Chapter 27: Two License

The moment Jet stepped through the enormous reinforced doors of O.R.D.O. Headquarters, the sheer scale of the interior made him slow down instinctively.

The ground-floor atrium was enormous, easily stretching upward for ten full stories before ending beneath a massive transparent dome reinforced with a web of silver structural lines. Through the clear ceiling,

Jet could see portions of the tower continuing far above, layered walkways crossing between internal sections while transparent elevator platforms moved silently through open vertical shafts.

Hundreds of people moved across the polished black floor in different directions, and the constant sound of footsteps, conversation, digital announcements, and distant machinery blended into a steady hum that filled the entire space.

Some people were clearly ordinary civilians accompanying newly awakened family members, while others carried weapons openly, wore Guild uniforms, or moved with the quiet confidence of experienced Awakeners who had probably entered this building dozens of times before.

At the exact center of the atrium floated a gigantic holographic model of Earth several meters above the floor.

The globe rotated slowly, its continents covered in hundreds of glowing markers that constantly changed color while thin lines of data moved across the projection.

Dozens of translucent screens appeared and disappeared around it every few seconds, each one showing information pulled directly from O.R.D.O.’s monitoring network.

One flashed a bright warning reading;

[DIMENSIONAL GATE DETECTED — WESTERN ZENITH].

While another displayed:

[MANA BEAST ALERT RESOLVED — CASUALTIES: 0].

A third showed an updated Guild ranking, and directly beneath it another counter continued climbing beneath the words;

[ NEW SECOND-GENERATION AWAKENER REGISTRATIONS: 1,184,291 ].

Other panels displayed live Dungeon stability percentages, emergency road closures, public safety announcements, Mana fluctuations, and footage from news networks covering the continuing aftermath of the Second Red Moon.

Jet stared at the slowly rotating globe for several seconds before letting out a low breath. Even in his previous life, he had only ever seen the interior of O.R.D.O. Headquarters through broadcasts and occasional recorded footage.

Standing beneath the massive holographic planet himself felt strangely unreal. His gaze shifted toward the outer edges of the atrium, where dozens of transparent elevators moved upward without visible cables.

One platform carrying nearly twenty people rose smoothly past the tenth floor, accelerated through the center of the tower, then suddenly shifted sideways into another internal section before continuing upward.

Jet followed it with his eyes until the glowing floor indicator passed seventy and disappeared behind an upper structural wall.

"Ridiculous," he muttered quietly beneath his breath, though there was a faint trace of admiration in his voice.

He adjusted the brim of his cap and moved deeper into the atrium, following the overhead signs toward the registration section.

The counters occupied almost one entire side of the ground floor, arranged in long curved rows beneath floating category markers such as:

GENERAL AWAKENER SERVICES, GUILD AFFAIRS, DUNGEON OPERATIONS, WALKER SERVICES, and NEW REGISTRATION.

Every station was busy. The Second Awakening had clearly turned the building into organized chaos, with newly awakened citizens filling the waiting areas while digital queue numbers constantly changed above the desks.

Jet joined the shortest line he could find and waited several minutes before reaching the front.

The receptionist seated behind the curved black counter looked to be in her late twenties, dressed in a clean charcoal O.R.D.O. uniform with silver trim running along the shoulders. She barely glanced up at first, her fingers moving rapidly across a transparent screen floating above the desk as she finished processing the previous applicant.

Only after the data disappeared did she look directly at Jet, her expression professional but visibly tired.

"Awakener registration?" she asked, already opening a new application window.

Jet nodded. "Raider and Walker."

That made her pause for half a second before she looked at him again. It wasn’t surprise exactly. Plenty of Awakeners registered for both licenses, especially now that millions of Second Generation awakeners were trying to enter the supernatural economy at once. Still, most people standing in the surrounding lines appeared to be applying for one category first and dealing with the other later.

"Both today?" she asked, tapping something on the screen. "You’ll be processed through combined verification. It’s faster than doing them separately, but you’ll still need identity confirmation, awakening verification, Star assessment, Rune declaration, Mana signature registration, and biometrics. Assuming there aren’t any inconsistencies, both licenses should be issued immediately after approval."

"That’s fine," Jet replied.

The receptionist nodded and flicked two fingers across her screen. A small crimson holographic number appeared above Jet’s wrist before shrinking into a digital token.

"Queue A-3917. Take the east corridor to Registration Hall Three. Follow the blue floor line until you reach the testing chambers. Your number will be called automatically."

Jet thanked her and stepped away from the counter. The blue guidance line appeared beneath his feet almost immediately, a thin strip of light running across the polished floor before bending toward one of the enormous side corridors.

He followed it past several security checkpoints and into another wide hall lined with sealed testing rooms. The entire process moved faster than he expected.

Applicants entered one door, disappeared for a few minutes, and emerged from another carrying temporary digital records while the next number appeared overhead.

When Jet’s number was finally called, he entered a compact examination chamber occupied by a middle-aged O.R.D.O. technician and several pieces of scanning equipment.

The man briefly confirmed Jet’s identity through retinal and fingerprint verification, then directed him toward a circular platform surrounded by thin metallic pillars. "Stand in the center and relax. The system will confirm your awakened status, Star Rank, and registered Mana signature. After that, you’ll declare your Divine Rune information. The scan is non-invasive."

Jet stepped onto the platform without hesitation, though his thoughts sharpened instantly.

This was the part that mattered.

He had no intention of allowing O.R.D.O. to discover what was actually inside his body.

The red System interface responded the moment he focused his intent.

[ Concealment Parameters Requested. ]

[ Select Divine Rune Signature For External Detection. ]

Jet’s white pupils flickered slightly beneath the shadow of his cap.

Eight-Armed Asura.

[ Selected. ]

[ Secondary Divine Rune Signatures Suppressed. ]

[ True Rune Grade Masking Available. ]

S-Rank, Jet thought immediately.

[ External Detection Profile Established. ]

The scanning pillars activated.

A low hum filled the chamber as pale blue light swept over his body from head to toe. For one brief second, Jet felt the faint pressure of the machine pushing against his Mana pathways, searching for the internal structure of his awakening.

The System responded instantly, wrapping the nine sealed Divine Runes beneath layers of absolute silence while presenting only the controlled signature of the Eight-Armed Asura.

The technician looked down at the results as they appeared on his terminal.

"Awakened status confirmed. One-Star. Divine Rune detected... S-Rank." His fingers stopped for a moment. He looked up at Jet, this time with considerably more interest than before. "That’s a strong awakening."

Jet gave a small shrug. "I got lucky."

The technician stared at him for another second before letting out a short laugh. "If that’s what you call luck, half the people downstairs would probably strangle you. Divine Rune name?"

"Eight-Armed Asura."

The man entered it without further comment. "Combat type?"

"Yes."

"Any known active abilities?"

Jet’s expression remained calm. "Physical enhancement."

That answer was vague enough to be true without giving anything meaningful away. The technician accepted it, recorded the declaration, then moved on to the remaining steps.

Jet’s Mana signature was stored as a basic identification marker, followed by a quick facial scan, fingerprints, retinal pattern, and several biometric confirmations. Nothing else triggered an alert.

Nothing detected the nine sealed SSS-Rank Runes hidden beneath his skin.

The entire process took less than fifteen minutes.

Afterward, Jet was directed to a second counter where a young licensing officer reviewed the completed file and explained the distinction between the two certifications while the cards were being produced.

The Raider License authorized legal participation in regulated Dungeon operations and Gate-related combat activity on Earth.

The Walker License covered recognized activity connected to the Beyond, including exploration, harvesting, trade, and access to registered Citadel services.

Both professional rankings began at F regardless of Divine Rune quality or Star Rank. Advancement depended on actual recorded activity, completed operations, verified contributions, and performance.

Jet found that part almost amusing.

Ten SSS-Rank Divine Runes inside his body.

And professionally, he was still F-Rank.

A small machine embedded in the desk chimed twice.

The licensing officer reached down and placed two cards in front of him.

The first was dark metallic crimson, with a stylized Dimensional Gate emblem embedded near the upper corner.

O.R.D.O. — RAIDER LICENSE

Name: Jethro Saint-Clair

ID: RD-ZN-583194

Star Rank: 1-Star

Raider Rank: F

Status: Active

The second card was darker, almost black beneath the light, with deep violet accents and a circular symbol representing a Beyond Descent formation.

O.R.D.O. — WALKER LICENSE

Name: Jethro Saint-Clair

ID: WK-ZN-583194

Star Rank: 1-Star

Walker Rank: F

Status: Active

Jet picked up both cards slowly.

For a moment, he simply stared at them.

For ten years in his previous life, he had watched other people carry licenses like these. He had watched Raiders flash them at Dungeon checkpoints while he stood behind carrying equipment.

He had watched Walkers return from the Beyond with monster materials worth more than he could earn in years. Those cards had always represented a world that existed just beyond his reach, close enough to see but impossible to touch.

Now his own name was printed across both.

Jethro Saint-Clair.

Raider.

Walker.