The capsule hissed as it opened, releasing a cloud of cold that quickly dissipated in the dim light of the room. Luca blinked. His vision adjusted to thecold glow of the lights above him. He sat up slowly, propping himself on his elbows, and looked around. The other capsules where Liona and Nagato had been were still closed.

  Beyond them, near the entrance, stood a person watching him.

  Luca nodded in their direction, leaning on the edge of the capsule to pull himself out. It took him a moment to realize he was wearing the same clothes he’d entered in—and that he had shoes on. However, the soles of his feet were sore. His stomach didn’t feel great either. All he wanted at that moment was to faceplant into a bed and sleep for three days.

  At least he wasn’t coughing up blood. Small mercies.

  When he finally managed to stand—his legs only trembling slightly—he turned toward the ‘stranger’ there. Dressed like a professional, in a fitted blue jacket and pants, with a relaxed yet attentive posture—his most unusual feature was his heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one brown. It was because of this that Luca instantly knew who he was.

  Nors—a Specialist from Delta Group, soon to be a member of Beta 1. At least for a while.

  "Welcome, rookie. You woke up early," Nors said, a hint of interest mixed into his velvety voice. "The mission wasn’t supposed to be over yet. It was quite a surprise when Control received the alert."

  "It was a surprise," Luca lied without hesitation. "But we managed to find the exit by working together," he turned toward the other capsules. "Do you know when they’ll wake up?"

  "That depends on each one. Don’t worry, you’ll see them later. For now, you’d better report to your supervisor."

  "Understood," Luca turned and headed for the door, but before he could leave, he heard:

  "I forgot to ask—what’s your designation, rookie?"

  "Mithras. May I know yours?"

  "Nors. The elevator is at the end of the hall, go straight and don’t look back. We’ll be in touch… Mithras." The ghostly hiss of a snake intertwined with the last word—and if it had been anyone else, Luca might have thought it was a hallucination.

  "Thank you," he replied, and stepped through the door, closing it softly behind him. The hallway was empty, illuminated by a cold, artificial light that stretched all the way to the elevator. As he walked, he thought he heard a faint whisper coming from behind him. But he kept going, ignoring it, just as Nors had instructed.

  "Mithras..."

  Someone called him just as he reached the end of the hallway with an odd intensity. The voice was familiar—the same one he’d been hearing in those final moments. The elevator doors opened as he thought about the points he’d earned and how he could send Victor the money soon. When he stepped inside, he said:

  "To floor 0, please."

  The doors closed silently behind him, but not before letting through one last attempt—

  "Mithras..."

  It was Victor’s voice this time.

  Luca sighed, leaning against one of the walls, closing his eyes for a moment. The mission had been more than he’d initially imagined. But it hadn’t gone too badly. His plans had worked out fairly well, after all. He’d gotten out early, and the reward was more than three times what he’d earned during the Introduction. His debt would shrink.

  He’d even managed to change the ‘story’—preventing Liona from spending the whole night there, saving her from the trauma of being betrayed by the ghosts and nearly devoured by Talia and her pack, and from becoming an unwilling witness to the death match between Kaiser and Rory. Though the latter might not have been so bad.

  Then there was Nagato—Tim. He still didn’t know what to think of his other companion—but he seemed better than Luca had initially thought. A liar was better than a backstabbing bastard, in most cases, but he’d hold off on judgment for now.

  His thoughts drifted to the conversation awaiting him, and his mouth curved into a slight smile. Sooner than expected, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened with another soft chime, accompanied by the AI’s voice. Luca muttered a ‘thank you’ under his breath as he stepped out, making his way to Michael’s office.

  Minutes later, he was inside, waiting for his ‘supervisor’ to finish his current task. It gave him more time to observe the details of the office—like the single photograph of Michael, a younger version of him standing proudly in front of a military helicopter, and a small wooden figurine of a three-headed dog sitting on the desk, used as a paperweight.

  At least his tastes are better than the old lunatic from the park, Luca thought, turning his gaze back to the man in question. Michael seemed absorbed in his screen, even with the glasses covering his eyes. They didn’t even reflect what he was looking at or the light from the ceiling. A new specialized pair or something?

  Finally, Michael seemed to grow bored of making him wait or tired of his stare and leaned back in his chair, tilting his chin up to look at him. The man was certainly intimidating. "The report from Control seems quite interesting," he began. "It’s been a while since we’ve had an early ending that didn’t mean everyone died. Why don’t you tell me what happened from your side?"

  Luca nodded and began explaining, trying to keep it as concise as possible, only mentioning the most important details—his initial encounter with the NPC, his trip to the museum, the base, the tour, the reward for his good score. His visit to the museum, his meeting with Nagato, the discovery of the lab in the ‘basement.’ The creature—the first of its kind—the escape, the second creature. The administration building. The final creature. Liona. The garden and the last lever.

  The end—how it took two people to unlock the exit gate.

  Michael didn’t interrupt him at any point, his expression serious and attentive—at least, what was visible of it.

  When Luca finished, his throat felt dry—but he felt he’d given a good explanation. And most importantly—

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "The manual wasn’t much help," he said bluntly. "Can I ask if it was on purpose? Some kind of trial by fire?" Luca inquired, making sure to sound calm but firm. It was already a lot that he didn’t curse the idiot who made that ‘manual’. What a joke.

  Michael’s mouth twitched. "Is that what it seems like?" He pushed his glasses up slightly. "Don’t overthink it. In the end, it’s good news for you—discovering two hidden missions will force them to update the manual. I’m sure Control will love the number of points they’ll have to give you for all the new information, including what someone conveniently left out."

  On one hand, more points weren’t a bad thing at all. On the other hand— "The people in charge of these manuals—who are they? Is it a specific position? Lacerta mentioned something about Scouts during orientation…"

  "It’s part of the Registrars’ responsibilities –isn’t a field job. In theory, each team has a group assigned to them—" Michael sighed, tired. "I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Delta only has three of them, even though we have ten times more Mysteries than the others. It’s because, being ‘low-priority’ worlds, the information we gather isn’t a priority. Until researchers need ‘basic’ material—and in large quantities."

  It sounded all too familiar to Luca. How many times had he had to run a marathon to fix ‘urgent’ issues for things that supposedly hadn’t mattered until ten minutes before? Too many. Apparently, not even the leading company in this world was immune to human inefficiency.

  Michael clasped his hands on the desk, resting his chin on them. "It’s hard to believe. You three are the first case since we discovered Primal Dream where the incursion ended without incidents. Not only that. The additional information is valuable. An exit that doesn’t require the safety mechanism and the hybrid creatures…" his tone turned thoughtful at the end.

  No one said anything for a moment. Luca struggled to keep his eyes open, feeling like he could fall asleep there at any moment.

  "You must be exhausted," Michael suddenly remarked. "Why don’t you go and rest? We’ll talk about your next assignment after your three days off."

  "Understood."

  "Your reward will be ready by the end of the week."

  Luca nodded, grateful, and after saying his goodbyes, he headed for the door. An idea crossed his mind at that moment, and he turned back to the other man, "When the mission ended, a message appeared saying I’d get a bonus, but the next part was crossed out. Can you tell me at what level I’ll have access to this benefit?"

  "You must be talking about—" he paused and then smiled. "You’ll have to wait until at least level 3. Congratulations on reaching level 1. You’ve got a long road ahead, rookie, but you’re off to a good start."

  "Thank you, Michael."

  The walk to his apartment was a blur—but when he arrived, Luca found his bed neatly made, a bottle of apple water, and a chocolate bar on his nightstand. He managed to shower without any issues, using a good portion of his hot water supply, and it was on autopilot that he munched the bar and drank the water as an improvised dinenr before fulfilling his desire to collapse onto the clean sheets.

  The rain followed him into his dreams.

  A knock echoed through the office, interrupting the silence Michael had been enjoying until that moment.

  He looked up just as the door swung open, revealing Minerva on the threshold. Her expression was a mix of excitement and urgency, as if she’d just discovered a secret she couldn’t wait to share. Michael knew immediately what this was about and began regretting staying there after working hours.

  "Michael, is it true…?" Minerva began, striding toward his desk with quick steps. "Tell me it’s true—"

  "It’s true," he replied flatly, his voice as emotionless as his expression.

  Minerva needed no more. She closed the door behind her with a sharp motion and headed straight for the chair in front of his desk. She dropped into it with a mix of grace and carelessness, looking at him with the intensity of a four-year-old waiting for their Christmas gift.

  Her aura burned a bright red.

  Michael sighed, feeling a headache beginning to form in his temples.

  "None of that sighing, spit out the details," Minerva said, making a hand gesture to hurry him up.

  "I’m going to assume you’re referring to the latest mission completed by the rookie trio," Michael began, speaking with deliberate slowness, as if each word were an effort.

  "By our rookie," Minerva interrupted impatiently.

  Michael continued, ignoring her, "I don’t know what you’ve heard, but yes, our rookie discovered two hidden missions—including an alternate exit and new specimens—"

  "That idiot Kartos is foaming at the mouth, maybe now he’ll actually start working—"

  Michael cleared his throat, cutting her off sharply.

  "Go on, go on—" Minerva insisted, ignoring his tacit warning.

  "As I was saying," Michael continued, "he discovered two hidden missions. The total points exceeded 100, which means we’re now in—second place, just behind N-Delta."

  "I knew it," she whispered, a victorious smile on her face. "It was worth talking to that bitch."

  Michael barely avoided rolling his eyes.

  "What else?"

  It was safest to give her something, or she’d keep pestering him. "He reached level 1. His Growth will likely be interesting, considering he’s already acquired Night Vision."

  Minerva leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with interest. "When? This is his first mission, right?"

  "During the Interview. Along with ‘Stealthy’."

  Minerva rubbed her hands together with a smile she couldn’t hide, and Michael swore he could see dollar signs reflecting in her eyes. "This sounds very promising. Very promising."

  "Don’t get too excited," he warned, resting his face on the desk and closing his eyes, as if trying to block out Minerva’s overwhelming energy. "Team White is having trouble with their latest project, and someone suggested the mine mission."

  Minerva frowned, her enthusiasm waning slightly. "But that doesn’t mean they’ll send them. L-Delta has more than four rookies, and N has three. We’re the only team with just one left."

  "And?" Michael retorted, lifting his head to look at her with a tired expression. "You’re talking about the one who discovered those missions. They’ll drag him in for sure."

  Minerva sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling with a mix of frustration and resignation. "Damn Krino."

  "Don’t insult our Manager," he murmured, without much enthusiasm. "Not during work hours."

  She snorted. “Our shift is already over.”

  “Then felt free to say everything you want.”

  “We should give him access to the Junky Box.”

  “Don't take my words so literally.”

  Minerva hummed, ignoring him completely. “You know what? I’ll take care of it. Go to bed, Michy.”

  A shiver ran down his spine, and he popped up his head. “Don’t-”

  But Minerva was already at the door. She left without another word, the door closing behind her with a thud.

  He should have left as soon as his shift was over.