It was hard to imagine a job interview looking like this.
In a training arena, two people faced each other.
On one side the disheveled and nearly homeless-looking Alex. On the other, stood the proud and dignified Victus Drawrin.
On one side, a child with 8 lbs weights. On the other, a fully grown man with no weapons at all.
Taking off his probably very expensive sunglasses, Victus spoke,
“Alright ya cocky brat, The Drawrin Family doesn’t seek out weaklings. If you truly want a job from our family, then you need to prove your worth. If you can manage to inflict any damage on me whatsoever, I’ll sign you immediately. If you can’t, however, I never want to see you screaming at that camera ever again.”
Alex wasn’t entirely listening. At the moment, he was taking in the sight of the arena.
The arena was about as large as two football fields put side-to-side. Which didn’t make sense considering the size of the BSAD from the outside in no way could accommodate such an arena. Other than its monstrous size, it was surprisingly bare-boned. It was completely flat. The only thing keeping his eyes from getting lost in the sea of white were the tiles that filled up the floor and the viewing window above which surrounded the entire arena.
Suddenly, a speaker sounded,
“Victus, what kind of terrain would you like for this match?”
Without much delay, Victus’s voice echoed,
“Keep it as it is. So kid, what do you say? Do you accept my terms?”
Alex snapped out of his thoughts.
“Sure, whatever. I only have to hit you once?”
Alex began to nonchalantly stretch. If anyone else saw this, they would think he was extremely cocky. However in Alex’s case, he truly just didn’t understand that the person in front of him was important or powerful.
“HAHA, Yeah. A good hit, but yes, only once.”
“Alright then, I’m going to go now.”
“Oka-”
Alex flew forward at speeds that astonished Victus. But more importantly, at speeds that astonished himself. Because of that, Alex flew past Victus and tripped over his own feet, sending him tumbling.
Alex eventually pushed off his hand and redirected the wild roll upwards into a snazzy backflip.
As he landed back on his feet, Victus prepared himself.
‘Holy shit! I thought this kid was all talk. Alright, it’s fair to assume that his BSA is speed-related. He clearly doesn’t have a handle on it yet so I should finish this quickly'
Victus took a step forward. However, his step came down with the weight of an attack in itself. Immediately after taking this heavy step, almost like the ground spit him out, he propelled forward with intense velocity. After a single step, he was nearly as fast as Alex was. However, that’s when he took his second step.
This step was even heavier than the first, actually crushing the ground beneath him. Yet again the ground seemed to react to this sending him flying even faster towards Alex.
Alex was still thinking about how cool that backflip must have looked when he finally noticed the blur of Victus. Given less than a second to react, Alex brought his weights to his chest.
Alex did manage to block the blow, much to Victus’s surprise. However, one couldn’t exactly fight the laws of physics. This is because, despite the block, Alex’s figure flew back like a ragdoll, slamming into the wall behind him.
‘How on Earth?? He managed to block that? Where has this kid been!? Well even though he didn’t get a hit in on me, I might consider giving him a contract if he asks nicely.’
As the rubble cloud dissipated, Victus couldn’t help but notice something. Or the lack of something. Even more specifically, the lack of a passed-out Alex Black.
“What!? Where did he-”
Sensing something Victus glanced up. He was met with nothing. Then he turned to face behind himself. Instantly, with what felt like a truck’s worth of impact, Victus was struck in the chest.
Victus tumbled back in a similar manner to Alex at the beginning of the fight, Although the cool backflip was omitted in favor of a more stylish round-off back handspring.
Victus showcased an enormous grin.
“HAHAHA! That was great kid! Using the dust cloud to-”
Alex charged forward, obviously sick of exposition.
He felt strange as he ran forward with his weights. Almost as though his dumbbells were carrying him forward. Pulling him to his target.
Mid-sprint, he suddenly had a great idea. Without wasting so much as a second Alex hurdled his dumbbell toward Victus. His speed was cut in half, but he succeeded in his new move. The weight flew at a speed that was simply unrealistic.
Victus wore an extreme expression.
‘I guess I have to use Half-? No Quarter Counter. I don’t want to kill him.’
Alex almost exclaimed in glee when he saw his dumbbell collide with Victus. But instead of knocking Victus out, something unexpected happened. Alex felt his vision darken. But before he could fully blackout he felt his body fly backward at speeds his vision almost couldn’t keep up with.
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Alex had lost the match. Luckily though, Alex was pretty tough, so he only stayed knocked out for about 5 minutes.
“Ah, I see you’re up now. I may have gone a little overboard, so I apologize for that.”
Victus extended an arm out to Alex, who was still on the ground.
“Wha- What happened? I swear my ‘Dumb Throw’ hit you…”
Victus frowned.
“‘Dumb Throw’?”
“Yeah, you saw right? My new special mo-”
Victus decided then and there. He decided the best way to shut this kid up was to change the topic.
“That was a pretty rash decision back there. The throw I mean.”
“Naw… What? It was badass, did you see how fast it flew?”
“I did. It was impressive, but I also noticed how much slower you were without the second weight. What do you think would happen if that attack failed and the enemy somehow managed to commandeer your weapon?”
Alex wore a thoughtful expression before responding.
“Oh well. Hmm? What if I did this?”
Alex looked past Victus to where the weight he threw was resting about 20 yards away. He flicked his pointer finger and…!
Nothing happened.
“Wait well hold on a second there Vic?! This is surprisingly difficult!”
Victus cringed.
‘Vic?’
He didn’t have time to think about the nickname, as suddenly the seemingly random flicking actually achieved something. The dumbbell shifted. Not by much, but undoubtedly the weight shifted in place.
***
Ella wasn’t one to get shocked by much. She was broken up with countless times, she has had close family die, and she has even witnessed dozens of terrible battles. But not once had she ever even bat an eye. This result, however, utterly shocked Ella.
The battle itself couldn’t be described as anything other than impressive. Alex had just received his BSA less than a few days ago. His understanding was nothing short of amazing.
But what actually shocked Ella was what happened after Alex woke up from his involuntary nap.
Still watching from the observation deck above the arena, through the cold glass, Ella witnessed something incredible.
Victus and Alex were most likely discussing their duel, when suddenly, Alex flicked his finger.
‘Did he hurt his finger?’
An honest thought from Ella. It just looked that ridiculous. Almost like someone trying to spark up an invisible lighter.
She continued to watch him flick his finger almost a dozen times. Just as she was about to lose
interest, it happened.
A strange fluctuation in blood landmarks. She could sense it, coming directly from the… the… the dumbbell??
As she continued to sense this strangely familiar feeling, the dumbbell finally shifted.
Ella nearly fell out of her chair. She caught herself on the edge of the table, but unfortunately, this unexpected motion tipped her coffee over. She didn’t really care though. Her eyes were locked on the dumbbell.
***
Alex just wanted a job. He just so badly wanted a job. So what was this?
About a dozen multi-colored wires were currently attached to Alex. Not only that, but he was surrounded by six-? No at least seven different people in lab coats, each doing a respective task on their own monitor.
One of the scientists exclaimed,
“As far as we can tell, Supervisor, there isn’t anything that would suggest Telekinetic prowess. However, considering the report as well as the footage from the arena, it’s safe to assume that Alex Black is at least a hybrid class BSA user”
Ella had since recovered from her shock, although the coffee stains on her pants were proof of her outburst.
“Strange. Considering he managed to move his weapon without touching it, wouldn’t we immediately be able to classify him as a Telekinetic?”
The scientist spoke calmly,
“Unfortunately that is not the case. While the video recording could be considered one proof, it’s simply not enough proof. Anyways, I wouldn’t be in a rush to have Alex, here, be classified as a BSA user with telekinetic ability.”
Ella thought for a moment. She didn’t really care what happened to Alex from a personal standpoint, but it would be beneficial to keep this knowledge a secret for now. After all, his existence would cause a public outroar. If Alex wasn’t assassinated he would certainly be taken away by either a family or some organization. That would not be in her best interest.
‘Hmm.’
Ella watched Alex for a minute. He was as stiff as a statue.
Ella approached and asked,
“Alex, why do you look so tense?”
He hurriedly responded,
“I-I’m horribly afraid of d-doctors, Miss.”
She stared at him, dumbstruck for a minute. He had managed to surprise her twice in a single day. And to the surprise of everyone in the room…
She laughed.
“Alex… These aren’t doctors, they’re scientists.”
***
Obviously, Victus decided to sign Alex. Even if he didn’t display what could be considered a preliminary form of telekinesis, Victus would still have inevitably offered him a place in the Drawrin Family.
‘With actual training, I’m certain that Alex can be of great help to humanity. I just hope nobody else gets to him first.’
Victus thought these things on his flight back to the Drawrin Compound.
Normally one would use public transportation, like the superconductor train. However, someone of Victus’s rank and prestige would certainly be given a higher level of privilege. Normal class citizens, regardless of district, weren’t allowed to fly. No such license existed for citizens to obtain a flying vehicle, remaining an organizational right.
Victus sat in the back of a Swimmer. Despite its name, the Swimmer wasn’t capable of water traversal. It was actually given its name because of the way it flies. Almost like a living creature, the machine could move every single segment of its body. The best way it could be described; An eel or dragon-resembling piece of hyper-futuristic technology.
The Swimmer surely resembled an Eel in its movement, but more than anything it looked like a glorified, flying bus. That is, with a cool minimalist design.
Alex sat across from Victus. Holding onto a bar for dear life.
“Vic, H-How sure are you that this thing won’t fall out of the sky?”
‘... He could be a help to humanity. He could be a help to humanity. He could be a huge help to humanity’
Victus had to constantly remind himself of Alex’s promise to avoid strangling him.
“...I’m sure.”
Alex let out a sigh of relief. However, his grip on the ‘Oh-shit-handle’ never lessened.
“So, what exactly will I be doing for you from now on?”
Victus glared at Alex.
“Did you not read through the paperwork you signed?”
“No. I’m not a great reader. Plus it’d be better if I just heard it from my new boss right?”
*Sigh
What did he expect?
“So essentially, you now belong to the Drawrin family. It’s better to rip that band-aid off now. No outsider is truly a part of the Drawrin family.”
“Ah oh. Consider the band-aid ripped.”
‘It’s like he’s in a perpetual state of half-listening.’
Victus discarded the last remaining credit he had for Alex and continued.
“Your tasks will include many things. However, nothing will be more important during your contract than making our family look good. And to do that you will need to clear Tears, defeat other families, and grow stronger.”
“Tears?”
“Yes. Well yes, that is the official name. Most people just call them dungeons these days, but that’s just a little too uncreative for my liking.”
“Ah, Dungeons! Of course, I know about dungeons. BSA-Users all around the country defend these dungeons for us.”
“Well, yes, they do. And now, you will also be a part of that defense.”
A BSA-User doesn’t have to be affiliated with a family or an organization to enter a Tear, but it proves to be the easiest way to gain access. This is because most Tears weren’t public property and were actually owned by these two entities. The Drawrin family actually owned more than a dozen Tears in totality.
“In addition to Tear clearing, another one of your tasks will be to protect our Family. There are plenty of ways this is done, but you will most likely be guarding our Tears. We can’t have other Families clearing them before us.”
While clearing another family's Tear without their permission is technically illegal, a lot of the time it can’t be proven that another family robbed you of your Tear’s clear. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, cameras cannot be installed inside of a Tear. For whatever reason, the inside of tear impacts the use of certain technologies. And secondly, Tears collapse all of the time without warning. Unfortunately, a collapse and a clear look identical from the outside, and therefore it is impossible to prove whether someone cleared it or it collapsed on its own. That is unless you catch them in the act. There are severe consequences for that.
“If you manage to prove yourself in Tear Clearing and Guarding, it may even be possible to advance you to the assault team.”
For once, Alex seemed to be listening to Victus speak.
“Alright! I’m ready to clear some Tears Boss!”
Victus couldn’t tell if he loved or hated Alex’s eagerness.
“Kid I hate to break it to you, but it usually takes a few years of training before you can be placed in the Clearing or Guarding teams. And honestly, don’t even think about the Assault team.”
“Ah, we’ll see about that.”
Alex displayed a devilish smile.
If Victus hadn’t known the kid, he would have thought he had some devious plan to progress at a quicker rate. Knowing Alex now, he was certain that there were very few thoughts in his head.
Meanwhile, Alex was thinking,
‘This time, I’ll pull it off.’
Alex wasn’t as stupid as he lead on.
***
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