"Did you perhaps find who you were looking for?"
The anonymous supervisor drummed their fingers against the chair arm, "I want to have a personal chat with some of them."
"That's not a problem! We have a room already set up for situations like this."
"I also need you to fetch something for me."
"Of course, what is it?"
"A bag in the vehicle I rented, located in the trunk. Plate ends with '7Y'. Here's the key."
"I'll have someone handle it, who are the ones you wish to speak with?"
They caught the key, which was thrown shortly after they received the orders. The anonymous supervisor then answered, "I already forwarded my request, just bring me to the room."
"Right away."
*****
Eron closed his eyes and relaxed. Perhaps after all the strenuous tests he went through, his body felt a nice fatigue. Not the kind that made you feel worn out, but one that comforted you. He felt no regrets. At least not currently, the results had yet to be revealed to him. The resolve to continue down this path had yet to dwindle, he couldn't let it dwindle.
Entering a strange state time passed both quickly and slowly. Sometimes minutes felt like hours, or vice versa. Eron drifted between the realms of sleep and full consciousness. Occasionally a loud noise would snap him back, but eventually he drifted back to the strange state.
"Eron Yun! You're up for additional questioning."
That snapped him back to reality. Standing up, not a sign of his previous drowsiness apparent. It took a second to find where the voice came from. Once he located the person he walked over, "What is the additional questioning?"
"Usually just to clarify a few things about the tests. Though this one is a bit special."
"Special. . . ?"
"I can't tell you anymore than that. Just. . . your best bet is to be honest."
"I try to be, thank you."
They opened a door, "Go on in."
Eron walked into the small room and an alarmingly familiar person stood at the edge of a desk. A tall and muscular ebony skinned person stood. A pair of sunglasses rested on their face despite being indoors. Eron's hand twitched as he asked, "T? As in the letter not the drink?"
"You remember."
"How could I not? You're the one who enlightened me of the option."
"I'm surprised you took it, you looked unbothered when you were informed of the tragic truth of the Mercenaries."
"I did my research beforehand, I already have an idea of what I'm getting into."
T shook his head, "No you don't it's far worse than you can imagine."
"I'll keep that in mind. I'm here for some additional questioning?"
"I'm the one in charge of that, for now. Let's start with the simple ones. Why did you want to become a Mercenary?"
"I didn't want to."
"Oh that's an interesting one. Many try to hit me with some honey words, or even directly being honest about fame and money. Rarely do I get an answer like yours. Which brings me to the next question: Why are you here?"
"I have no choice, I need money."
"So you decided to become a Mercenary. . . ?"
"If I must sell my soul so be it."
"Haha! You already have the true essence of a Mercenary, that's good. Have you received the results of your tests?"
"No."
"Here, take a look."
T slid a piece of paper in Eron's direction. Upon first glance all Eron could see was a bunch of numbers and words that made no obvious sense. T found the sight amusing, "No idea what you're looking at do you?"
"I can't make any sense of it."
"Figured as much, since this isn't meant to be for new Mercenary eyes. Would you like to know what it says?"
Eron paused for a moment, "I'll find out soon enough anyway, so I guess so."
"Average, you scored average in almost every single thing. Nothing special, nothing bad. The exception is for strength, which you scored a slightly above average, but still nothing special."
"Does that mean I pass?"
"You don't seem to be disappointed at hearing this."
"I never thought I was anything special. I figured if I could pass that would be good enough for now."
"Did you plan on changing that?"
"I think if I were to make more money I would have to be more than average."
"Interesting. Let's move on. While I watched you at the firing range, I couldn't help but notice some inconsistencies. Have you ever wielded a weapon before?"
"No."
"Not once?"
"Not a single time."
"So how you fired that weapon, was it purely from watching the demonstration?"
"And also a bit of experimenting on my half."
"Hm. Then before we finish some stuff up, I want to have you go through a quick additional test."
"What kind of test?"
T reached beneath the desk and brought out three items. Placing them onto the desk he then also placed a small stack of paper in front of each item. Taking a step back he gestured towards them, "These three items, have you seen any of them?"
Eron inspected each of them carefully. He could assume what they were, but he never saw them before. He stated these thoughts to T.
T spread out his arms, "In front of each of these items lays an instruction manual. Stating various properties, features, and basic fixes for each item. I want you to take a look through each of them and carefully read them. Then I want you to attempt to locate or maybe fix the issue you think is wrong with them. Feel free to take as much time as you want. This is not timed, and the result will not be affected by how long you take.
The items could be assumed as such, an unloaded handgun, some old radio, and some sort of mechanical lock. Eron was unable to tell what this test was for, but he wasn't going to turn it down. Picking up the first manual he asked, "Do I get any tools?"
"I can give you a multi-tool if you so desire."
"I'll take it, just in case."
"Very well."