Lozen and Ignia walked into a medium-sized room with simple decorations on the walls. However, the room had a high ceiling to it, meant to give off an imposing sense of formality to the room. This room was the Assembly Hall, where The Board of Heroes convened to decide on important or serious matters.

In front of the two heroes there was a table with a distinctive U-shape with eleven seats spread evenly through the table. The central seat and most of the right-wing seats were already occupied. On the other hand, the seats on the left-wing were empty. Instead, three monitors displayed the remaining present members.

"Lozen, Ignia, good afternoon," The person in the central seat greeted them. His appearance was oddly weird for a hero, as he had his whole body bandaged up, except for his eyes and wore a dark blue raincoat over his bandages. This man was Mute, the leader and one of the seven members of that made up the Board.

Both Lozen and Ignia straightened up and saluted formally to the Board.

"Good afternoon to all members of the Board. Lozen, leader of team 786-09, reporting in."

"Ignia, leader of team 756-28, bids all the Board members a good afternoon."

"God, you two are stiff today!" Said a rather chirpy voice coming from the right wing. It belonged to a petite girl with a dark-grey mouse hoodie seated the furthest from Mute. “Both of you should act more excited! After all, this is one interesting case."

"You are that excited, Fuzzbuz?" Asked one of the monitors. It showed a classy man with dark red hair dressed in a tuxedo. Lozen recognized him as the First seat of the DSG, Theodore Flamberge.

"You should be too, old man!" FuzBuz said, grinning. "This is an unknown gadget case! I bet you haven't seen it before!"

"An unknown gadget!" Exclaimed the person on Mute’s right. She had purple hair, had a gracefully exasperated face and was dressed in black stealth clothing. She was Noire, The vice leader of the Board and HOC’s mission specialist.

"Oh, this I need to see." Theodore's eyes glinted with curiosity. However, his brow showed worry. Unregistered gadgets were always a pain for the DSG.

"Now, now, we still have a matter to discuss before we determine what to do with that examinee." Said one of the heroes in the monitors. The screen was a bit blurred, but Lozen recognized him as Steadfast, The counter-villain expert of HOC.

"Seconded," Noire said while reclining on her seat.

"Alright then, let’s move on." Mute took out a piece of paper from under the table. That must be part of the report of Wattz's exam. "I called this meeting party due to the protocol infringement of the heroes Yata and Batoon. They broke protocol E7-0 and E7-9 of the test protocols established years ago by the previous members of the board."

A riffling of papers echoed throughout the room as each of the members riffled through the information. Mute brought out a small tv-controller, and a medium-sized metal ball emitted a light from the ceiling. This was a display pod, which could show footage in the same capacity as a TV. They weren't widely used because of the expenses holographic technology could cost, but HOC had a lot of budget to spare.

The display pod showcased the footage gathered from Wattz's exam, specifically of those of Yata and Batoon fighting. The longer the footage played, the quieter and more focused Lozen became. She wasn't sure if she could do something for her subordinate, but she wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

"As you can see here, both of the examiners abandoned their duty and engaged in combat. The audio here demonstrates that the two of them fought due to personal reasons, highly clued as related to Lozen." Lozen flinched at what Noire reported. The injury Batoon gave her earlier this morning started to sting.

"In any normal circumstance, we would punish Yata gravely because he has infringed on the protocols before during the "Unlucky Seven" Incident." Lozen gritted her teeth at that, "However, this video footage shows us from multiple angles that Batoon was the first to attack."

As if to prove her point, Noire replayed the footage from different angles, showcasing Wattz saving Yata from Batoon's extended punch.

"So we are only going to sanction Batoon?" Asked Theodore. This raised Lozen's hopes a bit.

"Negative," Fuzzbuz responded, tapping her chin, "Although he didn’t attack first, Yata also broke protocol by abandoning the newbie Wattz and retaliating against Batoon."

At this, Steadfast spoke, "Seeing as those are some serious infractions, I suggest we suspend them from taking any missions. Batoon for nine months, due to him attacking first with intent to harm and putting and examinee in harm's way, and Yata for three months due to retaliating not out of self defense, but out of a personal grudge, risking the examinee’s life."

The Board nodded at Steadfast’s proposal, as if considering as a possible option. An option Lozen didn’t have the luxury of accepting. Three months would cripple her team as a whole, since Yata was a core member in her team when dealing with the few missions that came in.

This is when all the Board members present gave their attention to Ignia and Lozen.

"Do you two have any objections, suggestions, or evidence to reduce their punishment?"

This is where Lozen opened her mouth. "Yes, I want to make a counter-proposal."

"A counter-proposal?" Steadfast asked, a bit irritated. "We're being lenient to Yata. If it were me, I would ex-"

"Hold it Steadfast, let's hear her out." A tired voice interrupted Steadfast. Through the monitor, a tired but silent man leaned forward in interest. This was the analyst of HOC, Coffee-man. Lozen always found his name oddly ironic, since rumor had it that he didn’t sleep enough.

"Seconded!" Fuzzbuz said enthusiastically while raising a hand.

"As his superior, I believe it falls under my responsibility to punish him." Lozen said, trying to appeal to the court.

"Oh? How so?" Mute questioned.

"Well, before the exam, I gave him a direct order to not engage Batoon. The misunderstanding I had with Ignia's subordinate is my issue to resolve, not Yata's. However, he went against my orders, and now I have even more reasons to punish him: he broke examiner protocols." Lozen finished by looking straight at Mute, her fist trembling a bit.

She was nervous. The board was always out to get her, so she didn't know if they would consider her notion.

"Let me get this clear," Coffee-man said, "You want to be in charge of Yata's punishment, even after you’ve told us he disobeyed direct orders from you and all the damning evidence that he broke protocol."

"Yes. I want to be responsible for his punishment, if possible."

Coffee-man went into deep thought for a bit, before opening his mouth again.

"'Top hero,'" Coffee-man directed his eyes at Ignia, calling him by his title. Ignia returned a pensive stare. "Your subordinate is the main instigator of this incident. What do you have to say about Lozen’s counter-proposal?"

Lozen held her breath as Ignia scratched his head nonchalantly.

"I wholeheartedly agree with Lozen. Like her, I ordered Batoon twice not to engage Yata." This surprised the heroine. Ignia wasn't lying before when he told her this? "Going by her logic, Batoon's mistake is my responsibility to correct too. So, I say let me and Lozen deal with this issue."

Satisfied with Ignia's answer, Coffee-man turned to the board. "Well then, Let's start the vote. All in favor of Lozen's proposal?"

Five of the present members of the Board said "aye", with Theodore and Steadfast being against this. Still, since the majority of the Board voted in favor of Lozen’s proposal it was passed, causing lozen to release a little sigh of relief.

Still, she couldn't let her guard down yet. This meeting was far from over.

"Alright, alright! Let's get on with the good stuff!" Fuzzbuz exclaimed, clasping her hands in glee. Noire and Coffee-man chuckled lightly at Fuzzbuz's enthusiasm.

However, a new voice cleared his throat, drawing all the attention in the room to him. A hero clad in white brought back the serious mood of the room. This was Professor White, The hero relations specialist of HOC.

"Lozen," He directed a glare at her. This must be because he still hung up on the civilian who refused him two weeks ago. "As the only judge to see the entirety of the exam, you will remain here to fill in certain pieces of missing information."

He then directed his glare at Ignia. "Ignia, your combat expertise is also required. Both of you will be seated with us on the table to contribute to this meeting."

He then motioned for them to sit with them. Ignia went to the right wing of the table, sitting right next to Fuzzbuz, while Lozen sat on the left wing beside Theodore.

"Well then, onward with the meeting," Mute said. He pressed his controller a few times causing the display to showcase a picture of Wattz. The green-clad newbie's devilish smile still surprised Lozen. She couldn’t help but want to know his true intentions, however, the string visor he wore denied her any possible answer she could get from reading his eyes.

"This is the subject in question. Examinee No. 827. Codename: Wattz."

Mute let the display scroll for a few minutes, showcasing Wattz frightening presence by the end of the exam.

"Lozen, if you could share his information with us, please?" Noire inquired. Lozen stood to speak.

"Yes. Wattz is a unique case for a newbie. He's an undetermined enhanced archetype hero and his name remains incognito due to personal motivations. His powers are a mystery, but the footage taken from his exam demonstrates that he doesn't use them, preferring to fight with gadgetry and wits."

The display pod changed slides to a video of Wattz fighting Batoon and Yata. The maddening tempo of the fight, his aggravating words to Yata and Batoon, and his vast weaponry that rendered all effort useless frightened the heroine. She tried not to show emotion, but Lozen's body was trembling as she remembered the pillar of ice that activated her powers.

"He's good." Professor White commented as he watched the footage. "He doesn't waste movements, even if he looks a bit out of practice."

"I agree. That man has a lot of potential." Ignia said, leaning forward. However, his eyes went straight to Mute. "Yet, that's not the issue, right Mute?"

Mute sighed. "You're as perceptive as ever, Ignia."

He paused the video, zooming into his hands the moment before he fought Yata and Batoon. Wattz was grasping two small pyramids with electronic design. One of them had the letters RTC, barely visible through his grip.

"Is that what you meant before, Fuzzbuz?" Theodore inquired. The first seat of the DSG seemed both interested and exasperated.

"Exactly so!" Fuzzbuz exclaimed. "Those two pyramids are gadgets none of us here have ever seen before. Look at this!

Fuzzbuz motioned to Mute to play the video. Wattz threw each one at different times. One was targeted at Yata, and when it landed on the floor, a static effect sprawled around the gadget.

However, the other pyramid, the one with the letters RTC, was what caught Lozen's attention. She quickly grasped the limiter in her wrist as the footage played the agonizing effects of the gadget. This was the one used to make the pillar of ice.

"That's one hell of a gadget if I’ve ever seen one." Theodore could barely hold his enthusiasm, as his eyes glinted at the gadgets. "We cannot let him go if he wields this type of weapon."

"Seconded," Steadfast said. "However, there were no invitations for him to join a team."

Noire looked at Steadfast. "No invitations? That doesn't matter! He has enough skills to go solo!"

This comment caused the board to erupt into an argument. Noire and Theodore were arguing about Wattz's potential, but Steadfast and Fuzzbuz were more worried about his full skillset.

"Silence!" Mute and Coffee-man spoke loudly to the four arguing heroes, who sat down with an apologetic expression.

"We need to be civilized!" Mute said as he looked at the Board. "We still have to attend a few other meetings after this one, including the ones in sector 3 and 10!"

The arguing members of the Board shut their mouths.

"Now, I want to hear White's evaluation on this newbie before we decide on anything. Lozen, Ignia, feel free to give your opinions too."

The white-clad hero stood at those words. "From the footage, I could see Wattz has a certain mastery of Tae-kwon-do, Muay Thai, and Polearm fighting. He also has a deceptively durable suit, and he seems familiar enough with his gadgets to use them to their fullest potential. And that's without mentioning the potential of his gadgets. As you all saw, we should expect at least two types of those pyramid gadgets. One with static effects, and another that somehow changes the temperature to disrupt powers. However, this is not his most dangerous weapon."

Ignia's eyes gleamed with interest, while Lozen tightened her grip on her limiter. The words coming from Professor White were starting to piss Lozen off.

"You all heard what the man said before he engaged in combat with the examiners. You saw how he drew out the anger out of his opponent. Wattz's most dangerous weapon are his words. The way he stoked his examiners' rage and manipulated them into fighting separately demonstrates my point. He is a powerful asset for HOC, an asset I want on my team. Exodus." He paused for a bit, after shamelessly making his statement.

Ignia laughed at this. "You beat me to the punch, White! That man is way too valuable to be left alone. Although I don't agree with his negligence in his power usage, his potential is incredibly high. I want him on Shining Mortars."

Lozen didn't comment at all but, she lowered her face in disgust. How shameless! They only saw him for his power and that was all they wanted to see! They didn't even care for his small actions!

She had been paying attention to footage ever since it was shown. Wattz was a bit nobler than what she had initially expected. Before he fought against Batoon and Yata, he made sure the hostages were at a safe distance. During the fight, he could easily cause permanent damage to Batoon and Yata, but he ended up being lenient to them. Lastly, Wattz didn't want to fight at all, He was forced into taking action.

At the very least, hi self-control proved to Lozen that he wasn’t a bloodthirsty bastard. It was a shame that she was the only one who noticed his potential for heroism.

"Calm down, you two!" Mute said, sighing. He seems to have forgotten Lozen was even there. "Whom he chooses is for him to decide. However, you can offer your invitations directly to him."

This development should've surprised Lozen, however the disgust and anger she felt blocked out her bafflement.

"Well, What are you waiting for?" Ignia said impatiently.

"Call him in!" Professor White demanded.

Mute pressed a button on his controller and put it near his mouth as if it were a microphone.

"Examinee no. 827, Wattz, please come to the Assembly Hall to receive your results."

The whole room's attention went straight to the entrance. They waited impatiently, eyeing the entrance until the doors started opening slowly. All eyes were on the green figure as he made his entrance. His nonchalant walk mixed well with his biker costume, giving him the look of a rebel. His smirk sent Lozen multiple warnings to not mess with this man.

Wattz had arrived.