"Huh? Why are you here alone?"

"?!?!?!"

Mika flinched when she heard a surprised voice in front of her.

The ashen-haired girl slowly raised her head and fearfully looked at the person who spotted her.

"Huh...?"

It was a boy that must have been of a similar age to her.

His short, buzz-cut hair was black, he had a surprisingly good complexion for a teenager, big blue eyes, and long eyelashes that would make many girls jealous.

But!

He was wearing a similar kind of armor that both the medic and the messenger were wearing, so he must have been one of the Sloths' people.

That meant that Mika could get in trou...

"Geez, did medic 7 forgot about a recruit again?!"

But instead of getting angry or suspicious, the buzz-cut boy only shook his head and sighed.

Then he approached Mika and grabbed her hand.

"!!!"

The ashen-haired girl tensed up - she got herself caught so easily!

...or so she thought for a moment.

"You're a new recruit, right? The fishermen's village sure is working hard."

The buzz-cut boy was talking casually while pulling Mika with him.

"...?!"

She tried to oppose him with all the enormous strength she now possessed, but she only ended up making a trail on the floor with her feet as the boy didn't even notice her attempts to break free.

"You see, our territory is facing a real problem nowadays."

The boy explained, picking a hallway leading to the right from the three ways that the original hallway was splitting into.

"The higher-ups have revealed that the titan-class monsters are more active than they were for the last fifty years, so it's really important for us to keep the defense lines, right?"

"Titan-class?!"

The boy glanced back at Mika, who gasped, repeating the terrifying name.

Titan-class.

The terribly powerful beasts, usually enormous in size, wielding overwhelming power.

Hearing someone mentioning them so casually was enough to make Mika forget to struggle.

"Yeah! So we have our hands full! But recently - around two months ago or so - all the monsters living in the ocean of mist started attacking all the convoys that were transporting supplies from the southern territory! We can't spare any soldier of ours to protect them, because if even one titan-class will slip through our defense lines it will be catastrophic for the southern territories."

The boy walked through the third door on the right and continued walking down yet another hallway while Mika was completely engrossed in his explanation.

"That's why we need more people on our side. With how things are we won't last without a functional supply chain. even though the monsters attacking the convoys are barely on par with the dragon-class monster, those southerners are getting wiped out instantly. It really must suck to have a level cap of 99 right?"

The boy sighed and asked Mika, as if he was talking about something relatable, but in fact, he couldn't be talking about more foreign things to the ashen-haired girl.

This was the same thing that the medic had told her before.

Southerners could only ever achieve level 99.

That was the truth.

Well, Mika always thought that was the deal for all intelligent races though...

But clearly, the people living in the Sloth territory were built differently.

"Oh! That's right! What level are you?"

The buzzcut boy interrupted Mika's inner turmoil and asked curiously.

"Ah... l-level 39- um, level 40."

She confessed truthfully, taken by surprise.

For her age, it was a great achievement - at least for the standards that she was raised in.

"Oh! I see..."

The boy tensed up and awkwardly looked to the side.

"Don't worry! You've only just arrived, right? You will surely grow much, much stronger in no time! Look at me for example! I was born in Lust territory and was only level 12 when I arrived here seven years ago - now I'm level 111."

...he stopped and put his hand on Mika's shoulder reassuringly.

"..."

What was she supposed to say to that?!

"Oh! Right! Geez, sorry for stalling. Here we are."

The boy flinched and step back, slightly blushing, and turned towards the door that Mika completely missed, and knocked on it.

"Come in."

The voice from inside called without even a second of delay.

"Let's go."

The boy nodded at Mika and opened the door.

"Sir! Bruiser 97-F brings a new recruit! She requires a standard set of equipment!"

The boy declared while saluting and straightening his back so much that he almost bent backward.

"...why is a bruiser bringing a recruit here? What about the senior staff that should be responsible for that?"

A tall, strict-looking man in a differently colored armor asked from behind a counter, furrowing his brows.

"Sir! I found this recruit lost in section A-7 of the medical facility!"

The boy said in a tone that suggested that the rest should be obvious.

"...medic 7..."

And the long, tired sigh of the man behind a counter made it clear that indeed, it was obvious.

"...recruit, did medic 7 at least told you what specialization should you go into?"

The man gritted his teeth as if chewing on a vicious comment about the medic 7 that apparently had a running history of messing up.

"She... she told me that since I'm a berserk, I'd be best suited for the close combat..."

At that point, Mika had absolutely no idea what to do so she just went with the flow.

And lied.

After all, the bespectacled woman wanted her to join the recon squad - at least up until she learned about Mika's identity.

"...your old vocation doesn't matter anymore..."

The man eyed out Mika for a moment and then turned around.

"...wait here."

He said and disappeared behind the door in the back.

"Oh! Close combat? So our specializations are going to be similar! Maybe you'll join my team after your training is complete?"

After breathing out and returning to a more natural position, the buzzcut boy smiled towards Mika.

"I... I guess...?"

The ashen-haired girl nodded awkwardly and rubbed her left arm.

"Um..."

Mika fidgeted and glanced at the boy.

"Call me bruiser 97-F."

The buzzcut boy waved his hand dismissively.

"...bruiser 97-F... what did that person mean when he said that my previous vocation doesn't matter? How can the job that system has assigned to me don't matter anymore?"

Mika asked confused.

"Whoa, did medic 7 not explain anything to you?!"

Bruiser 97-F raised his brows and whistled.