"So, what did you want? Why have you been watching me? Who are you?" Gustav asked in quick successions while standing to his feet.

"You've regained control of your body already?" The man asked with a tone of surprise.

Gustav shrugged off his surprised exclamations and asked again, "Who are you?"

"I should be asking the same question, kiddo," His eyes suddenly turned fierce, "You shouldn't be here... someone on your level of strength should not be able to get into this place," He voiced out suspiciously.

Gustav stared back at him, "That mask already proves that you also shouldn't be here. This means you want your existence to remain unknown, but as for me, I don't really care because the situation can be handled even if someone figured me out... So, who are you?" Gustav asked without a hint of fear written on his face.

"So, this is the thanks I get for saving you," The man voiced out as he turned around.

"I do appreciate your assistance, but I don't like being watched. Certainly, you have a motive for being here, as do I," Gustav replied.

"Are you not in the least bit scared that my motive for being here is evil and disastrous?" The masked man asked again.

"It wouldn't really matter to me unless it clashed with my motives, but if you truly were having evil intentions, then why save me?" Gustav voiced out.

"Out of interest? I may be intrigued... There can be so many reasons for that," The masked man replied.

"That's a load of bullshit right there... Anyways are you gonna answer me or what?" Gustav asked with a solemn tone.

A low sigh escaped from the masked man's mouth as he walked towards the tree up ahead and leaned his back against it.

"Alright, kiddo, I will mention a few things to you, and afterwards, I expect you to give me a response too," The masked man voiced out.

The masked man proceeded to tell Gustav that he had been on a mission within the border for the past one month.

He mentioned that he was tasked with observing something by a mercenary organization.

"There is a device that I am meant to locate that was lost within the borders of your city," He concluded with this.

"A device?" Gustav voiced out with a contemplative expression.

"A small explosion occurred within an aircraft that was passing over here some time ago, and that device happened to fall out of it... Its last known location was within the borders," He explained.

"What does it look like?" Gustav asked.

Tap! Troiin!

The masked man tapped his left sleeve area, and a holographic projection of a cylindrical-shaped item appeared above his arm.

This cylindrically shaped item looked similar to old age batteries, but it was yellowish at the top and had a pyramid-shaped head.

"Hmm, so what does that have to do with why you have been watching me?" Gustav asked.

"I initially thought you were sent by an opposing organisation since, according to the client, he wouldn't be the only one looking for the device. He said if others caught wind of it, they will also arrive here searching for it, and clashes would happen." He explained.

"After watching you for some time, I realised that your only purpose of coming here was to murder the mixedbreeds and take their power," He added while observing Gustav's expression.

"Yes, I know about your multiple abilities... I have seen you use them," He voiced out with a tone of astonishment. 

"I still wonder how a person like you exists... Making use of different abilities," He said with bafflement.

"What do you intend on doing with that information... Who else knows?" Gustav asked.

He didn't look worried as one would expect. This was because Gustav was aware that the man must have been watching, so there was no way he'd hide his abilities and risk ending up getting killed by the mixedbreeds he was battling.

"If I were to have told anyone, you wouldn't have a moment of peace. The world will come for you knowing that there's a kid that can take the abilities of others and use them as his. Not only are you a threat, but you could also be a weapon if they figured out your secret," The masked man stated.

"For some reason, you don't seem to want this," Gustav had read the way the man spoke and figured that he wasn't after all that.

"Yes, I don't because I have something else in mind, but first off... Tell me why you always come here. I don't think it's just to kill the low-level mixedbreeds," The masked man asked.

"Hmm... I don't know if you have noticed that mixedbreeds go beyond the border, into the territory of living humans on the other side," Gustav asked.

"I did notice you battling one the other time... Are you saying it's not normal that they wander beyond the border?" The masked man asked.

"Hmm," Gustav nodded slightly in response. 

"I have been tasked with finding the reason for that. They are not supposed to be able to go beyond the border, and whenever they do, they disrupt the lives of the humans living in the neighbourhood on the other end. It is my job to prevent that," Gustav explained.

The masked man's eyes now had a gaze of understanding after hearing that.

"How about this... Let's help each other. I noticed that you have a map of this place. I am missing one. We could divide the places searched. You'll go to the less dangerous places while I'll visit the dangerous ones. Time is of the essence, so I have to find this device as soon as possible, and you also need to find whatever is causing this problem," After the masked man finished speaking, he stretched out his hand for a handshake.

'Well, I have nothing to lose...' Gustav said internally as he stretched out his hand to receive the handshake, '...For now,'

That was how they both collaborated to investigate the situation within the border.

Gustav shared the map with the masked man, and the masked man shared the holographic projection of the device.