It's been several months since Blake called his old contact. He had yet to receive a message that anything has been delivered, so he kept an eye out.
The kids have been absorbing the books and materials he gave them like a dry sponge in water.
As such, Blake has been getting a slight headache stressing about how he was going to afford raising these little brats.
For now they were content with reviewing what they had and learning how the world works from him.
"Sooner or later, they're going to start clamoring to get out the house. But I can't let them do that without their identities." Blake muttered as he looked warmly at the pile of kids as they took their afternoon nap.
With Solan at the bottom, both Noa and Ivy decided that he would be their pillow and laid on top of him, with discomfort showing on his sleeping face.
Flipping through a news article detailing the weather, some local stories, and an economic report; some light tapping could be heard from his office.
Tiptoeing around the kids, Blake entered his office and locked his door. In case any curious kids decided it was time to wake up and stalk him.
At the small window, a small bird was seen pecking at the window.
Letting it in and offering it some dry food as a reward, he unraveled the package strapped onto its back, revealing several identity cards and devices, 1 for each kid.
"Wow, they're all official, no wonder it took so long." Blake whistled in amazement as he checked each device.
In his trance, the carrier pigeon started pecking his hand, looking for more treats.
Feeling slight pain on his hand, Blake looked up from his trance at the bird before sheepishly smiling.
"Sorry about that, here we go!" Blake poured out more treats as well as a small bowl of water.
Having its fill, the pigeon cooed at Blake before waddling out through the window and flew into the city, disappearing from sight.
"Well, I guess it's time to take the kids out and about." Blake spoke to himself as he realized that his bank account is definitely going to start stressing.
—
"No."
"What's so good about going outside?"
"Is there anything more amazing than you?"
Stunned at the responses from the kids, Blake stared at them with a blank face.
"Is everyone sure?" Blake asked once more. "The only way you guys can make any meaningful connections is to go out and meet people."
Solan looked at Ivy and Noa, before turning to Blake and answering. "We are sure, We would all rather read and figure things out than go out and talk to people."
Solan shook off Ivy, who was using his head as a pillow, and continued. "We all realize that we aren't like most kids. From all the TV you let us watch, and the videos we see online. Everyone our age doesn't act like us."
A troubled face appeared on Blake as he belatedly realized that truth.
"Don't be so troubled dad." Solan comforted. "We all want to go to school, more specifically, the academy."
"Hmm." At the mention of the academy, an even darker troubled face appeared on Blake.
"Rather than try to make friends who wouldn't even talk to kids like us, we would like to get a bigger head start than everyone else at the academy."
"If that's what you want." Blake acquiesced, "But don't think about the academy for now. Just focus on the stuff I'm getting you guys. We will talk about the academy once you guys hit 10 years old, just like the typical kid entering the academy."
"Yes Dad." x3
While the kids didn't seem too keen on going outside, Blake still managed to drag them out separately on errand runs, much to their dismay.
In the end, after introducing and treating them with a snack or dessert after every trip, they all clamored after him every time he picked up his keys and walked towards the door.
This time however, Blake barred them from accompanying him outside, saying that he was going out of the city and would be back after dinner.
He left Ivy in charge of the trio and locked the door as he left.
"Well then, time to top off my wallet." Blake muttered to himself as he disappeared down an alleyway.
—
On a rooftop far into the sky, a figure could be seen surveying the city below him.
When the kids were still injured and needed his help to wash up and change their bandages, he had inadvertently discovered traces of modification. On Solan's and Noa's nape, a faint scar right below their hair could be seen, with more faint scars seen right above their eyebrows. So faint that you wouldn't be able to see them without holding them down and illuminated by a bright light.
For Ivy, the scars on her were seen all over her body, mainly concentrated near her heart and below her belly button.
Far too intricate to be from the accident, as those injuries have fully healed without any traces thanks to Blake's ointments he developed himself.
[I made sure to eradicate any trace of them back then.] He thought to himself as he replayed those scenes in his head. [There should be no survivors, unless one faked a very convincing death.]
Blake turned his attention to the business and industrial park. There, multitudes of corporations and sects have set up recruiting areas, research districts, and hospital labs in pursuit of advancements. Magic towers could also be seen dotted amongst them, solely for the purpose of purchasing rare ingredients and materials.
[According to that data package, the most likely culprit would be the Woodeurf Corporation, dedicated to bioresearch. Their endgame is to combine magic and prosthetics into one and give everyone a second chance.]
Scoffing inwardly as he read on, Blake came across a piece of information that stood out to him.
[Had a joint crossover with an overseas client, but canceled last minute through a middle man, caused tremendous financial loss and setbacks on several projects.]
Blake read deeper into the data packet, but was ultimately left with more questions than answers due to it only having superficial information.
[Time to give them a visit, more specifically, an impromptu inspection.] Blake thought to himself as he readied a spell.
"Man, I am so rusty." He complained aloud as everything activated much slower than he anticipated.
"Coordinate set, formulas set, frequency identified, mana circuits charged." Blake spoke aloud to give himself an idea of where he was casting the spell. "Elements primed. Particles set."
"Phew." Blake let out a sigh to calm himself. "I used to do this with just a single thought. Looks like old age is getting to me."
A few seconds later, only a single word was heard.
"Salire."
—
In a dark laboratory. Equipment and papers could be seen strewn about, without a care in the world.
A shrouded figure carefully stepped over the equipment and papers scattered across the floor. Exploring the lab, the figure picked up a few papers. After reading through each one, it tossed them aside, as they held no value to it.
[Thankfully no one is here.] Blake thought as he read through yet another paper. [Seems I'm in one of the official labs, nothing here is related to what I'm looking for.]
Standing in front of the main door of the lab, Blake extended his senses beyond, searching for any signs of life.
Detecting no hits, Blake then switched to his computer screen on his arm, hacking into the lab's security system in order to temporarily disable it.
Taking a full 20 minutes to do so, Blake finally disabled the system and freely left the lab.
Exploring the floor, he came across a secluded elevator, one that needed an access key in order to operate.
Reciting a spell, Blake slid through the gaps between the elevator door and floor and hooked onto the thick wire that held the elevator.
"Damn this thing goes deep." Blake whistled as he looked down, with no end in sight.
"Defluere, lente." Blake chanted before letting gravity pull him down.
After 15 seconds of falling, Blake noticed the floor rapidly approaching. He adjusted his posture before his spell kicked in and slowed him down to a graceful landing.
Shaking off his nonexistent nerves, he opened the roof hatch of the elevator before jumping through it.
"Tempus per murum." Blake chanted as he walked through the doors, phasing through them without resistance.
"Now this is a lab that does unspeakable research." Blake noted as he observed the floor.
Adorned with empty cages and trails made of unknown substances, Blake made his way through, silently observing everything around him.
[The cages are made of the same material I found at the site of the accident.] He noted as he approached a room. Phasing through it once more.
Inside, test tubes full of unknown liquids, equipment, and neatly organized papers filled the room.
"..." Taking a moment to gather himself, Blake started reading through the papers, brows furrowing deeper and deeper as he read more and more.
"This name." Blake noticed a name in a transaction report. One that he recognized as a third party handler for the CFA.
"Those f*ckers." Blake cursed as he went through more and more transaction reports.
He now realized that they have been cooperating for quite a while, back to when he was still serving with the CFA.
Collecting mental pictures with the help of his magic and AI assistant, Blake noticed a board on the wall with formulas, theories, and a timeline. On that timeline was a co-op event.
One that the Woodeurf Corp was sponsoring, at the academy no less.
[Change of plans.] Blake decided as he read through the timeline. [I need to get access to the academy. Looks like the kids are going to be attending much sooner than any of us thought.]
Glancing at his watch, Blake noticed that the day was almost over. He rushed through all the papers, getting all the information he could.
Confirming that he went through everything, he made his way back to the elevator when he passed by a chamber.
Inside that chamber was a figure, something he couldn't identify.
As he was about to knock on the window to get its attention, the elevator activated, startling him.
Blake sighed to himself.
"I'm sorry, but hold on for a little longer. Once I get more information, I'll try to rescue you." He announced aloud, before rushing down the hallway, not caring if the figure could hear him.
"Redi Nullo Vestigio." Blake declared.
Soon, his form was obscured by a clear mist, distorting himself before he vanished without a trace from the underground lab.
Back on the rooftop above the city, Blake was hunched over, retching out nothing but spit and acid, as he had no appetite for the whole day.
"F*ck my life." Blake weakly murmured, as he stared at the setting sun. "Time to go home I guess."