The second to go onto the platform is Pekko. His experience is zero, but his level is also four. I don’t bother reading the other lines since I am not sure what they mean…yet.
The third is a fellow named Abram. His level is a surprising five!
And then it’s my turn. I walk toward the platform apprehensively, since I know I don’t have any gate open.
As I settle onto the platform, those blueish beams of light surround me, moving all around my body.
The same transparent screen appears, and my stats are now written there for everyone to see.
DOM: N/A. CUL: 0. LVL: 0. EXP: 0.
PHY: 0. VEL: 0. FOR: 0. WIL: 0.
VIT: 0. SRV: 0. ER: 0 DPT: 0
ARM: N/A. DEF: N/A RES: N/A
PSN: N MIR: N
Everyone gasps in shock.
I glance away, embarrassed. At the very least I’d hoped that whatever spiritual energy my father left me behind would amount to something. But seeing as all my stats are zero, or simply absent…
Damn it! How pathetic am I?
I expected it, but it doesn’t sting any less. Yet it does offersometype of information. The spiritual energy my father left me is not technically within me as I’d previously believed. It’s some type of shield around my body that this technology cannot recognize because it does not come from me.
“Zero? Zero level?” One of the rookies, Pekka I think, comments. “How did you gethired?”
The others join in the conversation, at first surprised, but that surprise quickly turns into mockery as they laugh about my pathetic stats.
Same here. I’m laughing internally, I promise, I add drily to myself.
“Zero?” Elysand stares in shock. But he soon catches himself and laughs it off awkwardly. “I have never seen someone with a level zero. How old are you, Nykander?”
“I will be three thousand years old in two weeks,” I answer quietly.
“That is… Unexpected. I have never seen someone reach that age withnospiritual energy at all,” he adds pensively. “Of course, I am not undermining your abilities for the job. You passed the exam on your own strength. But it will be slightly difficult for you to do some of the field missions.”
“I can handle them,” I quickly say, afraid that somehow my position is now in jeopardy. “I’ll work double. No, triple. I promise I won’t let you down.”
Elysand shakes his head. “I am not worried about that. Just your safety. Of course we don’t have any level requirements for joining our Department, but it is expected one would at least be a level three.”
I step down from the platform, even more dejected than before.
“I’ll do my best, I promise,” I say again as I stop in front of Elysand.
He pats me on the shoulder and nods. “I’m sure you’ll try.”
The others are still snickering and joking about me, and Elysand tells them they’re free to return to their positions. But as I turn to do the same, he stops me.
“You will have to be careful, Nykander. The danger doesn’t always come from the outside.”
I blink. “What do you mean?”
“To be weak in our world…” he trails off.
“I understand.” I let out a breath. To be weak in our world is a sin. And my colleagues’ reactions are proof of that. “I will be careful.”
