The frozen atmosphere inside the bus seemed to dip a couple degrees as the full implication of Mir's casual remark set in. Firstly, he had adopted the identity of Murray's acquaintance, reducing the strength of the connection he had with Father Vincent and the Shadowheart faction, which in turn would work against the animosity these guys had towards him.
Secondly, his loud observation made it clear that he had witnessed how intense the factional conflicts had gotten inside the Church, which was obviously an information that nobody affiliated with the Church wanted being leaked.
Thirdly, he had indirectly expressed that he had been interested in joining the Church as a Transcender, but lost his enthusiasm after witnessing the adverse environment here first-hand.
Their foundation had been built upon the faith of the masses, commoners and Transcenders alike. On the surface districts, the Churches were the first shelter for humans in the face of any large scale disaster. And indirectly, the masses were the source of the Churches' expansive power and influence over the districts. While their current size and scope ensured that they didn't need to campaign for support and cultivate a positive reputation, the Churches still had an image to maintain.
"Oh?!" The priest immediately faked amazement. "I didn't realize that Vincent had managed to snag a proper Transcender this time. When he contacted me, he only said that he had authorized a companion for his trainee.
Forgive me for being so blunt, but I hope you do understand that we need to be cautious when it comes to such arrangements. Spies from our competitors have been discovered on several occasions recently. We did our best to extract information out of them, leading to some horrid ends. But the overall gains outweigh our losses, hence the aversion you see here. Again, I apologize for my rudeness, Mr..."
He trailed off, leaving the implicit question hanging alongside the explicit threat. Mir chuckled, knocking on the frame of his sunglasses with his fingertips. "I could tell you a name, but you shouldn't blindly trust that either. For convenience, you can call me Mir."
"Everyone," the priest shouted to attract the attention of the other recruits, a rather unnecessary action considering all of them were already peeking at them above the seats or through the windows of the bus. "A guest has joined us on this journey, accompanying one of your juniors. Do take care of them on the way, and keep an eye on them after crossing the borders of the sacred ground. It's the first visit for both of them, from what I've been told."
"Sure, father Raquer," said an eye-catching fat lad from the seat right behind the priest. Mir's eyes fell on him for a second, judging the contents of his character from the appearance he maintained. Worn out uniform, too old to be issued to a trainee– a second generation in the service of the Church, perhaps? Red-rimmed, turbid eyeballs that laid bare an unhealthy way of life, and a toad-like veiny neck that gave off an unnatural feeling. It was no wonder that the young deacon in training was sitting by himself despite hogging one of the best seats in the bus.
The priest whose name they had just come to learn clapped his palms together. "Wonderful, wonderful. Take your seats and adjust yourselves, trainees! The bus will not stop for anyone's inconvenience on the way to the sacred ground. So answer nature's call right now if you have to. Don't lose sight of your luggage on the way. In case we face any danger, keep your supplies ready at hand."
Murray looked around awkwardly for a moment before dropping down on the seat right beside the fat guy, wriggling and stretching like a worm to make himself comfortable and his seating companion uncomfortable.
Mir took it up a notch further by identifying where Priest Raquer was supposed to sit, and occupying the seat joined to his. This way, both brothers could maintain close contact and avoid the troubles that might arise from sitting at the back amidst trainees with unfriendly intentions.
Priest Raquer looked as flabbergasted as Murray's seatmate was, but he controlled his expression better and ignored Mir, focusing on herding the rest of the trainees into the bus. The atmosphere inside soon turned rather rowdy, boiling over energetic whispers, loud conversations, and unrestrained laughs. Almost all the senior trainees were in their late teens. Squishing out their liveliness with a few warnings and hollars was an impossibility. Priest Raquer simply gave up once the bus began to move forward, its heavy engine tripling the noise inside the bus.
To Mir's surprise, the journey to the sacred ground went rather smoothly. The Philosophy Corridor was situated about fifteen kilometers away from the eastern borders of Enet District. The road being barely maintained, the bus didn't have an easy time traversing past the potholes, sharp turns, and uneven tracks, weighed down by the ashen steel plates covering its body.
Several times throughout the hour-long drive, the bus was stopped under Priest Raquer's orders as he looked out through the modified windshield at the front, alert like a drinking deer. Not even the boldest trainees dared to whisper during these tense minutes, which probably stemmed from the experience of being attacked by wild mutant creatures, or abominations even. Incidents like that happened frequently at the borders of the district, barely warded off by the patrolling teams of enforcers and low ranked clergymen.
The liveliness inside the bus returned by the time the sacred ground was in sight ahead. The Church of Sunbreaker had built a massive structure around it, both to regulate the entry and exit of Transcenders and as a landmark declaring their ownership of the sacred ground. A massive emblem of Sunbreaker was held up on top of the V-shaped black building, showing the familiar depiction of a star being crushed by a five fingers.
After satisfying a couple of layers of security, the bus was allowed to enter the premises of the sacred ground. It ended up sandwiched between two massive trucks that definitely belonged to some private corporation, judging by their sleek, well-maintained look and the armed men guarding them. Priest Raquer seemed to have some ideas, because he shooed off the curious trainees from getting close to the trucks, appearing unnecessarily concerned.
Mir and Murray stuck close to him as they entered the building. The entrance chamber was teeming with more than a hundred people, almost all of them Transcenders, some conversing, some waiting in silence on long, metal benches, some in a line to enter a room at the other end labeled as the 'Preparation Hall'.
While they were submitting their licenses, Priest Raquer came up with an excuse to leave. "Trainees, almost all of you know the rules and regulations here. And since I don't plan to enter the sacred ground with you this time, I'll just go catch up with some friends who work here. Any questions? Anything you need me for before you enter the taboo zone?"
Murray raised a hand hesitantly. Priest Raquer rolled his eyes and gestured at the trainees closest to Murray, saying, "You three help him out with the procedures. It's his first time here, as well as his friend Mir."
He didn't wait to hear what Murray had to say. Seeing him rush off into the crowd of officials and Transcenders in the entrance chamber, Murray turned to look at the senior trainees and said awkwardly, "if, say I get cold feet and don't dare to cross over to the border of the sacred zone, would my single-use license still expire?"
The trainees exchanged flummoxed looks among themselves before breaking out in uproarious, mocking laughter.