"Wilfred!"
Without wasting time, Lysandra yelled out in a loud voice that broke the momentary silence in the office.
Her butler, an old man with silver hair, immediately sprang into action.
In his white gloved hand, he revealed an Arcana Card that depicted a single ornate chalice overflowing with crystalline water. It was titled…
" [Ace of Cups] "
With a graceful flick of his wrist, the card emitted a sudden gleam that seemingly transformed it into a goblet glowing with an eerie black shimmer.
Before Conrad could process what just happened. A dark swirling black wave expended outward from the top surface of the goblet and rapidly encompassed every corner of the room.
"What... just happened?"
Conrad darted his eyes around the place. The walls and furniture were still present, but they had lost their color, or a new shade of bland colors washed over them. However, he and everyone else still retained their color.
Even the air grew thick, which forced him to take heavy breaths.
"This is a pocket dimension. I've asked Wilfred to seclude this particular space from the rest of the world. With outside communication blocked, we can talk freely on this matter"
Connie blinked as Lysandra calmed him down.
"Another dimension?"
He was in awe, wondering about the extent of power these magical artifacts are capable of. If they were capable of creating a whole world, they had to be a lot more powerful than what he initially thought. The thought of the existence of one that can destroy the world sent shivers down his spine.
_This is the old man's doing, huh? Then, he must be the one who has them_
Connie glared at the butler who held a goblet in his hand. The designs it had all looked familiar, like the one Fern had shown him the other night.
If he wanted to get out of this cursed place, then he was his lifeline ticket out of there. However, defeating him seemed very difficult. He may be old but his immaculate beard, body physique and eyes as sharp as an eagle said otherwise.
No doubt about it. Wilfred would be one hell of a tough opponent for his current self.
_I need to get stronger_
He clenched his fist for a moment before relaxing them. Drawing attention to himself through hostility could mean trouble.
"The State Court keeps track of every assassin within the system through their License Cards. The moment you got your rank, all of your information momentarily showed up on their systems. Thanks to the old man, that signal was immediately disrupted"
Fern said in a rather serious tone than before. When Connie caught a glance at his face, his grin was gone. He had a stern face, one that reminded him of Meliora.
However, that wasn't the issue right now.
"This must be a mistake. A joke. Can't I retake the test or something? There's no way I have the power to topple governments. I barely can beat a high school girl, there's no way that's my rank. Miss Mae already said a beginner like me would likely start as a Sprite Rank "
The fact that they had to be cautious enough to send themselves to another dimension just to talk about this meant that this had to be bad news for him.
_What game are they playing at here? _
There's no way someone who had just begun training a few hours ago would just suddenly skyrocket to the pinnacle of the assassins' hierarchy.
Not when he was struggling against a Hydra rank by the time. Even then, it wasn't directly him who gave her a challenge.
—There had to be a mistake.
"Unlikely. The License Card rarely makes a mistake in its evaluations. Even so, there's no changing the result until it can recognize you as someone who has grown in strength. It's linked to your Aura; it grows with you"
Lysandra added then turned her attention to Fern.
"Do you vouch for him, Fern"?
"Absolutely not. He may have given Mel a hard time in their sparring session, but ultimately, she would have either won or killed him if I hadn't step in. Connie could be right, maybe the card just made a mistake. Even when it rarely does that. There's a first time for everything."
He wasted no time answering that while waving his hand. To add salt to injury, he even brought up his supposed defeat with that grin that suddenly appeared on his face.
_Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence_
She nodded to Fern's input then turned her head to the butler.
"From looking at him. Do you think the card made a mistake, Wilfred?"
The old man narrowed his eyes as he examined the young man. He must have years of field experience for the boss to be asking for his input as well. That hardened face was enough of an indication on its own.
Whatever led him to becoming a man servant to this woman kind of spoke volumes of the power she possessed.
"From a glance. I can say with utmost certainty, the boy is overwhelmingly weak. However, I cannot say whether the Enchanted made a mistake or not. Perhaps it can see potential in him reaching that level in the near future with proper guidance. That is all I can say"
The old man concluded with a hoarse voice.
Lysandra let out a heavy sigh as she glared at Connie
"It's been 6 years since an assassin rose up to the rank of Dragon. Even before that. Even before that, no assassin had risen as quickly as you. The other Assassin Organizations might see you as a potential threat. Not just them but also other assassins who think they have been poorly evaluated, will be coming after you"
"But why"
Connie asked in a shaky voice.
"The higher the rank, the more dangerous and more money a person could score. To make sure everyone is tested fairly without bias, the License Card is used instead to evaluate a person once, and that cannot be done with another one. You could try to destroy it but that's next to impossible after it has assessed the Aura of its host. And so, for an assassin of lower rank is to challenge and overwhelm someone of higher rank. Then the State Court will grant the clearance of a re-evaluation"
Fern paused for a bit before concluding with.
"Of course, once you get discovered you're a fraud, a whole bunch of dangerous people will be coming after you in hordes"
Connie swallowed hard. The thought that people far more skilled and dangerous would be coming after made his blood run cold.
This must have been some sort of prank, right?
How could someone as weak as him be chosen as one of the strongest forces in the world?
_Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse. Still, this could work_
Connie closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to wrap his head around this.
He didn't feel like panicking at all. It was to be expected. Because at this point, nothing new could be able to surprise him.
And also, he couldn't run even if he wanted to, so the best way was to face it head on. To him it felt like an opportunity to get stronger quickly
—These future exp points couldn't be as bad as the line up Sardes has on standby right? And they wouldn't allow him to die so early on, right?
The boss lady had already proven that with the decisive action she took. He looked up to meet her gaze and asked in a calm voice.
"So, what's the plan?"
When he said that there was a feint glint into her eyes before a smile curled up on her lips.
"The best course of action would be to isolate you from the outside world until you are ready to take on your first mission. That means, you are going to be subject to intense training."
When Connie heard the word 'training', images of his session with Mel flashed across his mind.
He furrowed his brow as he said…
"Training? W-wait, hold up. You don't mean going through that hell again, do you? With that craz—
"—Be at ease. Your session with Meliora was to awaken your Avatar, she did a splendid job on that. Going forward, I'm entrusting Wilfred to take on the assignment of training you"
Lysandra interrupted as if denying him from finishing his last words. She then turned to look at the old man, who simply nodded, and she turned back to Connie once she got her confirmation.
"The old man is going to train me? For how long will it last?"
He felt relieved that he wasn't going to have to go through that again for an entire year. However, he was faced with another one. The old man had a mean looking face just like Mel, but he was more intimidating, mostly because of his broad body.
So, to Connie, it suggested that their approaches to certain situations are the same.
_Ah man, here we go again_
"Wilfred Darian Sage is a former Special Phoenix Rank assassin with 30 years of experience in the field. There is nobody in the organization better suited to train someone of your... supposed caliber other than him. This will be done under the span of a year"
"A whole year?!"
Connie's eyes widened but he understood why. He needed a lot more time to build his strength and skill. If he could even fall victim to someone who seems like cannon fodder, prime example being Tessa, then he needed a whole lot more time than a year.
Lysandra continued.
"Even then, an entire year won't be enough to close the gap. Still, during that span, you'll be cut off from everything relating to the outside world. This is to ensure that your presence remains hidden from the State Court and other organizations. That means your assassin's license… Will be kept inside this pocket dimension"
Connie glanced between the two before nodding in agreement.
"I understand. I'd be honored to get the opportunity to be taught by a veteran like you, Mr. Sage"
Connie gave a slight bow in which the old man responded in kind towards with his own.
Satisfied with Connie's answer, Lysandra held out her hand and in it was a familiar card.
"You'll need this"
"That card"
The card in question had an image which depicted a menacing figure with bat like wings and an invented pentagram on its forehead.
No doubt about it. This was his Arcana Card: The Devil
He silently stared at it. Even now, looking at it gave him shivers. Nonetheless, his fingers curled around it as he received it from Lysandra. Just like before, his only means of survival depended on this card.
"All that has been discussed will remain between the four us, can I expect that from you all"
They all responded simultaneously in agreement.
"Conrad, seeing as you will be working here, appropriate lounging will be provided for you on the staff floor. You are now excused to carry out your duties for the day and get some rest in preparation for tomorrow"
"Thank you"
Connie bowed to show his gratitude
With the meeting concluded, the black veil began to recede, slowly pulling away from the walls and ceiling of the room like ink fading into water. The room regained it colors as it returned to normal.
And so, Connie left the room.
***
After a long day of serving tables, Connie finally found himself on the sixth floor of this tall building. This was where most of the staff who lived a double life resided.
He navigated the hallway till he reached the room he had been directed to.
"Room number 3,446. This must be it. Can't believe it took me almost thirty minutes to get here"
Connie turned the handle and pushed the door open.
The room itself was unremarkable. It had a simple bed touched against the wall beneath a narrow window, and in the corner was a wooden desk and a chair. Plus, there was a small wardrobe nestled on the opposite side. It won't be useful for a while seeing as he only had two sets of clothing at the moment.
Plus, he had a bathroom all to himself.
To say the least, the room looked incredibly bland. It wasn't his old room, but he still had to settle in since this was where he was going to spend most of his life in.
"Finally"
He stepped inside and dropped the bag in his hand that held the clothes he wore earlier. Right now, he was fully dressed in his waiter uniform.
"This is so unfair. Why was I the only one treated differently. Even that crazy girl started to act up out of nowhere"
His muscles had constantly ached from the repetitive tasks of serving customers, balancing trays and cleaning tables. If it wasn't for his healing factor, he would have collapsed. His body wasn't in pain, but he still felt exhausted.
"That must be why they worked me like an animal. My Aura's probably drained about now."
Ever since he left Lysandra's office in the morning, he's been working no stop until reached into the night. At the exact time of closing. Even his meal breaks were very short. Whereas others kept coming in and out of their shifts, Mel included.
For some reason, she had barely said a word to him throughout her entire shift. He wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing, but not now, he'll deal with that later.
—Right now, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.
Connie sighed heavily and threw himself on the bed, allowing himself to sink into the mattress as he stared up at the ceiling.
It was silent, save for the noises that came outside of his room. However, his mind still drifted off.
"How did I even get here?"
The events of the last few days replayed in his mind like a short film recap.
The grueling encounters with Mel, his own awakening and being chosen as a Special Dragon Rank on his first day even though he is so weak.
—It all felt like a blur.
It wasn't too long since he had woken up in the Medic Room. From that point on, the situation continued to escalate even though the bar was already high.
So far, only three people had tried to kill him, and then he found out that more people like them are out to get him. Then there's this whole thing of him training to kill people.
"Is this really the kind of life I'm going to live now? A murderer constantly looking over his shoulder?"
His hand drifted to the pocket of his vest. From it, he pulled out the Arcana Card and stared at it for a while.
"Damn it all!"
Connie's face twisted as he threw the card across the room. It landed on the floor and sleep slowly pulled him in.
He surrendered himself and for the first time in a while. The world around him disappeared naturally into darkness