Throne of Steam

The damp and old cathedral room stretched into infinite darkness around the lonely Garett, but his eyes focused only on the objects littering the table, not caring for the eerie atmosphere surrounding him.

As I thought, if I understand well enough what I'm trying to materialize, the object is made with enhanced quality… Garett was occupying one of the deposit rooms at the furthermost corner of the cathedral building, the place was barely ever cleaned, and he could find many things to experience with his powers.

An assortment of old blueprints and schematics once used by the church's artisans occupied the table in front of him, most of them illustrated the creation process of obsolete or faulty firearms.

"Yes, I don't need to copy and imagine the blueprint in order to materialize it; I just need to understand how a firearm works, and then I'll be able to instinctively make it work." Garett thought to himself with satisfaction after his latest attempt to materialize a handgun. "Maybe if I create a blueprint of my own the effect would be better, but I have no knowledge on how to create schematics on the subject."

Yes, the old Keeper said the God of Artisans is neutral, so maybe I can acquire the knowledge on forging and schematics rather easily. After studying it I'll be able to materialize some insane weapons… Garett's eyes twinkled as the fantasies about him materializing a mystic hand cannon from thin air swarmed his mind.

DONG

"It's already time?" He mumbled after listening to the loud bell toll, his excitement dimming considerably. "Alice will get pissed if I miss training… She's a beast when the subject is training…"

As far as he was concerned, Alice's methods could be categorized as torture! It was true that he wanted to strengthen his body to utilize his powers better, but being asked to use heavy weights while running was the same as simply tormenting him!

"Aah…" He sighed helplessly, the last time he arrived late to the training was quite a miserable one, he felt so pained that after the training that he gave up on returning home and decided to sleep on the hunters' common quarters instead!

"I should get going." He carefully kept the blueprints for later use and left for his session of torture.

Just as he was about to close the door behind him and follow the path towards the training grounds, an old and deep voice came from behind.

"What were you doing in there, kid?" The Keeper's unforgettable voice echoed throughout the corridors, his eyes brimming with suspicion.

Shit! What are you doing here? Wait, I don't need to be nervous, right? I can just tell him cleanly about me studying the schematics, he doesn't need to know about the powers… Garett's mind worked quickly, looking for the best course of action.

"Oh! Forgive me, sir Keeper. I know that I should've asked for your approval first before looking at the old schematics." He hastily apologized while already answering the elderly man's question.

"Looking through the old schematics? What are you doing that for?"

"This young hunter is studying them to understand better the inner workings of firearms as I felt inspired to create my own weapon." Gareth was always very polite when talking to the Keeper, he didn't know why, but something in the elder elicited this kind of treatment.

"Hoh. A young hunter who also wants to be an artisan? That's interesting…" The elder Keeper's eyes thinned into slits as he descended in deep thought. " Come to my study later, those old schematics are mostly faulty goods. No good will come from studying it."

Jackpot! If I knew it would be this easy, I would have talked to him earlier… Garett felt elated at the sudden turn of events!

"Yes, I'm very grateful to you, sir. I should keep going now, sir Keeper. Alice is still waiting for me in the training fields." Gareth slightly bowed to his teacher and waited for the elder to nod in response, a common ritual when leaving one's teacher presence.

Jackpot!...

…

"Captain? What are you doing here?" Garett even forgot about the basic etiquette when meeting a superior, such was the surprise in seeing Dante at the old training yard.

"Hmmm, hello, Garett. You are late." Dante nodded in greeting.

"Haha~ I was talking to the old keeper about artisan schematics, I'm sorry, captain." He replied with a dry laugh while cursing inwardly.

F**k if it was just Alice it would be okay, but the captain is famed for being even stricter… Garett felt that the captain would make his training at least ten times harsher!

"Oh, I bet the old man was very happy, he has nobody to talk about craftsmanship since I became occupied with leading a team." Dante smiled slightly in understanding, his expression softening considerably.

Did I just dodge a bullet? I feel like the captain suddenly became more comprehensive… Garett let out a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing as the captain started to approach.

"I came here today to give you your first assignment. Usually, I would let Alice inform you, but I wanted to see how's your training going." He stopped to check the time on his old pocket watch, nodding slightly before looking at back at Garett.

"My first assignment? Oh, where's Alice?" Only then did Garett notice Alice's absence, it felt really weird because he was used to seeing her on a daily basis.

"Alice is preparing too, as she'll be overseeing you and lending some degree of assistance if needed." Dante patiently answered Garret's doubts. "Your first assignment is very simple, and should not have anything to do with mutants. Of course, we can never be a hundred percent sure, that's why Alice will be accompanying you."

"Not related to mutants?" Garett felt relieved, he wasn't eager to fight those monsters, even if it was the weakest grade-F mutants!

Mutants were categorized into seven categories, starting from the weakest F-Ranked mutant to the strongest S-Ranked mutant. There were also even higher ranking beasts, but those are so rare that they are classified as legends.

Mutants are classified based on the energy that radiates from them; and, while very rare, it is possible for a mutant to evolve in rank and get stronger.

There is a very wide gulf between each mutant rank, and the process of evolution is extremely complicated.

If an F-ranked mutant emits energy equivalent to a small light-bulb, an E-Rank mutant already radiates energy comparable to a fiery furnace! And to make things worse, there's no clear comparative between Marked and Mutants, as humans only exude energy when using one's powers - the general consensus is that a captain is barely comparable to a B-ranked mutant. That is if you are not an aberration like Lurmon… Garett became lost in thought about the knowledge pertaining to mutants that he acquired from the Librarian's lessons.

"While we don't expect you to find any mutant, the task is closely related to Marked." Dante rummaged through his clothing before finally taking out a cigar, the brand wasn't one that Garett recognized, but he figured it should be expensive. "You know that Marked people attract all kinds of supernatural phenomena, right?"

"Yes, Sir." He nodded in admittance.

Is it because I'm under constant care from the church? I don't remember any of this kind of event happening to me… He thought to himself. If you excluded the recent happenings related to other marked and the mutant attack, nothing seemed really supernatural!

"Well then, we suspect there's a rogue Marked on the loose somewhere in the Tobacco Yard, more specifically, in the area surrounding the Vivian Canal." Dante said while letting out puffs of white smoke. " So for your first assignment, we want you to find the source of these supernatural occurrences, most probably a rogue Marked, and deal with it. If it is a Marked, take him to the church; if it's something else, ask Alice how to deal with it."

That seems pretty feasible, and the degree of danger seems very manageable. Alice will be around too… Garett felt confident in accomplishing this mission, it would be even better if it wasn't necessary for him to engage in combat.

"What do you think?" Dante questioned while inspecting the recruit with his eyes. "Alice will give you all the specifics pertaining to the case, so you'll have more information."

"I'll do my best, Captain." Garett saluted in a show of confidence, the assignment seemed very simple to him!

"Very good." Dante nodded in satisfaction before appearing to remember something. "Related to the murder and ransacking incident, you should know that investigating matters related to Ritualistic Marked and an organization as powerful as the College can take time. We have not given up on it."

"I understand, Captain." Garett bowed slightly, demonstrating his feelings of thankfulness. "Did any additional development happen?"

"No, we're keeping an eye out for the culprit's description." Taking a breath from the cigar, he continued. "Alice was also punished and is now a lot more forthcoming in her duties, nothing should happen to you now."

"Thank you, Captain."

Poor Alice, I can only imagine what kind of punishment the hunters give for dereliction of duty… Garett lamented inwardly, even if he was endangered, her negligence allowed him the time to hide his secrets!

"I'll be going, then." Dante added after finishing to announce everything he had to say. "Take care, Garett. I await your report."

"I won't disappoint you, sir."

"Now get back to your training, Alice will find you later to discuss the details of your mission." Dante suddenly reminded after turning back, his back eventually disappearing into one of the adjacent buildings.

F**k! I was hoping he would forget about that, or at least give me a day off from training so as to concentrate on my first assignment… Garett's excitation immediately dimmed, even thinking about the training already left him exhausted!

"Wait, Alice is not here! I can just train my aim accuracy at the shooting range and take it easy today!" The feeling of smugness instantly overcame him, how can a smart person like him be tortured with brutish training methods? He was allowed to rest once in a while!

"Were you thinking of taking it easy today?" A sudden voice instantly shattered his fantasies, plunging him back from Elysium to the depths of despair!

"I wouldn't dare, Alice." Garett smile stiffened while replying, a sudden urge to cry inundated him, eradicating any semblance of the intentions he harbored initially.

Why is my life so hard!? I'm about to embark on my first mission! Don't I deserve a little break today? How do you all expect me to perform in these circumstances? It's simply unscientific… And as such, Garett started to complain again while being forced to complete another hellish training session.