The chairman was back in his office, reviewing the most recent events of the exam. He looked closely at the steel man towering over his teammates.
"Reiner Braun," he muttered as he re-read the info about him on his laptop.
"One of the top students at Trost Academy; Top 10 in academics, top 5 in athletics,1st in physical strength and top 10 in speed."
Erwin scrolled up to see Reiner's birthdate.
"August 1, X833…" The chairman read. "So he's 16? Maybe he repeated a year or redshirted."
Erwin switched tabs and looked at another examinee's profile.
"Floch Forester…" He scrolled down to see his ability. "He's the one who could transform into a hawk. Any notable accomplishments?"
He scrolled down further and read his accolades.
"Top 5 in academics and speed. Also attended Trost…" He read.
He then looked at another examinee's profile.
"Armin Arlert…also attended Trost…" He scrolled down. "Invisibility?Seems useful, but couldn't use it properly and the only accolade he has is being the top student in academics."
Erwin hummed in thought before the door opened. He looked up to see Rico again. The door closed behind her as she walked to his desk.
"I couldn't get to him, sir," Rico began. "He's currently on a mission right now."
"Not surprised," Erwin said, still looking at his laptop. "He is always on a mission with hardly any breaks in between."
Rico nodded. "Do you think it exists? Do you think what they're saying is true?"
"What, about the cerberus?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm… I don't see a reason not to believe them. If elder dragons shaped like unicorns can exist, then I don't see a reason why a three-headed dog wouldn't exist."
Throughout his life as an Adventurer, the Chairman had seen things much more off-putting than just a Cerberus. Five years ago, he sent a team of Mobile Task Force members to capture a creature in a cold, isolated mountain range in the northwest area of Acernis.
The creature was very pale, its skin matched the snow that it was surrounded by. It looked humanoid with such an emaciated frame that its ribcage and pelvis bones were visible to the naked eye. It had no hair follicles on its body, each of its arms was five feet long, and its legs were probably even longer.
Erwin rubbed his face as he remembered the gruesome sight that formed at the scene. The blood that was spilled from the massacre turned the white snow to a crimson colour. By the time he and backup arrived, the captain was the only one standing.
'And then that fucker ran through a city,' The Chairman shook his head. 'SCRAMBLE. I need to call Dr.Dan to see if they haven't killed it yet.'
"Anyways, I was wondering…the underage examinees. It seems that most of them this year went to Trost Academy," he noticed.
"I mean, it has the best combat program on the island," Rico said with pride in her tone.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you attended that academy. You graduated when? 13 years ago?"
"So?" Rico said, a bit angry.
He cleared his throat is hide his chuckles. "I see. That's why their chemistry seems to be better than average. Say, who would you say is the best one out of them here so far?"
Rico looked down and opened her tablet. She swiped right multiple times before she started to hum in thought.
"Well, here's the thing: I haven't seen all of them in action. Team 17 has the last three examinees, and then I can make a proper analysis and comparison. But…as of right now, I would say I'm most impressed with Mikasa Ackerman."
"Ackerman? Really? Think she's as good as him?"
"Not by a long shot." Rico shook her head. "But-"
He heard a ringtone coming from his phone; it was him. He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
"You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes, it's about the incident that happened on Merudiem a week ago. I talked to Eld and Petra about it. I just wanted to talk to you to verify the information I received."
"Okay," he said monotonously.
"According to Eld and Petra, the monster that you and your team encountered was a three-headed dog, right?"
"Yeah."
"Petra...she told me that it talked, is that true?"
Erwin noticed that it took a few seconds for him to answer the question. He didn't want to reopen a recent scar, but he had to get to the bottom of this.
"Yes, it did. It taunted us. Telling us to save Oluo and Gunther, as it tortured them to death."
"Shit," Erwin said, rubbing his forehead. "But, are you okay? I saw the bionic prosthetics that Petra and Eld had."
"Yeah, I paid for them. It's my fault after all. I chose that mission in the first place."
Erwin nodded. "I understand."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah…that's all. Don't go after it, okay? I know how you are, and I don't want any more valuable lives lost."
"Alright."
"Good."
Erwin hung up and placed his phone on his desk. Rico's focus went from her tablet back to her superior.
"So?"
Erwin nodded. "The information was true. I advised him not to chase after it."
"You know that he won't listen," Rico said, shaking her head.
"I know…" he sighed, hoping for the best for his close friend. He clapped his hands, trying to change the subject. "Anyways, Team 12, what's the info on them?"
Rico looked down at her tablet and tapped and swiped on the screen a few times. "The examinees on Team 12 are quite exceptional. One of them is Kean Lavria, youngest child and only son of fashion designer and businessman Mark Lavria. He was one of the top students at Wilde Academy at both the junior high and high school levels. 1st in accuracy and 2nd in overall speed."
Erwin opened the file to see the young man. He had fair skin with dark blue hair, slicked back with blue eyes to match. He had a boyish face, clean-shaven with a button nose and thin lips.
'Dual pistol wielding?' Erwin thought as he switched tabs to see him fighting a Yian Garuga, wielding an expensive pair of pistols. They had a blue, silverish tint to the silver-like metal it was made of, with a sleek design and a long barrel. When he pulled the trigger, blue light bullets would shoot from them.
"Not surprised. He has laser guns," He noticed.
"Those pistols cost around 110 grand each," Rico said.
"In Eldian currency?"
"Libertan."
"The currency rate is similar," Erwin said. "Next one."
"The other examinee is Madeline Corbant. Another child of a rich fashion designer. She just graduated from Rochelle Academy in Gallia, similar to a few other examinees who are attending this year's exam. One of the most skilled and smartest students who ever attended. A straight-A student throughout high school and proficient in multiple weapons, but it seems that she prefers a crossbow and bladed weapons, particularly a one-handed sword," Rico summarised.
"Deadly from both close and far range," Erwin said as he looked at her profile. The lady had long wavy strawberry blonde hair with freckles on her long face and emerald-coloured eyes. She had short, thin eyebrows, a round face and full lips.
"The tall one is Kwade Fardem. He also attended Rochelle Academy,y but he has Merudiem origins, moving to Gallia as a child. Although not as skilled as Madeline, he was physically the strongest in his class, ranking 1st in lifting and striking strength."
Erwin looked at his profile. His skin was as dark as oil with short black hair, patchy stubble on his face, poorly hiding his acne scars and a natural scowl that always makes him look angry.
"The last one is named Sue Marcada. She attended and graduated from Lukewater Academy two years ago. She tried for the Adventurer's Exam in Liberio but failed, and is now attempting here."
"How did she fail?" The chairman asked, looking at her profile. She had long black hair with dark brown eyes and beige skin. She wielded a massive hammer that looked more like a big morning star despite her slender physique.
"One of the tests was a bounty test, and she failed to beat her opponent in time."
"Impressive, but I wanted to go back to the last team. Two of the examinees who impressed me were Mexler and Braun. Mr.Braun did quite well in his performance, managing to lift the Ossiboros and take their hits. Mr.Mexler did well, avoiding the beast's hits and was the key to helping with the finishing blow."
Rico nodded. "What made it more impressive is that this is Mr.Mexler's first time attempting this exam despite his age of 25."
"Seems that he prepared," Erwin smirked a bit. "One of the older examinees this year, I see."
Rico sat down on the couch, stretched a bit and glanced at the wine bottle on the table. The chairman noticed her fixation on the bottle and allowed her to have a glass. He took out a shot glass from one of his desk drawers, cleaned the glass with a rag and tossed her the glass.
She swore under her breath as she barely caught the glass, making her look at him with an upsetting glare. He chuckled at her reaction, using his hand to cover his smile.
"Thanks," the silver-haired woman said as she poured herself. She read the label before putting it down and taking a shot.
"Tastes good," Rico leaned back into the couch.
"That's the only shot you're having," Erwin told her before he started to watch Team 12 on his television.
King was on a branch of a tree, shooting at the bird wyvern as it chased him down. Sue used her hammer to hit one of its legs. The monster tripped over before flailing around, trying to get up.
Kwade had two crustacean-like legs protruding from his sides and stabbed the wyvern's tail before his arm became a massive red pincer claw and snipped off the poisonous club tail attached to the monster.
The monster made an ear-piercing shriek before it got up and tried to fling him off its tail.
An arrow pierced its jaw. Madeline reloaded her crossbow before she shot again. The arrow missed but bounced off the tree and hit the side of Yian Garuga.
It tried to scream again, but Sue dashed and swung her hammer upwards, forcing the beast to close its mouth.
"Got ya!" Kean shouted as he pulled the trigger and shot a light bullet, and shot out one of its eyes.
The beast never had the chance to scream as Kwade grabbed its neck with his pincer claw and slammed it down. The monster flailed around, but Kwade turned his other arm into a claw to ensure its entrapment. Sue swung down and smashed its face, blood and bone shards flew for a few seconds before raining down on Sue and Kwade. The beast screamed, but it got muffled by another hammer swing and then another, then another, then another, then another, then another.
The beast started to go limp as Sue continued her barrage. She was mostly covered in the monster's blood.
"Okay, Sue. Arrête, you can stop now,"
Sue didn't stop until a light bullet blazed by and shot the hammer out of her hands.
"Stop," Kean said as he dropped down from the trees and put his guns in their holsters on each side of his hip.
Kwade reverted his crab-like arms into a human's as the extra legs shrank back into his sides.
"Mon dieu…" Kwade said as he saw the bloody, bony, sprinkled mush that used to be a Yian Garuga's head.
"Test complete!" the AI announcer said.
"Broke a new record," Rico picked up her shot glass. "Took them only 7 minutes, and most of that time was used to find the wyvern.
Rico slowly picked up the bottle, but Erwin already noticed her attempt.
"Put it down, Brzenka."
"I can handle my liquor," Rico argued.
"Do you also have 300 Elds?"
"What?"
"That bottle cost 300 Elds. You can have it, if you give me the money."
"Sir, I'm sure you make a lot of money. 300 Elds is probably nothing to you."
Erwin leaned back in his seat, pretending to be slightly taken aback by Rico's argument. "You sounded like Hannes a bit there."
"Don't compare me to him," Rico scoffed. "That guy doesn't know the definition of moderation even if it bit his face."
Erwin chuckled as he saw the gathering crew picking up the recent carcass of the Yian Garuga. One of the crew members picked up the poisonous tail club and tossed it on the carcass.
'They seem promising,' Erwin thought. 'Seems like the prospects get better by the year.'
"Does the Yian Garuga's tail club carry medicinal properties?"
"Yeah, it can help with muscle pain and the garuga's poison, " Rico got up from the couch. "Anyways, I have to make sure that our first batch of surplus meat is ready for transportation. Thanks for the drink."
"Thank you for your help," The Chairman said before Rico nodded and left the room.
He got a notification from his other phone hidden in the top left desk drawer. He flipped open his phone to see that one of his informants had sent him a photo of the man leaving from the east coast of Hizuru in a small boat.
He texted the informant to contact the underwater and aerial group and get them to follow him.
'Knowing how prideful Hizurians tend to be, I'm assuming that the conversation didn't go well,' Erwin grew a confident smile as he closed his phone. But then another notification popped up.
He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose after he finished reading it.
'Great…just great…"