"Now then," the receptionist said as she looked down at the tablet in her hand. Her fingers moved smoothly across the screen while the hologram above the desk shifted again. Symbols flickered briefly before reorganizing themselves into a new ranking chart.
She lifted her eyes back toward the recruits, her posture straight and professional.
"Let us move to the next classification."
The glowing display rotated once before large blue letters appeared: Rank A.
Her voice carried clearly across the orientation hall.
"You can think of A Rank heroes as positions eleven through thirty in the overall HeroCorp structure. So basically, everything directly below S Ten begins here."
She tapped her knuckle lightly against the desk.
[Tap.]
"When you drop below S Ten, the numbering system resets within the next category."
She walked slowly while talking, adjusting the projection size with a swipe of her hand.
"Rank eleven becomes A One. Rank twelve becomes A Two."
She continued counting on her fingers until her full hand was raised.
"All the way up to A Thirty."
A few recruits exchanged confused looks almost immediately. One young man scratched the back of his neck while staring up at the floating display.
The receptionist noticed and offered a small, understanding smile.
"I know it sounds confusing at first."
A few nervous laughs rippled through the group.
She stepped slightly away from the desk and gestured toward the hologram.
"A One is technically still the eleventh strongest hero in HeroCorp overall. However, inside the A category itself, they are treated as the number one ranked hero of that division."
A girl near the front slowly nodded while following along.
"Oh… alright, I think I get it now."
The receptionist leaned forward slightly, her tone steady.
"When someone surpasses A One through ranking trials, field performance, or direct evaluation, they move upward and claim the final S Rank slot."
That immediately pulled more attention from the room. Several recruits straightened while listening.
"A Rank currently contains thirty active positions," she continued.
"But if you count the overall placement structure, those heroes technically occupy ranks eleven through thirty-nine."
One recruit frowned harder, his brow furrowed.
"So wait… A One is not really rank eleven anymore?"
"Correct."
The receptionist gave a small nod.
"The numbering resets inside each rank category. Think of each rank as its own separate bracket. A One is simply the strongest active hero within the A Rank division."
The recruit slowly nodded after a second.
"Okay… yeah. That actually makes more sense now."
Another recruit beside him quickly typed notes into a tablet, mumbling the ranking order under his breath.
The receptionist continued smoothly.
"Once someone surpasses A One, they move into S Rank and occupy S Ten."
She paused briefly.
"Does everyone understand that part?"
Several recruits nodded more confidently this time.
A petite woman wearing glasses slowly raised her hand.
"Can you explain how strong A Rank heroes actually are?"
The receptionist nodded once, her tone becoming firmer.
"Rank A heroes are extremely powerful. They frequently support S Rank heroes during large-scale operations. They handle major threat responses, city-level incidents, and high-risk combat missions. In many cases, they can eliminate A Rank villains entirely on their own."
A few recruits visibly stiffened after hearing that.
The receptionist folded her arms loosely.
"The only reason many A Rank heroes have not entered S Rank yet is because of limited space and ranking exclusivity."
Her expression hardened slightly.
"To be honest, it is one of the biggest flaws in the current system. Many A Rank heroes are talented enough to become S Rankers already. There simply are not enough available positions yet."
A couple recruits looked surprised hearing someone from HeroCorp openly admit that.
The spiky-haired recruit from earlier shifted his feet and looked up at the hologram again.
"So they are still insanely overpowered compared to normal heroes."
"Yes," the receptionist replied with a small nod, holding the hologram still with her palm.
She then moved on.
"After A comes Rank B, which currently covers heroes placed from overall ranks thirty-one through fifty. Again, like the previous brackets, B Rank resets its internal numbering. Which means rank thirty-one becomes B One, and rank fifty becomes B Twenty."
A recruit near the side slowly raised his hand halfway.
"So B One is technically the forty-first strongest hero overall… but inside the B category, they're treated as number one?"
"Exactly."
The receptionist pointed toward him with an approving smile.
"That is the correct interpretation. B Rank heroes are considered reliable field combatants. They assist with evacuations, containment operations, rescue missions, and organized combat support. Some of you may begin your careers here depending on your testing results."
The spiky-haired recruit swallowed hard, his posture straightening unconsciously.
The receptionist gestured lightly toward the hologram as additional letters appeared lower in the ranking structure.
"The system continues downward alphabetically. C Rank covers overall ranks fifty-one through one hundred — labeled C One through C One Hundred inside the division. These heroes are the true backbone of HeroCorp. They handle patrol assignments, assist during emergency responses, evacuate civilians when situations escalate, and manage crowd control during large-scale incidents."
"Quick question, so the person ranked fifty one becomes C one," he said slowly. "And can someone skip ranks?"
A few recruits looked toward him.
The receptionist stared at him for half a second. Then she clapped once with a faint smirk.
"Congratulations," she said dryly. "You understood basic numerical structure. And for your other question maybe, it just depends on how well your score is when he finishes some of the organisation's quests."
A few quiet laughs spread through the group.
The girl standing beside him elbowed his arm lightly. "You actually asked a good question for once."
The guy rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." The recruit rubbed the side of his arm with an embarrassed grin.
The receptionist's eyes swept calmly across the room again. The she crossed one arm loosely beneath her chest, her gaze sweeping across the room.
"You will rarely see most C Ranks on magazine covers or giant sponsorship deals. But without them, the entire system collapses. We need lower-ranked heroes gaining field experience — that is how stronger heroes are eventually created."
The room stayed quiet. Several recruits shifted slightly where they stood.
"And finally…" She circled the symbol with two fingers projecting the info in the air.
The hologram shifted once more as the glowing D symbol appeared near the lower section.
"We have Rank D. Heroes ranked one hundred one through two hundred fall into this category — labeled D One through D Two Hundred. Most new recruits begin here."
She leaned against the desk slightly and folded the tablet shut. She observed the group, her expression calm but serious.
"These are basically freshly awakened heroes, just like all of you, who still need to prove they belong inside this organization."
A few recruits looked noticeably more nervous now that the discussion had reached the entry level. The orientation hall felt much quieter. A recruit uncapped his pen with his teeth and nearly dropped it when her eyes passed over him.
She gave a small shrug then she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear without breaking eye contact.
"You either move upward through results," the receptionist said, clasping her hands neatly in front of her waist.
A heavy, thoughtful silence settled over the hall.
"Or you move downward through failure. There are no shortcuts here."
She continued, "HeroCorp leadership is currently discussing the future creation of E and F ranks as well."
The hologram continued rotating slowly above the desk. Blue light flickered across the recruits' faces as many of them silently recalculated where they might end up in the system.
[Meanwhile]
Farther down the dimly lit hallway, Black Mentis stopped in front of a large reinforced office door. The corridor around him remained silent except for the distant hum of ventilation systems overhead.
He stood completely still, the overhead lights reflecting faintly across the silver lining of his armor. His shoulders lifted slowly as he inhaled through his nose, then released a slow, controlled breath. His gloved hand rose toward the door handle. The black leather around his fingers creased softly as his grip tightened.
For a brief second he didn't move. Then he turned the handle and slowly pushed the heavy office door open.