"Drills happen here regularly, but what I want to show you today is something special." Jimmy said as the elevator descended beneath ground level. The display flickered before stopping at B2.
"Relax. It’s a quiet little place."
The doors slid open, and he stepped out with both hands tucked into his pockets.
"I’ve got your back, Kyle." Veronica murmured, staying close as she cautiously observed the unfamiliar surroundings.
Kyle swept his gaze across the underground facility. Racks of firearms, enchanted weapons, magical artifacts, and training equipment filled the expansive hall. Among the people moving about, some carried the unmistakable aura of Genesis users while others looked like ordinary humans.
He might have found the sight surprising if Serena hadn’t already told him that even CPV officers trained here.
"Don’t the officers ever reveal anything to the outside world?" Kyle asked, voicing a question that had been nagging at him since he arrived.
The man who had knocked on his door the night he awakened had been a magician.
Yet the officers dispatched to contain incidents like the one at the archery arena had been ordinary people.
With awakened and non-awakened personnel working side by side, it felt inevitable that someone would eventually let something slip.
Jimmy glanced back at him with an amused grin.
"You really think using magic automatically means we take some sacred oath to keep our mouths shut?" He chuckled. "Come on. What teenager hasn’t thought about using supernatural powers to win a race, beat up a bully, or impress their crush?"
Kyle nodded. "True. So how do you handle all that?"
"With an Oath," Veronica answered, earning an exaggerated groan from Jimmy.
"I was about to tell him." He sighed dramatically before shaking his head. "Watching the reactions of newcomers is half the fun."
His expression turned a little more serious.
"We aren’t allowed to discuss the Oath openly. Just wait until you accidentally reveal something about the Aether World. You’ll be forced to take it yourself. And that’s a privilege only to awakened ones. The ordinary ones are forced to take it the first day they step into our world"
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
So everyone, regardless of where they came from, had taken the same Oath to preserve the secrecy of this hidden society.
Thinking about it now, the PSC’s security measures were far more elaborate than he had realized.
Surveillance cameras covered every corner. Genesis sensors monitored awakened activity. The CPV stood ready to contain any incident.
And beyond all that, there was the Oath.
It was layer upon layer of protection, each one ensuring the existence of the Aether World remained buried.
"Wouldn’t it be better to reveal the truth to the public?" Kyle asked. "Wouldn’t that make everything more efficient? The people assigned to maintaining secrecy could be doing actual fieldwork instead."
Jimmy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Interesting proposal." A grin spread across his face. "How about pitching it to the President tomorrow?"
Kyle answered with a wry smile.
"I’ll pass. The higher ups have definitely considered that already."
He looked at Jimmy expectantly.
"So what’s the real reason?"
Jimmy turned and resumed walking, his footsteps echoing through the underground corridor. After a brief silence, he glanced back at Kyle.
"People say you fear what you don’t understand."
He paused.
"In our case, that’s only half the truth."
He said nothing more, and Kyle had no intention of pursuing the subject. Fascinating as it was, it still wasn’t his biggest concern.
"What is this place?"
His gaze swept across the facility.
People sparred in fierce duels while others went through disciplined drills or practiced techniques that reminded him of military training.
Yet despite all the activity, complete silence filled the corridor.
The transparent walls enclosing each section swallowed every sound before it could escape.
"Doesn’t exactly feel like a training ground, does it?" Jimmy chuckled as he led them farther inside. "Back in my day, I preferred rolling around in real grass and mud. Nowadays, we just recreate all of it in here."
He gestured toward the endless rows of enclosed chambers.
"This is where Nightwalkers come to train, blow off steam, and occasionally serve their detention."
As he spoke, Jimmy stepped toward one of the training cubes.
With a soft hiss, the glass door slid open.
The moment Kyle stepped inside, his eyes widened.
"Woah..."
The sterile facility had vanished.
Towering trees surrounded him, their leaves swaying beneath a gentle breeze. The scent of damp earth filled the air, while birds chirped somewhere high above the canopy.
It felt no different from standing in the middle of a real forest.
Activating God’s Eye, Kyle immediately saw through the illusion.
The landscape itself was a sophisticated projection generated by devices hidden beneath the ground.
Even knowing it wasn’t real, his senses told him he was in a real forest whatsoever.
The realism was unsettling.
The other Nightwalkers had gathered around what looked like a fighting pit.
Inside, one man stood with his fists raised, roaring in triumph, while his opponent lay motionless at his feet.
"Hello, boys~"
The moment Jimmy called out, the cheers died instantly.
Every head snapped toward him.
"COMMANDER, SIR!"
The unified salute echoed across the arena.
Jimmy let out an amused chuckle.
"Easy there. I’m just checking in to see how things are going. Looks like Bennet has everything under control."
The victorious man vaulted out of the pit with surprising agility.
"Turns out giving these knuckleheads something worth sweating over was all it took to make them listen."
He flashed a broad grin before greeting Jimmy with a friendly fist bump.
"That’s one way to do it." Jimmy chuckled. "Anyway, I’m here today to introduce you all to our newest cadet. More importantly, I want him to see just how much fun it is training with you lot."
Only then did the group, Bennet included, turn their attention to Kyle.
Bennet’s gaze lingered on Veronica for a moment before shifting back.
"A cadet, huh?" he mused. "Well, Cars still has enough left in the tank to move around. What do you say, Cars?"
A groan rose from the pit.
The man who had been lying there slowly pushed himself upright, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth before climbing to one knee.
Bennet grinned at Kyle.
"I reckon he won’t be too much for the rookie."
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
"Don’t you think that’s a little too easy?" he asked calmly. "A newbie might end up getting the wrong idea after beating someone who’s already exhausted."
A few surprised murmurs rippled through the crowd.
No one had expected the newcomer to answer back.
Jimmy’s grin only widened.
Veronica, on the other hand, watched Kyle with quiet caution, but neither of them interrupted him.
Kyle met Bennet’s gaze without flinching.
"You seem to be in good shape yourself."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"So why don’t you step into the pit with me instead?"
"Heh."
Bennet’s grin stretched wider as he looked at Jimmy.
"If I break him, don’t pin the blame on me."
Jimmy laughed.
"Don’t worry, lad."
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Whatever happens in the pit stays in the pit."
The man let out a low chuckle.
"You heard him." He rolled his shoulders. "Better watch your step, kid. I’d hate for you to spend your very first day crying all the way back home."
With that, he turned and leapt into the pit.
Thud.
A heartbeat later, another impact echoed through the arena.
Thud.
A second figure had landed inside.
Kyle.
The spectators froze.
Not a single word was spoken.
An eerie silence settled over the training cube as Kyle and Bennet stood face to face across the pit, neither willing to look away.
’System...you know what to do.’
[Initialising the stream...]