17 An Agent's Arsenal
After testing all of his abilities, Alex decided to clean all the blood and mess in the training room. However, his stomach growled unexpectedly, reminding him of his hunger. 'I should eat first,' Alex thought to himself, making his way towards the kitchen to prepare himself a breakfast.
While eating his breakfast, Alex decided to check his smartwatch and see if anything happened while he was awakening. He first checked for any missed calls or messages, but there were none.
Then, Alex remembered the BW, so he accessed the app and saw that he had three new notifications.
Alex opened the first notification and discovered it was a new assignment from BW. As he read the mission details, confusion washed over him. "What could have happened in the world between 4 PM and 5 PM yesterday to prompt BW to issue this mission?"
Alex pondered whether he had witnessed anything unusual during that time. However, he quickly realized that the mentioned timeframe coincided with his own awakening, so he was oblivious to events in the outside world.
Alex was about to dismiss the mission notification, seeing that there was no mission failure and assuming it had nothing to do with him. But a lingering doubt stopped him in his tracks, and he couldn't help but wonder, "Could this be related to my awakening?"
'Nah, I doubt my awakening would be significant enough to capture BW's attention,' Alex quickly dismissed the thought.
Then Alex added, "And even if it were, how could they know about it?"
Alex realized that with every passing moment, he was becoming more paranoid, so he simply closed the notification and moved on to the next one.
[Assignment Details]
[Agent: Silas (Agent ID: XXX-007)]
[Mission: Duel Outcome Report - Damien Ashcroft vs. Frank Ashcroft]
[Mission Status: Completed]
[Reward: 1 CP (Contribution Point)]
Alex saw that his mission had been updated, and now the mission progress was completed. He also noticed that his balance was now 1 CP.
After confirming the mission update, Alex received another assignment.
[Assignment Details]
[Agent: Silas (Agent ID: XXX-007)]
[Mission: Knight acceptance ceremony]
[Objective: Meet with Agent Kirf between 1300 hours and 1400 hours today in Graxburg]
[Requirements: All the relevant equipment has been sent to your location]
[Reward: None]
[Mission Failure: Death]
[Mission Status: Active]
Upon examining the mission details, Alex felt beads of sweat forming all over his body. The thought gnawed at him, 'Does this mean that if I can't accomplish this mission, they would kill me?'
Taking a series of deep breaths, Alex sought to calm his racing heart. He reassured himself, "I can't evade this reality, so there is no benefit in allowing myself to succumb to nervousness."
"Until I become a free person, I need to endure this and survive," Alex muttered, determined to persevere until he gained his freedom.
'Nothing will happen,' Alex thought positively and moved on.
Alex felt curious, so he decided to check his mailbox to see if the equipment mentioned in the mission had arrived. Leaving his dorm, he quickly made his way to the mailbox and was surprised to find a space ring inside. 'Could the equipment be inside this?' Alex wondered.
"I don't even know how to use a space ring," Alex muttered and added, "I don't even know where to begin."
He chuckled and thought, 'I must be the worst agent in BW's history.'
Feeling helpless, Alex decided to watch a few walkthroughs online.
After watching several instructional videos, Alex finally learned how to use the space ring and took out everything inside. There were four items: a mask, an earpiece, a uniform, and a pill, along with a parchment that resembled a manual.
Alex decided to use his innate ability to find out what items BW had sent.
[Skin Mask]
[ It has the ability to transform the user's face according to their desires ]
[Upon scanning, it can accurately replicate other facial features.]
Alex nodded thoughtfully, remarking, "So, this mask will effectively preserve our cover."
Alex added, "Furthermore, it is even capable of duplicating the appearance of other individuals."
[Earpiece]
[ It will provide a secure communication flow between BW agents ]
'It's pretty self-explanatory.' Alex thought.
[Agent Uniform]
[The uniform design will change according to the user's desires.]
[It can disguise the user's body shape to a certain degree.]
[It can replicate the design of other clothes upon scanning them.]
'This is too probably for agents to maintain their cover,' Alex thought.
[Last Resort Pill]
[Upon consuming this drug, a high amount of serotonin will be released into the user's neural system, causing a blissful death.]
"What kind of drug is this?" Alex shivered. "Is this the famous Golden Shot?" Alex mumbled.
After analyzing every item, Alex unrolled the parchment and delved into the manual. Its contents were largely similar to the explanations of his ability, with a few notable deviations:
[Upon reading this manual, it will self-destruct within one hour.]
[To effectively utilize these items, agents must imprint their own mana signature as instructed. Otherwise, the items will hardly differ from ordinary objects.]
[If a mana imprint process other than the one prescribed in the manual is employed, these items will self-destruct automatically.]
As Alex reached the final line of the manual, he found himself torn between a sense of appreciation and a looming curse.
[In the event that an agent's cover is compromised, resulting in capture by opposing organizations, we strongly advise the use of the last resort pill to spare oneself from futile torture.]
Alex threw the pill directly into the trash bin, declaring, "I don't need something like this."
Alex thought to himself, 'I won't succumb to suicide just to avoid some torture.' Alex understood the value of life and how it was the most precious thing one could have. Even the most terrible torture wouldn't diminish the preciousness of life for Alex.
Then Alex started imprinting his mana onto the items, following the steps described in the manual. After some struggle, he finally achieved it and marked every item with his mana.
Alex equipped every item without activating them to avoid altering his appearance, and then headed outside.
