"You shouldn't say anything. That guy is going to catch your lies," a voice said inside his mind with a sharp pain stabbing into his head.
"Arsh, are you okay?" Reiner said, standing up and taking Arsh's head between his hands, tried to figure what is wrong with him. As the voice in Arsh's brain faded, the pain also subsided.
"Just a sudden headache. It's nothing important," Arsh said.
He took the notebook from Professor Reiner's hand and began flipping through the pages. At that moment, he noticed something that hadn't caught his attention before. He opened the page Reiner had first shown him again. He looked at the siuni in his hand. Despite the similarity, this was a completely different siuni.
"What happened, Arsh?" Professor Reiner asked.
"This is not my siuni, not this one."
"What?"
"This siuni is different from mine. But I am sure I used the one on this exact page. I remember that I read these notes before decided it."
"How can it be?" said Professor Reiner. He took the notebook from Arsh's hand and tried to see if there was anything strange about it.
"Arsh, can you show me your Siuni?"
"No, I can't. Even though Bera tried to show me how to do it, I couldn't. I am the only one who can see it. I don't know why."
"Then draw it."
Professor Reiner pushed a blank piece of paper and a pen from among the clutter on the table toward Arsh. Arsh carefully drew the symbol on his hand. Actually, there wasn't a significant difference between the two siuni on the page and the one on his hand. It was just that the crescent symbols were less curved and there were more than 7 of them. Instead of the star-like symbol in the middle of the siuni, there were intertwined squares.
After finished drawing the symbol, he handed the paper to Reiner. Reiner compared the differences between the two symbols.
"To be honest, I have no idea how this could be possible. I would like to say that maybe you saw it wrong or drew it wrong due to the heat of the moment… but that would have resulted in something deadly. Drawing a a working siuni at random... I have never encountered such a thing before. I am certain no one around me has encountered it either."
"You're right, I haven't heard of such a thing either," said Bera. Just like Reiner, he realized that Arsh was confused and was not lying. He thought that truly strange things were happening around this guy.
"Well then, that's one more thing to investigate. It's a good decision that you joined us, Arsh, because thanks to you, our workload has increased," Reiner said with a laugh. He placed the paper Arsh had given him inside Will's notebook and put it away.
Arsh then asked another question that was on his mind. He had asked Juan this before as well.
"Well then, is there no way for me to obtain another siuni? To get a bit stronger?"
"Actually, I believe you are strong enough to handle a second siuni. Furthermore, these siutus will strengthen you, serving as a pillar for a new siuni," Professor Reiner said while rummaging through the cabinets.
"There is only one way to acquire new siunis. The requirement is that the Siunis must be compatible with each other. But Siunis have only been in our lives for 30 years. Therefore, we still do not have enough information and experience regarding them. It won't be easy to find Siunis that could be compatible with yours. Furthermore, you mentioned that yours functions more like a guide. So, I suggest you don't get your hopes up about something that will give you physical strength. I thought your siuni something related to eart because of the notebook. If it were something compatible with earth, we had a good option. But that option is no longer on the table."
After rummaging through the cabinets for a while, the Professor placed the materials he had taken out onto a metal tray and came back to Arsh's side.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
After Professor Reiner cleaned the top of Arsh's wrist with a liquid, he began to gently cut into Arsh's skin with a scalpel. Arsh felt only a slight sting.
When the Professor finished drawing the Siutu, Arsh felt a pain over his chest once again. He noticed a faint light emanating from over his heart, but he also realized that the others did not see it. Shortly after, the pain passed.
Arsh saw the cuts on his wrist disappear within seconds. After they vanished, a golden light flashed on his wrist and then faded away.
"Faster than I thought," said the Professor.
"I don't feel anything."
"Don't be hasty. You will notice the difference soon enough."
Then, he continued to carve another Siutu into his skin, one that would grant him speed.
…
Over the past few days, the intensity of the practice sessions he did with Bera had increased. But just as the professor had said, his resistance to blows, his speed, and his recovery time had greatly improved—and continued to improve. Unlike his own siuni, this one activated on its own and did not tire Arsh out or drain his energy.
He felt better. But it was not enough. Somehow, he needed to find other siunis that could be compatible with him. He still felt physically behind Bera, Walter, Juan, and the others on their team. 'At best, I'm on the same level as Flora' he thought. But after he realized he didn't even see her while fighting. There is a possibility even that fragile-looking girl was better than him. Meanwhile, he kept asking Mes more questions about siunis, trying to understand from records whether there were any siunis that could be compatible with him.
One afternoon, they joined Professor Reiner for tea. When Mr. Herman saw Arsh, he folded the newspaper in his hand and turned the page he was reading toward him. There was a photo on the page.
"Arsh, aren't these the children you rescued?"
When Arsh looked at the photo to see it more closely, he recognized several faces of the children in the picture and one of the men with mustache standing right behind them.
The headline of the news was: 'Slave Trade to Symran Thwarted.'
Arsh took the newspaper in his hand and began to read the article.
"Matthew Tiffany, a well-known lawyer who also serves as an advisor to Senator Hill, spoke after returning to Symran about the events that took place in Thage, the capital of Kurshan. He stated that efforts would be made to ensure the government takes stricter measures against organizations engaged in smuggling, which exploit the instability in the region to traffic slaves, workers, and individuals for various purposes."
"He noted that investigations are being conducted indicating that children have become more frequent targets following the abolition of slavery laws, as they are easier to control. After the tragic events that occurred in Thage, he added that organizations had increased campaigns to support orphanages in the region and to carry out efforts aimed at protecting children."
"Following the recent incident at the Royal Hotel, approximately thirty children, presumed to have no families and to be homeless, were placed in an orphanage whose establishment was supported by donations made by Mr. Tiffany…"
"It was good luck that you met Matthew there. He is a cunning type, but he doesn't use his cunning for evil purposes. Still, he will use this news to the fullest," said Professor Reiner.
"I'm not sure if we could have gotten those children out of there so safely if he hadn't been there that day," Arsh added in agreement. If he hadn't been there, the Symran city guards would likely have come and led the children back to the same fate.
"I spoke with Juan. He plans to finish his work and return with his team soon. But gathering information from someone as highly protected as a general is difficult. Focus on improving yourself until he arrives. When I told him that you had officially joined us, he said he wanted you on his team," said Reiner.
At that moment, Herman spoke.
"Actually, I came here to borrow Arsh for a while as well. I need help with a small case."
"Arsh has officially joined us now. Therefore, from now on, he will start participating in official missions regularly. But first, let's hear yours. Whether he participate or not is his own decision."
"The police department has been chasing a thief for a while now. You've probably heard of him; he's known as 'The Ghost.' We just can't seem to catch the man. He has broken into the homes of many socialites and wealthy people, yet there is still no trace of him. As the pressure on the police department increased, the chief asked me to seek your help. Arsh came to my mind. He's a perfect fit for the job."
"Is there a photo of him?"
"There is no photo... and there is no one who has seen him in the act or while escaping. Arsh, maybe you could see this as an opportunity to develop your abilities; what do you say?"
Arsh thought about how he could use his Siuni in such a situation. Although he had recently discovered that his power could help him in different ways, finding a person whose face he hadn't seen was difficult. He needed to see the man's face somehow. Nevertheless, as Mr. Herman said, maybe it could be an opportunity to help him improve. Perhaps he could learn ways to find him even without seeing the man's face.
"I don't know how I can help you. But I want to try," he said.