"My name is Leonard. I used a magic bow, so my mana and intelligence are quite high. I didn"t share the information about how to use mana because I thought there is some kind of reason why this information wasn"t revealed to the public."

"You did well; we have several mages who learned magic by chance." The thin man said. "The smart ones joined us, and those who can"t keep a secret ended up disappearing… did you catch my drift?"

"… Yes." Leon answered.

"The members of our group can use our facilities to train as much as they want," The thing explained. "And if you discover something, we will even pay you for the information. However, you cannot share that information with anyone, not even with other members. If you discover something and want to sell the information, you have to find an examiner, and after confirming that it is something new, the examiner will send him to talk with the directors or our organization."

"I"m sorry…" Leon hesitated. "But the soldier who brought me here didn"t explain anything. What organization is this?"

"… We are the Heart of the North." The thin man said after a long sigh. "Our goals are to rebuild our country, subjugate the monsters and dungeons in our territory and destroy those who threaten our peace. Our final objective is to rebuild the entire world and put all humanity under our banner and lead humanity to a new age of prosperity."

Leon almost let out a sigh, that looked like some kind of supremacist group would do. While Leon also wanted to reunite the world, he didn"t want to force others to follow his ideologies; he only wanted to treat other countries as equals and allies while respecting their differences. Leon was already sure that it was a shady organization.

"I see… so certain soldiers are being recruited to partic.i.p.ate in those activities." Leon said. "You can"t just turn all survivors into your subordinates."

"That is right," The thin man said. "We are only recruiting specialists and promising individuals… Anyway, if you join us as I said, you will have the chance to use our facilities to your heart"s content. You will receive a salary according to your rank, and you won"t have to pay taxes. Everything sold at the market of New York, you will be able to buy with a twenty percent discount. You will have your own furnished apartment with free water and power. You will also have a maid who will look after your apartment, and you will be able to "use" her the way you like."

Once again, Leon almost reacted to those suspicious words. Now he had no more doubt that that organization was rotten to the core, he still had to see with his own eyes the situations of those maids, but… he already had a feeling that it would be something unpleasant.

"Can I ask one more question?" Leon asked.

"What is it?" The thin man asked.

"This organization… is recognized by the leaders of the Allied Forces of the North-America, right? Leon asked.

"Of course, our organization is new, but the founder is Mr. William," The thin man said with a face full of pride."The pillar of the Allied Forces of the North-America."

"Is that so… then I want to join." Leon showed a sweet smile.

After that, Leon filled out a form, and then the thin man gave a map of the city and guided him to his temporary room, which was very near to the building in which he had the test. The place was rather small, but it had a lot of small rooms. Most of those were occupied, and Leon felt a weird aura coming from them.

"What is this place?" Leon asked.

"This is where the new recruits stay until they become fully-fledged members of our organization." The thin man answered. "Go to this place tomorrow, and you will do the final test. If you fail, you can try one week later; if you succeed, you will become a member, and you will have access to the privileges. The final test will begin at 08:00 AM, don"t be late."

The room for the recruits was really cheap; it looked more like a cell since it only had one bed and the toilet. The door didn"t even have a lock…

"Ugh… it stinks."

It was still early, so Leon wanted to take a walk, but gave up on the idea since that could be suspicious. He would have time for that once he joins the organization. Things were a lot more organized in New York than in Las Vegas, Leon didn"t see the whole city, but it looked like it had a lot more survivors as well.

Regardless, since the door didn"t have a lock, the wind made the door move frequently. For some reason, the other recruits pa.s.sed and looked at Leon"s room while staring at them. He didn"t know if they were frustrated for failing so many times or if they wanted to scare him. Either way, it was a waste of time.

There was nothing to do, it was still early, and Leon couldn"t practice his skills, and since he was alone, he ended up thinking about something he didn"t want to think... about his parents" death. He tried to avoid that while he was with Amanda in order not to make her sad, and when he was playing with Maya, he could only think that life was moving on... Still, now that he was alone, he couldn"t stop imagining their last moments. Amidst the sadness and his frustration, Leon promised himself one thing...

"I will find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who made those monsters appear on my planet and make him pay..."