Ali reported his findings to Menna whose expression grew more and more grim. The teenager knew that the Lightning Clan was one of the worst case scenarios when it came to a foe. Not only were they unpredictable in their actions but they were also too strong to eliminate easily. In the meantime, their presence in the slums would only attract the sort of attention the Dark Cult would wish to avoid. There wasn’t an easy solution to the problem.

“I will wait for the reports from the others,” said the woman. “We might be able to use the syndicates against one another. Ideally, we find a way to make them fight and weaken one another until we can eliminate them for good.”

The teenager left the room and waited in the hallway. He wasn’t worried about Belen or Kurata as those two had more experience on the streets than him. Kamis was still very new to all of this. He was wondering how his companion was doing when Kamis walked beside him.

“What’s with your gloomy face? Did you fail?”

“Me? Fail?” Ali pointed to the door. “Give your report first. We can discuss matters afterwards.”

Once Kamis entered Menna’s office, Ali called for Tian.

Were you observing the battle? Did you see what happened?

The air serpent described the man using a speed enhancement ability followed by strength enhancement ability. To an untrained eye, the attack would be too quick to observe and too powerful to believe. However, Tian expressed that he wasn't impressed one bit.

And you were able to see all of that?

Yes, we air serpents are trained to fight at our top speeds which are much faster than what that man is capable of.

Top speeds? As in, you aren’t using your full potential?

Until the summoner become strong, we summonees cannot achieve our full potential. Otherwise, the summoner will die from our presence alone.

I promise that I will unlock your full potential one day!

Ali was about to ask how he could train himself for high speed combat when Belen and Kurata arrived. He expected the two to be in a cheerful mood after a good mission but both of them looked gloomy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked concerningly.

“We’ll share what we found inside,” said Belen.

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When Kamis was leaving the room, he was shoved back in by Belen with Ali and Kurata in tow. Menna asked the two teenagers to share their findings. Belen stepped forward first.

“I was assigned to look into the Thunder Badgers. I originally assumed, due to their names, that they would be a group that makes a lot of noise and has little subtlety. I was proven wrong as I couldn’t even get close to their bases without being questioned. I even saw their members approached by the authorities which ended with the policemen all killed swiftly in an alleyway with no corpses left behind. No one actually witnessed the crime but it wasn't hard to link the deaths to them.”

As Belen continued with her report, Ali could feel the tense atmosphere in the room. The Thunder Badgers were a terrifying foe because the group revealed very little. The crime syndicate had been careful in hiding their true strength while showing off enough to deter the nosy kind. With the intention of the syndicate being unknown, they were in a tight position as they had nothing to work with.

“I would advise against monitoring the Thunder Badgers unless we have members who possess high level concealment or infiltration abilities. Otherwise, it’s easy to be noticed and we may reveal ourselves to them.”

Menna didn’t comment on the matter and instead turned to Kurata.

“I was assigned to look into the White Lillies. The syndicate name isn’t known by most and the few who have heard of them dared not to speak much. I checked all over the slums their operatives were said to have made an appearance but I returned empty handed. Based on what I gathered, this syndicate is the most terrifying as we cannot even confirm its existence. I don't know the location of any of their bases in Vliland.”

Ali started realizing how bad the situation in Vliland was becoming. Out of the four crime syndicates they were investigating, three were already too dangerous for them to face alone. As the syndicates continued to compete for control of the slums, they would no doubt be caught in the struggle. Given that they knew nothing about two of those syndicates, they lacked the initiative needed to give them an edge in the upcoming struggle. They also couldn't pit the syndicates against one another with their pitiful intel on all three groups.

“Understood,” said Menna. “Allow me to think about the situation. I’ll call for you four once I have missions in mind. Get some rest before you are sent out again.”

The four teenagers stepped out of the room upon being dismissed. They walked down the hallway until they reached the cafeteria. As they ate, Ali asked Kamis about the syndicate he was searching for.

“The Ash Clan?” said Kamis. “They no longer exist.”

Kamis described how his investigation was mostly him going through the aftermath of a great fire. Members of the Ash Clan were gathered inside a building they claimed to be their temple. One night, a great blaze burned the entire temple down with all of its members. The bulky teenager went through the site but there was nothing left from the fire.

“In a way, those members lived up to their clan name. They are no longer a concern of ours.”

“That’s one less headache,” said Kurata. “I guess one thing went our way.”

Ali understood how his companion felt. He too was at a loss of how they could handle the matters. They were C rankers and this was quickly becoming something beyond their abilities. With conflict within Cheudal around the corner, they were exactly where they didn’t want to be part of.

Tian! I need to get better with the traps. We need everything if we want to survive this….and avoid Svenne’s fate.