All people have some type of passion they pursue; that is a simple truth, whether their passion or hobbies are negative for others or not. The people that dedicate themselves to pushing their mastery of a passion are known as marked ones. A supernatural being called "Vesterious" marks those with keen mastery of a passion; the mark they receive stays impeded on their soft skin for as long as they live, and with it comes supernatural powers beyond human understanding.
*Neran City, east coast of Cryohara.*
The sounds of the bustling city fell deaf on Riko's ears, his nervousness and excitement intertwined as the golden rays from the bright sun basked the large complex building he stood facing. Riko wasn't just any regular teenager; he was one that had tasted pain before. The mark on his cheek wasn't a simple tattoo he got as part of his teen rebellion; it was a passion mark bestowed by that creature Vesterious.
Riko walked into the building while having a face stuffed in the meat from the barbeque kebab he'd been eating, his old worn goggles resting on his brown shaggy hair shined as if reflecting his determination. "Today's the day I become a Marked mercenary. I came to join this organization to use my powers to save people. It doesn't matter what they throw at me, I'll engineer my own path forward!" Riko thought to himself as he smirked while entering the clearing. His crystal blue eyes immediately scanned the area; he could see hundreds of others in the giant waiting room, presumably all marked ones with passion abilities of their own. Their gazes of disapprovement were obvious, likely because of his young age, though Riko was far from affected.
Suddenly, the massive grandfather clock glowed with a golden hue. "The hell's that all about? We must be in some kind of fairy land," joked one of the contestants, his hair long and dark reaching his broad shoulders, a single earring in his left ear, and a silver nose ring accompanied by eyes staring. The lights of the grandfather clock dissipated as a tall man with a neatly made tuxedo suit stepped out on the platform above the waiting room, his piercing glasses looking as sharp as a hunting knife.
He spoke with a formal yet condescending tone, "Welcome to all you precious Marked ones that wish to join our organization, the Marked Mercenaries. We aim to use our gifts born from these marks for the sake of justice, something the government is terrible at". The remark gained no shock in the room, especially not from Riko. "You may call me Mr. Kran, and we're running behind schedule, so let's make it clear: to join our ranks, you must pass 3 tests to prove your wits as well as abilities," the man in the tuxedo suit explained while eying each of the contestants. Riko didn't like the vibes he was getting, but couldn't deny he was growing restless.
"Now the first test is simple. Your ability to work together with comrades and formulate plans is what will be assessed. You'll be in a labyrinth split into teams of three. You'll be faced with different obstacles and your primary objective will be to make it to one of the five exits in due time. Only ten teams may pass, meaning only thirty of you will move on to the next test," Mr. Kran explained. Before anyone could ask questions or even move, he clicked his fingers as the floor seemed to have opened into a trapdoor, causing all contestants to fall. Riko smiled excitedly as he plummeted below; he could hear the others either shouting in fear or excitement.
*A few moments later, deep in the labyrinth*
"Hey kid! Are you alright?" a feminine voice speaks to Riko as he slowly regains consciousness and gets up. He sees a woman looking to be a young adult with bright pink hair. Riko's face flushes red as he grasps that she's holding him; he jolts out of her arms in an instant. "Wow wow, who are you! And what were you tryna do?" he says as the woman stands up. "Relax, the name's Maddeline and I'm just a contestant just like you, okay? You were out cold for a bit," Maddeline explained.
Riko calmed himself before looking around. "So these are the stinkin' labyrinth that weirdo was on about?" he said as he looked to see a tunnel made of rock presumably connecting to a network underground. "Looks like it, but we can't really go far 'cause of that this stupid gate," Maddeline exclaims before pointing to an intricately designed metal door filled with mechanisms and gears.
Just then, in an instant, an explosion seemed to occur on the door, shocking Maddeline. The long haired man who mocked Mr. Kran's entrance earlier jumped down in front of the smoke, laughing. "Stay outta the fuckin' way small fry, I'm busting this fatass door down!" he proclaimed while grinning. Maddeline seemed to focus on him for a bit before coming to a realization. "You're…Jetore! I heard about you; you're that idiot that bombed one of the underground crime syndicates' bases," she accused with a frustrated look.
"Oh so you've heard of me, aye? That's right, I've always had a real burning passion for blowing shit up, so I received the Mark of the Bomber from that thing Vesterious a couple years ago. I can create sparks and explosions as well as turn things into ticking bombs with a touch; it's the strongest power a man can ask for!" Jetore claims with a loud and prideful voice.
Riko finally spoke: "That explosion you made won't work, idiot. That door's made of alloys of some of the strongest and most blast-proof materials I know of, and those wires imply it's electrical in some sense too. Whoever engineered this is a master at their job". The remark annoyed Jetore, but before he could react, the smoke cleared showing the door was indeed unharmed. Riko walked up to the contraption and placed his hand on it; his eyes lit up like stars as the gear-shaped mark on his cheeks started to glow blue. In a second, his right arm turned into a cyborg dispensary of engineering tools while his left arm transformed into a saw.
"I can't wait to check out this goody; I can make so many awesome machines with this once I take it apart!" Riko said, breaking character; his demeanor shifting into a more excited and almost obsessive one. Maddeline and Jetore looked speechless as Riko dove into the door, working like a scavenger to assess, take apart, and rearrange the complex door. "What a freaky little brat, but if it gets me through this door then whatever," Jetore scoffed.
Maddeline sat to the side inspecting the walls of the labyrinth as the sounds of Riko furiously taking apart the door slowed down. She noted to herself that the walls weren't made of basic rocks like she initially suspected, but instead some type of amalgamation of different minerals and metals; it was clearly unbreakable, meaning no one could cut corners in this test and they'd have to work together, whether they liked it or not, to pass the first test.
The smoke from Riko's furious work cleared as Jetore and Maddeline's eyes almost popped out from what they saw. Riko had reconstructed and entirely refashioned the door into a small mechanical opening; it still had complex designing and intricate layers of machinery. Riko smiled as his arms glowed for a minute before turning back to normal. "I added a special function to the door after all; an engineer needs to make sure that his or her inventions are profitable and reliable for others". He walked up to the door and tapped it twice; the lights on the door shined as it opened wide.
"See these wires? I fashioned them from whatever suitable material I could find in this door. I made a small microcomputer that's designed to be on the wait for two consecutive taps before powering the lever system; this way it's safe and easy to use," Riko explained, smiling.
Jetore's shock turned to irritation as he yelled at Riko, "You little freaky idiot, why didn't you just tell me when you took it down? We could've just gone through, but instead you wasted valuable time remaking the damn thing," Jetore yelled with eyes glaring with animosity. Riko looked a bit embarrassed for a second as if realizing his mistake before smirking at Jetore. "Who cares? Besides, you gotta admit this thing is pretty sick, isn't it?".
As Jetore and Riko bickered, Maddeline stared at the remade contraption and thought to herself: "This kid looks fifteen or sixteen at the oldest, yet he's already proven himself a genius. This kind of pure talent with engineering and building things is rare; it's obvious it's his passion, so I wonder what his actual ability is. His arms did turn into machines earlier."
As the three walked through the door, they came face to face with another obstacle: a huge beast. Its silver fur reflected almost all; claws as sharp as a tungsten needle and teeth covered with and dripping with some sort of liquid. It possessed wide feline-like ears but canine-like eyes as it growled. Maddeline backed up in fear. "Oh shit! It's a clawroo? Those things are almost extinct! How does the organization even have one specimen?" she said.
Jetore smirked with a single sweat running down his forehead. "So this thing wants to have us for lunch, aye? At least it has good taste". Riko seemed unbothered; in fact, the way he stared at the clawroo's teeth as if thinking of what he could make with them was almost more terrifying than the beast itself. With a single breath, his arm transformed into a mechanical hand cannon pointed at the clawroo; within half a second he blitzed and blasted a beam of laser focused at a critical point. It shot through the beast as blood spilled and then evaporated; the beast was simply vaporized in an instant, leaving only an explosion of chaotic brilliance.
Maddeline and Jetore looked in shock and disbelief as Riko jumped back down with his hand cannon turning back into an arm. He thought to himself: "Hmm, maybe a simple electron rail gun would've been better; I only just came up with this model after all". Jetore looked shook to his very core as he tried to convince himself he was still the strongest contestant.
Maddeline looked to the wall behind where the clawroo had been standing; there was a noticeable hole in the wall with smoke still emanating. She thought the wall was simply unbreakable due to what it was fashioned from, but it seemed that Riko's weapon was simply superior.
"Alright, the hell's goin on here? How the hell do you keep turning parts of yourself into random machines and weapons, huh? Who the hell are you?" Jetore demanded as he stared down Riko, who looked confused. Riko's gear-shaped mark lost its color as he spoke. "I'm Riko, a guy who likes making stuff. I have the Mark of the Engineer, which lets me create machinery and weaponry in and out of my body. My reason for being here is just like you guys; I wanna join this organization. I have two goals: to capture a certain man and… to engineer a bright future". He exclaimed with a wide grin.