Underneath the ruins of an abandoned town on the outskirts of Setus, a secret meeting was taking place.

Three men huddled around a small round wooden table deep underground.

One man pressed his hands beside his head, his thinning hair falling as his hands trembled in stress. "Two months and we haven't met any Talent holders with a unique symbol yet! I'm getting sick of this!" The balding man slammed his face onto the table with a thud.

Another man joined in with his opinion. "Thankfully, there's no quota for us to fill. But still, how in the world are we supposed to find these Talents with such a small budget?” the pessimistic man let out a heavy sigh. “It's impossible, I tell you."

"You two, slow down," a stoic man interrupted. "Both of you are way too focused on pleasing the bosses. We were supposed to only scout the area and find info, remember?"

The balding man lifted his head. "Easy for you to say! You can stand around doing nothing all day, but I'm sick of being stuck in the Paladin rank! I want to join the Right Palm group! No matter the cost!"

"Are you sure?" The pessimistic man asked. "How's your Talent going to help Right Palm?"

"Hey! [Sword Mastery] can go a long way, you know?!"

"Sure, they’re strong and all, but Right Palm focuses on the political stuff," the pessimistic man replied. "I don't see how [Sword Mastery] fits into that."

"W-well, I can persuade others using my natural charms! O-or maybe fear!!"

The two other men exchanged a glance, smirking.

"Wha-- don't laugh at me! I'm serious about this!"

"We're not laughing, it's a good dream to have, but it’s just that, a dream," the stoic man said, a small subtle grin visible on his cheek.

“Haha, yeah,” the pessimistic man let out a small laugh. “We’re dumb if we actually believe any of us could get in Right Palm.”

“Do not make fun of another’s dream, you three. Have your parents taught you anything?"

The three men froze. A presence, unnoticed until now, appeared in the meeting room. They turned to see a man standing in the doorway, his appearance almost surreal. With perfectly styled black hair, an impeccable monocle, a fine suit, and a muscular build that exuded strength, he was the epitome of a gentleman.

The pessimistic man abruptly stood up and stammered, “E-Enforcer Sauro!”

The three men quickly got off of their seats, hastily kneeling down in a line in front of their Enforcer.

“Enforcer Sauro! It is an honor to be graced by your presence!” The balding man said, his voice almost quivering.

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“Now, now, stand up you three. Take a seat, headquarters have some new orders.”

”“Yes, sir!”” The three men shouted.

…

“Greetings you three, my name is Sergio Sauro, a member of the Right Palm. I’m sure my sudden appearance confused the three of you, but to keep my matters here brief, I am here to say that you haven’t produced favorable reports for the headquarters so far.”

The stoic man gulped, the balding man couldn’t keep his legs calm, and the pessimistic man’s whole body was shaking at the mere presence of Sergio.

“Tell me, what is the problem? Why can’t you produce any results?” Sergio said with a husky, yet gentle and caring tone.

None of the three men could answer. They feared for their life as they knew they had blundered.

“Haha, nervous? Don’t worry, you know I won’t tell on you.”

In almost an instant, the three men relaxed their bodies as they felt a weird sense of trust in Sergio.

“B-budget, sir,” the pessimistic man answered. “W-we don’t have any means of accessing the higher society in the kingdom, let alone sneak into the royal directory.”

“Hm? And who exactly told you to do that?” Sergio asked, rubbing his neat beard.

“M-me, sir,” the balding man said.

Sergio’s gaze locked onto the balding man. “I thought your mission was to scout and inform us of anything we could use to infiltrate the kingdom.”

“Yes, sir. But I thought that if we get candidates without the help of Right Palm, that would mean I would have the qualifications to become a Right Palm member!” The balding man exclaimed with glee in his voice.

Sergio smiled a gentle smile, then out of nowhere, a punch sent the balding man head deep into the concrete walls.

“You think you’re our equal?” Sergio said, his gloved fist stained with droplets of blood. “Keep your delusions to yourself, young man.”

Sergio glanced at the other two men, who remained frozen in their seats. With a calm demeanor, he pulled out a handkerchief to clean the blood from his gloves.

The balding man’s body slid down from the impact, leaving a trail of blood on the broken concrete wall. He groaned. He was alive, barely.

Ignoring the groaning man, Sergio turned to the remaining two. “Now that we have absolved our problem, shall we continue? Or do you two have your own opinions that need to be voiced?”

The stoic man and the pessimist shook their heads fervently.

“Good, let us move on. Despite your lack of efforts to gather information, headquarters will continue with ‘recruiting’ in Setus.”

The stoic man spoke up cautiously, “But sir, how do we proceed with such little preparation?!”

Sergio leaned his back against a wall, using another handkerchief he pulled out of nowhere to clean his monocle. “Well, I always expect something like this to happen, so I did your job. There is a tradition here where aristocratic children are sent to observe the lives of the people in a village. That would be a good time to ‘recruit’ some of them.”

The pessimistic man raised his head. “Sir, are you saying we’re recruiting at random? But the chances of them having Unique Symbols are–”

“Yes, I am aware of that. But what other choice do we have? Surely it is your incompetence that put us in this situation in the first place.”

“F-fair point.”

Sergio let out a small chuckle. “We will cast a wide net. Anyone showing any promise would be recruited, the others can be held for ransom. Any sight of Unique Symbols, you report to me, got it?”

““Yes, sir!”” Both of the men answered.

"Good," Sergio nodded approvingly. "Remember, this operation is crucial. Our future plans hinge on finding those with Unique Talents. Now, get to work. And make sure your efforts yield results this time.”

With that, Sergio straightened his suit’s collar and left the room.

After Sergio left, the room fell silent except for the groans of the injured man echoing off the walls.

“I’m surprised he didn’t die from that,” the stoic man said.

“[Enhanced Endurance] is quite a useful Talent, huh?”

“G-ghhh…”

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image [https://i.imgur.com/RdC5Gde.png]