“You are Andel Seras, Son of Mr. Lucas?” As soon as Andel entered the dilapidated dojo, a bald man with a skull tattoo on his neck came out to greet him. The dojo was located at a very inconspicuous corner of the city. From the outside, It was a paid institution where those who don’t belong to a big family or an organization could come and train themselves.

“That’s right, I am. You should be Mr. Frendez. Grandpa said you will be my teacher from now on.” Andel said unhurriedly before producing the letter of recommendation given to him by his grandfather yesterday.

“Hmm! You know what an assassin meant, boy?” The man, Frendez, asked seriously with his eyes narrowed. Suddenly Andel felt the temperature dropping several degrees around him.

Its Ki! Magic!? Or pure killing intent? He felt his bones getting chilled by the look of the man.

You have obtained Presence Immunity Lv 1

It’s just his presence! He is causing an atmospheric change around me with just his will? Andel was surprised at the strength displayed by the man. He knew it was intentional. He also knew it might not even be even 1% of the bald man’s full strength. Still, he was in a state of shock and couldn’t come out until a few seconds passed.

“I know.” Andel collected his thoughts and gathered his wits. “I know what an assassin is and what they represent. I also know what to expect since I have decided to join. I am prepared for everything.” Andel announced solemnly.

Unknown to the Frendez, Andel was announcing his conviction to himself more than to him. By doing so, he was giving himself the courage he needed to withstand what’s there to come in the future. He was reminding himself to be alert and not to slack off.

“Good!” Frendez’s eyes shined like stars in a night sky. Although he was more than a bit surprised since such a conviction was coming from a small child, he felt even more pleased. “As expected of Mr. Lucas’s son, you have it in you, alright.” He patted Andel’s shoulders, nearly tumbling him to the ground.

“Alright, kid. Follow me.” Andel followed Frendez to the back of the dojo, to a normal looking resting room. After entering, he touched the wall opposite to the door randomly, eliciting a confused stare from Andel. Suddenly, with a ‘whoosh’ sound, a magic circle lit up.

The wall then transformed into a metal door which opened automatically. A set of stairs that went downwards came into Andel’s sight. “The real dojo is right below us.” Frendez pointed his index finger downwards to which Andel followed only to see a sturdy floor. Then suddenly, Frendez did a classic Seras Family’s salute and said in a much formal and deeper tone than before.

“I am Frendez Seras, 5th corp’s commanding officer. And this place is our family’s fifth outpost. Do not reveal it to anyone or else you will be punished under family’s law.”

“I got it, Capt. Frendez.” Andel mimicked the salute and said with equal seriousness.

“Good. Hahahaha!!” Frendez started to laugh loudly and patted Andel on his back. “As expected from a member of our family. You have the conviction, kid. Alright, I will make sure you get trained to the best of your abilities.”

“Yes, capt.” Andel had to take in a deep breath to recover from the back-pat of Frendez. That shit hurt him like getting slammed by a ton of bricks.

Your Pain Immunity gained +5 EXP

Even his system agreed with him. What he said to his parents wasn’t exactly wrong either. He could literally level up any of his immunities by getting hit enough. But since it was a long and arduous path, not to mention masochistic, he refrained from doing it.

“Good. Now, follow me.” Andel nodded and walked behind Frendez as they alighted the winding stairs. As they were walking, Frendez started to talk. “There are a total of nine people here, in this base. Four are currently away in a mission. Excluding me, there are other four people down there. They are probably undergoing their own training.”

“Okay.” Andel nodded, noting this tidbit of information into his mental note.

“Your primary teacher will be Selina. She excels in close combat. Generally, all kinds of physical combats are her forte.” Frendez proceeded to give a brief rundown on the woman called Selina. Andel committed all the details about her into his memory.

“Remember, she doesn’t like slackers and whiners,” Frendez warned. His voice carried a hint of fear, which Andel noted and wondered what could cause this strong captain to have such an expression for his own subordinate.

“Don’t you worry, captain. I don’t like to slack off. I will definitely work hard.” Andel vowed solemnly.

While talking, they arrived at the foot of the stairs. Andel was amazed at the massive underground facility that looked nothing less than a sci-fi hideout in spy movies. Frendez smirked at Andel’s amazement and said, “This place has every kind of deadly traps you could find in the books. It's downright impossible to infiltrate this underground space.”

“Wow!” Andel couldn’t keep his amazement at bay. “Did it have magical traps too?” He just had to know it.

“Magical traps! Kid, this place didn’t just have magical traps. The amount we have here, could even kill an Apostle if he wasn’t careful.”

“That’s cool! It must have cost a lot, right?” Andel knew how costly it was to make magic traps. If even an Apostle could be killed, then it must have cost an astronomical amount of money to put it in place.

“Yeah. From what I know, it took a few years of our family’s annual budget to make this base.”

“That’s expensive!” Andel’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. The Sera’s family’s yearly budget was in billions. To have spent that much in just one base, not to mention they have other four such bases. Andel wondered just how much money his family had for a few seconds and stopped thinking about it.

“Alright, we are here,” Frendez said as they arrived near a white door. It slid open automatically, revealing a large hall behind.

“This is our common hall. Every morning at 7 AM, you must be present here for joint morning exercise. It's mandatory.” Satisfied at Andel’s hesitation-less nod, he proceeded with other rooms. Andel got to know the dining room, arms room, target practice room, the common gym, and many more rooms.

“Alright kid, since you are going to be Selina’s disciple, your living arrangement will be her’s to decide. Unfortunately, she is out on a mission today. In her place, I will be the one to assign you one.” Frendez led Andel to a small room, smaller than his own bathroom back at his home.

The room had a bunker bed, a table, and a computer on top of it. A TV strapped to the wall and a fridge was also there. A central AC was running on the roof. Andel nodded in appreciation at the bald man. Though the room was small, it was enough for someone to live luxuriously.

“You will stay in this room until she comes back. Also, this is a guest room in case someone from the family comes to visit us or bring us some mission. Just pray to God that no one comes before Selina returns, or else you are sleeping in the dining hall.”

After Frendez left with a loud laugh that almost sounded like he was finding his inconvenience amusing, Andel let loose a sigh and flopped himself on the bed. He had a long day.

Looking at the white ceilings, a smile broke into his face. He was feeling mixed emotions at the moment. He was sad to leave his doting mother and caring father. On the other hand, he felt nostalgic about the feeling of living alone once more.

‘I have forgotten this feeling. This weird amalgamation of freedom and loneliness! It will definitely take some time for me to adjust.’