Chapter 208: Want to Control Me? Dream On

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Want to Control Me? Dream On

Just as Lance was about to straighten up to listen more closely to the rest of the argument.

The wooden door of the preliminary review room opened from the inside.

"Next."

The clerk in charge of the preliminary review leaned halfway out the door, calling out in a cold voice.

The process here was simple, only requiring a verification of the original contract.

Lance quickly passed the preliminary review. Holding the parchment, which now bore the preliminary review stamp, and a small Crystal Plate from the office, he arrived at the registration office at the end of the hall.

This Crystal Plate, which radiated a faint glow of Magic Power, would serve as his proof of identity for entering the Baptism Ceremony.

At that moment, a military Records Officer was sitting behind the wide desk of the registration office.

The man’s name was Ilya.

He appeared to be in his twenties, with a gaunt and skinny frame. His beady little eyes darted about, giving him a distinctly shifty, rat-like look.

Ilya was feeling extremely irritable.

Just a few hours earlier, the steward of an influential Count in the city had secretly approached him.

The steward had offered an enticingly high price to secretly purchase one of the precious spots for the Heroic Spirit Baptism.

The Count’s son had just become a Professional last month, and they wanted to bolster his credentials.

But this windfall wouldn’t be easy to pocket.

The Summer Crown had begun so abruptly this time that very few people were even eligible for this round of the Heroic Spirit Baptism.

The fewer people who came to register, the fewer slots he had to work with, and thus fewer opportunities to pull some strings.

He wouldn’t dare touch anyone with deep connections in the Iris Flower Military Department, not even if he had ten times the nerve.

But the amount the steward offered him was simply too large—a sum he couldn’t possibly refuse.

Just as he was pulling his hair out in frustration, Lance pushed open the door and walked up to the desk.

"Hello, I’m here to register for the Heroic Spirit Baptism."

Lance handed over the parchment and the Crystal Plate.

Ilya took the parchment, his eyes quickly scanning the key information as he discreetly sized up the black-haired youth before him.

’Rein... retired from the Third Legion... Silver Griffin Medal.’

He quickly began to calculate in his mind.

’Judging by the Iris Flower Military Department’s watermark on the parchment, the transfer contract is definitely real.’

’But the date on this slot is ancient. A quick check shows it was issued over twenty years ago.’

To be sure, the Heroic Spirit Baptism was one of the highest honors the Iris Flower Military Department could bestow upon a soldier, a reward for exceptional Merit.

To protect the rights of these retired veterans, the regulations governing the review and transfer process were written to be exceedingly strict.

But that was the military department of a few hundred years ago, back when it was still relatively uncorrupt.

Today’s Iris Flower Military Department was a tangled mess of conflicting interests, and the lower echelons of its bureaucracy had long since rotted to the core.

Precious opportunities like the Heroic Spirit Baptism, which could genuinely enhance a Professional’s potential, had long ago become prime bargaining chips for officials looking to make a fortune.

They particularly loved to target slots assigned to veterans from long ago, especially those who lacked powerful connections.

Ilya squinted, carefully examining Lance’s attire.

A simple linen shirt and trousers, no family crest, not a single valuable accessory.

Considering that, and the twenty-year-old contract, he sneered inwardly.

’If this veteran, Rein, really had powerful backing in the military’s upper echelons, he would have soared through the ranks long ago. It’s been over twenty years.’

’Since there’s been no sign of him making it big with any backing after all this time...’

’And looking at this shabbily dressed kid... he’s the perfect soft target to test the waters.’

To be absolutely sure, Ilya cleared his throat, put on a look of concern, and began questioning Lance about the details of his life.

He claimed it was a necessary inquiry for the upcoming Heroic Spirit Baptism.

"I’ve been handling registrations here for many years. I’ve seen and heard it all."

Ilya continued his spiel with an air of great importance.

"Truth be told, there are many hidden tricks to the Baptism Ceremony. If I can get a detailed understanding of your past experiences,"

"it will make it easier for you to be chosen by one of the more powerful Heroic Spirit Treasures."

Lance’s interest was piqued when he heard this, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

Still, he played along, briefly recounting his life: growing up in Gray Rock Town, working as a Guild Copyist, and later becoming an Adventurer.

After hearing this thoroughly unremarkable history, Ilya breathed an inward sigh of relief.

’An orphan from a backwater border town, no connections, no backing... This makes things simple.’

’This batch of Baptism slots has to be finalized and sealed by this afternoon.’

’From this morning until now, he’s the only one who looks like a total pushover. Looks like I’ll have to go after this poor bastard’s slot.’

Thinking of the exorbitant price the steward had promised, he knew that even after giving a large cut to his direct superior, Chief Records Officer Vance, the rest would be enough for him to live lavishly in White River City’s finest taverns for a long, long time.

’The Veterans’ Hospital may be corrupt, but on paper, the review regulations for the Heroic Spirit Baptism are still strict.’

However, with the rapid development of Alchemy Technology on the continent, the Royal Capital had pushed through reforms to incorporate Magical Machinery into the review process.

Ostensibly, this was to prevent tampering and increase efficiency.

But in reality, it just created more loopholes for low-level clerks like him, who knew the machines’ vulnerabilities.

They could steal someone’s slot while making it look completely legal and by the book.

Ilya took Lance’s Crystal Plate and parchment.

He turned and inserted the Crystal Plate into an intricate machine of whirring brass gears.

This was an Alchemy Terminal, used for inputting Sequences.

He skillfully flicked several brass switches on the side of the device.

Citing the reason "Missing this year’s joint Magic Power seal from the Defense Agency," he imprinted a rune onto the Crystal Plate signifying "Rejected and Pending Review."

As soon as the rune was imprinted, the Alchemy Instrument emitted a mechanical whir.

It immediately shunted the slot, which should have been activated, from the official Sequence into a "pending review" queue.

’This was the massive loophole in the automated process.’

’All subsequent checks for the ceremony—from entering the main array to selecting a Treasure—only recognized the Crystal Plate.’

’Who knows if that bunch from the Elder Council in the Royal Capital took a massive kickback from the Alchemy Association to implement such a rigid, inflexible automated system.’

’Now, all I have to do is use my authority to hold up this kid’s Crystal Plate.’

’Trick him into going home to wait for news.’

’As long as the Crystal Plate stays here,’

’once he’s gone,’

’I can use my internal access to move the Crystal Plate from the ’pending’ queue back to an official Sequence, then change the name on the console.’

’The whole process will be completely untraceable.’

’By the time half a month passes, the Baptism Ceremony will be long over.’

’Then I’ll just put on a regretful face and inform him that his slot ’expired due to a review delay’.

’What’s an orphan from the countryside going to do to fight back?’

’At most, I’ll have to pay him some token compensation in Gold Coins, according to the regulations. It’s the same as buying the slot for cheap.’

’He’d perfected this kind of bait-and-switch scheme over the last two years.’

"I’m truly sorry."

Ilya turned around, his face a mask of regret.

He pushed a piece of parchment bearing a "PENDING REVIEW" stamp across the desk.

"This contract of yours is simply too old."

"According to the latest procedural reforms, for an old slot like this, we need to submit it to the higher-level Defense Agency for secondary verification."

"For now, just go home and wait for a few days. We’ll send someone to notify you once we have a result."

The moment Ilya finished speaking,

a long, strong hand shot out and pressed down firmly on the parchment.

Lance’s fingers applied just enough pressure to pin the parchment to the desk, preventing Ilya from pushing it another inch.

He truly hadn’t expected it.

He’d just witnessed that old veteran in the hallway complaining about his slot being stolen, and now, in the blink of an eye, the same cheap drama was happening to him.

Lance had already done his research.

The Baptism Ceremony was set to begin tomorrow.

’Go home and wait a few days?’

’By the time I came back, this slot would’ve long since been assigned to someone else.’

He’d seen this kind of tactic—abusing one’s authority and exploiting an information gap for personal gain—countless times in his past life’s career.

He just never expected to run into such a textbook case of bureaucratic corruption in this Otherworld.

But Lance didn’t start shouting like the old veteran in the hall.

He simply let the smile fade from his face.

His black eyes locked onto Ilya from across the desk.

In that instant, the [Dragon Phase] hidden deep within Lance’s soul began to stir, slowly but surely activating in response to his hostility toward Ilya.

Like an invisible weight, a wave of Dragon’s Might instantly descended upon the area behind the desk.

Ilya was about to open his mouth and scold the boy for his insolence.

But he suddenly felt as though an invisible hand were strangling him.

Though there was nothing on his neck, he was suddenly overcome by a terrifying feeling of suffocation.

He stared in horror at the black-haired youth, feeling the boy’s entire aura undergo a cataclysmic transformation.

’Such immense pressure!’

In an instant, Ilya’s back was completely drenched in cold sweat.

’Is this really an aura a country orphan could possibly possess?’

Ilya was screaming frantically in his mind.

’He had only vaguely sensed this kind of terrifying pressure once or twice in his life, and that was from a great distance during an audience with a few Great Nobles.’

’Had he truly misjudged this time? Had he picked the wrong target to mess with?’