The candidates sat straight and just waited for Graham to begin.
"Diablo," he said. "Bring out those."
"Here."
THUMP!
Diablo picked up something from below the table and put it on the table.
They were envelopes of some kind. But they were thick and heavy.
"These are your missions. I will give them one by one in the order you are seated."
The candidates nodded.
"On the first chair, we have Adolf Hustler. But we will skip him and Pablo too. They will get to choose in the end."
The candidates ignore that part. They just wanted to hear for themselves.
"So, on the second chair, we have Harley Davidson. Diablo, give me."
Graham reached out his hand and Diablo put an envelope on it.
Graham held it and walked towards Harley.
Harley stood up and took the envelope.
"This is your mission. It’s Brown rank. Read it right here and remember the rules I told you. You can’t ask questions about it. You just have to read it, memorize it, and in the end, burn it. Don’t let anyone peek. If they do, kill them. After doing all that, start the mission." Graham gave some instructions and Harley began reading his mission right away.
"Now seat number three, Ursula Jarel. You are a strong woman. But you will get a red rank mission."
Graham took the envelope and gave it to the muscular woman, Ursula.
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"The instructions I just gave to Harley are the same for everyone. I won’t repeat." Graham said and moved on to the next one.
Seat number three got their assignment.
Seat number four got their assignment.
Seat number five got their assignment.
Like that, one by one, everyone kept getting their assignments.
They all were reading it right there and were trying their best to memorize its details.
By now, most of them got only red and brown ranked missions. The tough missions were still to be given.
And as time went on, Draxus’ turn came.
"Seat number forty eight. Draxus Wick. You performed very well in the tests. The military gave you the mission worthy of a man like your stature."
Graham held the envelope and gave it to Draxus.
"It’s ranked Purple. Best of luck. I hope you come back."
Draxus just nodded and began reading it right away.
Pablo wanted to peek but he let it go. He would ask Draxus anyway.
"Now, seat number 49, Flashy Rail. You are one strange man. At the beginning you were a coward and as the fight to the death event came, you became a changed man. Your eyes are sharper now.
And keeping this change in mind, the military gave you the chance to completely break out of your shell."
"I don’t like the sound of it." Flashy said.
Graham laughed and gave the envelope to Flashy.
"It’s Purple."
Flashy’s brows twitched.
’Just how much change did they see in me to give me a purple one. I don’t even change my underwear regularly. What are they talking about?’
"I’ll do my absolute best."
Flashy’s thoughts were different from his real words but he could do nothing but accept the mission.
So he sat down and read the details.
Those who had done reading and memorizing left the room but not before giving the envelopes back to Diablo. He would burn them for them.
"Seat number 50, Pablo Castillo. The man who ended a bloodline. You will also get to choose but first, Hustler will choose his assignment. He is seated in the first chair, that’s why."
"Sure thing." Pablo didn’t mind that.
Graham and Diablo turned their attention to Hustler and even the other candidates were curious to see what he would choose.
Hustler stood up from his chair.
"How exactly do I get to choose? I mean, will you tell me all the remaining assignments and I have to choose among them? Or will there be something else?"
’I have the same question.’ Pablo would have asked the same thing as well.
"I was about to give you a list. A list containing unfinished and latest assignments.
It has the name of the missions. A short detail of the mission. The rank of the mission. The rewards are hidden though. And I don’t think I need to tell you. The higher the rank, the higher the rewards."
"So does it mean I can also choose a white rank assignment and pass this test?"
"Yes."
GASP!
The other candidates gasped at the reveal. Hustler and Pablo got such huge advantages.
They could choose the easiest assignment and get selected in the military. What else was there to ask for?
Nevertheless, the candidates were left with bitter feelings and just focused on their own hard assignments.
"Here is the list, Adolf." Graham gave the list.
But Hustler pushed Graham’s hand away.
"I don’t need to see the list. Just give me the Black one."
"What?" The candidates exclaimed.
"You fuckers mind your own shit. Don’t react. Everyone is not a wimp like you." Graham scolded all of them and no one overreacted after that.
He sighed.
"Yes. What were you saying?"
"Give me the Black rank assignment." Hustler said the same thing.
"Are you sure about that?" Graham asked.
"Yes. Just give me that." Hustler was adamant.
"You know, even some Generals face difficulties doing Black rank missions. You could die in the worst way possible there. You still want it?"
Hustler clenched his jaw. "If you don’t give it to me, I will take it myself, old man."
"Hah. Well, I tried."
Graham finally agreed. But this time it was different, he didn’t ask Diablo for any envelope. Instead, he put his hand inside his bracelet and brought a pitch black book.
It was a thick and small book, like a dictionary.
"This is your mission, Adolf. The Black one."
Graham gave the book to Adolf and Adolf began reading it right away.
Graham then focused on Pablo.
"What do you want?" He asked.
Pablo smiled. "Do you even need to ask?"
"Of course." Graham put his hand inside his bracelet again and took out another pitch black book.
"Here it is. Your Black assignment."
Graham gave the book to Pablo and Pablo saw the words on its cover.
Graham told him about it.
"That’s the title of the Mission. And it couldn’t be more accurate. The mission you took will be one hell of a challenge. And as the title says, you will really see darkness there. By choosing this mission, you chose to travel. By choosing this mission, you chose to go…"
Pablo traced his fingers on the title and read it with interest.
Graham smiled at Pablo’s interest and they both spoke the title at the same time…
"In The Abyss!"
——— ———
[Volume 2 : In The Abyss! Finished!]