?Hera had expected that Nick would have, at least, some troubles with the Blood Wolf.
Sure, the Blood Wolf was technically a level below Nick, but it was huge, and due to its size, its physical power was also very impressive.
Due to its great power and fast regeneration, Solace always sent a team of four Late Johns to work with it.
A single Peak John would most likely not win since the Blood Wolf would outlast them.
Specters very often were more powerful than Extractors on the same level.
Hera had expected Nick to be stronger than the average Peak John, but she hadn't expected Nick to be that much stronger.
The Blood Wolf might as well have been a Hatchling with the way Nick dealt with it.
Another interesting thing was Nick's ability.
Extractors almost exclusively fought with their abilities, and they rarely used their physical powers.
Obviously, Nick had used his ability since a Peak John's physical power wasn't enough to decapitate the Blood Wolf.
Yet, impressively enough, Hera basically didn't learn anything new about Nick's ability.
Nick had used his ability perfectly when she couldn't see it.
The only thing Hera could say was that Nick's ability had great potential for destruction since it managed to decapitate the Blood Wolf.
Sadly, she hadn't seen how exactly the ability decapitated the wolf.
All of this information boiled down to one thing.
'He's very experienced in fighting,' Hera thought.
Naturally, that hypothesis was backed by the fact that Nick didn't seem even a slight bit nervous in front of the gigantic and terrifying Blood Wolf.
"Impressive," Hera said as she opened the entrance again to walk out. "You're really good at fighting."
Nick nodded as he followed Hera outside. "Thanks."
"You almost seemed like a Veteran during the fight with the way you dealt with the Blood Wolf," Hera said with a smile.
"Well," Nick said. "That's actually related to why I'm here."
Hera hadn't finished the tour yet, but since Nick brought up the topic, she engaged with it.
"Oh? Why are you here?" she asked, looking at Nick with interest.
"I'm here to purchase an ability for myself," Nick said.
Hera blinked in surprise. "Isn't that a bit early?"
"No," Nick answered. "In fact, I've been in Zephosis for about a month now. I'm ready to advance."
This completely dumbfounded Hera.
Wasn't Dark Dream only five years old?
Hadn't Nick been a fresh Newbie just five years ago?
And now, he was claiming that he was about to become a Veteran?
"Sorry, but I have to make sure that I heard you correctly," Hera said. "You said that you are ready to become a Veteran, right?"
Nick nodded.
"Right now," Hera added.
Nick nodded again.
Hera blinked a bit in surprise.
"Sorry if this is a rather personal question, but how old are you?" she asked.
"I recently turned 21," Nick said.
Hera had no idea what she should think about.
Most people only became Zephyx Extractors during that age.
One of the harshest criteria in testing applicants for the position of Zephyx Extractor was courage without recklessness.
Many teenagers didn't lack courage, but their courage was often accompanied by recklessness.
On the other hand, most adults didn't have the required courage, but they also weren't as reckless.
Most Extractors only became Extractors between 19 and 28 years of age.
It was rare to see someone older or younger become an Extractor.
Hera knew that Nick was young, but she hadn't known that he was this young!
Based on her math, Nick would have needed to be Dark Dream's Chief Zephyx Extractor when he was just 16!
The next shocking thing was that Nick had managed to become a Veteran in just five years!
The average time required to become an Initial John was around two years, and the average time required to become an Initial Veteran after becoming an Initial John was seven years.
Becoming a Peak John after becoming an Initial John generally took around three years, and gathering the Zephyx for Zephosis and achieving said Zephosis took around four years on average.
So, all in all, becoming an Initial Veteran after becoming a Zephyx Extractor took nine years on average.
If a 22-year-old became an Extractor, they would become an Initial Veteran at around the age of 31.
But Nick was barely 21.
He was about to become an Initial Veteran when others were just starting to become Extractors.
This was a lot to take in.
There had been cases where people as young as 14 managed to become Extractors, but they also tended to take about two years longer than the average to become Veterans, making them Veterans at around 25 years of age.
That was already very impressive.
But 21?
Hera wasn't sure if she had ever heard of anyone becoming a Veteran at such a low age.
It took her quite a while to come to terms with what she had just heard.
"Sorry," Hera said after several seconds of silence. "I zoned out there."
Then, she sighed. "A 21-year-old Veteran. That's hard to believe, even for me."
"That's really impressive, Nick."
Nick nodded. "Thanks."
Hera gestured down the hallway.
"Let's keep the tour for another time," she said before walking down one of the hallways.
Nick walked behind her, and after ascending a couple of floors, Hera led Nick into her office.
Hera's office was quite bright, and it was littered with different kinds of plants.
Plants were a luxury inside Crimson City, and Nick hadn't seen that many yet.
"Give me a second," Hera said as she opened one of the drawers.
A moment later, she took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Nick.
"Here, that's what we have to offer," she said.
Nick looked at the sheet.
The sheet had the names and abilities of ten Specters on it.
Naturally, Manufacturers also made money by selling abilities to other Manufacturers.
It was some easy money for basically no investment.
The only drawback was that the Specters were obviously going to be made public, which could be a security risk.
When Nick looked at the ten Specters, his brows furrowed.
"The one I want isn't on this list."