Chapter 35 Unit 3

  Nitaan followed a middle-aged woman named Mei to a room inside the building. The large room was constructed from layers of high-quality stone and brick.

  Several tables were arranged, with the largest one in the corner. A large open space beside it was occupied only by a sofa and a small tea table.

  "Make yourself at home. The others will come in after their morning training," Mei said.

  "There are two tables at the back that are still empty. Choose whichever you like. We don't actually use them. Those kids mostly just sit on the sofa." Mei chuckled.

  "Thank you very much." Nitaan bowed politely and placed his shoulder bag on one of the empty tables to his right.

  Before Nitaan could finish unpacking, a commotion erupted down the hallway in front of the door. Soon, a group of people burst in, creating a loud noise.

  "Leader, has our new recruit arrived yet?" Napha led the way in.

  Nitaan glanced towards the front door. Four people were entering one after another. There were two middle-aged men, one elderly man, and a rather youthful-looking woman with a parrot perched on her shoulder.

  "Yup, he's right there." Leader Mei pointed at Nitaan.

  "Uh... and where's Kiita?" Nitaan noticed the parrot on the young-looking woman's shoulder and remembered Kiita, who had been dragged away by Colonel Lalanta.

  "I saw Colonel carrying him into her office when I walked past. Also, I heard a weird sound coming from inside," Napha said with a wry smile.

  Nitaan wondered if he imagined it, but he felt the parrot on the woman's shoulder tremble slightly.

  Another loud crash came from the doorway. This time, a giant, black figure leaped into the room, hiding behind Nitaan.

  "Ruff!"

  Nitaan, Nitaan, that cool older sister is scary!

  Kiita trembled behind Nitaan. Nitaan had to pick him up and hug him to comfort him.

  He even used up all his abilities to run for his life. Nitaan tries to hold his laugh.

  "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's introduce ourselves. We still have to patrol the city today," Leader Mei ordered.

  "Let's start with me! My name is Napha, and I'm in charge of the frontline. Simply put, I'm the front-line fighter. I always charge in first," Napha said with a wide grin.

  Nitaan smiled slightly, bowing his head in greeting. Another middle-aged man stepped forward. He had a sword strapped to his back, a well-groomed beard and mustache, light blonde hair, and well-defined muscles that made his face stand out.

  "My name is Gion, also a front-line fighter, but not as tanky and muscle-brained as that guy. I prefer beating criminals with my sword." Gion grinned widely and shook Nitaan's hand.

  A woman with a youthful appearance spoke next. Upon closer observation, Nitaan realized she was not only youthful-looking but actually young. She is only in her early twenties, about the same age as him.

  The woman had short, black hair and a gentle, harmless face. The type of girl any adult would find endearing.

  "Hello, I'm Kasa, and this is Rain, my companion. She's a Snow pigeon," Kasa introduced, extending her hand for Rain to perch on.

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  "Chirp!" Rain flapped her wings excitedly.

  A pigeon? And it chirps? Nitaan maintained a deadpan expression, glancing at the large parrot in Kasa's hand. He greeted Rain with a smile.

  "She's a very unique Devil beast." Nitaan tried to find the most polite words.

  "Many people say that. Pigeons don't look like this, and that's why pigeons chirp. But Rain is definitely a Snow pigeon," Kasa replied with a serious expression. Rain on her hand flapped her wings in support.

  "Kasa is very similar to you. She had to perform Engraving Ceremony at a young age. Both of you are talented, and you're both also Beast tamer.” Leader Mei smiles.

  “Oh, and Kasa is also a front-line fighter. Be nice to each other," Leader Mei added.

  Front-line again… What kind of lineup is this? Nitaan grumbled to himself.

  The last old man stepped forward. He looked noticeably older than the others. Nitaan secretly suspected he was even older than Colonel Lalanta.

  The old man had a long beard that reached his chest, snow-white hair, and held a large staff in his hand. He wore a robe and a tall hat.

  "Ho ho, how wonderful to be young. Your future is still long and bright!”

  “Hurry and comprehend your Word of Power, become an Engraver! Or else you will end up like this old man." The old man laughed good-naturedly.

  "Mr. Tawan, you sound like an old man again. You're only 72. You have plenty of time to comprehend your Word of Power," Napha said.

  "Ho ho, I don't desire much. I've had a good life already. I'll dedicate the rest of my life to the City Guard unit and protecting the future of young people. That's enough for me." Tawan stroked his beard and laughed.

  "Mr. Tawan, He is a support. But don't ever underestimate him. He can heal, attack from a distance, and even defend against attacks."

  "Many of us here can't win against him," Napha continued.

  Tawan didn't acknowledge the praise or show any pride. He simply chuckled and stroked his beard.

  "Alright, only me left. My name is Mei, and I'm the leader of this Unit 3, primarily a rear attacker, mainly attacking from a distance. I'm a First word Engraver. My Word of Power is 'Piercing'." May rattled off, ignoring Nitaan's shocked expression.

  "Don't worry. We don't have any rules about revealing our Word of Power. Leader Mei herself insisted on telling us," Gion said.

  "Well, even if you knew, I'd still be the best. I also have a Word of Power I haven't comprehended yet, so it’s fine.”

  “And if you knew more about me, you'd trust me more easily." Leader Mei shrugged.

  "‘Piercing’? Isn't Leader Mei supposed to be a rear attacker?" Nitaan asked, glancing at the two long spears on Mei's back.

  Mei gave a slight smile. She turned to look at the trees outside the window in the distance. A faint, illegible engraved character appeared on her forehead.

  Thud!

  Something pierced through the void, creating a hole the size of a head in the tree.

  Then, Mei picked up a long spear and placed it in her hand. With a flick of her fingers, the spear sliced ??through the air at incredible speed. A whistling sound followed, showing its unbelievable velocity.

  In an instant, the spear had pierced the tree, creating an even larger hole, and then the tree collapsed helplessly.

  Before Nitaan could recover from his astonishment, he found the spear back on Mei's back.

  Strong... on a completely different level than those bandits. Even though she’s a First word Engraver, Elder Grai wouldn't stand a chance against her. Nitaan broke out in a cold sweat.

  Laughter from around him jolted Nitaan back from his shock.

  "Abilities and Range of Word of Power aren’t up to the word itself. It depends on how that Fate Scripter interprets his word.”

  “Since we still are simple Learner, we might not see it clearly yet. It will be much clearer when we become Engraver" Napha explained.

  "For me, the word 'Piercing' means piercing through anything I see or throw at, piercing through everything that gets in the way, or even piercing through the air itself.” Leader Mei flicks her finger again, and a loud whoosh comes out from her finger.

  “It's not only about wielding a spear and stabbing someone yourself," Leader Mei added.

  "I also can run in and stab someone, but it wouldn't have as much power as throwing it. Maybe someone else with the 'Piercing' Word of Power would be opposite. It totally depends on the person."

  "I know an Engraver who has Word of Power ‘Punch’. I challenged him to a duel hoping to practice close-quarters combat. You know what happened? That guy didn’t even take a step, but he beat me up badly even though I was dozens of meters away." Napha scratched his head in frustration.

  "So, Word of Power has no limitations in the word itself. The limitation is the Fate Scripter." Tawan concluded.

  Nitaan suddenly thought of his own Word of Power, 'Gravity,' which seemed to lack the ability to suppress.

  What is ‘Gravity’ to me? Nitaan began to ponder. He felt a spark of thought ignite in his mind. He might be beginning to understand his own word better.

  "Alright, it's your turn, Nitaan," Kasa said, pulling Nitaan's attention back to the world in front of him.

  "I think you all know my name already, judging by Colonel's loud voice," Nitaan joked, eliciting laughter from his new comrades.

  "My name is Nitaan, and this is my animal companion, Kiita. Our role is Scout, but we can join the front lines if necessary." Nitaan starts to introduce themselves.

  "Very versatile. Leader, you've got a good addition to the unit," Tawan laughed good-naturedly.

  "Kiita can fight on the front lines to some extent as well, but his strongest trait is monitoring his surroundings and launching surprise attacks." Nitaan smiled, stroking his partner's head.

  "Woof!" Kiita barked loudly, wagging his tail happily.

  "I can confirm it's incredibly fast and stealthy. He totally appeared behind me out of nowhere." Napha raised his hands in surrender, eliciting laughter from the entire room.

  A knock on the door drew the attention of the unit members. A young man opened the door with his face tense.

  "Leader Mei, our informants in town say a gang of thugs is planning to ambush the new convoy arriving in town tomorrow morning."

  The young man reported with a serious expression.

  "Quite a chance to test our new recruit," Leader Mei said with a smirk.