"Are you certain?" Dunn asked.
Klein said, "I'm certain, Captain. When you fully master a potion, you'll feel a special sensation."
Dunn said, "Maybe it would be a better option to wait another year."
Klein answered, "At first, I wanted to wait until next year to send in my special application. After all, there are too many things that I need to master. For instance, my combat arts is only at the beginner level.
But, Captain, don't you think that we've experienced too many coincidences in the last two months? We were chasing after the kidnappers when we came across the Antigonus Notebook in the opposite room. The shipment of Sealed Artifact 2-049 was delayed, but Ray Bieber didn't leave Tingen and tried to digest the power at the harbor. I went to attend a birthday banquet and triggered Hanass Vincent's incident. I went to investigate at the library and ran into a member of the Aurora Order…
I don't know what these coincidences mean, but I feel insecure. That's why I want to enhance myself in the best possible way."
Dunn said, "Perhaps there really is something lurking in the dark.
You can submit the special application. Take note of your choice of words."
At first, he thought Dunn would propose that they avoid going through the Holy Cathedral and instead advance to Sequence 8 in secret. Then they could go through the normal procedure after three years. However, after he thought it through, he realized that it was impossible. Regardless of whether it was through a special application or a normal application, the person who was going to advance still had to be investigated by the Holy Cathedral; the only difference was that one method was relatively simple and the other was more complicated.
If he had become a Sequence 8 in secret, then it could have put the entire Tingen Nighthawks in trouble.
…
Since Klein was finished with his mysticism lessons, he didn't go to the basement in a hurry but walked to the clerk's office next door after leaving the Captain's office.
He found a man and a woman sitting in the office. The man was in his thirties, and the woman was in her twenties; they were the two newly added members.
Klein didn't chat with them but found an empty desk and began writing a draft for the special application.
As he already had a draft in his head, it only took about ten minutes to complete his initial work.
After reading it a couple of times and amending parts of it, he sat before the Akerson Model 1346 typewriter and started typing his draft onto a document.
Just as he was going to complete his special application, Leonard Mitchell came out of the restroom. He looked around and asked, "What's the report you're writing?"
Klein replied, "Special application."
"Special application?" Leonard asked.
Klein explained, "A special application to advance to Sequence 8."
Leonard asked in surprise, "You're already done digesting the potion?"
Klein said, "Yes. I remember someone told me once that there are some people who are special and are able to do things that others can't.
"Such as me."
Leonard asked, "Don't you think that it's too risky?"
Klein repeated what he mentioned to Dunn once more.
Leonard nodded in agreement slightly. "Maybe I have to hurry up…"
He asked, "Aren't you going to share with us your experience of digesting potions?"
Klein said, "I'm more than willing to."
"Let's do it now then!" Leonard dragged Klein to the Nighthawks' recreation room.
At that very moment, other than Royale, who was taking her shift at Chanis Gate, Frye, Kenley, and Seeka Tron were there playing cards.
"Everyone, everyone!" Leonard knocked on the half-closed door. "Let me introduce this man next to me, Mr. Klein Moretti, who has fully grasped his position in a month and a half!"
"Leonard, don't joke around. You're always exaggerating things." Kenley said.
Frye asked, "Are you sure that you've already fully grasped the potion?"
"Yes." Klein nodded. "There was an obvious indication."
"What? Really?" Kenley said.
"How did you do it?" Seeka Tron asked.
Klein found a chair and sat down. "I found inspiration from the maxim of the Mystery Pryers."
"Do as you wish, but do no harm?" Leonard asked.
"Yes. According to our confidential information, following this maxim gives the Mystery Pryers a lower probability of losing control," Klein explained what he learned from Old Neil. "After that, Madam Daly's example gave me a better understanding of the process.
Madam Daly has handed in a special application before and only used two years to become a Spirit Medium from a Corpse Collector. She once told Old Neil that she wanted to be a real Spirit Medium," Klein explained. "With the experience I gained in the Divination Club and the corresponding feedback that I've received, I gradually concluded my Seer principles. Then I followed it strictly and tried to become a real Seer… When I did so, I realized that the speed at which I grasped the potion increased."
As they listened to Klein's recount, Frye, Seeka, and the rest fell into deep thought. Even Leonard pretended to be thinking.
"I'm going to hand in my special application." Klein waved the paper in his hands. "If you have any problems, do ask me privately."
"Alright," Frye replied.
Klein left the recreation room and sat down opposite Dunn, took up a pen and ink pad, and then signed and stamped his thumbprint.
"Captain, this is my special application." After that, he passed the paper to him.
Dunn looked through it carefully. "I'll submit it to the Holy Cathedral as soon as possible. You should be prepared to be examined next week."
"Alright." Klein stood up, exited the Captain's office, and closed the door behind him.
During the process, he thought about the application that he had sent in.
I wonder what kind of examination it will be…