''What the hell are these bars?'' Zion asked, a disgusted look on his face as he picked one up.
It looked more like something scraped off the floor than anything edible.
[These are standard nutrient bars made from recycled organic waste,] Uriel answered.
''Organic waste?'' he mumbled, ripping the seal off.
Immediately, a foul stench hit his nose.
The stench nearly made him gag. If his stomach wasn't empty, he probably would've thrown up.
When he bit into it, the taste was just as bad—grainy, bitter, and laced with a sharp chemical bite.
''It feels like I'm chewing on clay,'' Zion mumbled, forcing it down.
After eating five bars, his hunger was finally satisfied.
"For this advancement… does that mean I start unlocking weapons?" Zion asked, slipping a few bars into his uniform.
[Correct. Host will begin syncing with potential Unique weapons.]
'That bastard always bragged about having a unique one,' Zion thought, clenching his fist.
From what he knew, higher-ranking suits created unique weapons as they bonded with their users and after certain breakthroughs.
"Aren't you the AI in my suit? Shouldn't you know what I have?"
[Negative. Host has yet to form any weapons.]
Zion furrowed his brows. 'That's not how I heard it goes…'
''Do I just wish for a sword and it appears?''
[Weapons manifest from within you. You'll know when it happens.]
''Well, let's get this started then,'' Zion said, feeling excitement for the first time in a while.
[Good luck, host,] Uriel said.
Suddenly, everything vanished.
Zion couldn't see, hear, feel, smell, or even taste a thing.
It felt like he was falling through an empty void, like he didn't even exist anymore.
He was left alone with just his memories—and that scared him.
Zion tried to push the unpleasant memories away, but one still slipped through.
Inside the memory, he sat on his knees, tears flowing down his cheeks as he spoke.
''Please, just tell them the truth!'' Zion begged, his voice cracking. ''If you don't, my family and I will die!''
His friend looked away, shaking his head slightly.
''I can't,'' he said emotionlessly.
''Why!'' Zion shouted. ''You wouldn't even suffer any consequences with your talent.''
His friend looked down, his eyes cold.
''Like I said,'' he started. ''I can't damage my reputation this early on in my career.''
That was all he said before two of his other supposed friends dragged him out of the room.
''They'll be here to take you away any second now,'' a beautiful girl with long brown hair said. ''Don't bother trying to talk your way out of this. No one will believe a piece of trash like you.''
His nails dug into his palms as the unfairness hit him again—no one had listened, just because he wasn't talented.
The memory shattered like glass.
A faint hum echoed inside Zion's body, growing louder as it synced with his heartbeat.
He gasped as each sense came back at once. His body ached, but more than that, something felt different.
[Weapon resonance detected,] Uriel announced.
Zion looked down at his hands.
His knuckles tingled as they started transforming.
Pieces of his bones were softly pushed aside without making him feel any real pain.
Then, metal slid out.
A thin black blade, easily five feet long, with the same unknown language he'd seen across the ship engraved along its surface. The markings pulsed a faint blue light as energy flowed through it.
At the same time, he felt his hands start to tingle as black scales slowly spread to cover them.
[Congratulations, host,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head.
"Never do that again without warning me," Zion muttered, still shaken by the memory he'd just relived.
[Noted,] Uriel responded.
Calming himself down, Zion looked at the scale-like armor covering his hands and the black blade extending from his knuckles.
''So, how did it go?'' he asked, swinging his arm around a few times.
[The result was very satisfactory,] Uriel responded, its voice warmer than usual. [Host produced three unique weapons on his first awakening.]
''Three?'' Zion asked, confused after only counting two.
[Correct,] Uriel replied. [The first two are categorized as melee-class and defensive-type. Host will find out more about them through use.]
"What about the third one?" Zion asked, frowning.
[The third is… unconventional,] Uriel answered, pausing for a little too long. [Its data is currently dormant. I cannot access its properties until it fully awakens.]
''What else could I have expected,'' Zion sighed. He wasn't going to complain about it.
'Getting mad over something that minor wouldn't help,' he thought.
At worst, he'd just have to wait until the weapon awakened fully.
'It's not like I can immediately take my revenge anyway.'
Looking around, Zion decided to stay near the food storage to avoid having to walk back and forth whenever he felt hungry.
''Can we get started on the real training now?'' he asked, standing in the corridor outside the storage room.
[Does host wish to enter training mode?] Uriel asked.
Zion gave a small nod, glancing at the sword poking through his knuckles.
[Training mode initializing…]
Slowly, what he saw changed.
He was no longer standing inside the corridor—no, now he stood inside a square room with bright lights.
''So,'' Zion started, looking around. ''What's the plan?''
Before he got a response, a shadowy figure lunged, swinging a sword down at him.
Zion's instincts warned him just in time, making him raise his weapon to block.
''What's this?'' he mumbled, the strength of the figure pushing him back. "This shouldn't be real… why does it feel like I'm actually getting hit?"
Pulling his sword away, Zion quickly stepped back.
The figure, however, quickly followed.
It slashed again, this time toward his legs.
Zion hesitated for a second too long.
The shadowy figure's blade cleaved cleanly through his leg, sending an immensely painful shock through his body.
''What the hell?'' he cursed, stumbling back.
His leg tingled like it had been cut clean off—even though he could still feel it.
Pushing the pain and doubt aside, Zion focused as the figure came at him again.
Instead of blocking head-on, he stepped to the side and swung his blade towards its shoulder.
The figure reacted too late—Zion's blade tore deep into its arm.
He stepped in before the figure could recover and pushed his blade up, cleanly cutting through the rest of its arm.
Finally, he ended it with a rough swing to the head.
[Level 1, complete,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head. [Level 2, engaging.]
The shadowy figure vanished.
A few feet behind, another appeared.
"So that's how it is, huh?" Zion muttered, narrowing his eyes and raising his sword once more.
[Apologies, host,] Uriel said. [This is the most efficient way to strengthen your connection to the suit and improve familiarity with your unique weapons.]