The Squad Leader

Yami stood in the middle of the clearing behind the Tsuki branch. He woke up around 4:30 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Yami decided to stroll outside the building and jog to make his original body sweat and increase stamina.

"They are still fast asleep," Yami muttered while wiping the sweat on his face. "It's the best time for me then."

Yami opened the icon that contained the Soul Classes that he had obtained.

"Mage Class, interesting," Yami clicked the icon, and a roulette wheel appeared in front of him. He looked around to make sure that no one saw him.

Yami clicked the icon, and a screen appeared with the Class description.

[MAGE CLASS CONSISTS OF LONGER RANGE, ABILITY-BASED AREA OF DAMAGE, AND CROWD CONTROL. IT CAN UTILIZE TO ATTACK FROM A DISTANCE.]

[PURE MAGES ARE FULL MAGE SKILLS WITH NO OTHER ROLE INCLUDED.]

[PRIMARY MAGES ARE SKILLS THAT CAN BE USED FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE.]

[SECONDARY MAGES ARE SKILLS USED IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN A MAGE'S REAL PURPOSE, THESE SKILLS ARE HALF-MAGE TYPE.]

Yami clicked on the Pure Mage's category, and the identical roulette wheel hologram appeared in front of him.

[THROW THE BALL INTO THE ROULETTE WHEEL TO OBTAIN A PURE MAGE SOUL.]

Yami took the ball and rolled it into the wheel with 20 numbers. His heart skipped a bit when the ball landed on number 14.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE OBTAINED SOUL 'SEER OF NIGHT']

[SEER OF NIGHT'S INFORMATION]

ROLE: MAGE

DURABILITY: 6.5/10

SPECIALTY: BURST/REAP

OFFENSE: 2/10

DIFFICULTY: 8/10

ELEMENT: DARK

FEATURE: A MAGE SOUL WITH HEALING ABILITY, DETECT ENEMIES, AND COPY ENEMY'S SKILLS.

SKILL 1: NIGHT STRIKE

SKILL 2: LOCKED

SKILL 3: LOCKED

[NIGHT STRIKE]

DESCRIPTION: PLAYER LAUNCHES A NIGHT STRIKE ON A FAN-SHAPED AREA AHEAD AND SLOWS ENEMIES BY 40% FOR 1 SECOND, GAINS 10% HEALING AFTER 60% DAMAGE AND 340 BASE DAMAGE.

COOL DOWN: 7 SECONDS

MANA COST: 70 PER USE

"Copy enemies skill!?" Yami exclaimed while reading the description. He felt excited to unlock all the 'Seer of Night' skills and use them in battles.

The hologram vanished, and Yami was left alone. He didn't have high expectations toward the Mage Soul, but he was mistaken.

Yami changed his activated soul on his screen and used 'Night Strike' to see what the skill could do. He extended his hand and was about to trigger the skill when he heard his name being called.

"Ying! Where are you?" Su Fang's voice called out from the window while looking around the area. "Where did he go?"

Yami immediately deactivated the soul and ran toward the building. "I'm here!"

"Ah, there you are. Where have you been?" Su Fang stated with a pout. A spatula was in her hand that was drenched in oil. "Breakfast is ready."

"Sorry, I was doing a quick jog," Yami stated while scratching the back of his head.

"It's fine, come along."

Yami and Fang went to the kitchen and saw them eating their food with tired, sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning, Ying."

They greeted one another.

Yami sat on the chair next to Shun, who was still rubbing his eyes.

"Branch director!" Yami blurted when he saw Zhu Rong reading the morning newspaper across from him.

"Hello, Ying," Zhu Rong winked at him before going back to read.

Yami took two pieces of egg and a loaf of toasted bread. His eyes glanced at the coffee kettle in the middle of the table. Yami grabbed and poured on his cup. His nerves were twinkling with satisfaction upon tasting coffee on his tongue.

Everyone enjoyed their food when Liqin opened his mouth to speak.

"Now that we are here together. Have you three decided on the squad name and the leader?" Liqin stated cheerfully while chewing an egg.

"Our first squad name is Shigetsu. The quad consists of three members, and you'll meet them soon," Su Fang stated with pride in her voice.

Yami looked at Shun and Mei, who were conflicted and pondered hard. He rubbed his chin while thinking of something cool and fearsome, but he couldn't think of anything besides blood, death, and corpse.

"How about Mangetsu?" Mei suggested. She immediately looked down when all eyes bore into her.

"Hmm, Mangetsu, similar to the first squad's name. It can help your squad be distinguished under the Tsuki branch," Liqin muttered while considering the name. "I approved!"

The rest nodded in agreement, causing Mei to be shy than usual. A pink hue appeared on her cheeks when she felt appreciated.

"Now, who will be the leader?" Zhu Rong stated. He folded the newspaper and focused his attention on the three juniors sitting in front of him.

"Shun," Yami stated without hesitation and pointed his index finger in Shun's direction.

"I vote for Shun too," Mei said and faced Shun with a wide smile.

"I— I don't think I'm fit to become the leader," Shun shook his head in disagreement. "I think Ying is best suited since he's much stronger than I am."

"I don't think so," Yami sighed and looked at his runny egg yolk. "I might be strong, but that doesn't guarantee good leadership skills."

"That's true," Zhu Rong agreed. "A good leader needs to be open with communication and new ideas, connect with team members and encourage personal and professional growth."

Everyone nodded their heads and looked at Shun with a smile.

"I think you are fitted to become the squad leader, Shun," Mei whispered softly. Making Shun blush from her cuteness.

"But..." Shun turned to look at Yami. He wanted confirmation from him.

"You know, in my world. I always worked alone and just followed orders from above. This is the first time I'll be working with a team," Yami stated while remembering his past. "I hope we can have a lot of fun together."

Shun's eyes widen, and his heart feels warm after hearing what Yami said. That made him agree and motivated him to do better. "I accept to become the leader of Mangetsu Squad."