Chapter 19: Epitome of the Old and New Eras
General Administration of Mysteries, Council Chamber.
"The allocation model used in previous years has already proven both stable and effective."
The one speaking was the director in charge of newcomer training, a heavy voiced man with a square jaw and a reputation for being unshakably cautious. If translated into the language of Hodell's previous life, he was the most textbook kind of conservative.
"Following the established process, rotating through foundational posts, accumulating experience step by step, and only then taking on real responsibility remains the safest way to train talent. Pushing young people into high pressure departments too early, especially a place like the Rapid Response Department, is not necessarily a kindness."
His position represented a large portion of the General Administration's steady faction.
Then another voice cut in.
"Safe? Or stagnant?"
The Deputy Director of the Technical Evaluation Bureau leaned forward, fingers tapping the table. He was a middle aged man with sharp eyes and the habit of speaking as though every sentence needed to break something open.
"In the interstellar world, do you know what they call a civilization at our level?" His tone was crisp, almost mocking. "A Surface Civilization."
A magic projection rose behind him with a wave of his hand. A string of data appeared in the air, bright and clear. Several indicators stood out immediately, especially theoretical innovation and practical operation scores. Compared with previous years, this year's newcomers were visibly stronger.
His hand swept toward the data.
"These are not ordinary recruits. Their overall quality is already higher than the average of the last several batches."
Then he enlarged one name.
Ryan.
A short clip appeared in the projection, showing Hodell's rapid casting during the combat assessment. The final Ice Spike bloomed on screen with chilling precision.
The room quieted for a beat.
The Deputy Director did not waste it.
"Look at this kind of spell speed. This kind of live reaction ability. If someone like this is thrown into ordinary rotational posts just to grind seniority through procedure, that is not caution. That is waste."
His gaze traveled across the meeting chamber.
"Calm water does not produce good sailors. We keep talking about reform, about adaptation, about stepping into the wider universe, but when real talent appears, everyone suddenly becomes nostalgic for process."
Another voice joined him before the steady faction could regroup.
"I agree."
The speaker this time was the head of the Mana Net Application Research Center, one of the key figures within the General Administration where the empire's magic network operations intersected with administration and infrastructure. He belonged to the reformist camp as well, and his influence was not small.
"In recent years, the General Administration has become more concerned with procedural fairness than with meaningful outcomes. Seniority has gradually become an invisible wall. If we continue like this, the people we call geniuses will either be dulled down or wasted."
He turned slightly, addressing the chamber more broadly.
"I propose we establish a formal Genius Fast Track. A true one, not another decorative policy. The top five percent of this year's recruits, judged by comprehensive performance, should be allowed to bypass part of the old rotational system and be placed directly where their abilities can matter most."
The conservative director frowned.
"And what of fairness? A system that damages fairness will damage the foundation."
"Fairness is not sameness," the Deputy Director of Technical Evaluation snapped back at once. "Treating everyone identically is not justice when their value to the institution is clearly different. Special treatment for true talent is fairness to the General Administration and fairness to Liuli Star."
He did not even bother softening the blow.
"We have brought up similar proposals in previous years, yes, but the candidates were not strong enough and the support was not organized enough. This year is different."
The council chamber became noisy at once.
This kind of scene, if broadcast to the public, would probably shock outsiders who imagined high ranking officials as solemn statues draped in authority. But on Liuli Star, meetings were often like this. People argued directly, interrupted each other, raised their voices, and occasionally looked ready to throw a chair.
Yet once the meeting ended, those same people might sit down together for tea as if nothing had happened.
Culturally, the New Era council tradition placed the matter above the person. During the meeting, it might sound like, "Are you an idiot? Look at the data." "You're the idiot, you missed the premise." Then afterward, one might say, "I got carried away earlier." "It's fine, so did I."
Crude perhaps, but efficient.
And that efficiency had become one of the signatures of Liuli Star's New Era prosperity.
The Deputy Director of Technical Evaluation pressed his advantage.
"This year's batch gives us the perfect opportunity. If we cannot even give this group special training, then all our talk about valuing talent is just a slogan to decorate speeches."
He straightened and said clearly, "I formally propose that the Genius Fast Track be piloted starting with this year's recruits."
Silence followed.
Low discussion.
The conservative side had clearly not expected the reformists to be this prepared. In previous years, similar proposals had died because either the candidates were not strong enough or the support behind the idea was too thin. This time, however, both conditions had changed.
At the head of the chamber, the Deputy Director General, who had said almost nothing so far, finally tapped the table.
The sound was not loud, but it cut through the room at once.
"The Fast Track proposal has merit."
One sentence.
The tone alone told everyone which way the wind was blowing.
He continued calmly, "Following the joint recommendation of the Technical Evaluation Bureau and the Mana Net Application Research Center, a detailed pilot plan will be drafted. Starting with this batch of recruits, a small number of outstanding individuals will receive targeted placement and focused training."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he glanced at the conservative director and added, "The exact selection standards and assignment mechanisms must still be refined. The process must remain transparent and defendable."
That was all.
The reformists had their opening.
And everyone in the room understood it.
…
"Long time no see, Eli."
"Not really. It hasn't even been a month."
Hodell's tone was flat.
The crystal ball before him shifted from a blur of light into a clear image of Reed, still wearing that same familiar white lab coat.
When he had first learned that Liuli Star also had long distance communication methods, he had actually been a little surprised. In the original novel, those things were usually mechanical products. Here, magic handled the same function with almost insulting smoothness.
Reed smiled faintly.
"It seems you've adapted well."
"Thanks to you," Hodell replied. "So what do you want?"
"Nothing complicated. Just checking on our important collaborator."
That smile remained perfectly shaped and perfectly cold.
"The General Administration's allocation has already been issued. You've been placed onto the list for the Rapid Response Department."
Hodell's eyes shifted slightly, but he said nothing. He waited.
Reed continued, exactly as expected.
"The capital headquarters may be the center of power, but that doesn't mean it's the best place for you. What you need is a stage. Somewhere you can display yourself. Somewhere you can accumulate visible achievements quickly."
Then he finally delivered the real point.
"Oluson. The throat of the Sunken Star Canyon. The Rapid Response branch there is short handed."
His gaze sharpened a little.
"You need to submit a request yourself."
He stressed the word yourself.
"You should state that you are willing to go where the Empire needs people most. A young genius full of ideals, unafraid of hardship, asking to be tempered in a difficult region." Reed gave another small, sterile smile. "It's a very attractive image."
Then, as though finishing a lesson for a student too slow to appreciate its beauty, he said, "Eli, chaos is not an obstacle for you. It is a ladder."
Hodell looked at him expressionlessly.
"I need a stable supply of the medicine."
"Of course." Reed answered without hesitation. "That can be arranged."
"I also want advanced Superpower knowledge."
There was a reason he asked directly.
His advancement quest belonged to the difficult end of the scale. On a Surface Civilization like Liuli Star, advanced knowledge was already close to the ceiling. If the overall power level of this planet had not clearly exceeded Planet Aquamarine's early environment from the original novel, Hodell might have doubted whether advanced Superpower knowledge even existed here at all.
The Magic System was mainstream here.
Not his path.
Once the third ring mission finished, he would receive a large amount of experience. At that point, having no advanced knowledge to spend it on would be maddening.
Reed laughed softly.
"Eli, you've fallen into the wrong line of thinking."
He folded his hands before him.
"You think advanced knowledge is the bottleneck limiting you. But for the Superpower System, blindly walking the roads of predecessors can easily become its own prison."
Hodell's face remained blank, but inwardly he was speechless.
No. Advanced knowledge is exactly the bottleneck strangling me.
Normal NPCs did not have advancement tasks.
He did.
Reed saw his silence and continued.
"What you need now is not inheritance, but resources. In Oluson's internal inventory, there is a batch of materials capable of gently cleansing body and mind, purifying energy, and indirectly increasing the intensity of abilities. We will help you obtain it."
There it was.
Not rejection outright, but not agreement either.
A piece of candy in place of the key to the vault.
The Erhai School still had no intention of letting him touch truly high level knowledge. That was not surprising. People with desires were easier to chain down.
As Reed finished speaking, the light in the crystal ball withdrew. His image broke apart and vanished, leaving Hodell alone with the man in the dark gray uniform.
…
"Ryan, you're really not going to the graduation ceremony?"
Carlo looked stunned, as though the idea itself was an insult to youth.
"No," Hodell said with a small smile. "I still have some things to prepare."
He really did. He needed to learn more about Oluson, the Rapid Response Department, and what the next stage of his life would actually look like.
Eric spoke next, his tone sincere and openly envious.
"Congratulations. Entering the Rapid Response Department directly, and at headquarters level allocation too… that's incredible."
He clenched one fist, eyes hardening with resolve.
"I'll work hard too."
Lula gave him a gentle smile.
"Congratulations, Ryan. Please be careful in your new posting."
"Thank you, Lula."
Celia, unusually, was not carrying a book this time.
She looked at him quietly and said, "Books say that a long journey requires light luggage. But they also say that one need not throw away everything to travel far."
After a small pause, she added, "Take care."
Hodell looked at the few people before him.
They had not known each other long.
Not really.
And yet, compared to everything else he had encountered on this planet, that short time already felt strangely real.
"I'm glad I met all of you," he said.
That was not acting.
Not this time.
The small path beneath the trees was ordinary, quiet, and lit with broken gold from the afternoon sun. Moss clung to old bark. Somewhere beyond, the academy bell rang faintly.
It was an ordinary place.
Which made it the perfect place for parting.
…
Oluson.
A dangerous point in the Sunken Star Canyon.
During the Old Era, it had sat at the edge of several major spheres of influence. None of the surrounding powers had dared to seize it by force, because doing so would have triggered a chain reaction from everyone else. After enough mutual restraint, compromise hardened into habit, and the place became a neutral zone by default.
Neutral zones attracted all kinds of creatures.
By the New Era, Oluson had become a strange, grey edged haven filled with information brokers, exiled mages, fallen nobles, smugglers, independent contractors, and every other sort of person who could survive without belonging anywhere clean.
The canyon itself was harsh and rich in natural energy. It also bred large magical beast populations, some intelligent enough to negotiate, threaten, trade, and remember grudges.
Deep within the canyon, those creatures had their own territories and balances of power. Sometimes they clashed with human forces. Sometimes they traded. Sometimes they did both in the same week.
Liuli Star itself had once been much the same.
In the Old Era, it was fractured into countless countries and ideologies, each cycling through its own wars and prosperity in relative isolation. Then the stars opened overhead, and the truth of the wider universe was revealed.
Compared to that, every old border had suddenly seemed laughably small.
Past glory.
Past hatred.
Past national myth.
Under the light of the stars, all of it shrank into the history of dust.
So the New Era was born.
The civilization compressed its former divisions into a single species level will and turned toward the universe.
The Empire then looked at Oluson again and saw what it had become.
A choke point.
A resource node.
A key position controlling movement through the canyon and access to valuable mineral and magical beast materials.
So, little by little, it tightened its hold.
The Rapid Response Department was the arm responsible for responding to sudden crises there. Fast conflict, strange events, anything not natural or not controllable by ordinary local administration, that was their territory.
Back in his dormitory, Hodell packed his belongings with embarrassing speed, then sat down and spread out the General Administration application form.
After a brief pause, he began to write.
"To the Rapid Response Department and the Personnel Division of the General Administration of Mysteries:
I, Ryan, am deeply honored by the trust shown to me by the General Administration and fully aware of the responsibility attached to it.
Recently, while reviewing material related to the Empire's key regions, I found myself especially drawn to Oluson. The capital is, of course, the heart of the Empire, but it is my belief that only difficult places can sharpen a person's edge and allow true service to the Empire.
Oluson is a place of complexity and challenge. It is exactly the kind of place where our generation should step forward. My talent and learning are limited, but my sincerity is not, and I do not fear hardship. I respectfully request that I be considered for transfer to the Oluson Rapid Response branch.
I understand that only by being tested on the most difficult and dangerous front lines can I truly grow, live up to the General Administration's resources, and contribute to the Empire's great cause.
Respectfully submitted,
Ryan."
He reread it once.
Perfect.
Earnest.
Young.
Idealistic.
A little nauseating.
Exactly what they wanted.
…
[Third ring mission completed. Gained 75,000 EXP.]
[Mission updated.]
[Fourth ring requirement: Job Promotion.]
[Fourth ring reward: 100,000 EXP.]
Hodell looked at the panel and clicked his tongue.
"A pity. Plenty of experience, nowhere useful to spend it. Should I just max Basic Combat and Grappling for now?"
While he was still considering it, the approval came through.
Instantly.
He stared at the notification in disbelief.
He had assumed a bureaucratic institution like the General Administration would take days, maybe longer, to process something like this.
Instead, the request was approved almost at once.
Not only approved, but praised.
His application was commended for showing awareness, courage, and proper devotion to imperial duty. Attached to it was his transfer order, along with travel arrangements to Oluson.
The speed was almost indecent.
He stared at the paper and sighed.
"So if I want advanced knowledge, I'll have to get it through the General Administration after all. But what excuse am I supposed to use to ask for advanced Superpower knowledge?"
That question stayed with him the whole journey.
…
The airship touched down on Oluson's only landing platform with a roar of wind and a cloud of dust.
Hodell stepped off carrying simple luggage. The air was colder here, wet with canyon mist and carrying the smell of stone, metal, and something old beneath both.
He had not even had time to properly take in the full shape of the place, this scar of the Empire carved into dangerous land, when the badge pinned to his chest suddenly grew hot.
The communication array inside it activated.
A slightly distorted voice burst out at once.
"Emergency mobilization! All Rapid Response personnel near East Third District, proceed immediately to the Rift Mine entrance! Repeat, a large scale armed conflict has broken out at the Rift Mine entrance. All nearby personnel provide support at once!"
Then the transmission cut off.
The badge cooled in his hand.
The so called Rift Mine was one of the major mineral entrances carved into the cliffs deep inside the Sunken Star Canyon.
Hodell did not hesitate.
To get advanced knowledge through official General Administration channels, contribution points would be essential.
And contribution points were earned the old fashioned way.
He shoved his luggage into the arms of a stunned duty guard standing nearby.
Then, without wasting another second, he turned and sprinted toward the sound of trouble.
TL: Check out my newly released fanfic on my second account "FicLord"
Crossover Anime World: Reborn as Abe no Seimei
I didn't know that there's a limit on how many books you can publish here in webnovel
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]