President Cornelius stopped the spar after gauging the power of Azzy's undead protector in one move. After all, if he goes all out, whether he wins or loses, he will be the one to lose his face. So, he felt that there was no point in prolonging this battle.
At the same time, as the president of the world's biggest organization, Cornelius also knew that he cannot show signs of weakness on his face either.
Hence, as soon as he healed himself, he calmly walked toward Azzy and said, "Now that I have understood how good you are in offense and defense, we can put an end to this test right away. I believe that you are perfect to become a member of our prestigious Zero Squad. Maybe, one day, you might even lead in the future. You have such potential, Mr. Azrael.
However, strength isn't just enough to be a member of our organization. You will need several sets of skills that can only be learned from your superiors. If it is alright with you, I will assign you to a veteran who will teach you until he becomes confident that you are ready for solo missions."
With his goal achieved, Azzy no longer wanted to continue the battle and expose his trump cards either. He responded with a nod, agreeing to the arrangement.
In the next instant, Azzy found himself at the headquarters, on the 116th floor. Just like with the earlier corridor, this place was also completely empty. No guards, no security cameras, and a series of titanium doors were seen from one end to another. If something can be pointed out, it is that everything was sparklingly clean.
"Follow me…" President Cornelius then led Azzy to one of the identical-looking doors and opened it using his biometrics and iris scanning. Azzy expected some kind of room but ended up seeing a narrow staircase leading to god knows where. Using normal vision, he couldn't see much far and everything is dark after a bit of distance.
Without giving any sort of explanation, Cornelius started to climb down the staircase. Azzy followed him from behind while activating his soul skill, The Eyes of God.
As soon as he did that, the reality surprised him quite a bit. "It is an illusion?" He wondered out loud. Instead of walking down the stairs, Azzy found himself walking into another narrow corridor.
Cornelius let out a smile and replied, "You never failed to surprise me, lad. However, it isn't a normal illusion. Both of the pathways are real. It depends on your vision actually. If you see a staircase, then, you will reach the entrance of our secret base. And if you see a corridor, you will reach the heart of the base directly. It's one of my creations that I'm proud of if I should add."
"I see…" Azzy nodded in understanding, giving off an impression that he wasn't that impressed because of his blank face, although the truth is quite different. He was quite curious about this kind of illusion technique but just kept the thought to himself.
Fortunately, Cornelius didn't study Azzy's facial expression either for he knows about the latter's condition of inability to showcase emotions on the face. It was recorded in Azzy's profile in WAMO's database.
Hence, the President continued without bothering to understand Azzy's thoughts. He gave a brief explanation about the Zero Squad and what type of missions they usually do and how they will train and everything.
In summary, the Zero Squad is considered the most elite squad in the organization with only 26 members in total, excluding Azzy. Of these, seven are still in training for years as their abilities have yet to be recognized by their leader who is also the Supreme Commander of all the divisions of WAMO. If one had to compare, his position is higher than Vice President but less than the President.
The leader of the Zero Squad is named Kruger, a peak-rank-8 Arcana master but his actual battle strength is on the same level as President Cornelius and Vice President Ramiel Crescent.
Along with the research division's head, these three are considered the pillars of the organization.
Coming to the Zero Squad's job, they only jump into action when officially requested by either the governments of respective countries or the rulers of the kingdoms.
However, that doesn't mean the members would be idle in the meantime.
They can have the freedom to aid the other divisions to which they receive merits.
Just like with the top Arcana Academies, organizations, and hidden clans, even in WAMO, the merits earned by respective missions could be used to buy all kinds of things, ranging from cash to even Earth-grade weapons (able to contain the maximum soul power of a demigod).
As for Azzy, he would be training under a captain who is groomed to become the current Supreme Commander's successor despite the fact that he is only in the squad for only two decades.
Seeing how the president was praising this captain, Azzy was naturally curious about his identity but Cornelius decided to keep it mysterious for the time being. Since he would learn it eventually, Azzy also dropped on the matter and continued to follow the 4-foot guy.
After a five-minute walk, both of them finally reached the end of the corridor, where a giant wooden door was waiting for them to open.
As soon as the both of them walked inside, they reached an office-type room which is quite similar to the one Azzy was familiar with. He also couldn't help but remember the Principal's office where his late master used to work from there.
*knock* knock* knock*
The knocks on the door were heard and Azzy came out of his thoughts before looking in the direction of the sound.
"Oh, he is quick to arrive as always," commented the President as he let out a smile and turned around. Taking a glance at Azzy, he then said, "Your mentor is here. By the way, consider this a word of advice or a request. Listen to your superior and follow everything that he says unless the order is absurd to even think. After all, having strength without proper authority will make one appear as rebellious in the eyes of those with authority. Not to mention, he has a bit of a short temper."
"Hmm?" Azzy heard a similar sentence in the past, from Qridus Garcia. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury to ponder on the subject as the door was opened and a familiar-looking guy walked in.
Azzy recognized the captain immediately even though the latter aged a little bit and looked like he is in his mid-20s. After all, the latter left a strong impression on him, "I didn't expect this three-eyed fellow would become my teammate."
Perhaps, if he had sealed his soul orb, his facial expression might have shown how surprised he was, but for now, one can only say that Azzy is happy to see this opponent from the past.
Meanwhile, the captain took a glance at Azzy before quickly turning his attention to Cornelius and saluting, "Mr. President, your orders?"
President Cornelius then pointed to Azzy, "Do you recognize him?"
"Him?" The captain then turned toward the teenager and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't."
"The name's Azrael. We fought once during World League, 1994 edition, Mr. Rudra," stated Azzy before the president introduced him.
While the President was a little bit taken aback by Azzy's introduction as he just told him not to offend his short-tempered superior, the three-eyed fellow widened his eyes, "You are that Azrael? The one with the Jewel of Life?"
"Eh?" "Eh?"
This time, it was Azzy and Cornelius' turn to get surprised.
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om