"Congratulations on your promotion to Class-C personnel."
Dr. Kondraki briskly outlined the privileges:
Class-C personnel may directly interact with most anomalies deemed non-hostile or low-threat.
Exposure to potential memetic or cognitohazardous agents is permitted, but mandatory quarantine/psych evaluation may be enforced.
In event of containment breaches or attacks, non-combat Class-C must report to secure lockdown zones or evacuate under security guidance.
He paused, then added:
"You must also choose your specialization."
Site Roles: Containment specialists, security, or tactical response.
Field Roles: Field agents or Mobile Task Force operatives.
The information overload left the recruits reeling.
Before they could react, Kondraki turned to Aquaman:
"With 1,000+ contribution points, you may either:
Redeem rewards and return home, or
Accumulate points for further—"
"I'll join the Mobile Task Force."
Aquaman's voice was steel. His resolve? Firmer than a Communist Party applicant's.
Zhang Chulan and the others gaped. No one expected the king of Atlantis to stay.
"Huh. Surprising." Kondraki flipped through a dossier, then shrugged. "Given your aquatic skills… MTF Deep Feeders might take you."
He vanished as abruptly as he'd arrived.
Site-19 Lounge
Zhang Chulan cornered Aquaman: "You almost died last mission! Why stay?!"
Aquaman's smile was grim. "I know."
"Then why gamble with an MTF role? What's in it for you?"
"What's in it?" His eyes darkened.
"If I leave, I remain King of Atlantis. Lord of the Seven Seas."
He leaned in, voice dropping to a growl:
"But I'd only ever be that. A fish who's seen the ocean won't return to a pond."
(Unspoken: He'd glimpsed Kondraki's reward list. One entry burned in his mind: Godhood.)
Before the debate could continue—
A thunderous voice shook the heavens:
[Fourth Recruitment initiated. Random world selection in progress!]
The multiverse held its breath.
With the "Agent Immortality" and "Promotion" clauses now public, even the hesitant were tempted. The Cross-World Recruitment Order had become a ladder to transcendence!
[Ding! Selection complete!]
Target Universes: League of Legends, Devil May Cry
Recruits: Jinx (LoL), Dante (DMC)
Chatrooms erupted in envy.
League of Legends Universe
Piltover
Caitlyn's grip tightened on her rifle. "So she did escape… And now this?"
Zaun
Vi staggered, boots sliding on cobblestones as if the ground had turned to cotton.
(If Jinx succeeds… Could Vander be healed?)
Noxus
A woman with star-choked eyes smiled.
"Roses don't grow in darkness—they die in it. Yet the Black Rose may have new soil…"
Devil May Cry Universe
Outside "Devil May Cry"
Lady kicked a dumpster. "That bastard actually got picked?!"
Nero stayed silent, but his scowl said enough.
Others were less optimistic:
"Pray the anomaly isn't another Able, Witch Child, or Anantashesha…"
The chat's mood sobered at the memory of past horrors.
Then—
The voice boomed again:
[Recruitment concluded. Special task initiated!]
[Anomaly Designation: The Doorway to the Dead]
Silence.
Chatrooms froze.
Had they misread? A door as an anomaly?
"So… it's literally just a door?"
"How's a door scary?"
"Maybe it leads somewhere nasty?"
"That can't be too bad… right?"
The screen flickered, revealing the file:
[CONTAINMENT FILE: SCP-1983]
[OBJECT CLASS: KETER]