I call someone I haven't talked to in months. Hopefully, my boss didn't die during the quakes, or that would be inconvenient. The phone rings and rings, and at the last second, he picks up.

"Agent Nelson."

"Ah. Ellis. It's truly been a while."

"It has been. Before I get into the reason for this call, did you find your team members?"

"You remembered. No. I know that Barry and Cathay aren't dead, at the very least. It's one of my skills as their leader to be able to confirm that. I've been searching for them, but it's hard."

"The fracture they went into disappeared behind them, right? How would you look for them?"

"...There aren't many options, and it mainly boils down to luck, but regardless, it's not hard because of the unfeasible nature of chasing down a 'ghost fracture' but impossible because of my superiors... I've kept tabs on you. I'm glad that you've made it big after leaving Bluefield."

"I'm not done yet. Random question. Can I purchase hazard fractures from the FIB? I mean, the hazard branch we work for isn't a part of the FIB due to 'technicalities,' right?"

"...You'll have to talk to the 'head,' and they are constantly in and out of fractures. I couldn't initiate a meeting for you even if I knew when they would be available. Plus, the FIB owns those fractures even if they don't 'own' the hazard department."

"I see. I want my suspension to end."

"...You know why that would be difficult."

"In my absence, has another team been formed?"

"You know firsthand why it's near-impossible to create a hazard team... at least in the small cities. I mean, you lost your arm practically instantly within your career. If people wanted to risk their lives for money, join a guild or the military."

"...Can you just loan me to the Auroran branch? If there hasn't been a team for the months I was gone, I assume the hazardous fractures have been delegated elsewhere. As the only member of the Bluefield hazard branch - sorry - couldn't I be delegated to the capital? Work where I live?"

"If you get out of suspension, my superiors might try to make life hard for you. They want the Bluefield branch shut down as a case study to abolish the entire 'hazard' program. That wouldn't be a bad thing except... my team members will truly be lost forever."

"...Couldn't we turn it on them? If I do well, excellent even, in the face of additional challenges, wouldn't that make our branch look better? Maybe you could get more funding? Reputation? Promotions? Funding? Don't government people like more funding?"

"That would help, yes... Yes. If it's you, I'm willing to take this gamble. Thank you for risking yourself to help find my teammates. I won't forget this. I'll contact my contacts and set something up. Standby."

I think he has a fundamental misunderstanding of my intentions. I don't see how correcting it would benefit me, so I guess that's that. It must have been hard for him these past few months.

I await his message while training Flash Gordon's new [Crystallization] skill. Basically, harvesting the skill hurts him minutely, so I figured healing him would expedite the crystal-making process. It worked, but it was very mana-intensive.

So, instead, I used [Master's Bestowment] and gave Flash Gordon my regeneration. I can see the crystals grow in real time as Flash Gordon becomes a printer, printing out various elements. I started taking notes documenting the skill's effects.

First, let's note some things without healing or regeneration to help the skill.

After analyzing the crystal growth rate with [Scientific Insight+], I determined that the growth rates of crystals change depending on the elemental type. I had Flash Gordon switch between elements, which reset the growing process.

The [Elemental Crystal] has the fastest growth rate of one per day. It's a very rare crystal with minute traces of every other element. Not only is it rare to find, but it's worthless because it's considered 'impure' and has to be 'processed' to use the tiny amount of whatever energy you want. You could technically use this crystal as a substitute for other ones, but that has it's own problems.

Then, a combination of elements like [Cloud] (Water, Air, Lightning) or [Magma] (Earth, Metal, Fire) takes three days to make one. Pure elements like [Earth], [Water], [Fire], and [Air] would take a week.

The more pure the element, the longer it takes to create. I guess Flash Gordon is 'purifying' the crystals within his body, or it's harder embodying something furthest from his original form... not that it matters too much since the most expensive, rare energies like [Space], [Gravity], [Life], etc. only take a day as well.

There is an implication if you combine enough elements, you get [Space], etc. Regardless, the time it takes is expedited by my regeneration rate. It takes fifteen minutes for the fastest, forty-five minutes for the combination elements, and a little over an hour and a half for a pure crystal.

I see some parallels. It would take roughly three minutes for my regeneration rate to heal someone from 0% to 100%. It seems to require 5x Flash Gordon's health to create one crystal... which explains the atrocious mana consumption with my healing.

I'm assuming the rate required will go down with leveling and ranking up the skill... But I'm definitely not complaining!

1440 minutes to create one crystal versus 15 minutes? That's a 98.5% increase in efficiency! Also, ranking the skill wouldn't be the only way to increase this rate. I could work on my martial arts skills as well or get a different way to regenerate health... Although, I think I'll actually die at that rate. My life force is suffocating enough with what I have.

After ten crystals, the skill levels up, minutely speeding the process. Then, twenty crystals later, it levels again.

[Crystallization (F) Lv1 > Lv3

The user can grow crystals from their body depending on the affinities the user has. Quality and Quantity increase as the skill grows.]

It's been over seven hours and well into the night, so I assume Nelson will contact me in the morning. With that, I head to bed.

~~~

I ran out of nutrient sticks a while ago, but I can get more from the FIB, so I'm there first thing in the morning. Apparently, Nelson contacted me with the details thirty minutes after I decided to turn in for the night. But I don't get reception in my mansion, where I predominantly sleep, so I missed it.

It was a simple text message. [Go to the hazard branch. You'll be welcomed. Godspeed, Captain.]

So, here I am at the hazard branch, and lo and behold, I'm not welcomed. A guy at the gate is adamant that I cannot go past him. Maybe I shouldn't be here first thing in the morning, but what do I know. I figured since people stay in fractures longer than the traditional 9-5, then this place would be operational 24-7. So what do I do? I ignore him.

The hazard branch is connected to the FIB's headquarters... but not really. It's right there, but it's technically not touching. It has its own walls and buildings and is in the shadow of the large compound next to it. I call it the 'headquarters,' but it's not. The actual headquarters isn't in a major city. It's elsewhere. Technically, all the Auroran branch offices are nearby each other.

I casually walk up the walls with my magic shoes.

"Hey, I'll shoot you!"

"I bet you will."

"You're encroaching on FIB property!"

"Not technically."

"I recognize you! Are you sure you want to do this so brazenly?"

"That's a lot of talk. I showed you my ID, and you didn't even check if I was in the system. It's on you what happens next."

"Fine! Stop climbing the fence! I'll call for someone to confirm."

The gate guard then mutters under his breath and goes into a little building connected to the fence. I decided to wait instead. Minutes later, the gate's doors silently opened.

I took this as permission and waltzed right on in. I walk inside the larger-than-expected building and find myself in an empty reception. I know I'm here early, but I assumed that more than just guards would be here.

There's a coffee maker in the reception, so I use it. I must be the first in the buildings since a fresh pot wasn't made. I hear someone enter the building after the coffee is finally done.

I make eye contact with a woman with a government-issued bun and in a FIB suit. She takes the cup of coffee I poured out.

"Thanks. You must be Ellis. Nelson told me you would be coming here. Why the fuck are you here so damn early? The office opens at 8:00, and here you are at 6:30."

She takes a sip and fails to hide her disgusted expression. I didn't know how to use their coffee maker, so I packed it full of coffee grounds and hoped for the best.

I sip straight from the pot. It's obnoxiously bitter.

I maintain eye contact with the woman waiting for my response. Then, I proceeded to drink the rest of the pot without breaking eye contact. It felt like minutes of what was realistically only a few seconds.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

I wipe my mouth and put the pot down. "Are you one of the higher-ups supposed to get in my way?"

"...Do you need the hospital? That must have been scorching. You might need a stomach pump because that was definitely over the safe amount of caffeine someone should ingest."

"Nah. So you know Nelson?"

"...Yes. We graduated together, and both entered the same job sector. I'm doing better, all things considered. I heard about what happened to Nelson's team."

"Cool."

"...and the only 'higher ups' you would need to worry about are other captains of subsidiaries and heads from other departments. There are the deputy directors, but I fail to see why they would care about you. "

"Subsidiaries?"

"Captains of subsidiaries are basically the captains of the captains. They manage the captains who manage their teams. I'm one of them, and Nelson would be if he had enough captains in the Bluefield branch."

"I've been delegated here, so I work here now. I'm a captain, so I'll need a fracture."

"No CoS would want you, and they manage what team handles what fracture. I would take you in, but I'm at my maximum. The bureaucrats won't let me be your handler."

"So what?"

"Up to you. I paid back a favor by getting you in the door, and I'm not talking about that gate guard. You work here, you have no handler, figure out yourself how you'll get FIB hazard fractures to raid. Ones without teams attached to them."

"Oh, no problem."

"If you say so."

"Before we part, can you tell me why no CoS would take me in?"

"Beyond the fact that you are basically a celebrity and it would be a shit show if you died under their watch, the people who work here only care about themselves and the people who suffer with them, and won’t be keen on integrating a ‘veteran.’ You would have to go through multiple deadly encounters together before they consider you 'one of them.' CoS isn't solely a desk job. You should know from seeing Nelson on the field. We substitute for captains or run our own teams."

"I'm going to need written information about how to properly do the paperwork required for my job among other important information."

"Talk to acquisitions. They'll be here in two hours."

I take time to look around, and it seems like they keep their fractures off site, meaning I'll need contacts in the containment department... I think he left his number on the documents I asked for when I solved that little problem of his... I search through my [Lexicon] and call him up.

"..."

The phone rang until completion, so I left a voicemail.

This building has a gym, so It's mine until opening hours. I knew it was time to see acquisitions since people started streaming in and staring at me. I mean, at least I cleaned up after myself. One guy asked me if I needed a doctor because I vomited blood after every set.

My organs are more vulnerable than my muscles and bones, and since I'm so full of blood, leakage is inevitable, right? Regardless, this is how Master Wang and I do it, so it should be fine. I go beyond my means to maintain muscle mass since my resistance makes it harder to exert myself.

Since my bones and muscles are so tough, I can lift beyond what my might stat would imply would be my limits. 'Lift' is the wrong word. It's more like I can 'endure' the strain.

Once it's officially 8:00, I find acquisitions who already have the paperwork and the information I need. Thanking them, I go to the bathroom to "study." As soon as I'm alone in a stall, I feed the stack of bureaucratic know-how into my [Lexicon] while filling out the last necessary paperwork, mainly consent forms and updating my address, before calling Deputy Head Mahog again.