'Volcan, where is your evaluation?'
When the crimson-haired girl appeared, Dante expected to hear another one of the AI's analyses, yet nothing ca even after she took down the three thugs.
[This person does not show hostility toward you, Dante. For that reason, I did not register her as a threat.] Volcan replied. [If you still want an evaluation, I can perform one now.]
"Um, sir? What about you?"
Dante's left eye twitched. He gave the girl one more look and confird what he already suspected. Long crimson hair and a beautiful face, a well-proportioned body with curves in all the right places. She wore tight black pants, a white shirt, and a cream-colored coat.
And heels. For soone who dashed twenty ters in less than two seconds, her choice of footwear was horrendous. When Dante didn't answer imdiately, she followed it with another question.
"Are you lost, um... sir?"
"Just... stop it." Dante sighed. "What about makes you think I'm a sir? Do I look that old to you?"
"Ah! My apologies! I didn't an to be rude!"
Red colored her cheeks as she turned into a nervous ss. She gave the impression of not being used to talking to strangers, especially ones that don't know who she was. Add to that the expensive clothes and shoes and it becos clear that she ca from wealth.
[Evaluation complete.] Volcan said. [Dante, my analysis concluded that the female human in front of you is a Level 3 Advanced Individual. She likely underwent genetic enhancents that increased her overall physical attributes. Also, there is a high likelihood of her possessing thermal-type attributes and abilities.]
'Level 3!?'
A revelation shocking enough to twist Dante's expression once more, which didn't go unnoticed by the crimson-haired girl. He pinched the bridge of his nose and pretended to have a subtle headache, but only because the pain he felt was far too great to show in front of a stranger.
"A-are you okay?" The girl asked.
"Yeah... it's nothing to worry about." He quickly suppressed his true emotions and wore the appropriate expression for the situation, or he tried, at least. In the end, he still ca across as extrely annoyed. "Listen, miss, I don't want to be rude, but you should probably go ho."
"Eh? Wha-..."
"Whatever it is you ca here to do, I can tell you didn't think this through." Dante ignored her flustered reaction and continued. "This isn't a place people like you can wander around on their own. If you really need sothing from here, at least hire so bodyguards who are familiar with the area. Otherwise, you might get yourself and others into trouble."
Without bothering to say goodbye, Dante turned around and left. He couldn't interrogator unconscious thugs, after all.
"Hey! Wait!"
He ignored the call and continued moving. Thankfully, the girl didn't follow after him. After making sure to put so distance from that alleyway, he decided it was safe enough to stop.
[Would you like to know the current location of that female Enhanced Individual?]
When Volcan asked him that, so of the tension burdening Dante seed to fade.
'Are you sure you can't read my mind?'
[Yes. I am sure.] The AI replied.
'Alright,' Dante smiled to himself. 'Show .'
A small screen appeared on his OAM showing a detailed map of Neo-Vatra before zooming in on a single blue dot. At first, it appeared that he was looking at the default GPS app that cos with the NIM, but when it zood out until a green dot entered the range, Dante understood that it had more to it than just that.
'She's... not going back...' A defeated sigh escaped him. 'Of course she isn't...'
[She seems to be moving away from us. Does that not count?]
'Of course it doesn't..' Dante continued to watch the green dot. 'Sothing tells we'll run into her soon enough...'
Dante gave the map another look and noticed that it had three red dots in a narrow alley a short distance from where he was. Those clearly represented the three thugs that were knocked out by that girl. Just then, an idea ca to him.
'Hey, since you can track practically anyone, can't you do the sa for our target?'
The strange relic kept surprising him with its features so he hoped that it had sothing that could make the search easier. Unfortunately, there was a limit to how convenient sothing could be.
[To track the location of an individual, I have to place a marker on them first.] Said Volcan. [To do that they must enter a range of five ters from you at least once.]
'Ah, I guess that makes sense...'
Closing the projected screen with a thought, Dante stood in silence for a mont then opened a browser. He typed a few words in the search bar and looked for a certain site. A few seconds later, he stopped at a certain article.
{A NEW HERO ENTERS THE SCENE! THE AMAZING FLARE SETS EVIL ABLAZE!!!}
Below the headline was an image showing a woman dressed in a tight jumpsuit descending to the ground with orange flas coating her arms and legs. Though her face was hidden behind a mascaraed mask that matched her black outfit, the bright red hair blowing behind her was a dead giveaway of her true identity.
As Dante stared at the photo, several more popped up on the side along with a number of video clips.
[I have analyzed so of the readily available footage.] Volcan said. [I can say with 80% certainty that the female Enhanced Individual we t and this Flare hero are the sa person.]
'Only 80%?' Dante raised an eyebrow.
[Yes. Without enough data on both individuals, I cannot confirm whether they're the sa person, or if one is a copy of the other.]
'A copy, huh...'
Most lower-level heroes were the cybernetically enhanced kind, but that has been changing recently. There are rumors about Eidolon making a move toward comrcializing their genetic enhancents, and since selling the formulas for their Level 5 Pris was bound to turn into a disaster of epic proportions, they'll be spreading so of the lower-level stuff. The newer heroes are said to be an advertisent of so sort, ant to show potential clients what they could get.
When Volcan revealed that the crimson-haired girl was a Level 3 Advanced EI, Dante instantly made the connection. What should have been a simple gig has taken an abrupt turn. Even though it should have been a complete coincidence, Dante couldn't bring himself to believe that things would go as he had originally expected.
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