Kael leaned back slightly, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest as he considered the question.
Additional modifications...
Nothing immediately came to mind.
The Spectre Nano Bracelet was already one of the finest pieces of equipment money could buy. There wasn’t much he wanted to change.
After nearly half a minute of thought, he finally shook his head.
"Nothing that I can think of."
He paused before continuing.
"But if your engineers have developed any new functions that would improve its overall performance, feel free to add them."
The man gave a small nod.
"We’ll have our engineers recommend the latest improvements available for your selected grade."
"Good."
Kael suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right."
"There is one thing."
The man looked up.
"I’d like to modify its appearance."
"The armor is completely black, which I like, but it feels a little too gloomy."
"I want another color incorporated into the design. Something as an outline to make it look less dull."
The man’s eyes lit up slightly.
"A cosmetic modification."
"An excellent choice."
He smiled politely before asking,
"Do you have a particular color in mind?"
Kael fell silent.
Color...
That was never something he had paid much attention to.
The reason he had originally chosen black was simple.
It looked clean.
It looked practical.
And above all, it looked cool.
Beyond that, he had absolutely no sense for matching colors.
Seeing the hesitation on Kael’s face, the man chuckled softly.
"If I may make a suggestion..."
"How about blue?"
"A dark sapphire blue outlining the armor’s edges would complement the black rather well."
"It would preserve the armor’s intimidating appearance while making it considerably more refined."
Kael imagined it for a brief second before nodding.
"That sounds good."
"We’ll go with that."
"Very well."
The man stood up.
"I’ll discuss everything with our engineering department and calculate the final pricing."
"I won’t be long."
Kael nodded.
"I’ll wait."
The man excused himself before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
Silence immediately settled over the luxurious office.
...
At almost the same time...
Back at the Hunter Association Branch.
Inside the director’s office.
A woman lounged carelessly in Director Ferris Newman’s chair as though it belonged to her.
One long leg rested atop the director’s desk while the other swung lazily in the air.
Her crimson hair flowed over the back of the chair like a waterfall of scarlet silk.
She looked completely relaxed.
Yet the pressure radiating from her existence alone was enough to suffocate an ordinary hunter.
One of humanity’s strongest.
The Scarlet Fist.
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the file lying on the desk.
On its cover was a photograph.
Kael Voss.
She lightly tapped the folder with one finger before raising an eyebrow.
"So..."
"You’re telling me he already left?"
Standing opposite her, Ferris forced himself to remain calm despite the turmoil inside his heart.
’Am I cooked...?’
The headquarters had sent an S-rank examiner.
Not only that, they had sent her.
Out of everyone they could have chosen, they had dispatched the most troublesome battle maniac among the S-ranks.
Suppressing the urge to sigh, Ferris answered honestly.
"Not exactly."
"He said he’d return before the examiner arrived."
The Scarlet Fist stared at him for a second before gesturing toward herself.
"Well..."
"I’m already here."
"So where is he?"
Ferris felt another headache coming.
According to headquarters, the examiner wasn’t supposed to arrive for another hour.
That was exactly what he had told Kael.
Who could have predicted the Scarlet Fist would arrive this quickly?
And more importantly, why had headquarters chosen her?
Among veteran S-rank hunters, the Scarlet Fist was infamous.
She loved fighting.
Even fellow S-ranks preferred avoiding unnecessary encounters with her.
Yet somehow...
She had been assigned to oversee an S-rank reassessment test.
Ferris wisely kept those thoughts to himself.
Questioning headquarters was one thing.
Questioning the Scarlet Fist herself was another matter entirely.
He quite enjoyed having all the bones in his face remain intact.
After a brief pause, he cautiously spoke.
"Should I contact him?"
The Scarlet Fist ignored the question.
Instead, she lazily asked,
"How long do you think it’ll take before he comes back?"
Ferris thought for a moment.
"I informed him that headquarters would likely need around an hour to send an examiner."
"So I doubt he’ll stay away for very long."
"He should return at any moment."
The Scarlet Fist gave a small nod.
"I see."
"That’s fine."
"I’ve got some free time today."
"I don’t mind waiting a little."
Ferris blinked.
For a brief moment, he genuinely wondered whether he had heard her correctly.
An S-rank...
Willingly waiting for someone below S-rank?
That alone sounded unbelievable.
The day had already become absurd enough.
Now it was becoming even stranger.
...
Meanwhile...
Kael remained completely unaware of everything happening inside the Hunter Association.
He simply sat quietly inside the Spectre Guild’s private room.
Several minutes later, the door opened once again.
The man returned.
This time, a woman accompanied him.
She appeared to be in her early thirties, wearing a white engineering coat over a fitted black uniform. A transparent holographic tablet floated beside her while countless blueprint windows hovered around it.
The man smiled politely.
"Mr. Voss."
"This is Engineer Evelyn."
"She’s one of the lead engineers responsible for the design and production of the Spectre Nano series."
The woman extended her hand.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you."
Kael shook it.
"Likewise."
After exchanging brief greetings, the three immediately got down to business.
Engineer Evelyn activated several holographic projections.
One after another, different armor configurations appeared before Kael.
Some focused on defense.
Others increased mobility.
There were enhancements for kinetic absorption, emergency medical support, adaptive camouflage, mana efficiency, enhanced environmental resistance, battlefield scanning, and dozens of newly developed functions that had yet to become commercially widespread.
She patiently explained each feature in detail.
Kael listened quietly before selecting the upgrades he found genuinely useful while rejecting everything unnecessary.
Once the final design had been completed, Evelyn calculated the total cost.
Without hesitation, Kael transferred the required payment.
After confirming the transaction, she nodded with satisfaction.
"The upgrade process will begin immediately."
"Due to the complexity of the highest-grade modifications, the estimated completion time will be around one week."
Kael wasn’t surprised.
"That’s fine."
Quality work naturally required time.
After concluding the agreement, Evelyn excused herself and left the room.
The man remained behind.
Just as he was about to escort Kael downstairs, Kael spoke again.
"I’d like to place another order."
The man stopped.
"What kind of order?"
"I need two additional Tier Three Nano Bracelets."
The man immediately nodded.
"Certainly."
Kael forwarded two contact profiles belonging to Ezra and Lyra.
"When the bracelets are ready for customization, contact them directly."
"I’ll let them decide the final appearance and armor configuration themselves."
The man accepted the information with a professional smile.
"We’ll take care of everything."
"Excellent."
With nothing else left to discuss, Kael stood from his seat.
The man personally escorted him back to the lobby before seeing him out of the building.
Walking into the parking area, Kael put on his helmet before climbing back onto his motorcycle.
The engine roared to life beneath him.
Twisting the throttle, the motorcycle surged forward before disappearing into the busy streets.
It was time to head back to the Hunter Association.