[Vorn's Apartment - Immediate Response]
Vorn stood at his window, watching the figure in the street below. The hunter hadn't moved from their position, sword still raised in that casual salute. Street lights cast long shadows across the pavement, and the usual city noise seemed muted, like the world was holding its breath.
"Orders?" Ash whispered from somewhere near the kitchen.
Vorn didn't answer immediately. He studied the figure's posture, equipment, the way they stood completely exposed in the middle of the street. Either supreme confidence or a trap designed to draw him out.
"Ash, Dusk - advance recon," he said quietly. "Ash hits fast from the shadows, non-lethal test. Dusk covers angles and reports backup."
The apartment's temperature seemed to drop as his soldiers prepared to manifest. Through the window, Vorn caught the soft creak of footsteps on fire escape metal - the figure was moving, heading toward his building.
He summoned his artifact card in its dual dagger form, feeling its familiar weight in his palm. Time to see what this was about.
---
[Street Level Encounter]
Vorn descended the building's external fire escape rather than using the main entrance. His enhanced senses tracked movement patterns in the surrounding area - normal late-night foot traffic, nothing that suggested coordinated surveillance or ambush setup.
The figure waited in the middle of the street, completely relaxed despite being in the open. Up close, Vorn could see more details - tactical gear that looked expensive but worn, weapons that had seen actual use, scars on visible skin that spoke of real combat experience.
"You're making too much noise for someone trying to stay off the grid," the figure said without turning around.
"Am I?" Vorn replied, positioning himself with clear escape routes while his soldiers moved into flanking positions.
"Guild scouts, underground information networks, medical supply purchases from questionable sources." The figure finally turned, revealing a face that looked maybe thirty years old but carried the weight of more experience than that suggested. "For someone who supposedly died in a dungeon collapse, you're surprisingly active."
Ash materialized from the shadows behind the figure, striking with fast toward what should have been a disabling but non-lethal target.
The parry was effortless. The figure's blade moved just enough to deflect Ash's attack without causing serious damage, then returned to a neutral position faster than most people could have tracked.
"Good reflexes on your shadow friend," the figure commented casually. "But predictable approach."
Dusk's voice reached Vorn from multiple directions simultaneously. "No backup detected, subject came alone. Movement patterns suggest enhanced physical capabilities, professional training."
---
[Testing Limits]
"What do you want?" Vorn asked, his artifact card ready but not yet committed to attack.
"To see if you're worth the effort." The figure sheathed their sword with a smooth motion. "Multiple organizations are competing for recruitment rights. I'm here to determine whether you're actually valuable or just lucky enough to survive bad situations."
"And your conclusion?"
"Still evaluating." The figure gestured toward Ash, who was regrouping after the failed strike. "Your abilities are interesting. Summoned soldiers with independent thought, enhanced personal capabilities, tactical awareness beyond your age and experience level."
The conversation felt strange - not threatening exactly, but loaded with implications Vorn couldn't fully decode. Like a job interview conducted at sword point.
"But raw capability isn't enough," the figure continued. "Intelligence, adaptability, the ability to survive in systems designed to exploit people like you - those are the qualities that determine long-term value."
"People like me?"
"Independent transcendents with enhancement potential who haven't been properly processed by established organizations." The figure smiled, but it didn't reach their eyes. "Free agents in a world that prefers controlled assets."
---
[Demonstration]
Without warning, the figure moved. Not attacking, but demonstrating speed that made Vorn's enhanced reflexes feel sluggish by comparison. They appeared next to him, close enough to strike, then returned to their original position before he could react.
"That's enhanced movement beyond normal transcendent limits," he said matter-of-factly. "Combat experience measured in years, not months. Resources sufficient to operate independently of guild support structures."
Vorn processed this information while his soldiers repositioned themselves for better coverage. The demonstration wasn't meant to intimidate - it was providing data about capability levels he would need to reach to survive at higher operational tiers.
"What organization do you represent?"
"Several, depending on which offers the best terms for specific contracts." The figure reached into their jacket and withdrew something small and metallic. "But that's not why I'm here tonight."
They dropped the object at Vorn's feet - a token made of dark metal, carved with symbols that seemed to shift when he looked at them directly.
"Good. You might live long enough to be interesting," the figure said. "When you're ready for real challenges, present that token at the underground market district. Section seven, after midnight, any Thursday."
"And if I'm not interested?"
"Then you'll continue attracting attention from organizations that won't ask politely." The figure began walking toward the nearest alley. "Guild recruiters, government acquisition teams, private collectors who specialize in rare abilities. Your current operational security won't stop them indefinitely."
They paused at the alley entrance. "One month. Either you're ready for advanced training, or you become someone else's problem to solve."
Then they vanished into the darkness with movement speed that Vorn's enhanced senses could barely track.
---
[Immediate Aftermath]
Vorn stood in the empty street, holding the token while his soldiers regrouped around him. The metal was warm despite the cool night air, and the carved symbols seemed to pulse faintly with their own light.
"Chase them?" Grain asked, manifesting with weapons ready.
"No. Stand down, everyone back to base." Vorn pocketed the token and began walking toward his building. "We're not ready for that level of engagement."
"What was that about?" the slime asked from his shadow.
"Recruitment, evaluation, or warning. Possibly all three." Vorn climbed the fire escape stairs two at a time. "Either way, it changes our timeline."
Back in his apartment, he spread his planning notebooks across the kitchen table and began revising schedules, financial targets, training requirements.
"We're out of time," he said to his soldiers. "Training doubles from tomorrow. Funding target moves up by six weeks. And I want everyone combat-ready within a month, not three."
The encounter had provided useful intelligence about the power levels he would face in advanced operational environments. But it had also made clear that his current capabilities, while impressive for his age and experience, were insufficient for true independence.
---
[Parallel Scene - Hajime's Contact]
Two hundred kilometers away, Hajime was unpacking boxes in a small rental apartment when his phone rang. Unknown number, no caller ID.
He almost didn't answer, almost. But something made him pick up after the fifth ring.
"You wanted to know what really happened," a voice said without introduction. Male, middle-aged, careful pronunciation that suggested education and deliberate speech patterns.
"Who is this?"
"Someone who was watching when they arranged your student's death." The voice carried weight, like information gathered through significant personal risk. "If you want to know the truth, come alone. Riverside Park, east entrance, tomorrow at noon."
"Wait-"
The line went dead. Hajime stared at his phone, thumb hovering over the callback button. But the number showed as blocked, untraceable.
He set the phone down and looked around his sparse apartment. Running had been the smart choice, the safe choice. But the conversation with the voice suggested that what had happened to Vorn was part of something larger, more systematic than simple bureaucratic negligence.
"Truth," he muttered to himself. "Question is whether I really want to know it."
But even as he said it, he was already planning the drive back to the city he'd left behind.
---
[Token Analysis]
Vorn sat under his desk lamp, studying the token with a magnifying glass he'd acquired for medical research. The metal was unfamiliar - not steel or silver, but something that seemed to absorb and reflect light in patterns that didn't match normal materials.
The symbols were more complex than they'd appeared in the street. Not just carved, but somehow integrated into the metal's structure. When he touched them, they felt warm and seemed to respond to his body heat.
"Magic item?" the slime asked.
"Information storage, most likely. Maybe a key for accessing specific locations or services." Vorn set down the magnifying glass and leaned back in his chair. "Question is whether using it turns me to something I don't understand yet."
"Are we really ready for this?" the slime asked, voice carrying genuine uncertainty.
Vorn didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the token and squeezed it until the metal groaned under the pressure of his enhanced grip. Not enough to break it, but enough to test its durability.
"Ready or not, the world isn't going to wait for us to catch up," he said finally. "Either we get stronger,... or we become someone else's asset."
He released the token and watched it return to its original shape without visible damage. Whatever it was made of, it was designed to withstand significant stress.
"Training starts tomorrow," he said to his soldiers. "Real training. The kind that prepares us for people who can move faster than we can see."
The apartment fell quiet except for the distant hum of the city outside. But in the shadows, his soldiers were already beginning their preparations for a level of development that would push their capabilities far beyond anything they'd attempted before.
The token sat on the table, symbols pulsing faintly in the lamp light, counting down toward a deadline that might determine whether Vorn remained independent or became the latest addition to someone else's collection of rare assets.