— — — — — —
The next two weeks flew by.
Aside from Veyron, who returned to Eientei every night to rest, the rest of the chat group members had basically moved into Ruskaina Island, just like Hancock.
Fifteen days later…
They might not have been under the constant life-or-death pressure, but thanks to Veyron, who had already unlocked the fourth-level gene lock, they still made impressive progress.
With him guiding five fighters, every single one of them had successfully grasped control over the first-level gene lock.
Why five? Because Merlin only took one day to adapt to the Gene Lock.
"At this level, you're basically good to go."
Catching Gwen's and Selena's kicks midair—one with each hand—and casually tossing them in opposite directions, Veyron spoke up.
"Now you can head back to your own worlds and get used to the changes gradually. As long as you drop by every now and then for a check-up to make sure your genes aren't, y'know… melting down, you'll be fine."
Veyron couldn't help but feel a little emotional as he said that.
It wasn't that long ago that he himself had to undergo Eirin's checkups to confirm his genetic stability.
And now, here he was—offering check-ups to others like some kind of expert.
"How about we throw a party?" Merlin suggested with a cheerful smile, holding a glass of fresh fruit juice. "Celebrate what we've all gained from this little trip, then everyone can head home?"
"I'm in. I haven't even properly thanked Veyron yet for everything."
Instead of using her webs, Gwen used telekinesis to pull her normal clothes over from under a nearby tree.
"Sounds good to me," Selena chimed in as she started peeling off her black, skintight battle suit.
"H-Hey! Selena-senpai!"
Fujiwara Chika jumped in surprise and quickly covered her face with both hands.
Wait… this party you're planning—is it that kind of party!?
"Geez, you've got an active imagination for someone your age."
Selena rolled her eyes. "I've got another layer underneath, alright? And you sure your fingers aren't spread a little too wide for someone who's not trying to peek? If you're gonna look, might as well own it."
Chika: "...…"
What're you saying? I totally don't understand~ ☆
Veyron: (looks silently)
…A bodysuit under a bodysuit? Who taught her to dress like that?
Respect.
"Here—you take it," Selena said, slipping on a long trench coat. She handed her peeled-off black suit to Gwen. "See if it's any use to you."
"…Wait, this is the enhancement suit you got from the first Gacha, isn't it?"
Gwen instantly recognized the outfit Selena had worn when they'd first met in the real world.
"Yup," Selena confirmed. "It's a Gantz Suit. It comes with built-in protection that shrugs off regular firearms and can even take a bite from something like a large beast."
"The crazy thing? That protection also covers the uncovered parts like the head."
"Besides that, it boosts your physical limits—letting you move at top strength and speed, gives you a three-meter jump boost, and if you activate it fully, you can temporarily multiply your strength and speed by about ten times."
"But keep in mind—those boosts are measured against normal human stats. If you're already ten times stronger than an average person, you're not getting another ×10 on top of that."
Thanks to her constant trips between Hancock's world and her own—and the high-protein, nutrient-rich meat in Hancock's world—Selena had pushed her body far beyond normal human limits.
On top of that, she'd awakened both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Naturally, the enhancement suit that once gave her a huge edge had become less and less relevant as her own strength grew.
Veyron giving her access to the gene lock was basically the final nail in the coffin—it made the suit redundant.
Originally, the Gantz Auits suit had a "binding" function. That meant only the original user—Selena, in this case—could benefit from its protection and strength-boosting effects. Anyone else who wore it would just be walking around in a shiny rubber catsuit.
But considering Gwen had taken over Red Room's global intelligence database and shared a ton of secret tech data with them, Selena figured someone from that world—where even insane black-tech was considered possible—might be able to crack the suit's encryption.
If they managed to reverse-engineer it, the Weavers of the Web could all end up with standardized battle suits.
"Also, see those blue buttons on the suit?" Selena pointed to a few spots on the gear. "They're the control modules. If they get crushed or damaged, the corresponding part of the suit loses its enhancement abilities."
"And if you stay in the overdrive mode too long—y'know, the one that gives you a ten-times boost to strength and speed—those modules burn through energy like crazy and start dimming."
She pointed to one button that was visibly darker than the others.
"When that happens, the suit loses its boost in that area, but it's still better than physical damage. Leave it alone for a while, and the energy will slowly recharge on its own."
After wrapping up the handover of the Gantz suit, the group of seven held a farewell party right there on the beach.
When the party ended, everyone took their leave of Hancock—the world's host.
But this time, instead of feeling that sense of loss like she had the first time, Hancock smiled brightly and waved goodbye.
"Over the next little while, try to get a feel for Conqueror's Haki infusion," Veyron told her as they walked together. "Or if that's too hard to grasp for now, focus on pushing your gene lock to the next tier."
He continued, "From my own experience—once you reach Tier 3, you'll naturally be able to use internal damage with Armament Haki, see brief glimpses of the future with Observation Haki, and even wrap attacks with Conqueror's Haki. None of that'll be a problem anymore."
"Got it," Hancock nodded.
"You heading out on another job already?" Merlin asked from nearby, noticing Veyron about to leave.
"Let's just say… I've got a debt to collect."
Veyron gave a small nod, his tone calm.
"I knew back then she had her own motives. If I'd really been in danger, she wouldn't have just stood there and done nothing. Still… that doesn't change the fact that she set me up."
Yakumo Yukari.
Even if Kazami Yuuka hadn't fallen for her trick—
Veyron definitely hadn't forgotten how she tossed him straight into Yuuka's sunflower field without even a heads-up.
He hadn't said or done anything at the time, mostly because he knew his place.
Back then, he couldn't even reliably find Yukari, given her mastery of space manipulation. And even if she had shown up in person, Veyron was pretty sure—based on Yuuka's power level—that he wouldn't have stood a chance in a head-on fight.
But things were different now.
He'd unlocked the fourth tier of his gene lock, mastered a new level of precise control—and even awakened his Psychic powers through the T-virus.
So yeah... it was about time he had a little chat with that gap-hopping youkai.
...
(A/N: Changed "Psychokinesis" to "Telekinesis" to avoid confusion—especially when "Photosynthesis" gets brought up.)
...
[Telekinesis (Lv.30):The ability to move objects with the power of thought.]
Lv.10: Telekinesis Power +1
Lv.20: Telekinesis Power +2
Lv.30: Telekinesis Power +3
Veyron looked at the newly updated trait panel. Just a few days ago, he'd leveled it up from 29 to 30, finally unlocking the bonus effect at Level 30.
A small smirk crept across his face.
.
.
.