Sebas roamed around, walking in whatever way his legs took him. Something within him swarmed his mind, pushing him in this direction.

Well, I am an assassin after all, but still. I guess I need to fix ‘that’ problem first.

He gave up on strolling around, deciding to just stay down on a nearby bench. The wood was rough, making the stay quite uncomfortable, yet he did it anyway. Too much comfort is enough to destroy one’s life, or so they say.

"Sebas, stop walking around aimlessly, I have a task for you."

Sebas jumped, almost falling in the process, flailing his arms and legs around. The passersby watched him, taking their distance, and sped up past him.

Just what the hell? I’m going insane, the hell?

"You’re not going insane, Sebas. I am talking with you thelepically. It’s me, Sys, and I have a task for you."

Sebas would take a while to get accustomed to it, but for the time being, he had no choice but to be laid back and play it cool. He spread his arms out, placing them on the upper part of the bench.

Well, then, tell me, what is that mission you spoke about?

"Now we’re talking. This might be a bit of an unusual request, but you need to do that."

Just how in hell do you want me to do that? That shitass organization ain’t even properly settled in this country.

"Well, lucky you, the thing I want to know about is in this country. This branch has a mysterious entity; I truly need to know about it."

If you say so, I guess I could do that. So, it’s up to me to find a way in, I guess.

"Yes, I leave it up to you. Remember, this is really important, information is needed on this."

Sebas nodded, absent-mindedly trying to come up with a way to actually do that. He knew about their branch being in the capital, which would be a bit of an issue.

I should call my parents and tell them where I’m going. Also, I should get a train ticket.

Said and done, he wandered the streets a bit more and got a ticket for free.

It’s nice to be a student sometimes.

As he made his way to the dorms, his mind wandered off, leaving behind an empty husk that stood in the bus. The bus’ sudden shaking and change of speed reminded him to balance himself, which he did with little effort.

It took him some time to get back to the dorms, something he began to slowly despise. That place was a sort of refuge, but at the same time, it was the place that marked his demise. A mixture of feelings trapped him, clawing at him, all caused by the sight of the run-down walls.

He went in, making way for his room. The only thing he did for the rest of the day was to lie down in bed while listening to music and sleep all day long.

The night passed in the blink of an eye, setting the scene for the sunrise. Sebas had already marched outside, waiting for the first bus to come. He took a deep breath, enjoying the chilly air.

The rest of the ride was silent, just empty buses and empty streets, which only added to the mysterious morning vibe.

Once on board, Sebas once again fell into deep thought, racking his brain for a way to enter the organization.

Wait, why am I being stupid?

He took out his phone, looking up some things about it. Apparently, they were like any other company, paying their employees, having a normal selection process. The more Sebas looked, the more he found this organization to be normal. People worked there, having ranks similar to the ones in games, ranging from F to S.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

This... will be easier than I thought.

What made it all easier was the housing service they provided. Anyone who came to work for them was sure to have a place to stay, no matter who they were. He was sure to take full advantage of that to the fullest.As for the ride itself, nothing of interest happened. Sebas listened to music while watching videos on the internet. That was his whole ride, apart from the periodic glances that he took outside the window.

The capital itself was no memorable sight—just a ton of old buildings scattered around in a frenzy. What is more, among those relics stood some actual impressive sights, buildings that represented an era long gone.

Sebas found himself in the center, walking aimlessly after leaving the station. It took him a few hours to finish, which he spent flimsily looking outside and staring at his phone.

"Where to now?" asked Sebas, as his eyes wandered around, drawn by the concrete sea. Lucky for him—and not only him—phones are a thing, providing easy access to a source of almost all human knowledge. He looked up where the organization’s base was located, letting the robotic voice of the GPS guide him.

A taxi sealed the deal, transporting him to the front of the building, but not before the driver started cussing the hell out of the shitty road infrastructure.

Sebas gave him the money, then properly found himself face-to-face with a sight he didn’t expect in his country. A giant office building, as new as it could be, stood tall right in front of him. Everything hit him like a shock, but part of him saw this coming.

Well, of course, it’s a global organization, of course they can pull stunts like this.

His hands were shaking, and his face turned a bit pale. Yet with a quick movement, he broke out of the shackles that were his feelings, and strode inside the building like he owned the place. Despite being a bit short, he didn’t let that bother him; he reciprocated everyone’s gaze with the same look they gave him. Office workers stormed the place, barely paying him any mind, while other so-called ‘players’ did take a glance at him, unable to gauge his abilities. In their eyes, Sebas was nothing more than a snotty brat of sorts, the type you’d see in movies—I don’t think they could have been farther off the mark.

He squeezed through the crowd, almost crawling to the reception. A woman who seemed to be nearly in her forties fiddled around with a stack of paper, shuffling them around like one would do a deck of cards. Sebas came close, asking him what he has to do.

"Good day. I have a question. Do you know where I have to apply to become a ‘player’?"

He didn’t like the term; it just felt enforced and completely mismatched for this. Rather than players, he’d have it be something like ‘warrior’ or whatever.

"You wish to become a player? How old are you?"

"I’m seventeen."

She oddly looked at him for a second before asking for some ID, which Sebas gave, barely containing his anger. He went through the entire process, going so far as to pretend he’d go ask his parents for a signature, only to fake it and come back later. After the whole process was done, they took him to a place in the back where individuals’ abilities were tested.

"This is where the testing phase takes place. This place is sturdy enough, so feel free to go all out. We shall evaluate your abilities and give you a fitting rank. They range from F to S, going backwards to A, then comes S, so remember...

She kept babbling on for a good few minutes, during which Sebas tried his best to distract himself. He stared at the others as they were undergoing the test, watching through the reinforced glass. People with a lot of different abilities were there, doing all sorts of things Sebas didn’t even know about. From healing magic to giant hammers flying around the room.

"…remember that it is a truly dangerous job, which might result in you-"

"It’s ok, you can stop now. I know where this is going. Just where in hell is this room I need to go to?"

She pointed at the nearby door, waiting for the others to come outside. Sebas awaited some random dude to pop out, but his heart flew inside his head the moment he saw it: a beautiful face, one unlike any other he had ever seen. She was shorter than him, not by a lot, but enough to make it noticeable. He stared, unaware of what he was doing, just taking in the sight. Her pinkish hair was nothing in his eyes, something he hadn’t even noticed.

She left her eyes drifting in his direction, giving him a glance worth more than a thousand words. Sebas felt it, the emotion he began to despise, but at the same time, he craved it like one would the dearest thing in their life. Her green eyes sent him into the forest that was his mind, a place devoid of noise.

"Are you alright?" came a soothing voice, one that woke him up from one dream to another. She waved her hand in front of his face, getting little to no motion from his eyes.

"Miss, is he alright?"

She turned to the woman who accompanied Sebas, only to be answered by some shrugging shoulders.

"No, I’m alright. I’m well, just spaced out."

She smiled at him, pushing the knife even deeper into the soon-to-be wound.

"I’m glad to hear. Well, see you around; who knows, we might even be partners."

Sebas waved his hand, not properly in control.

"Boy, she sure did a trick on you."

The woman gave him a sly smile, one that openly spoke about what Sebas was feeling. He didn’t say anything, rushed inside the room, and started spamming sword moves. The supervisor came in, while the receptionist stood in the doorframe, watching from afar.

"Time to show you my skills, right?"