The Author's POV

"Reporting for duty!"

Three youths shouted as they stood in front of Luther. A sharp and distinctive aura spread from each and every one of their bodies.

"You must be the recruits that I need to watch over."

Placing his hand on the bottom of his chin, Luther's gaze swept through the bodies of each of the individuals present.

After a couple of seconds, he nodded his head in satisfaction.

"You guys are better than I thought."

He had originally thought he was going to be put with arrogant recruits that knew nothing about real combat but feeling the bloodlust that was emanating from their bodies, he knew that his previous assumption couldn't have been any more wrong.

They were already fully grown soldiers.

"Let me get things straight, so your names are Ezra, Alisa, and..." Pausing, Luther turned his attention towards one of the three youths.

Staring at him, Luther could feel that this youth was different from the others. The bloodlust around him was three times thicker compared to the other two youth's.

Compared to the other two, he was a notch above them.

"...and Matthew?"

Unbothered by Luther's stare, stepping forward, Matthew nodded his head.

"That is correct, sir."

Next to him, Ezra and Alisa seemed to have no qualms with the fact that he had responded for them.

This did not go unnoticed by Luther, who squinted his eyes.

'Hmm, I see. So he's the leader of the lot.'

Luther could see hints of fear and respect in the eyes of the other two recruits as they looked at the youth named Matthew.

Turning his head and staring at Matthew, Luther asked.

"Alright then, you guys must already be aware of what is happening, right?"

"Affirmative, we're here to hunt down subject 876."

"Good, good. Do you guys have any ideas on how we should proceed?"

Luther had obviously already made plans beforehand. The only reason why he was asking, was because he wanted to test them.

Since his job was to mentor them, he naturally had to do so.

"Affirmative."

Matthew responded.

Raising his brow, Luther gestured.

"Oh? Please share your thoughts."

"Understood."

Taking a step forward, Matthew proceeded to tap on the smartwatch on his wrist. A three-dimensional hologram of the Monolith projected before everyone's eyes.

Staring at the map, he started explaining. "There are two ways to escape the Monolith, and the simplest way to escape would be through the main entrance of the building."

Portals weren't the only way people could get into the Monolith. If one knew the location of the Monolith, they could just directly enter through the barrier that was protecting the Monolith.

"What is the other method then?"

"The other method would be through the usage of portals."

Listening to Matthew speak, a smile appeared on Luther's face.

"Mhm, that is correct. I like where this is going, go on."

part of the Monolith. As such, we can exclude the

This meant that he did not sign a

the probability of him knowing the exact location of the Monolith were slim

could escape was through the

"Interesting."

to Matthew's deductions, the smile on Luther's

there anything else you would

brows knit, Matthew mused. "Subject 876 also seems to be adept in combat, and from the looks of things, he has the

"Assume he does."

will try to mask himself as a

"Reasonable deduction"

Luther nodded his head.

head, he asked. "If you assume he can change faces, what

us. Since he most likely knows that he's pressed for time, he'll eventually make a mistake and from there we can

replied without a hint

According to the reports, within a week's time, they'd be able

did not escape during that week, and the

Clapping his hands, Luther gazed at Matthew in satisfaction. "Good, good, you share

planning on guiding them to come up with this solution, but it seems as though he had underestimated

why the other two youth's

Matthew did not show any signs of

for your

"Since you guys understand the situation, go to the first level and proceed

"Understood."

before

slightly and staring at a flat surface where he could see his reflection. Looking at the burnt half of his face that was reflected on the flat surface, a throaty laugh

I've already made my

get his hands on 876 by the

—Ding!

his watch. Lowering his hand

than

***

—Splash!

my hands in the sink, and staring at the small black bracelet in my hands, I turned the

in

"I've seen worse."

time I got

infirmary where I spent the last couple of days

that I needed to recover from my injuries, I tried to gain as much information as

what the doctors and nurses were talking about, or just casual conversations I had with them when they were

I had, that I was somewhat able to learn of the structure

was located at the third level of the

were a total of five levels and each level was massive. My current goal was the

To Tok—!

out of my thoughts was a loud knock by the

"Matteo, are you finished?"

"..."

lowered my head. Putting the bracelet on my wrist, I gazed at myself in the

'It's time...'

If you don't respond, I'm going

the person behind the door once again called

I might need some

it this time?

—Tick!

the bathroom,

at that guard, I pointed

"Over here."

"What is the pr——hmmm!"

Clank—!

him by the head and covering his

"Mmhhh."

right arm around his throat, I clenched my teeth and choked him as

ten seconds before he

—Squeeq.