Marcus exhaled as soon as the door shut, running a hand over his meticulously groomed mustache. “So, what do you think?”
Seemingly from nowhere, a feminine voice tinged with interest answered the question “It looked like a straightforward enhancement-type. Not Warrior or Berserk, as those have a few obvious signs, but something like that. I don’t see why you asked for my presence with such urgency.”
Chuckles shook the elderly man’s frame, sending small tremors all through the room now that he didn’t need to control his strength as much. “Even if that was true, we aren’t exactly in the condition of rejecting anyone here. The guilds will just snap up anyone with even a hint of being special.”
Suddenly, a woman materialized in front of his desk, a small, gleeful tightening of her eyes the only indication of her pride at having fooled his senses for so long. She wore a dark uniform with red highlights, the Awakeners Association symbol proudly stamped on her chest. Though a black mask covered most of her face, the crimson eyes and delicate features that were visible made for a remarkable sight. “That doesn’t mean we have to lower our standards, though. I think we might have to be even stricter, so as to not get bogged down by useless people.” She answered.
Marcus waved away her words, not moved “The times have changed, and we have to change with them, or get left behind. Most of the few funds we receive are already given to the guilds when we have to call on them to clean up problems we don’t have the resources to solve. If we start being too tight on recruitment, we’ll just become a rubber stamp agency.”
By the slumping of his interlocutor’s shoulders, she knew this reality all too well. “Still” she refocused, pushing the sad situation the AA was in to the side for the moment “I don’t understand what made you call me down here. This James Summers might become something in the future if he dedicates himself to training and finds a good guild to nurture him, but for now, he’s just one amongst many. Nothing that would require my attention.”
Marcus’ mustache twitched up, a grin of amusement forming unbidden “I can see that you still have that same habit of dismissing those who are not outwardly as impressive as you are, dear Leila. You, of all people, should know that not all things are as they seem.”
Unbothered by the reprimand, the woman merely raised an eyebrow, evidently waiting for the real answer.
“If you really must pry all the secrets from a defenseless old man.” He finally conceded, ignoring the disbelieving scoff “I felt something very interesting from that young man. It's not bravado or even a particular level of strength, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he had already leveled up once. No, it’s that Talent of his that I immediately noticed as soon as he walked into the building. I don’t know if he’s even aware of it, but the moment he stepped foot in the lobby, he had already categorized every single person and subconsciously shifted away from the less dangerous ones and towards where one of the hidden guards was. That, coupled with what I felt during his examination, makes me think he must have a very eclectic Talent.”
This time, Leila seemed to take his words much more seriously. Marcus knew that for all the walls she put up around herself, his old student cared. She cared for the AA and its destitute future, she cared for him and all the other Awakeners who put in long hours of sweat and blood to prevent their agency from slipping even further.
A young talent like Mr. Summers wouldn’t change much in the grand scheme of things, but if I can give her something else to concentrate on, she might be able to relax just a little. And who knows, they might help each other grow. God knows I did when I first started teaching.
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“So you think he might have a high tier Talent and that it’s understated enough that the guilds would not challenge us too much if we tried to recruit him.” Leila finally condensed, looking thoughtful now that she was following his logic.
“Indeed. After all, we both know that the moment the evaluation papers touch the front desk, they will find their way to at least a dozen different guilds.” Marcus agreed. He was well used to the way things were and if, for once, he could use the corruption in the system to their advantage, he would. “I might have avoided mentioning any of those observations in the official papers, which coincidentally might mean that they’d simply approach him as if he were a Warrior-type.”
His grin looked a bit too devious to be appropriate on his kindly old face, but if he couldn’t enjoy sticking it to the parasites suckling at his life’s work, he might just quit.
“Of course.” He continued “That doesn’t mean he will not accept any of their offers, even though they should lowball him. Most kids these days think nothing of joining up with a guild. It’s even the preferred path on those online guides that have become so popular.”
“But something you know makes you think he won’t join them.” Leila finished for him.
Marcus grinned, reaching for one of his desk’s drawers and taking out a wad of papers. Given the many stamps with red ink that screamed ‘Classified’, Leila could easily deduce that it wasn’t a simple document.
“This is what I found when I looked up the kid’s family history.” The old man explained, passing the stack to his student.
The next few minutes were spent in silence as the woman went through the papers with great speed. By the widening of her eyes, she was finally getting where his confidence was coming from.
“But how did you get these so quickly? And what made you want to look for them in the first place?” She finally asked, handing the papers back.
“It’s a little habit of mine to run a check on all the aspirants who stand out to my eye. And you should know, by now, that I have my ways. Though the AA is not nearly as well funded and held in low regard amongst the Federal Agencies, we still operate as one, and we have access to the internal network of the United States of America. That, more than anything, is our greatest remaining strength.”
Leila mulled over it for a couple of seconds before seemingly shrugging her surprise off. “Alright, so we know the kid won’t go with just any guild that comes calling. And that he might end up a good asset in the future. That still doesn’t explain why you asked me to come down here.”
“Isn’t it obvious? The higher ups managed to scrounge the funds to build a new team of rookies; they want us to take in the most inexperienced guys possible and make them into gems. Mr. Summers fits in perfectly.” Marcus explained, his leading tone implying something more was about to be revealed. “Considering how you’ve been put on leave after that last mission… Well, trying your hand at teaching them wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
Seeing how Leila’s expression was closing off, and the temperature in the room was rising sharply, the mustachioed man hurried to continue “Successfully taking a team of rookies up a few ranks will show the higher ups that you have matured enough they should rethink their stance on your path forward. And when they get good enough, even if the guilds finally snatch them, they’ll have to pay us much more than if they were just H-ranks.”
From the quick cooling of the air, Marcus deduced his reasoning had worked well enough. He deliberately didn’t show any discomfort, knowing that his student would pounce on any weakness she could sense.
When nothing happened for the next few seconds, she sighed. “Alright, I’ll give it a try. It sounds like a real pain, but if it truly goes the way you said it will, I guess it’d be worth it.”
She then got up, looking pensive but resolute enough that Marcus didn’t feel he needed to push more.
With a careless wave, Leila stepped forward, a dark shadow appearing beneath her feet and, in a blink, swallowed her whole, leaving nothing behind.
The old man, however, didn’t react at all, perfectly used to his former student’s Talent and its weird skills. Only a few seconds after she was gone did he allow himself to sigh in relief.
That girl. All that power and so little patience with anything that doesn’t involve fighting. Well, she might finally learn some, dealing with a bunch of brats. If she doesn’t kill them all immediately, that is.
Marcus eyed the melted slag cooling on the floor, the sad remains of his second office chair’s arms. The front of his wooden desk was warped and blackened, and the floor looked to have suffered under the intense heat.
With a huff, he tapped one of his fingers on the desk, causing the entire room to ripple. In but a second, everything was as it once was, restored to a pristine state.
I’ll have to keep an eye on Leila and Mr. Summers. If what is hinted at in his file is even just half true, we will see some big waves soon.