Chapter 359: Fortress

Ethan, Mark, Kaela, and Elara finally stepped out of the sparring room together.

The massive room they had just been fighting in wasn’t an ordinary training facility. It was a heavily reinforced chamber specifically designed to withstand the kind of destruction that Titled could unleash during combat.

Its walls were reinforced with specialised materials, the floor was built to absorb tremendous impacts, and several protective systems had been installed throughout the chamber. It allowed powerful Titled to actually fight without immediately bringing the entire building down around them.

Even then, Ethan and the others had been careful not to go all out, as warned.

There was only so much the chamber could take.

And considering the people using it, that limit was a lot higher than what most facilities were designed for, costing millions to make. Though whether it would actually last, only time would tell.

The door opened into the main section of the Enforcement Unit’s base of operations.

Ethan had already seen a great deal of luxury since becoming an established Titled, but even he had to admit that the Association had spared little expense when putting this place together.

The base didn’t disappoint.

Everything about it had been built with purpose.

The corridors were large enough to drive a truck through, while reinforced doors, cameras, scanners, checkpoints, and all kinds of security systems were built into nearly every section of the facility.

Training facilities, equipment rooms, storage areas, medical sections, observation rooms, and rooms they hadn’t even explored yet lined the halls.

’Overkill much,’ was Ethan’s first thought upon visiting the place, but he wasn’t complaining.

The best part was the vehicles prepared for them.

There were the usual Association SUVs, faster blacked-out sports cars, and a range of motorcycles as requested. Before receiving his Title, Ethan hadn’t imagined ever driving any of them unless he had stolen one; now he had too many to bother trying.

Greg had even assigned them a resident nerd who was at their beck and call. Ethan had specifically requested someone capable of handling the technological side of things, and the Association didn’t disappoint.

The young man who appeared barely out of his teens had his own room in the base. He was usually somewhere around the computers and monitoring equipment, and was basically the stereotypical nerd.

Which was exactly what they needed.

He was constantly monitoring the security systems in place, and whenever anything needed hacking, tracking, or analysis, he was on it right away. They weren’t the only new staff, and they had managed to get a two-for-one deal.

Darren and his mother had both ended up joining them.

The former was their security guard, although the security part was mostly for show, while the latter offered to be their cook to feel useful.

Between Ethan, Elara, Kaela, and Mark, there weren’t many ordinary threats that could actually get through the base. Unless an S Rank suddenly decided to show up, they could handle most threats themselves.

Still, having Darren around was fun, and they were helping him out at the same time. He was able to relocate with his mother to somewhere nearby, and they were getting paid top-tier salaries to do basically nothing.

It didn’t cost Ethan anything, and he was glad to help the man change his life.

Elara looked around as they walked.

"I still can’t believe they made this place in a couple of days."

Ethan glanced at her.

"They probably prepared it for something else, and repurposed it for us."

That was very likely.

There was no way that even the Association could have built something this extensive from the ground up in such a short amount of time. It was far too large, organised, and well-equipped.

"Unless they have some S Rank Builder," he added.

"These days, you never know."

Kaela laughed.

This place wasn’t simply a base of operations.

It was a fortress.

A place designed to support the Enforcers in handling whatever the world decided to throw at them next. And judging by the people waiting for Ethan again, it seemed like the next problem had already arrived.

They were from Crowe Incorporated and had been hounding him for a meeting ever since the first letter had arrived, repeatedly trying to convince him to meet with their boss.

Their boss, apparently, claimed to be Ethan’s father, which was possible considering their surnames.

"How you doing, Boss?"

"Good," was Ethan’s clear lie of a response as he greeted Darren, who was standing outside.

"I tried to get them to leave, but-"

The large, tattooed man was dressed up, taking his role as security very seriously. As intimidating as he appeared, considering he wasn’t Titled, it was amusing that he was hired to protect them.

But he was a fun addition to the crazy people who were drawn to the enigmatic blue-eyed man.

"It’s all good, I’ll handle it."

Ethan then approached the waiting group with a tired expression.

"Can’t you guys wear something else?"

They were all dressed in black suits, just like the Association operatives they had become accustomed to seeing.

Ethan looked them over before sighing.

"It’s like you’re soulless NPCs. There are other coloured suits and clothes you can wear."

The representatives exchanged brief glances.

"We will consider that for next time."

Ethan stared at them.

They were just doing their job, and it wasn’t like they had much of a choice about what they wore. They had been sent there to bring Ethan to their employer, who was apparently very interested in speaking with him.

Besides, they weren’t exactly in a position to force him.

Ethan was a B Rank Titled who was almost always accompanied by two A Ranks. Trying to kidnap him would be less of a kidnapping and more of a suicide attempt. If anything, they were completely at his mercy.

The Crowe Incorporated representatives clearly understood that.

Ethan looked at them for another moment.

Then he sighed.

"You know what, fuck it. Let me go and see what this is all about."

And just like that, Ethan finally decided to stop avoiding the inevitable confrontation he had to have...