Unlike what Daneel had initially a.s.sumed on seeing the humongous size of the arena, it was not the only thing present in the mountain which was cl.u.s.tered with the most advanced formations to have ever existed on Angaria.
The arena did take up a lot of s.p.a.ce, but there was one other room which was so hidden that only a handful even knew that it existed.
It had a common name: "Room of Affairs", which was t.i.tled on the plain door that only those who had gained the permission to find it could see.
These three words, though, served to make every Hero who appeared in front of the door puff up with pride, as them being there meant that they had finally advanced into the big leagues.
Indeed, this was the room where most of the discussion regarding the Order would happen, and it was also where the Overseer was ever-present. When needed, he would make avatars of himself appear in other places, but like the Head who had to be stationed in a specific place to handle all the formations that protected the continent, the Overseer needed to be present here to handle the formations that protected the continent"s hopes and dreams.
Right now, there was a heated argument going on inside.
The room was actually where Daneel and Cain had been teleported to before: there was that eerie sun with all the faces blinking in and out of existence, and all around it, only darkness could be seen unless the Overseer decided to shed light.
At present, multiple spots of light could be seen all around the Overseer, and they all represented the strongest Heroes who had bound the most stringent of oaths to the Order, and had thus gained the trust and permission to attend and take a part in the decisions of this ill.u.s.trious organization whose name was now more dazzlingly pure than any time in the past.
Cain stood in one of those spots, and although he could vaguely make out the others, the only one he could see clearly was the Overseer.
This was how it was designed to be in case secrecy was required even here, but oftentimes, Cain found this redundant, as there was no one who still bothered to make their voices indistinguishable so that they would be able to hide and not expose their ident.i.ty.
For instance, he could tell that the one barking like a dog right now was the Hero with the moniker "Stormwreaker".
He was known for both his thunderous anger and his absolute superiority in the aspect of thunder, and he was also known for being outspoken when it came to things he became affixed on.
And right now…it looked like he really didn"t like the motion that Cain had put forward.
"Yes, there are a lot of newcomers, but see their origins! Five of them are from the Central Continent! FIVE! That"s a quarter of all the newcomers! Not that I have anything against the Central Continent- everyone knows that my wife is from there! But I am convinced that all five of them just lucked out and were able to defeat those in the Order who were taken in because of their relation to the members, instead of their talent! In that case, it is an absolute waste of resources to follow Cain"s suggestion. It would do well for the Reaper to remember that he shouldn"t think that we will pa.s.s every thing he puts forward just because of his contributions to the Order!"
Those last words were meant to sting him, but Cain shrugged them off.
He was a man who stood by his gut, and his gut had told him that the group of five he had just spoken to were…special.
He couldn"t explain it, but this was actually his department. It was this same feeling which had allowed him to pick out seed after successful seed, and the only reason he wasn"t saying that now was that it felt both vaguer, and stronger at the same time, which confused even him.
This was actually the best indication that he was on the right track, and hence, he had rushed here right afterward and suggested the thing which had led to all of this discussion.
It didn"t look like it would end any time soon, though, so Cain decided to draw one of his trump cards.
Living for such a long time in the Order gave him certain…benefits, and he had never s.h.i.+rked in using them for someone he believed.
"Stormwreaker, I"m calling in the favor regarding your son. Madam Bottomless, recall the time when your daughter was going to kill herself. Brother Fellhorn, your son would still be in that rut if it weren"t for me. Everyone, I feel that this is what we should do, and I am ready to put my money where my mouth is. And instead of money, what I have here are all the favors that I"ve given freely all this while. Overseer, take a vote."
The Overseer"s robotic voice spoke out right after, saying, "Adjudicator Cain has called for the vote. His authority allows him to do so. As is custom, I ask the room for those who wish to step forward and stop the motion from going through. If you do not wish for this to happen, speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Cain"s strong words had seemingly woven a spell of silence in the darkroom filled with the most powerful individuals in Angaria, and even after the Overseer repeated his words three times, there was no one who dared to go against the Reaper, especially when he was prepared to go all out.
As a result, when the Overseer spoke again, Cain had a smile on his face.
"Motion has been pa.s.sed. Newcomer trials have been changed. New a.s.signments will be given in one hour. Please stand by."
"Don"t say I didn"t do anything for you, King. Use this opportunity well, and learn enough to push you to the top as quickly as possible."
Saying this under his breath, Cain teleported away, and Daneel coughed, interrupting Eloise who had been talking.
They were all once again in the Hall of Beginning, and the four had already sworn their oaths. They had pretended to take a look at the rulebooks, but they hadn"t wasted much time as they trusted that Daneel must definitely have gone through it thoroughly anyway.
After asking them to wait, Cain had left, and it had been 15 minutes since his departure. Eloise had begun to talk about everything she had noticed so far, but interrupting her again, Cain reappeared behind them.
He had the smallest of smiles on the corner of his mouth, and after looking at them all, he said, "Sorry about that, I had to run a small errand. Anyway, follow me. It"s time to begin your newcomer trials."
With that, he started leading them in the direction of the humongous chair that was present in the room.
Newcomer trials? What the heck were those?
As if sensing their question, Cain spoke up while walking.
"All newcomers are first made into groups, as most of the missions given by the Order to show one"s worth and gain rewards are team-based. Teams can change at any time, but only a maximum of four people can be in a team. You can decide between yourselves how you want to split up. Your friend, Ca.s.sandra, will also be joining one of the teams you split into, so keep that in mind, and as for the last person, they can be picked at random, or you can choose to have a team of three. Of course, I say "last person", because you are 7 people- the Divine c.o.c.kroach is also with you. For a year, she will be staying with you, King, so she has to be in your team.
"Anyway, it is the custom that even before you are introduced to the ways of the Order, you will first undergo a mission designed to show you what the Order represents, and why teamwork is important. Even in the Big Four, this aspect is thoroughly underestimated because of all the headstrong idiots who believe that they can only go the furthest if they stand alone. After this mission, you will be introduced to your quarters in the Order, the Order"s Mission Area and a gathering place where you can talk to others of the Order.
"One last thing. All of you will have to pick monikers for yourselves, as your true names and ident.i.ties will be hidden in the Order from here on. Again, this is to correspond with the rules of secrecy, and only those in upper management will know who you are. The rest of the Order"s members will be completely oblivious, and hence, you can go about showing as much power as you wish without worrying about anyone targeting you as a result. As you know, even the upper management is bound by the strictest of rules, so they can only see your results and not know how you got them. Right, we"re here."
Cain"s method of shooting out these bits of information was kind of disorienting, but Daneel and the rest were able to keep up.
It was simple: they had to split into groups, and their ident.i.ties would be concealed.
Daneel had already known of the group part before they set off, so the decision had been taken regarding how they would split up.
They had drawn a lot of plans in relation to this, but at the moment, they just pretended like they were discussing, before Daneel nodded and declared their decision.
"I, Skrr and Eloise will be in one team, and the rest will be in the other."
Daneel hadn"t wanted to waste any time after arriving, so he actually felt glad that they were being thrown right into the action.
With an enigmatic smile appearing on his face, Cain nodded and said, "All right. Because this is the first mission, someone will be a.s.signed to you to guide you regarding how missions usually go in the Order. Ah, here he is."
They had arrived right in front of the chair, and because it was so large, them standing in front of it made it seem as if they were just standing in front of a regular wall.
Right as Cain said those words, a man clad in brown robes appeared out of nowhere.
He first gracefully bowed to Cain before moving to Daneel"s side, who had already split apart.
Seeing this and nodding, Cain said, "Everything is in order. If it feels like we are rus.h.i.+ng, we are. As the war is near, most of the custom rituals of the Order have been abolished. If these were normal times, all of you would be in the process of being treated to a long history lesson and explanation regarding the Order at this moment. Instead of that, we"re getting into the fight. In the mission, you will be cooperating with another team, so make sure to keep a close watch and learn. You will directly be teleported to your mission areas in a few moments. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Order. Now, standby."
Like a whirlwind which came and left abruptly, Cain teleported away after leaving behind a few masks that were like transparent gels that attached to their face, and Daneel could only stare at the spot where he had stood with bewilderment on his face.
Why did something seem wrong?
The newcomer spoke up at this moment, clearing the air a bit in the process.
"Don"t worry, all of you. We will be going to an easy mission, where a low-level team will show you the ropes. Put on your masks, first. I"m already wearing mine, and this is not my real face."
Obliging, all seven of them did so, and it was only Skrr who needed a little coaxing. Still, she was quiet at the moment mostly because she was an unfamiliar place, but it was a given that her real side would soon come out.
Seeing this and nodding, the newcomer continued, saying, "Don"t worry, Master Cain blocked your faces from my vision when I came, so I have no idea how you look. Regarding the mission, there might be a bit of fighting, but it won"t be-"
BOOOOMMM!!!!!
The man"s words were abruptly cut off, as they had just been teleported to a place which startled them all so much that they were tongue-tied for quite a few moments.
Even Skrr, who had relatively been carefree until now, suddenly moved closer to Daneel, and Eloise did the same.
If they had looked up, they would have seen that the other team hadn"t appeared, but they were too transfixed on the sight in front of them.
A ma.s.sive…shark, of sorts, was wildly thras.h.i.+ng about in the water below them.
Indeed, they had abruptly been teleported out into the sea, and no matter in which direction they looked, there were only the cras.h.i.+ng waves which had made that sound before.
The shark was 80 feet(25 m) long, and at least 30 feet(9) wide at its middle. It was night time, but the moonlight still illuminated its razor-sharp teeth, each of which were at least half a foot long.
It was the newcomer"s words which snapped them out of their shock, but what he said did nothing to help their rapidly beating hearts.
"Hey…is this a joke? Missions in the Endless Sea are supposed to be all 4-star ones! This one even looks like a d.a.m.n Champion-level 5-star mission! What the f*ck are we doing here?"
Right as he was done speaking, four people appeared beside them, and everything happening so far was such a medley of chaos that Daneel didn"t even know what to think anymore.
He had come in expecting a calm welcome, a period of them settling in, and then some time where he could investigate as he wished.
However…he was now in the middle of nowhere, with a shark that looked like it really wanted to make them its snack.
At this point, nothing much could surprise him, but the words of those who had appeared did.
"Hmph, watch, newbies. This is how you do a mission. I don"t know what they were thinking to send you lot on this one. Just don"t interfere, or we might end up killing you, too. Aegis team, move out."
This statement…finally made Daneel understand just what the f*ck was going on.
For some reason, they had been thrust into a situation where they couldn"t possibly be of enough help.
Instead, the objective seemed that it was to motivate them, and this was evident in Cain"s words so far.
With the cras.h.i.+ng waves and the peals of thunder that could be heard from above, Daneel decided that this was a ripe opportunity to continue his journey on his new path.
The old Daneel would have carefully observed this team and looked for ways to scheme and either bring them into his fold, or gain their confidence in some manner. He would have started to make long-term plans from the get-go, and he would have advocated that they should keep their heads low, as they were in a new place.
Yet, this new Daneel simply said "F*ck all that."
They wanted to motivate him by throwing him into a difficult mission, and making him watch as others showed their abilities.
Now…how would it be if he turned that on its head and sent a big "f*ck you" to those who had pulled off this stunt?
With a mischievous smile tugging at his lips, Daneel spoke in a tone that made the newcomer look at him as if he were a madman.
"Let"s begin raising a storm from here, itself. Skrr, do you like shark meat?"