I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

Zoe had both cards held in her hands, one had an obsidian plating with a conspicuous [V] on it, while the other was silver in color and had a somewhat more discreet [M] she grabbed a pair of badge holders and pinned both to the whiteboard.

 

Neither had a name, photos nor anything to say whose they belonged to, they were, however... Plenty showy to be ID's to a [Villain] organization.

 

"These are what yours will look like if you end up as a [Villian] or [Minion], they will work in tandem with your bracelets in case you need to prove who you are and don't want to get close to a scanner." Said Zoe while fishing for a normal-looking ID from her back pocket.

 

It showed her full name and had a photo of hers, her badge holder hid her birthday and address, but one could find that information easily enough if one had the right contacts.

 

"As you can see my id is normal enough right?" Asked the girl while flashing her ID.

 

[Zoe Acedia] said the ID card.

 

That was...one weird name.

 

The girl flashed a grin and injected some [Mana] into the ID surprising Alice, usually powered didn't know how to do that...Since they rarely used [Mana] in a conscious way.

 

"Now if I funnel the smallest possible part of my [Skill] into the card.." So Zoe wasn't funneling [Mana] but her [Skill]?

 

That made...sense. No way a powered could manipulate mana right? Right?

 

"Then this happens," said Zoe while showing her ID card once more, this time, however...It was different, it was a crystal clear mirror of the [Villian] card on the whiteboard, only this one had some purple finishing instead of the usual red-gold the normal one had.

 

Also, it had Zoe's Villain name and picture on it, [Nyctoxis], and the photo of the black-haired girl with purple hair streaks and shining purple eyes. That was a neat trick.

 

Alice was thinking about how convenient...And perhaps pointless that would be, why would a [Villain] need to prove they were one? If a Villian needed a card to prove its identity, that [Villain] wasn't doing his job.

 

"Now we don't actually want you to go around showing these willy-nilly to everyone." Said Zoe while pointing to the card in her hand. "These are only to be used in case you need to prove your identity to another organization."

 

She added while playing a video on the whiteboard of a masked [Minion] in a discussion with another masked man, provably another [Villian] or

[Minion]. They couldn't hear what the discussion was about.

 

"This is an example, this [Minion] worked for [Echidna] and the man he is arguing with is a [Minion] from another organization that didn't believe he was a [Minion] of [Echidna]." She said while the [Minion] got exasperated and extended his hand pointing at his [Bracelet].

 

"And to prove his identity the [Idiot] exposed his [Bracelet] for a scanning," said Zoe while grimacing.

 

What followed was...Not pretty.

 

The other [Minion] used that chance to approach the exposed hand and struck both quick and viciously at the [Minion]. He went straight for the neck trying to kill the [Echidna's Minion].

 

He dodged by dumb luck but was at a disadvantage as he was caught by surprise, the fight devolved into an ugly struggle as one tried to escape while the other was obviously a powered metahuman.

 

"That other [Minion] was a disguised [Vigilante], someone that fights against our type of organization for a sport...Or vengeance...Or just wants to [Kill] but pretend to be on the side of [Justice]. It matters not." Finished Zoe while turning off the video once more.

 

"So...Don't expose ourselves and use the [Cards] to prove identity?" Said one of the edgelords at the back of the room.

 

"Exactly, the cards are proof enough of your [Alligeance], if someone wants more...Well, why do they care if a [Minion] is or not a [Minion]?" Shrugged Zoe.

 

"And if you are a [Villian] and need a card to prove it...You aren't doing a good job anyway so why do they care?" Added Alice with a smirk.

 

"Exactly." Approved Zoe while pocketing her card. "I will tell you this, no one ever doubted me with or without the card...And it's easy enough to prove my identity anyway...Not many can use [Signature Skills] of others anyway."

 

They all seemed to think about the implications of what they would be doing, Alice could understand them after having used the Bracelet for these few days, it was convenient. It was a good way to prove your identity...

 

And it was a weak spot that could be exploited, she didn't use one in [Avalon] when living there, so she didn't have that ingrained in her, but by how they behaved in this city...

 

It seemed that most had it in them, and she remembered how some got annoyed when she didn't show hers for a scanner quickly enough... Yeah, that was a good point to exploit.

 

"And now...It's the important part of the day!" Said Zoe while walking to a side of the classroom and pulling a pair of boxes, she left them open and it was full of empty ID cards.

 

Neither had a design to them or anything special, her [Shadow Sense] returned nothing either. Unlike the tamed reaction it came from most bracelets around here...

 

"If you want to work as a [Minion]..." Said Zoe while pointing to one box, "You grab one of those...If you want to be a [Villian].." And then pointed to the other, "You grab one of those...If you want just work at the base then wait here someone else will come when we leave and explain the work."

 

One by one they filled and grabbed a card, they quickly hid it in their purses, wallets, and jackets trying to not show what the card read, Zoe just stood there seeing them file out of the classroom.

 

Outside they walked left or right depending on what box they had taken their card, some, however... Walked in the direction opposite of the others.

 

Were they being directed on the outside?

 

She wondered while waiting for the mob of people to clean some more, when there weren't enough people around near the boxes she walked and grabbed one of each box.

 

"hmm..." Mumbled the girl while watching them both. "[Identify]" And infused her [Idea] into the skill to see the information of the cards.

 

She was leery of the [Skills] true, but not enough to cripple her [InfoGathering] skills.

So these were exactly the same?

 

Then how did they decide what one would get?

 

Where...Are they really letting them choose?

 

"Go ahead girl, grab one and move on." Said Zoe while Alice put down the card she grabbed from the [Minion] box and walked to the outside.

 

It was then that she found her answer. Outside were two minions with placards that said [<-Minions this way] and another one that said [Villians this way ->]

 

It was...Utterly ridiculous way to sort them.

 

But she shrugged and walked to the right, not many were coming this way and most of those that came this way were people like her that wasn't bothering to hide their face. Even the muscle berserker was coming this way.

 

And he tried really hard to stay far away from her, did she hurt his feelings?

 

Heh.

 

They continued walking for a few minutes to find another arena...This one had a couple of craters in the flooring and some melted slag were the other one had bleachers. That...Didn't seem like a good thing.

 

In the middle of the arena was a single girl, she was dressed in black cargo jeans and a black sweater, she didn't seem like what one would expect from someone working in a [Villian] organization.

 

She even used glasses!

 

Everyone knows that all the clear-glassed people were either nerds or cunning villains...Oh...yeah she was a villain, she now could see it.

"You are here, good." Said the girl in a gruff tone.

 

That...wasn't right, she had the cool smart beauty type!

 

Why was she so..." What are you looking at you brats?" Grunted the girl while spitting at the floor in front of her.

 

At least she wasn't the only one hit by the weird contrast between her appearance and her behavior. "File in whatever order you want," said the girl while walking towards one of the sides of the arena and standing in front of a projector.

 

She waited while they stood at the boundaries of the arena, no one willing to step into it just yet.

 

"...Tch, more cowards." Said in an annoyed tone the girl while watching everyone standing just outside the boundaries of the arena.

 

Alice was tempted to step forward if only to make a point of trying to be above the average powered in here, but something about that girl made her stop. She could feel [Emotions] irradiating from the shadows in the girl.

 

And while they weren't feelings of [Taint] or [Madness]... They still made her wary.

 

"This is the examination for those of you useless rabble that want to be a [Villian] affiliated with [The Hydra's Fang]." The girl said while pointing around her. "This [Arena] was made to withstand till High B-Tier mana discharges. Your test is to make a dent in it."

 

Then everyone looked around, and it...Didn't seem that hard to do since the whole arena was already plenty damaged, so perhaps this was more of a test of guts?

 

To see if we would be brave enough to stand forward...To wish for something more?

 

To go further beyond?

 

"Hmp...Easy enough." Said the berserker who was the first to go forward, he walked to the middle of the arena and closed his eyes.

 

She could feel the mana around be siphoned into him "AAAAAAAH" as the skill took effect and he started to grow his muscles.

 

And then after (Only one minute) of screaming the berserker hit the ground with all his might!

 

"Lame." Only to be berated by the girl after the dust settled, leaving behind the berserker in the middle of the arena with a floor undamaged.

 

"Felt like maybe a C-Tier..." Added the girl while checking something in a holopad that she took from god knows where.

 

The berserker man just looked bewildered, "what are you doing? Move it." And the girl just swatted at the air with her hand in his direction.

 

That was all it took for the berserker man to fly against one of the walls, hitting it and leaving the man unconscious on the spot. "Anyone else wants to get the [V] Card?" Asked the girl.

 

Nobody else seemed to want to take the opportunity, so Alice had to swallow the fear that wanted to bind her to the floor and took a step forward "Ohoho...The girl that caused a ruckus before...What are you waiting for?" Said the glasses girl.

 

Had she seen her fight against Berserker man?

 

Not that it mattered, she needed to focus all her might if she was to clear this ridiculous trial, she knew exactly how much strength that man had, she had fought against him and knew his status. She had no hope to compare against him neither in physical prowess nor in sustained power.

 

But she had an advantage...She knew exactly her good points and had no time limit to do it. "Be quick about it unless you want me to swat you too." Besides the quick temper of her testing instructor that is.

 

So without much preamble, she flexed her [Will] into the [Shadows] around her, finding purchase and summoning all of them to her, most responded.

 

A few among the other testing resisted her call but she managed to make them bend to her will, the [Shadow] near the glasses girl resisted and rebuked her commands, but she already knew something like that would happen so she didn't mind it that much.

 

She however felt a burning sensation in the tendrils that came too close to her, wasn't she a [Shadow] user?

 

Weird.

 

"[Mold]." Said Alice when she got enough [Shadows] around her, making them rise from the ground above her, creating a blob of condensed [Shadows].

 

She made a motion with her arms raising them to the ceiling and then tightened her fists "[Sharpen]." And with the command of her [Idea] the blob turned into a spear.

 

A very ominous [Shadow Spear] with a spear point as sharp as it could get. "[Sharpen]." But not nearly enough for Alice's plan.

 

She focused all of her being into the spearhead and condensed more and more [Shadows] in it, she wanted to make it sharper. More and more of the shadows that had been left behind started flowing into the spearhead.

 

The handle? Not needed, no one would ever hold that spear anyway.

 

So it dissolved and flew into the spearhead to make it more dense.

 

Decorations? Not needed, this was a weapon, it didn't need decorations. So she gave away them to the void and used the [Shadows] to further the [Weight] of the [Spear].

 

"[Sharper]." She commanded once more, trying to get as much [Edge] as was possible into the [Spear].

 

Her [Mana] was starting to drop as she was generating new [Shadows] when she ran out of them in the area (Or at least the ones she could wriggle out of the surroundings).

 

When her mana dropped around 40% she deemed it was good enough and turned to look at the glasses girl, she was there not looking impressed at all and was only raising an eyebrow.

 

"[Burst]." Said Alice and the spear flew directly in front of her at the highest speed she could muster.

 

Unlike the attack of the berserker this one was designed to only try and penetrate the arena floor, it wasn't made to create a crater nor to destroy the arena, she only needed to [Make a dent].

 

So she put all her might into doing that, [Create a dent] was the [Idea] she used when trying to create that stupid overengineered spear.

 

"hmm....I guess that is a pass...Even if barely, but that was expected of the [Daughter] of [That Monster]." Shrugged the girl with glasses seeing the spot where the spear had hit.

 

There, was a small dent in the arena floor, it wasn't as impressive as the other craters around, nor was it by any measure a big dent, it would probably be hidden by the dust if someone strolled by it.

 

But it was there, "Thank you." Said Alice while walking to stand near one of the slags of metal that would be one of the bleachers, she walked there and made a chair out of shadows with her [Skill] to sit and rest.

 

"Anyone else you brats? Or will the girl and the muscle head be the only ones ?" Said the glasses girl.

 

Making Alice perk at that...Only her and the muscle head? What?

 

But he didn't make a dent...No wait...She focused her mana into her eyes trying to see the arena floor, it shined... "[Identify]" And then went one step beyond and fueled it with [Idea] and used her [Skill].

This...Was a bio-weapons testing ground?

 

And this girl wanted them to use their skills so they could get a sample?

 

So the testing was just so that they got a sample of their mana then? If so she didn't even need to exert herself that much!?!?

 

What did she waste so much mana for?!?

 

Also who used something so ridiculously sturdy anyway?!?

 

She had thought the 'This can stand B-Tier..' Was to make them take a serious effort, not that it was actually graded for that... If anything she felt proud of the fact that she had managed to dent the stupid thing...

 

While pondering about the thing a few others had tried to use their skills in the arena, most failed to make a dent even if a few tried to follow her example. But most didn't have the [Oomp] her skill had nor the [Versatility].

 

It seemed most had [Evolved] their skills away from the [Shadow] base. And as such they had stunted evolutions, from a girl that could control her clothing to make weapons to a boy that could summon a sword from his shadow...And nothing else.

 

The glasses girl just grunted and pointed them to walk behind her, some walked near Alice and sat awkwardly in the slag that were the bleachers, and others sat near Muscle Boy.

 

In the end only a fourth of those there tried to take the [Test], while the others just stood there, waiting "What are you waiting for? If you aren't going to do something [Scram]!" At least till the glasses girl got annoyed at their puppy eyes and sent them back.

 

They just filed back and walked back to return, a few of those near muscle head also took this chance to return.

 

So only around 6 of them ended up waiting.

 

"Welcome to [The Hydra's Fang], you are now [Villians]. We will send you the care package to the mail address you left with us...You will need to fill in the information asked by your [Bracelet]. Welcome and blablabla. Now [Scram]." Said the girl while walking to the exit.

 

And like that the [Induction] had ended?

 

What?

 

That...They only wanted a test of their skills?

 

That was the last test?

 

What?

 

She...Wasn't sure what to feel...But she was guessing that it was a good moment to leave if nothing else.

 

"So...Anyone wants to celebrate?" Said one of the people near her.

 

Yeah, not dealing with that.

 

"[Shadow Travel]." Said the girl while her whole body was covered in shadows leaving behind only a blob of shadows that sank into the floor.

 

She was not dealing with all the eyes that seemed to bore into her, no way in hell she was dealing with the questions about how she had managed to dent the floor.

 

No sir, no.