Chapter 5: Unexpected;Understatement

The training dummy's head rolled away as the body fell backward.

“Did anyone get any data from that?” The assessment team in the observation room was scrambling to get the data from Q's attack. Estelle and Sven were also watching the candidates.

“Strength registers as high A. Same goes for speed,” one of the analysts responded. “Other parameters are normal so far.”

Regular breakers can take down training dummies with ease. Even Zeke Arnold took down the level one training dummy in one hit.

But that was using one of the training weapons. Plus, Zeke is a melee fighter. Q is a mage. A summoner, at that. That's why it was more surprising that he took down the training dummy in such fashion.

“That was reckless,” Q told himself as he was massaging his knee for a bit. It hurt. That thing was sturdy. He showed the staff officer a thumbs up. He gestured for the next level.

[Q: Level two starting in…]

Two training dummies entered the area. The second one held a training sword and shield set.

[Q: Level two cleared!]

As soon as the round began, Q grabbed the head of the previous training dummy and hurled it at the unarmed one. It was a direct hit and a knockout. He then rushed the other one. It responded by raising its shield and thrusting its sword.

Q lowered his body immediately. It was reminiscent of a martial arts stance. His head and chest were barely a foot above the floor. His arms were extended behind him as if they were wings. He quickly rose from that stance and slammed the base of his palm up the training dummy's chin. Another knockout.

“Strength and speed registering at around high C to lower B rating,” the analyst said.

‘It almost as if he's getting used to his body,’ Estelle thought to herself. She had no idea how on point she was.

“This should be enough,” Q muttered to himself. He picked up the training sword and shield and signaled for the next level.

---

[Q: Level three cleared!]

The third level added an archer training dummy. The moment it started, Q rushed the archer and took it down with the training sword. The two remaining opponents were more coordinated and skilled. He utilized the training equipment to its fullest.

His sword movements were more than wild swings. They were refined and precise, with only slight errors in timing.

His blocks, parries, and dodges made use of minimal movement. He exploited openings with ease.

[Q: Level four cleared!]

The fourth level added a mage training dummy. With two ranged attackers, it would be a deciding point which to go for. This is why a lot struggled with the fourth level.

Q hurled his shield with enough power to bring down the archer. He went for the mage while dodging the magic missiles. He took it down once he got close.

A sword on his right. A staff on his left. The remaining opponents fell to a barrage of [Magic Missiles]. A [Soul Strike] as some people refer to.

---

Estelle was not sure what to think of the spectacle. Q was clearing levels by swapping weapons with ease. His combat skills were impressive. It was difficult to believe he's supposed to be a mage. His class was the reason for his category.

‘I had experienced more than a million years of being alive.’

His words resonated in her head. She didn't understand what he meant then. But she can see that those years of experience were showing.

[Q: Level ten cleared!]

Q propped himself up with a spear. He panted, on the verge of collapsing. “Damn,” he cursed. Still, he was smiling. “So this is my current limit. It's… not bad at all.”

He caught his breath and cooled down. He tossed the spear aside and exited the sparring area.

“Hey, Mister.” He waved at James. “I think I'm done.”

One of the medical staff examined his body for a bit. He had a lot of bruises and some of his joints were sore. Aside from the training weapons, he was making use of his limbs in close quarters combat. Elbow. Knee. Shoulder. They all had some swelling. The medic cast a light healing spell on him to help his recovery.

“Hey!” Zeke walked up to him. “You were bullshitting your class, weren't you?”

“Mister Zeke, that's enough.” James went between Zeke and Q. “Classes are sensitive information. You understand that, correct?”

“It only matters if they're high tier,” Zeke rebutted.

Classes are classified into tiers. Humans always did enjoy rankings and tier lists.

Common tiers are basic classes. Swordsman. Healer. Mage. Ranger. Those are some of the common classes. A dime a dozen. But these classes tend to be starting points for growth.

Middle tier classes are those with specializations. Swordmaster. Light Mage. Spirit Priest. These classes branch out from common classes. The possibility of classes growing is what drives most breakers to get stronger.

High tier classes show the peak of power. They are incredibly strong classes with huge benefits. Within the high tier classes are unique classes that are limited to only one person. Companies and associations try to curry the favor of high tier class holders. Even more so for unique class holders.

Because of this, high tier classes come with a huge influence and privilege. Newbie breakers with high tier classes are highly sought after. Agencies will protect them at all costs with the goal of recruitment.

“Zeke Arnold. Spellsword.” He looked at James and scoffed. “That should be fair enough, right?” A spellsword is a high tier class that excels in close quarters. They can enhance themselves with magic as well. Zeke was a promising rookie with his performance alone. Revealing his class was quite the flex.

James was thinking on how to respond. They were given orders to give a bit of preferential treatment to Subject Q. They had to be subtle about it, though. This put him in a bind.

“Q,” Q responded. “Contract Summoner.”

Zeke was silent for a moment. He blinked a couple of times before groaning. “You're kidding, right? No way you're a mage type!”

“Not really. No,” Q said. He looked at James for a bit.

James sighed and shook his head. There was nothing he could do since the person himself revealed it. “It's true. His name is Q and his class is Contract Summoner.”

Given that it's a unique tier, they did not have any information on it at all.

“That doesn't make sense!” Zeke huffed. “How can a summoner move like that?”

“Experience, maybe?” Q asked rhetorically.

“Experience?”

“Ahem,” James interrupted. “Subj—Mister Q claims that he spent, uh, several years during his weigh-in.” Time flows differently in the weighing phase, after all. James just avoided the million year claim and went with something vague.

“Tch.” Zeke clicked his tongue. He understands that weigh-ins play a huge role in how people start out. He himself had a great start. A high tier class. A title. Immature as it may be, it infuriated him seeing someone break common sense.

“Want to have a go?” Zeke boldly challenged Q. Q was about to respond but…

“Enough,” James said coldly. Suddenly, Zeke and Q both felt a tremendous amount of force. They both went down to their knees.

James Emil. Force Mage. A high tier class specialized in wide area spells and crowd control.

[Gravity Well]

A force-based skill to slow down or halt targets in an area.

“Good to know we have promising new breakers,” James said calmly as he lifted the spell. “But let's save all that energy for after the assessment, alright?”

James waved to the other candidates as Zeke and Q recovered. Zeke's head cooled off from that. He knows why he was getting riled up. He was just too embarrassed to admit it.

“Whew,” Q heaved a sigh and slowly got up. “Are all the staff members this strong?”

“Of course, they are! Have you been living under a rock?” Zeke was slightly miffed. Staff officers in these kinds of groups are all strong breakers. After all, they need to have the ability to handle other breakers if they go rogue.

“Well, whatever.” Zeke went to join the other candidates. ‘I'm definitely going to get stronger,’ he told himself.

Q looked down at his hand for a moment. He clenched his fist, not realizing a smile forming on his lips. He looked refreshed, even. “How long has it been since I was ‘human’, I wonder?”

---

Estelle was analyzing the data gathered from Subject Q. His stats peaked at the beginning. During that first strike at level one, his STR and SPD values were high. The same went for his other stats. At level four, he cast several spells. Like before, his MGC stat peaked at rank A when he first cast spells. At level five, he was hit with some attacks by the training dummies. During that time, his VIT and INT were at a high rank.

But the strange thing was his stats appear to lower over time. It wasn't the issue of stamina or exhaustion. The strength in his attacks and spells were noticeably lower. He also moved slower—even though it was still fast by normal standards.

Some of the analysts thought that Subject Q was taking the time to control his newfound power as a breaker. But Estelle had other thoughts.

‘It wasn't as if he's trying to get used to controlling his strength as a breaker,’ she thought. It's as if he's gauging the amount of power his body can handle. ‘Who exactly are you, Q?’

---

“You pieces of shit!” A shout of anger echoed in an office somewhere. “Are you telling me you couldn't even get rid of one powerless civilian?!”

A man behind a desk berated four other people in front of him. They were beaten black and blue for their failure.

“Get out of sight and don't come back until you've finished the job. Understood?”

The men trembled before heading out with haste.

“Avis Walker,” the man fumed. “How are you still alive, you son of a bitch?”