The Eternal Winter - Book 2 - Chapter 2 - Adjustments

                                                                  Alexander North

“You’re finally awake!!!” whoever’s tackling me shouts before we even hit the ground. But it doesn’t take me long to realize who it is.

“Alexia?” I mutter, only to groan a little as my head hurts.

The girl just holds me in a vicelike grip, not letting go. Although considering how much stronger I seem to be, I don’t really feel it very much.

Hey, terminal? What happened while I was out? And why is Alexia here?

|Unknown. It is recommended to ask the young Frost Infused.|

Frost infused? Oh, right. Alexia became just like me after we touched.

I frown at the thought before shaking my head and sitting up, dragging the girl up a little bit as she refuses to let go of me.

“Alexia? Where are we?” I ask, but the girl just starts sobbing after she hears my voice, surprising me quite a bit in the process.

Uh… did something happen that I’m not aware of? And why is this kid so attached to me?

|It is estimated that the girl feels some sort of familial bond between you and herself.|

I blink at that.

So she thinks of me like a father? That’s…

The girl continues sobbing for who knows how long before eventually falling asleep, not giving me a chance to ask her anything at all. So I just sigh and pick her up in my arms.

Only to end up almost falling with her face first onto the ground, at which point I just put her down next to me and begin trying to train myself in the usage of my new strength again.

This is going to be a pain.

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It takes me two whole hours to finally adjust to my new strength enough to walk around safely. And just to be safe, considering how she was crying earlier, I pick up Alexia and carry her with me. Because I really don’t want her to start crying again just because I’m not around when she wakes up.

Which, of course, takes a bit more adjusting to be able to do. But before long I manage.

She doesn’t weigh very much after all. Although that could also just be my new strength talking.

I leave the room we’re in before quickly realizing that we’re in the very same bunker that I dropped her off in before. Just that it now looks a lot more lived in than before.

Then again, over half a year has passed…

My eyes widen as I realize that Alexia must’ve been alone for half a year.

I look down at the girl in my arms who is wearing a set of damaged armor. But what surprises me is that the armor actually fits her despite her small stature.

How did she get armor fit for a child to wear? Did someone make it custom for her?

I hope so. Because that would mean she wasn’t alone all this time.

After walking around for a little bit to scope out the bunker, I find various different things scattered about the place. Three beds made, with only one of them seeming to be regularly slept in judging by its appearance. Very little food stocked up, which is probably because Alexia is like me now. And I apparently don’t need to eat or drink. Just to absorb energy.

What has me relaxing a little bit though is the signs that more than one person has lived here. Even if it does have me wondering who it might be.

Anyways, I eventually stop in the main living area of the eight or nine room bunker. Which is really more like a small apartment suite than a bunker, the only thing really bunkerlike thing about it being the med-dock area and that the entire area is armored against attack.

I gently place the girl on the couch before sitting next to her and asking out loud, “Show me my body analysis.”

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 10.02
Agility: 10.83
Reflexes: 10.25
Constitution: 10.21
Immunity: ???
Senses: 10.29
Energy: 26.1/26.1

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

My jaw drops open at the sight of stats stronger than a Tier 3 symbiont host.

“Holy shit…” I mutter after a few seconds before noticing a fluctuation in the energy in my body. As if the energy is reacting to my emotions.

I blink at that.

Terminal, you mentioned something about the energy leaking into my body, right? But wouldn’t that mean that my energy was being stored somewhere else before? Where was that?

|Prior to the merge, the energy in your body was being stored in your artificial heart.|

Wait, really? But wouldn’t that hurt my artificial heart? How is it still working?

|The merge turned your artificial heart into a biological part of your body.|

I stare ahead for a few seconds while opening and closing my mouth, only to eventually close it. Then I rest my forehead on my hands and groan.

After a few more seconds though, I raise my head again and glance at Alexia. The girl is sleeping peacefully now despite her earlier crying, and it’s kind of nice to see. That she is able to do that in the first place despite everything that’s happened.

I still have a lot of questions for her after she wakes up, but for now I’ll just let her sleep.

Are there any other changes to my body that I should know about? Or anything you can detect at all that would be considered important information?

|There are only a total of one hundred frozen ones in the surrounding kilometer. And each of these frozen ones are far weaker than you. However, there is a much more powerful energy signature originating from the intelligent frozen one in charge of the previous assault beneath the planet hall.|

Hmm, that’s good to know.

Actually, could you teach me how to sense better with my own energy? I’m sick of constantly needing you to notify me of these things.

|Affirmative. I will now commence teaching you the basics of energy sensing.|

Good.

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