"What the fuck is this?" Muttered Kyrin Tenebrous, going through the specs of the available candidates for recruitment.
The Black ops is an elite unit that only takes the absolute best. Even though her loyal followers remained, her long absence had inevitably left the division undermanned, leading her to search for new members to fill the gap.
"No, seriously, what is this?" She waved her hand, causing the screen to disappear.
As soon as the notice of the Black Ops needing more reinforcements was sent out, many people had jumped at the opportunity to apply.
But so far…
"They're all trash!"
Kyrin had declared about hunting down high members of Kraken, but she can't do it alone. A capable and well-balanced team is a must.
"Has the education level also gone down in my absence?" She asked her deputy division head Estris.
Estris is a calm and collected woman who has been a loyal follower of Kyrin when first joined the military. Her grey hair was arranged in a Bob cut, and her face, which still looked like a teenager, is usually expressionless.
Estris gave a slight shake of her head to Kyrin's question, looking unbothered by her boss's frustration.
"No. But due to the ongoing war, there's a huge shortage of talents. All the major divisions are fighting to recruit them. Whenever anyone capable emerges, the divisions jump in like hyenas. So currently, most of the talents have already been recruited into long term contracts," she calmly explained.
"Aki, it seems like you will be the only young member joining us this time. None of these are even half as good as you," said Kyrin as she stretched her back.
Akiko Matsushima, who was standing on the other side of Kyrin, just nodded her head indifferently. Of course, the one she followed to Atlantis was Kurai Sensei aka Kyrin Tenebrous.
For Akiko who wants to annihilate Kraken, following Kurai Sensei is the best option. And Kyrin, of course, wouldn't miss an talent like Akiko. That's why, without the permission of her grandfather, she risked bringing her here.
There was a barest hint of pout on Estris's lips. Her boss went out but brought back this unfamiliar girl, giving her a similar treatment as Estris
herself. Clearing her throat, she gave anther list to Kyrin.
"As for the list of veterans you asked, here it is. Any of them would jump at the opportunity to work under you."
Kyrin skimmed through the list of veterans. Most of them were all good. Really good. But... that wasn't enough. The criteria for joining the Black ops division is you either show incredibly high potential as a trainee, or extremely high skills as a veteran. Just being good doesn't cut it.
In the end, she did find a few suitable candidates this time, but she needed more.
"Send out the notifications to this one, and this one. I will recruit them if they pass."
"Looks like we'll have to make do with this much. And of course, the one you've been dying to show me."
The deputy's eyes widened before she just sighed. Like always, nothing stays hidden from the boss. "You are no fun, Leader."
"If I really wasn't, you wouldn't have stayed. So, who is it? Some other hero who has returned? Some young talent from the 6 Septises who suddenly improved in the last few years? Or someone who got a nice sub-relic or relic?"
"He's none of those. He hasn't even attended the academy yet. And, he's only 16, just within your molesting zone," said Estris, as she displayed the image of a boy in the transparent screen in front of them.
Kyrin glared at her. "I'm not in the mood for your teasing."
Even though her assistant is always expressionless and serious, she actually has a secret hobby of teasing her boss.
The Black Ops is an advanced special division in which the members are usually seasoned veterans from other divisions.
Even when they recruit talented trainees, it's only after they have their basics thoroughly mastered after graduating from the academy and have a specialization that could be useful to the division. The Black Ops was a unit with extremely high requirements.
A teenager with no academy training, not belonging to any of the Septises, and not even having any type of relic or sub-relic... there is no way such a person would fit the recruitment criteria at all. Even if the person might have extremely high talent, she simply didn't have the time to teach the basics to such a person.
That's why Kyrin thought that her annoying deputy was teasing her again by showing her the image of a handsome teenager. "It's not the time to be playing around."
But when she said this, her assistant already had the slightly proud expression on her expressionless face that signified she had succeeded in teasing her.
Without saying a word, her assistant played the video on the screen. It showed the footage of a boy casually warming up at the first stage of the trial.
Both of them didn't notice the change in Akiko's expression when she saw the image.
Kyrin's eyes narrowed. "Those clothes…"
"Yes, he's an outsider."
"An outsider? How did he get in?" Kyrin looked at the boy's unfamiliar face and felt like she had seen him somewhere.
The boy was wearing loose travelling clothes that hid most of his body. He had short onyx hair and eyes of a similar colour. And yes, he was indeed quite handsome. Enough that some perverted female division heads would want to recruit him just for his looks.
"His name is Chris Martin. It's said that he's the Royal Princess's guest. She gave him citizenship and allowed him to go through the trial after screening."
"The Princess's guest, huh?" Kyrin murmured, looking at the boy's face. While she was still wondering why she found him familiar, the boy started jogging slowly. She could hear the jeers and disappointed exclamations of the crowd.
Even Kyrin herself had also already concluded at first glance that the boy had no potential. The only reason she had watched it was the fact that it was recommended by her cute deputy.
But then…
"Hm? How did he do it?" Kyrin suddenly leaned forward as she began seeing something extremely surprising.
While everyone was seeing a boy wasting precious seconds in a trial, Kyrin... was seeing a transformation. In the beginning, she couldn't find anything peculiar. The boy was just too unassuming. But that was slowly changing.
What surprised Kyrin was the fact that his movements were able to somehow fool her observation. Even if someone is trying to hold back, she can see everything just by observing their movements exactly how good they are. But… that wasn't the case with this boy. She had already drawn a limit to the boy's abilities from the start of the video.
But she didn't know how… that limit was changing!
"How is he hiding it from me?!"
Kyrin was now fully interested in the video. She didn't know how he was so good at hiding it, but she could definitely draw two conclusions from it. If he can hide it from her, then he was a master of disguise, and his limit… was actually much much higher.
And that turned out to be true. By the end of the trial, the boy was on a level that is unseen in his age group, and yep, she still felt that he was already at his limit.
Kyrin had a look of hunger in her eyes. "We're definitely taking him in."
Estris still had an expressionless face, but her lips were slightly curled and her eyes were shining with an 'I-told-you-so' light.
"Are you sure? You haven't even watched the rest," she asked, hinting the fact that there was more to come.
Kyrin could already tell that the boy would easily clear the rest of the warrior path trial with no surprises. There should be nothing worth watching anymore. Unless…
"Which path did he choose again?"
"He… has chosen all four paths."
Even though Estris had a blank face, Kyrin just knew her deputy was gloating.
Kyrin's eyebrows raised. "Then… don't tell me, his trial has the War stage?"
The war stage is only possible if the participant excels in the next stage as well.
Sure enough, when the next trial started, Chris showed mastery in flying and shooting as well.
Kyrin laughed. She can only see the amount Chris is willing to show. It was quite refreshing. Every time she thinks she has seen it all, he shows her more. For everyone else, it would be quite normal to be surprised, but for her, who can see through almost everyone, it was a new experience. No one this young has made her feel this way, except that boy at Hogwarts.
"Just who is this guy?" She wondered. Who in the outside world could be so skilled at such a young age? Until now, she has only seen one other person like this, but he was only thirteen, and his level was a bit inferior.
'But they are indeed quite similar...' she thought. Just like this guy, Axel Hunt was also a mystery to her. The boy had somehow learnt to be stealthy on his own, enabling him to easily blend in with the crowd. And his flying skills with the broom were also exquisite.
But that wasn't the most peculiar thing about the boy. It was the fact that she could not see his limit at all.
The only difference is… she can see Chris's limit, but it's false every time… as if he had deliberately crafted it.
The rest, is almost the same. Even their appearance is almost...
"Look what he'll do now," said Estris, making her focus. In the screen, Axel was currently being chased by three aircrafts at the same time. It was a scenario that required for the target to enable the shield at the right moment in order for it last through the last trial. But what Chris did next made her stand up from her seat.
"Fucking hell... is it actually...?"
Axel disappeared from view while flying through the high-rise buildings, then appeared behind the aircraft to shoot them down.
'But the Stealth maneuvers he used...'
In Kyrin's mind, Axel's movements on the broom in his Final match, when he had used similar maneuvers, overlapped with Chris's movements.
Now that she made the connection, she realized why she found him familiar.
But still, when she watched the last stage of the Trial, she couldn't help getting doubtful again. There's no way someone so young can fight like that! Even when fighting such huge waves of enemies, he hadn't even drawn his weapon!
When he drew his wand, his limit suddenly increased dramatically. "That type of magic control…"
Kyrin could not believe there was someone at Hogwarts who was hiding so deeply. Even more surprising, he did it while being the most high profile mutherfuker in the entire outer world. Kyrin watched the whole fight spellbound.
The way Axel was fighting was art. Every move was made to eliminate maximum target while expending minimum energy. It was a symphony of strength, skills, coordination, and magic even amature could appreciate, let alone someone like her.
But then, Axel drew his knife.
!!!
Kyrin got goosebumps.
The limit… It was increasing at a dramatic rate!
But sadly, the trial stopped at this moment as Axel was ejected from the trial room.
"What?! What happened?!"
"The explosions happened. His trial took place earlier today," said Estris.
"Argh! Damn it Kraken! Of all the times, did it have to be now?!"
Estris nodded. "Boss, I feel a deep sense satisfaction upon seeing your frustration. I'm glad I showed this to you," she said with an expressionless face while putting a hand on her chest.
Kyrin shook off her disappointment. She now came back to the previous topic. Is it really Axel? She didn't think so anymore.
He had no scars, and his face and hair were different. But those movements, that body, and that flying technique, all were similar. But all the flaws that she had seen in Axel's disguise were absent in Chris's disguise.
If he's really Axel, then that would mean that improved all the previous flaws she had mentioned to him in such a short time!
Kyrin realized that there was an easy way to find out.
"Estris, remove his clothes."
"?!... What?" This time, there was actually a change in Estris's expression.
"Stop giving me that judging look and just do it! I know there is a feature like that!"
There was indeed such a feature. Analyzing the movements, and scanning the structure, the Mermaid AI can draw a rough sketch of how the person might look without clothes. But the thing is, it's banned, and it's only used by perverts.
Of course, with her clearance, Estris could access it, who would want to be labelled a pervert just for their boss's whims?
But did she have a choice? Estris looked at Axel's figure, and shook her head. "He's only 16!" She protested. It seems that the rumours were true. Her boss is indeed a pervert.
"It is an order. Also, while at it, do the same for this one as well," she said, tapping her bracelet on her head. Instantly, an image appeared on the bracelet's interface which she transferred to the main screen in front of them.
"Who is this?" Asked Estris, looking at the image of the handsome boy with scars. It was in fact, slightly more handsome.
"Boss..."
"Just do it."
With no choice, Estris continued her work. Orders were orders. That was it. The tips of her ears were not at all red. Just as it was about to be done, they heard a voice. "Please stop."
It was Akiko who had said so.
Kyrin only now remembered that Akiko had a close relation with Axel. "So, it IS him? I knew it!"
Akiko sighed. She just couldn't let these two perverted women strip Axel's clothes in her presence. Axel's disguise wasn't that serious, to begin with. Now that Kyrin was suspicious, there were many ways she could confirm her suspicions. There was no need to go as far as removing his clothes to compare his body.
Kyrin turned back to her Deputy. "Estris, why did you stop?"
Akiko frowned. "There's no need. It IS Axel. I saw him off just yesterday."
"That's not the reason why I am doing it. It's because I want to see his limits properly. Well, it does help that he has a killer body. Estris, do it!"
As Estris was about to follow the orders, Akiko used her Trump Card. "His real age is thirteen," she told Estris.
Both Estris and Akiko glared at Kyrin, who had no choice but to give up. "Ungrateful subordinates…"
"Anyways, Axel Hunt, huh? I wonder what he's doing here?" She asked, looking at Akiko.
"He has the same goal as me. Kraken's destruction," said Akiko.
"Then, we have a new member."
Imagine the team that was forming up in her head, Kyrin grinned. "I have a feeling… the Squid Harvest this time is going to be bountiful."
.....
