Abyssal Awakening

\'They\'re not going for the kill. They\'re aiming to hit each other\'s weapon rather than the body.\' Alyss spoke up, surprising Alice as she thought her twin still needed some time alone. But now that she was speaking, Alice was more than happy to reply.

\'Mnm yeah. It looks good to outsiders but people who\'ve actually fought on the battlefield will only laugh. Seems like these are all new recruits they brought in rather than seasoned veterans." Alice laughed.

There were a few overseers of the training and Alice could see the disappointment in his eyes. Yet no matter how he tried to lecture them, they were unable to make the corrections to their movements.

Ignoring the inefficient training of the new recruits, Selen and Alice spotted the tent with a queue of warriors looking to sign up. Every so often, there would be a new person joining the queue having just arrived from a carriage.

However, seeing the state of these new recruits caused Alice to doubt the Verona Queendom\'s chances of winning this war.

To put it bluntly, rather than warriors, they looked like standard civilians or rookie mercenaries who hadn\'t seen the harshness of the world.

Regardless, if they wanted to earn some money, they had to sign up as freelance mercenaries.

Waiting by the queue, Alice would see people walking out with disappointment on their faces. Some passed but they were barely better than the others.

Few would show anger.

Selen ignored all of this and kept her eyes on the training grounds, keeping an eye on how the instructors were.

To her, having a decent command was far more important than the quality of the individual soldier.

One soldier may be able to distinguish themselves on the battlefield but a competent commander can increase the odds of survival.

Having an incompetent commander would increase your odds of dying and if you were to try and leave in fear of death, you\'ll be labelled as a deserter.

If that was the case, Selen would rather not sign up in the first place.

While Selen was observing the instructors, Alice was enjoying her time with a flask of mead to pass the time.

This was essentially a holiday to her even when she included her injured body.

She wasn\'t planning on fighting on the front lines and instead, looked to act as a shielder. Someone who protected the members of her team.

Not quite a full tank that stood on the front and instead, a supporting role.

After waiting for roughly an hour or so, it was finally Alice\'s turn as the one in front of her was rejected harshly.

He had a muscular statue with red tribalistic markings across his body and stood almost twice Alice\'s height. Around his eyes were red eye makings while a beast claw mark could be seen painted across his face.

Dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into several braids. On his shoulder, a bear\'s head was mounted onto his shoulder pad while leather and metal armour covered his body.

Alice could tell that he was rather confident in his physique because of the lack of coverage, exposing his thighs, arms, and chest.

"What do you mean I failed?! The sprouty sh*ts earlier passed so why haven\'t I?!" He slammed his fist into the table as veins bulged across his head and neck.

"I\'ve already told you once. You\'re not fit to join the mercenaries. You have several misdemeanour offences on your record. Arrogant, egotistical and rarely listen to commands properly. You also have a track record of belittling those with whom you are grouped. With all of this, you are not fit to serve.

Please leave."

Unlike the people around him, the examiner seemed far less… \'barbaric\' as he wore a tidy uniform with wild dark green hair.

A pair of calm jade eyes that resembled that of a serpent looked up at the furious warrior without an ounce of fear.

Grabbing a stamp, he slammed it against the document that the warrior brought with him and handed it back to him.

"If you wish to prove me wrong then polish up your record. No matter how strong you are, I cannot accept the risks you bring with you." The man gestured towards the exit.

Gritting his teeth, the warrior leaned towards the man and glared at him in the eye.

After a long moment, he slammed his hand onto the table before turning around to leave.

"Next." He called out calmly, ignoring the slight hindrance caused by the warrior.

Just as Alice was about to enter the building when her path was partially blocked by the warrior.

"Watch where you\'re f*cking walking shrimp. Can\'t believe this sh*tty place would even accept a useless sh*t like you to sign up." He spat out in anger as Alice shielded herself with her sleeve.

Ignoring the warrior, she stepped into the tent. It\'s just a recruitment for freelancers into the army.

Shouldn\'t be that bad.

Plus, she survived Kaden and Allura\'s training so something like this should be a walk in the par-

Death.

A chill ran down her spine as Alice instinctively felt the threat of death. Her fight or flight response was triggered immediately as she rushed towards the man behind the table and grabbed a spare pen in one swift moment.

Using her shard to block his arm from countering, she stabbed towards his neck.

*BANG!!!

An armoured arm holding a blade blocked her pen strike as she kicked the table towards him and jumped back.

Her sudden movement surprised everyone waiting by the side, especially Selen as the guards prepared to rush into the building but the man behind the table raised his hand to stop them.

Looking at the fragments of the pen scattered across the floor, he glanced at Alice with surprise in his eyes.

"Remarkable… What is your name?" He asked, adjusting his sleeve as the armoured arm disappeared into strands of energy.

Waving his finger, he returned the table and papers back to where it was originally and sat down.

"Alice Agnelia." Alice frowned as the earlier feeling disappeared as though it was simply her hallucination.

But in that brief moment, she definitely felt it.

This man was close to the realm of a Lord!

\'A six star Hunter no doubt.\' Alice swallowed her saliva as cold sweat had formed across her back.

"Alice Agnelia... Seems like you\'re a foreigner. Let\'s see…" He muttered, rummaging through the papers before stopping at a particular sheet.

"You entered the outpost yesterday after your friend brought you towards the border. You two don\'t know the situation and had to turn back. ID originates from the Abyss. Hmm… Are you looking to sign up as a freelance mercenary?" He asked while flipping through the short file he had on her.

"Somewhat. Though I can\'t exactly fight so I\'m looking to work as a supporter." Alice replied as she glanced down at her arm.

Blood seeped into her bandages as her wounds were torn open from her sudden movement.

"I\'m guessing you\'re looking to use the Artifact floating next to you. Considering the current state of your physical body, you won\'t be able to fight even if I order you to. Alright, approved. You\'ll be joining the Mercenary Squad as a supporter." He nodded with an approving nod.

As much as he wanted her in the main squad considering her reaction to his killing intent, he couldn\'t let that happen. Her origins are still relatively unknown even with the ID she provided.

With the Abyss being a large factor in Extalia\'s strength, he couldn\'t help but wonder if someone like her was a spy.

But even if she was, she wouldn\'t put herself in this kind of danger. Especially with that body.

"What kind of bullsh*t is this!?!?!" The warrior from earlier shouted out as he glanced back for a moment and saw Alice attacking the examiner.

Yet instead of being told to leave, she was approved?

This shrimp covered in bloody bandages was approved while he wasn\'t?!

Impossible!

"Egil, you have already been rejected. Do not cause more of a disturbance or else I\'ll have to remove you myself." The examiner warned while adjusting his gloves.

Next to Egil, a ritualistic circle manifested as the same arm that blocked Alice\'s strike appeared, raising the blade next to Egil\'s neck.

"I won\'t stand for this!" He punched the blade aside.

To them, this was an opportunity to get recognition. To obtain wealth and food or even redemption.

He couldn\'t accept the fact that someone injured like Alice would be accepted while he was turned away.

Storming into the building, he glared at Alice who opened her flask and took a sip while giving him a small wave.

Her nonchalance only served to further his anger.

"I challenge you to duel of the Warrior\'s Honour!" Egil shouted, causing the examiner to let out a sigh and massage his eyes.

A common tradition with those that live in the North.

The Warriors Honour, a battle between two people with a dispute. The winner is right and the loser is wrong.

Naturally, to the Northerners, rejecting this duel is essentially saying you have no honour and to them, it\'s one of the biggest insults you can receive.

If Alice was to reject, none of the mercenaries in the squad would accept her but that wouldn\'t stop her usefulness as a shielder.

"Hah? And why would I do that? Don\'t you see this body of mine?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"However…"

She licked her lips.

"If you throw in a bet, I might be convinced."