“You want me to do what?”

Now almost a week after the sorry excuse for a preliminary exam, my life had returned to normal. Training, losing, training and sometimes sleeping had become a continuous and comfortable cycle for me.

That was of course until today.

An hour or so after waking up, Enzos’ assistant found me in the training room and said that he had a task for me. Naturally, I agreed, assuming that there were no other options for me. It also seemed as though the woman was thoroughly angry about something, and I didn’t want to make her any more pissed off.

Though she didn’t seem like much of a fighter, I was not that big of a risk-taker.

Just as we’d arrived outside of Enzos’ office, a pair of hooded figures exited. One was much shorter than the other, but I’d come to learn from my time in The Underground that judging people based on appearance was a very idiotic thing to do.

But as they walked past me, the shorter one bumped into me, and a small smile poked out of their hood before they turned to walk once more. The taller once turned to stare at me too, their gaze a little less welcoming.

The assistant snapped her fingers as she watched me drift off into space, and quickly pushed me inside the office.

There, on his weirdly large couch, Enzo sat with his favorite truth serum in his hands. He motioned for me to sit, and to my surprise stood up to put the drink away. I wasn’t sure if that was a sign for me to be more relaxed, or far more scared.

“You’re a really shitty fighter.” He said, his words slurring as he dropped back onto his couch.

I knew that it could have been the serum talking, but I doubt his words would change if he wasn’t under the influence.

“I’ve been improving pretty decently. I mean, you didn’t exactly tell me that everyone was stronger than me.” I said, trying to avoid eye contact.

He chuckled.

“You came to the largest underground fighting organization on this side of the territory, and really assumed everyone was going to be feeble little stage ones’?” He smiled to himself.

His words stung, but they carried an immense amount of truth. It was a tad bit stupid on my part, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to spend extra time doing extensive research.

There were a hundred different things I could say to him in my defence, but I chose to simply remain silent.

“However.” He sat up, curing his drunkenness as his aura shot out for a brief second.

‘That’s an interesting way to use your Heartile.’

“I think I have the perfect opportunity for you.” A mischievous grin stretched across his face.

I nearly audibly gulped.

“What kind of opportunity?” I questioned, hesitantly.

‘Please don’t make me do something illegal. Please don’t make me do something illegal.’ I prayed.

“Have you ever heard of The Hunters?”

I sighed upon hearing his words. I truly thought he was going to ask me to kill someone in order to continue staying at The Underground.

“No.” I shook my head.

He cleared his throat.

“The Hunters are an illegal association of rogue Azenci and other experienced classes. The world governments are completely against them, but I kind of like them. I’ve actually used their services a few times.”

‘That was in no way an explanation of who or what they are.’

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“And what does this have to do with me?” I questioned slowly.

He got up and sat down on the couch next to me. The smell of alcohol still prevalent on his breath.

“You’re a great fighter, don’t get me wrong kid. Some people come out specifically just to watch you get your head caved in. But don’t you think your talents are being wasted here.” His voice sounded oddly sincere.

That only increased the worry in my heart.

I remained silent.

“Well you see, they actually came to me with a proposition. They need one of my fighters to help them in a job, and I told them I’d give them my best man. Now before you reject, hear me out.”

I immediately wanted to jump off the couch and reject. But Enzo kept me pushed down to the couch with his arm over my shoulder, so my silence continued.

“The job only requires you to remain with a five men squad, some three hundred kilometers away from here. It’s a simple con job, you don’t have to do anything too illegal, or endangering. And they said it’ll only take a little under three months, so you won’t miss your little exam for The Academy.”

‘Is there anything he doesn’t know.’

I still didn’t respond. Though the offer sounded more and more tempting, there’s no way anything good would come out of agreeing to the plan. Obviously it wouldn’t be too dangerous if Enzo was sending me, in fact it was probably a tedious task.

But there was no way I was going to put my trust into a short don and a criminal organization. And if by some miracle, the job goes smoothly and nothing dangerous happens, it could result in me wasting three months, which would only increase the gap in between me and other examinees.

But just as I was about to refuse, Enzo spoke again.

“Look kid, how about this. You do this for me, and I’ll sponsor your first year at the academy. Completely free of charge. You can buy and spend as much as you want, without a single worry in the world.”

“Deal!” I shouted, sticking my hand out.

Who cares about danger and the law? The thing I needed most was money.

Enzo laughed and shook my hand.

“Good! I knew you were a smart kid. Go tell Ria you agreed and she’ll tell you everything you need to know.” He stood up and began to walk back to his desk, and I quickly followed and left the room.

‘Ria. That’s a surprisingly nice name for a mean robot lady.’

She was waiting for me outside, now with a briefcase in her hand. It seemed as though Enzo was already sure from the beginning that I’d agree if money was involved. But I was in no way offended. Greed never hurt anybody.

She handed me the briefcase and we began to walk through the tunnels.

“A car is waiting for you outside. You will be driven to a hangar, from which a ship will take you to the job site. You’ll be officially brief on the specifics on the ship by the rest of the group, but there are a few things you should know. You will be entered into a fighting tournament, in which the prize will be the opportunity to work under a very powerful man.

You will try your best to gain the man’s trust as quickly as you can, and once you’ve gotten close enough, you need simply to get him alone and isolated. Then you’ll be relieved of your duties and returned here. Is that clear?”

My expression soured but I still nodded my head. It was clear that I was creating an opportunity for an assassination's, but I had already agreed to do it. There was no going back.

My biggest worry was the fighting aspect. My record at The Underground didn’t have a single W on it, and yet they wanted me to fight against legitimate fighters and somehow win. It now felt as though Enzo was setting me up for success.

Ria led me out the tunnels, through a different exit that brought us to some kind of sketchy alleyway. She pointed the car out to me, handed me the briefcase and walked away.

‘Didn’t even tell me what’s in here.’ I thought while looking down at the briefcase.

I made my way over to the car, and knocked in a rhythm shown to me by Ria.

After a few moments the backdoor was opened and a voice called out.

“Enter.”

I took a seat and shut the door.

The car was built strangely. The back half was relatively long, and seats lined every part that did not open. Empty drink stands stood in the middle and a glass window blocked the view of the front of the car. In addition, the windows were all tinted, which caused me to break out into a nervous sweat.

There were two others in the car, the hooded figures I’d bumped into earlier. They both sat silently, observing me.

Finally, the larger one spoke.

“You’re too weak. If you at any point endanger the success of this mission, I’ll kill you myself.”

The voice was oddly deep but feminine, but now didn’t seem like a good time to ask any personal questions.

I nodded my head.

“I assume the assistant told you the basics?” The figure asked.

“Yes.” I spoke up quietly.

“Good. We’ll arrive at the hangar in two hours. Until then, enjoy your sleep?”

“My what?” I questioned, but before receiving another response, the smaller one lunged at me and drove a syringe into my neck.

I pulled it out, and tried to cry out in anger. But no words left my mouth, and my vision began to fade until finally the world went dark once more.