The theft of an authority, the words sunk into the silence that followed, filling up the room. It was one of the only crimes that, if caught, was punishable by death without trial. Typically, when any major crime was committed, resulting in an arrest, a government official would review the case and assign a punishment.

However, due to the nature of authorities as powerful weapons and the existence of the blood seal, anyone caught stealing or unregistered was killed on sight. As far as Sky knew, there were four levels of authority users.

The commoners were those without any authority. Making up almost all of the population, they could only use enhanced weapons to gain a fraction of an authority's power. The only reason they were included in the authority ranking was the possibility they had to manifest one.

The Authorized were those who had somehow obtained external authority. These could be gained in three ways. The first was to find one just lying around, but that was the same as hoping the entire world would crown you its king. The second was to kill someone else who had one and take theirs for one's own, again an almost imposable feat.

The third was the only viable option. It involved hunting higher-class ruin beasts that contained one within themselves. Although challenging, with enhanced weapons and superior tactics, a group would be able to take down a beast with lesser intelligence.

Among the authorized were those who had created a blood seal with their authorities. This was simple to do and necessary to continue the evolution of one's authority, but it was extremely dangerous. If one were incompatible with the authority, instead of being bonded to the user, unable to be taken away unless they died, and giving them a boost in power, it would consume their flesh, blood, and bone until nothing but a crystal remained.

This was why manifested authorities were superior to all others. Having come from within, they boasted a 100 percent synchronization rate and were already bonded to the user, allowing them to skip one of the most dangerous steps.

The last step was those who had a soul bond with their authorities, this was the level all the great heroes in legends had achieved. At this point, the authority’s crystal would fully merge with the human, and they would become one. Although the power gained seemed to vary in the stories, it was always considered a heroic feat.

The real reason the military killed anyone with an unregistered authority on sight was because of a possible blood bond; after all, how could they take it away if it was useless? And his brother had been involved in such a crime.

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“We have good news, though,” the old man told Sky. Your brother was just following the dogs' orders and most likely didn't even know what he was stealing until it was in his group's hands.”

He gave Sky a reassuring smile and continued.

“We have also managed to track down and eliminate his former companions and recover the authority. Therefore, we see no need to press for further punishment. However, the dogs spread information about his mission throughout the black market. If he returned to your home, tonight's incident would likely repeat.”

“Therefore, we have had talks between your brother, me and my superiors in the military, and we came to a solution.”

“your brother will join the military under us vipers. And we will spread the news of his joining us around the underworld so you and the others are left alone.”

“Before he’s able to join, however, we will need him to undergo training here in the military district. During this time, you will be unable to contact him. Now, I don’t expect you to trust us, so we will allow you to see him before he begins.”

“For now, tell the others you live with that he’s receiving care provided for by the government after sustaining injuries in one of our operations.”

Sky thought this through, thinking of the benefits his brother would gain. Not only would he be taken care of medically from his wounds, but he would also find stable employment with no legal ramifications.

An offer like this was a dream come true for a child in the slums, and although he was a bit wary of the motives behind it, he chose to trust the old man and his organization.

After the old man finished speaking, the officer beside him pulled something out of his back pocket.

“ in exchange for your silence on this matter, we plan to provide you with two silver shields and the revolver you used earlier.”

“You can use this money to cover for the income your brother may have made during his training. Once he’s a full member, he has chosen to send part of his pay, to you and the others.”

“Although we’ve removed the enhanced bullets from the gun, we will give you 12 standard ones as replacements. We are offering you this weapon for insurance just in case one of the gang comes after you.”

His face then broke into a sinister smile, and looking Sky up and down, he warned him.

“ with us doing this much I don’t think I need to remind you of the consequences that would follow leaking any information you’ve learned today.”

Once again, Sky nodded his agreement.

“ I understand nothing leaves this room.”

The old man smiled at him and spoke in a soft voice.

“ I like you, kid. We have some empty apartments near our headquarters. After your brother finishes his training, we’ll talk further about you and your family moving into one.”

“ right now, though, I’m sure you want to go see him.”

Standing up, the old man walked to the door, opened it, and spoke to the guard standing outside.

“ Escort this kid to see the civilian patient from the dock incident.”

“Yes, sir.”

Came the reply. The soldier stepped into the doorframe, and Sky, getting up from his chair, turned to leave, following him out of the room.