Firewing stared at Brandon like he was some kind of alien. At this point, she honestly wondered if he was a government plant sent to mess with her.
How else could he deduce so much from so little?
The earlier stuff she could sort of accept—but the latter guesses? Why not just announce her name while he was at it!
"Judging by your expression, it seems I was right," Brandon said thoughtfully, nodding. He looked like he was about to say something more, but Firewing quickly cut him off.
"Setting everything else aside—why are you so sure that the spiritual revival was triggered by the Seven Stars Alignment? Are you saying the government had no advance warning about it?"
Of all the things he'd guessed, this was the one she just couldn't wrap her head around.
Logically, if someone realized this was all orchestrated by the authorities, wouldn't they also suspect the government had known about the spiritual revival before it happened—and maybe even secretly trained people or creatures ahead of time?
So why was Brandon so adamant that the government had no prior knowledge? Why was he convinced the event was triggered by the celestial phenomenon?
"Let's just say I have my own channels," Brandon replied coolly, giving nothing away.
How could he possibly explain?
The truth was, the spiritual revival was kicked off by the chat group itself—by the will of the world, specifically to select someone with high destiny to become a group member. Unless some time traveler from the future suddenly showed up, nobody could have predicted it.
"…"
You, a high school student, have 'channels'? What kind of 'channels' could you possibly have that my department can't access?
Firewing rolled her eyes. She worked for the government, after all. She'd checked every bit of info on Brandon White before coming here. Was there really a source she'd missed?
"So, tell me—how did you identify me as the one who struck down the Crimson Flamebird?"
Brandon fixed Firewing with a searching look.
Had there been hidden cameras on the field? Secret video recordings? Satellite surveillance? Or—was it the bird itself?
Crimson Flamebird.
He seemed to have confirmed something, and muttered, "If my earlier deductions are correct, and all those Flamebirds are the work of a summoner-type ability user, then there must be some sort of connection between them and their summoner."
"Maybe memory browsing, or shared vision?"
"From an ability standpoint, it's not impossible."
If that was the case, it would be obvious why he'd been found out. He remembered the way the Flamebird's eyes had locked onto him that day.
If the summoner could truly see through its eyes, then identifying him would have been a piece of cake.
With the puzzle solved, Brandon's curiosity faded, and he turned to appraise her skills.
"Being able to summon that many powerful Crimson Flamebirds on day one of the spiritual revival—that's impressive talent."
"And the Flamebirds definitely aren't your limit. If you go all out, you could probably summon even more powerful creatures. Even with mass awakening, prodigies like you are still on a different level."
"While most people's powers are still at the toy stage, some are already born with combat-ready strength. Just the number of Flamebirds you summoned would be enough to overwhelm over 99% of all new ability users. In fact, the gap between genius and ordinary people has only grown wider since the awakening."
He shook his head, truly impressed. "Never underestimate the world, huh."
With a little smile, Brandon admitted that even with his [Authority of Nature], the world's highest luck stat, and the backing of the chat group, there were other true geniuses who should never be dismissed.
Earth's future would never belong to a single person on a lonely throne. Instead, a hundred schools would blossom and everyone would show their unique strengths.
That's what the world after the spiritual revival was meant to be.
"So, what's with that satisfied look on your face?" Firewing snapped.
"If you know my ability is this strong, you could at least look a little surprised. The way you're acting, it's like you're sure nobody could possibly surpass you! How can you be so confident?!"
Seeing his expression, Firewing felt another vein throbbing in her forehead. This guy was nothing like an ordinary high school senior!
"You know what—forget it. I give up."
With a deep sigh, she finally reached into her bag and pulled out two documents.
"Let's just forget everything we said before and get to the main point."
"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm the director of the newly established Spiritual Affairs Bureau, Vantora City Branch. I'm also the summoner who created those Crimson Flamebirds."
"Because I can share vision with my summons, I noticed that my Flamebird kept staring at you. I also saw how you didn't even flinch when it died, like you'd already expected the outcome."
"I have no idea why you registered your power as Metal Manipulation but showed off such advanced Lightning ability, but that only means your talent is even greater than we thought."
"So after some discussion, the Vantora City Spiritual Bureau would like to invite you to join us."
Brandon glanced through the files, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Is this contract some kind of ability-imbued artifact? What happens if I break the agreement?"
"It's just a regular document! And you haven't even signed it—why are you already worried about breaking it?"
Firewing clenched her fists; if she could, she'd have liked to give this kid a good smack.
"Oh," Brandon replied simply, then continued,
"Before we go any further, I think you should spell out the benefits of joining your Bureau."
"It's all written down in there!"
"I'm just an ordinary high schooler—you really think I'd bother reading a wall of text? I always skip the player guides in games too."
His face remained calm, but Firewing couldn't help feeling like he was looking at her like she was the idiot.
"After joining the Bureau, your benefits and resources will be based on your demonstrated talent and abilities," Firewing explained with a sigh.
"If your potential is high enough, you'll get a private villa, a personal training ground, dedicated sparring partners, and high-energy meals. If you need something else, just ask—as long as it's not too outrageous, we'll consider it."
"The more you demonstrate, the more you get. If you're talented enough, the resources you receive will be far beyond anything normal people get."
"In return, you'll be tasked with handling the dangerous creatures that appear due to the spiritual revival, defending humanity from threats."
"That's about it for now. The Bureau is still new, after all—everything is still being set up, and the system isn't perfect yet."
(End of Chapter)
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