"Captain, a new member will be reporting in today."
"Is that so? Then let's go meet our new teammate!"
The young Cypher followed behind the man he called Captain.
At this time, Cypher was still in his prime. His hair was completely black, without a single strand of gray.
The man walking before him had deep bronze skin and silver hair that resembled moonlight. A crescent-shaped scar rested beside one of his eyes. He wore a long coat with ankle boots.
Though he was approaching forty, time had left almost no mark upon him, save for the quiet maturity that came with age.
"Notify everyone."
"Prepare the First Squad's initiation ritual."
"...Again?"
"Captain, I really don't understand the point of doing this."
"Just do it."
Although reluctant, Cypher still sent out the notification.
Descending the stairs to the nineteenth floor, they found the rest of the squad gathered in the lounge.
"I can't wait."
"I wonder what kind of rookie we're getting this time."
"Jeffor, you look really creepy saying that."
A red-haired woman looked at the man with open disgust.
To be fair, Jeffor had perpetually narrowed eyes, an ill-suited long beard, and an appearance that genuinely made him look rather suspicious.
"Kresha, aren't you curious too?"
"Of course I am."
"But I'm not making the face of a creepy old man who looks like he'd kidnap children."
"I do not!"
"Ask everyone else if you don't believe me."
"Isaac, Org, Yaren..."
The three men whose names were called all nodded in agreement with Kresha.
"You're all ganging up on me..."
Jeffor wore an utterly pitiful expression.
Unfortunately, seeing that expression on a man well into his thirties only made things stranger.
"I don't think Brother Jeffor looked creepy at all."
As though finding his last lifeline, Jeffor immediately turned toward the speaker.
It was the youngest girl in the squad.
"Angela... thank you..."
"He's always looked creepy."
Angela said it with such innocent sincerity that there wasn't the slightest trace of malice on her face.
She genuinely seemed to believe it.
Jeffor dropped to one knee, looking utterly devastated.
"Even little Angela thinks so..."
Everyone burst into laughter.
They all knew Jeffor was a good man at heart.
That didn't stop them from teasing him.
And every single time, Jeffor would faithfully kneel down and perform what looked like the tragic final monologue of a dying hero.
"Alright, alright."
"That's enough."
"The elevator's coming."
Standing nearest the elevator, their captain reminded everyone to get ready.
At once, every member reinforced their bodies with Force.
An oppressive pressure instantly filled the room.
The most overwhelming presence came from the captain himself.
The aura pouring from him openly declared his identity as a Perfected One.
The elevator doors finally opened.
A young girl stepped out.
Her blond hair was cropped short into a buzz cut, and her eyes shone a brilliant gold.
She looked only to be in her mid-teens—
Even younger than Angela, the youngest member of the squad.
Although she dressed in masculine clothing, her striking features already hinted that she would grow into an exceptional beauty.
"New recruit Tia reporting for duty."
She spoke in a flat, mechanical tone.
Standing directly before the captain, she showed absolutely no reaction to the overwhelming pressure radiating from him.
"I'm the Captain of Leon City's First Squad."
"Posius."
"Though most people simply call me... the Hero."
He returned her introduction.
Then his expression suddenly darkened.
His voice dropped.
"Does a little girl like you really have what it takes to join the First Squad?"
"What lies ahead is the cruelest hell imaginable."
As he spoke, he released an even more violent surge of Force.
It felt as though he might activate Concept Release at any second.
Standing closest to him, Tia remained completely unfazed.
Not only did she show no fear—
Her face didn't even twitch.
She simply stared blankly at Posius.
"There's still time to leave."
"You can still return to your parents."
Seeing no reaction whatsoever, Posius suddenly found himself at a loss.
He loved frightening every newcomer during their first meeting.
Every member of his squad had been thoroughly intimidated by him.
Yet the girl before him ignored both his overwhelming aura and his intimidating words.
Then she calmly delivered a sentence Posius would instantly regret.
"I've never met my parents."
"They died before I was old enough to remember them."
An overwhelming wave of guilt washed over him.
If he could have turned back time just a few seconds...
He would have taken those words back immediately.
Instead—
His squad dragged him away and beat him up.
Even while watching Posius get thoroughly pummeled...
Tia showed no reaction.
She simply watched in silence.
Like a machine without emotions.
"Hey..."
"Don't take what he said to heart."
"Just think of him as an idiot."
Kresha crouched gently in front of Tia, hoping those careless words hadn't hurt her.
But it didn't take long for her to notice something strange about the girl.
After everyone had finished beating up Posius, the members of the First Squad introduced themselves one by one.
Aside from turning her eyes toward whoever was speaking...
Tia made no other movement.
It felt less like introducing themselves to a person—
And more like speaking to an emotionless machine.
"I'm Cypher."
"Vice Captain."
"If you ever need the Captain and he isn't around, you can always come to me."
"Okay."
"Do you need a room?"
"Or do you already have somewhere to stay?"
"Yes."
"No."
"...Alright."
"I'll have someone show you to your room."
"Angela, could you take her?"
"Sure."
"Come with me."
After the two girls left, the rest of the First Squad remained where they stood.
They all realized the same thing.
Their newest recruit...
Was carrying far more problems than any of them had expected.
Posius slowly sat up from the floor.
Watching the direction in which his newest squad member had disappeared...
He quietly fell into thought.
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3jVt5eoJz
Chapter 14: Tia's Past (1)
It didn't take long for everyone in the First Squad to realize that their newest recruit was anything but ordinary.
She had already mastered full-body Force reinforcement.
No weapon posed any challenge to her.
Her marksmanship was flawless.
Whether it was a dagger for close combat, a sword for mid-range engagements, or a spear for long reach, she wielded every weapon as naturally as breathing.
As for physical ability...
Despite her small frame, she possessed explosive power and astonishing endurance.
Her application of Force in combat was equally exceptional.
Whether it was distributing Force between offense and defense during hand-to-hand combat, or timing the infusion of Force into her weapons, she ranked among the very best in the squad in nearly every category.
The only thing she lacked was real battlefield experience.
In short...
She had been born to fight.
Yet there was nothing in her eyes except battle.
No matter how the others tried to talk to her, she barely responded.
Whenever they invited her to relax with them during breaks, she rejected every invitation.
Posius watched all of this unfold.
But he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
In the end, he even sought advice from the then-Captain of the Second Squad—
Oenone.
"That child has completely shut herself away."
After observing Tia for herself, even Oenone could only reach that conclusion.
Faced with someone who barely spoke a single sentence...
There was nothing she could do either.
"I guess it's up to you."
"After all..."
"You're the Hero."
Those words gave Posius an idea.
He began investigating Tia's background, hoping to discover why she had become the way she was.
Yet there was almost nothing to find.
The only records stated that she had trained at the academy for Force users and had been one of the few students who lived on campus.
He tried asking people who had known Tia.
But the answers were nearly identical.
"She's a good kid."
"She always trains seriously."
"But she never talks to anyone."
That was what most people told him.
He even sought out her former classmates, hoping she'd had at least one friend.
The result was equally disappointing.
"Tia?"
"She never talked to anyone."
"As far as I know, she didn't have anyone you'd call a friend."
"There was a time when some students didn't like her and started bullying her."
"But she never reacted."
"One of them even stood right in front of her and dumped an entire bottle of filthy water over her head."
"She didn't move."
"She just silently stared at the person bullying her."
"It wasn't until that person lost their temper and actually attacked her..."
"...that Tia finally responded."
"She fought back."
"And beat the bully so badly that no one ever dared bother her again."
That was where Posius's investigation came to a halt.
He couldn't uncover anything from before that.
"If only I could find her family..."
Feeling utterly powerless, Posius rested his forehead against his desk and muttered to himself.
Then...
Something Tia had said on her very first day suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
"I don't have parents."
"I've never even met them."
"...No parents?"
Posius abruptly sat upright.
A thought flashed through his mind.
He might have just found his breakthrough.
ns216.73.217.139da2
and then Add to home screen.