After checking her phone, Klara opened the door to room number three. Inside, everything was already arranged neatly. Her king-sized bed sat in the center, pressed against the back wall and elevated slightly on a white platform above the wooden floor. A chandelier hung overhead, casting a soft purple glow along the ceiling and beneath the bed.
Her clothes were neatly organized in the closet, and a large suitcase rested nearby with a note on top.
> [Make sure to take care of the suit. ]
"This is probably Kevin's doing," Klara muttered with a small smile. "But I'm grateful."
After locking her bedroom door, she began to undress, revealing the muscular male form beneath her school uniform. She tapped the neckline of her bodysuit, and the artificial muscles automatically opened, exposing a plum-colored chest wrapped tightly in bandages. Even without the male suit. She was fairly muscular due to her training.
Once she removed everything, Klara slipped on a bathrobe and entered the bathroom. Everything was honestly screaming luxury, she could only stare blankly at it. Well that's to be expected from one of the most expensive schools in the world. She sank into the wide white bathtub, letting the hot water envelop her body. For the first time that day, her muscles loosened as she also rested her mind.
After some time, she stepped out, dried herself, and put on her male pajamas, making sure to reapply the muscle suit beneath before crawling into bed.
As she lay there, her mother's voice echoed in her mind.
"I want you to become the perfect human!"
___
As Klara was in a void, a voice was heard. The sound of two people arguing… metal clinking… machines humming.
"My experiment is almost complete," a woman said, her tone sharp with excitement. "All I need now is a child vessel. So take your time and grow, my child."
Klara could see her, Hannah, gazing lovingly at the small figure floating inside a glass cube. Klara's tiny body was connected to tubes that pulsed with blue light, suspended in a tank of glowing liquid.
"Adding these ahorza chemicals will boost her thinking capacity and physical strength," Hannah said with a manic grin. "I'm going to make you the perfect human. I'll prove my experiment for geniuses wasn't a failure, hahaha!"
She injected a black liquid into one of the tubes. The substance curled through the water like smoke, yet Klara felt no pain, only a strange awareness.
Noticing her curious gaze, Hannah smiled. "Oh? You can understand me already?" she asked, tilting her head. "I've been feeding you baby food so you can grow strong and healthy. When I gave birth to you. You were underdeveloped. I believe that's my fault so I'll be fixing that. Nod if you understand."
Hannah nodded encouragingly, and Klara mimicked the gesture.
"That's a good girl." Hannah set down a tablet near the cube. "I'll leave this iPad here so you can learn all you can, my dear." The screen flickered to life, displaying educational videos.
Months passed. Klara's body began to grow, her mind absorbing knowledge rapidly.
"How is your child coping, Hannah?" a deep male voice asked one day.
"Don't worry, Sir Kevin, she's doing fine," Hannah said proudly.
Kevin stepped closer to the cube, studying the growing girl within. He was a tall, brown-skinned man in his thirties with curly black hair and wise golden eyes. When he tilted his head, Klara mirrored the motion. He chuckled softly.
"She's intelligent already," he noted with a smile. "Go on, little one, nod if you understand me."
Klara nodded.
"My, a genius at such a young age," Kevin said, impressed. "I can't wait for her to be born."
Hannah hesitated before asking, "Mr. Kevin… why do you continue to sponsor my experiment, even though it's considered inhumane? Doesn't it seem weird to you that I'm even using my own daughter?"
Kevin smirked faintly. "I'm just a rich man with too much money and nothing interesting to spend it on."
"Klara will surely be worth your investment!" Hannah declared proudly.
'Klara… is that my name?' the girl thought. 'What a nice name.'
"I'll continue providing what you need," Kevin said before turning to leave. "Don't disappoint me."
___
5 months later, Klara's tubes were finally removed. Hannah carefully lifted her out of the cube and held her close, cradling her like a newborn.
"Klara, you're finally free from the tubes. You're a normal baby now. Much better than when you were born tunny and skinny. I almost thought you'd die. But the scientist in me wouldn't allow that!" she said, feeding Klara a bottle of milk.
'Ah, the milk is delicious,' Klara thought joyously.
"For the past nine months, you've watched countless videos," Hannah said. "Every subject from the British, American, and Asian systems. So… can you speak?"
"Of course I can, Mother," Klara answered clearly.
Hannah froze. Tears welled in her eyes. "My experiment succeeded… You're a genius, my child. You deserve to be known by the world!"
"Better you calm down, Mother," Klara warned seriously. "Announcing me would only cause chaos. They'd kidnap me, kill you, and steal your research. I've seen enough movies to know how this goes. It's safer if I just graduate as the top student from the best school in the world."
Hannah blinked, stunned. "At such a young age, you can think like that? You're truly amazing, my child. Alright, I'll listen to you."
From then on, Klara trained every single day. Hannah bought her endless books, and Klara never forgot a single word she read. She constantly drank experimental serums her mother provided to enhance her abilities. She devoured every topic imaginable, science, art, combat, and beyond, learning even from online teachers and YouTube tutorials.
____
"What a long dream," Klara murmured as she awoke, rubbing her eyes. "I know I'm good at thirty subjects."
She began to count softly under her breath:
"Physics, math, law, chemistry, biology, business, accounting, French, English, literature, additional math, geography, economics, history, sociology, IT, art, writing, engineering, music, cooking, psychology, architecture, martial arts, swimming, football, foreign languages, religious studies, active sports, and space."
A memory of Shio's words echoed faintly in her head: "You should think about what you want."
"All I want," Klara said firmly, rising from bed, "is to make my mother proud. Because she's the best."