By the time Kain returned to his seat, he learned that Barton and Desmond had already finished their assessments. The results were:
Barton: knight tier power level, 45x human strength, melee division
Desmond: knight tier power level, 30x human strength, short range support division
Kain: non-qualified tier, no score strength, long range support division
Barton was cracking up at the results. "Kain, you are a proper no show."
Kain shook his head while smiling at Barton's antics. Desmond said, "Barton, you are very close to reaching Chevalier tier just based on your strength results alone. 51-100x strength is the range for Chevalier tier. I'm sure if you tested the orb under your transformed state, you would have gotten the higher tier."
Barton was practically over the moon when he heard the compliment. "I can't be showing up my two new friends. I'm actually a pretty humble guy if you get to know me. No, for real I mean it!"
Even before he finished his sentence, Desmond and Kain knew nothing good would be coming out of his mouth already. As soon as they heard "humble" they simultaneously turned away and ignored him.
Kain asked Desmond, "What about you? You seem quite far from reaching Chevalier tier?"
Desmond wasn't worried at all, "My power just awakened and even if my strength does not reach the requirements on a strength basis, my ability will carry me as long as it strengthens. I heard even some Genji only have strength levels that are equivalent to Chevalier tier, but their abilities are so monstrous that it completely bridges the gap. Currently, I can only affect 1-2 targets around me in the range of 20 feet. I can make those targets feel up to 3x the gravity. A couple months back when I awakened my power, I was only able to affect 1 target for 2x the gravity within 10 feet of me. Thus, I feel it is only a matter of time before I break through to Chevalier tier. I actually didn't utilize my gravity power during the assessment because I don't want that bastard Alders to find out how close I really am to breaking through. I don't want him to make another excuse for why I shouldn't be transferred. No worries."
Kain nodded his head in relief and took the opportunity to observe his surroundings. He noticed that things were wrapping up.
They must have been close to the last group to arrive. A magnified voice said, "All assessments have been completed and parties have been assembled. Please look for your debriefing room with your other party members on the projection." As the voice disappeared a large projection hologram appeared in the air above the fields.
"Dang, neither of you are in my group. Guess we are all separated actually. Total buzzkill, man." Barton was actually quite depressed.
Desmond came over and patted Barton on the shoulder. Barton immediately brightened up before he heard Desmond say, "Don't try going one on one with a Juggernaut. You'll get wrecked, half-jug." and Barton immediately scowled bitterly. He started to point at Kain and shouted at Desmond, "Aren't you going to give no-show any advice??"
"He doesn't need any." replied Desmond as he was walking away toward his debriefing room, while waving his hand lazily in the air while facing away from them.
Barton snorted in displeasure and play punched Kain while saying, "I'll see ya when I see ya." He then proceeded to light jog towards his room.
Kain watched the two of them disappear and looked forward to drinking together with them when the mission was completed.
When Kain arrived at his debriefing room, he was once again one of the last few to arrive and quickly grabbed a seat in the back. A man was standing at the podium about to start the debriefing when a commanding voice was heard, "No need, I will personally give the debriefing for this group."
All the heads in the room turned towards the voice and saw a woman walk confidently into the room. Besides the standard military uniform, she had mercury silver hair that was braided under a black beret.
A pair of arched eyebrows had sweeping eyelashes to go along with a perfect nose and heart-shaped puffy lips. Her piercing blue eyes lanced through the hearts of men, as they spoke of her chilling, dominating nature. Her figure in her uniform filled out all the right curves, as she had fully grown into a mature woman in her early 20s.
On her arms were silver gauntlets to match her hair color and black knee-high boots wrapped tightly around her legs.
All the men in the room had a single thought go through their minds: This was a woman worth dying for.
In the back, Kain's eyes glowed in recognition, based on the woman's attire and silver hair. She was the one from yesterday!
"Of course, Lady Sylvia." the man at the podium bowed and proceeded to leave the room. Hearing the man's reply, some at the front quickly recognized the woman and whispers of "Genji" cascaded through the room.
The seated audience quickly stood up and bowed towards the woman in respect. "Enough, let's get down to business. There is much to cover before we deploy."
Sylvia placed her beret onto the podium and glanced through her audience before pinpointing Kain in the back.
Her gaze settled on him briefly before she smiled and continued, "Members of this regiment, please save any questions for the end as there is much that I have to review. This group's mission target is Naren City, west of Bastion.
Most of you know this was the city we lost right before Trebz. Some of you here might even say it was their old hometown. A few months ago, 3 squads were sent out for reconnaissance. 2 were declared missing while 1 was confirmed destroyed. 2 days ago, we received a distress signal from one of the missing squads hunkered down in Naren City.
They have messaged back that they have recovered an irradiated core. Some of you may not know, but Genji's develop irradiated cores upon breaking through. Yes, we are to recover the fallen Genji's irradiated core. The use for it is classified, but it is imperative we get our hands on it. If we fail to secure it, it must be destroyed before a juggernaut can get their hands on it."
Sylvia's bombshell announcement that a Genji had died led to concerned whispers and questioning glances among the audience. Nobody heard of a Genji falling in battle ever since the radiation wave. What if the thing that killed the Genji was still out there?
"Please pay close attention to the following information. It concerns your life and death on the battlefield. I will review the zombies and monsters you may potentially face along with all the known data.
Only the special evolved ones will be mentioned as the non-evolved ones will be easy kills in comparison. First up: Jackal Zombie."
An image appeared on the screen of a strange looking zombie on all fours. The skin was blotchy purple and pink and the head looked like a human head without any hair with the snout of a canine. Below the neck, the body was covered in fur and the appendages were paws instead of hands and feet. The eyes were yellow with red pupils.
"These zombies always travel in a pack and utilize sound and smell to find prey. It is imperative to use suppressors for your guns at all times when in the vicinity of a pack. They will home in on any large sounds and surround prey before targeting your stomach first as they love to feast on entrails and guts the most.
Once they disembowel you, the next phase of the attack is to incapacitate you. This entails pulling your limbs in 4 different directions. This action leads to the severing of your spine. To be brutally honest, if you are disemboweled, it is better to put a bullet into your head as you are already infected and you will not get a chance once their jaws clamp down on your limbs.
Remember, the first attacking Jackal is a bait while the real attack comes when you respond to the first one. Therefore, don't fall for the baiting. If you are surrounded, don't hold back on ammo as you need to immediately make an opening. Pray that you are in the vicinity of a non-evolved zombie and aim for their stomachs.
If you can disembowel them, the jackals will go for the zombie and you should have an opportunity to get out of there. Go for the eyes and the snout with regular rounds. Magic and armor piercing rounds can pierce their hides, but it isn't worth it to waste such ammo on them. Those who have 10x human strength will also have 10x tensile strength in skin resistance.
Therefore, only those that meet this minimal requirement can engage in melee combat with them and their incisors shouldn't be able to pierce the skin or infect you. Remember to protect your eyes though.
Standard issue grenades will barely singe their fur. Only magic grenades will injure them. Short range support and long-distance support are advised to find high ground immediately when you hear their braying calls. This is the weakest of the special zombies."
A pin-drop silence permeated the room after absorbing the information on the first type. Some felt the cold sweat dripping down their backs, while others were bracing themselves for information on the other types to be revealed. The ones who were fine were the ones with prior experience engaging them, but even they did not look forward to engaging them again.