The Magician of Sound

After receiving the reward, Kai quickly made his way back home.

Surprisingly, upon entering his house, Michelle was the one who greeted him.

"Hehe… I know you are going to school." Michelle smirked before glancing at Tasha, who suddenly appeared beside her. "Have you done all the paperwork?"

"Yeah. We can use the helicopter anytime since we just need to call one day prior." Kai nodded, telling them the necessary information.

"I already know about it, so you don't need to worry." Michelle pointed her finger to Tasha and smirked. "But she needs some lessons about it. Should I, the great Michelle, teach you?"

"Hmph. If I am going to have someone teach me, it would be Kai." Tasha snorted. 

Kai didn't say anything. Instead, he just threw the guides that he got from Mia. "Just learn everything from here. I have read it on my way here, so I don't need them anymore. It's only about fuel, schedule, and some Standard Operation Procedure. Well, I am the one who needs to deal with them, so you don't need to learn anything."

Even after telling her that she didn't need to read it, Tasha kept the papers, thinking that she could manage a portion of what Kai required to do. Kai already did many things, so it would be better to read them. 

Kai looked at Michelle and Tasha for a few seconds, wondering if he should tell them about the raid mission. He ended up not telling them because the mission itself had yet to be announced officially. Besides, Nathan would surely be the first to inform them.

"By the way, it's almost November. Then, there is your Birthday in December. Do you want anything for a present?" Michelle asked him directly since she was in a dilemma. As a rich girl herself, she could buy practically anything in Kai's mind, but she was afraid that Kai wouldn't be happy with an expensive item. It was better to ask him first and buy them as there was no need to surprise him since by the end of the day, Kai would be able to hear it.

"I don't need anything at the moment. If I can choose, I rather have a quiet month." Kai shrugged.

"Ah, for the mission? Or me?" Michelle asked.

"Mission, of course."

"We can just take a mission at the end of November. We need to take another mission in December, but we usually don't, because it would be hard to fight in the snow. Of course, on some occasions, there would be some battles, but most soldiers usually celebrated the new year in the base peacefully. That's why if we take one at the end of November, we only need to take another one in January if not February." Michelle grinned, trying to beat the system.

"Oh. Let's go with that." Kai nodded in agreement. "We can just take a simple mission."

"Sure." Michelle nodded.

"By the way, have you contacted Ayaka yet?" Tasha asked.

"I have but no reply yet." Kai shrugged. "She must be training or participating in family matters." Kai shrugged. 

"Yeah. You are right." Tasha nodded before walking to the living room and reading the papers.

Meanwhile, Michelle was talking with his mother. 

...

While they were talking about Ayaka, the real person finally opened her eyes after being unconscious for a whole day.

The white ceiling and the reeks of blood jolted her mind as the memory from the previous operation resurfaced in her mind. It was unbearable pain, and she was wondering what kind of person the zodiac was before. 

Kai, the first zodiac, would surely have no prior information or guidance as Professor Ria also didn't know what would happen to him. Evan and Isabelle, at least, had some information even though there was only Kai as the example. There were two other people besides them, and they managed to endure the pain completely.

Ayaka remembered that the last blood that professor Ria injected could calm the berserk of the wildebeest blood. She observed her surroundings and noticed that she was still in the operation room. 

Her entire body was still too weak. Even after struggling to move them, the best thing she could do was moving her finger.

It was two hours later before Ria entered the room. At that time, Ayaka could already move her hand. 

"It seems you are fine…" Ria said with a complicated expression. "Congratulations I guess… You have won the gamble."

"Gamble?" Ayaka asked with a hoarse voice. "What gamble, Professor?"

The answer didn't come immediately as Ria Ross checked her condition, blood pressure, and other things first. After ensuring everything was normal, she grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed. 

"Tell me about your experience first, especially about the part when you couldn't endure it anymore." Ria opened her notebook, preparing to take a note about Ayaka's experience.

Of course, Ayaka knew it would be better to discuss the operation first before going to that idle topic. She thought for a moment and said, "When the first blood entered my body, it was fine as the pain was endurable. The pain suddenly spiked up when they began eating my organs: Heart, Liver, and so on. After that, the second type of blood entered my body and reduced the pain. It was like the blood helped me control the wildebeest blood."

"Hmm…" Ria recorded it on her personal note and stared at it. 

"Professor?" Ayaka tilted her head and called her as the professor began immersing in her own world. 

"Well… there are three types of blood inside your body right now. The first is your human blood. Then the other two were magical beasts blood: Wildebeest and Leafcutter Ant blood. A few days ago, I checked your blood to see the compatibility with the magical beasts while I was training you. At that time, Wildebeest came at the top while Leafcutter Ant came at the third."

"Which blood that came to the second?" Ayaka asked, wondering why she chose the third one instead of the second one. 

"It's Wild Boar's blood." Ria paused for a few seconds. "This blood and Wildebeest blood are very active, so if I inject the Wild Boar's blood into your body, it will create a reaction against the Wildebeest blood. From my hypothesis, it would cause rejection and a high chance of death. That's why I am using the Leafcutter Ant… Leafcutter Ant is a passive magical beast, so it should be able to contain the Wildebeest Blood."

Ayaka was astonished, but she only understood half of them.

Noticing the confusion, Ria continued her explanation. "You should know about Leafcutter Ants before they evolved, right? How would they swarm food with their colonies and could easily be killed? That's the principle I used. With the Wildebeest started taking control of your body, the Leafcutter Ant would get threatened and attack the Wildebeest. After that, you could easily suppress both types of blood."

"I see…" Ayaka sighed before looking at Ria with a serious expression. "Thank you, Professor."

"Don't be too happy yet. You are literally becoming a human with two animal blood inside. There are still too many unknown factors that I need to observe first. That's why you are going to stay at least a month in this place for further observation. We are going to see what kind of power you get too, and with your relationship with Kai, I don't mind helping you to get your new fighting style." Ria shrugged. 

"Ehm… Sorry for doing all of this for me." Ayaka didn't know what to say. Despite all resolves in her heart, she couldn't withstand the pain in operation. 

"No need to beat yourself. You can be considered as one of the Zodiacs right now. As for which zodiac you are, I need to test your ability first and leave the registration of your ability later. For now, don't tell Kai you have become one of the Zodiacs. I am going to tell him myself." Ria sighed, finding the future look bleak.

"I will also tell him at that time. After all, Professor only did this because of my request." Ayaka shook her head and said with determination. Even if Kai would be angry in the near future, she would just use the time for forgiveness.

"What? Are you going to suck up to me with this? Sorry but all your effort would be in vain because I would only take one student in my life." Ria shrugged.

"No…"

"Anyway. Recover first. You should be able to move completely tomorrow, so meet me tomorrow to start our training."

"Understood."

Then, Ria left her for another day before she rechecked her.

By the next day, Ayaka was already walking around while stretching her body. It even astonished Ria Ross.

"How is your condition? Do you find anything about this new ability?" Ria asked.

"Hmm… I don't know what this is, but as soon as I can move my body again, I feel light. In fact, I could move faster. I feel like If I am running right now, I will run through the wall…" Ayaka explained. She was also confused by this sudden change as it felt like it was not real.

"I see. There is an increase in power and speed." Ria took a note.

"Besides, Look at this, Professor." Ayaka suddenly walked toward her bed before lifting the bed with her two hands.

"Hmm…" Ria Ross narrowed her eyes as she didn't sense any magic power. This would mean she had a great increase in strength.

"Alright. Put that bed down, and if you run and destroy my wall or any other things, I would be mad and chase you away. Are we clear?" 

"Yes." 

"Follow me. We are going to check your physical ability."