Chapter 100: A Way Around the Rules

"Have you heard the news about the unidentified bodies found in and around Silverwood City?"

Lucian shook his head.

"No. I haven’t been paying any attention."

"Two unidentified bodies were discovered recently. One was found yesterday, and another was reported earlier today. Their identities haven’t been established yet."

Magnus paused a moment to observe Lucian’s reaction.

"That gave me an idea. What if one of your Shadow Soldiers copied the characteristics of one of the deceased?"

Lucian’s eyes narrowed as he caught on to what Magnus was implying.

Magnus continued. "If your Shadow Soldier was able to reproduce the physical characteristics and the aura of that person, it would be able to reproduce the biological characteristics for the blood verification as well. The blood verification would no longer be a problem."

Evelyn’s eyes widened.

"Father, are you suggesting that his Shadow Soldier impersonate one of the unidentified dead?"

"That is an option," Magnus said, "but we have to determine how Lucian’s ability really works before we can say that it would work."

Magnus turned to face Lucian.

"Do your Shadow Soldiers imprint a person’s characteristics even after the death of that person?"

Lucian pondered the question.

His Shadow Soldiers could imprint physical characteristics and aura, but he had never really tested the extent of their abilities on the deceased.

"Possibly. I would need to test it to be certain."

Magnus nodded.

"Then that will be the first priority."

Magnus continued. "Assuming that it does imprint a deceased’s characteristics, we can use that as a basis. The problem of the identification papers still stands, but I think I can work something out there."

Lucian’s face lit up.

"Uncle, you mean you can get citizenship identification papers for my Shadow Soldiers?"

"As City Lord of Silverwood City, I have considerable influence over the city’s administrative affairs,," Magnus said, "getting documentation sorted out shouldn’t be that hard. We just can’t assume that the Mercenary Guild would accept an identification without knowing what kind of requirements they set."

Lucian nodded in agreement.

That was a good point.

If Magnus could get the documentation in order and his Shadow Soldiers could imprint the necessary physical and biological characteristics, the problem of registration would be solved.

There was just one more problem that needed to be addressed.

"What about the Martial Aura requirement?"

Magnus smiled.

"You said that your Shadow Soldiers could imprint another person’s aura didn’t you?"

"Yes."

"Then that wouldn’t be a problem either. We’ll just have to test if imprinting another person’s aura would suffice for the guild’s verification"

It finally clicked in Lucian’s head as to why his uncle had inquired about his soldiers’ abilities.

His uncle wasn’t just looking for an answer to the problem of identification.

He was determining the extent to which each requirement could be bypassed.

The citizenship identification could possibly be worked out with the help of Magnus.

The blood verification could possibly be worked out if a Shadow Soldier could imprint the necessary physical and biological characteristics.

The Martial Aura verification was something that Lucian was confident his soldiers could do.

For once in his life, he finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel concerning Shadow Genesis.

Still, he wanted to take it slow.

"Uncle, will there be a problem in the future? I don’t want the Mercenary Guild to question Shadow Genesis after we’ve registered it."

Magnus nodded in approval.

"I don’t think we should run into any problems. Once you’ve registered your squad, you can simply take on missions that don’t require you to reveal your identity."

Evelyn looked over at Lucian.

"At least now we have somewhere to start. It’s better than sitting in your room and worrying about documents you don’t have."

Lucian looked helplessly at Evelyn.

"You really aren’t going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Not anytime soom."

Magnus chuckled at the two of them.

"Now, here’s what I suggest. First, we will find out more about the unidentified bodies and whether or not their characteristics can be tested. In the mean time, I’ll do some investigating on the documentation requirements. Once we are familiar with the situation, we can determine what to do as far as the Mercenary Guild is concerned."

Lucian thought it over for a moment before nodding.

"That sounds good, Uncle. We should go ahead with just one Shadow Soldier and see how far we can get."

"Exactly. There’s no need to over complicate things before we know what we’re really dealing with."

Lucian stood a little taller.

"Thank you Uncle. That’s more help than I ever thought you would give."

Magnus smiled.

"Remember something, Lucian. Strength is important, but strength alone won’t solve every problem. Sometimes, knowing how to use the resources around you is just as important."

Lucian took the words to heart.

This was the first time he had really put much thought into how his soldiers could be used other than for battle.

He had thousands of soldiers.

If their ability to imprint physical characteristics and aura was as versatile as he thought, then the possibilities were quite endless.

Of course, he would have to test the extent of that versatility before he could take any steps.

Still, his focus was on the immediate problem at hand.

He wanted to establish Shadow Genesis.

Now that the first obstacle had been identified, he knew that it wouldn’t be long before he found a way around it.

Lucian looked up at his uncle.

"Then I’ll wait for your news about the unidentified bodies and the documentation requirements."

Magnus nodded.

"I’ll look into those things. Now, think carefully about how your Shadow Soldiers’ imprinting ability works. The more detailed you are, the easier it will be for us to find a solution."

"I will."

Lucian and Evelyn shared a glance before turning to leave.

As they walked out the door, Evelyn moved closer to Lucian.

"I guess asking father for help wasn’t such a bad idea after all."

Lucian smiled.

"I suppose I owe you one."

"Only one?"

"Don’t push your luck."

Evelyn laughed and slid her hand into his as they walked down the hall.

For now, Shadow Genesis remained only a plan.

For the first time, though, Lucian saw the first step towards its realization.