“There’s so much I want to help with this city, Xander. All of these ideas are just pouring into my head.”

“You’ve always been like this. Always so passionate about what you do.”

“I have to be. The moment I lose passion in the things I create then it just becomes sloppy and could endanger everybody's lives. You know that.”

“I do. So how are the new guns coming along?”

“They’re still going to need some more work. But, I want these guns to be more efficient. The first make use too much mana and some people have died from using it.”

“How would you fix that?”

“Find a way to have it consume less mana even if it means weakening the firepower.”

“You truly are amazing with what you do.”

“You’re the amazing one here. It takes a lot of will to run an entire city. You should give yourself more credit.”

The two of them laughed before Xander’s face took on a more serious expression.

“Dimitri, I’m concerned about the Magi experiments going on.”

“Oh… people are still undergoing that process?”

“Yes, it’s getting worse. I’m worried because more people are surviving it. It’s disgusting to me.” Xander leaned back in his chair as he sighed.

“It truly is.”

“I’m not a god fearing man, but I do know that we have no business in that area. Playing with genetics. It’s just something that we shouldn’t touch.”

“I agree with you. I believe in evolution. If that is something we are truly meant to touch then it’s something we’d evolve to. Humans are already evolving to make use of magic we don’t need to rush it.”

“I believe Jace would want to see these experiments shut down more than anyone. I’m sure he’d provide us with his help.”

“He doesn’t really have a choice if you truly wish it, haha.”

Soon there was a knock on the door, causing both men to turn their back towards the sound before Xander told whoever it was to come in.

“Ahh, Captain Jace, it’s nice to see you.”

“It’s always nice to see you, Xander.” His head turned to gaze at Dimitri. “You as well.”

Xander was an elder man in his 70’s. His hair was grey and dull from a mixture of age and stress. His eyes were a dull green color and he wore a firmly pressed dress shirt, grey in color along with pants of the same color.

Dimitri was a lot younger than the other man but has also done a lot to contribute to their way of life. He was held as a genius. He was fresh in his 30’s, but already had grey hair from stress and yellow eyes. He wore an average lab coat over a white collared shirt with a black tie and grey colored pants. The man also had a pair of glasses.

“Jace is everyone really here?”

“Yes, sir. The special class all managed to graduate. Believe it or not, I was skeptical of a few of them, but they managed to prove me wrong.”

“Bring them in, bring them, I’m so curious to see them!” Dimitri seemed way more excited than he should.

Alas, Jace signaled for his new students to come in the average sized room. First popping in was Yadon who was still very impatient.

“Xander, it’s so nice to meet you this close! Sir, I’m going to kick so much ass on your behalf. Just point and they’re dead.”

“Uhhh… well, ok.”

“Is this really Yadon…? He’s way more muscular than I imagined. My god, no wonder you’re so talked about.” Dimitri stared in awe. Just how did a young man get a body like this? This was certainly beyond science.

“Also, let me introduce you to my loving girlfriend. She’s helped me every step of the way, sir. You should really be thanking her for all the accomplishments we’ll make!” He pulled Quin in.

“U-uh, hello there!”

“Ahh, yes, Quin. I know about you as well.” Dimitri was less impressed she was easily the weakest of the group of kids. She couldn’t even produce any magic on her own. She had to make use of a catalyst which was that magic gun which she shouldn’t even be using.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Psssh, Isaac, who’s the guy in the lab coat. I’ve never seen him before.” Junji whispered while staring at the man.

“That’s Dimitri, he’s the head of our technology division. He basically makes stuff.” Isaac started.

“Did we really learn that? Dang, I should have been paying attention more.”

“So, Claire, are you going to go suck up to Xander now? It seems you’re really good at doing that.” Keianna snickered.

“I'm not a suck up, I just know what respect means. Speaking of respect…” Claire walks over to Xander, holding out her hand to initiate a shake. “It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Xander.”

Keianna rolled her eyes after seeing Claire move to give Xander a handshake. Xander smiled as he moved his hand to shake her hand gently.

“You must be Claire, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You were one of our students with the highest scores in the academy.”

“Yes, that’s me. I don't mean to brag, but THE highest.” Claire would chuckle as she said this, obviously proud of her accomplishments.

“Hahaha, bragging from time to time isn’t a bad thing. It’s good to see you proud of all the work you put in. Maybe one day you could take over when Dimitri kicks the bucket.” He chuckled. “With all of the work he puts in it won’t be much longer, hahaha!”

Keianna didn’t think she could roll her eyes any harder, any harder and the world could be set on fire.

Dimitri watched the two with a smile, knowing about the girl’s accomplishments at the academy. Yadon may have the best physical stats out of the group, but Claire was the smartest and her ability was intriguing. Another one to watch for.

“A big brain is useless. There’s nothing manly about it.” Yadon laughed.

“Brains over brawn any day, Yadon. Brains over brawn.” Claire turned around to say in response to Yadon's comment.

Yadon and Claire were certainly gems, but Junji was one in his own right. His ability was very rare as there was no documentation of it before. In the future, if more people like him showed up wars would change drastically.

“Heh! Funny. Anyways, let’s get to why we’re here already!” Yadon shouted impatiently.

Ah, yes, you kids are the newest batch of Seers. Let me go ahead and get you what you’ll need to do a good job around here.” Xander said with a smile as he pulled his chair back and opened up a compartment under his desk before resting on the surface, an S-COMM.

It looked very simple, a silver armband which covered most of the forearm. There was a piece of technology built on the center of it which allowed the wielder to do different things in terms of communication.

“Shall I explain, do you want to take a crack at it?” Dimitri muttered.

“Please do, you’re certainly better at it than me.” Xander chuckled.

“These will be your best friends in the world out there. Communicating inside of Terra is no problem since we have cell towers and whatnot, but once you leave this place those things go dead and then what will you do?”

Basically outside of Terra was a dead zone. Very frightening with all of the monsters that lurked about.

“Thankfully, a genius decided we need a way of communicating outside or we won’t last long. And so I did what was never even possible until now. I merged science and magic together to create something new. Magitek. The S-COMM’s are built with science and powered by magic. The Geo-sphere housed inside act as its own little signal which is how you’ll be able to communicate with one another. I’ll demonstrate.”

He smiled before picking up the device and slapping it onto his arm as he started to press a few buttons. Pretty soon, Jace’s S-COMM started to ping and he quickly answered it which showed a hologram of Dimitri’s face.

“Hey Jace, isn’t technology amazing?”

“It can be.”

“With this, you can even have group chats and keep in touch with your team. Great for those sticky situations you’ll find yourselves in. Well, any questions?”

“So this thing only works with other S-COMMs?” Junji asks.

“Yes. Strictly for mission purposes. Please don’t use it for anything else.”

“Do you have to recharge it?” Isaac raised his hand.

“The Geo-spheres should be replaced every 6 months.”

“How durable are they?” Yadon questions.

“They can take the standard fall, but don’t use it as a shield… it’ll break. But that should be common sense.” Dimitri chuckles.

“Congrats to you all. I look forward to seeing how far you go. Remember your first priority is making sure that you come home safely. You guys are our most valuable pieces in this game of chess.”

“How much do we get paid?” Junji asks.

“Come on, Junji, you’re never supposed to ask that!” Isaac responded.

“Hahaha, it’s alright. That’s a reasonable thing to ask since you’ll be risking your lives. The pay yearly will equal up to 240,000 geos. That’s if you just serve us. But, if you partake in missions assigned by the people of Terra then you are able to make more.”

“That’s nice of them to want to offer money for helping them, but I can honestly do it all for free,” Isaac said with a smile.

“Well, if there are no more questions. Understand that Jace is your Captain and your lives are in his hand. Continue to do good work around the world and you’ll surely be rewarded.”

With this being said Dimitri brings out two briefcases while his assistants bring in a few more before resting it on the table.

“Inside there are your very own S-COMM’s my children. This completes your orientation.” Dimitri says with a smile.

“This is great. Thank you, Dimitri.” Claire mentioned as she walked over to receive one of the briefcases. It seemed she was quite excited about this new job.

Junji and Isaac were quick to try on the new gadget, playing around with it. Keianna was less thrilled about it and Noel acted as if he didn’t want anything to do with it.

“About freaking time! I’m ready for a mission!” Yadon shouts.

“Do I really have to wear this? It looks so heavy.” Noel complained.

“It barely weighs an ounce.” Dimitri corrected.

“All right you guys. Today you’re free to do whatever you want. We won’t meet until I get word that we need to gather for a mission outside. Until then if you want to partake in some mission on your own you can. They’re posted around on notice boards which you can find at the Mission Notice HQ, but sometimes people will post them on power poles.” Jace lectured.

“Pinch me, I must be dreaming… the time has finally come…” Isaac rubbed his eyes.

“You aren’t dreaming, the moment is finally here and I say we celebrate, who’s down with that?” Junji looks around towards his comrades.

“A celebration? What kind of celebration?” asked Claire, interested in the idea.

“Let’s go to a restaurant and just pig out. That way if we somehow manage to die tomorrow we’ll have no regrets.”

“Food, huh? I’m fine with that. Quin and I will just train even harder after.” Yadon smashed his fist into an empty palm.

“It did use a lot of energy running all the way here,” Quin added.

“As if you could afford a restaurant of my caliber. Count me out of this little endeavor.” Noel chuckled as he prepared to leave, but not before saying bye to Claire personally. “Remember what I told you earlier, Claire.” With this, he quickly dipped.

“Uhh… Alright?” Claire would say, before awkwardly waving Noel off. “He's quite a bit weird.”

“He’s pretty weak. I had to carry him through the entire forest. He makes a pretty good dumbbell.” Yadon chuckled.

“Have fun with your little bonding trip. I’m going home. I can solo most of these missions on my own anyway.” Keianna said before purposely bumping into Claire on her way out.

The bump caused Claire to move to the side a bit, as she stared Keianna out of the door with a fresh frown on her face. “Wow, rude…”

Before she could completely leave Jace placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks as she looked in his direction. The two remained silent, but it was easy to know what the meaning was behind this afterward Keianna glanced back at Claire before leaving for good.

“Sorry, I can’t join you. I have some paperwork to take care of.” Jace glances at his students one last time. It was hard to believe he was responsible for all of them. “Take care of yourselves. If you need help contact me with the S-COMM.”

“Later Jace. You don’t have to worry your pretty little head anymore.” Yadon smirked.

Xander kindly waved as the group left his office and wandered back to the entrance of the receptionist as they now had to decide what food everyone wanted.

“I’m in the mood for meat guys,” Junji stated.

“Meat’s good. That’s three votes meat.” Yadon added.

“I'm fine with meat, I guess.” Shared Claire.

“Haha, all you guys talk about is meat. Was there really any other choice?” Isaac didn’t mind where they ate at honestly.

“It’s settled then, we’re going to Ricky’s Meat Shop!” Junji shouted.