Invitation

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Xavier and I walk over to Jenna, who's leaning on the desk. Aside from a faint shadow under her eyes, there's hardly any sign of fatigue for her who just pulled an all-nighter.

"We've been observing the fluctuations from last night. We also have the results from the Protocore data you sent back." Jenna said The light dims, and the command center projects a hologram of a Protocore.Like a planet, the Protocore rotates slowly, enveloped by blue and red Protocurves. "This is the Protocore Alexiss sent this morning. I'm sure you've noticed it's been modified."

"Is it the work of Onychinus?" I asked.

Jenna glances at Xavier, then looks back at me. "Getting along I see. The blue line is the Protocore's original Protocurve. The red one shows it's been modified. We initially wanted to analyze the Protocurve to determine the Protocore's origin, but after searching the system database three times, none of the data matched up."

"How? Even if we can't find a perfect fit, we should at least determine its type, right?" I asked.

It's apparent Jenna thought of this before. She shakes her head. "Believe it or not, we've never seen anything like it..."

The Protocurve keeps changing. The red line is constantly flickering. It's a little unsettling."

"It's possible there's a Protocore even the Association isn't aware of. It also might serve another purpose."A Protocore with a different purpose... I glance at Xavier. He's sitting in a swivel chair, hugging an OTTO pillow and spacing out. He's not joining our conversation anytime soon. "It's a gift from Onychinus. Obviously, they know more about this Protocore than we do."
The hologram on the command center fades, and the lights return to normal. "We need to obtain more samples to get more information about this unknown Protocore."

"In order to do that, we'll have to use her Evol?" The silent Xavier finally speaks. His face is expressionless as he rests his chin on the OTTO pillow.

Jenna isn't surprised. She just nods. "You know what Alexiss's Evol can do. It'd be good if she's willing to help us." Once again, Jenna turns toward me. "Since Onychinus is involved, it will be dangerous. Risks are par for the course. If you help, we'll provide you full support and protection. You'll have a partner to assist you as well."

As I try to digest all the information, I realize something. "Can I ask a few questions, Captain?"

"Speak"

"Why does Onychinus modify Protocores?"

"The benefits a Protocore provides are certainly tempting for groups like Onychinus. But the exact goal Onychinus wants to achieve by modifying Protocores is still unknown. We speculate it's not about money, given Sylus's track record."

"Sylus...?"

"He's the leader of Onychinus." Xavier said.

"Has the Hunters Association discovered modified Protocores before?" I asked.

"Yes, but the methods used to modify them were crude. The potential damage they could've caused was minor at best." Jenna explains. "This time it's different. The energy shown in that abnormal Protocurve is beyond our current understanding of Protocores. Finding unknown Protocores isn't something that can be done overnight.
Today was just a small glimpse of what the overall mission would look like. Think about it. You worked hard last night. Take the next two days off."

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