Main HQ

A silver room. A silver table. Two silver chairs.

Rapid-fire.

"Name?"

"Jack Pelli." (Jack)

"Height and weight?" (Examiner)

"I'm six foot one inch and I weigh about two hundred pounds." (Jack)

"Birthplace?" (Examiner)

"Umm, I don't know." (Jack)

"Birthdate?" (Examiner)

"Still don't know, but I am twenty, I think." (Jack)

"Hair color and eye color?" (Examiner)

"I think you can see it, but well... Brown and green." (Jack)

Scratch, scratch, scratch. A man in a black Magic Force uniform sat down in front of Jack. He had a red flower pin attached to the left side of his chest. He held out a clipboard and pencil, writing down and checking off boxes left and right.

"When do I get to be in the Magic Force?" (Jack)

He ignored Jack's question.

"Can you use Magic?" (Examiner)

"Um, yes." (Jack)

"Then use it. Now." (Examiner)

"Ok... Yin and Yang." (Jack)

A black orb and white orb formed in the air above. He grabbed the two orbs and held them out, right in the Examiner's face.

He checked off another box.

"Use them on this." (Examiner)

He placed a large crystal on the table.

Jack looked at it, not knowing what to do with his magic, how to use it?

"Well... I need magic or... Actually, I got it." (Jack)

He got up and walked around the silver table. He stood over the crystal. He touched it with his white orb. He absorbed the magic from within.

The crystal shattered.

The Examiner looked shocked.

"What did you do?" (Examiner)

Jack held out his white orb.

"Punch it." (Jack)

The Examiner stood up slightly confused, but he still followed.

"Sure." (Examiner)

Jack stepped back. He readied himself with his right hand jetted out and his left hand holding the white orb.

The Examiner swung back punching the white orb.

In a frame of a second. The force of the punch disappeared, flowing through the air, like water, evaporating into nothing. It was absorbed into the white orb.

"Can you explain what happened? In full detail." (Examiner)

"Well... I'm not done yet." (Jack)

He grabbed the black orb floating in the air and threw it to the wall.

Slam!

The gathered force from the punch moments ago came out from the black orb hitting the silver wall.

The Examiner checked off another box and wrote down some words on the clipboard.

Jack sat back down in the silver reflective chair across from him. He sat waiting, tapping his foot, tapping his fingers, tap tap tap against the smooth surface of the table.

The Examiner looked up.

"What is your limit? On your magic?" (Examiner)

"Limit?" (Jack)

"How much Magic can you absorb? We have magic absorbers but non like yours. We will have to do more tests on you another time." (Examiner)

Jack paused. He tried to recall his past fights with monsters. He looked back up at the Examiner.

"I don't have a limit." (Jack)

The Examiner paused.

Pause.

He flipped through his pages. One after the other. He stopped on the final page, a final box.

"Is this truthful?" (Examiner)

"Well yeah. I can absorb magic, then shoot it back out at monsters. I've never really had a limit to how much I can absorb, well except for when I absorb two opposite magics. Like water and fire. Then it becomes weird. Cause my magic is Yin and Yang." (Jack)

"Interesting..." (Examiner)

He kept checking off boxes.

"Yin and Yang..." (Examiner)

Jack tapped his foot against the ground.

"So are we done yet?" (Jack)

Red stormed into the room.

"You! Get out of the room now! I need a chat with this guy." (Red)

The Examiner looked at Red. He got up from his chair and bowed, walking out of the room with his clipboard in hand.

Red sat down in the silver seat, her sharp white suit and black flower pin staring right at Jack.

"Did you meet with the Grand Sorcerer yet?" (Red)

"Grand Sorcerer... Is he that old man with the blindfold?" (Jack)

She nodded.

"Then yeah, yeah I did meet him." (Jack)

She leaned in listening.

"What did he say? What did he tell you? Who's squad are you joining? Is it mine?" (Red)

Jack remembered his conversations with the old man, what they talked about ten minutes ago.

"Well..." (Jack)

---

Twenty minutes earlier.

Two hundred feet below the surface, reflective glass and reinforced concrete across five hundred feet in length and diameter.

A base hidden under the water. In the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

After jumping from the helicopter Jack and Red had to swim one hundred feet below sea level, just to reach the halfway point. After reaching the halfway point they were picked up by a small three-person submarine and taken the rest of the way down.

Once they reached the main HQ base three hundred feet below sea level, they were greeted by a Third-Class Sorcerer with a blue flower pin.

"You must be Jack. Follow me please." (Third-Class Sorcerer)

Jack was separated from Red and taken directly to the Grand Sorcerer's office.

They walked across the entirety of the facility. Through different pathways, past different departments.

Eventually, they reached the Grand Sorcerer's Office.

It was a small room, covered head to toe in blinking red lights and flashing sirens. The Grand Sorcerer sat with a black blindfold strung across his face, his two hands tied to the table, his old white hair propped up in a ponytail.

"Umm... What is happening?" (Jack)

"Shusshhhhshhsh!" (Third-Class Sorcerer)

The Third Class Sorcerer shushed Jack and left the room in a quick hurry, closing the door behind him.

Jack stood alone with the old quiet man and the silent sirens and flashing red lights.

He whispered.

"Excuse me...?" (Jack)

No response.

Jack looked to the floor, to the corner of the small room, back and forth, awkwardly trying to pass the time. He then noticed a small stool sitting against a bookshelf of old withered books. He sat down.

"Excuse me?" (Jack)

Suddenly one of the red lights turned green and the old man with the blindfold turned to it. He grabbed the air pulling in the light closer. The green floated mysteriously into his palm.

"Umm..." (Jack)

The old man took off his blindfold, swallowing the green light, and swished it around in his mouth.

Gulp.

He looked at Jack with his blind white eyes.

"Your Jack Pelli, correct?" (Grand Sorcerer)

"Yes." (Jack)

He looked at Jack's soaked clothes and hair.

"You're still wet, have you had your examination yet?" (Grand Sorcerer)

"No I haven't but... Why am I here?" (Jack)

The Grand Sorcerer sat up but suddenly realized his hands were tied down.

"I heard you killed the A-Class Gilgamesh all on your own." (Grand Sorcerer)

"I did." (Jack)

"Well, congrats." (Grand Sorcerer)

"Thanks." (Jack)

A long pause. They sat staring at each other. The red flashing lights all around them. Quiet flashing, red and red and red and red and-

Jack tried to break the silence.

"Soooo um... What's with the flashing lights?" (Jack)

The Grand Sorcerer looked to the red lights.

"Uhhhhhh. I don't know?" (Grand Sorcerer)

"Oh..." (Jack)

They sat staring at eachother.

"Why am I here again?" (Jack)

---

"And that's the gist of how it went." (Jack)

"Typical of that old man." (Red)

Jack looked across the room. He saw a box in the corner of the room with a black uniform sticking out.

"Is that my uniform?" (Jack)

"I don't think you're supposed to have that-" (Red)

Jack grabbed it anyway. He pulled the uniform out of the bag, feeling the fine materials of the jacket, the soft firm pants, the white undershirt that relaxed at the palm of his hand.

"What is this stuff made out of?!" (Jack)

Red leaned up against the silver wall. She ignored Jack and kept asking questions.

"So that old geezer didn't tell you shit? Do you know when you're joining a squad? Or when your introduction mission begins?" (Red)

Jack rubbed the materials against his face. He had never felt such fine expensive clothing before.

"No, well, not really." (Jack)

Red stood up from her leaning position. She walked over to Jack as he took off his ashy plaid shirt and put on his new high-quality one instead.

"So the Grand Sorcerer really didn't tell you anything?" (Red)

"Well, I think he said..." (Jack)

---

"You want to know what squad you're joining?" (Grand Sorcerer)

"Yes. I think it's important to Red." (Jack)

"Red... That rowdy young lady. So she wants you in her squad..." (Grand Sorcerer)

Jack leaned forward.

"Yup, I think so." (Jack)

"Tell me? You killed an A-Class Monster. Are you strong?" (Grand Sorcerer)

"I think I am." (Jack)

The Grand Sorcerer took a good look at Jack.

"My magic allows me to understand others magics. To see magic across the world. To monitor it and control it. I am a one of a kind. And you... Your magic looks one of a kind." (Grand Sorcerer)

"Umm... Thanks..." (Jack)

"I'll give you an examination. After that I want you to join a very special squad." (Grand Sorcerer)

---

"What?! Special Squad?" (Red)

"I don't know. He sounded a bit crazy. Like an old grandpa. It was kinda entertaining." (Jack)

Red slowly crouched to the ground, her boots curled up against her toes, her hands placed firmly against her beautiful face.

"He's not entertaining. He's a nuisance. Jack! I think I know what his plan is. Speical Squad... He wants you to join the-"

Bang!

The silver door to the room swung open. The Third-Class Sorcerer from earlier stepped in. He held out a green pin and placed it on the table along with a short letter.

"Read this..." (Third-Class Sorcerer)

He left faster than he entered.

Red picked up the letter and read it out loud.

"Dear Jack Pelli, we have reviewed your submission and recommendation by First-Class Captain Sorcerer Red. A joint decision by the leading Grand Sorcerer and the majority of the council has been made and you have been assigned to the Special Magic Squad." (Red)

"Special?" (Jack)

"I knew it! Not the Special Magic Squad!" (Red)

"What's the Special Magic Squad?" (Jack)

"It's in the name. Those with special magic to take care of X-Class Monsters. They're annoying as fuckkkkkkkk! We'll except for a couple."

"Does the letter say anything else?" (Jack)

Red finished the letter.

"As per the usual tradition, your first mission will begin in T-minus, one hour. You will be accompanied by fellow new recruit Fourth-Class Sorcerer, Yaku Tanoki. Your confirmed destination..." (Red)

She paused and passed the paper over to Jack. He read the last few sentences.

"Your confirmed destination, Venice, Italy. The objective of the mission is to safely assess and eliminate the parasitic monster, Dolos. Class and threat level still pending." (Jack)