Inquisitory Division

Vivian knitted her brows.

This is the Inquisitory Division…?

The current headquarters of the Inquisitory Division was located in a large and spacious cavern, although Vivian wasn't sure if it was man-made or not.

The cavern itself was as large as a football stadium, the ceiling about five stories tall, there were buildings ranging from one to three stories tall, mostly two stories, and the source of light came from numerous yellow light bulbs scattered throughout the place.

Several people were walking around and everyone was wearing a mask just like them. However, some had different sun symbols on the forehead and not everyone wore a Priest's cloak.

The ones who didn't wear a Priest's cloak didn't have a sun symbol on their forehead. Meanwhile, the ones wearing a Priest's cloak were either White or Gold Cloak, mostly the former.

"Let's continue," Gars said and then resumed walking.

***

They arrived in front of a two-story building and entered.

Upon entering, Gars immediately headed towards the counter.

Behind the counter was a White Cloak Priest wearing a mask with a gold-colored sun on the forehead. He also wore a rank pin on his chest which indicated his rank.

The Inquisitor saluted.

"Brother High Lieutenant."

Gars saluted back.

"Brother Inquisitor High Sergeant."

Gars pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is another batch of this month's trainees."

"Thank you, Brother High Lieutenant," the Inquisitor said after receiving the letter and then tapped a bell.

Ding.

Ding.

A moment later, a woman wearing a mask without a sun symbol on her forehead and also wasn't wearing a cloak came out from one of the rooms.

"Honored Inquisitor?"

"This is this month's trainees. Please show them to their quarters."

"Yes, Honored Inquisitor," the woman said and bowed before turning to Vivian, Turd and Xander and bowing once again. "Honored Crusaders, please allow me to escort you to your quarters."

***

Vivian, Turd and Xander were taken to another but larger two-story building.

When they entered the building, they were greeted by another Inquisitor who was sitting behind a counter.

This time around, it was a Gold Cloak Priestess. She had her hood down but was still wearing a mask with a gold-colored sun on her forehead, revealing her dark-brown skin and semi-short red hair.

"Greetings, Honored Inquisitor," the woman said and bowed. "I was sent here by Honored Inquisitor Wind. These Honored Crusaders is another batch of this month's trainees."

"Okay, thank you," said the female Inquisitor.

The woman bowed and then left.

The Inquisitor got up from her seat and turned to Vivian, Turd and Xander who quickly saluted.

"Greetings, Sister Inquisitor!"

She nodded.

"Welcome to the Trainee Dormitory of the Inquisitory Division's headquarters.

"During your stay here in the base, you may refer to me as Sister Inquisitor Mila and I'm in charge of this building.

"The first floor is the female quarters and the second floor is the male quarters.

"The same rules from the Training Camp apply here except for one: You're free to leave and enter the base whenever you want. However, leaving the base can be a bit tricky and dangerous so be sure to get a map and memorize it or have someone guide you.

"As for your luggage, you will receive them later. For now, you will be assigned to your room. And at 1:00 p.m. you are to head to the Main Office building to officially register for the Training Course and get your Identity Papers.

"And lastly, while you're here in the base, you are to wear your mask at all times. Keep note that you will be graded on how many times people have seen your face."

"Yes, Sister Inquisitor Mila!" said Vivian, Turd and Xander.

Ding.

Ding.

Mila tapped the bell on top of the counter and a masked man without a sun symbol on his forehead arrived.

"You called for me, Honored Inquisitor?"

"Escort these Crusaders to the quarters."

"As you wish, Honored Inquisitor," the man said and bowed before turning to Vivian and the rest.

"Greetings, Honored Crusaders," he said and bowed. "Please allow me to escort you to your rooms."

***

Vivian entered her room.

This…

This is my room…?

The height of the ceiling was 8ft tall, while the width of the room was around 6x8ft.

On the right side of the wall, there was a single bed.

On the left side, there was a hanging cabinet and armor stand.

And on the middle, there was a small circular window with tainted glass and below it was a desk with a lamp and a chair.

Well…

At least it's a single room…

I no longer have to pretend like I like talking to people…

I can just be with on my own thoughts…

Vivian removed her mask and cloak and let out a sigh of relief.

"My God...!"

"Finally...!"

"So fucking hot...!"

Her face and neck were covered in sweat and a few strands of her hair were sticking on her skin.

She turned around and went over to the door.

Beside it, there was something like a panel where the light and temperature room could be changed. It also had a clock.

This panel wasn't anything electronic. It was a cross-combination of metal and crystal powered by runes.

Vivian increased the coldness of the room before stripping down to her bra and underwear and lying down on her bed.

1:00 p.m, huh….

I wonder how hard will this Training Course be…

According to what she had heard, the Inquisitory Division was the hardest Division to apply for because it relied more on wits rather than strength and many said that it was the complete opposite of the Infantry Division which is also said to be the Division for the battle-hungry recruits.

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue.

"My bra feels itchy."

She unhooked her bra and tossed it to the chair before letting out a sigh of relief.

She glanced at her bare chest, stomach and legs which were covered in sweat.

"I want to shower…"

***

1:26 p.m.

Main Office building.

Vivian, Turd and Xander along with the other trainees from the other platoons were waiting in a hall.

Everyone was quiet.

In the case of Vivian, when Mila mentioned this morning that the trainees are required to wear their masks at all times and that they will be graded on how many times people have seen their faces, she didn't realize how important that was.

Due to the nature of the work of Inquisitors, they are encouraged to hide their true identities as much as possible to avoid retaliation and alienation.

So to put it simply, the moment the trainees put on their masks and stepped inside the Inquisitory Division's headquarters, they already started their first exam.

Ka-cha!

A door opened.

Five trainees wearing a mask with a brown-colored sun symbol on their forehead stepped out.

Vivian, Turd, Xander and two other people got up and entered the door.

Upon entering, they found themselves inside a spacious office room. There were several chairs on the side, there was a woman wearing a mask without a sun symbol on their forehead sitting behind a desk, and there was a small office room.

"Honored Crusaders, please take a seat over there," the woman said and gestured at the empty seats. "You will be called one by one to enter Honored Inquisitor Blanch's office."

Vivian and the rest of the trainees went over to the empty seats.

Once the woman was done preparing some documents on her table, she turned to the trainees and her eyes landed on the first person on the right side.

It was Vivian.

"Honored Priestess Crusader."

"Yes?"

The woman held out a piece of document.

"You're first. Please take this document and enter Honored Inquisitor Blanch's office."

Vivian got up from her seat and received the document.

"Thank you."

She then went over to Blanch's office.

Knock.

Knock.

Ka-cha!

She knocked first before opening the door and entering.

Inside the office was a Gold Cloak Priest wearing a mask with a gold-colored sun on its forehead and was sitting behind a desk. Unlike Vivian, he had the hood of his cloak down so his long brown hair was revealed.

"Close the door and don't salute. Please take a seat right away."

"Yes, Brother Inquisitor Blanch."

Vivian closed the door behind her before heading over in front of the desk and taking a seat.

"I am Brother Inquisitor Blanch and I am in charge of the registration for this month's batch of trainees. So I will need your real name, Platoon number and Chapter Temple."

"Yes, Brother Inquisitor. My name is Vivian, Platoon 3 and I'm from the Luxen Chapter Temple."

Blanch searched through the folders on his desk until he found the folder for Platoon 3 and opened it.

When he finally found her record, he began reading her details.

"It says here that you came with a recommendation medal and letter from your Temple. Do you have them with you?"

"Yes, Brother Inquisitor."

Vivian took out the medal and letter from her belt pouch and handed it over.

Once Blanch was done reviewing the medal and letter, he gave it back to her and began signing and stamping a 3-page document. And once he was also done with that, he gave it to her as well.

"This is your Identity Papers.

"The rules are listed on those papers but I will explain it to you in more detail just in case you have questions.

"During your time as a trainee for the Inquisitory Division, that will be your Identity Papers. If you lose that, you will automatically fail the Training Course. Under no circumstance should you show or give that to anyone unless it's official business for the Inquisitory Division regarding your Training Course.

"Also, to avoid any forging, only you, me and the official instructors of the Training Course are permitted to sign these papers for your test scores. 

"And lastly, while you're taking the Training Course, you are not allowed to show your face and use your real name. You will always have to wear a mask while in public and you will also have to use an alias. Your alias will be written on that paper which will be signed by me and you only.

"If anyone aside from me and you learns about your face and real name, it will affect your final evaluation.

"And to make it fair, anyone within the current batch of trainees for the month of Aurgus 3023 who tries to guess another trainee's identity without real proof to back up their claims, it will also affect their final evaluation.

"Meanwhile, if a trainee correctly guesses another trainee's identity and provides proof, the trainee whose identity was guessed can retaliate by asking the trainee who guessed their identity into a duel. And whoever loses, will automatically fail the Training Course."

Given that it was impossible to completely hide someone's identity, this was a special rule that the Inquisitory Division implemented. Although intelligence is one of the things that the Inquisitory Division values the most, knowing when to strike or who to make enemies with is also an important skill.

"Do you have any questions?" asked Blanch.

Vivian thought about it for a moment.

"I have 3 questions."

"Go on."

"My first question: Am I allowed to leave the base?"

"As you can see on page 2 of that document, there's a map and it highlights 2 exit points -- The southwest exit, the east exit, and the third is the northwest exit.

"You are allowed to leave the base. However, I have to warn you about 3 things.

"The first one, as long as no one knows your true identity, it's fine. However, if someone outside your fellow trainees finds out about your identity, you're not allowed to request a duel with them. So your final evaluation will be affected.

"The second one, the Training Course only lasts around 3 weeks and only during the day of Satur and Sunar are trainees allowed to take the final written and practical exams.

"And lastly, the tunnels are not safe. Every month, it's not uncommon for people or trainees to get lost and die from the traps in the tunnels."

"I see," Vivian said and nodded. "For my second question: You mentioned that if a fellow trainee correctly guesses another trainee's identity and provides proof, the trainee whose identity was guessed can retaliate by asking the trainee who guessed their identity into a duel. And whoever loses, will automatically fail the Training Course. So my question is, what's stopping a powerful trainee from bullying the weaker trainees?"

As far as Vivian knows, Basic Training only lasts for 2 weeks and only first-time participants of the Holy Crusade are required to go through Basic Training. Meanwhile, those who already participated in a Holy Crusade and wanted to transfer to another Division didn't have to go through Basic Training again and would directly go for the Training Course which would last for 3 weeks.

"Hence the reason why a trainee must provide proof of how they arrived at such a conclusion in guessing another trainee's identity. And if we find out that it was through foul play, he and his collaborators will automatically fail the Training Course. The same investigation will also be applied to the non-trainees who figured out the identity of a trainee."

Vivian thought about the skill [Halo], specifically its active spell effect.

I guess I can see these people using that…

"As for my last question: You mentioned that I will be using an alias. What will be my alias."

"Yes, during your time as a trainee, you will be using an alias of your choosing. However, once you pass the Training Pass, you can choose to continue using that alias or change to another alias as your official Inquisitor name. 

"However, once you choose an official Inquisitor name, you can't change it until your Holy Crusade contract ends.

"Any more questions?" asked Blanch.

"That's it, Brother Inquisitor."

"Okay, fill up that form."

********************

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

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There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 263-267 are posted there.

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Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.