The Origin Seekers' compound was located in a remote rural location well away from the populated cities. The transit involved joining a number of other recruits, taken from the population of Meesach NPCs, on a carrier with the windows blacked out. From the very beginning, the sensible NPCs were beginning to doubt their decision to join the mysterious organization. But, there was no getting off the ride once it began.

Dancing Dagger opened the silent player chat function with a thought.

"This is pretty creepy," he admitted.

Wu Lan looked over from her seat beside him.

"What were you expecting after that speech. This is definitely a cult."

The blonde man nodded, "Yeah. I'm glad this isn't real. Otherwise, I might be freaking out."

Wu Lan smiled teasingly, "I never realized how easily intimidated you were."

He looks at her blandly, "Like you wouldn't be freaking out with a cult taking you to their private compound in real life."

"Hmm. Are you so sure I'm not part of a cult in the outside world? I mean I did choose to start in the Red Sect."

A smile touches Dancing Dagger's lips. This wasn't their first cult. The Red Sect had been darker by all rights, worshiping an evil god and performing blood sacrifice to it. What could a little cult of science do worse than those who summoned demons into the bodies of their members?

"You're right, Wu Lan. You do fit the cultist vibe pretty well."

The brown-haired young woman chuckled. But, as she was about to continue the conversation, the vehicle they were in slowed down.

Soon they stopped and the blinding light of day flooded the carrier as the door opened.

The face of a pretty young woman with an endearing smile appeared in the doorway.

"Hello," she said enthusiastically. "Welcome to the Origin Seekers, come on out and we'll begin the induction."

Dancing Dagger shared a look with Wu Lan before the pair joined the NPCs in disembarking from the vehicle.

On the outside, they looked around to see high walls encompassing several buildings. The layout mirrored that of the forward operational bases of the world government as it faced the Spiker hordes. Only, whereas the government color scheme was filled with shades of gray, the Origin Seekers seemed to prefer white.

"Now," the enthusiastic young woman said. "We'll have to test each one of you to determine what role you will be best suited to performing in the community. I hope to see many of you earn the illustrious scientist caste."

She smiles with a light of fanaticism, "I am a member of this caste and have the privelege of working with some of the greatest minds on Meesach. But," she continued, "even if you can't be a leader in our community, you will certainly have a place."

Dancing Dagger took a deep breath. A caste system was just one more reason to dislike this organization. And, considering his Fighter attribute build, he wouldn't be one of the elite members of this cult.

Besides the woman leading them into a building, enforcers, dressed in blue jumpsuits with black bands on the left shoulder, stood on all sides of the recruits. Their eyes weren't friendly and their hands seemed ready to reach for the batons on their hips.

Dancing Dagger wondered what his chances of fighting his way out of the compound would be. In the worst case, he'd find out where the respawn point is.

Still, he went with the flow and proceeded into the building before him. He watched as Wu Lan and the other females of their group were escorted to other rooms while he and the men underwent a physical examination one at a time.

His attributes and aptitudes were defined for the examiners. Unsurprisingly, the ideal for the organization, the Mind stat, was among his lowest stats.

He could perceive the disregard the lab coat-wearing NPCs had for him. When his intelligence was determined to be low, a derisive snort escaped his examiner.

"Hah," the man sighed when the examination finished. "Your physical attributes are high. But….you don't seem to exercise your mind much. I wouldn't call you unproductive. Just…"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Dancing Dagger looked blankly at the bot. NPCs had always been unfriendly when his reputation with them was low, but this was just plain rude.

"Okay," the man said as he checked a box on his computer. "We'll put you in the protector caste. Your musles will be of use, if only marginally."

Dancing Dagger felt a complicated look come over his face. He'd rather like to stick his dagger into the man's chest. But, they'd confiscated his weapons.

The examiner pulled out a piece of fabric wrapped in plastic.

"Get changed and go through this door."

The player observed the other man for a moment. He looked at the piece of clothing. It was a blue jumpsuit with a black band running across the left shoulder. It matched the enforcers he'd seen before.

With a sigh, Dancing Dagger got changed, all his gear other than his daggers stored in his inventory.

Moving into the next room, he found a classroom. Other characters were seated before a monitor that was playing an induction video.

[Psychological damage received. Checking resistances....]

[Resistance threshold exceeds damage. No damage received.]

A smile came over Dancing Dagger's face. A certain nostalgia coming over him.

Even as a fighter, the player needed to boost his resistances. His Mind stat was low. But, he'd gained [Mental Resistance] by enduring the indoctrination of the Red Sect.

Still, if nothing else confirmed the Origin Seekers to be the bad guys, this indoctrination did.

"Sit down," an enforcer with a black band commanded.

The blonde man shrugged internally and took his seat.

On the screen, a number of visuals depicting the failings of Meesachian society played for some time.

The system ticked the nil damage at intervals. And, before long Wu Lan joined him in the classroom. A white band could be seen on her arm.

The enforcer looked at her with reverence, "Please," he said. "Take a seat."

The woman shrugged and found a seat near her friend.

As the screen continued to roll with tragic moments from the world's history, she opened the silent chat.

"Definately a cult."

Dancing Dagger looked at her, "At least you're doing well. Scientist?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I guess being a mage equates to being a scientist here. I've got a high Mind stat."

The blonde player turned back to the screen when an enforcer called him out.

"This place is getting on my nerves," he confessed.

"Well," Wu Lan said. "We can do some investigating when we get out of here. Just endure for now."

The pair fell silent and watched the indoctrination video with boredom.

Eventually, the video ended and the group was sent out to the walled-off surface of the compound. On the faces of the NPCs who'd endured the indoctrination were excited expressions, fanaticism filling their eyes.

In addition to the black and white armbands were yellow, brown, red, and blue that matched the jumpsuit they wore.

"Hey, there," came the familiar woman who'd greeted them on arrival. "I see that you're all set."

Her smile was even brighter, almost in a demented way. "Now you're truly peers among us. Just remember. While everyone's equal in the Origin Seekers, some are more equal than others. Remember your armbands. White is at the top, black is second, then yellow, brown, red, and….blue."

The members with blue armbands looked around and realized they were at the bottom of the hierarchy. Their faces turned downcast.

"Now, then." the hostess said. "We'll show you to your housing and we'll be just in time for the communal meal."

Of course, the white scientist caste had the best accommodation with everyone else enjoying progressively less luxury. And when the communal meal came, the blue-banded NPCs barely had crumbs.

After the meal, the woman who'd led them around clapped her hands.

"I'm so glad that you've joined us. This is just the beginning. We of Origin will make the world anew. With you taking your place in our great society, we will guide the world along the right path. You're free to explore the areas your armband permits you. You'll each receive tasks tomorrow."

She looked to each of them meaningfully, "You are the future of Meesach."

With that said, the woman and her guards departed. The gathering looked around with varied expressions. The white armbanded NPCs were thrilled, the black armbands already had hardening expressions, and the rest were at various stages of enthused and less enthused.

"This place is messed up!" Wu Lan exclaimed through their private chat.

Dancing Dagger shrugged, "I know. But, that's why we're here."

The brown-haired young woman's expression was bitter, "What now?"

Dancing Dagger looked around at the various NPCs besides those they'd arrived with.

"Same as always. Go look for quests."

She sighed, "Alright. Let's split up. I doubt they'd like us hanging out together."

With that, the pair split up and began seeking quests to gain intel and reputation. It wasn't long before Dancing Dagger stumbled upon something unexpected.

"Oh!" the other player exclaimed. "You're Dancing Dagger, right?"

The blonde man looked at the familiar player oddly. The man had a black band to match his own.

"Winter Storm?"

The player, Winter Storm, chuckled. "That's me. Did Koll send you too?"

Dancing Dagger felt bitter, "Did he tell you what was going on with the Origin Seekers?"

Winter Storm looked sheepish, "I mean. Not really. But, he did admit someone was behind the Ravenous Spikers."

For a moment, the blonde man felt betrayed. Koll hadn't told him much of anything. Yet, he had confided in this other player. And, he'd done it before sharing with Dancing Dagger.

With a sigh, he pushed such thoughts aside and asked, "So, what do you know?"

Winter Storm smiled, "Actually, I've managed to learn a few things."

The player looked around before confiding in Dancing Dagger, "They are behind the Ravenous Spiker outbreak. I've seen the security footage showing their experimentation."

Nodding, Dancing Dagger thinks that the revelation isn't particularly surprising.

"Anything else?"

Winter grins widely, "Yeah. The Spikers aren't the only bioweapon."

They share a look as Dancing Dagger processes the meaning of the words.

"What other bioweapon have they designed?"

Winter Storm's eyes light up, "They made a virus to wipe out the Ravenous Spikers."