There was a brief moment of silence.

The guards looked at each other before the one who’d been speaking shrugged and stepped forward. “Alright, but just know that I’m Physique 4 and Defender 2, so don’t think this will be a walk in the park.”

The other guard shook his head and muttered, “You’re Physique 3 at most.”

Dario nodded before walking away and down the short steps of the marble stairs.

“Where are you going?” the guard he’d challenged asked his retreating form.

“I told you, I’m gonna push past you and pass this damn test,” Dario yelled as he turned back to look at the guard a dozen meters away.

“Fine, but you better not hold back ‘cause I’ve stopped men much bigger than you!” the guard yelled back before lowering his stance in preparation.

“Here we go,” Dario muttered. “Don’t fail me now, please don’t fail me now.”

Taking a deep breath, Dario closed his eyes and focused on the inner energy he was slowly familiarizing with. He pulled hard and felt his body fill up with strength. After feeling the connection slide into place, he opened his eyes and bolted straight at the guard.

With the pavement cracking beneath his feet, Dario practically flew through the air. The distance between him and the guard shrank in a few blinks of an eye, and before he knew it, he’d tackled and collided with the man. To be fair, Dario did feel quite a bit of resistance when they crashed, with the guard feeling like he weighed as much as a large horse. However, it didn’t matter as simple physics prevailed.

Surprised, the guard groaned before he was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards into the door. Unfortunately for the wooden entrance, it wasn’t nearly as sturdy as Dario or the guard.

The door shattered in a spray of wooden fragments that scattered across the floor. Both Dario and the guard tumbled through the entrance and rolled to a stop at the bottom of a receptionist desk. The loud noise attracted the attention of several people who were lounging on couches in an area nearby.

“That was awesome,” Dario exhaled as he lay on the ground.

Next to him, the guard shook his head and moaned, “What the hell just happened?”

“Sorry about that, but you did say you could take a hit,” Dario said while sitting up and checking on his condition. He felt a little bit sore, but it was surprisingly fading away very quickly. Looking around, he noticed a few people walking his way. “Uh, shit, I’m in trouble aren’t I?”

“That depends entirely on who you are and why you just broke down the door, young man,” a voice coming from behind and above him spoke.

Turning his head to look at the speaker, he saw an attractive woman with black hair tied into a bun, along with a curl hanging down the left side of her face. Her dark blue eyes stared down at him from her position behind the receptionist desk. She had a refined and mature look to her face, but at the same time looked paradoxically young.

That was the thing with Superiors, you could never tell how old they truly were. They were all so damn attractive, even the guard he tackled who just took off his helmet looked handsome.

“I can hear your thoughts you know,” the woman said with a quirk of her lips. “So don’t even think about lying to me.”

Oh.

“I’m here to register as a Superior,” Dario hastily told her.

“And that involved destruction of property and assaulting our employees, hmm?” the receptionist sternly questioned.

“Uh, sorry about that, but I had to prove myself for some kind of preliminary test before I could be examined. That’s what I was told at least,” Dario replied honestly.

“Is this true, James?” the woman asked the guard sitting beside him.

“You already know the answer to that Ms. Psylink, m'am,” James grumbled.

Psylink smiled before lecturing him, “It’s still polite to at least pretend I can’t hear your every thought.” She then turned towards the few people crowding the scene. “Nothing to see here folks, just another newbie looking to get registered. Go back to whatever you were doing and let me handle this.”

The crowd followed her command and Psylink turned back to face Dario.

“I sent word to the examiner, she’s on her way.” Psylink stood up and walked around the desk, allowing Dario to get a clearer look at the tall woman.

She wore a dark blue long-sleeved blouse that had gauntlet cuffs which flared in pleats at the wrist. On her lower body, she wore a black high-waisted pencil skirt with golden buttons, and black boots with golden heels. She had an air of grace and poise about her that gave Dario the impression that she was someone very important.

“In the meantime, get up and come follow me to one of the vetting rooms,” the woman ordered him.

Dario stood up and brushed himself off before following after Psylink. He waved back at the guard he'd tackled through the door and called out, “Sorry about that, James. Err, nice meeting you though!”

The guard only grumbled before looking down at the wooden remains spread out on the floor. “What am I gonna do about this door?”

Without breaking her stride, Psylink turned her head and glanced at Dario, “This young man will be paying for that door, won’t you, Mr. Sindred?”

“Yes, m'am.” Dario assented. He had been raised to be respectful and pay his dues after all. Also, he didn’t want to piss off someone who could so easily pluck his name from his mind. “I might not be able to afford it though.”

“Not to worry, we’ll find a payment plan that works out for you.”

His eyebrows raised in alarm. “What payment plan?”

“The one you’ll get once you officially become one of us,” Psylink replied. “Well, if you choose to join us that is, but I have a feeling you will. Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Dario remained quiet as Psylink led him through several fancy-looking hallways and across large extravagant rooms. Looking around at all the fancy decor, he was somewhat reminded of his home. He wondered if the individuals who worked at the guild were as interesting as the ones who lived in his place of residence. It was an intriguing thought, and one that gnawed at the back of his mind. Eventually, he became too curious and broke the silence.

“So... do you work as the receptionist around here?” Dario asked.

“No, I’m a bit higher up in the chain of command,” she replied with a quirk of her lips. “However, I was bored and decided to give the person who usually mans the desk a break." She shrugged and waved her hand casually. "I sometimes like to... take over my subordinate’s roles as a way of stepping into their shoes, so I’m the substitute for today.”

“Oh... is it okay for you to leave your post just to guide me then?” Dario asked concernedly. “I don't want to be a nuisance or anything." He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, more than I already am.”

“Not to worry, today’s been a slow day so far and I needed to stretch my legs for a bit,” she replied, smirking. “Besides, I can tell whenever someone enters the building, and I can communicate from anywhere.”

“That’s... an amazing ability, m'am,” Dario remarked while looking around.

“You may refer to me as Ms. Psylink if you wish.”

“Alright,” Dario said as he marveled at the expensive interior decor of the halls. “Is Ms. Psylink your Superior name?" he asked distractedly. "Or is it just Psylink?”

“Yes,” she promptly replied. "And it’s just Psylink,"

"I see..." He nodded in acceptance. There was a short pause before he hesitantly spoke up once more. "May I ask how you got that name?” he asked with a hint of eagerness. He always did wonder how Superiors came up with their aliases, and this was the perfect chance to find out.

“You really are the talkative type aren’t you?” She sighed in annoyance. Psylink seemed hesitant for only a moment before deciding to indulge him. “I’m a telepath, like a psychic," she explained. "It just so happens that my first name is Sai Lin, and my last name starts with a K, so it was pretty straightforward from there.” She finished her sentence just as they stopped in front of a large ornate door.

“What’s a psychic?” Dario asked.

“It’s a person with mental abilities that falls under the Controller classification." She waved her hand dismissively. "Enough, you’ll find out in time. Your examiner is about to arrive right—” Psylink whirled around just as a figure appeared around the corner, “—now.”

On her cue, Dario turned to examine the approaching form.

Said individual turned out to be a tall and pale bald woman with smokey eyes the colour of amber, appearing to be in her late twenties. Just like every other Superior he knew of, she had a gorgeous face and perfect proportions, even being an inch taller than him. Her baldness and small facial scars in no way detracted from her beauty.

On her face were tattoos consisting of a small black horizontal line across the bridge of her nose, and a similar vertical line from her bottom lip to her chin. Her attire consisted of tight leather pants and a dark sleeveless shirt that showed off her thin, yet muscular, toned arms. She struck quite the imposing figure, especially with the weapons strapped to her hips.

“Hello, Miss Aimee,” Psylink greeted with a smile. “This young man here is your examinee for today.” She patted Dario on the shoulder before turning around to leave. “Don’t worry kid and have fun. Miss Aimee is the talkative type, she’ll teach you the basics. She may be a bit rough but I think you’ll be fine.”

Dario could’ve sworn he heard that last part in his head. As he stared at the receding form of his guide, he felt like he was just abandoned in a lion’s den.

“Nice to meet you,” Miss Aimee spoke in a smooth voice. She opened the ornate door in front of them and entered the room within. “Come, let’s see if you’re one of us now, shall we?”