Mykl turned around to face Jasmine who casually leaned against the wall behind them, "could you go call upon Alestra and let her know she soon will be needed in my office?"

"Certainly," was all she said before exiting the same way they entered leaving the office in silence until Mykl explained. "Alestra is our in-house enchanter, which means she will be the one inscribing a containment seal on each of you and later on the rest of your clan members."

"Ah, of course. I imagine it's quite convenient to have one at hand, but we will be at your disposal whenever." Creon commented.

"Excellent," he nodded "and indeed it is a fortune to have one such as her. Both Jasmine and Alestra were part of a previous generation trained for clients of ours, same for me I guess though it's been a long time since then."

"You only hire from within your own ranks?" Dawson asked. "Not necessarily, but with the clients accept we typically include an option to choose one or two graduates among each generation in return for a price discount."

Gesturing for them to follow he led them to a comfortable sofa arrangement encircling a living room table. With each of them sitting down Mykl placed his right hand on the table's dark glass-like surface and emitted a sequence of genetic energy pulses, unlocking its computing features. Tapping a folder, he opened several pictures and building plans for them to see.

"Here, this is the plans for the facility to be built beneath your clan. Though it's a downscaled version of another facility placed elsewhere, it should still be able to accommodate 500 trainees comfortably."

"Damn, you're even adding gravitation rooms! Those are freaking expensive to install," Tobias exclaimed in shock while studying the drawings.

"They are expensive, yes, but it's worth the investment. It will help bring out the potential of the trainees quicker and deliver finished products within a timeframe of 20 years."

"Hmm, right..." Tobias said, pretending it was normal.

Mykl spent the time until Jasmine returned with Alestra, going through the details of their responsibilities and how they'd send the appropriate personnel within a week to begin construction. Apparently, they'd only be sending trainees to receive the so-called 'urban experience' after passing either a certain age or skill level. The main facility placed in the ancient city was responsible for nearly everything else.

When they came back, Alestra who looked almost identical to Jasmine except for her boyish short hair, started inscribing a containment seal onto their throats using fine needles dipped in a mixture of ink and her blood. It was extremely painful, and they could feel the invading genetic energy being injected with each tiny stab, all to ensure their silence. None of them really knew how it worked, only that it did.

"It is finished," Alestra said exhaling, "I've used a dynamic blueprint which connects to your emission points allowing you to change the color of the tattooed seal making it easy to hide. Should you ever reach the next sphere of cultivation it will naturally evolve and stay connected your new emission points, unlikely as that may be."

"Well done Alestra," Mykl interrupted her before she insulted them further, "with that finished let me show you out, gentlemen."

On the way out, Mykl pointed out parts of the facility Creon and his two elders hadn't seen coming in, some still being constructed.

"One key aspect we try hard to instill upon trainees during training and education is the fact we're doing them a favor, they are blessed to be here. If it wasn't for us their talent would probably never be explored. Our goal isn't to train them to become mindless robots without identities. Unless they possess some unique skill we usually sort those out quickly, as we find people who actually like to live on the edge and being on top of the latter much better products."

"So, you're saying at some point most of the trainees become grateful?" Dawson questioned.

"Indeed, it's true! It's not like we deprive them of much. Our program has recently begun to expand the opportunities for trainees to differentiate and grow as people. Gathered statistics have shown this provides a greater motivation, in turn, providing more balanced sentinels able to blend in everywhere without notice on our client's behalf."

"Most would make the argument never having a family, the constant danger and freedom of choice are valuable..." Tobias said.

"In reality, there will always be a tradeoff of some kind and our trainees are more aware of this fact than most. People like us do not have a choice over the environment we're in, but we still get to decide what we will make of it and what path we will take from there," Mykl responded as they reached an exit.

Same procedure as last time all of them reached up to put a hand on his shoulders. This time a slightly different rhythm of genetic energy enveloped them until they stood within a down broken residence that probably belonged to someone important as it was connected the city's tunnel network.

"That's it for this time, though we'll be seeing each other regularly from now on since I've been appointed the role of director for this site."

Saying their goodbyes, Mykl left them to return back to the capital by themselves.

"Guess there's no turning back from this," Dawson said pointing out the obvious.

"Nope, there definitely isn't," Creon sighed, "we're in it now, so when we get back you two will start the necessary preparations!"

----------

The main facility, 16 years later.

"Each of you has been gifted with exceptional talent, which is why we chose you. Few will people will ever have the rare chance to experience the true apex of in this world, however, this is what we are giving you. Commit yourself, be strong and we will guide you to become the best possible version of yourselves."

Mykl took a breath as he walked sideways inspecting 10 lines of 20 children standing at attention. There were children from all 8 great empires, even some of the smaller kingdoms were represented. It was pretty easy to distinguish people's origin as long as you knew the color combinations and body characteristics of each.

"Since each was fortunate enough to be chosen you've been groomed and readied for this day. Today begins a journey that will last the next 16 years, a time during which you will be educated and trained in various fields required to excel as elite sentinels."

Turning around, he gestured for a man behind him to step forward. Originating from the Morewen Empire he had the traditional tan skin that made his long white-blond hair and tail fur stand out even more. Standing side by side his head reached the height of Mykl shoulders making him above what could be expected from his kind.

"As the director, I would like to introduce you to Tomas, a representative of the clan sponsoring your generation of trainees," who nodded towards the new trainees.

"He will be staying with us to observe and help us evaluate your progress until only 20 of you remain." Mykl briefly introduced him.

"As previously stated, each of you should strive toward becoming the strongest possible version of yourselves. From this point onwards it's a competition to the finish line. You will be tried and tested, so pay attention to everything we teach. Most of you will fail, there's no way around it, but the only way of knowing is to actually try. Those who succeed will eventually enter the scene of where giants lurk, unknown to the masses." He encouraged them as he noticed something peculiar in one of the back rows.

As an elite sentinel and a leader who regularly met with clients from different kingdoms and empires, he prided himself in his ability identify anyone's origins based on their appearance, yet, a small child with bright purple eyes surprised him as he had characteristics, unlike any of the variations Mykl was familiar with.