Chapter 2: IIA Headquarters

William walked home in a daze. He entered his usual alleyway ever since he had came to the capital and slumped down on the floor tired. He was completely tired and wanted to just wanted to fall down and go to sleep on the spot. However, William couldn't go to sleep as so much was on his mind. He decided to get up, as no matter what he did, his body wouldn't sleep. He sat-up and started collecting his belongings, which weren't much. He didn't have anything other then a few loafs of stale bread and the clothes he currently wore. He grabbed his belongings and decided to walk around. He had got to the conclusion that their wasn't much he could do to sleep, so he decided to take a walk. He pondered many things on his walk, such as what divisions in the military he wanted to join, and what not. He had already decided he would join the Imperial Intelligence, and possibly the Selyron guard. He had done his research, and to get into Imperial Intelligence, he would need to have atleast 1000 starter mana, and the rank of Sergeant in the IIA. To get to the Sergeant rank was a long process, and he would need to collect enough merit, and glory points to rank up. Before he knew it, he had made his way to the IIA headquarters and just looking at it mesmerized him. It was a huge building, and looked beautiful, but just like all other buildings in the capital, it was nothing compared to the Emperor's palace. From where William was standing it was thousands of miles away from him! That's how big the capital was, and not to mention the fact that the Emperor's palace was in the middle of the city. Williams eyelids soon started to get heavy. He had a long day ahead of him, and he was getting tired. He decided he would take a quick nap. He closed his eyelids and immediately fell into a deep sleep thinking.

…

William woke up and checked the time by looking at the sun. It was around seven in the morning, and the cool morning air made his skin tingle. He could hear the distant rings of bells as the entire city woke up, and they quickly clamored toward the best spots in town for selling. The IIA headquarters was humongous, so he had to go quickly if he wanted to make it on time to his meeting with the Knight. He quickly walked in, and the receptionist looked up.

"Hello sir, welcome to the IIA headquarters. If your here for the physical evalua—

"No, no, no. I mean yes. I am here for that but the Knight told me to meet him" said William in a rush cutting the receptionist off. The receptionist glared at him for split second before switching back to her cheery mood. It happened so fast he wasn't even sure if it was real.

"Ah, right. I'm sorry but I am going to need you to specify which knight your talking about. I'm afraid, as this is the capital, thousands of knight frequent here every month" she said hesitantly.

"Ah, my fault. I think his name was.. Darignton, Dasinsom, no wait, it was Davidson! It's Davidson ma'am." William said thinking aloud.

"Right, his office should be on the left, over that way. 3B is his office number I belive" said the receptionist rolling her eyes.

William quickly dashed in the direction of his office but not before whispering thank you.

'3B, 3B, 3B, ah, here's 3B!' said William seemingly thinking aloud. He grabbed the door handle, and was about to open it but thought better of it.

"Knight, Davidson, may I enter?"

A voice from inside the room replied, "Sorry, who are you?"

"Ah, sorry, it's me William Magnolis. May I enter sir?"

The voice then replied, "Ah, yes come inside, by all means come in." William then entered the room only to see a desk full of papers, and a man in a messy Istorian Surcoat Uniform behind the desk with black bags under his eyes. William allowed his eyes to wander around the room, and what he saw shocked him. In neat rows were about 10 medals, all a pristine gold color. It showed he was a decorated knight, but what had he done to recieve all of those medals was beyond him.

*Ahem*. William allowed his eyes to refocus on the Knight which he surprisingly had a look of excitement on his face.

"Okay so William, I'm assuming you have no idea what's happening correct?" said Davidson.

"Yes, sir… I would like to know why you called me so early in the morning."

"Well the thing is while I was fixing up the little situation you had during the conscription I may or may not have attempted to tap into your mana pool. Okay so I'll make it brief, your mana pool was abnormally large. It was the biggest I have ever seen in my life! Calling to huge would be an understatement." said Davidson.

"Okay, so, isn't that a good thing? It doesn't explain why you decided to call me into your office. I mean we could have found that out during the mana evaluation" said William perplexed.

"Your right, and that isn't the only thing" he said nodding towards the door. The door creaked open, and in came a hooded man wearing a full body cloak that hid his posture, face, and everything. His feet did not show underneath the cloak, giving him a ghost like appearance. The hood covered his face as a whole and only showed darkness, as you couldn't see his expression or face in general. His cloak was black in color, and he appeared to be fazing in and out of the wall giving him a almost camouflage like look. Victor could tell if the guy wanted to, he could disappear and blend into the walls. He was eerie in a weird way, but William, wasn't suprised by that. He was suprised by the fact a II member had shown up out the blue, and was standing directly infront of him. Istorian Intelligence we're the peace keepers and kept to themselves, rarely showing their faces. They were also the kingdoms intelligence and overseers, carrying out missions inside and outside the Empire's territory. So what was one doing here, and why was it inside the Knight's office?

"I'm assuming you know who this is correct?" said Knight Davidson interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Yes, it is a II member, but I want to know, why is he here?" said William questioningly.

"Not he, she" the Imperial Intelligence member said in a girl like voice, taking off her hood. William was awed, shocked, and excited all at the same time! He felt many diffrent emotions coursing through his head like a wildfire! He couldn't belive it! II member, a girl, had taken off her hood. If an II sighting was rare, then a II taking off their hood… the chances were almost zero!

The II girl was breath taking, with her beautiful face. She had cherry red lips, and green gorgeous eyes. Her long silky black hair went down her back, and her skin was just the perfect color. She was a beauty inside and out, almost like a piece of art! He had no doubt underneath her cloak she had voluptuous breasts, and perfect slim body. She was the perfect girl, any man would drool over!

"Um, s-so ma'am, w-why was I called h-here? Do only Knight Davidson and me know how you look?" asked William stuttering.

"For your second question, Knight Davidson doesn't see a single thing going on except for the fact I am in his office. He see's me standing here with my hood on, and you also aimlessly staring while standing there" said the II member. William glanced toward Knight Davidson, only to see him nervously staring at the II member. He had good reason to, as II members were higher rank than him, and outranked him by a lot.

"So ma'am, why did you take off your hood? I thought you guys weren't allowed to do so?

"Also, do not call me ma'am. Address me as "Istorian Intelligence Lieutenant", or IIL simply. I only show my face to future members, so that is the reason you can see my face." said the IIL with confidence. William had so many surprises today, that this at this point couldn't surprise him. He was bewildered, but chose not to show it. Instead he…

"So IIL why do I get to be a future member?" said William in a daze.

"Who said you could be a free member? You have to pass the tryout like everyone else, but I am just giving you a little hint because I know you will pass. Focus on strengthening your mana, and sword skill. I expect great things from you. Goodbye, for now…" said the IIL briefly. She then proceeded to put back on her hood and fade away like she never existed. William then tuned to the Knight.

"She left sir. You can stop being so tense." said William tired mentally. The Knight then proceeded to relax within the comforts of his chair heaving a sigh. He looked at the clock on his door, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"By the way, your physical examination starts in 30 minutes. You should really get going." said the Knight going back to his papers.

"What?! How is it 11:30 already?!" said William dashing out he room towards the field area.

"Don't forget, it down the hall!" said the Knight yelling after him.

As William neared the field, he grinned from ear to ear. He couldn't wait until he was Sergeant! He could then tryout for II and hopefully pass. He opened the door to area designated for the physics examination to only see hundreds of people standing and walking around.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE, NAP TIMES OVER! GET IN LINE NOW!" screamed what appeared to be their drill instructor who had only appeared a few seconds ago.

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