Lorn was summoned to the Organization's main administrative building—a squat, reinforced concrete structure near the center of Vorg. The interior was stark, clean, and unnervingly quiet, a sharp contrast to the chaotic sweat and noise of the Common Quarters.
Vera, the supervisor, was waiting in a small, windowless office that smelled faintly of ozone and industrial cleaner. She was meticulously organized, charts of resource depletion and Wraith-Kind sightings plastered neatly across the wall. Her three-pronged flame crest badge gleamed under the single fluorescent light.
"Sit, Cairn" Vera commanded, indicating a simple wooden stool.
She didn't offer any preamble. She slid a rough, hand-drawn map across the table. It detailed the immediate Abandoned Zone, marked with complex symbols Lorn didn't recognize, and colored zones indicating perceived threat levels.
"Your agreement gives you status, but status requires output." Vera stated, tapping a spot deep within a jagged, red-outlined section of the map. "This is Sector 26. A high-risk zone. Patrols avoid it because of residual corruption. We have evidence of a deep Aetherite vein running beneath the old Hydro-Electric plant ruins there."
Lorn leaned forward, absorbing the data. His Mental Fortress was running flat-out, cataloging the symbols, the terrain features, and the cold, rational fear in Vera's eyes.
"Why me?" Lorn asked. "This is a job for an E-Rank patrol, not a scout."
Vera gave him a thin, humorless smile. "E-Ranks require heavy Aether-Flow expenditure for transport, communication, and support. You are Tier Zero. You move light, you require zero flow subsidy, and if you die, the loss is negligible. Your unique success and lack of history make you expendable assets—and uniquely efficient."
She pushed a small pile of gear toward him: a better canvas satchel, a coil of reinforced wire, and a military-grade headlamp that used a small charge of Aether-Flow dust.
"You report back with any sample, Cairn. Full sample size is not the priority. Proving the vein exists is. If the sector is secure, we send in a harvester team. If you encounter anything beyond standard Wraith-Kind—anything large, or any sign of a Demon—you disengage immediately and report its exact location."
"When do I leave?"
"Now," Vera said, rising. "The barrier is weakest at midday. You have eight hours."
Lorn returned to the gate area to prepare, his new status granting him the unusual right to prepare outside the Common Quarters.
He assessed his gear. The pipe-weapon was worthless. The only tool of true value was his Eternal Core and the skills he had copied.
Mobility: Runner's Break, Ruin Tread, Kick Spring (Essential for navigating high-risk terrain.)
Utility: Scrap Recognition (Crucial for finding the vein.)
Defense: Gate Warden's Brace (Necessary for shrugging off minor hits.)
Offense: F-Rank Spark (His only active combat option—pathetically weak, but better than nothing.)
As Lorn meticulously checked the battery in the new headlamp, Clork walked past, his massive mace resting on his shoulder.
"New uniform, Trench-Rat?" Clork sneered, stopping beside him. "You think a fancier bag makes you a soldier? Vera is sending you on a one-way trip to save her own ledger. I'll be waiting for your scraps at the cremation pit."
Lorn simply met his gaze, maintaining the empty calm of the Mental Fortress. He knew Clork was right about the risk, but the rage in the guard's eyes confirmed Lorn had truly wounded his pride.
Lorn made his way to the outer barrier wall. The blue Aether-Flow shimmered visibly here, humming with energy. He pulled out the coil of reinforced wire and focused the new Aether-Weld skill. He practiced fusing a weak point in the wire, watching the tiny, focused heat shimmer from his fingers repair the metal. It was a utility skill, not combat, but it proved his potential for advanced Aether-Flow control.
Eiara was waiting at the door. She wore her patrol gear, her rifle slung low, her expression unreadable. She didn't offer Lorn a map or a weapon. She only offered a single, clipped instruction.
"Sector 26. I know it. It's crawling with low-grade Demons that feed on the residual energy. You find the vein, you take a sample the size of your thumb, and you run. Do not engage."
She stared at the crest on Lorn's newly acquired satchel. "Vana blood pays its debts," she muttered, perhaps to herself. "Don't make your debt to the Organization any heavier than it is, Cairn."
A guard retracted the massive bolt. The roar of the outside world—the wind, the gritty silence, the distant thumps of the Wraiths rushed in.
Lorn stepped over the threshold, the low-grade Aether-Flow barrier passing over him like a cold shower. He was alone, Tier Zero, his only protection was a handful of F-Rank skills and a hidden Eternal Core of infinite power.
The Abandoned Zone stretched before him, ash-choked and waiting. His first mission had begun.