As soon as we left the meeting room after our brief discussion, I, Hadal, Chioma, and Michael made our way back to the cafeteria. The tension was palpable, hanging thick in the air like a storm about to break.
We all sat in silence, grappling with the weight of everything we had just learned. Training to become spies, the North Africa mission looming ahead, and the new arts we were expected to master—it was all simply overwhelming.
But, of course, in typical Hadal fashion, he broke the silence. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he hesitated, probably reading the seriousness etched on my face. Little did he know, I was itching to speak, too.
"The North Africa mission… how dangerous do you think it's going to be?" I finally blurted out. "To be honest, I'm scared but excited to fight as a flow user on the big stage."
Hadal and I looked at Michael, hoping for some insight. But Michael turned his focus to Chioma, who was sitting directly across from him. "I think Chioma will be a better person to explain the questions you may have."
"Yes, he's right. I would be better," she replied blankly, as if she had been expecting Michael to pass the questions over to her without hesitation.
She adjusted her glasses and pulled out a small journal, flipping to a specific page. "Yes, here it is—the North Africa mission," she continued. "The Lecter scale rating for the North Africa mission is 3.5 out of 10 Lecters. For your level, it is quite dangerous. But that is simply the nature of this job. We take missions above our level and adapt to harder ones as we essentially do the jobs no one else wants to do."
"Lecter scale? That's named after Chris Lecter, the legendary explorer from South Africa, right?" I replied, recalling bits and pieces of information I had gathered.
"Yes, that's right. I'm guessing you know the three zones of the Lecter scale?" Chioma adjusted her glasses again, clearly ready to explain.
"No, I only have limited information. As I've said before, I'm from the Greenlands." Chioma quickly glanced over at Hadal, and they exchanged a knowing look before he caught on to what she wanted.
"The three zones are a way to assess what type of threat we're dealing with. Zones 1 to 4 are usually tame, consisting of missions that could take 2 to 3 months to complete and have a low chance of fatality. Zones 5 to 8 are missions that aren't tame at all; they may take a minimum of 6 months, and there is a significant risk of death. Lastly, Zones 9 to 10 are where death is guaranteed if not executed correctly. Missions in these zones usually take a minimum of 5 years and demand extreme effort."
Chioma finally turned her attention back to me, and I could see Hadal breathe a sigh of relief from the corner of my eye. She must have been socially awkward, speaking like a robot yet still managing to convey crucial information.
"What he said is mainly correct. So you guys don't have to worry too much," she added curtly.
"What would be an example of each type of mission from the three zones?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"There aren't specific missions that may be dangerous," Chioma continued. "Our missions mainly focus on intel gathering, tracking, infiltrating, and eliminating targets, so I can only provide hypothetical scenarios for missions that would correspond to a specific zone."
"For example, this mission here will be tame, as all we have to do is gather intel and track any potential members of the Primordial Cult and their dark flow arts. If there are any, we simply take note and return."
"Are we not going to tell the authorities?" I questioned, a knot forming in my stomach.
"No, that isn't our responsibility." Something about that didn't sit right with me.
"Well, moreover, that's all I have to say. Do you have any other questions?"
Michael interjected, "I think you should explain what the Primordial Cult is; the recruits look confused."
"How about you do it now? I'm tired of speaking." Chioma shortly after said this, scrolling on her phone.
"So I only speak when it's convenient for you?" Michael shot back, annoyance evident in his tone. Chioma ignored him, and he blew out a sigh of frustration. It was clear these two didn't work well together. "Right, I'll explain the Primordial Cult."
We pulled our seats in and adjusted from our relaxed positions.
"In the known world, we have the Terror Beast Continent, where Antarctica used to be. The Terror Beast Continent is overrun by animals mutated by flow energy, transforming them into horrifying creatures," he continued, his tone serious. "Legends say, although it's a fairy tale, that there was a Primordial Terror Beast who sought to destroy and remake the world in his own image."
"And that Primordial Terror Beast is who they worship," I interjected, eager to contribute to the explanation.
"Right, but what about the dark flow arts? What do those mean?"
"Dark flow arts are flow arts created by the Primordial. The cult seeks to understand and utilize them to become stronger. Unfortunately, some members have had success in learning a dark flow art."
"Do we know any of these dark flow arts?" Hadal interjected, his interest piqued.
"I don't, but our higher-ups do. The most troubling part is if they know but want to keep it from us, then whatever they may be is extremely dangerous. But for now, don't worry. Just focus on training for the first small mission coming up."
He finished his explanation and stood to leave, Chioma shortly following suit. We sat there for a moment, talking about the next few things that might be coming up.
"I wonder if the small missions will be solo or collaborative," Hadal mused, leaning back in his chair. "I really hope it won't be too hard, but also not too boring."
"You can only have one or the other with this job," I said, chuckling lightly.
"Well then, Joseph, are you doing alright?"
"What do you mean?" I replied, confusion washing over me.
"The vassal of time, the Lance Corp, Captain Kinga—hell, the whole challenge of fate thing. Are you doing alright with all this pressure?"
"I'll be honest with you; I'm scared. In the span of a few months, I've faced forces and potential threats that I never dreamed I would confront in my life. But right now, I'm not so scared. I believe the training I'm getting from Lance Corp has equipped me so that I wouldn't be completely helpless."
Hadal smiled and patted my shoulder. "Well, that's good. Optimism is our best choice now. Let's just focus on training for the first small mission."
"Thanks, man, but we better get to engineering class now; it's about to start soon."
We stood up to head to the changing rooms to put on our uniforms before walking to class. I supposed that even if things were abnormal right now, my school life couldn't suffer.
Little did Hadal and I know, someone was following us—invisible and hidden from plain sight.
The mysterious figure tapped a device on their wrist and spoke, "Mr. Sankoré, we found the target. He is attending Shalu Academy."
"What is his name?" a voice crackled from the device.
"Their names are Joseph and Hadal."
"Thank you. You have done good work. Pull out; I'll take it from here."