Chapter 104: [Prologue]: Aftermath

Deceased/Missing Report for Group 1

[James Anderson, Ben Affleck, Donald Abbot, Neuman Allen, William Bennett, Thomas Carter, Daniel Collins, Elizabeth Correy, Michael Cooper, Brook Clark, Robert Davies, Emma Douglas, John Edwards, David Evans, Christopher Foster...

...

Benjamin Jackson, Oliver Johnson, George Jones, Henry Kelly, Jack King, Edward Lewis, Charles Martin, Paige Knight, Patrick Lane, Poppy Lawrence, Rebecca Lee, Riley Lewis, Rosie Lloyd, Ruby Long, Ryan Lowe, Samuel Lucas.]

"A total of 182 deaths in this year’s group one’s entrance exam; cutting the initial 300 examinees down to a measly 118..." A middle-aged man massaged his forehead as he leaned back into his seat. ’That’s much less than last year’s...’

His colleague to his left, a teacher like him, glanced and coldly scrutinised the document in his hand. "Are you looking at the death report again, Herman, even after its been six days?"

His colleague then slightly averted his gaze with a sympathetic look. "Well... not like I can blame you; who could’ve known there would be two Soldiers in that city."

"The reconnaissance team in the military should’ve." Herman pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can understand that they couldn’t account for two, considering one of them had reportedly evolved during a Poison Jar, but they should’ve found the second one."

’There was also far more Predicaments in that city than we had anticipated...’

Lincoln shook his head slightly. "I get where you’re coming from, but we can’t entirely blame them for their inaccurate report. Apparently, the Eastern Duke of Europe was spotted near that area, so they needed to flee quickly without provoking it."

A colleague sitting opposite them joined the conversation. "Oh, I heard about that. Doesn’t that one pop up every now and then all over Europe? I swear, unlike the Western one, this one just doesn’t know how to stay in one place."

As they talked, Herman continued to stare down at the report with slight remorse. ’I’m sure the large sum of reparations and treatment we provided to the mourning families will help whatever situation they’re in.’

After soothing his mind with that thought, he continued working.

...

Once he finished signing off on a few things, Herman turned to the man beside him. "How about the group you were overseeing, then? I remember we sent that one to another city in France. How’d they do?"

Lincoln looked up from his work, his face expressionless, then spoke in a monotonous voice:

"The city was called Boulogne-sur-Mer. It’s slightly west of where your group took their exam. This group of examinees did pretty well, with only 100 or so of them dying. Similar to yours, there were even some exceptional individuals in this one. For example..."

Lincoln then passed over a document from a stack of paper. On it was the picture of a handsome young man with a sharp jawline. He had short ash-coloured hair, pale amber eyes, deep brown skin, broad shoulders, and a scar on the side of his cheek.

"Rebbel. No last name and an orphan since childhood. Before the exam, he lived in one of the poorer cities and was known to be a dangerous gang leader. If it wasn’t for the fact that an LRM soldier caught sight of his awakening, we doubted he would’ve willingly signed up for this exam."

"I see, he looks competent." Herman scrutinised the document. "I suppose, besides the casualties and a few other things, the two groups are rather similar."

"... Yes..." Lincoln’s face wrinkled. "That would somewhat be the case, if it wasn’t for the fact that the LRM representative disguised among this group’s examinees was killed."

"Ah... I heard about that... do you know how he died? And how did the military react?" Herman asked reservedly, but it was clear he was deeply intrigued.

"We’re not sure. Besides his severed hand, we never managed to find his corpse. And none of the examinees was present either when he died, so we just have to assume it was due to an accident or a Predicament."

"An accident or a Predicament...?" Herman stroked his chin, suspicious. ’To mysteriously die with barely any traces... how unexpected for a military-trained soldier.’

Was this really the work of an accident or a Predicament?

"What did autopsy say?" He then held up the document for Rebbel. "And have you interrogated this chap yet? You said he was dangerous, didn’t you?"

"Autopsy showed bite marks on the severed part of the hand, so they’re likely believing it was a Predicament attack. But they did find that the ring the representative came into the exam with as part of his disguise was missing.

"As for that examinee, we had several statements and witnesses that said he was around people during the entire exam. Apparently, he was strangely well-behaved. Anyway, there just isn’t enough evidence that points to him being the cause of the representative’s death."

"What about yours, then? The Devil’s Child." Lincoln interrupted his thoughts. "Having been evaluated as the Strongest Vitalist of this Generation, not just in the United Kingdom, I figured she didn’t have much of an issue in this exam, right?"

Herman quirked an eyebrow. "Is killing a Soldier, while tired, ’not that much of an issue’ to you?"

Lincoln immediately flinched, his cold facade cracking at that statement. "Ah... you’re right... I just figured, since she killed one before, it was probably much easier this time around. I heard she got promoted. Has she gotten her Stripes for that yet?"

"Not yet." Herman shook his head and held up two small rectangular red metal badges. "Surprisingly, the higher-ups are willing to look past needing evidence for her promotion due to her honest track record."

Herman then safely pocketed them into his breast pocket. "Anyway, I was ordered to give them to her when I next see her, which..." He checked his watch.

[8:10 AM]

"Should be in the next 50 minutes, after the gates to the academy open. I’m going to assume she’ll be at the scoreboard situated right in front of the academy building."

Herman stood up and walked towards the exit. "I’ll be heading out first to prepare, Lincoln. You should too; I don’t think the headmaster would like it if we are all late to the welcoming."

"Good call. I’m almost finished with my work, so you go on right ahead." Lincoln nodded before reaching out. "Ah, actually—right before you leave, I gotta ask. How many eyes did she hand in? I’m curious now."

"Her?" Herman scratched his chin and pondered carefully. "If I recall correctly... 116 pairs of Scoundrels and the pair of a Soldier. But we’re going to count her solo kill on the other Soldier to her score, as well."

"How did she get a pair of a Soldier’s—you know what, never mind..." Lincoln shook his head, reining in his curiosity. "She’s definitely getting the top score in this entrance exam."

"Well... I’m not so sure about that."

"Hm? Why do you say that?"

Herman held the door handle to the exit and smiled thoughtfully.

"She...

"She said she wanted to distribute it."