69 Superhumans (2/2)

”It won't.” Ed replied. ”Just keep your eyes closed and you won't feel a thing.”

”Alright.” The man nodded and shut his eyes tightly. His fists were clenched in nervous, like a child waiting for a shot even though they won't feel the needle.

'Let's get started.' Ed grinned. He turned off the man's pain receptors. Then he welded the man's eyelids shut. 'No point in having him open his eyes mid-surgery and freak out.'

He had put a lot of thought into how to go about the surgeries. It wasn't possible to graft mutant flesh or limbs onto their bodies. The incompatible mana would kill them. So, that had to be saved for the future batch of mana-infused humans he planned on creating. However, this presented a new problem with the soldiers he was about to create. How can they withstand the heat? Their bodies would be too weak. At the minimum, their hands would likely melt like his own had when he first started using fire and wind mana-batteries.

'Well, it's a somewhat crude solution, but it should work.' Ed began to melt the bones within the arms and legs of the solider. It came out of the man's wrists, flowing like a white river. He formed it into a ball and tossed it aside.

Next, steel ingots began to melt. The liquid flowed into the wrist and took the shape of the missing bones. The flesh and nerves attached to various gears and bearings. Now his limbs were identical to Ed's, minus the mutant flesh and mana-batteries. However, Ed did not stop there. He continued to melt the metal and it entered the soldier's body. It formed a thin layer of steel over all existing bones. Thousands of tiny narrow holes formed in the layer of the steel, that way the bone and bone marrow was not completely blocked off. It was easier to just cover the bones than replace them entirely. If he did the latter, then he would also have to worry about moving or recreating the blood marrow, nerves, and more.

Next, he began melting the skin. Ordinary human skin would stand zero chance against the flames being produced. Therefore, he decided to use fireproof ceramic cloth to solve the problem. It could withstand extreme degrees of heat. He melted the cloth and fused it with the skin all over the soldier's body. The topmost layer of the skin was now cloth, so it would likely result in a less sensitive feeling of touch. But the layer of cloth was thin, so the impact shouldn't be a big issue on the soldiers' lives.

Last was the mana batteries. Fire-battery in the forearm, wind-battery in the upper arm, and water-battery in the shoulder. A thin manullium bar was attached to each battery and the human muscles, giving the human full control of them. However, only the fire and wind batteries we're useful for firing projectiles. The water-battery was purely for cooling down the limbs. They wouldn't be able to restructure their limbs on the fly to use the water-battery offensively like Ed could.

”All done.” Ed spoke aloud. He returned the man's eyelids to normal and turned the pain receptors back on. ”How do you feel?” He questioned.

The soldier sat up and stared at his hands curiously, rubbing his fingers together. ”My skin feels silky...?”

”That's normal.” He nodded. ”You'll get used to it. Probably. By the way, would you ever point a loaded gun at your own head?”

”Of course not?!” The man replied. ”I've been properly trained. What kind of moron would aim a gun at their own head?”

”Well, that's pretty much what you're doing now.” He replied. ”You were informed of the details of the surgery beforehand, right? Your arms have firepower comparable to some of the stronger espers. If you accidently trigger it, then you might die. Your skin can withstand the impact, but your eyes can't.”

”Ah!” The man quickly pointed his arms away from himself, fear evident on his face.

”Anyways...” Ed continued. ”I took steps to prevent that. The nerves are wired so that you'll never fire on yourself, but that's assuming they're in perfect working order. Things degrade over time and there's no such thing as a flawless system, so make sure to be careful in the future.”

”Mm.” He nodded. ”Thanks for the warning.”

”Now, then. Let's do some tests. Try standing up and doing some stretching. Let me know if anything feels out of place.”

”Right.” He nodded and stood up. He began moving his arms in a circular motion. Then he bent down and reached for his toes. He leaned left and right as he stretched out his legs. He finished the routine by lightly jumping while throwing some fists into the air. It appeared to be some kind of shadow boxing. ”Everything feels normal.”

”Good.” Ed smiled and grabbed the man's arm. He pointed towards the middle of the forearm and applied some pressure. ”You have a new muscle here. It'll only activate if you actively think about it. Sort of like how you can voluntarily breathe or involuntarily breath, but in this case you can only ever do it voluntarily.” He moved the man's arm and pointed it towards a steel wall. ”Try moving the muscle.”

”Mm.” The man nodded and concentrated. His arm slightly twitched and a small fire lit up in his hand. It was like the tiny flame of a match, waiting for the wind to blow it out.

”Again.” Ed said.

He tried again, and his muscle twitched several more times. The flames grew in intensity. It went from a match to a small fire, from a small fire to a ball, and from a ball to a constant stream. The muscles twitched a few more times and the stream died out.

”Good job.” Ed pointed towards two other spots on the man's arm. ”You have identical muscles in these spots. The one in your upper arm is for wind. You can use it with or without the fire. If you ever use wind and fire together, then make sure to activate the water in your shoulder. It's a cooling system to prevent your limbs from overheating. Any questions?”

”No, it's great!” The soldier yelled excitedly. He pulled Ed into a big bear hug and spoke in a sobbing voice, ”Thanks so much!”

Ed made an awkward expression before patting the soldier on the back. ”You're welcome. Train hard so you survive the battles to come. You're Harmony's very first superhuman soldier.”

”I'll master it before you know it!” The soldier let go and gave a big thumbs up. He walked towards the elevator. ”I'll let Ray know to send the next guy down.”

'Looks like my work is really cut out for me the next few days.' Ed grinned as he leaned against the table, waiting for his next patient.