Chapter 3 Stranger #2
Rin smiled softly. The other girl wasn’t fooling anyone—Rin had noticed the way her eyes had seemed to glow. She was only downplaying her interest for Rin’s benefit. No one valued being a level one.
At five years old, it was common to take a standard neuropsychological exam to gauge Stella levels by examining the correlation between neurological functions, psychological behaviors, and how they interacted and impacted Stella levels.
It wasn’t foolproof, but the lower your Stella ranked, the higher the probability that this was your first life.
Stella manifested anywhere from a few years old, all the way up to late teens. But even without it, scientists could sense what Stella one would have and use that to determine a rough estimate of prior lives.
As a level one with basically no Stella to speak of, it was obvious she was on her first life. Level tens were the highest ranking, with scientists gauging that those of that level have lived a thousand or more lives.
Kit was a level three, anywhere from his fifth to ninth life.
While Rin was decidedly on her first.
And what a life it had been so far.
Maybe she’d have better luck next time.
Rin’s palms were sweaty.
She wiped them on the hem of her black pants as she walked up the staircase, leading to the very top floor of the Hunter’s Guild Academy—right where Alpha Team headquarters was.
The Academy was structured so that each of the five Teams occupied a floor; Alpha Team occupied the highest floor, and Delta the second level.
The ground floor was dedicated to training grounds, an eating hall, and a med bay—for when they inevitably got hurt on an assignment.
She had taken the tour before she passed the entry exams, so thankfully, she knew her way around with relative ease.
The open staircase circled the Academy’s central atrium. She peeked her head over the railing, peering down the floors into the hustle and bustle of the main portion, watching as seasoned Hunters walked side by side, armored with Echoguns and Echoswords. Maybe that would be her, one day.
Rin cursed the Academy for not having an elevator as she finally reached the last step, into the floor of the Alpha Team. A wide open expanse, bordered by railings. Noise filtered through the entire space, making her wonder how anyone got work done.
She braced herself with a deep breath, the soles of her issued boots clicking against the polished, dark floors.
Computers lined one wall, cubicles with desks, and a large briefing room enclosed by glass was set into the far wall, furnished with a boardroom table and chairs.
But that wasn’t what caught her attention—the floor-to-ceiling case of displayed weapons made a full-fledged smile break free on her lips.
"Pretty cool, right?" someone said from behind her.
Rin turned, not having realized someone had come up to her other side—a young man with deep brown skin and light blue eyes.
His dark hair was shorn closely to his scalp, and his features were hard.
Muscles strained against the simple black fabric of his shirt.
But the soft quirk to his lips softened his appearance.
"I’m Keir. Third year."
"Hi," Rin replied quietly, inching closer to the wall of weapons. Gleaming Echoswords of all sizes filled the wall, and the lower part was filled with Echoguns—rifles, pistols, machine guns.
She was jolted away from her staring by Keir, who raised an expectant brow as he said, "What year are you? I’m assuming a first year since I’ve never seen you before."
She nodded. "I’m Rin." Her words were quiet. At his soft huff of amusement, she added with reluctance, "Vesperin Blackfall."
"Oh, shit, for real? You’re the Aetherborn."
"I am." Rin turned from Keir, annoyed by the way his eyes lit up.
"Not that you asked, but I’m a Waterborn. Level seven. So, what level are—?"
"Keir, stop annoying the new recruit. You’re the reason they never stick around on Alpha Team."
Rin jolted, looking up to where the voice came from.
There was a small staircase tucked near the far wall, leading to a balcony that overlooked the floor. A tall, toned woman with deep red hair pulled away from her face in many braids leaned over the railing. Ink covered her skin, trailing over her neck.
"Don’t blame me, blame the Rogues. They love fresh meat," Keir shot back.
The woman laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners as she quickly jumped over the railing of the balcony. Rin gasped as swirls of air caught her, cushioning her fall.
An Airborn.
"Director Ilsa," said Keir from her side.
Rin’s mouth popped open. She hurried to incline her head in respect. "Director Ilsa. I’m—"
"I know who you are," Director Ilsa said, not unkindly.
Rin looked up, finding the middle-aged woman standing before her.
She wore a more conservative uniform than Rin had been given—she gritted her jaw, fingers fidgeting at her side as she tried not to cover her bare midriff.
For some reason, the female trainees were given skintight black pants and an equally tight black top that revealed their stomachs.
The fabric stopped right above Rin’s navel, and the corset-style harness held many spaces to store weapons—all currently empty.
She dreamed of filling it with a few Echoguns.
"We do things a little differently here at Alpha Team, compared to the others," Director Ilsa started, dark green eyes seeming to size Rin up. "You train like you already are a Hunter, because if you’re on my team, you have the skillset to be one. We don’t have traditional mandatory training classes, but a certain number of training hours must be completed before each week is over.
Twenty-four hours a week for first years.
Your time sheets have to be completed by Sunday night. "
Rin tried to hide her shock. Twenty-four hours a week, not including her assignments. No wonder Lucien was worried.
She nodded, hands clasped at her front; the movement made her harness cut into her waist, and she hid her grimace. That would take some getting used to.
The Director inclined her head. "Follow me. I’ll show you the assignment board."
The woman stopped before a large blue hologram, flickering as it projected onto the wall. At the top, it read Alpha Team, with the insignia of the Hunter’s Guild rotating proudly above it. Director Ilsa waved her hand toward it, her other hand notched at her back as she stared down at Rin.
Rin had never felt particularly insecure in her height, but up against such a proud, strong woman, she felt inferior.
"Here, you’ll find your assignments, as well as what we call the leaderboard.
It’s based on your grades. You’ll receive your assignments here, including the due date and required weapons.
You’ll use what is assigned to you and can find it on the weapons wall.
Ensure they are returned once the mission is complete.
Once your assignment is finished, you’ll find your score posted here.
" Director Ilsa pointed at a section on the hologram, where Keir’s face flickered, along with his Stella and ranking—Waterborn, level seven, just as he had said.
Under that, a check mark was beside the word assignment, along with the score of eighty-nine.
The Director continued:
"Higher scores mean you move up on our personal rankings for Alpha Team. They don’t mean anything, so long as you’re not failing overall, just bragging rights.
" She swiped a red braid out of her face.
"We don’t pander to children here, Vesperin," said Director Ilsa.
"Based on your scores, I’m sure your work will be sufficient, but"—she pinned Rin with a heavy look—"if your level one Stella ranking starts to be a problem, you’re out. Aetherborn, or not. We don’t have weaklings on our team. "
"Yes, ma’am," Rin said with deference. A small part of her was envious of the woman’s well-spoken, take-no-shit attitude. Even if it stung to be on the receiving end.
"That’s all." Director Ilsa started to walk away, but stopped in her tracks. "I saw on your entry exams that you used an Echogun. Have you tried an Echosword?"
The question made Rin flounder for a moment. "I prefer handguns. It’s easier with my size. And I’m a… decent shot." Her lips quirked into a secretive smile—decent barely scratched the surface.
"Humble," Director Ilsa huffed with amusement. "I saw your scores. You should try a longsword—one with a lighter make. Your stature would be a good fit for agile close-combat. The weapons store is on the ground level if you want one of your own for practice. Think on it."
And with that, Director Ilsa left.
"What the fuck." Keir stared after the Director. "That was the closest to a compliment I’ve ever heard the Director give. Your scores must have been so good. But damn, your Stella ranking is shit. No offense," he hurried to tack on at Rin’s droll look.
She ignored him, instead staring at the assignment board.
Under Director Ilsa, there was Keir, of course, but also four others were on the board—and only one other girl. At the very bottom was Rin’s name. She ignored the abysmal display of her Stella rank, instead focusing on the small flickering words that read, Uncompleted Assignments.
She stared and stared, fear making her stall.
"Here," Keir said from behind her. He raised his hand to the hologram, fingertips hovering over the words. He tapped at it, and the screen changed, declaring her first assignment.
Vesperin Blackfall. Infiltrate Nova Zone 21 in a first test of skill.
From the hours of 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM.
Kills: at minimum two lowlevel Rogues.
Weapons: weapon of choice.
Rin smiled. "Not bad."
Keir shook his head. "They always give easier tests for your first one. They want to be able to gauge your skill set. Trust me, they’ll only get harder after this."
She wouldn’t be scared away.
"Good," said Rin. She started to turn and leave, mind already spinning with everything she had learned.