Chapter 18

Henry was rather surprised to find there were actually four other initiates in the room as he walked in. He’d been uncertain how many would actually be there, as well as the frequency for the initiations. The app obviously had been developed to help find candidates, but he wasn’t sure how quickly it had been doing its task. After all, the app had been live for over a week now, so just how many recruits had been pulled in during that time? Was this a once-a-week initiation, once a day? There were a lot of questions he didn’t have answers to.

That being said, the other four standing in the room couldn’t be more different than if they’d tried. The first individual that caught his eye was, for obvious reasons, the one currently in cosplay of some sorts. He wasn’t certain what anime the individual was cosplaying from, as it was a character he didn’t recognize…but the bright color scheme, the frilly clothes, and the cat ears, screamed cosplay. Add onto that, the fact that their D.E.D. they were showcasing was a little flaming cat, and they just screamed ‘attention getter’.

The next one, was a guy who looked to be in his late twenties, wearing camo pants, a camo jacket, and a ‘veteran’ hat. He had scruffy facial hair, and shot an immediate glare at Henry as he walked into the room. Given Colorado Springs was a massive hub for the military, considering the multiple bases in the area, he knew this individual was one of those… disgruntled vets type. His D.E.D., was a winged serpent, exactly like the one Henry had defeated last night.

Individuals three and four seemed the most…normal, if that was the word Henry would use. One was around Henry’s age, and he was certain he’d seen him around the college campus. Okay, to be fair, he actually did seem normal, other than the D.E.D. that was lingering beside him, a turtle looking creature. The fourth though, was normal, but still stood out. Mainly because given the letterman jacket they were wearing and the graduation date on it, they were still in high school. And, at that, only a Sophomore. Henry supposed age didn’t really affect your ability to resonate with the frequency of the other dimension. And in theory, the younger you joined up, the better. But still, he couldn’t help but feel for the kid.

“Now that you are all here,” the sound came from the other side of the room, where a door had opened, and another unknown individual had appeared. This individual was wearing the D.E.D. Exorcists uniform, all black, sleek looking military style uniform showcased in the game, which made it obvious they were the instructor. “We can begin your initiation in full.”

“Should the kid really be here?” The vet said, pointing towards the high schooler. His serpent hissed at the statement, and the kid’s D.E.D., which looked like a little bunny with a demonic horn on its head, glared back at the snake.

“You’re all here because we deemed it appropriate that you be here.” The Exorcist said with a sigh. “The sooner we finish here, you can be gone, and I won’t have to deal with you.” They motioned towards the door, which opened as they continued. “For initiation, you will first undergo a mock battle, in which you will be instructed on how to utilize your D.E.D. in combat. My four associates here, will summon a D.E.D. capable of easily withstanding these attacks, to ensure your companions are not damaged. The most important thing to remember, with regards to D.E.D. battles, is that if your bonded D.E.D. hits 0 hp, they will die. While the app has a revive mechanic for normal players, for those of us, serving within the organization, this is very much a thing of life or death.”

“All the more reason why the kid shouldn’t-“ Before the vet could even finish his statement, a flash of energy erupted around him. His body shook violently, as if a thousand volts of electricity had run through him. After a moment, he stopped twitching, though his face was both a mask of rage, pain, confusion, and fear. The instructor simply nodded to one of the other four aids they’d called in, without actually acknowledging what had just happened, and continued.

“After these mock battles, each of you will be going out with one of us, in search of a rift. Based upon your assessed resonation tier potential, we will take you to varying parts of the city that will likely see rift activity. Once a rift has opened, we will guide you in dealing with the D.E.D. that comes through it. Depending on the outcome, you will either gain experience for your current D.E.D., or you may end up with a new one. “Any questions?”

Everyone in the room stayed quiet, though it was obvious everyone had a few questions on their mind. The biggest one being…what exactly had happened to the Vet? He had obviously been attacked by something, and it had done enough to him that he was completely focused, and cooperative. A sudden change like that usually meant whatever had attacked him, had hurt and scared him enough to force compliance. Henry, was not keen to experience such a feeling, and neither were the other initiates.

“Good.” The instructor motioned towards the other Exoricsts that had entered the room. “Then each of you will be guided to a specific training room, in which you will conduct your mock battle.”

The instructor’s eyes turned towards Henry. “Henry, you will remain here, and I will see to your mock battle myself.” That statement caused all of the other initiates to look immediately towards Henry. This was one of those moments where he knew he was standing out, without having done anything. This also meant, he was going against what Loki had advised. In that instant, the instructor had made it obvious, to some degree, that Henry was different than the others. At least, that was how Henry perceived it.

“Alright.” He sighed and leaned against one of the desks in the room, as the other initiates were led out through the door the instructor had come through, each one being paired with one of the four exorcists. Henry couldn’t help but notice, none of the official exorcists, at least for the moment, actually had their D.E.D. out. Which, he found more than a little perturbing. Where they out and hiding? Or where they keeping their D.E.D. in their essence form, because they were going to be summoning a different D.E.D. for the mock battle? And if that was the case, were they trying to limit the exposure, and the knowledge of what D.E.D. they had, to some degree? If that was the case, Henry couldn’t help but feel even more suspicious of the whole organization, as Loki’s words once again echoed in his mind.

“Now then Henry,” the instructor said once they were alone in the room. He walked towards Henry, holding a polite hand outstretched. “Allow me to officially introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Stryker, though you can just call me Jon.”

“Henry,” Henry said as he shook Jon’s hand.

“I’ve already been briefed about your resonation tier potential, and your situation. I’m actually in charge of Strike Team Alpha, which you’ll be a part of after initiation. The Branch Director wanted me to handle your initiation personally, in order to get you more comfortable with everything, and to ensure you started off with a good impression of me.” He smiled as he spoke, and stepped into the middle of the room. “Now then, for your mock battle.” His eyes flashed, and energy crackled around his body. “Go ahead and attack me whenever you’re ready.”