Gaston arrived at Hamamatsu's train station. Waiting for him was the person named Boris, a six-foot-tall eastern European wearing a black suit and sunglasses. He had the build of a body-builder. His arms and legs were thick like logs and there was a scar around his jawline that extended down the side of his neck. He had accessed Boris’s profile so he recognized him.

Boris caught sight of Gaston. He nodded at Gaston as Gaston came close.

“Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.”

Gaston said in a thick accent. His eyes were on Gaston. He maintained this solemn expression. Gaston couldn’t help but ask although it was obvious since the two were like sore thumbs in this station.

“Easy to find each other here, eh?”

“Hmm, it is. We had been briefed about the Adjutant coming our way.”

“Anyone other than the rookie who will be coming to this orientation?”

“There are a few employees who need the lesson but we shall leave the orientation of Ms. Yumina to you, Adjutant.”

Boris climbed the stairs first, making his way up while Gaston followed a step behind. The two attracted attention as they walked. Gaston hadn’t felt this wary look when he was at Neo-Tokyo. The place was far more familiar with foreigners walking around. The world had been through a lot, but there was still that centuries-worth of wariness that the people of Japan still had.

The two got out of the train station. Boris led Gaston to the service car, and Gaston rode shotgun. Boris drove on the left lane instead of the right lane. Boris pulled away from the parking spot, drove, and placed a hand on his shifting gear. Gaston crossed his arm, leaned his back on the seat, and eyed the old structures that had survived the years that they passed by.

“Are you getting used to Japan?”

“We are. Our branch in Hamamatsu had been founded a year before our contract here, Adjutant. There are cultural differences, as expected, but it is nothing that cannot be handled by refining our manners.”

Boris said with this rather fearful tone of voice. For a big guy like him to have that kind of tone made me realize that their disciplinary officer was Hilda Valeria. If any of them would dare to mess about, then they would have to face the Red Valkyrie for disciplinary actions. Boris is an older gentleman so Gaston thought that he didn’t need to be disciplined as much. If anything, Boris was probably worried about the cocky newcomers that are bathing in the glory of the Babaika’s Black Lions.

“Newcomers must be tiresome.”

“They are. They do not know that there is hardship in this profession. They do not tend to think truly that this profession includes death, and there is only the glory. Once they are ready for a raid, they would know the meaning of hardship. We cannot always be with them, they must learn how to harden themselves in the future. We must throw our cubs off the cliff, and see if they can survive. Those who do not survive are simply not fit to be Lions.”

“Everyone has to go through the pain.”

Boris nodded sincerely. The car service trip didn’t last long with Boris always on the speed limit. Once they arrived at the branch office of the Babaika Lions, Boris went straight to the garage. Gaston didn’t show much surprise as the garage then lowered down into this huge hangar that had their cruisers and VTOLS being maintained up to operational standards. He knew the Babaika Company was earning well with their sponsors, subsidies, and government funds being funneled in their bank account. But the sheer size of their hangar made Gaston realize that they had truly gained much during their successful years.

Full combat armor, military-grade hardware, and even APCs were on standby in the hangar. There was cargo being carried by power frame operators and forklift drivers. Gaston even wondered how many months did it take for them to occupy an underground hangar and outfit them with base capabilities.

One of the cruisers was being loaded with Terminator Power Framed Armor Units. Gaston stayed to watch, making Boris wait as the cruiser loaded the terminator squad, cleared for takeoff, and disappeared into the tunnel. Gaston was sure that he heard a sonic boom as the cruiser departed. It must have been a straight path.

“Where’s the exit point of that tunnel?”

“At the coast, Sir.”

“No noise complaints?”

“Nothing so far. We are sixty meters away from the surface, Sir. I doubt the residents would hear it.”

Gaston nodded his head and wrote something on his wrist pad. He followed Boris out of the hangar into the elevator leading up. Once they arrived on the designated floor, they walked out of the elevator and entered the office of the Babaika Lions. Upon entering, Gaston heard a mix of English and Foreign accents coming out of the mouths of the people inside. The office was partitioned by glass walls. On the corner of the ceiling were deployable turrets and everyone was carrying their weapons. Breakers, no matter what rank, carried their weapon. Personal weapons had biometric locks so it was impossible for anyone to take them. It was the UEDF’s way to make sure that a Breaker could survive. Of course, losing your weapon means that you have to procure one yourself and take out a loan. UEDF and Consortium loans were nightmarish. Gaston wouldn’t be paying half of his salary if he didn’t have to pay back his debts all the time. It was unavoidable in this industry, and there are otherside areas that have become permanent habitats for these biomass entities. It still wasn’t easy trying to take them down alone. The more you fight the more you need Ichorium to keep your weapons fueled and functional. You also need the liquid ichor to recharge your bioenergy levels. And if you had been injured in the process of fighting monsters. That would just add to the many problems that you have to deal with. It wasn’t an easygoing world, and there were even Breakers who had to take jobs from government offices instead of fighting all the time.

***

Yumina Houki was already seated in the classroom-like room. She sat in the front middle seat. They had already set up the projector, and Ms. Yumina was well-behaved so Gaston didn’t have to quiet them and could proceed with the orientation. Gaston gave Boris a nod, and he left Ms. Yumina to Gaston’s care.

“We have met before, I am an Adjutant of the UEDF and the person who shall be handling this orientation. Ms. Yumina has experience in fighting biomass entities, I shall acknowledge this. But it is not enough when it comes to this industry. You are now a licensed Breaker, and although you are signed with the Babaika Lions and the Consortium. You are to abide by the International Breaker Law or the IBL. Since you’ve become a licensed Breaker, I shall assume that you have passed the examination that allowed you to be graded.”

To become a Breaker you would need to know the laws given to you by the UEDF and the guidelines of the AETF. Breakers can operate in any country that has joined the UEDF’s Concord. To avoid international issues, and give the Breakers the right to carry their weapons. They had to know at least the important clauses.

“I have, Gaston-san.”

“Good. Now, how about we start with a bit of history? I’ll skip on the details, you can access the database. It should have a translation, I’ll just give you what you need to know.”

Gaston skipped the introduction and went to the meat of the orientation.

“Twenty years ago, there were spatial anomalies in the areas around the pacific ring of fire. This anomaly led to the movements of the earth’s mantle which had caused an international disaster. Most of the areas near the seas experienced tsunamis and high tides. It was also at this moment that CERN had discovered sparticles which led to the discovery of what we call Ichor that is then developed into Ichorium. It could be said that it was twenty years ago, in the year 2030 that humanity had started to accelerate. But as technologies improved, and though it may look like mankind was heading to become a space-faring civilization. Mankind hadn’t noticed the changes as they continuously improved their technologies while being ignorant of what it meant to use the new theories that mankind had developed. It is said that it was the constant use of the jump drives that caused the first opening of the split-realms in the African borders.”

It was a disaster. Caught unprepared, the African nations experienced what seemed to be a vision of hell. Type-1 and Type-2 monsters flooded out of the split realms, causing thousands of casualties until the United Nations were able to intervene alongside an expeditionary force from counties and a dispatch of Expeditionary Soldiers.

“Through the efforts of these brave soldiers, they were able to repel the first split-realm opening. The appearances of these entities had caused them to be identified as alien species. Their appearance also caused a worldwide phenomenon where alien enthusiasts and paranoid groups started to clamor about whether we should be active in suppressing these creatures or make contact with them. But the first contact had already been led with blood and death and thus began the years where humanity placed their united hatred on the biomass entities. This led to the founding of the United Earth Defense Force (UEDF), and the Anti-Entity Task Force (AETF) which led the way to suppress otherside entities. Within the years, there were changes, and as ichorium-based technology spread, more split-realms were opened. The first record of superhumans was recorded after coming into contact with pure ichor, experiencing a forced biological evolution, changing their bodies into that of an Evolved Human.”

Yumina raised her hand. “Excuse me, but the methods that were used to turn someone into an Evolved Human. Did it change?”

“Yes, I was about to get to that part,” Gaston nodded. “Although the ‘Elixir’ that transformed a human into an Evolved Human had been refined. It wasn’t back then. Those who were transformed by the Ichor were called Exemplars. It was a Russian roulette and either you would turn into a superhuman or into a Mutant. Mutates are those who have lost themselves, and because they have been induced with pure and impure ichor. They would unknowingly drive those who have met contact with them into Mutates as well. It led to an event where the Mutates caused an outbreak.”

Gaston stopped himself for a while. He inhaled, then exhaled, moving to the next slide.

“The outbreak started in the independent principality situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains, Andorra. Because of the remote location of Andorra, France, and Spain were caught off guard, leading to a two-year outbreak that resulted in the death of two hundred fifty-thousand civilians from Andorra, France, and Spain. The mutation factor caused those who have been affected to go mad and attack anyone. Those who have successfully transformed into Exemplars were able to fend off the hundreds of thousands who have become mutates. There were no designated names for the Type-monsters and the mutated so the UEDF and AETF designated the name ‘Biomass Entities’ for these monsters. We just call them monsters, beluas, and in your region, kaijus, these days.”

Gaston pressed the next slide.

“The Exemplars were the first evolved humans, after that, we have the Evolved Humans who are now called Breakers. Exemplars are the natural Evolved Humans while Breakers have been induced with the elixir to safely transform their bodies into that of an Evolved Human.”

“Are there any differences?”

“There might be. But there are only a few Exemplars who are alive and most of the tests done to them are still confidential. Since they were the first Evolved Humans, they had been tested, experimented, and treated as test subjects. How do you think the formula for the Elixir came to be? Of course, to have the formula that would turn anyone into a superhuman would have made nations want it. Who doesn’t want an army of supersoldiers?” Gaston sneered. “Since they can’t avoid humans from coming in contact with the ichor because of the split-realms opening. They had to create an antigen that would act as a suppressant, a vaccine that would keep humans from turning into an Evolved Human out of their choosing. Ichor is valuable, and because in the first years there weren’t any refined methods to turn it into a solidified and liquid resource. There was an explosion of Evolved Humans and because of this, there were many who have become Evolved Humans by their choosing. So now you have super soldiers everywhere, but what about those who choose to go a different path? There were many PMC’s who developed their formula, leading to private militaries that have access to superhumans. Evolved Humans aren’t invincible and though there are individuals who have a higher biomass evolution, they are still capable of being harmed by modern weaponry. Evolved Humans have natural bioshield and some even developed their abilities after their evolution process. So it takes a while before you can bring down a Breaker before their shields are done.”

Gaston looked away, coughed, and then continued. “Naturally, there were many conflicts and reforms. There was even a six-month crackdown where non-government breakers were captured and were killed on sight. Because of this, it was decided, unanimously, that instead of opening up wounds, and salting them further. The Consortium was founded to monitor the superhuman entities who are forming PMC’s, leading to an era of Breaker Groups forming a company that is monitored by the UEDF, AETF, and the respective Governments who allow them to operate on their borders.”

The state of the system was volatile. It could be even said that it was nothing more than a way for the UEDF to put a leash on the Breakers who needed to find a place in society. It was a compromise that led to the current state of an era where gold was only second to Ichor. The business was booming, and if those old optimists were to be believed, the Heroic Ages had finally come again.

No, it was an Age pioneered by Evolved Humans.