At the entrance hall of the Association, filled to the brim with countless Realizers and people, a strange air of nervousness and anxiety filled the air as Undila, the receptionist, trembled in front of who was possibly the cause of this atmosphere.
"G-good morning to you, sir. H-how m-may I help you?" she asked, her voice breaking apart under the pressure.
"Good morning to you. I was wondering if the Association Master was available at the moment. There is something I wish to talk about with him."
It was Hugo at the reception.
"Hmm?" he paused for a second, his senses picking up on something.
'Well, what do we have here? It was unexpected, but it would seem they found him before me,' Hugo thought as he then disappeared in a sudden gust of wind that spirited him away.
"Haaah…!" Undila expressed as her nervousness faded away the same moment the old man vanished. 'What was the Hugo Hendrickson doing here. I think that just took 10 years out of my life.'
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A few moments before Hugo entered the Association, "So, what's going on here?" asked Ace, wondering who the woman standing beside Chris was, why was his cuffs were removed, and what all the technical installations surrounding him were.
"This is simply an ordinary check-up we conduct. Please cooperate," Chris reassured Ace.
'Well, I couldn't simply expect them to let their guard down completely just because I've been a little cooperative. Guess it makes sense,' thought Ace, resigning himself.
The place he was in was a large room with several giant crystals on one platform and another empty platform to the right. The woman next to Chris was a young woman with curly brown hair and green eyes covered by glasses and wearing a black-purple long coat.
A few minutes later, as she tinkered with the machinery, "Well, if you would please extend your hand towards this crystal. We will now begin," she requested as she gestured towards the giant crystal.
"Okay," replied Ace as he did as he was told.
"Now please pour as much mana as you can into the crystal. It will help us measure your mana capacity."
Ace was confused. 'Huh? Mana? What is that?'
"Sorry, but what is mana?" asked Ace, taking the woman and Chris by surprise.
"What do you mean?" asked Chris. "You don't know what mana is?"
"That's right."
The mage's eyes widened slightly before giving an explanation. "I see. In simple terms, Mana is an energy that can be used to create and manipulate magical phenomena."
"And I'm a Realizer. One of those who obtained and harnessed that energy." Chris added to the woman's explanation.
"I see." Ace reacted, his thoughts processing the new information.
'That explains their powers. But I'm not so sure that my powers and theirs have the same origins.' Ace thought, rethinking on his own particular condition.
While Ace was lost in thought…
'Realizers are ranked in 5 different levels with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 5 being the highest. It wouldn't make sense for him, who can use such powers and beat a team of Level 3s and 4s all by himself, to not know a single thing about mana.' Chris thoughts trailed off as he thought of a conclusion that wouldn't make any sense. 'But what if…'
"Can we get a mana detector? A big one preferably," asked Chris.
"Of course. Please wait for a while."
After several minutes, she brought back a big transparent sphere the size of a fully grown baby that needs to be carried in both arms.
"Please… put… your hands… on it," the young woman huffed heavily as she attached a device akin to a sensor to the sphere.
Ace touched it but to everyone's surprise, there was no reaction at all.
They tried and tried again but the result was the same. This meant only one thing.
"H-he doesn't possess any mana at all?" the young woman broke the silence.
'I-impossible! Then how did he…?' Chris was dumbfounded before a booming and familiar voice laughed.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Ace felt uncomfortable as the focused gaze he was unable to feel until just a few moments ago, took him by surprise.
'Whoever it is, they are on a whole other level,' thought Ace, feeling a shudder run down his spine.
The moment he blinked his eyes, in front of him, Deker, a smirk playing on his lips, held a blue azure-silver great sword in hand, ready to attack.
"Pick-A-Boo!"
One moment was all it took as a strong blast blew everything away. Whether it'd be the equipment on site or Chris who covered for the young woman with curly hair, resisting the shockwave, everything was shaken to its core.
"Damn it! I told you to wait!" yelled Chris glaring in the direction of Deker.
"Hehe. Sorry~!" Deker playfully apologized. "I simply couldn't hold back anymore."
"But enough of me. What's your name kid?" Deker asked, raising his sword forward as Chris seemed to growl at him.
"Isn't it appropriate to first give one's name before asking for someone else's?" asked Ace, standing in a defensive position with a black sphere veiling him from his shadows.
"Heh! Guess I forgot to introduce myself," said Deker, an excited grin playing on his lips. "I'm Deker, Deker von Rotsguard. I'm the Master of the Jaegers Association. Now, what about you?"
"Ace. Just a nobody."
Deker brushed it off with a smirk. "If you say so."
"It seems I arrived just in the nick of time. I wonder what's going on here?" Hugo appeared from thin air in a spiral of wind.
"Ready or not here I come!" said Deker as he dashed towards Ace in a split second.
'Shit!' Ace barely managed to dodge Deker's attack which created a strong gust of wind. 'He's strong.'
"Don't relax just yet!" Deker kicked Ace with immense strength, sending him flying.
Ace, fixing his position, hoped on his left hand, executing a backflip and landing back on his feet.
While Ace was still regaining his balance, Deker was already in a stabbing posture, his sword being covered by wind like a vortex.
In a single thrust, he released a wind blast which came straight at Ace with incredible speed.
Ace, taking on the full amount of the attack, was being sliced up by the wind, only managing to be on the defensive.
"Why don't you fight back? You won't be able to win like that," said Deker as the wind attack subsided.
"I know," replied Ace, his voice barely whisper. 'Even against those other guys from before, I was still able to fight on equal terms with them. But against him, I can't even follow your movements. Much less land an attack.'
"So, what're you gonna do?"
"Don't know," answered Ace as he calmed his breathing.
"You don't know?"
"Yep. As simple as that," added Ace, a determined yet serene gaze showing on his face.
"Hahahaha! Well, whatever. Show me what you've got!" the moment when Deker uttered those words, Ace lowered his center of gravity.
'Preparing an attack huh? It won't change much if I step up the game a little-!?' Deker was interrupted as Ace, emerging from the shadows, was now standing before him, preparing to pierce him with a knife that appeared out of nowhere.
Deker barely dodging the attack, jumped backwards, startled at what had just happened. He, who was always on the offensive, always moving forward, was now forced to take a step back.
"Call me impressed. I didn't expect you to still be hiding your true strength," said Deker, a grin playing on his lips while his expression, now mix of anxiety and worry, now had cold sweat dripping down his face.
"You haven't seen anything yet," calmly said Ace as he regained his posture and retightened his hold on the knife.
"Guess that explains why Chris approached you the way he did," said Decker.
"He definitely does seem to know how to use his head at the very least," Ace teased looking at Deker directly with an aloof and calm expression.
"True that. Unlike him, having a cool head ain't my style. But enough chitchat. Let's go back to the matter at hand, shall we?"
"Cut me some slack, will ya?"
"No can do!" yelled Deker as him and Ace went back into action while Chris watched the match, rubbing his temple in frustration and annoyance.
"Fuck it all."