Axel sat down, cracking open the Body Forging Manual. He had expected some complicated, arcane text. Instead, the instructions were surprisingly clear.

  > “Actively guide the Force into a specific part of your body—start with a hand or foot. Begin at a single point, then gradually expand outward. Let the Force fully integrate, transforming the body at its core.”

  Axel exhaled. Then, he closed his eyes. And began.

  ......

  "Axel, 18 years old. Orphan. Senior year. First-grade, low-rank Awakener. Ability—Undead Guide."

  In a dimly lit room filled with the slow hum of blues music, Vince leaned back against the worn-out bar counter. The place had the vibe of a private tavern—intimate, exclusive, a little on the shady side. He let the words hang in the air, then scanned the room.

  "That's the rundown. I want to bring him in as a candidate for the team. Any objections?"

  Two people sat nearby, listening. One was a woman with twin ponytails, smoky eyeshadow, and a lollipop lazily rolling between her lips. Kaia sat perched on a high stool, swinging a pair of ridiculously perfect legs, her white thigh-highs emphasizing her smooth skin.

  She exhaled in irritation, pouting. "Objections? I already reported this to you."

  Obsidian is the name of the Whisper Syndicate team where Vince is. The woman who spoke was Kaia. When Vince decided to choose Axel, Kaia had been the first to hear about Axel—and the first to complain.

  "Well, look on the bright side, Kaia."

  "You're not the youngest on the team anymore."

  At that, he turned to the other person in the room.

  Sitting across from Kaia was a blond man, idly spinning a pistol around his fingers. The weapon shifted shape in his hands—one moment, a classic Desert Eagle, the next, an M416 assault rifle, as if by magic.

  He was absurdly good-looking—even more so than Vince himself, which was saying something. Sharp features, a straight nose, and a smirk that practically dripped sarcasm.

  "Captain, just get it over with already," he sighed. "Kaia can stop teasing me, and we can dump all the grunt work on the new kid."

  Kaia glared. "Vincent, who the hell is teasing you?" She jabbed a manicured finger at him. "You're just so damn annoying, I was punishing you!"

  Vince sighed. "You two done? Or should I leave you alone to work out your issues?"

  Kaia rolled her eyes, Vincent shrugged, taking a slow sip from his glass. "Captain, did you come to us to talk because we are easy to convince? Today, we are not all here. You are going to act first and report afterwards."

  Vince had a little embarrassment on his face. Vincent was right about his idea. There were six members in Obsidian, their squad within the Whisper Syndicate. Two were currently out on missions. And the last one… well.

  Vince hadn’t exactly invited her. Bringing Kaia and Vincent on board first was part of the plan—win the majority, and the rest would fall in line.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Vincent smirked, flicking the pistol into his palm. "I trust your instincts, Captain, but come on—this kid is weak. A first-grade, low-rank Awakener? The Syndicate doesn’t even recruit people below third-grade."

  Kaia nodded. The War Academy grooms talent, they buy it.

  Vince sighed. "Alright, let me explain—"

  BOOM.

  The bar door slammed open, making the bottles rattle on the shelves.

  A bad feeling crawled up Vince’s spine. Kaia and Vincent immediately dropped their playful expressions, their eyes sharpening with focus.

  Standing in the doorway, fury etched into every line of her face, was Rosaline. The vice captain of Obsidian. And she was pissed.

  "Vice Captain Rosaline," Vincent greeted with a too-innocent grin. "What a lovely surprise."

  "Get the fuck out of my way."

  "Alright, alright!" Vincent backed off immediately, retreating to the corner. Kaia followed, the two of them peeking over the edge of a table like guilty children.

  Rosaline stalked inside, her black gauze dress clinging to her toned figure. Knee-high leather boots clicked against the wooden floor. Her light purple lips curled into a sneer, and her sharp gaze locked onto Vince like a blade at his throat.

  "Obsidian is recruiting," she said, her voice deceptively calm. "And you, Vince, decided this without consulting me. What, am I just a fucking decoration to you now?"

  Vince smiled—a little strained. "Now, now, dear Rosaline—"

  "Don't you dare ‘dear Rosaline’ me."

  She stormed over, swiped a beer bottle off the bar, and took a long, angry swig. Then she slammed it down, leaning forward.

  "Level one. Low-rank." Her voice was sharp, mocking. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

  Vince sighed, rubbing his temples. He really, really had wanted to just slip this past her.

  He cast a glance toward Kaia and Vincent—who were now playing some kind of finger-guessing game in the corner.

  Traitors.

  "Don’t look at them," Rosaline snapped. "Answer me."

  Vince turned back to her, straightening. "His ability sequence is Undead Guide." He met her gaze evenly. "And this kid is a super genius."

  Rosaline’s lips twisted into something between a sneer and a laugh.

  "A genius?" she echoed, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

  "The ones who survive—that’s what you call a genius." Rosaline’s voice was cold, her gaze sharp as a blade. "You know how it works, Vince. In Whisper Syndicate, even candidate missions can get people killed."

  Vince, as always, remained calm. "I can keep an eye on him. Protect him in the shadows." His tone was gentle, unaffected by her hostility.

  That only made Rosaline angrier, like she’d thrown a punch and hit air.

  "Vince, why are you so damn stubborn?" she snapped. "If this kid was really some prodigy, you think we’d be the ones discovering him? He’d already be famous!"

  "There’s a saying," Vince replied smoothly, unfazed. "Accumulation leads to success."

  Vincent and Kaia, who had been holding their breath on the sidelines, glanced at each other and exchanged a subtle thumbs-up. Only the captain could stay this calm under Rosaline’s fire.

  Rosaline exhaled sharply, then her eyes narrowed. "Fine. Level 2."

  Vince raised an eyebrow.

  "He has to reach Level 2 before assessment day. If he can do that, he can come. If not, I don’t want people saying Obsidian took in a Level 1 Awakener just to fill a damn quota."

  With that, she turned on her heel and **stormed out**, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the bottles on the shelves.

  The room fell into silence.

  Then Vincent and Kaia both exhaled in relief. "Holy shit," Kaia muttered, stretching like she’d just finished running a marathon. "I swear, she gives off boss battle vibes every time."

  Vincent groaned. "I thought she was about to kill me just for watching."

  Vince, however, was still standing there, leaning against the table with an amused smile.

  "Captain…" Vincent eyed him warily. "What the hell are you laughing at? Did she finally break your brain?"

  Vince shook his head. "No. I just think it’s good that she gave in."

  Rosaline seemed to have taken a step back, but they all knew Axel's situation. She just gave him an impossible deadline. Two months to hit Level 2? He just awakened a few days ago!

  Vince turned his back to them, grabbed a bottle of brandy, and poured himself a drink.

  He was very optimistic about Axel, whether it was Axel's high-level awakening skills or his layout and planning. Obsidian really needs such people.

  But Rosaline’s not wrong—only the ones who survive were geniuses. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass, his expression turning contemplative. Whisper Syndicate offers power, status, protection… but they also handled some of the most dangerous missions in Krythos.