Stepping through the doors of the Moonlight mercenary squad's headquarters.
"What was that about?" Tom asked.
Malivor frowned as he looked at his squadmate. He waved a hand dismissively while making a face, clearly signaling for Tom to drop the subject.
"No, seriously. Tell me straight."
"Ugh… Fine. Fine."
Malivor gave in.
"Those bastards are from an organization called Deorder."
Deorder?"Tom repeated mentally.
"They force mages and Ascendants to join their organization. And they're annoying as hell. They can track people, and somehow they always show up with the perfect timing."
Tom looked at him thoughtfully after hearing the explanation.
It clarified a few things, but also raised even more questions in his mind.
"But then what do they actually want? Like, what does the organization itself want? If this Deorder is recruiting people, then they definitely have some kind of goal."
Malivor raised a hand to cover a yawn.
"So… they say they're an 'order that balances the world,' and that all they seek is to align the 'gears of destiny,' serve the wheels of fate, something like that. What the hell does that even mean? I've got no clue either. And after saying all that, they try to force you into the organization."
"Wait, so they tried to recruit you too?"
"Yeah. About two years ago. Like I said, I don't know how they do it, but somehow they show up shortly after someone becomes an Ascendant. And I'm guessing that power of theirs works well against most Ascendants. But my telekinesis can disrupt their spatial displacement. Honestly, I could've just let you teleport away and escape from them."
Hm, that wouldn't have worked out that well, man. At best I could've escaped to the Cathedral of the Blind using teleportation. Tom let out a restrained laugh.
It wasn't that he doubted the effectiveness of his own power. Rather, Malivor probably believed Tom could teleport anywhere he wanted.
And well… that definitely wasn't the case.
The two walked down the corridor when they were stopped by their captain.
"I gave you today off so you could rest, and there you go causing trouble again, Tom." Laylla placed her hands on her hips.
Oh… so you saw what happened outside, Captain?
Malivor tilted his head and raised a hand beside Tom's ear.
"The captain's the one who spotted you and those two from a distance. Personally, I would've let you deal with it yourself." Malivor whispered into his ear.
Look at this absolute asshole! Tom's face twisted into a dumbfounded expression as he turned to glare at Malivor.
Malivor simply laughed and raised both hands as if to say "that's life." He only stopped short of shrugging too.
"My bad, Captain." Tom gave an absolutely terrible apology as he turned his attention back to Laylla.
Malivor hadn't even taken two steps before Laylla brought him back into the conversation.
"Alright then. Tom. A mission came up, and I'm assigning you to it."
"Okay, fine. Uhh… but is it really okay for me to go? I mean, I'm a complete rookie."
It was a genuine concern.
Tom had absolutely no issue with being "put to work." In fact, he had almost been about to ask for a mission himself.
"No, it's fine. It'll just be basic stuff for now. And Malivor, you're going with him."
"What?! I'm going too?!" Malivor asked in disbelief.
"Mhm. You are." she emphasized.
He didn't say anything out loud, but Tom was absolutely certain Malivor had cursed the captain in his head at that exact moment.
After informing them about the mission scheduled for the next day, Laylla turned around and headed for the staircase at the end of the corridor leading to the second floor.
"Aren't you scared?"
"Huh? Scared of what?" Tom replied.
"Of the captain."
This time, it was Tom who looked at Malivor in disbelief.
"No? I mean, she's brutal during training, but outside of that she's actually pretty nice."
"Pfft. Yeah, you really deserve your title of madman." Malivor sighed as he remembered the scene at the Pit, with the crowd shouting "madman" while Tom defeated Banjur.
Malivor smacked him on the back before continuing on his way.
Since it was already nighttime, everyone was heading off to get some sleep.
"Malivor."
Summoning a bit of courage, Tom called out.
"What?"
"When we fought yesterday, there was a moment where you managed to move even while everything was in slow motion. How'd you do that?"
"What do you mean slow motion?"
"You don't remember? I used slow motion, and even then you looked right at me."
The two stared at each other in confusion.
"No clue. You're just weak and got pressured, that's all."
"Right. Forget it then. Later, Malivor."
Yeah, I guess he did that completely on instinct. He probably didn't even realize the environment had slowed down and just reacted reflexively to avoid a surprise attack. Better leave it alone.
Putting the matter aside, Tom headed to his room to rest before his first mission as a mercenary.