see anything strange?" asked a man wearing a black uniform, black glasses, and a helmet. He held a rifle in his hands, with two others flanking him.
"Nope," Kael answered casually, as if what happened earlier was nothing more than a passing breeze.
The man stared at him for a moment before turning to his companions.
"This guy's the most suspicious on the list. I think we're done here," he said. "We'll rule it out as an accident. There's no evidence to throw this guy in prison."
His companions nodded in understanding.
"Maybe it was an insect that caused the blur," one of them commented.
"Maybe. But that's normal for surveillance footage. Even a small shake can make something look blurry," the man replied before turning back to Kael.
"My apologies for taking your time. This was just a formal investigation. What happened in the pod has been ruled as an accident," the man in black said.
"No worries." Kael waved his hand dismissively, then pointed toward the nearby Level Up Pods. "So, when are you guys activating the pods again?"
"Maybe in an hour. The center needs to investigate each pod and make sure nothing's wrong," the man replied. "We'll get going. If you're in a hurry, there are some first-version pods at the far end, but their success rates are lower than these newer models."
"That so? Alright then," Kael said.
The trio of black-clad investigators nodded and walked off to continue their work.
Once they were a good distance away, Trey—who had stayed silent the entire time—finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Oh my god, they really didn't suspect a thing!" he whispered in amazement.
"Who do you think I am? I'm the White Prime. Of course they weren't going to suspect a thing," Kael said with smug pride.
Trey, already used to the lunatic claiming to be the long-dead White Prime, dismissed it with a scoff. "Seriously though, how did you manage to malfunction a Level Up Pod? People have tried that before and got caught immediately."
"Because they didn't use their heads. I bet they tried something big. What I did… was small. Literally," Kael said mysteriously, making Trey die of curiosity.
"How?" Trey asked, eyes wide and begging for the answer.
"Using this." Kael pulled out a small box from the bag he was carrying.
"That's… Swarm Screws?" Trey looked even more confused—and curious.
"Let me show you." Kael took out a single, tiny Swarm Screw. Then, using the Drakorite Technique—the Speed Burst Technique—he flicked the screw toward a light in the corner.
Everything happened so fast, Trey barely caught it. All he saw was Kael's hand blur for a millisecond before returning to normal.
Blinking, Trey looked up just in time to see the flickering light fade… and then go out completely.
"You… threw a Swarm Screw… but that's impossible," Trey said in shock, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Impossibility is only for the weak," Kael smirked, placing the box back inside his bag. Showing off from time to time actually felt good. Besides, teaching a few things to Trey was his way of strengthening the kid. Trey was his subordinate now, and he didn't want his subordinate to be weak.
Kael even began considering training him more seriously—but that was a matter for another time.
"So using that… you burst one of the tubes connected to the pod," Trey realized.
People had tried sabotaging pods before, but as Kael had said, their methods were too obvious. Too big. They always got caught. Even if they succeeded, they were apprehended immediately.
"Exactly," Kael said, then waved his hand. "That's enough. I'm heading to the first-version pods."
Trey was snapped back to their real goal, and after hearing Kael's words, he shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. They're shoved all the way at the far end for a reason. No Primer would even consider using them—they're basically just decorations. These first-version Level Up Pods have a low success rate, and they don't have any settings to adjust pain tolerance, bio-mist thickness, Growth Orb overclocking… and a bunch of other features the newer models have. We'd just be wasting our time going there."
"So waiting for an hour won't waste our time?" Kael said as he started walking. "I don't need a success rate. I am the success rate."
Hearing that level of confidence, Trey was left speechless. "God… I wish I was as confident as you," he muttered, trailing after Kael.
A few minutes later, the two arrived at the far end of the Level Up Center. Along the way, they passed fewer and fewer Primers, until eventually, it was just the two of them.
"So this is it," Kael said, stepping up to the nearest Level Up Pod.
The pod looked similar to the new models Kael had seen so far, but the design was bulkier, with exposed wires and circuitry. Although it was clean, just looking at it made it clear—no one had used this thing in years.
There was no Transparent Fluid Tube connecting it to the ground, and with a glance, Kael could tell this old device relied purely on energy and electricity to Level Up a Primer.
"This thing doesn't have bio-mist to help your body during the process. And there's no fluid tube to ease the leveling. It's pure barbaric tech. It'll hurt—really hurt," Trey explained with a serious tone.
No one had touched this machine ever since the newer pods were introduced. The two main reasons it was quickly abandoned: low success rate, and pain. A lot of pain.
Primers were prepared to endure agony to Level Up, but many ended up suffering for nothing—failing to advance despite the effort.
The new Level Up Pods not only gauge the Growth Orb's success rate, but they can also enhance it. If you used a 90% success rate Growth Orb in one of these old machines, the success rate could drop to 70% or even 80%. But in a new pod? That same Orb would rise to 92%–95%.
Obviously, most people chose the better option—even if it meant waiting an hour or more.
But Kael wasn't most people.
"No one's here. That's better," Kael said, scanning the area.
"Are you really sure you're going to use this?" Trey asked, his voice thick with worry. "No one even knows if this thing works. And if it does work, what if it explodes or something?"
"You're overthinking it," Kael said, turning to him. "If the universe wants me to Level Up, then I'll succeed. If not, maybe I'll turn into meat paste. So hand over the Growth Orbs… and wait."
Trey let out a heavy sigh as he handed over the duffel bag. "Here you go. Hopefully, my first teammate won't die because of this stupid pod."
"I won't die—my subordinate," Kael corrected, taking the bag and stepping inside the pod.
"Teammate… we're teammates," Trey muttered, but the lunatic ignored him completely. "Dammit… did I just agree to be his subordinate?"
...
Kael entered the first version of the Level Up Pod. As soon as he stepped inside, he looked around.
The interior resembled a futuristic cocoon, lined with soft, bio-reactive padding that shifted slightly beneath his touch. The walls shimmered with a faint blue glow, embedded with fine circuit veining that flickered as if the pod itself was alive.
On the ceiling, Kael noticed small holes—probably where the pod would release something during the process. Aside from that, everything was sleek and silver-smooth, almost making it hard to believe this was the first version at all.
But maybe that simplicity in design was exactly what made it the first version.
After observing the interior for a few more moments, Kael set the bags down. He pulled out some tools and began inspecting them. With a nod of approval, he confirmed they'd work to modify the Level Up Pod.
As he stood up with the tools in hand, he noticed Trey standing in front of the pod.
"You have to push the button on the side to turn it on," Trey said, pointing at the panel.
"Yeah, yeah, I see it," Kael replied before crouching again and fiddling with something near the base of the pod.
The sound of gears turning echoed from inside, making Trey visibly nervous.
Ten or so minutes later, Kael stood with a smirk. "I think you should step back."
"Oh, I definitely will," Trey said, immediately putting a good dozen steps between himself and the pod. It might've looked a little dramatic, but better safe than sorry—the lunatic had clearly done something to the pod, and Trey didn't want to be nearby if it exploded.
Kael, meanwhile, didn't care whether Trey trusted his skills or not. He was too excited to bother. After packing the tools back into the bag, he pulled out all the Growth Orbs from the duffel.
Eyes gleaming, he was just about to press the button on the side of the glass door when Trey suddenly rushed forward.
"Hey! Hey! Why are you holding all your Growth Orbs?! Don't do that! You'll overload yourself with that much energy! Only input one Orb into the interface!" Trey shouted, then quickly retreated to his former position.
"Yeah, sure," Kael muttered, clearly not taking the warning seriously. He placed the Orbs—both the ones in his hands and the ones from the ground—onto the holographic screen that appeared after he pressed the side button.
Once he double-checked that everything was in place, Kael flashed a wide grin and hit the start icon.
Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from within the pod.