In a room that looked like an advanced, sealed training facility—with square, white, tiled walls resembling a sci-fi hologram chamber—Grey stood in the center. Miyuki, Russel, and Abraham stood behind a glass panel in a separate observation room, flanked by three console operators. Russel leaned down and spoke into a microphone.
"Get ready, we're about to begin the test," Russel announced.
"Yes, sir," Grey replied, facing forward.
Immediately, Grey mentally commanded "Item Box," in his head. "Bwuuung," a holographic screen flickered open, showing an extensive list,
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Item Box :
1. Light Beam Berserk Great Sword.
2. Light Beam Double Axe.
3. Dual Light Saber Long Sword.
4. Dual Laser Carbine M4.
5. Dual Laser UZI Pro.
6. Dual Laser Desert Eagle.
7. Dark Berserker Armor.
8. Holy Soldier Armor.
9. Shoulder Pad.
10. Utility Belt x 2.
11. Pelt Robe.
12. Protection Armband.
13. Protection Leather Legging.
14. Thermos filled with cold water and hot water.
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Use Grey's gear ? [Yes] [No]
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Grey tapped "yes." Instantly, a portal resembling a black hole opened, and Grey's appearance changed completely. He was now clad in all his armor and holding the massive, two-handed Light Beam Great Sword. Naturally, this sight caused Abraham's, Miyuki's, and Russel's eyes to widen in shock. Hanging from his belt were the two thermoses of hot and cold water he had previously requested from Miyuki.
"Ready, sir!" Grey shouted.
"Hey, Big Brother, putting on our battle gear?" Gizelle asked in his head.
"Yap. Aveng—oh, sorry, Special Unit, right… we gotta suit up hehe," Grey said in his head.
"Hehe… nice. When it's my turn, I'll wear the armor too," Gizelle replied.
"Get ready. As soon as I douse myself with cold water, you switch," Grey instructed.
"Yes, ready," Gizelle affirmed.
"Test initiated," Russel declared over the mic.
"Teeet," the room instantly shifted into a destroyed metropolitan cityscape—ruined roads, flipped cars, and collapsed buildings. In front of them, five gigantic Shifters and Cherubs lumbered forward. Grey immediately drew the great sword from his back, and "bwuuuuung," the two-handed blade of half-black, half-white laser energy flared to life.
"Let's go, Gizelle," Grey said.
"Yeah… Grey," Gizelle replied.
"Groaaah," "Skrieeek," the gigantic monsters charged. Grey inhaled deeply and let out a shattering "Hraaaaaaaaaaah," deploying his Berserker Stun Howl. All the giants froze, stiff and motionless. "Tap," Grey darted forward, swinging the sword, cleaving the Shifters with the white blade, then flipping the sword to slice the Cherubs with the black blade. Five Cherubs and five giant Shifters were instantly annihilated. Abraham, Russel, and Miyuki, watching from the observation room, were utterly mesmerized.
Suddenly, five flying Shifters with leathery bat wings and five Cherubs flying on four featherless wings that emitted white light appeared, soaring toward Grey. Grey looked up, saw the new threat, and quickly sheathed his sword.
"Your turn," Grey said in his head.
"Yeah, let's switch," Gizelle replied.
"Splash," Grey doused himself with cold water. His body flashed with light and transformed into Gizelle, now fully armored, carrying her dual laser carbines, and with the hot water thermos at her hip. Her white hair whipped around as Gizelle opened her eyes and smiled. "Tap… tap… tap," Gizelle sprinted to a wall, ran along it, and leaped impossibly high, meeting the incoming enemies. Black and white energy spheres appeared at the muzzles of her carbines.
"Blam!" While mid-somersault, Gizelle fired laser rounds—spheres of black and white light—from both carbines using her Focus Light Shot skill. "Blaaaz," the two energy spheres merged, black and white, slamming into and containing the airborne Shifters and Cherubs. The sphere shrank until it vanished, consuming all the enemies. "Tap… tap," Gizelle landed perfectly on a shattered building wall before dropping to the ground.
Again, Abraham, Russel, and Miyuki were stunned by Gizelle's efficiency. Then "groaaah," "skrieeeek," a massive horde of giant and flying monsters materialized.
"Big Brother," Gizelle called.
"Yeah, let's do it," Grey replied.
Gizelle extended her hand, a black hole portal appeared, and she reached inside, pulling out the thermos of cold water. Then, "cyuuur," Gizelle poured both hot and cold water onto her body. Her body instantly emitted a black and white light far brighter than before, forcing Abraham, Russel, Miyuki, and the three operators to shield their eyes. When the light faded, they saw the half-and-half body of Grey and Gizelle, clad in split armor.
They held a laser carbine in Gizelle's hand and a two-handed laser sword in Grey's hand.
"Let's get this party started," Grey and Gizelle said in unison, with a sneer.
"Groaaah," "skrieeeek," the enemies charged. "Hraaaaaaaaaaah," Grey immediately used the Berserker Stun Howl again, followed by his Dark Slash skill. A black energy wave sliced through all the frozen ground enemies. Meanwhile, Gizelle used her Focus Light Shot to blast the clustered, frozen air enemies, then quickly gunned down any stragglers.
In an instant, every enemy was destroyed, yet Abraham, Russel, and Miyuki looked distinctly unimpressed. Russel picked up his mic.
"You passed, but not with a perfect score. You failed the final test. When enemies appear in such large, organized numbers, you don't charge straight in to wipe them out alone; you retreat and formulate a strategy. I concede you are incredibly powerful and capable of wiping out the enemy, but it's not enough yet. We'll cover this at the academy. You need to learn to fight smart using strategy, because our enemies are much smarter than training bots," Russel instructed.
"Huh… yes, sir," Grey and Gizelle replied in their confused, merged voice.
The entire room reverted to the original white training facility. Grey and Gizelle transformed back into Grey by dousing themselves with hot water and shedding all their armor, returning to their casual clothes. Grey then walked toward the exit door.
"How strong are our enemies, really, Big Brother?" Gizelle asked in his head.
"No idea… that's why we need to get to the front lines and absorb as many souls as possible," Grey replied.
"Agreed. What's clear is we have to become way stronger than we are right now," Gizelle countered.
"Exactly right… so what's next? Can we go home to work at the restaurant yet?" Grey asked.
"Don't know… let's hope so. Our cash reserves are running thin," Gizelle answered.
Grey gripped the door handle and opened it, then walked out of the training room and into the adjacent observation office to meet Abraham, Russel, and Miyuki who were waiting there.
Once inside, Grey saluted and stood at attention. Abraham stepped forward and placed a hand on Grey's shoulder.
"Excellent work. Keep that fire, soldier," he said.
"Yes, sir," Grey replied.
"Starting next week, you'll be at the academy. We'll email you the details. Here is a tablet for you," Miyuki said, handing him a new tablet. Grey took it and snapped back to attention.
"Thank you, ma'am," Grey said.
"You're dismissed to go home now. Congratulations one last time, son," Russel said, giving a sharp salute.
"Brak," Miyuki, Abraham, and the three operators all snapped to attention and saluted Grey. Grey raised his hand to return the gesture. Then, he turned and walked out of the room. "Clap," after closing the door, "huff," Grey let out a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction at being accepted as a soldier.
Suddenly, "Grey!"
Grey spun around to see Marco and Lana running toward him. They were both holding the same new tablet as Grey, clearly having just finished their own evaluations.
"You got into the Special Unit too?" Marco asked immediately.
"Yeah, you guys?" Grey replied.
"Bruaaaak," Marco's entire body suddenly swelled and turned into rock, transforming him into a massive, rocky giant. His huge fists clenched, and he grinned at Grey.
"He and I are in the Special Unit as well," Lana added.
"Crack… crack," the lower half of Lana's body abruptly morphed into a horse's body, with legs and a tail wreathed in fire that matched her fiery blonde hair. Her eyes instantly turned a burning yellow as she smiled. Grey and Gizelle, watching from inside, were utterly staggered.
"So… this is what the Special Unit looks like… fantasy and sci-fi merging into one… more like a bunch of freaks or an otherworldly circus compared to the Avengers," Grey muttered in his head as he watched his two friends suit up.