…

Alfir is too idle in the Group Battle’s first half causing him to lag behind in points. His strategy for the event is quite simple. Now that there are about 30 minutes left for the event, it’s time for him to make a move.

After waiting for the hostile fellow applicants of their ‘culling their competitors’ strategy, Alfir finally revealed himself from his hiding place.

“Huh? Who’s that?”

“Fuck, he’s fast!!”

“That’s my goblin, shit!”

And from there on… Alfir started his ‘fishing’. What’s so good with the points? Does it benefit Alfir? Isn’t it fine if he takes it easy in this particular assessment?

Yes, the points are entirely useless to him. Even if he chooses not to take this seriously, his assignment to Deron’s class is almost certain given his potential grade assessment.

However, Alfir still has to act his part. As a fairly higher percenter among the applicants, he can’t be seen as incompetent. He now belongs to the superior percenters, not an inferior.

Percenter, it’s slang derived from people that possess Special Abilities or as it was methodologically called, a potential grader. The word ‘mutant’ isn’t really widespread in this world with the exception of very few organizations.

Alfir easily maneuvered the forests. The poor sobs can’t even catch him, as he already has a grasp of the place. Some distance away, he continued killing all sorts of monsters.

Goblins and even a few trolls on the way, all fell victim to his sword. Of course, in the process of it, Alfir made sure to sweat a lot. At least that way, people won’t think that he’s having it easy. Though he might not look like it, Alfir’s fighting prowess is about at Deron’s level.

It’s understandable since he learned of his mutation much earlier. Compared to Deron's genius, Alfir is actually doing quite well.

“HEEeeeEeeY!! THEre YOU ARE, StoP RiGHt theRE!”

Huh? Who is that? Another one of those stragglers? They want revenge or something for their goblins, maybe? This one is quite a persistent guy. Alfir looked where the voice is coming from, only to be surprised by the guy’s identity.

“Oh, hey… fellow minion, what are you doing?”

“Fuck, why are you so hard to find, I think I’ve already scoured the whole forest already. Where were you?”

It was Minion#11111. It looks like Alfir’s dear executive also sent this guy, maybe to watch over him. Too bad, that would be a little difficult for 11111.

11111 looked haggard and resentful, he must hate Alfir a lot. For someone like 11111 who awakened his mutation at the early age of 10 years old, and just to emphasize… has a mutation specialized in tracking… it is a mystery how he can’t find Alfir.

“HEEEY!! FUCKTARD, STAY RIGHT THERE!”

And here we are… the usual rude bastard, 11111 came running to Alfir. It’s quite a distance but 11111 managed.

“*Huff… huff… huff…” With a raggedy breath, he lay his back to a tree.

“I was hiding,” Alfir explained. “You know, let the dust settle. I don’t want to be mixed up with the sudden free-for-all, so I went stealth mode.”

“Fuuuck, but that doesn’t explain why were you able to hide from me. What is your Special Ability, really?”

“Don’t you mean curse?”

“We are at Hero territory right now, we have to act like them.”

“That’s reasonable. What about you tell me yours?”

“You know that I won’t, right?”

“Same for me.”

“Fair point.”

The two of them walked side by side, they hunted monsters together. Alfir made sure to take the path where the plant life’s presence is the weakest. He doesn’t want to be targeted by a certain plant-manipulating mutant after all.

“That reminds me, what should I call you?” Alfir thought, calling the rude bastard beside him ‘11111’ is quite awkward. Not to boot, too suspicious. 11111 definitely has a name, right? An alias would work fine too.

“Call me Bon Bon.”

“Pfft..fftt… a-A-akikiki…”

“What’s so funny? And why is your laugh so weird?”

“Haagh… I can’t take it anymore, HAHAhahahaHAHHAHAHA!”

“…”

The two continued in silence after that. Bon, that’s a name too unforgettable for Alfir. If he named someone ‘Bon’, he’ll definitely remember it.

“Hey, Alfir… Is this your real name? It doesn’t sound like a name to me. I may not look like it, but I am actually a very studious person. The word ‘Alfir’ doesn’t have any etymology to it or an origin per se. No person would have a name like yours. I am just saying, for a name, it’s quite unique.”

“It doesn’t have any meaning. Just ignore it. It’s just the combination of random words I came up with.”

It was slight, but Alfir’s eyes drooped for a second. Bon as a very perceptive person noticed it, but he didn’t press on.

Alfir, it’s a word derived from ‘Flair’ using each of their letters to form a name. A writer has to have flair, he firmly believed. That’s how Alfir came up with his penname ‘Alfir’.

“Bon,” Alfir called. “What’s your potential grade?”

“Hmmm… I am at 40%, almost at the Ability-grade. Why?”

“I am at 41%. With how the academy does things, I am almost certain we won’t be classmates.” Not almost, Alfir knew 100% sure how the academy will divide their class this year.

“What? You got a higher grade than mine?” How? Bon doesn’t understand it. But, he has much worse problems to deal with. “Wait, did you just say we won’t be classmates? That would be bad for me!! Fuck… No, no, no… Maybe you are just trying to get in my head.”

“No, I am not. In fact, I prefer you to be by my side. An extra hand isn’t bad. The deal I made will benefit me too. Your boss and I share the same interest.”

“…” Bon observed Alfir, the bloody insane man is no longer to be seen. He recalled that day. It was dusk, and their contingent is preparing to move out to meet up with executive Gavin.

They have waited for too long, and it seems that executive Palnes has failed his mission. Reports of heroes arriving at the orphanage arrived one after another. When their contingent was about to leave the outpost, Alfir suddenly arrived at the place laughing hysterically, a goofy smile etched into his face.

That Alfir is too disconnected from the one in front of him right now. Bon doesn’t know what executive Leneya has in mind for making a deal with this man.

“Bon, hey! Bon!! Are you listening?”

“Uuhh… Yeah?”

“No, you are not. I won’t repeat this again. Listen carefully. There is a way for you to transfer to the top class faster. Reach the next grade, the Ability-grade, before the next semester. After that, submit a petition for a request of transfer.”

“Hmmm… Okay, I’ll do that. It’s only one percent more. How hard could it be?”

“Also, socialize with your class bracket, maybe you’d find hidden gems that could be of use to us. You know, recruit them and stuff.”

“But how? Offer them the same incentives we are receiving, which if I may… respectfully say it… doesn’t stand a chance at the prospects of being a Hero. Moreover, we don’t even have power over these ‘incentives’. We are minions, Alfir, not executives.”

“Let me handle that. Anyways, your boss has our backs, right?” Alfir causally glossed it over. Honestly, he has no plans with relying on Bon’s boss for more reasons than one.

Aside from the masked executive being too suspicious, Alfir’s intuition is telling him that this shady executive could be more than he bargained for. The only reason Alfir went along with the masked executive’s charade, is because he doesn’t want to sever his connection to the organization.