The days following the KLF attacks had been hectic for all of New York, which was saying something. The Big Apple, however, was not known for its sheer grit for nothing, so people soon found a new normal.
Visible patrols of Awakeners from private Guilds and the AA had become a common sight. It wasn’t so much that anyone expected another rash of attacks to happen - The Kashmiri Liberation Force’s leadership had released a statement saying that they had achieved their goals of limiting American overreach - but they couldn’t very well just go back to business as usual without taking a few more precautions.
Considering the sheer attention on the city, not even the most thuggish Guilds dared make problems at the moment, which allowed for a weird sort of camaraderie to form.
President McArthur had given a speech at the grounds where the most dead had been recovered alongside the Mayor, Governor and Regional AA Director, saying that the attack would not go unpunished and asking for all Americans to come together.
While at any other point in time, it would have felt pretty boilerplate - there was no shortage of politicians attempting to rally the people against the monster tides to get a few more votes - the KLF attack had shaken the population enough that it had some effect.
This meant that when James was stopped a few times on his way to the AA HQ and showed his ID and exam papers, he was treated like some sort of hero by both civilians and Guild Awakeners alike.
Considering how confrontational his relationship with them had been so far, James felt justified in his befuddlement, but he pushed it aside in short order, not wanting to waste any more time than he already had.
If I had known there were so many checkpoints on the way, I would have come much earlier. Now I’m almost late.
Finally entering the HQ after one last check - though this time he was waved in after the forcefield around the building didn’t show any hesitance in letting him through - James found the lobby to be much more crowded than he had ever seen it.
Even when Miss Walker brought him and the rest of Team 0 back after the Radiant operation, there hadn’t been that many people. It had been more chaotic, for sure, but there had been enough space to move.
On the other hand, there now were so many people that it was difficult to find anyone. For someone who didn’t have the same Skills James did, at least.
With Thakinetic Awareness, it took him only a few minutes of elbowing through the crowds to get to where he could feel his teammates clustering together.
“What the hell is going on?” He asked as soon as Lauren turned to face him.
“Well, good morning to you too, sleeping beauty.” She teased. “We’ve been waiting for you for ten minutes already.”
“I was stopped four times for checks on the way here.” James replied grumpily. “Now, can we get to the bit where you explain why it looks like the lobby has been taken by assault by a mob?”
He already had developed a theory - the vast majority of the people present were actually weak Awakeners, and the event being held today made it easy to connect the dots - but he hoped against all odds to be wrong.
“I think they might be here to take the test.” Daniel finally answered resignedly. The Tank was a towering presence, standing almost half a foot above the closest people, and his bulk made it so no one got too close by accident.
“How are there so many of them?!” James asked exasperatedly. He had known that there were many more Awakeners than those who actively took part in hunting monsters inside dungeons, but this seemed a bit too much. They were not all ready to become G-rank, at least.
“I don’t believe most of them are here for the test. It’s apparently been pretty hectic for the last few days.” Ezekiel clarified, glancing at the crowd. "After the KLF attacks, many want to do their part. Some are here to see if they can rank up, but the majority are just hoping to offer assistance in any way possible. The government's call to arms resonated with a lot of people.”
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Maria chimed in “It’s endearing, in a way. People want to help, but they have no idea what to do, and so they come here. Awakeners, despite not being particularly powerful, are still Awakeners. Letting them leave without hearing them out is not an option.”
James frowned, thinking about the logistical nightmare that this would pose. "But most of these people aren’t even equipped to handle combat against monsters. It's too absurd to think of sending them in the elite teams that will fight against the terrorists.”
That was looking like the most likely response at the moment. A few powerful Awakeners, supported to the fullest extent by the US Military, would destroy important KLF bases and make sure no one would ever dare attack America like that again.
A voice piped up from behind him, light and teasing "You want to fight terrorists, handsome?”
James turned to see a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with purple-dyed hair tied in a messy bun, a smattering of freckles on her face, and a playful glint in her soulful brown eyes. She wore the emblem of the Ten Thousand Eyes Guild - a biblically accurate angel - and by her side stood four others, each of them displaying the same emblem.
"I'm Tea.” She introduced herself, giving James a once-over that made him slightly uncomfortable. "And these are my teammates - Mark, Bethany, Jean, and Joe." She pointed to each in turn. Mark was a burly man with a broadsword strapped to his back, Bethany had a metal staff that gave a staticky feeling, Jean had a white suit with a red cross, indicating she was the designated healer, and Joe was a bald young man - almost as tall as Daniel - and wore a scarlet sash over his flowy robes.
Lauren raised an eyebrow at the open flirtation and placed herself squarely in front of James. The sight was a bit comical, considering she was six inches shorter than him. "Nice to meet you. What brings the Ten Thousand Eyes Guild here?”
Tea leaned in, her voice dripping with mischief. "Word is there's a hotshot team making waves that’s going to take the test, and we wanted to see them for ourselves. And I must say…” She said, eyes raking over James. “The rumors did not exaggerate.”
Her gaze was intense, beyond just ordinary interest. It took James a second, but he finally realized that the purple-haired woman must have some kind of inspection skill, somewhat similar to his own Awareness, which was the source of his discomfort. Well, it’s not illegal to scout people, and I suppose she doesn’t know I can feel her using it.
James cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "You said something about fighting terrorists?”
Tea's playful smile widened, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Ah, caught that, did you? Yes, our guild has been actively involved in counter-terrorism efforts since the attacks. We've had some success, but as you said, not everyone is equipped for direct combat. That's one of the reasons why we're here - to scout potential talent and allies for our missions.”
Mark stepped forward, his broad shoulders drawing attention to him. "We need a strong coalition of Awakeners to ensure that another attack doesn't happen. The government is doing its part, but we believe the guilds - with the Ten Thousand Eyes in the leading role thanks to our information-gathering abilities - can provide a more specialized response.”
Jean, the silent blonde healer who had been looking at the ground in shyness so far, added to that, her voice soft yet firm "It's not just about raw power. Strategy, intelligence, and collaboration are just as crucial. The KLF may have struck a blow, but together, we can ensure they don't get another chance. If we give back as good as we got and then ignore the consequences of our actions, we’ll get drawn in an endless cycle of violence.”
The short speech felt like a rehearsed recruitment pitch, which made James roll his eyes. Yes, he could appreciate the unity that came from feeling under attack as much as anyone else, but the fact that Guilds were already starting to take advantage of it made him exasperated.
Bethany, evidently sensing James' skepticism, stepped forward, her metallic staff glowing faintly with potential charge. "Look, I get it. It's easy to be cynical, especially when it seems like everyone's just out for their own gain. But the truth is, we're all in this together. The KLF attacks have shown that no one is safe, regardless of rank or affiliation.”
Before he could answer back, Joe, the tallest of the Guild team, interjected “There are many who genuinely want to help, to make a difference. But not everyone knows how, and the AA doesn’t have the resources to deal with this many people. That's where we come in. We take some of them off their plate and ensure everything is running smoothly.”
Lauren raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "So, what's the plan?”
Tea smiled. "First, we need to assess the capabilities of those who want to help. The G-rank exam is a perfect opportunity for that. It'll separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Some people are just not suited to doing anything more than civilian life, after all.”
James crossed his arms. "And after the exam?”
Tea's eyes twinkled with mischief again. "Well, handsome, that's where things get interesting. We'll be offering joint training sessions for all those who have a decent score for free, sharing intel, and creating specialized task forces to tackle specific threats. We can reduce the amount of interference in the regular operations and maybe deal with some of the backlog of weaker dungeons that so often creates problems even in cities like New York.”
It was all fine and dandy, but James knew they weren’t doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. Taking on some of the weight of new recruits from the AA would also allow them a pick of the cream of the crop, which would make their expansion operations much easier.
Before he could answer, however, the elevator dinged open, and from it, a familiar figure emerged.
Standing close to seven feet in height, Mr. Bethany towered over the crowd and captured everyone’s attention without even needing to raise his voice.
A couple minutes later, the lobby had fully quieted down as people waited for the giant of a man to speak.
“Thank you.” He said when every sound finally stopped. “I’m sure most of you are very eager to get started with the exam, but I know that not everyone’s here for it. So I’d kindly ask those here to sign up for the rescue and clean-up efforts to please stand to the far end of the lobby.” His voice was deep enough to be heard through the whole floor, and no one dared speak up to question him.
After a couple of minutes of shuffling, the examinees were standing at the front, and Mr.Bethany addressed them directly. “Now, everyone here for the Rank Up Exam, please go down with your team or by yourself if unaffiliated through the elevators. You’ll be let through in groups of ten and taken to where the first section of the test will take place.” He said, gesturing to the dozen or so AA staff members who were stationed around the elevators.
“I hope you are ready to use your brain, because the first test is a written one.”
Oh crap.