Lucian said, "Target practice works, but it's boring."
Ever since arriving in Lungmen, he'd followed the Rat King's rules and hadn't touched his Guardian Gun again.
After using training guns on Mafia thugs for so long, he wasn't worried about being rusty—he just didn't feel like using the real thing. And since Penguin Logistics already had Exusiai as their sniper, he asked Folinic:
"El is a sniper, Texas is a vanguard, and Croissant's a defender, right? What roles are still open?"
"Still talking about open roles... you think this is a game?"
Folinic looked annoyed—sharp and frosty in the exact same way as Kal'tsit. No surprise there; she was Kal'tsit's direct disciple.
Still, she was just as serious as Kal'tsit, so she answered anyway:
"Casters who fight with Originium Arts, supporters and specialists with unique capabilities, and guards with top-tier all-round performance. Roughly those."
Lucian gave her a thumbs-up. "Perfect. I'm a guard, no question."
As the saying goes, every guy has the heart of a guard—no, a melee bruiser.
Even in games you want the whole lineup—tank, healer, DPS, support. Penguin Logistics just needed a jack-of-all-trades bruiser. Naturally, that'd be him.
He also wondered—if Penguin Logistics ever recruited a fifth member, they'd need a controller-type support.
Yeah... Angelina.
Once things stabilized at Rhodes Island, he'd have her sign up as an operator. He was already planning his own little squad.
But before that, Folinic gave him a very unimpressed look.
"Fine, fine. Guard test, right? First tell me your Originium Arts parameters, then we run basic physical tests. Guard operators specialize in different fields, but since you'll be getting up close, you must have basic hand-to-hand skills. If you can't pass, go work logistics."
Lucian nodded. "Sure. If I can't pass, I won't make excuses. I can cook in the cafeteria too... But Miss Folinic, are you treating me worse on purpose? Or am I imagining it?"
"Huh?" Her eyebrow arched.
"Why would I be nice to someone who bullies my teacher? And you're a man, besides. Pervert."
"You've got it wrong, I never bullied Kal'tsit... forget it."
Explaining would be pointless. Folinic definitely didn't know the complicated mess between him and Kal'tsit. He'd given up trying.
Still, when a man needed to be serious, he'd be serious.
Lucian stared at her—long enough for Folinic to defensively cross her arms—before speaking:
"I'll take the test seriously. All right?"
Ten. Minutes. Later.
"A-ah..."
Folinic was pale, hands shaking so badly she couldn't hold her pen.
She kept glancing between Lucian inside the testing room and the footage on the monitor, her expression incredulous.
"You've got to be kidding me!? Free-flight by manipulating gravity... over a hundred kilometers per hour... and he can brake and pivot instantly!? How is he not blacking out!? Where did the inertia go!?"
Exusiai answered casually, "He cancels it with opposing vectors. He looks like he's flying in one direction, but he's actually adjusting force from every angle. If he gets serious, he can float straight upward without moving a single hair."
"That's insane!"
Folinic was stunned, tongue nearly twisted. "How much mental calculation does that take!? How precise do you have to be!? And wait—where's his staff? He's not Infected, so how is he using Originium Arts without one?"
"Who knows~?"
Exusiai grinned. "He can because he's Lucian."
"This makes no sense!"
Folinic, who lived firmly inside the boundaries of common sense, looked at Lucian like he was some sort of apparition.
Lucian calmly spoke into the comm:
"That should be enough flight testing. Just note that I can carry someone while flying, but I can't lift other objects remotely. I know someone who can manipulate a wide-area gravity field. I'll introduce them later."
Folinic nodded blankly. "Right... okay. I'm past the point of being surprised."
She mechanically recorded his capability limits, then spoke into the mic:
"Next is weapon testing... do you have your own weapon? If not, you can use a Rhodes Island—"
"I have one."
Lucian reached into thin air and drew out his floating blades—seven red Originiumswords of different shapes and sizes circling around him.
"Let's go full output. Bring out your toughest target."
"Y-yeah, okay!"
Folinic nodded like a bobblehead and activated the control panel. A two-meter wide alloy pillar rose from the floor.
A thick, brutal slab of metal—made of anti-Arts alloy, resilient against both physical and Arts damage.
Normally, operators left scratch marks on it during testing... but that felt pitifully inadequate today.
Lucian decided to show off a little. He held two single-handed blades together, forming a greatsword.
Then the rest of the floating blades snapped into place—merging into a sword larger than a person.
Floating Blades—Full Assembly.
Lucian gripped the massive Originium Crystal weapon with both hands.
The crimson blade exhaled heat. Invisible hyper-vibrations turned the air red, like it was wrapped in blood mist.
Then he roared and swung.
Folinic: "Eeeek!"
The vibrating Originiumblade struck the alloy pillar, erupting in blinding light and a thunderous crack. Folinic screamed and killed the comm channel on instinct.
Penguin Logistics had already prepared—everyone wore sunglasses.
They watched while chatting.
Texas said, "How long's it been since he used that move?"
Exusiai thought. "About half a year ago? Some Victoria capitalist skipped town with stolen funds. His modified racecar was too fast, so Lucian cut down the central bridge to stop him."
Croissant perked up. "Ahh, I remember! Lucian's face was so dark that day. The cost of repairs and the economic losses from closing the bridge were higher than the guy's entire fortune. So how'd that get resolved again?"
Texas answered, "The Swire family paid for it. All of it."
Exusiai and Croissant both wilted.
Exusiai grumbled, bitter to the bone, "That capitalist Eldest Miss definitely used the chance to make even more money. And Lucian... seriously, he couldn't have been a little tougher? It's like he's living off a rich lady—"
Lucian's voice came from behind them.
"That whole incident started because you got carried away fighting the bodyguards and forgot to catch the target. And Croissant got lost and missed the stakeout."
Exusiai and Croissant both jerked like someone ran a spark through them.