Nick and the Technician talked about the details of his immediate future before Nick left the room.
After leaving the room, Nick remained standing in the hallway.
Several minutes later, someone walked out of the hallway and approached him.
It was a young woman with green hair and two long swords hanging from the sides of her legs.
Her expression was strict and serious, and Nick could tell that she was somebody who didn't like hearing or making jokes.
"Nick Dusk?" she asked in a neutral tone.
Nick nodded. "Yes, Agent," he answered respectfully.
The woman in front of him wore the uniform of an Agent, which meant that she was a powerful Hero.
"The Technician has told me all about you," she said without any emotions. "You will be under my care until you have advanced to the level of an Initial Specialist."
"I am responsible for the training of talented Bailiffs so that they might become Agents in the future."
Then, the woman turned around.
"Follow," she commanded as she started walking with quite some speed.
Nick was unused to being spoken to like this, but she outclassed him both in rank and in power.
"My name is Pavelka Stormblade. You will be referring to me as Aductress for the duration of your stay. Am I understood?" she asked with a stern voice.
"Yes, Aductress," Nick answered. He still wasn't used to this kind of dynamic, but that didn't mean that he was opposed to it.
Usually, more powerful people still spoke in a polite tone, but that wasn't strictly necessary.
A politer tone often made it easier to work with someone else, but during a long-term cooperation or relationship, a very direct tone could be more efficient.
The Aductress didn't let it show, but her opinion of Nick improved slightly.
Why was she talking down to the Bailiffs, even though it was not the norm?
Discipline.
Aegis' headquarters also served as the local stronghold for the Great Triangle.
This meant that all the talented Peak Veterans from all of the cities ended up here.
These Peak Veterans were the most talented and most powerful Veterans in their cities, and they had a great deal of confidence in their powers.
Most of the time, they were progeny from the most influential families in their city and had received years of finely tuned training and education.
Naturally, these families invested literal tons of Zephyx to sway the local government to accept their progeny as Bailiffs.
All for the single hope of finally being able to leave the isolated pond that was their city and join the vast ocean that was Aegis.
Most of these families were led by a Hero who had already reached the highest position achievable in their city.
Governor, Chief Zephyx Extractor, Chief Executive Officer…
Some of them were interested in joining Aegis as Agents, but becoming an Agent was not easy.
They needed to prove themselves first, and that was almost impossible while being isolated in some kind of city.
Others were too comfortable with their current power and position to try, but they still wanted their progeny to become even more powerful than them.
Nevertheless, in either case, if their progeny succeeded in the training, a spot as an Agent would be secure, which translated into a relocation for the family.
The family could finally leave the city and move to Aegis' headquarters.
That meant living in the most prestigious, powerful, and important place in the entire world!
As soon as they moved there, every member of the family would have it much easier to get into Aegis.
For one, the leaders of the families could easily prove themselves and become Agents.
Other members could directly join as administrative workers.
Dealing with paperwork, managing resources, supporting others, and so on.
Those members would also become Bailiffs, and just being a Bailiff already opened many possible avenues to fame and glory.
This was why all the powerful families tried their best to get their progeny into Aegis.
And these progeny, most of the time, were not the humblest humans out there.
Because of that, the Aductress talked down to them to get them back in line.
These Bailiffs had to understand that they were now the lowest of the low in Aegis.
They were trainees.
They were not valuable in any way.
They were not contributing with their power.
They were not contributing to any administrative work.
They were not working with Specters that could otherwise not be worked with.
They were not producing a great amount of Zephyx.
They were not fighting Specters.
They were not paying any tribute to Aegis.
They were contributing nothing.
They only cost money.
They were here to be assessed and to be molded into someone who could contribute to Aegis.
It was important that the newcomers understood their status.
When the Aductress talked to the Bailiffs, she often saw the outrage on their face.
Some of them even dared to voice it.
However, complaints and outrage wouldn't get them very far here.
The Aductress had a very high status.
They didn't know it, but the Aductress was one of the most powerful Heroes in all of Aegis.
In fact, she was only in the headquarters because she was working with a Peak Demon so that she could become a Judge, a Protector.
The teaching of the talented Bailiffs was of high importance, and Aegis wanted the Bailiffs to only learn from the best of them.
However, they had a very limited number of Judges.
Because of that, they gave the task of teaching the talented Bailiffs to an Agent who was in the process of becoming a Judge.
Such a process generally took decades to complete.
The Aductress had been doing this job for a couple of years now, but she still had about two decades ahead of her.
In these years, she had seen many Bailiffs, and she could also see if they were useful or not.
Most of them were not very useful and found themselves back home again.
The families tried their best to teach them about combat and all the duties an Extractor had to complete, but more often than not, the personalities and motivations of these people were not what Aegis wanted.
In the end, less than 10% managed to become Specialists before being thrown out, and even fewer managed to actually become Agents.
Nick didn't know a lot about the Aductress and the people she taught.
The Technician only told him that he would be sending him to the regular training camp for Agents.
The reason why the Technician didn't tell Nick a lot about this department was simple.
There was no need to.
The Technician knew that Nick had vastly more experience than any other Expert out there.
Many of them had worked with many more Specters than Nick, and many of them had lived much longer than him.
However, none of them had gone through so many dangerous situations, and almost none of them had decades of experience leading a Manufacturer or running an entire city.
Nick had enough experience and contributions that he could assume the mantle of Agent if he were a Hero.
Nick had already proven that his mindset, experience, and power were more than sufficient to become an Agent.
Warning him about any dangers in the training department was unnecessary.
He knew how to handle himself.
After walking for a while, the two of them arrived in a room that was a mix of storage and office.
"Oh hey, Pavelka," a young man wearing the uniform of a Bailiff said as he stood up from his chair to approach. "What's up?"
The Aductress just glared back. "I have a new trainee," she said.
"Oh!" the young man said as his face became a bit red with embarrassment. An instant later, his gaze steeled, and he purposefully did his best to act like Nick didn't exist any longer.
"Do you require a standard-issue uniform?" he asked with a serious voice.
The Aductress nodded. "Yes."
"Of course," the young man said before turning to Nick.
He was just about to tell Nick to follow him, but he hesitated when he inspected Nick's uniform.
He already had an Aegis uniform?
Even more, he had stripes!
Stripes were only for Governors and higher!
The man was supposed to be serious and disciplined in front of the trainees, but…
This was someone who had, at least, as much authority as a Governor.
He couldn't be rude to someone like that!
"It's fine," Nick said, realizing what was happening. "Just treat me like any other trainee."
The Aductress frowned, but she didn't look at either of them.
She wasn't happy about the current development since this was not how things were normally done, but she had to concede that there was no other way.
To the Aductress, Nick wasn't different from a Bailiff. Both of them were beneath her rank.
But for another Bailiff or a Governor, things were very different.
The man mouthed a silent thank you before his gaze hardened.
"Follow, trainee!" he commanded as he walked into another room.
Nick followed.