Mercenary

As he spoke, Evan's expression frosted over, showing an expression so cold that most people who knew him in the past would fail to recognize him as the cheerful and bright kid he used to be.

After saying that, Evan fell into deep thought, pondering on what he should do next.

In his mind, he ruminated over the three options which would help him gain strength the fastest. The first option was the Academy, where young talents were nurtured to aid in defeating the monsters to bring peace back to Earth.

The second option was to join the military, to become a soldier where he would be tasked with clearing out monsters and attempting to reclaim lost territory in strategic locations, with the only difference with the academy being, that he gets a living wage.

The third option was to join a mercenary group where he could be hired to complete scouting, clearing and protection type missions and get paid by the employer.

As soon as Evan thought of the Academy he instantly dismissed the idea of joining one as his current situation didn't allow him to, whether that be the admission fee or the fact that he was in hiding, staying away from matters which could expose his whereabouts.

Although the social connections gained from the Academy would benefit him, Evan currently wanted to stay in the shadows and stay away from the limelight until he had sufficient strength to face the consequences of exposing himself to his enemies.

In terms of the feasibility of the second option, Evan thought it was better than joining the Academy, as it will help offer some protection if he showed some of his value to the military as a talent worth nurturing.

The con of enlisting in the military, however, was that he would be extremely restricted and have to follow orders unless he wanted his head to get chopped off, in addition to him not wanting to get close with any other person.

The impact of being betrayed by a person he once thought he could trust still traumatized Evan.

As a result, he wanted to keep any human interaction to a minimum, as he has done for the past year.

Evan was more than happy for people to think he was cold and uncaring if it helped drive off unnecessary communication, which could tire him out.

As long as anything didn't impede him from obtaining his revenge, Evan couldn't muster the energy to care.

The third option, joining a mercenary squad, appealed to Evan the most as he had sufficient freedom and a way where he can quickly gain wealth allowing him to do previously difficult things.

So, after deliberating a bit more, Evan finally settled on his choice.

Joining a mercenary squad!

***

High in the skies, the clouds were partially present as the dark fiery orange colour enshrouded the firmament, giving off the feeling of impending doom.

Ever since that read beam appeared and caused the apocalypse to descend and all hell to break loose, blue skies rarely appeared, if ever.

Instead, the skies were covered in the twilight glow, with the world in a perpetual state of dusk.

This caused a gloominess to become prevalent in the remaining survivors, with almost everyone wearing heavy expressions on their faces every time they cast their gaze upwards, remembering the fateful events of the past.

Now, the people who lived in the apocalyptic age couldn't experience the joys of basking in the summer sun with their loved ones free of stress and worry.

Most survivors lived in a state of constant awareness, ready to pounce if the situation requires them to do so.

Even in one's home, most remained vigilant and wary in case a monster horde appeared, deciding to seek prey, giving in to their carnal desires.

This created a sombre and heavy mood around all three strongholds of the human race, where one could not slack off for fear of losing their lives because of slight negligence on their part.

Within Instin, a city of humans bordering the forbidden wilds, a youth covered in a tattered, dark cloak was walking among the bustling pedestrians who were travelling with hurried steps to their intended destinations, as if they feared a monster would suddenly pounce on them at any moment.

With a cold expression on his face, the youth's golden eyes reflected the figure of a massive 30-story building, as his shadow loomed behind him generated from the perpetual dusk hanging in the sky.

Yes, this youth was Evan, who planned on completing the assessment provided by the mercenary association to become a mercenary.

Along with the five supreme families formed by the monarchs, the adventurer association, the mercenary association, and the government formed the political map of the most powerful pillars of the human race.

Walking closer to the high-rise building, Evan entered through a set of revolving double doors which served as an entrance to the mercenary association.

After entering the association, what greeted him was a luxurious lobby, with lush red carpets, and futuristic touch screen monitors dotted about at random intervals for convenient use.

Placed on the walls were opulent paintings preserved from before the apocalyptic age, allowing those who gazed at them to momentarily feel as though they were back to the time on Earth where there was peace and no apocalypse.

As his eyes darted about left and right, Evan took in all the details, from the number of workers busying about the place to the number of new applicants who wished to become mercenaries.

Even though to other people it seemed like Evan didn't care about anything because of his cold and indifferent personality generated from the betrayal, he actually cared about a lot of things.

But they were buried deep underneath countless layers of ice in his heart, preventing people from taking advantage of the things he cared about to harm him.

This was a lesson he learned from the past trauma that constantly affected him, even to this day.

His lack of trust in humanity was reaching extremely high levels.

High enough to almost help the monsters get rid of this wretched race.

Almost.

Making his way forward towards the reception area, Evan's worn clothes showed a dichotomy with his expensive surroundings as a few people cast weird and confused gazes at him, wondering what he was doing here.

Arriving at the reception desk, Evan locked eyes with the female receptionist as he spoke succinctly, perfectly expressing himself in the least amount of words possible.

"I would like to take part in the assessment to become a mercenary."

Looking at the person's cold and emotionless eyes opposite her as he spoke, the receptionist felt a chill crawl down her spine as she forcefully made herself appear outwardly calm.

"Ok. You will have to submit a form before we allot you a time to be assessed by an available manager. First, I need some ID before we start the procedures."

Keeping in line with his cold character, Evan merely nodded in response as he raised his watch to the scanner beside the receptionist.

Silently a holographic screen appeared with all the information recorded about Evan seen on there.

Quietly gazing at the information, the receptionist made sure everything was in order before delivering the form straight to Evan's watch.

Looking at the receptionist, who was having a cursory glance at his information, Evan wasn't worried that something would go wrong.

When one was betrayed and entered hiding for fear of being found, calmly standing there without worrying if their existence was exposed was an odd thing, no?

However, Evan had the luxury of not worrying. Thanks to his family's many connections before that 'event' happened, it allowed him to tweak some things and only exhibit what he wanted other people to see.

Now, instead of Hale, Evan possessed the surname Grant.

For the sake of revenge, Evan was willing to use another surname even though he was very reluctant to do so as he felt he would lose the identity of a member of the Hale family.

However, to exact his revenge, he needed a new identity as a person from the slums, seeking to become a mercenary, coveting large portions of wealth to improve his life.

As it was within human nature to aim to improve yourself when you were in poverty, Evan wasn't worried that people would find him suspicious.

The only worry he had was if someone recognized the Demon reaper martial art and informed his enemies.