Karl thought about the question. Who all had been involved?
“I proposed to my personal tutor, Sergeant Rita, that it would be better for my development if I could get out for some practical training. There is only so much I can do in the limited environment of the Academy, and she discussed it with the agents from the Bureau of Elite Development, who agreed to the mission, and picked the one I was assigned to.”
The Inquisitor looked confused. “What was a Bureau Agent doing there?”
Karl shrugged. “There are two of them assigned to me. One is there all the time, either a mage or a warrior. They took me on the trip to find my second and third beasts, then approved this as my first student mission.”
The Inquisitor looked like he was getting a headache.
“Back up a step. When did the Bureau first start showing an interest in you?”
Karl shrugged. “A few weeks ago? At least that was when I noticed because they sent Colonel Valerie to escort me and Dana to a training day on the Saturday.”
One of the two goons left the room for a moment, and the Inquisitor waited, not asking any more questions.
A few minutes later, the man came back in with a picture in his hands, and a man in a business suit.
“Do you know who is in that picture?” The Inquisitor asked.
Karl looked over and smiled. “That’s Jodi, one of the Bureau Agents. Real playboy vibe, but he’s actually a good guy. He was on the mission to find me the additional pet and at the training course.”
The man in the suit pocketed the picture, while the shirtless man returned to his position.
Then the door opened again, and a familiar face entered the room. Overlord Drake walked into the room with an expressionless professionalism, letting his powerful aura fill the area, which made the others visibly shrink back a bit.
Not Karl. He had nowhere to go in the metal chair, but he already knew that the man was simply intimidating, and that had nothing to do with his mood.
“Overlord.” He greeted politely.
“Oh, it’s you again. How is that skill working out for you? Got you all powered up and looking to join the Inquisition in your first year at the Academy?” The powerful man asked, unaware of the situation.
“We called you down here to use your skills to help determine truthfulness, as the Bureau of Elite Development has gotten involved with a first year student.” The Inquisitor announced.
The burly man looked a bit sheepish. “That might be my fault. They were the talk of the Academy when I visited with the Prince, which led to us teaching them a couple of new skills, and probably attracted the attention of the Bureau.”
The Inquisitor definitely looked like he was getting annoyed now.
“Alright, it appears that there are numerous details left out of your recounting of your time at the Academy. It’s only been a little over a month, I thought that we had covered everything. Now, let’s start over.
What did you learn as an additional skill? Where did they take you looking for pets, and what did you pick?” The Inquisitor asked.
Overlord Drake perked up a little at that. Karl could see the curiosity in his expression.
“I learned Shred as an additional skill from a skill book provided by Overlord Drake. The team from the Bureau took me south to get pets, and I picked a Lightning Cerro and a Bloodbath Spider. There is an official report made.” Karl explained.
The shirtless man went and got a laptop computer out of the cabinet at the back of the room, and the Inquisitor tapped away as he logged in and opened the report.
“You had quite the adventure. Alright, that should be enough of the background. What happened on this mission? Where is the High Priest’s body, and how did you find the Holy Relic?”
“I have the body stored. Do you have something? I had to put it in a bag to store it with my beast, and it’s a bit undignified.”
The Inquisitor looked mildly horrified, but gestured to the floor. “Is it intact and whole? Place it there.”
“It isn’t. The Giant Beetle that killed him ate part of the body.” Karl replied, then placed the blood soaked bag on the floor.
Overlord Drake cussed, and made the symbol of the dragon, with his thumbs crossed, and his fingers spread to imitate the wings of the World Dragon.
The Inquisitor seemed unfazed, and didn’t bother to open the bag. So, it wasn’t the thought of blood that had horrified him, but more likely the idea of being eaten alive by a Giant Beetle.
“Thank you for recovering the body. Now, details.”
Karl recounted everything from getting off the train to meeting the clerics, and then stopped when they got to the part when they were pulled into the trial instance.
“Astounding. Now, the rest of the details.”
Karl spent over an hour answering questions about the trials, his experiences, and what he thought they meant.
“And the reward that you got was a Class Skill? You’re certain that it said Class Skill?” The Inquisitor asked.
“It called it a Tamer Skill. Which I assume is the trial’s name for my abilities. It wasn’t just a regular skill, or named like an offensive or defensive skill.” Karl explained.
“Interesting. But not my department. Possibly, Overlord Drake’s.” The Inquisitor replied.
Then they asked what he knew about the other students’ rewards, before a group of six men showed up with an ornate metal casket.
“Uhm, you’ll want to clean him first. I didn’t want to mess with anything.” Karl explained.
A flood of golden magic flowed from the men with the casket, and the blood vanished from the bag, which stretched out to human proportions before lifting off the ground and vanishing into the casket, which was closed and then sealed shut with some sort of solder and a torch.
“Alright, I think that we’re done here.” The Inquisitor announced.
Overlord Drake raised a hand to stop him as he went to stand. Karl realized that he had no idea how the Overlord was supposed to have verified his truthfulness, but not all skills could be seen, so maybe he was like a lie detector.
“First, I want to see how the pets are doing. You said a Lightning Cerro and a Bloodbath Spider, as well as Hawk, right?”
Karl nodded. “Yes, sir.”
He called the three out, with Hawk appearing on the back of the chair and Rae in his lap, covering far more than the available space, so her front four legs were standing on the ground, which put her face perilously close to the other chair.
Thor stood between Karl and Drake, giving the man a pleading look that Karl recognized as a desire to have his head rubbed, completely oblivious to the normally serious mood of such an ‘interview’.
Drake smiled and scratched at the ridge between his upper horns, which brought a soft bugling noise of pleasure from the Lightning Cerro.
“Well, aren’t you just the most lovely big boy. But Hawk has gotten huge. The newer two have some growing left to do, but for what it matters, I approve of your choices. They look loyal, and they’re well-balanced to each other’s strengths.
I would ask more about the matter, but the Colonel would cause a fuss if she thought that we were interfering with your training. Now I will go see that mage. Excuse me, gentlemen.” Drake announced, walking out of the room and leaving Thor looking to the Inquisitor to replace his source of attention.
“I believe that we have enough here. Thank you, Karl. I will escort you back to the waiting room.”
