After the boy had left and only Raven remained in the bar, the red mechanical eye on the screen flickered. Gray Serpent's voice emerged.
"Raven, I'd like a reasonable explanation."
Although he had indeed assigned Raven to evaluate Shin, his personal appearance here meant she had already failed that task.
This once-distinguished operative, one of World Serpent's most elite warriors, had clearly not taken the assignment seriously and even tried to reject a candidate he had personally chosen.
Besides, in a sense, the moment Gray Serpent revealed himself to Shin, it meant the boy already qualified for World Serpent. Just like when he had once brought Raven out of Siberia himself.
Did anyone really think that, as World Serpent's de facto leader, he had nothing better to do than micromanage a subordinate's pet project of running a bar?
The so-called evaluation process was nothing more than ceremony, purely for show, to give the organization an air of prestige.
"He's not suited for Serpent," Raven said firmly, her eyes fixed on the screen. "There's no darkness in his heart. He's not one of us."
She didn't want someone like Shin being dragged into the shadows of World Serpent.
"He will adapt," Gray Serpent replied coldly. "In the face of Honkai, there is no light in this world."
Having survived since the era of the Flame-Chasers fifty thousand years ago, Gray Serpent understood better than any human how fragile so-called light and order truly were.
When Honkai fully descends, all order shatters like sunlight on water.
And in that endless darkness and despair, only World Serpent remains humanity's final hope.
Raven fell silent at his words. After a long pause, she spoke quietly.
"For the first three months after he joins, Shin stays under my command."
If she couldn't stop it, she would at least teach the boy how to survive in this bleak world.
If she couldn't give him the sun, then she would light a small flame to illuminate this corner of the dark.
"Fine." Gray Serpent nodded without argument. "But don't forget. He belongs to Serpent in the end."
So long as he gained a powerful asset, Gray Serpent didn't mind allowing a little leniency.
In fact, assigning Raven to evaluate Shin had been his intention all along.
From the first moment he saw the boy, he had known Shin and Raven would get along. The results had not disappointed him.
Perhaps, they had gotten along a bit too well. Raven had started developing thoughts she shouldn't have.
No matter. A person with a weakness is always easier to control.
After the call ended, Raven stared absently at the bloodstained fruit knife on the bar.
A rookie, male, and with impressive control over Honkai energy… this really was a little monster.
In this world shaped by Honkai, women were generally far more compatible with its energy.
And yet Shin clearly defied that rule.
If she had to guess, the boy likely possessed something countless others would kill for—a natural Stigmata.
If Honkai adaptability were a kind of talent, then possessing it at this level would make him one in a thousand, perhaps one in a million. Most who came into contact with Honkai energy lost their minds and became Deadwalkers.
Even among those few who retained their sanity, most had only average adaptability, useful, but not exceptional.
But among the rare survivors, there existed an even rarer breed: natural Stigmata awakeners.
Terrifyingly high adaptability, superhuman abilities that defied logic, natural Stigmata users were born to be powerhouses.
Legends such as Dracula, the vampire of medieval Europe; King Arthur, a mythic figure of England; and Ji Lin, who drove back the Honkai from all of ancient China single-handedly five thousand years ago, all of them bore the mark of natural Stigmata.
Based on Shin's ability to bend common sense, he almost certainly had one too. And it was already quite developed.
Though Raven hadn't seen any external Stigmata patterns on him, a Stigmata was at its core a unique genetic sequence. A simple test of the blood on the fruit knife would reveal everything.
The kid was still too young.
Sighing inwardly, Raven turned on the faucet and rinsed the blood from the blade, letting the precious evidence wash down the drain.
She wasn't interested in digging through someone's secrets.
If anything, she preferred letting them open up on their own.
Three days later, on the edge of an industrial zone in a Northern European city.
Cold night winds howled across the rooftop of a thirty-three-story building, making the clothing of the two figures flutter noisily.
"See that? That's your target tonight."
Raven pointed to the brightly lit industrial complex ahead as she spoke.
"A mafia group. The Blood Axe."
Shin narrowed his eyes at the site.
At first glance, it looked like any regular industrial facility. But a closer inspection revealed tight patrols and the occasional glimmer of light in shadowy corners—concealed sentries.
It wasn't much, but enough to earn World Serpent's attention.
"Feeling confident?" Raven asked.
"You should be asking whether they can take a hit," Shin grinned.
Raven raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him.
To be honest, pitting a standard mafia group against a natural Stigmata awakener felt more like bullying than a fair test.
At full strength, a Stigmata user could hold their own against elite forces from a major world power. Even if Shin's Stigmata wasn't fully awakened yet, this gang didn't stand a chance.
This was the textbook definition of a max-level boss farming the tutorial zone.
"Don't forget the mission objective. Don't let the target escape," Raven reminded him.
She wasn't worried about his safety, but the target wasn't a fool and wouldn't try to fight an unbeatable opponent head-on.
"Got it."
As a new recruit, Shin knew how to play the obedient junior.
His eyes scanned the complex, already tracing multiple infiltration routes in his mind.
While their current position didn't offer a great vantage point, Raven's intel had filled in the blanks. It was more than enough to form a proper plan.
Watching him think so seriously, Raven stayed quiet until he finally looked back at her.
"Here, try this."
She opened a long silver case and revealed a uniquely designed black sniper rifle.
Unlike the well-known, industrial-looking Barretts, this rifle had an almost organic design. Its slender barrel looked like the maw of some alien creature, eerie and menacing.
"What's this? I don't know how to use a sniper rifle."
Although Shin knew the weapon well, he still put on a perfectly puzzled expression.
After all, he was supposed to be a newbie in the world of Honkai.
"This is the Seven Thunders of Judgment. One of the organization's secret weapons," Raven explained simply. "It supposedly has seven forms. The sniper rifle is just one. You can get familiar with it for now."
"Huh?"
Now Shin was genuinely surprised.
Raven spoke as if it were just another high-grade weapon. But the Seven Thunders of Judgment was one of World Serpent's most treasured assets.
Like Black Abyss White Flower for Schicksal or Star of Eden for Anti-Entropy, it was a key symbol of their technological might.
Forged from a Herrscher core, this divine weapon was rare and unparalleled.
After all, outside of the Herrscher of the End, a civilization might only produce twelve Herrschers per era. (And that one guy who could split into a thousand parts technically still counted as one.)
By standard protocol, Shin should've joined the organization, spent years climbing the ranks, earned countless merits, and become an officer before being allowed to wield such a weapon.
Yet now Raven was simply handing it over?
Had she discovered his hidden potential?
Though stunned, Shin didn't hesitate. If the rookie benefits came to him, there was no reason not to accept.
"Focus. Send your intent into it," Raven said, a faint smile on her lips. "Its body is made from Soulsteel, a special alloy that changes shape based on the wielder's will."
If he was compatible, the Seven Thunders would transform to suit him.
Theoretically, there were seven forms, surely one would resonate.
Following her instructions, Shin activated the power of "I Think Therefore I Am." A faint white glow rose from his hand and poured into the weapon.
He didn't understand concepts like will or belief, but Honkai energy? That he could use.
And in this world shaped by Honkai, everything could be explained by it anyway.
Under their watchful eyes, the Seven Thunders of Judgment lit up... and turned into a fruit knife.
Shin had just unlocked a brand-new form of the divine weapon, one even Raven had never achieved—displaying a level of talent far beyond normal.
"Uh… maybe apples sliced with this taste better?"
He held up the knife, swinging it experimentally. It felt entirely ordinary, as if it were no more than a kitchen utensil.
Had he just been played... by a weapon?
Logically speaking, shouldn't he have transformed it into something epic? Like, a heroic aura exploding outward, and the weapon yielding to his greatness?
Scratching his head helplessly, Shin returned the knife to Raven.
He couldn't really go fight with a fruit knife, right? What if it glitched out mid-fight?
"Th-this is just a fluke. I'm sure we have other weapons that'll suit you better..."
Raven's face turned slightly red as she took it back.
A bit awkward.
She had never seen anyone get rejected by the Seven Thunders this badly.
After trying her own methods to communicate with it only to be met with the same limp fruit knife response, Raven could only accept that the weapon had temporarily bricked itself.
It took real talent to break one of the organization's top-tier weapons in a single try.
"Oh."
Shin didn't seem to care much about World Serpent's gear.
Later on, everyone would be crafting their own weapons anyway. Who cared if you had a divine key? (leans back smugly)
Besides, the great Herrscher of Reason once used a brick and still called it a divine key.
As for now? He could handle the midgame just fine. After all, he was a cheat-code player.
"I'm heading out."
As he spoke, Shin pulled on a white short robe and a black mesh head cover.
When it came to infiltration, he was a professional.
Raven: "..."
White robe and black head cover? What kind of modern art performance was this?
If he wasn't holding a baseball bat, she would've thought he was robbing a bank.
Wait, a baseball bat?
"You're going to fight... with that?"
She pointed at the bat in disbelief.
The target wasn't some street gang. It was a mafia group with full combat gear. And he brought a bat?
"Don't underestimate the bat, Natasha-oneechan."
Face half-covered, Shin chuckled.
"If weapons had a star rating, a baseball bat would be a six-star divine artifact."
It had been there since the beginning of his story, and would be there at the end. A six-star rating was only fair.
In the future, even the strongest warriors across timelines would settle their scores with bats.
Knowing she wouldn't understand, Shin didn't bother explaining. He picked up speed, then leapt off the thirty-third floor, vanishing into the night.
No webs, but jumps were no problem.
Watching him disappear into the darkness, Raven chuckled softly and adjusted her cloak.
As the mission evaluator, she wouldn't intervene unless necessary. But staying close to observe? That was fair game.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!