NOVEL NEXT Chapter 115: VIRIS' Final Report!
Meanwhile, Bale sat alone in his private monitoring corner, the glow of the holographic screen washing pale light across his face. The room around him hummed softly, machines breathing, cables vibrating faintly beneath metal floors, the VR pods pulsing with residual mana. Steam curled from the cup in his hand, the rich scent of freshly brewed coffee mixing with the cold, sterile air of the control chamber.
He exhaled long and slowly.
"Viris," he murmured, lifting the bracelet slightly, "show me the final report."
A soft beep answered him.
The holographic interface bloomed open like a mechanical flower, petals of blue-white data unfolding into the air. Lines of information streamed past in neat columns until the full report finally pieced itself together before him.
Bale leaned back in his chair, the weight of exhaustion tugging at his eyelids as he read.
The report glowed.
[Virtual Reality Immersive System — FINAL TRIAL SUMMARY REPORT]
[Number 1 Recruit: Bruce Ackerman]
[Total Points Earned: 1,670,897]
…
[Total Deaths in Trial: 98]
[76.53% of all recruit deaths caused directly by Bruce Ackerman]
[Beasts Remaining in Trial World: 0]
[60% of S-Rank and A-Rank beasts slain by Bruce Ackerman]
[Notable Achievement: slew actual S-Rank beast despite A-Rank human baseline]
…
Skill Interaction and Analysis
[Observed Skill: Heal]
[— Shows properties beyond conventional healing.]
[— Demonstrates adaptation, immunity creation, neural enhancement, cellular fortification.]
[— Classified as an "Evolving Ability."]
[— Potentially limitless growth trajectory.]
[Observed Behavior: ???]
[— Healing factor reconstructed into offensive detonations.]
[— Bypasses armor, natural resistances, mana shields.]
[— Extremely lethal.]
[Observed Behavior: Holy Rupture]
[— Restores target to perfect physical state → causes fatal systemic overload.]
[— Possible anti-life property.]
[Mana Pool Observation]
[— Abnormally efficient conservation.]
[— Capable of extended high-intensity combat with negligible depletion.]
…
Combat Analysis
[Close-Combat Aptitude: SSS-Tier]
[— Master-level dodges, parries, and redirection.]
[— Instantaneous style-shifting (Assassin, Berserker, Water-Flow, Phantom-Step).]
[Adaptation Speed: Off-Charts]
[— Gains countermeasures to fatal attacks within seconds.]
[— Adapts to mental, elemental, internal, and external damage.]
[Bloodlust Index: Extreme]
[— Comparable to veteran S-Rank monster hunters.]
[— Crippling psychological pressure on peers.]
[— Possible early-stage Berserker or Predator-type mental awakening.]
…
Behavioral Analysis
[Character Conclusion: Highly Villainous]
[— Displays enjoyment of damage taken.]
[— Unhesitant lethal aggression.]
[— Controlled cruelty and emotional detachment.]
[Social Behavior: Anomalous]
[— Shows tenderness only toward Sophie Reign.]
[— Stable emotional patterns exclusively around her.]
[— Extremely abnormal contrast to violent tendencies.]
...
[Projected Growth Path]
[— Projected to surpass human limits rapidly.]
[— Classified as Anomaly.]
[Viris Suggested Protocol:]
[— DO NOT antagonize.]
[— DO NOT suppress.]
[— DO NOT provoke.]
[— Engage cautiously.]
[— Potential highest-priority asset OR catastrophic danger depending on alignment.]
Bale stared at the shimmering data, his expression tightening with every line he read. He took a slow sip of his coffee, letting the warmth ground him against the chill creeping down his spine.
"…Anomaly," he whispered. "Yeah… no kidding."
His gaze drifted toward Bruce's live VR feed, the boy who had wiped out nearly the entire trial, slaughtered monstrous beasts like vermin, adapted to attacks that should have killed him instantly, tore through hopeless odds as if they were merely inconveniences…
…and yet stood there now, holding Sophie Reign the way a man held the only light in his world.
Bale let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"What the hell are you, kid…?"
He placed the coffee aside, rubbing his temples as the full weight of the report sank into him. Data like this wasn't just alarming, it was unprecedented. Terrifying. Extraordinary.
For the first time in his career, Bale wasn't sure whether the Adventurer Guild had just stumbled upon a world-saving phenomenon…
or accidentally nurtured the birth of a future calamity.
Either way,
He knew one thing with absolute certainty.
Bruce Ackerman was no ordinary Awakened. He would change everything.
If this report ever left the Guild walls, if even a fraction of it leaked into the public, the entire world would tremble. Nations would panic. Guilds would scramble. Every power structure would be forced to reevaluate itself.
As Bale skimmed through the final columns of the hologram, a new line flashed into existence, crisp and quiet in the cold chamber.
[Compatibility with Guild Objectives: 99.9%]
Bale exhaled deeply, leaning back in his chair as the weight of that single number settled on him.
"He's what we need… but being S-Ranked is nowhere near enough to help us with the real problem." His hand tightened around the warm coffee cup. "He has to reach EX as fast as possible."
The bracelet hummed softly. Data shifted, reorganizing, and another chilling line appeared.
[Probability of Global-Scale Success With Bruce's Involvement: 49.9%]
Bale's brows drew together.
"…So it can go both ways."
For a moment he simply stared at the number, letting it sink into him. It wasn't comforting. It wasn't discouraging. It was a knife-edge, perfect balance between salvation and ruin.
Then he remembered the previous simulations.
"Even the SSS-Ranked powerhouses… all combined… only gave a thirty percent chance," he murmured. His fingers tapped the ceramic mug lightly. "This kid alone pushes it to nearly fifty… That's absurd."
Absurd, but undeniable.
His mind churned through the possibilities, calculations, projections, branching futures only someone in his position understood. Bruce's potential wasn't simply high. It was limitless. A healer who broke the very definition of healing. A fighter whose body adapted to anything thrown at it. A mind that sharpened under pressure instead of cracking. Someone who grew stronger every time the world tried to kill him.
An anomaly who could break existence-level restrictions… if he chose to.
"If anyone can do it," Bale whispered, "it's him."
Viris didn't respond.
It didn't have to.
The data itself was an answer.
Bruce Ackerman was many things, an anomaly, a weapon, a miracle, a potential catastrophe waiting for the right trigger. And the Guild, in all its wisdom and desperation, needed him.
Desperately.
Bale lifted his gaze to the massive projection floating above the console. Bruce and Sophie stood together beneath the fading artificial sky, Sophie's head resting softly against his chest, her black hair cascading with a glistening luster against him. Bruce held her with one arm around her waist, the other brushing her back with delicate, almost instinctive tenderness.
The scene looked peaceful, something too gentle to exist in the same trial that had seen so much death.
"…I guess since these two aren't going to fight," Bale muttered, voice too tired to carry annoyance, "and there aren't any beasts left for them to hunt, it makes sense to end the first stage now."