“You want me to fix the exam?!”

  Jin flipped through the file, trying to calm his mind down and catch his breath. One name leapt off the page. A name that has been on everyone’s lips lately. He snapped the folder shut and fixed Ironshield with a sharp glance.

  The man didn’t even blink. "Personal views aside," he said, as if plucking the thought straight from Jin’s mind, "I believe in second chances. For everyone."

  Jin scoffed, his gaze flicking past Ironshield to the figure behind the desk across the room.

  Chairman Heihachi Mashimoto sat with the poise of a man who’d spent decades bending others to his whim. Effortless. Almost insufferable so.

  His beige suit was tailored to perfection, his white hair slicked back to a mirror shine, his moustache groomed to symmetrical precision. A glass of wine rested in his hand, the deep red liquid glinting under the room’s ambient light.

  “But sir," Jin said, his voice steady beneath the weight pressing on his chest, "why me? I’m not an instructor. I’m not an examiner. I shouldn’t be the one doing this."

  The Chairman set his glass down. The clink of the crystal against mahogany echoed through the room. It drowned every other sound except for one’s heartbeat.

  “Before that,” he leaned forward, “will you humour an old man?”

  Chairman Heihachi’s voice didn’t just carry through. It compelled obedience. A force that made Ironshield’s presence seem like a whisper in comparison.

  Jin exhaled through his nose, calming his nerves. "Ask away, Mister Chairman."

  "Frank Stein, is it?” Chairman Heihachi’s gaze locked onto Jin like a spear boring through the man’s very existence. “Are you truly who you claim to be?"

  The question dropped into the room like a divine punishment.

  Jin wasn’t the only one who stiffened. Old Man Sid’s fingers twitched toward the back of his ear – an old habit when things got too uncomfortable for his liking – while Ironshield’s already stoic face tightened further, his gaze flicking between Jin and the Chairman as if they were communicating in secret code.

  But Jin?

  He didn’t flinch. He couldn’t afford to. His expression remained as if he was sculpted from granite, his voice as monotonous as he could conjure.

  "I am who I am. To my friends. To my family." A pause followed. "To those who know me. Or think they do."

  The Chairman’s lips curved upward. But it wasn’t an empty smile. It was an acknowledgement – a recognition of sorts to Jin’s response.

  “So, you mean, the man you are today is not the man you were yesterday." He emptied the remainder of the wine in his glass and, after setting the crystal down, continued. "Outwardly, perhaps. But inside? There, you remain unchanged. Yes?"

  “You can say that,” Jin replied, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead. “You can change a book’s cover. Smack a different title, too. But the content? It’ll remain the same. Maybe even better over time. Who knows, right?”

  Chairman Heihachi let out a low, knowing chuckle and rose from his seat. He walked across the room, his suit straining at the seams, its fabric clinging as if it would break anytime. Ironshield was built like a tank, but the Chairman was something else altogether – a force of nature barely contained by the tailored cloth.

  He settled into the chair opposite Jin and the other two guests, the cushion creaking under his weight. "This year marks my eighty-first year in this god-forsaken world," he said, his voice low and measured. "Fifty-seven since the Cataclysm. First Generation Player, we were called.”

  The rest listened on attentively.

  “I have seen everything. Survived everything." His gaze swept over them, lingering on Jin a fraction longer than necessary. "You name it, I have lived it. Including the weight of an identity that does not align with the face you show the world."

  Jin could feel every single word Chairman Heihachi said, each one a lump down his throat. Old Man Sid went pale and stiff like a frozen ghost. Ironshield’s usual stoicism faltered for the first time, his eyes flicking between the Chairman and Jin as if he was still searching for that very clue he was missing out on.

  But no one spoke. No one moved.

  “But worry not,” Chairman Heihachi spoke, his voice dropping almost to a whisper. "I am not here to dissect your past.” He glanced at Ironshield, then turned back to Jin. “What your instructor said was right. Everyone deserves a second chance." He gestured toward the file Jin read earlier. "You have been given yours. Now, do you not think it is time to extend the same courtesy?"

  Jin’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers tightened around the armrest. "These three need one?" He tried to keep his tone even. Completely uninterested, but there was still a slight edge to it. "Emilia van Lowenhald, for instance. She’s got the name, the power, the everything. So why is she failing?"

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Ironshield?”

  “Yes, Chief. Allow me.” The man straightened his shoulder. “Frank, do you realise what you and the others have been through wasn’t strictly an exam?”

  Jin raised an eyebrow. “Now that you mentioned it, I do find it odd. There should be markers or benchmarks somewhere, right? Like a passing grade or something. I never attended school myself, but from what my daughter-“

  “Daughter? A schooling daughter?” Ironshield shot a blank stare. “At your age?”

  Oh fuck.

  Jin’s heart was about to pop out of his chest. “I mean, I have a niece that I've taken in as my own daughter.”

  He forced a laugh, and Old Man Sid joined in trying to sell the false narrative.

  Thankfully, Ironshield waved it off. "Whatever. You’re not wrong, though. Exams have rules. Passing grades. But this? It’s in the name. Assessment and evaluation.”

  “Uhmm,” Jin said, rubbing his temple. “You’re starting to lose me. Would you get to the point, please?”

  Chairman Heihachi’s voice cut through before Ironshield could answer. "We assess your worth as a Player. Potential. What you can do, not what passing grades you get. Or what boxes you tick. Or what kind of data can we mine from you. We need more Players on our side, and the bureaucracy was slowing us down."

  “But why, though? By following your old standard, wouldn’t these three already pass?”

  “These three might, but thousands more will not. And the last thing we want is Neo-Tokyo to be ridden by Unregistered Players.”

  Unregistered Players.

  They were those who failed and refused to retake the exam or were too arrogant to register with the Security Commission. Operating beyond the grey line, the Unregistered would never get official commissions and get paid for their efforts from SeComm.

  But the Unregistered Players were no fools either. They were wolves waiting in the dark, taking advantage of SeComm’s systemic problem. Most of them were as strong as licensed Players – sometimes stronger – that answered to no one and were free to use their power in the real world while the SeComm’s stretched-thin forces chased to close the RIFTs.

  That was how Ward 3 fell, becoming one of Blood Fiend’s turf. And no one could stop them until it was too late.

  “So, you’d simply pass anyone?” Jin asked.

  Ironshield shook his head. "Far from it. You need five out of eight votes to pass. And we’ve been watching. All of us, whether we were assigned to your class or not."

  Jin leaned against his seat, arms crossed. “Highest CP in our batch, got all the pedigree she’d ever need, yet she managed to scrape only three votes? Damn. You guys are brutal.”

  Ironshield smirked. “Brutal? We’re being transparent. You saw what happened in Phase Two yourself. If anything, her conduct hammered the final nail into her license’s coffin.”

  Jin grimaced, as if imagining himself in Emilia’s position. But she wasn’t alone. The other two examinees shared the same flaw.

  Wong Ka Fei, the Berserker with more rage than brain cells, and Eustace Sinclair, the Pathfinder who treated his role as nothing more than a nuisance. Both had high Combat Powers and elite backgrounds, but when it came to working with others, they were useless. Chairman Heihachi has had enough of tolerating lone wolves.

  And then there was the real reason. The one that mattered more to Jin than these candidates’ eventual failures.

  "Nothing exists in a vacuum," Chairman Heihachi said, "and neither does the Security Commission. Without these distinguished families backing us from the start, we would not be where we are today. A little reciprocity is not only fair but expected."

  And that was where Jin came in. Though there were others, he had to lead specifically these three – Emilia, Ka Fei, and Eustace – to a passing vote. They’d have one last chance.

  The third and final phase of the Player Assessment and Evaluation Examination.

  "So, the next phase is inside a RIFT?" Jin asked. "Isn’t that a little dangerous for them?"

  "F-Class RIFT," Ironshield said. "Once we clear it, you’ll lead those kids to help Sid."

  Jin raised an eyebrow, turning to his friend. "You going to fill me in, or what?"

  Old Man Sid exhaled, rubbing his temple. "The Chairman gave the green light to revamp the whole Cleaner department a couple of days ago. Back in our time, we only took on commoners or the unawakened. But now?" He shook his head. "With RIFTs and Unregistered running wild, even Players are getting recruited. They won’t be any random Cleaners, though."

  “Oh?” Jin raised his eyebrows. “Sounds fun. More Dr Frankenstein, then?”

  Old Man Sid scoffed. “Nothing as crazy as what he did.” He ticked off the changes on his fingers. "First, we got the usual Cleaner Department. Still gathering resources, loot, drops and whatever inside the RIFT. Second, the new Cartography Department. We’ll be scouting resources and mapping RIFT terrain. And third, the Support Department. These are for Players who aren’t cut out for combat or exploration. Less risk for them, less risk for civilians if they’re backing us up."

  "Ah," Jin said, grinning. "Now I get why you’re drowning in paperwork, Sid. Never seen you this bald and ragged. Guess fieldwork and bureaucracy will do that to a man."

  "Shut up," Old Man Sid snapped. "This is my rugged look. Women eat it up. Unlike that pretty-boy face of yours."

  In the end, Jin agreed to the Chairman’s request. "But I’ve got one condition."

  "And that is?"

  “Since I have to pass them no matter what, I’ll be having my fun with them.” Jin’s voice was cold. Unnerving that even Old Man Sid and Ironshield looked at him with wary eyes. “It’s my way or the highway. My words are law. If I say jump, they jump. If I say run with their tails between their legs, they’ll run until their tails get right up in their arse.”

  "Oi, Frank-"

  "It’s fine, Ironshield," the Chairman interrupted, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Fair enough. We are the ones who put him in this position." He leaned forward, his hands steepled on his lap. "But is that all?"

  Jin didn’t miss a beat. "Oh, right. Will I get paid for this?"

  The question caught everyone off guard. Even Chairman Heihachi let out a rare, deep chuckle. "Yes, yes. Paid according to rank and achievement. Do well, and I will even throw in a bonus."

  "Great." Jin turned to Old Man Sid. "Can’t crash at your place forever, old friend. Besides, if she comes back, at least there will be a proper home waiting for her."

  With the meeting over, Ironshield and Old Man Sid filed out first. Jin lingered, reviewing the last of the details on the candidates he was supposed to ‘fix’. Just as he turned to leave, the Chairman stopped him with a final, quiet word.

  "And Frank..." His voice dropped to a near-whisper. "The girls said thank you."

  Jin froze. "Girls? Which girls?"

  Chairman Heihachi’s smile deepened as he mimed holding a microphone, waving his hand in the air like a cheering fan. "The ones you saved the other day. Remember?"

  A cold sweat broke out on Jin’s neck.

  The Chairman chuckled, stepping closer. "Relax. You are an enigma, Frank, but I am not one to pry. Not when it comes to my granddaughters and their friend’s saviour." His voice lowered further. "You have already got eight out of eight votes. And now, you have got my personal recommendation. Consider it a thank you."

  Jin’s stomach twisted as his soul was about to leave his body.

  This was the last thing he needed.