A sharp knock broke the silence of the dimly lit room.
"Excuse me, sir." A masked woman stepped inside, her posture poised yet formal. She greeted Henry with a slight nod.
"Ah Yes?" Henry blinked, caught off guard by her sudden presence.
"I am Sir Exile's assistant, and I will be your supervisor for the next few days. You may address me as Miss Moon."
"Okay…" Henry muttered. He had no other response. Everything was moving too fast for him to keep up.
"Please follow me. I will guide you to your assigned quarters."
Without further questions, Henry trailed behind her in silence.
After a few minutes of walking through the dimly lit corridors, they finally stopped before a door.
Miss Moon opened it and handed Henry a stack of files. "Sir Exile instructed me to give you these."
Henry accepted them with a brief nod. "Thank you."
Without another word, he stepped inside, closing the door in her face.
Miss Moon blinked in surprise, staring at the closed door.
'He seems pretty upset.'
'Perhaps he didn't like my company…' She sighed internally. 'I knew it. I'm terrible with kids.'
Inside the Room
Henry sank onto the sofa, his mind racing as he tried to recall any mention of the "Twilight Crown" from the game.
'There was no such thing as Twilight Crown in the game.'
His thoughts replayed Exile's words.
'A seated position is more powerful than a family head…'
'Is this some kind of shadow organization that operates in the dark?'
He exhaled sharply, his gaze dropping to the stack of documents in his lap.
----------------
Name: Alvin Vaelcrest
Age: 15
DOB: 18th April 2128
Father: Erwin Vaelcrest
...
Personality: Coward, less talkative, innocent.
Hobbies: Video games, music, singing.
Favorites: Coffee, GT rock band.
Future Goal: To be a Popular Singer.
Details: Due to his childish personality, his father sent him to the battlefield at the age of 14.
...
Sigil: Leaf
Element: Wind [Great]
Progression: Adept
....
Threat level: None
----------------
Henry's grip on the paper tightened.
He turned his gaze from the paper to his left forearm.
'Leaf, huh? Now it's a serpent. The sigil changed.'
'I am now Alvin Vaelcrest. No longer Henry Croft.'
Unknowingly, his right hand lifted to his chin a habit he had whenever deep in thought.
'Fine. I'll play along… But don't expect me to follow the rules.'
'I will be Alvin.'
Five Days Later
Inside the Exercise Room
Alvin moved through his routine, body tense with exertion.
"That's enough for today," Moon announced.
"Already? I just finished my warm-ups," Alvin said, confused. His training usually lasted three to four hours.
"Yes. Today, we need to re-evaluate your Sigil. It's an order from Sir Exile."
"Alright. Lead the way," Alvin replied, barely fazed.
The past five days had been nothing but a cycle of training, eating, and sleeping under Moon's strict supervision.
'This brat...' Moon's mouth twitched.
She was clearly irritated by Alvin's attitude. He barely spoke to her, only responding with:
"Okay."
"Alright."
"Where is it?"
"Lead the way."
"Is that so?"
That was it. No proper conversation. And to top it off, he hadn't even called her Miss Moon once.
'He acts like an introverted man in his twenties…'
Her assumption wasn't that far off though.
Moon sighed and motioned for Alvin to follow.
She opened the door to the Evaluation Hall.
"Hm, why is no one here? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone besides you for the past few days," Alvin remarked.
'Finally, a chance for conversation!' Moon thought.
"The day Sir Exile brought you here, the members of this base were sent elsewhere to construct a new facility for you."
"What? A new base? For me?" Alvin asked, surprised.
"Yes. Your training will take place there."
"Don't spoil the surprise for my disciple, little Moon," a voice called from behind.
It was Exile.
"G-Good evening, Sir Exile," Moon greeted hesitantly.
"It's been a while," Exile said casually.
Alvin simply nodded in response.
Moon activated the machine, and holographic projections flickered to life.
"Step forward and touch the empty mana core," she instructed.
The core, resembling a glass sphere, was connected to various mana tech devices.
Alvin complied, pressing his hand against it. The core pulsed, and the display updated with his Sigil information.
------------
Sigil: Serpent
Elements: Wind [Great], Shadow [Great], Time [Low]
Progression: Dormant [Untrained]
------------
'Sure enough, his elements changed', Exile mused.
Moon, however, froze in shock. "T-Time… and he's Tri-elementa-"
She never got the chance to finish.
Her head rolled through the air before landing on the ground.
Silence.
Alvin stood frozen, warm blood speckling his face.
"W-What..." he stammered.
Exile let out a slow sigh. "I'm sorry for my display, but we can't have anyone knowing your elements."
'Shit. I should have expected this,' Exile thought. 'Now I have to kill my good assistant'.
Before Alvin could react, Exile stepped before him, extending a small, wrapped package.
"I have a gift for you," he said.
Alvin could only stare in disbelief. 'How can this man be so normal after killing someone for such a little reason?'
Still, under Exile's watchful gaze, he unwrapped the package.
'A mirror'.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he saw his reflection.
Half his face was painted in blood,
Blue eyes, tinged with a faint hue of gold.
Black hair, streaked in crimson blood.
A handsome 15-year-old boy stared back at him, yet his reflection showed no emotion.
It was certainly not a good experience for Alvin.
"Right. I told you to think of a name for yourself. Have you decided? If so, do tell me," Exile asked.
The wind, stirred by mana tech, swept past Alvin, ruffling his hair as he stood in the Exile's shadow.
Alvin lifted his head, slowly said:
"I am... Whisper."