"Eron Yun is that right?"
"That's me."
"Congratulations you qualified to become a Mercenary. You'll be starting as F rank. Here's a pamphlet explaining the basics of a Mercenary, I implore you read through it while I set up your profile."
Eron received the pamphlet and read through its contents. It gave a detailed description of the process to become and act as a Mercenary. But to him it seemed oddly inefficient and unprofessional. There wasn't any formal training or explanations. It was like chucking someone into a lake to see if they learned how to swim.
He shook his head. It was expected. One of the more common complaints of Mercenaries lied within their recruitment process. Always searching for new people and never focusing on keeping the ones they had. A real sink or swim situation.
"That's odd, could you wait here a moment longer? There's something I need to check.", the receptionist asked with a frown upon their face.
"No problem, gives me more time to read this."
"Thank you."
Eron pretended to read the pamphlet but he was more concerned of what happened. If by somehow he wasn't going to become a Mercenary he might not be able to afford any of the payments. There was no feasible way he would be able to make that much in the military.
He watched as the receptionist chatted with a few people, there was a bit of confusion but it didn't seem dire. Which provided just a bit of relief. The receptionist headed back which made Eron close the pamphlet.
"It seems you've been selected for one of our new programs.", they informed.
"New program?"
"Someone will explain it to you, keep in mind if you don't agree you can easily decline."
"Who do I have to speak with?"
"Me, let's go for a walk for a moment.", spoke a voice from behind.
It was T, Eron was beginning to think that there was something off about the situation. The amount of times he has come across this one person was too many to chalk up to coincidence. Just as his mind was about to become muddled with various thoughts T interrupted them, "When I came across you I didn't think I'd meet someone who simultaneously the most uninteresting and interesting person I've met."
"Pardon?"
"I'll explain it, but come with me. There's a place I have to visit."
"O-Okay? What exactly is going on?"
"I'll explain that in the car."
"Listen, I'm sure you're trustworthy but I don't know you enough to just jump into a car."
T lowered his glasses slightly, revealing a pair of amber eyes. Their eyes met for a second before T acknowledged, "Fair enough. Allow me to introduce myself. B ranked Mercenary, I go by T as you know. Currently the leader of a small team."
"Oh you're my superior."
"Not necessarily, but if that makes sense for you I have no objections."
"Then the reason you're here?"
"Well are you going to join me for the ride so I can explain?"
". . . I'll come."
"Good, you catch on quick. I'll be taking him from here Jenny, is there any other paperwork that needs to be done?"
The receptionist shook their head, "No the rest can be done electronically. I'll send you the rest of the details."
"Come along kid, any stops you need to make? We'll be on the road for a bit."
"Not currently.", Eron shook his head.
Following T to his car Eron entered the passenger seat and rested in its soft surface. T entered it, the car looking pretty small with his large frame. Starting the engine he asked, "Tired?"
"No, just a really stressful introduction to it all."
"Best get used to it, it's only gonna get worse from here."
"That's comforting."
"Take what you can get. Now I do believe I promised some explanations did I not?"
"You did."
"I assume you were told about the new program the Headquarters released?"
"Only the fact that I was selected for it. I know nothing else."
"It's a rookie nurturing program. Since a lot of the newcomers die on their first job due to overconfidence and ignorance they released this as an effort to reduce the losses."
"Rookie nurturing?"
"Mercenary groups that rank C or higher are granted a paycheck to take on a rookie on their team to teach them the ways to become a Mercenary. There's a minimum amount of time required for them to keep this rookie, but they're free to keep them in the team as well."
"So a team selected me?"
"That would be correct."
"Why? I'm nothing special."
"It's precisely for that reason."
Eron frowned, that wasn't an answer he could have expected. He was selected for being ordinary?
T turned a corner and continued, "You're abnormally ordinary. Scoring average completely across the board, a person with no strengths."
"I'm not sure if I can take that as a compliment."
"A person with no strengths, but no weaknesses. On top of that all you're used to constantly switching between jobs, and are incredibly quick when it comes to learning."
". . ."
"What I'm saying here is that you fulfilled the requirements I've been searching for. For the past year I've been traveling across Star Clusters in hope to find someone who came close to these requirements."
Eron immediately pointed out, "But again I'm not special. I'm sure there's hundreds of people like me."
"That number is really small when you think of the billions of lives who are scattered among the stars. But you're right. I've come across a few who met part of my requirements, completely average people. They failed to complete my test."
"I passed that?"
"That you did. The test was simple, do what you can with what you're given. I never asked you to go overboard, but also I didn't want you to do it half-assed."
"So because of that you chose me for the program?"
"You're full of questions aren't you? Yes, which is why I also need to ask you. Will you accept? What I require of you is far from simple, and you might not be able to handle it."
Eron watched T carefully. The Mercenary was completely unwavering, as if not expecting anything. Eyes on the road, but still wearing those glasses. With his guard still up he asked, "What do you need from me?"
"A shadow of sorts. Each of my squad members fulfill a specific role in the team. They excel in these roles, and are not easy to replace. However one of them recently were gravely injured, it made me realize that if I were to lose one of them that role will remain empty. None of us could fill it. I want you to learn from each of them, I'm not asking you to stand out. Just in the case that one of them are unable to fulfill their role you can be a temporary replacement."
"A backup member."
"Of sorts. Naturally you won't be ignored if they're able to complete their respective roles, I need someone who can freely flow between everyone and assist when needed."
With a frown Eron asked, "You want me to be the combination of everyone?"
"As ridiculous as it sounds. Which is why you're free to decline. I've already been turned down before, and one other quit when it was too much to handle."
"What's in it for me?"
"A good reply. Besides gaining direct tutoring from B ranked Mercenaries you also get to bypass the rank climbing beginning Mercenaries have to go through. To put it in sweeter words, you can access the higher paying requests sooner."
Money, that spoke to Eron's soul greater than anything that had been said so far, "You should've started with that."
T chuckled, "You already have the heart of Mercenary. Just keep in mind that this won't be easy."
"I am aware, although I still don't have a proper idea of what to expect."
"One way to find out."
"That's ominous."
"More importantly I take it you're fine with this?"
"I need the money, I'd be a fool to turn it down."
"Alright, after I complete an errand I can take you to your home. You'll have to pack your things since we won't be on this planet for much longer."
"We're leaving it?"
"Of course, what did you think we were gonna do? Welcome to being a Galactic Mercenary. We travel between Star Clusters more than any other occupation. Get used to it!"
"I've never. . . left this place of mine."
"You're going to be experiencing quite a bit of first times. Now get comfortable, long road ahead of us."