--n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"So you mean to tell me that a cadet, who hasn't even been here for an entire day, not only manages to hack the security lock, forcing the building to launch the lockdown measures and deploy the barrier, he also manages to stand his ground against the void creatures at his first encounter without panicking or having a mental breakdown?"
The one speaking was a tall man with features resembling those of a stone. If you look closely, you might be able to see patches of moss growing from his body as well as tribal runes on the surface of his skin. His veins resembled spatial fissures, and his eyes were like cosmic swirls as he gazed at the people within the same room as him.
"...and he's not from 'The Six', too. How the hell did Site Delta manage to hide him from us?"
"Is that really important right now?" A female officer, the same one that rescued the cadets yesterday, spoke up in response.
"You're right. It's not important, my bad," the ancient titan replied, his voice softening. "So, what happens then? If you ask me, I'd say to pass him already. If he's competent enough to perform under all that pressure, then the initial training is but a waste of time to him. Have him join the regulars already. Heavem knows we need more of them."
His suggestions caused people to murmur within the room, expressing their opinions softly to themselves.
"Would that be alright? I mean, wouldn't this appear like preferrential treatment? What if this leaks? Would it cause damage to our PR?" One of the people in the same room asked.
"Hey, if they can send us more people like this guy, any and all preferrential treatment can be written off. Like I said, we are desperate for more people. As for our PR, hell, even bad PR is a good PR. I don't think we need to worry that much." The ancient titan replied.
Whether they like it or not, stories and gossip within the camp can sometimes leak to the public. Because of their duties, a lot of people are paying attention to the Border Patrol Guardians, so any small movement they do can cause a lot of opinions to appear.
Since the guardians are lacking in staff, it's understandable that they'd have some promotional-related duties to attract more people, like an advertisement to entice people to join their ranks so they can have more people to use and guard the realm.
Learning of the existence of this one cadet that performs excellently under pressure on his hellish first day at work might look just as impressive as it was horrible. After all, no first day at work should look like that. But like that ancient titan said, even a bad PR is a good one.
The Scarlet Dust Alliance doesn't lack audaciously arrogant people who think that they could do better should this ever leak out. And if those people come here, even if they fail their initial training, it would still alleviate some of the pressure on their shoulders.
"Okay, I think that settles it then." The ancient titan clapped his hands. "Now, let's move on to more important matters. Come on, make this daddy happy, and tell me that the holes have gone away."
"..."
A wry smile appeared on the ancient titan's face as he was met with silence. Sighing helplessly, his shoulders drooped, saying:
"Alright, tough crowd. Damn it."
There's really no need to say much. The hole that allowed the outsiders to pass through, the same one that overlapped with the location of this camp, was still there.
"At least tell me that we have some people guarding that place." The ancient titan almost sounds as if he's begging.
"We do." Somebody responded.
Seconds and minutes ticked down; most of the cadets were already standing in line and attentive in front of Officer Zod. A few of the cadets, like Grunt, for example, were a beat slow at every move, causing them to be late.
And it seems that these people still haven't found their place and realized where they were; they dared to visibly express their irritation and annoyance at being hurried by somebody.
Seeing this, the other cadets started feeling nervous, especially after seeing the dangerous glint flashing through Officer Zod's eyes. Stoic, the Dragon Turtle, and that guy from the Spirit Race who mocked Grunt yesterday inwardly relished at this and waited for the good show.
...and they weren't disappointed.
Boom!!
"GAAHCK!!"
Grunt and the others, who were late at their arrival and visibly expressed their displeasure at Officer Zod, were met with a horrible punishment. Nobody saw what exactly Zod did, but the results were obvious. Grunt and the others were sent flying, and as they landed, they curled into a ball clutching their stomachs in severe pain.
With a glare from Zod, the cadets watched as their punished fellows were raised from the ground by a mysterious and invisible force. They struggled in panic and fear, but they couldn't break their invisible restraints.
A whip then appeared on Zod's hands. He leisurely walked towards them while saying,
"I never liked brats."
"I stay away from them because my patience is thin, and I've always been afraid that I will accidentally kill them once my patience runs out."
"Well, that only applies within the alliance. Here, I don't have to hold back that much, because even if I accidentally kill some brats here, I believe I have every right to do so."
Pah! Pah! Pah!
Wails of tremedous pain echoed around, causing the other cadets to feel their souls chill.
"Next time I tell you to gather within a specific time period, you will haul your ass and strive to be at the place I tell you to within the time limit I allowed you to. Is that understood, Cadets?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" The unpunished cadets replied loudly.
Zod glared at the punished cadets, and they also responded positively through their immense pain. Seeing that, Zod placed them down and told them to join their fellow cadets.
The officer's eyes then landed on Cedric, then he said:
"Dawnbringer, is it? Step forward."
Cedric did what was asked of him and he saluted. Zod handed him a letter and told him:
"Go to the blue building over there; you won't miss it." He pointed towards the west. "Show this letter to the person at the reception, and they'd tell you what to do. Go."