Spending the morning inside the mess hall, Shin sat at one of the tables by himself trying to consume the food served on the recruits' menu. On his tray was a sizeable portion of rice, a side of potato stew with chunky blocks and a single cup of synthetic milk.
He had to exert a bit of force to pierce the potatoes, but he didn't mind it too much since his thoughts were elsewhere.
After returning from the library the previous night and going briefly through the book that Kors gave him, Shin then spent the rest of the night comprehending all the information of the Codex.
In summary, the new recruits of the Order of Silver will go through a probation period of 3 months; thereafter, they will be promoted to Cadet. Each cadet can then choose one of the four paths. Choosing a path is not restrictive, but it is advised to mainly focus on one path.
The four paths consist of Shaman, Psychic, Evoker and Warlock;
Shamans use spiritual energy as a means to heal others, with notable abilities being able to cure ailments such as curses.
Psychics draw power directly from the realm of the supernatural to fuel their clairvoyance and are able to commune with the souls of entities.
Evokers are those that call forth the power of the world itself; by using the language of runes, they can manifest various effects.
Pausing for a moment, Shin recalled the mysterious powers that Miss Tsuki displayed. She is probably an Evoker, but then again there was also that nine-tail…
And lastly, Warlocks. These Awakened draw powers from the pacts formed with supernatural entities. Some entities demand dangerous offerings to form a pact, so it's advised to proceed with caution.
Scooping up the last bit of rice remaining, Shin recalled that the use of Artifacts also granted the Awakened powerful abilities and became fully engrossed in their application.
An Artifact is kind of similar to a HexTech device. But instead of ores, an Artifact actually comes from the manifestation of Essence Pearls that have undergone mutation.
So basically if a supernatural entity dies, there's a chance its Essence Pearl can mutate and form into an Artifact, which will then allow you to use its abilities. That really is interesting…
Still engrossed in his thoughts, Shin suddenly realised that a shadow had fallen over him. Looking up, he recognised the familiar black-haired fishtail braid and stoic expression.
"Miss Tsuki, nice to see you again."
"Get up, you'll be reporting for the squad briefing." Tsuki stated in her usual direct tone.
Quickly handing in his empty tray and following Tsuki out of the mess hall, Shin kept three paces behind her, his attention focused on her small shoulders. Despite her small build, she possessed strong abilities; thus, Shin was interested in what path she had chosen.
"Umm, Miss Tsuki. I was wondering, are you perhaps an Evoker?"
Her steps softly came to a halt, only turning her head slightly to reveal the corner of her eye staring at him. "An important lesson, Recruit Shin: never reveal your abilities to others. Even if they have guessed it, never confirm or deny."
Noticing the strictness in her voice, Shin implicitly acknowledged her warning.
"First you will change into your uniform; here is your locker key."
Accepting the key from Miss Tsuki, Shin awkwardly remembered that he still wore the same clothing since the moment the two of them met in the police station. Even though he still managed to shower in the Silver Palace, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
…
Inside the locker room, Shin was walking down the aisles of lockers to find his designated one; looking at the key, he could confirm it belonged to locker 316. After a few short moments he finally found it. Inserting the key, he could hear a click from the lock.
The locker contained two packages; one was a sealed plastic bag with clothes inside, and the other was a simple wooden box.
Retrieving the wooden box, Shin lifted the wooden lid to reveal a few accessories inside.
There was a silver pocket watch, reminiscent of what he saw Gin and Miss Tsuki had. Next to it was a silver cufflink, and after closer inspection Shin noticed on it a snake devouring its own tail. And lastly, he took out a brand new communicator; it had a sleek black design with minimal weight in his hand.
The latest model!? The one I had been using was from four generations ago, and now they just give out new communicators. Damn, if I remember correctly, this one has a built-in holographic display with enhanced Net coverage.
Admiring the beautiful design of the brand-new communicator, Shin carefully placed it back into the soft padding of the wooden box, afraid it might crack with a sudden drop.
If it does break, surely they won't force me to repay, right? That thing is over five thousand credits! Turning his attention back to the sealed bag of clothes, Shin let out a self-deprecating remark, "Maybe there's some ability to extract my soul; that way I can work off the debt after a few centuries."
After changing his clothes, Shin examined himself in front of a large vertical mirror. The clothes he was wearing were the exact same as what the silver-haired Gin wore: a black jumper with surprising durability with black combat pants and boots, then a black trench coat covering him.
Looking at his face in the mirror, he could finally see all the turmoil that had befallen him these last few days imprint itself on him. His average looks remained, but his dark brown hair seemed a bit more untamed, and his almost black-like eyes had a sense of renewal to them.
…
Standing in the hallway outside the locker room, Tsuki was silently reading on her communicator when she heard the approaching footsteps from the locker room and raised her eyes to see Shin exit. Her brows had slightly sunk when she saw the attire he wore, but she quickly recovered her stoic disposition.
She said no words and just began walking down the hallway, with Shin following closely behind.
After a few minutes they had arrived outside a metal door; to the side was a scanner that Tsuki opened with a card swipe. Inside the room was a small conference venue with a large table in the middle and chairs all around it.
Sitting at the far end of the table next to the head's seat was a person Shin had never seen before. This person had made themself more than comfortable, with their feet resting on the table.
It was a young adult male; his head was covered in fiery red hair that was shortened to a buzz cut. When he turned his gaze to the pair that entered, he revealed his deep crimson eyes that seemed to contain the fires of a raging inferno.
"Ah, Tsuki, where's the coffee I asked for?" He spoke in a bold voice, a trait of those brimming with self-confidence.
Miss Tsuki said no word, only taking a seat on the opposite end of the table, as far away from this man as possible.
Becoming uninterested with Tsuki's display of disregard for him, he turned his attention towards Shin.
"And who's this?" He asked, his question directed at no one in particular.
"Shin. Meiko Shin."
Tilting his head slightly, the red-haired man raised a new question, "Your rank, Meiko Shin?"
My rank?
Seeing Shin's confused reaction, he then elaborated, "A Rank, B Rank? What's your Awakened Rank?"
"I don't have a rank." Shin replied in earnest.
"Heh!" The man's surprised reaction was exaggerated: "Then why the hell are you wearing that?"
Before Shin could reply, Gin had entered the conference room. Immediately Miss Tsuki and the red-haired man stood at attention. Gin simply motioned to them to be at ease. He then walked with unhurried steps to the front of the table with a folder under his arm.
"Ren, how goes the hunt for that Rank 5 Legend?" Gin asked the red-haired man.
The fiery-haired man named Ren then replied in extreme diligence, "Yes, Captain, on tonight's Waking Hour I'll be heading to its lair."
"Good." Gin simply answered. Then turning his attention towards Shin, he spoke in excitement, "Shin, you're here. I have amazing news for you."
"Congratulations, you have been promoted to E Rank. You are now officially a member of Squad 0."
Eh! The sounds of bewilderment filled the small conference room.
"Promoted?!" Shin exclaimed.
"E Rank?!" Ren blurted out.
Even though she remained silent, her eyes had betrayed her, looking at Gin and Shin with enlarged eyes.