Swords don't work that way!!!

The first day at work is always the hardest…

Nick: "… so I told him that I just never expected to meet pirates on the Red Sea, and the guy just started laughing like I said something really amusing…"

Veevan: "Um, can I have a question? Where is this Red Sea?"

Nick: "Hm? It’s north-east of here, but it’s pretty far. I will show it to you one day, but now let me get back to what I was saying... So, I told him that he doesn’t look like a pirate at all, and then I said; “Ah, I got it! The peg-leg is missing!”"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

Nick: "Don’t worry, he didn’t get it either. If he did, he would have ran away before I cut his leg off."

Veetu: "You cut his leg off!?"

Nick: "Hey, don’t look at me like that! He was a bad guy! He was pillaging villages, raping men and killing women left and right, and… wait, I think I mixed-up something there…"

Veevan: "Raping…?"

Nick: "Oh, I keep forgetting you two are so sheltered. You see, rape is…"

*creak*

The surprisingly relaxed atmosphere in the girls’ room was abruptly disturbed by the groaning of the heavy steel door. Looking at it, the mercenary let out a small sigh.

Nick: "That hurts my ears… I’ll bring some oil the next time I come by."

Veetu: "Ah, it’s not that bad. We can only leave our room once a day, so it’s not that bothersome."

Nick: "Oh, yeah, remind me to do something about that as well."

Baran: "I see you are still full of energy. Good."

As the door fully opened, the old archbishop’s familiar silhouette appeared from the other side. The three on the inside seemed surprisingly cozy, with the twins and Nicolai sitting face-to-face on the two beds, with snacks and drinks on the small table between them.

Nick: "You are late old man. Just how long did you plan on locking me up, huh?"

Baran: "I hope you are getting along."

Veevan: "Yes sir, Nick was just about to teach us about raping."

Baran: "…"

It was hard to decide if it was comical or scary, but the archbishop’s expression didn’t even flinch at the girl’s words.

Baran: "I see. Now, please follow me, all three of you."

Nick: "All right, all right. Geez…"

Nicolai abruptly jumped to his feet and, following his example, the twins also stood up in a hurry. Following the archbishop’s gestures they left the chamber, and as soon as they stepped through the entrance the mercenary found another familiar face looking down on him.

Nick: "Oh, hi Hyena."

Following his ad lib namesake, the tall man’s scary smile widened even further at the sound of the greeting.

Zara: "Hyena? Fufufu. Is that supposed to be me?"

Nick: "Yeah, who else?"

Zara: "Fufufu… I see. Clever."

Nick: "… Ugh… Please wipe that slasher-smile off your face. It’s creeping the girls out."

Veevan & Veetu: "...?"

Baran: "Gentlemen, I would like to ask you not to fight in the corridor. You are going to have more than enough chances to do so in the near future."

Nick: "Excuse me? Just what do you mean by that?"

The old man didn’t answer him and instead began walking down the tunnel with an air about him that made obvious that he didn’t care about the tension between those two at all.

Baran: "This way."

Nick: "… *sigh* I have a bad feeling about this."

Zara: "Fufufu. Are you getting nervous, Wolf?"

The mercenary once again raised his eyes upon the smirking swordsman with annoyance clearly showing on his face.

Nick: "Really? Was that the best insult you could come up with?"

Zara: "…"

Nick: "No reaction? Did I hurt your feelings?"

Zara: "Oh no, I was just thinking."

Nick: "Really, you can do that?"

Zara: "Fufu. Yes. Mostly about how I’m going to enjoy today’s tests way more than I should."

Nick: "What do you-?"

Veetu: "Hey, His Excellency is already gone!"

Veevan: "He’ll be angry…"

Zara: "Ah, they are right. Let’s go Wolf, we should not make him wait."

With those words the swordsman casually started walking down the corridor, completely cutting off his previous back and forth with the mercenary who, a little grudgingly, but soon followed after him without a word…

----------

Nick: "… Are you done yet?"

Technician: "Just a few more minutes."

Nick: "*sigh* What a pain…"

Fidgeting restlessly, the mercenary let out an exhausted sigh. After he left the girl’s quarters, the archbishop and his men put him through living hell, or at least something like that if we assume that hell was pure, undiluted boredom. Getting to the lab, or whatever the place was called, only took a few minutes, but after that he had to sit through an almost two hours long lecture about safety hazards, then he had to read through a frighteningly huge pile of manuals, half of which he couldn’t even comprehend thanks to them being written in some weird language he ad lib christened goddamn scientific gibberish, and lastly he had to fill out a mountain of aptitude-tests, with questions regarding personality, common sense, education and a ton of other torturously boring and seemingly irrelevant subjects.

In the end he was lead to a huge chamber which seemed like sort of a training-facility, with dummies and other equipment by the walls. Strangely one of the walls was seemingly transparent, while the rest were covered with pure white tiles. When he entered he thought he might finally got to do something, but instead a new group of technicians started swarming around him, attaching countless different kinds of equipments to him and taking all kinds of measurements. In the meantime the archbishop and the twins were observing him from the observation chamber on the other side of the transparent “wall”, accompanied by a plethora of surprisingly advanced-looking equipment and dozens of busy researchers. As such, another thirty minutes went by, and at this point Nicolai was more than eager to break something.

Nick: "Oh for the love of…! Seriously now, just how many times do you really need to take my measurements?!"

Baran: "Please be patient."

The archbishop’s calming voice, coming from a loudspeaker in the upper-left corner of the room, had pretty much the opposite effect on the mercenary.

Nick: "For how long!? At this rate I’m going to grow a beard by the time you actually tell me what I have to do!"

Baran: "We have to take proper measurements to determine your initial state before we can go on with the assessment."

Nick: "I get that… Or rather, no I don’t get that, but I don’t care! Just tell me how much longer do you want to poke me with your beeping things!"

Baran: "The technicians should be done any minute now, please be patient."

Nick: "You keep telling me that, but-"

Suddenly, the mercenary’s eyes opened wide as the hair on the back of his neck stood on its ends. He turned around in the blink of an eye, only to find himself face to face with a familiar grin.

Nick: "What the-?"

*clang*

Before he could even comprehend the situation, the sound of steel meeting steel reverberated through the air. From the corner of his eye the mercenary could see the twin’s eyes widen beside the archbishop’s surprisingly lively figure.

Baran: "Good work Zara. We are getting some really fascinating readings… Please continue."

Zara: "Fufu… Nice reflexes."

For a short while Nicolai’s eyes kept jumping between the grinning swordsman and the old man in the observatory room.

Nick: "… Hey, you old coot! What the hell is going on!?"

The archbishop’s face didn’t even twitch at the menacing tone of the mercenary’s voice and answered in a calm, businesslike manner.

Baran: "As I said before, we are now taking a base-line test. For that, we have to see your natural limits first. Please give your best in this sparring mach."

Nick: "…"

The man said sparring match, but the mercenary didn’t share the opinion. The smiling man’s first strike came from a blind spot and had enough force behind it that he could barely parry it before he instinctively jumped away. The scariest part though? He was wielding that huge blade with only one hand.  At first the mercenary though that maybe the two-hander was hollow, or otherwise lighter than it appeared to be, and thus it was part of a ploy to surprise the opponent with its speed, but after taking a hit from it he could tell that the thing was one solid slab of metal, something he didn’t want to get into the way of when it was swung again.

At this point the two men were facing each other at a distance less than a few steps, with the air almost sparkling between them. As he quickly glanced around, he also had to realize that all the other technicians and researchers have slipped out during the initial commotion. In the end, it was just the two of them in the spacious training room, observed by a dozen or so eager scientists. Ultimately, either if it really was a test or not, after going through the tedious mental examination beforehand, Nicolai was more than happy to play along…

Zara: "You have a good pair of blades there."

Nick: "…"

The silence was abruptly broken by Zara’s unexpected compliment, taking the mercenary aback for a moment.

Nick: "Thanks… I guess?"

Zara: "Indeed… I thought they would break on first impact, but you managed to deflect a strike from my Emara with ease. Impressive."

Nick: "Emara? Wait, you gave a name to your sword?"

Zara: "Why so surprised? You have your Fangs named as well."

Nick: "Wha..? No, I didn’t name them! Some street-kids did that and the name just caught on."

Zara: "…"

While talking, the two slowly started circling around each other in an overly theatrical manner. From the outside it seemed a little baffling that they would do something as useless as that in a battle, but for the two of them this was an important foreplay that could not be skipped.

Nick: "Speaking of which, what was with that sneak attack, huh? Where’s the sportsmanship?"

The man’s usual smile took a mischievous turn as he tapped the tip of his blade against the hard floor.

Zara: "This was a test of your intuition, so I was to attack you unexpectedly."

Nick: "Argh… You people keep bringing up my intuition like you know what you are talking about!"

The moment he finished his sentence the mercenary’s attention was drawn to the discreet white noise coming from the loudspeaker in the corner as Baran decided to speak up again.

Baran: "Actually… This might be a good opportunity to tell you exactly why we need your ability and its true nature."

Nick: "Gee, th-"

*flash*

Nick: "-anks?!?!"

It was only a momentarily distraction, a mere instant during which the mercenary glanced aside at the archbishop, and in that split-second…

*clash!* *clang-clang-clang!*

Nick: "Ugh! Knock it off already, you goddamn psycho!"

The last strike of the huge blade was stopped only a few inches away from the mercenary’s neck by his crossed blades. If he was only a split-second slower, he was sure he would have been cleaved in half by his opponent, whose smile hasn’t even wavered during the whole ordeal.

Zara: "Ah, how surprising. I never expected that you could actually stop my overhead swing."

Nick: "What the fuck is with that speed!? Who are you, the goddamn Soketsu!?"

Zara: "Fufu… No, but I was one of the two candidates."

The blood visibly drained from the mercenary’s face as his eyes widened in shock.

Nick: "… You’ve gotta be kidding me…"

Zara: "Fufufu."

Instead of answering, the grinning swordsman kicked off the ground, pushing the mercenary back, and immediately raised his sword again. The following exchange of blows was so fast that it was almost impossible to track them with the naked eye. Zara was continuously on the offensive, dealing strike after strike with his humongous weapon, while Nicolai deflected each incoming blow with efficient motions. In the meantime though…

Baran: "*cough*Now, if you excuse me, let me talk about your Innate Ability. As you most certainly know, your intuition allows you to detect danger and react to it, sometimes even before you could even see or hear the cause of said danger."

*clang* *rumblerumbleeumble-clink!*

Baran: "We call these kinds of powers Innate Abilities. They are created either through vigorous exercise or refined from an inborn talent, but the basic principles are the same: some exceptional individuals develop the foundations for special abilities…"

*clang* *CRASH*

Nick: "Stop jumping around…! I promise I only cut you in half a little!"

Zara: "Fufufu… How scary."

Baran: "… These basic abilities are often intangible and minuscule, but hold limitless potential. By repeatedly utilizing them the same way, they grow both in power and complexity. Conversely, once they reach a certain level of sophistication, they essentially turn into a specialization, one that can only be enhanced but not altered. For illustration, imagine the branches of a tree. As time goes on, new branches are formed. However, the branches that are getting sunlight, the analogy of usage in our allegory…"

*clang!*

Nick: "Oh shit!"

*BOOM!!*

Nick: "*cough-cough* Why… did the floor explode!?"

Zara: "Kukuku. I wonder…"

Baran: "… grow stronger and stronger, while the rest of the branches wither, becoming unusable. This leaves only one power behind, the aforementioned Innate Ability."

*CRASH*

Nick: "Oh, sorry… Were those things expensive?"

Zara: "Not particularly, but throwing them at me wasn’t in their warranty."

Nick: "Oh, then it’s fine. They can just deduce them from your salary, right?"

*clang* *clang*

Zara: "Kuku… Shouldn’t the one who threw them be responsible for the collateral damage?"

Nick: "Hey, you cut them, your problem!"

Bara: "*cough* As I was saying, most Innate Abilities are physical in nature, granting enhanced strength, speed or regenerative abilities to their users. Yours, however, is a rare, borderline unique type: the ability to read the flow of mana, resulting in limited clairvoyance, an ability you have been-"

*woosh* *CRASH!!!*

Nick: "*cough-cough* Listen, old man! It’s lovely that you are explaining these things and all, really, but… Could you PLEASE shut up already?! I’m trying to concentrate here!"

Baran: "…"

The archbishop fell silent after the mercenary’s reprimand with a barely noticeable frown on his face. In the meantime, the grinning swordsman rose from the small crater at the back of the room and leisurely dusted his clothes off.

Zara: "Fufu… Those blades are scarier than I though."

Nick: "Ugh…"

The mercenary ground his teeth at the sight. That last attack was his trump card, and his opponent took it without as much as a scratch, with his usual smile getting more and more annoying by the second.

Nick: "Just what kind of monster are you…?"

The question wasn’t a taunting one. No matter how he looked at it, the mercenary couldn’t imagine how one could survive an impact like that, much less without any visible injuries. True, he was unscratched as well, but that was only thanks to abusing his “Innate Ability”, or whatever the thing was the old man kept jabbering about…

Nick: "…"

As the mercenary quickly glanced around, he had to admit his opponent’s strength scared him, and the testaments of that strength were carved into the walls and the floor all around him. That sword the smiling man was wielding cut and crushed its way through concrete like it was play dough. However, he had no time to contemplate about his surroundings any longer, as he could already sense the familiar feeling of incoming danger.

Nick: "!"

He dashed forward and bend forwards, only avoiding the incoming horizontal swipe by a hair’s breadth. However, that wasn’t the end. Using the momentum of the blow, his opponent spun around, delivering yet another horizontal strike, one he could barely block with the flat of his left blade. For a moment, he thought this might have given him an opening he could use, but the tingling feeling of menace made him jump away once again before he could swing his other blade, just in time to avoid an improbable round-house kick aimed at his chest. With this retreat they were once again a few paces away from each other, but for him it was only a difference between staring down the throat of the lion, or just its molars. From experience he knew this distance was nothing for his opponent; he could be at his neck in less than a split-second. The grinning man’s physical advantage was overwhelming, his speed, strength and endurance were all superhuman.

Nick: "(Wait, didn’t the old man blabber something about physical abilities just now?)"

At first, this seemed like a good explanation, but as he laid his eyes upon his opponent yet again, he had shake his head at it. There was something strange in that man, that’s true, but whenever he looked at his blade, he felt an even stronger source presence. And just then, the pieces suddenly came together…

Nick: "No way…"

Zara: "Hm?"

The grinning swordsman tilted his head at the mercenary’s widened eyes. Of course, Nicolai was a little too shocked to care. After all, he felt incredibly stupid for not noticing such an obvious thing for this long.

Nick: "Your sword is an Alternate, right?"

Zara: "Fufu… Of course. Wasn’t that obvious?"

Nick:"Uhhh… Yeah, sure it was…"

For a few moments, Nicolai kept on evaluating the situation in light of this new information. Did he have a chance to win against such opposition on the first place? However, just as he was about to come up with a plan, the archbishop’s gruff voice cut his train of thought short.

Baran: "Good work, both of you. We have all the data we need."

Nick: "Huh? Are you telling me it’s already over?"

Baran: "No, actually. We also wanted to give you a little demonstration before we move on."

Nick: "Huh?"

Baran: "Zara?"

Zara: "Yes sir?"

Baran: "Please show our guest the full extent of the power of Alternates."

Zara: "Yes sir."

Nick: "Wait, are you serious- ugh!?"

Suddenly, an immense amount of pressure assaulted the mercenary’s mind, like all of his nerves were screaming out in panic at the very same time.

Zara: "Fufufu…"

The aura of menace around the grinning man was so intense that Nicolai would have sworn he could actually see it swirling in the air as he raised his blade. In the end, the man’s expression slowly twisted into an almost maniacal grin… which was actually not so different from his usual expression, but unnerving nevertheless. And then, just as Nicolai was about to raise his weapons…

*whoosh*

Nick: "?!"

*clang-clink-clang-clang-clong…*

Like machinegun-fire, the continuous exchange of blows shook the air around the two with eldritch power. Zara was practically dancing around the mercenary who was seemingly entrenched into his position, warding off strike after strike with impossible precision. However, those strikes were nothing like the ones he had to face until then. They were faster than anything the grinning man had ever thrown his way, and carried enough force that it was a small wonder he could hold his ground without being swept away.

Nick: "What the fuuuuu-!!!"

*CLANG!*

However, the momentarily stalemate didn’t last long. It was a diagonal strike, coming from the left and aimed at his head. He could see it, or rather, he could feel which way the strike was going to come from, but there was no way he could block it. His hands were already numb after the previous shower of blows, and the best he could manage was to twist his body out of the way of the incoming blade. However, the attack didn’t stop at that. The blade suddenly came to a stop, as if defying the very law of momentum, and came crashing down from overhead.

Nick: "Oh crap!"

*clink!!!*

One final clash of steel, and then silence...

Zara: "…"

Nick: "What… the fuck was that!?"

… that only lasted for a second or two. The battle came to an end, without any question about the identity of the “winner”.

Nick: "*cough* Dammit, what the hell!? Inertia does not work that way! Hell, swords don’t work that way!"

The mercenary, heavily sweating and out of breath, yet defiant as ever, was sitting on the ground with Zara’s blade only inches away from his chest. The two kept staring daggers at each other for a few short seconds, right until the grinning swordsman slowly pulled his blade back and extended his hand towards his downed opponent.

Zara: "Fufufu. Don’t be a sore loser."

Nick: "… Just shut up, will you?"

Zara: "It was fun."

Nick: "…"

At first the mercenary glared at the extended hand with suspicion in his eyes, but in the end he reached out for it and rose onto his legs.

Nick: "Ouch… I should have brought my gloves, my hands hurt like crazy…"

Zara: "Oh, my apologies. If only I knew your hands were so fragile…"

Nick: "… Oh shut up."

Zara: "Fufu…"

After dusting himself, Nicolai swiftly moved to the other end of the chamber, bent down and reached for the blade on the ground. One of his swords, the one he kept in his left hand. It was torn out of his grasp by the very last strike and landed right there, leaving a surprisingly deep groove into the floor . He quickly checked the weapon for damage, but it seemed like it was unscratched. However, just as he was about to put the blade back into its scabbard…

Baran: "Good work, gentlemen."

Both of them leveled their eyes onto the entrance as the archbishop entered with the two girls and a few technicians at his side.

Baran: "The data we gathered is very promising. Your reaction times were between -3 and -28. Truly outstanding."

Nick: "… Excuse me, but minus what?"

Baran: "The negative values mean that you have reacted to the incoming dangers even before they were actualized. Truly magnificent. I never expected that your Innate Ability was this advanced, it’s not a big stretch of the world to say that you actually possess a somewhat primeval yet fairly potent clairvoyance."

Nick: "… Is that… good or bad?"

Baran: "Very good. With this data I can surely say that you are going to be perfect for this job."

Nick: "Great… I hope there are no other tests you want to force down my throat. I’ve got quite enough of them for one day."

Seeing the man’s slightly irate expression, the archbishop slowly shook his head.

Baran: "I apologize for the inconvenience of this sudden match, but it was to deter-"

Nick: "Heh? Wait, I’m not talking about this. It was all right."

Baran: "…"

Nick: "I was talking about those goddamn aptitude tests. Those things drive me crazy! This little workout at the end was actually just what I needed to get those out my system."

Baran: "…"

Still baffled by the man’s irresponsible answer, the archbishop once again shook his head, though this time with a little more force behind it, and spoke up again.

Baran: "Regardless of that… In light of the gathered data, I think you are the best possible choice for their master. As of now, I formally hire your for the post."

Nick: "Ah, before you continue, do you have a contract ready?"

Hearing the question, the old man knit his brows.

Baran: "Sadly, we cannot provide you with one until you have completed your task. As you know, it is still forbidden by law to hire you within the jurisdiction of the Order, and thus such a contract could affect our institute in an adverse manner. We are already working on a way to remedy this sorry situation, but until then, I can only give you my word."

Nick: "*nod* I see, I see… So no contract, huh? Good."

Baran: "Good?"

Seeing the old man’s brows rise in surprise, the mercenary quickly decided to rephrased his words.

Nick: "Ah, it’s nothing. I just have a sort of “pending” contract, and having another might mess things up on the long run. This works best for me too."

Baran: "… I see."

Even though one could clearly see the displeasure on the face of the old man, he calmly continued on.

Baran: "For now I have to put the collected data under closer inspection. You are free to move around within the premises of the Forge. We also freed up a private room for you in the A-section. As for the girls, you two should…"

Nick: "Objection!"

Baran: "…?"

Nick: "They are going to be my partners or whatnot, right? I want you to put them under my direct supervision."

Veevan & Veetu: "…?"

The archbishop involuntarily raised his brows at the sudden demand.

Baran: "Why?"

Nick: "Why not?"

Baran: "That is not an argument."

The man briskly shrugged his shoulders, not even bothering about the piercing gazes surrounding him.

Nick: "Who cares? Until now it was you who made the rules, it’s time I lay down a few as well."

Baran: "Don’t overstep your-"

Nick: "*sigh* Listen old man, you are the one who needs me for this weapon-research thing. As far as I could puzzle things out from your speeches, I’m pretty much essential for this project of yours, so do you really want to get on my bad side for something this trivial?"

Baran: "I would hardly call entrusting you with our only prototypes “trivial”."

Nick: "Come on now, you want me to be their “partner”, we both know that you are going to have to do it sooner or later. Why not now?"

The two men kept staring each other in the eye without flinching, but after only a few seconds of that the archbishop suddenly let out a breath in resignation.

Baran: "*sigh* I see. Very well, I put the two in your custody for now, but-"

Nick: "Great! Thanks pops!"

To the entire group’s most sincere bafflement the mercenary leisurely walked over the twins and smoothly grabbed them by the shoulder.

Nick: "Just one more question: Is there a place where I can grab something to eat?"

His words were only followed up by an awkward silence. At first it seemed like no one would answer, but in the end one of the technicians finally broke under the pressure and spoke up.

????: "We… have a cafeteria in the B-section."

Nick: "Cafeteria, you say? Whatever, I’m hungry so it will do. Come on girls, let’s go and eat something!"

As such, the two baffled girls were vigorously pulled after the loudmouthed mercenary while followed by countless depreciative glances, and the three of them soon disappeared from sight as they left the testing room. After a few more tense seconds, the grinning swordsman silently walked up to the archbishop.

Zara: "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

The old man glanced up at his tall subordinate and answered in a hard, almost grim tone.

Baran: "It hurts to admit it, but he is right. We need that man, we need his data."

Zara: "You know he is going to be a lot of trouble."

Baran: "Of course I know, but we have no other choice. If we want to have a fighting chance, we need to get the equations necessary for mass production, and we can only get them in time if we use him."

Zara: "Fufu… True. Do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

Baran: "That goes without saying. You are the only one who can stop him anyway."

Zara: "Understood."

Saying so, the tall man took a step forward, only to abruptly stop by the archbishop’s next words.

Baran: "However, do not provoke him. You are only to detain him if he tries to escape."

Zara: "…"

Baran: "He might be trouble, but he could also serve as a powerful ally. We need him to work with us on his own volition and we have no room for mistakes."

After taking a deep breath, Baran’s voice suddenly became surprisingly tired and weak, a lot more fitting of his elderly appearance.

Baran: "We have to do this, no matter how inconvenient it might be. This is our only chance…"

Hearing these words, the tall swordsman slowly turned back with an almost mocking, implausibly wide smile plastered on his face.

Zara: "Fufufu… Too bad we don’t have a Plan for us to rely on, right?"

----------

Nick: "*gulp-gulp* ---Fuaaah! I really needed that!"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

The large cafeteria was harder to find than Nicolai originally expected, especially with no map or guidance whatsoever, but once they found it, the food was more than enough to compensate for the temporary inconvenience. The three of them were sitting together, taking hold of a long table all for themselves. That of course didn’t mean that they were the only ones in the dining hall. Actually, it was about as far from the truth as it could get. Actually, the other technicians and researchers clearly avoided them; some of them didn’t even enter the hall once they saw the three of them from the doorway. Because of that, the girls felt more than a little ill at ease, but the mercenary apparently didn’t care about the piercing stares surrounding them at all. After gulping down his drink, Nicolai dug into his second serving with childish glee.

Nick: "I tell you, say whatever you want about the policies of this place, the food is damn good."

Veevan: "Y-Yes."

It only took him a few short minutes to devour the rest of his food, after which the mercenary ceremoniously stretched himself like a cat after filling his stomach, still not caring about the other people’s suspicious glances the slightest.

Nick: "Well, that was good. … Are you two full already?"

Looking at their half-eaten dishes, the two curtly shook their heads.

Nick: "Really? You are slow."

Veetu: "Actually, you are too fast."

Nick: "Heh, can’t help it. After a workout like that it would be strange if I wasn’t hungry."

While speaking, he couldn’t not notice that the two’s eyes widened when he mentioned his “workout”.

Nick: "Hmmm? Do you want to say something?"

The twins timidly looked at each other, with their eyes moving like they were sending coded messages at each other, only to finally raise their gazes onto him again.

Veevan: "We just… thought that you were incredible back there…"

Nick: "Hehe. Really?"

Veetu: "Of course! We have never seen anyone fight like that!"

Nick: "Oh, you mean you have seen other fights here? *munch-munch*"

Veetu: "Yes. There were other candidates who fought against mister Dust like you did."

Nick: "Dust…? Oh, you mean the clown guy! Yeah, I guess that was his name…"

Veetu: "Clown?"

Veevan: "Ah, you call him that because he is always smiling?"

Nick: "Ding-ding! Correct answer! Here, you won a drumstick!"

The two looked at the man in confusion as he put the piece of meat from his third serving onto the girl’s plate.

Nick: "What are you looking at? You are still growing, you need the protein. Oh, wait, now that I think about it…"

Veetu: "?"

Completely oblivious to the twins’ reaction, the mercenary nonchalantly put his other chicken drumstick onto the other girl’s plate like it was the most natural thing to do.

Nick: "I shouldn’t play favorites. Here, you can have one too. Today’s motto is equal treatment!"

Veetu: "Errr… Thank you?"

Nick: "You are welcome. Anyways, that battle was nothing special; though it kind of annoys me that I lost…"

Veevan: "Ah, but you did great!"

Veetu: "True. We have never seen anyone hold his ground against mister Dust for so long."

Nick: "Hehe…"

Veevan & Veetu: "…?"

Nick: "Thanks girls, you are really nice. You see, the thing that actually annoys me is that the beat me while holding back. It’s hard on my pride..."

Veevan: "But… it couldn’t be helped…!"

Veetu: "Right, he already has an Alternate partner, so that battle was completely unfair. If you had an Alternate, I think you could have easily beaten him."

Veevan: "I… think with us, you would have won."

Nick: "With you? Does that mean that you already okay with me?"

Once again, the two looked at each other and started fidgeting.

Veetu: "You… said you would take us out of here, right?"

Nick: "Yup."

Veetu: "To do that, you need to become our partner first, so we have little choice."

Nick: "*sigh* I see."

Seeing the man’s difficult expression, the two slowly shrunk back a little.

Veevan: "Is there… a problem…?"

Nick: "Huh…? Nah, I just still have a hard time wrapping my head around this whole “partner” thing."

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

Nick: "Not to mention, it still sound a little ridiculous to use you as weapons or whatnot. It just goes against common sense on so many levels…"

Suddenly, a small spark of interest flickered in the man’s eyes as he leaned closer to the two.

Nick: "Speaking of weapons, that sword the smiley guy was toting around was an Alternate, right?"

After a moment of confusion at the sudden change of topic, the two nodded in unison.

Veetu: "Yes, he is an Alternate."

Nick: "He? I see. And what is he like?"

Veevan: "Um… We don’t really know."

The mercenary involuntarily raised a brow at the answer.

Nick: "You don’t know?"

Veevan: "He… never changes back to human form."

Nick: "Are you serious?"

Once again, the two nodded in unison, making the man question whether the two were linked in some way to do that.

Nick: "So he always stays as a sword, huh? What about you?"

Veevan & Veetu: "?"

Nick: "I mean, what do you guys… “turn into”? Is that the right word?"

For a moment, the two of them seemed downright embarrassed at the question, but they still forced an answer out of themselves.

Veevan: "We… don’t."

Nick: "?"

Veetu: "We are not at the stage when we change shape yet. Actually, we can’t even get our mana-flow steady either…"

Nick: "Wait, wait! Mana flow…? The old man has been bringing that up a lot, but what does that even mean?"

Veevan: "Um… You see, when we join with a partner, we tune our mana to his own, and… pump it over to give him strength. We have problem with the second part…"

Veetu: "We are supposed to work together to create one continuous stream of mana, but we can’t do it yet."

Veevan: "Yes… it’s really hard to do."

Veetu: "Mostly because we needs perfect timing and the partner also has to monitor his intake while fighting."

Veevan: "That too, so it’s really, really hard…"

Nick: "U-huh… I didn’t understand half of what you said, but isn’t this a problem of skill rather than aptitude? *munch*"

Veevan & Veetu: "…?"

The man’s thoughtful answer had taken the girls by surprise, which was not a great achievement, taken that he was still in the middle of wolfing down his food while talking.

Nick: "I mean, it sounds like you have the ability, but not the experience to use it."

Veevan: "Um… no. It’s because we have different mana-densities."

Nick: "Mana-what now?"

Veetu: "*sigh* It’s like oil and water. Even though we are twins, our mana is of different consistency and do not mix well, so the one wielding us has to constantly monitor our output and mix his own mana into ours to create a texture that he can use. That’s why we have no partner yet, because no one could do that and use us at the same time…"

Nick: "…"

Nick: "… *sigh* I give up. I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

The mercenary slowly slumped back into his chair, and let out another huge sigh.

Nick: "Geez… I don’t get it. If it’s so complicated to use Alternates, why does the Order even bother with this…?"

Zara: "It’s because our enemies are strong."

Nick: "Wha…?"

The mercenary looked like he had just seen a ghost as the tall swordsman calmly took a seat beside him with his tray and started eating without the smallest hint of moderation in his movements.

Nick: "What the hell!? When did you became a ninja!?"

Zara: "Ninja?"

Nick: "Ah, yes, that was a little obscure… They were fabled assassins from feudal Japan. Pop-culture was chock-full of them before the Devastation."

Zara: "Fufu… I see. So you are quite knowledgeable about useless things, it seems."

Nick: "Why, I am. Thank you for the compliment."

Zara: "…"

Nick: "…"

Veevan & Veetu: "…"

Zara: "Wait, did you call me Fox? Wasn’t it Hyena the last time?"

Nick: "Ah, and you apparently have an absolutely wonderful reaction time! Congratulations!"

The smiling man didn’t respond, only shrugged his shoulder and started eating without even minding the mercenary at his side. Said man on the other hand…

Nick: "Say, just what are you doing here?"

Zara: "Eating. The B-menu is quite good today."

Nick: "Yes, obviously. Thank you for this vital piece of information."

Zara: "*chew-chew*"

Nick: "Whatever… Anyways, you said something about strong enemies. What did you mean by that?"

After swallowing the food in his mouth, the smiling man composedly faced Nicolai with thinly veiled disdain in his eyes.

Zara: "Fufufu. Isn’t it obvious? You said you couldn’t understand why the Order would bother with the Alternates. I told you the reason."

Nick: "Yeah, but it still sounds weird. Why do they need the Alternates when they have perfectly fine guns?"

Zara: "Perfectly fine guns, you say? Fufu. Tell me, are you afraid of them?"

With condescension written all over his face, the grinning swordsman turned away from the mercenary and returned to his food, only to continue on talking between bites.

Nick: "?"

Zara: "Fufu… You see, the Order’s grasp on power is based on our monopoly over firearms and ammunition. Only we have access to them, and they are outlawed for everyone else. This is why medieval weaponry is having a renaissance all around the world, with wandering swordsmen and mercenary bands left and right."

Nick: "…"

Zara: "They are strong, but as you said, you can dispatch them with a few “perfectly good guns” any time they cause trouble. But…"

Suddenly, the grinning man turned to the mercenary with a knowing smile and a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.

Zara: "Tell me, Wolf; what good is a gun against a man who can run faster than one can follow with their eyes, or a man who can avoid a bullet even before it is fired?"

Nick: "…"

Zara: "Fufufu. You got it, right? There are many monsters like us out there, and the Order needs an edge. If Alternates can give us that edge against our enemies, inside and outside, it’s worth the trouble."

Nick: "Enemies on the inside, you say?"

Zara: "Oh…? Fufufu… I might have said too much."

Saying so, the smiling man abruptly stood up and took his tray with him.

Zara: "I’m full. Thanks for keeping me company."

And just like that, the smiling man left the same way he came, to the utter bafflement of the three. After blinking a few times, the mercenary slowly turned to the twins while his hand was still pointing towards the empty seat beside him.

Nick: "… Did he just drop by to lecture me on a random topic?"

Veevan: "I… think so. It looks like it."

Veetu: "Yes…"

Nick: "… *sigh* I hate this guy."

Veevan: "Ah, but mister Dust is not a bad man, he is just a little… strange."

Nick: "A little strange, you say? Well, I can agree with that, but-"

Zara: "By the way…"

Nicolai almost jumped out of his chair at the voice, and quickly turned around to face the man.

Nick: "What the hell! Stop sneaking up on me!"

Zara: "Fufu… I almost forgot this."

Nick: "Huh?"

Just as he was about to stand up, an envelope was pressed into the hand of the confused mercenary.

Zara: "His Excellency asked me to give this to you."

At first the man suspiciously examined the envelope, but after finding nothing out of place he finally opened the seal. In it he found a schedule for the next few days, a map of the Forge and a small plastic security card similar to what the old man used back at the girls’ door.

Nick: "…"

Not caring about the eyes on him, he began studying the newly received objects, and as he did so, his eyes soon narrowed in suspicion. In the end though, he just stuffed them back into the envelope. However, by the time he was about to grudgingly thank Zara for the delivery; the man already vanished without a trace.

Nick: "What the…?! I swear he does that on purpose!"

Veevan & Veetu: "…?"

Once again, the man slumped back into his chair, seemingly upset, and then let out a heavy sigh, only to jump onto his feet only a split-second later.

Nick: "Aaargh! That’s it! I’m tired. Let’s get back to our room."

Veevan: "But…"

Veetu: "Slow down…!"

The two tried to protest, but as they soon had to realize, there was no way to escape from the man’s pace, and before they even knew it, they were already following the mercenary out of the cafeteria, once again followed by the curious eyes of the researchers all around them…

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