Ding
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a luxurious office with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking view of the city below.
Behind a spacious desk, positioned to face the windows, sat a middle-aged man who didn't even raise his head from the documents—he had already expected the visitor.
"Commander Gareth" Elizabeth gave a salute in acknowledgement. This caused the old man to raise his head and looked at them.
"And the trouble child decides to pay me a visit" Gareth said with a smile which quickly turned into a frown.
"Now tell me Major, on who's orders did you abandon your post in the middle of a siege" he asked in a strict tone.
Elizabeth nervously laughed, with sweat trailing down her forehead.
"You see, commander I —" she started but was interrupted by him raising his hand.
"Sigh, I don't even want to hear what your excuse is this time" he said while massaging his forehead "as punishment, you'll help reduce my workload by investigating the sudden disappearances happening in the city ".
"I think your age is catching up to you old man" she replied "because the last time I checked, I was a major not an investigator".
"Well the last time I checked, your salary was too high for a major" the old man countered with a raised eyebrow making her pout.
"Finee, send me the files on the case" Elizabeth gave up.
"Now, who are the kids behind" Commander Gareth asked looking at the quartet behind her.
Before saying anything, Elizabeth took the envelopes that old man Scrappy had handed to them and gave it to the commander.
"The reason I left was because I sensed Grandpa's aura" she explained "and he requested I help them get enrolled in the military".
"I see it's good to hear that he's still alive" Gareth leaned back on his chair and looked up at the four boys scanning each before his eyes rested on Reid.
His gaze paused on Reid for a while before it moved back to Elizabeth.
"So I assume you want me to privately measure their soul ranks?" He asked not understanding Elizabeth's reason.
"Yes Sir" she affirmed.
The commander opened a certain drawer on his desk, taking out a device which Reid immediately recognized.
'a soul rank measuring device' he identified. The device's screen made it look much like a tablet but it was a lot bigger with buttons on the side and a space to place both palms on.
"Alright boys, let's get your soul rank tested" Commander Gareth said after placing the device on his desk.
Tommy approached first and the Commander explained what he had to do.
"Just place both your hands there and feel an invisible energy flow through them, into the device" he instructed which Tommy quickly followed.
The process came much more naturally to Tommy, as bonding with his first forged beast had already attuned him to the flow of energy. Moving it now felt far less challenging.
The screen lit up, displaying some text and numbers.
"You've got potential kid" Gareth praised.
On the screen, several details were displayed:
[[Soul Power Rank Test]
Current Rank: Iron-rank
Maximum Attainable Rank: Gold-rank]
The Current rank tab was self explanatory. It showed the rank of forged-beasts Tommy can bond with presently.
The maximum attainable rank on the other hand showed his potential.It showed at what soul rank he'll be capped.
This meant that with enough training and a significant increase in soul power, Tommy would eventually be capable of taming Gold-ranked forged beasts—a tier just one step below the elite Platinum-tier. Notably, there were only eight tamers in existence who had reached the Platinum-tier.
Timmy went next and much like his brother, his tests displayed the same result.
[[Soul Power Rank Test]
Current Rank: Iron-rank
Maximum Attainable Rank: Gold-rank]
At this point, Commander Gareth was mentally salivating. Who would've guessed that the Scrapyard was hiding this much potential.
Alex looked at Reid before walking forward. He repeated the process done by the twins and his results were soon displayed.
[[Soul Power Rank Test]
Current Rank: Bronze-rank
Maximum Attainable Rank: Platinum-rank]
"A potential to reach Platinum rank?" Commander Gareth's voice betrayed his astonishment. The twins' results had been impressive, but Alex's completely eclipsed them.
With a satisfied grin, Alex stepped away from the screen, clearly pleased with his achievement. He turned toward Reid, his gaze sharp with challenge, as if daring him to surpass it.
Reid calmly walked forward and placed his hands on the device. The device also displayed his result but Commander Gareth looked at it in confusion.
"Is something wrong Commander?" Elizabeth, who had made herself comfortable on one of the guest seats in the office, asked.
"I think the device is malfunctioning" Gareth replied, because there was no other explanation for the result being showed.
[[Soul Power Rank Test]
Current Rank: Silver-rank
Maximum Attainable Rank: ??????-rank]
Silver Rank was high enough but the commander didn't understand why the question marks showed.
He asked Reid to remove and place his hand again but the result remained unchanged.
"This is weird" the commander said but just sighed.
He was satisfied with the potential of the new recruits even if one of their potential was unknown.
The commander made a call to someone and a few minutes later the elevator door dinged again, revealing the receptionist they previously met.
"Diana, please escort the new recruits to have their IDs made and ensure they receive everything else they need," Commander Gareth instructed.
"Yes Sir" Diana replied before she turned to the four new recruits and said "please follow me".
She led them to the elevator and the door closed with another ding.
"Alright, old man, spill the details about this case you want me to investigate," Elizabeth said, her earlier respectful and nervous tone vanishing as if it had never existed.
Instead of getting mad, the commander just smiled at her antics before saying "won't you tell me about your visit to the old man first?".
She was his granddaughter—her father's father, to be exact—and as long as no one else was around, she was allowed to speak to him that way.
"Nope. It's better if I solve the case first," she said, rejecting his request with a sly grin.
"I see," he replied, putting on a mock pout, his expression exaggeratedly forlorn.
"Cut it out, Grandpa. I know you're not actually sad," Elizabeth said, giggling at his exaggerated expression.
"Ever since you found your favorite grandpa, I've been abandoned," Commander Gareth continued his dramatic act.
Anyone from the military who witnessed this side of him would have been utterly stunned—it was a far cry from his usual commanding and stoic demeanor.
"Grandpa, the case?" She demanded.
"Fine, here are the files" he handed some files to her and started explaining "a few weeks ago..."
__________
Answer to previous chapter's riddle: A teapot.
This chapter's riddle: I am an odd number. Take away one letter, and I become even. What am I?.