Allen stepped out of the café and scanned the area. People were fleeing in droves, surging toward the shelters in the city center. Behind him, the students who had just entered the café vanished into the frantic maelstrom of the crowd. Alex looked at Allen.

  “Be careful.”

  Allen smiled, stifling a laugh. “You should be more worried about yourself.”

  “I am. I’ll be out of a job if you die.”

  Allen chuckled as Alex struggled to push her way through the press of bodies.

  “Now, the problem is my clothes... I can’t act as Firmament if I don’t cover my face,” Allen muttered to himself. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt and lit one. Stepping off the curb, he began to walk down the middle of the road, his eyes tracking three figures leaping across the rooftops.

  “Bah, whatever... where’s the damn monster?”

  He looked at the ground. Small stones and pebbles were vibrating erratically. Allen’s brow furrowed.

  “Of all the things it could be...”

  Even Allen shuddered, forced to catch his balance as a localized earthquake began to rip through the earth.

  “It had to be a burrower?”

  A couple of miles away, a massive worm erupted from the ground, gurgling. Needles lined its bizarre, gaping maw.

  “Category 2 at least...”

  Allen took exactly two steps. On the first, everything around him blurred into a high-speed haze. On the second, he was standing directly in front of the worm.

  He glanced at the local heroes. One was smeared under a slab of a collapsed building, a steady stream of blood pooling beneath the wreckage. The second and third had retreated, cowering inside a nearby building.

  “Classic... letting the weak do the work of the strong.”

  Allen extended his right arm. Instantly, the five-stone staff materialized in his hand. He gripped it, but instead of using all five stones, he selected only one—the transparent gem. The others vanished.

  “You’ll have to forgive me, Mr. Worm. I want to wrap this up quickly. I’m sure you understand.”

  Allen spun the staff and slotted the transparent stone into the hollow pommel. As the gem clicked into place, his clothes shifted, replaced by a stark white suit and matching white shoes. His hands were now encased in white gloves. Beneath the jacket, he wore a crisp white shirt and a black tie.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Allen.”

  Allen smiled and gave the worm a slight, mocking bow. The creature lunged, its maw wide, intending to swallow him whole. To the shock of the heroes watching from afar, Allen stopped the beast with a burst of light radiating from the staff’s gem. The worm gurgled as it recoiled, reeling. The heroes couldn't tell what had happened, but the monster’s distorted screeching made its fury clear. Allen gripped the staff with both hands, pointing the pommel toward the ground.

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  “Weapon of Neutral Emotion.”

  A brilliant white light surged from the stone, bathing the staff until it reshaped itself into a blade. When the light faded, only the pommel with the transparent stone remained, now forming the hilt of a sword.

  Allen released his left hand, letting the blade rest in his right. He flicked it to the side, creating a perfect line from his shoulder to the tip of the steel. Calmly, he tapped the transparent stone with his left palm. The blade began to hum with a white radiance.

  The worm lunged again. Allen dodged, leaping onto the side of a building and running vertically up the wall until he was level with what passed for the creature’s head. He leaped.

  “Lesser Star Slash.”

  The blade bit into the worm’s hide. In an instant, the light from the edge expanded, reaching over six feet in length. As he descended, the blade cleaved the worm down the middle. He hit the ground and flicked the sword a few times, eviscerating the beast and splitting it into two distinct halves. Allen let out a sigh, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket. He pulled out his cigarettes, lit one, and smiled, carefully avoiding eye contact with the two observing heroes.

  “The seed is planted... what I harvest will depend on what comes next.”

  He struck the pommel with his left palm, and the sword reverted to its staff form. He began to walk away, humming a low tune.

  The rest of the day passed quietly, save for one detail: the earthquake had leveled Allen’s apartment building. He had to rent a room at a hotel near his café. Once he settled in, he laid the staff on the desk and rolled the transparent stone between his fingers, smiling.

  A couple of knocks at the door broke his trance. He stood up, checked his sleeves, and opened the door. A man in a black suit holding a briefcase stood in the hallway.

  “Good evening, sir. Can I help you with something?”

  Allen already had a good idea who the man was, but he treated him like any other stranger.

  “My name isn't important. I’m with the Heroic Federation. May I have a few minutes of your time?”

  “Come on in.”

  Allen stepped aside and gestured for the man to enter. Once the door was shut, Allen sat across from him.

  “And what does the Federation want with a simple bystander?”

  The man opened his briefcase and pulled out several photos—images of Allen fighting the worm.

  “A ‘bystander’ like you should be registered with the Federation as a hero. We got a tip from the two heroes who survived. According to their reports, you possess staggering strength and speed.”

  “I’m not worthy of such praise. I was just curious about what I could do.”

  The man shook his head and pulled out a document with a red seal bearing the initials “HF.”

  “Ever since the higher-ups heard the reports, they’ve wanted you to take the entrance exam. This document authorizes your testing."

  “Can I ask who this special someone is?”

  The man went quiet for a moment.

  “Can I ask who this special someone is?”

  The man went quiet for a moment. A small bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

  “Of course, if it goes against your ethics, you don't have to tell me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s a minor detail. Do you know who Calibur is?”

  Allen nodded, though deep inside, a profound hatred began to stir.

  “Who doesn't know Calibur? S-Rank. The ‘Holy Sword.’ Good family, loaded, charismatic as hell.”

  The man nodded, placed the sealed document on the table, and glanced at the staff before standing up.

  “Right. Just remember, the tests are tomorrow. There are four parts: written, physical, an interview, and a spar against a hero. Depending on the results, the Federation will assign you a rank—or not. The only catch is no weapons allowed.”

  Allen smiled. “Understood. I’ll be there on time.”

  After the man left, Allen’s smile turned sharp. He squeezed the transparent stone in his hand.

  “Caliber? You sent your personal hatchet man to find me? As cowardly as always...”