3 Months

Time passed as 3 months went by.

At the Crimsonbreaking Carrier's module. Where tens of thousands of new recruits were attending their last day of the probationary period. This was an ample room where more than this many people could stand simultaneously, and the current number within was just a smallish fraction of all the seats and space. Heian Ciemnosc stood in one of the many corners of people surrounding a hexagonal stage, where a single person stood and looked at them like they were nothing.

At this moment, the person facing them wasn't an instructor, but he could very well be. He was one of the commanders of incomplete Fleets, and although his resume wasn't as memorable or intriguing as Choliac's, Heian Ciemnosc looked at this person with attention as he began a speech. "You have all come here and remain in our ranks because you know you have made it. This place is no longer a dream for you but your achievement. Now, that shit doesn't matter. From now on, you're at the Crimsonbreaking Faction's behest no matter what."

"Some of you came here on time, and some of you didn't," the person started walking in small circles around the stage but flashed a glance at Heian Ciemnosc in the latter half of his words. "And while some of you achieved what you didn't believe was for you, others simply became better. Now, as you've completed your probationary period and have been analyzed by several leading figures in the Faction, you will finally join a Team and know your place. From today onwards, you'll belong to someone's Flotilla, incomplete Fleet, or even the main Fleet. However, the latter will take you years before you can fight beside the main force's troops and spaceships."

"And trust me, that's something you can only hope to achieve after becoming an official soldier unit in our Faction," the man said. Despite his rough face, blackish-scaled skin, and stone-hearted demeanor, his eyes showed melancholy and pride. One that couldn't be swept away by riches, bitches, or fame. Power may contain against it, but only if it means fighting in the main force again. "You can take it as your secondary probationary period. In this way, you can see life in the Faction as an endless task of going through testing times."

"When you're a new recruit, you are tested until you are let join the secondary forces. When you're a soldier unit in the latter, you will spend time before you can take up arms with fellow main force troops. And if you're in the main force, you will thrive and struggle to survive in the battles they experience... However, don't get your hopes up." The commander said, lifting and admonishing almost everyone's eyes of thinking they were the one! That even they could break all those time limits and become a legendary figure that became the Crimsonbreaking Faction to raise! The man continued...

"As a soldier unit recently admitted into a force, you won't have any fighting. All you can hope for is that your incomplete Fleet or Flotilla's commander has enough time to look for stupid jobs for useless people like you. You'll have a Team to belong to and at least a Frigate to respond to. Your every action, thought, kill, death, and outcome of a battle will represent the Frigate you come from. Even as you advance and leave behind others in that Frigate, you will never forget the first time you stepped on it and the last."

"If you're good enough, you may join the main force in over 10 years. And you will fight under the one and only Chairwoman's command. That's an honor only a tiny percentage of this world has ever seen to live, tell, or been through." The man said up to here before becoming silent. He gazed at every new recruit in the module before nodding. Next, he stomped the stage's floor as dozens of terminals protruded from it, and he ended the meeting, silently congratulating everyone with an extra nod as their medallion heated up. "Come and pass your medallion through the terminals. They will update your information and send you to your respective Teams!"

Step, step, step, step, step, step, step...!

Heian Ciemnosc watched as everyone moved forth, lightly pushing each other without genuinely bashing someone aside or hurting them. He observed as the man above the stage remained on top with his arms crossed and returned the look towards him, but only for half a second before continuing to monitor the new soldier units. Several minutes passed before Heian Ciemnosc saw most of the soldier units leave after deeply bowing at the man who preceded over them on this last day. It was still morning, so they still had many chores to attend.

When Heian Ciemnosc stepped forward, he noticed the man looking at him without taking his eyes away. Heian Ciemnosc took the crimson-black medallion his wife had created for him and passed it over the terminal's principal panel. After he did that, Heian Ciemnosc felt the man's stare finally leave his body. It wasn't an intimidation tactic, definitely. However, he felt like something was fishy, but not ill-intended at the very least.

"..." Heian Ciemnosc felt the crimson-black heating up in his Covert Space bags. He took it out and read it while heading out as the man returned his eyes to his back, but only for a fleeting moment. Then, he became a little wordless as he was given an entire information dump about the incomplete Fleet he belonged to now. It was led by Choliac, and one of the vice commanders in charge was the female instructor who ruthlessly lashed at him with her Demon tail.

'Hmm.' However, Heian Ciemnosc also read the Frigate he belonged to now. It was a Defensive type and had a complete crew members capacity with a capable, young leader, and their own Fighters were pretty good in general. Heian Ciemnosc wasn't specified which Team he belonged to now, but it all seemed like it wasn't one formed by new recruits purely, which meant he would at least get to do missions immediately and not wait to stand on his boss's good side.

"Sigh..." Heian Ciemnosc sighed in relief as he finally finished the probationary time and no longer needed to spend more time under the new recruit's bullying eyes and envious glances whenever the girls he bought off with Earth grade uniforms came to him with blushing faces. However, what's better, now Heian Ciemnosc could cultivate as usual, and he was most excited about this because he felt he could reach the peak with just a thought and some time well spent!

"... Hey, Heian Ciemnosc! Sorry, I'm late. I was busy convincing my big sister I didn't give my body away to a pervert. Hehe!" A youngish woman's voice suddenly called Heian Ciemnosc just as he was nearing one of the transporting vehicles with people aboard, waiting for their respective comrades, partners, or family to join them. One of them was for Heian Ciemnosc, as the driver shouted towards him without fear. All that was in her eyes was her combat and survival capabilities increasing.

Heian Ciemnosc walked to her, and after a shake of hands, he felt a pair of overly protective eyes land on his shoulder. Heian Ciemnosc ignored it and entered the vehicle. The driver drove into the corridors and headed towards Heian Ciemnosc's bedroom. She had a content smile as she chatted with him, and Heian Ciemnosc kept having the sensation of being seen. However, while he was out there, returning home after just a few hours out of his bedroom, others had other matters to attend to.

... A few minutes of driving from the module where tens of thousands of new recruits were transitioning into official soldier units, even if not as the immediate force, a room containing only information about the soldier units was rapidly invaded by 95% of those new recruits. Only a smallish portion of these new recruits wasn't here, but virtually everyone was, but Heian Ciemnosc was not one of them.

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"Huah, you saw that guy? He left with another today." - "Yeah, and wasn't that girl someone's little sister? I hope he gets beaten up!" - "Bah! With that pretty face, how could he not be beaten back and forth? It's a miracle he hasn't become a face riddled with tumors developing everywhere." - "Ahahahah!" - "Mn, let's see what rank he has." - "Right, he must be 3rd... worst! And that would be his best! Haha!" - "Who asked him to barely complete any exercise on time? Tsk, even making others have to wait around him and the instructors... Seriously, how does no one have enough awareness to know they're messing everything up?" - "Actually, I think 3rd last position is being nice to him." - "Haha, yeah..." - "Let's s- huh?!"

The room became lively. It was impossible not to, with thousands and thousands of new recruits chatting over the results of the ranking for the new recruits, namely them. The ostracizing of Heian Ciemnosc was as heated up as always. While they didn't know that much about Heian Ciemnosc in the beginning. After hearing about how he came to join the Faction, since when, and what he was supposedly capable of. They immediately took the og's side and pounced on the fresh scapegoat meat known as Heian Ciemnosc.

However, they were suddenly becoming silent, one by one. At last, someone who was coincidentally the last to speak called out with a cheeky grin plastered on their face before suddenly exclaiming in disbelief. They were looking at the ranks for the new recruits, and unlike what they and everyone else thought, Heian Ciemnosc was nowhere near the last positions. Just as they interpreted it as a slight misconception and that Heian Ciemnosc deserved a place in the middle-lower ranks, one exclaimed while aiming at the top of the leaderboards.

"Hey, isn't that Heian Ciemnosc?!" - "WHAT?! How can the black monster be ranked there? He was last in almost every day's lessons and never attracted the instructor's attention during lessons! What the..." - "There must be something wrong, right?" - "Tsk! How can that bullshit spill out your mouth after your brain passed inspection on such dumbass words time and again? Are you even an Auxiliary Soldier?!" - "I'm sorry, I just... don't get it..." - "Yeah, no. I get it. Why the fuck is this happening?" - "..."

... Vrooooommm~!

... Meanwhile, back at the corridors, where Heian Ciemnosc's ride finally stopped before his bedroom's door. After a few minutes of driving, the young woman arrived at their destination. She got up only to wave hands with him and receive the Earth weapon and armor from his pale hands, slender, attractive, and seemingly goddamn good at creating Earth graded stuff. But what's more, according to the universal group of females, these were top-notch!

One just had to bring some materials besides helping Heian Ciemnosc up to move around the Carrier. New recruits like him weren't allowed to step even near the short portal points, or they would turn into dust by the guards over there. Even then, the new recruits' bedrooms were too close to their training regimen and lesson modules. There were also a few others, like a room to look at the Faction's different ranking leaderboards or big meetings with their possible future bosses.

"Okay, have a great day. Tayah will take up next week. She has a new boyfriend and wanted to ask if you are willing to make more Earthy stuff for her?" The young woman said after taking the items and hugging Heian Ciemnosc because he was too damn pervertedly handsome not to take advantage from. Heian Ciemnosc became speechless at the mention of that other young woman and blinked before begrudgingly nodding.

"Nice! I'll go tell her in person. Sorry about my Big Sis. She really cares about me. In the future, she may be your client... Wow, that sounds so bad... Good day, black monster! Hehe." The young woman said before entering the transporting vehicle and driving it away from Heian Ciemnosc. He could see even her neck flushing after she said those words as the pair of eyes left him. He could only wonder how sheltered that hidden beast was from the real world.

Step, step... Heian Ciemnosc turned to face his bedroom door, just 4 meters from the corridors' street. But just as he took a couple steps on the sidewalk, his darkest eyes narrowed, and he looked to his left, where a small group of people walked towards him or at least in his direction. However, the shout from the one at the center and front from everyone else spilled the truth.

"Heian Ciemnosc? Aren't you that black monster?!" The small group of new recruits walked towards him with their leader wearing a slightly hidden disdainful glance. Heian Ciemnosc stopped, gave his bedroom door one last look, and turned towards the walking new recruits. They were official soldier units now but still belonged to the 'elementary' force numbering the Faction. Most were First or Third Step cultivators, but those before Heian Ciemnosc's bedroom were in the Second Step.

Nothing much could be said from the others, but their leader was a Breaking Point realm 2nd stage cultivator. He was many times stronger than Heian Ciemnosc, to the point Heian Ciemnosc could be easily hit down and turned into bags of flesh from his limbs and neck. Thus, Heian Ciemnosc casually walked towards them. His darkest eyes were focused and locked onto their leader as they walked to stand with a distance of 1.5 meters in between, not one millimeter extra or lacking.

"I heard you like giving anyone stuff?" Their leader said after a short, brief staring contest with Heian Ciemnosc. The more he looked into those darkest eyes, the more he felt a strange, awful, prickling-like sensation as if a needle was drilling through the middle of his pupils. The leader's words gained cheeky, smug grins from his party. They weren't more than half a dozen and seemed to believe they controlled everything.

"No," Heian Ciemnosc calmly answered. The leader snortled and jolted his neck backwards playfully before saying with a light smile, "No? But I just saw you do that. Look, we don't know what deals between you and your women nowadays, and we don't care. But aren't you capable of a lot? So many Earth grade things came out of your pockets like they pop from your garbage. Are they even yours? Or is someone helping you? Last time I checked, one can only sell the stuff they made, not anyone else."

"... They're mine," Heian Ciemnosc gradually tilted his head to the right before responding. His darkest eyes glinted without emotion, but somehow, they seemed ultimately cold. The half-a-dozen leader narrowed his eyes a tiny bit before lifting his left hand to grasp Heian Ciemnosc's dark coat's neck in a flicking notion as he spoke. "I don't care if they are. You can start supplying my Team with your trash, or you'll get reported to the Faction's authorities for stealing and contraband. Haven't you heard? No one can bother enduring your presence!"

The leader's voice became sharp and furious, like manning up. Heian Ciemnosc's darkest eyes looked at him silently, and his dark Soul swiftly fluctuated without attracting attention. Several seconds went like this, with Heian Ciemnosc's head still tilted, making the group before him strangely uncomfortable. They weren't afraid yet, but they seemed afflicted by something. Their leader seemed to feel his chest pulsate, as his people felt as if their Souls left their bodies for a moment and heavily sweated.

"Felt that? Take it as my gift," Heian Ciemnosc said. His darkest eyes relaxed, and the group's leader was taken aback so suddenly that he didn't know how to react. Heian Ciemnosc took 2 steps backward and stopped, changing his expression to a severe one, and quietly said, "You shouldn't have come to where I reside if you really wanted to talk business. Remember what you've gotten. I won't forget it."

Thus, after mildly threatening the man 3 realms above his cultivation base, Heian Ciemnosc turned and walked to his bedroom. The man wanted to yell, 'I challenge you here and now!' but felt the shame of doing so to a cultivator 3 realms below his cultivation base and swallowed his words. Then, he reacted, remembering what he felt and Heian Ciemnosc's words.

The leader emphatically searched around his inner being, scanning his Soul crazily until he found something different. It was a spark. This was from an ordinary yellow and orange, but no matter how much he attempted to erase it, it held its grasp and didn't dissipate. His forehead started sweating, and his limbs felt weak, but he wasn't sick. This was just from the scare.

"!" The realization struck him and his pride. The leader's fists tightened as he looked at the closed door, and his eyes shone craftily. As for his group, it wasn't even necessary to see if they suffered something similar, not needing to embarrass himself that his Soul was weaker than someone 3 realms below his. However, that notion was also confusing and shocking.

'I'm a Breaking Point realm cultivator. How can a Blossoming realm bastard have a better Soul than me? I have a Manifestation realm Soul! How is this possible?!'

The leader kept his eyes on Heian Ciemnosc's bedroom door and silently thought again, 'You are so much about your privacy? Or are you really hiding something, hm? Are you so afraid of anyone seeing what it is? Good...'

"Let's go!" The leader shouted, bringing the heavily sweating, paled half a dozen with him back to where they parked their transporting vehicle. They had eaten a loss here, but they could return with someone who could investigate and inspect any soldier's place. As long as there was enough reason in the situation and the 'right' person targeted, the usual tedious and step-by-step procedure could go much faster.

The Faction might not be willing to go over the line, but anything could happen. And who could stop them in the name of righteousness?

...