Someone stood by Kuro's apartment door.
He unsheathed a dagger as he grabbed the door handle, opening the door in silence. He stepped into the room with caution, not making a noise. His steps were as if he had trained for this mission.
The mystery thug was getting near Kuro's bed. Upon reaching the bed, "MY CHANCE!" He raised the dagger, forcing it toward the blanket. He left the dagger through the blanket and began his search for things to steal.
"Man, does this guy have nothing in his apartment?" As he opened the closet, a bag was found. "At least something useful.." He took the bag, preparing his leave.
The guy turned around to see that his dagger wasn't there, "Huh..and how there is no blood?"
A chair struck his head from behind, leaving him unconscious on the ground. "Thieves exist here as well..?" Kuro stood behind the man, taking a sigh out.
"I mean, it's obvious, no apartment is that cheap anyway.." He took the ropes that held the curtains and then proceeded to tie the man.
He stood before the man, waiting for him to regain consciousness. "I guess it'll take more time.." Kuro stepped toward the table, then he took the jug of water. Returning to the man and splashing water all across his face.
"Pwahh!!" The thief was forced to wake by the water. As his vision cleared, he saw the figure standing before him. "I swore I forced the dagger through your heart."
"Wait..." He stared at the ropes for a second, "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I WILL DO ANYTHING I SWEAR!"
"Interesting..Well, i'll give your question a response." Kuro sat down in the chair behind, "When you entered the apartment, i happened to be in the restroom. So i was able to hear someone entering, and about the dagger.." He took the dagger out from his pocket, the shown dagger sent shivers down the thief's spine.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" The thief closed his eyes in fear. "If you answer my questions, i will spare your life." Kuro responded coldly.
The thief opened his eyes in joy, "I will do anything!" he said.
"Where is the headquarters of the Sentinel Monster Hunters?" Kuro questioned.
"The headquarters?" The thief was confused.
"Wait, where do people register for the sentinel?" Kuro refined his question to make it clear.
"You don't know? Everyone knows that info.." As the thief said this, Kuro rotated the dagger.
"NO NO WAIT!" The thief continued, "You go from the trading hall to the west, keep moving forward until you reach a tall white building. This building is the Sentinel Registry building."
"Oh, i see, i got a couple of questions about it too." Kuro lowered the dagger a bit.
"It's not like i'm in the Sentinels, i only know info everyone knows." The thief was trying to walk his way out of this.
"Then what is this?" Kuro pointed at the man's uniform, where it contained the name 'Sentinel staff'
The thief stared at his uniform, "Oh shit!"
"Well, if you're not going to help, i shall kill you." Kuro stood up.
"NO NO WAIT! ASK I WILL ANSWER!" The thief said.
"How much time does it take for one to get accepted?" Kuro sat down again. The thief replied, "It takes us 1 month to finish the process; however, some people can get a fast pass to skip the exams and become a sentinel as quickly."
Kuro stood up and then stepped toward the thief, "Listen I'll let you leave now, give me the pass and I'll stop asking."
"This isn't possible, the fast pass isn't an item. The worker who grants you this should be with you to allow your entry for the power test." The thief clarified.
"Well, then that's unfortunate. Now, may i know who sent you here?" Kuro glared at the guy, knowing that someone had sent him.
"Oh..so you knew all along?" The thief smirked, "It was obvious from my shirt." The guy raised his finger toward the rope. As he did, the rope was set on fire, setting him free.
Afterward, he stood in front of Kuro. "I just proved my point, you're a rookie after all. Your spirit energy had flaws since the beginning."
"So, you're a sentinel, not a normal worker?"
The man walked toward the apartment door. "Follow me, didn't you want to be a sentinel?"
"Hm.." Kuro wasn't feeling comfortable, but he decided to follow him.
As they were walking toward the registry tower, Kuro questioned, "Why are you helping me?"
"Well, i took a liking to how cool you tried to be against a criminal. So i figured you'll be a fitting sentinel." The guy said as they got near the tower, "Here is the registry tower, wish you luck!"
They stood before a white tower, where applicants were leaving and entering. The man handed Kuro a small paper and then said, "This will give you a pass to the power test; they'll test your powers to put you into a fitting rank."
Kuro took it, "Thanks, i guess..?" Then the man turned around, making his way out of there.
-
As he took his way out of Kuro's sight, a person came out of the alley facing the man.
"How did it go..Lolush?" The mysterious person asked, "As planned.."
A mask appeared on lolush hand, and he instantly wore the mask. "The pawn has entered the board."
-
"So, this is the Registry Tower…" Kuro muttered as he stepped inside, his eyes tracing the vast interior until they landed on the receptionist stationed at the front desk.
"Welcome to the Sentinel registry. How may I help you, sir?" The receptionist said,
"I wish to apply for a power test." As Kuro replied, she started typing on paper.
She handed the paper to Kuro, "Type your information there."
Kuro filled the paper with his information, "Here." He handed the paper back to the woman receptionist. "Oh yeah, i forgot about something." He took the pass out and then gave her.
"A pass? with the signature of the wolf fang leader?" She was astonished observing the signature. "You may move forward!" She pointed at a door.
"That was fast.." Kuro entered an empty room with a door on the other side.
"Is there anyone here..?" He stood patiently for several minutes until the other door opened slowly.
"Ugh...why do i have to do this?" A man entered the room, complaining about his job.
"Follow me." He ordered Kuro while turning back to the door. "Well." Kuro stepped toward the other door.
As he entered the room, in the midst of the room lies a glowing obelisk-like crystal infused with ancient magic. There were workers all around the room waiting for the applicant Kuro to measure his power. "May you move forward to test?" A worker.
"Can someone explain what this is?" Kuro's curiosity almost ate him.
"This is the Resonance Crystal. When someone places their hand against it, the crystal reacts by drawing a fragment of their aura/essence. The crystal then emits resonance waves, producing a glowing number above it representing the user's power level (measured in points)." The man continued, "Stronger individuals make the crystal glow brighter and hum louder, while weaker ones barely leave a flicker."
"Oh, is that so..?" Kuro hovered forward, curious about how much power he possessed.
Time to see my real power points.. He stood before the crystal, waiting for instructions.
"Put your palm upon the surface." The instructor ordered.
He pressed his palm against the cool surface. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a soft vibration ran through the room as the crystal flickered, its light building weakly, as if struggling to awaken. A faint hum filled the air, far thinner than what the workers were used to hearing.
The glow sputtered… dimmed… and finally stabilized. Above the crystal, shimmering numbers appeared. "0"
The hum cut out. Silence dropped over the chamber. Kuro blinked, pulling back his hand. "Zero…?" he muttered. The workers exchanged glances. A few whispers broke the quiet:
"Impossible.""Not even apprentices score that low…""Has the crystal broken?"
The receptionist frowned, adjusting her glasses. "The crystal doesn't lie." She leaned forward, studying Kuro with renewed interest. "Either you possess no measurable strength… or something about you falls outside the test's design."
"What..?" Kuro's confusion was visible on his face as he glared back at the number to check.
"This happened a while ago, for an applicant who also looked identical to you. However, i lost track of his name. It was Kusho..?" An old woman stepped up. "Identical..?" Kuro's gaze was fixed on the lady, waiting for her next statement.
"My memory is fuzzy, but it was revealed later that he isn't human." The workers were shocked by the woman's statement as they all said, "WHAT!?"
Oh shit..this won't be good.. Kuro was shocked as he remembered the devil he possessed, knowing it all was the cause of it.
"However, this young boy seems like he doesn't possess any power. Write his rank on the paper; we have other applicants to serve." The lady turned around toward her table.
Kuro waited patiently outside for his rank result. "Zero.." He thought as one of the workers left the room, walking toward Kuro.
She handed him the paper. "WHAT??!" The paper showed his rank as an absolute "F"
Kuro was so shocked by this result, while other applicants got all around him. they were whispering to each other: "4th F rank..is he that weak?", "That's rare..", "What a waste.."
Eventually, Kuro left the tower and proceeded to walk toward the exit of the town. His fist was clenched in anger, "This humiliation is getting on my nerves!" He kept walking as anger showed on his face. "Man, why did my father and Itoshi assign a massive mission to a weakling.."
"Is the test real or i'm weak?" He stood on the outskirts of the town. "Perhaps.."
"I can train to be strong..by proving myself!"
He sat down on the weavy grass, the wind was intense as Kuro's thoughts were getting louder. In a sudden, steps over the bushes were heard by Kuro.
Man, i wonder what Uoshi and Maruko is up to now..-!
He felt a presence behind him. "!!!" He barged forward as fire erupted behind him.
"Who are you!" He turned around, "Wh-!" A figure of a demon stood in front of him.
Chapter End.