This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Serena's remark immediately drew Kain's attention from watching the advancement of the former Vice Captain Ravi to the newly appeared screen.

Unfortunately, the bodies were so packed around the new screen that not even a glimpse of it could be had, even after Kain had one of the Vespid guards carry him slightly higher for a better vantage point.

Others seemed to have similar ideas, and so the large and flying bodies of other spiritual creatures carrying their masters still blocked his view.

Finally, he gave up and decided to take the approach of Serena to just patiently wait for the others to leave so that he could take a look.

An hour later, as expected, the number of individuals surrounding the screen was a lot les dense than it was previously.

On the screen there was something like an automatic slide show introducing something to the new arrivals.

Kain unfortunately arrived in the middle of the slideshow and so was unable to understand the point the first time around; however, after waiting for the presentation to restart he gradually understood.

It appears as though, in addition to the academy branch briefly mentioned by the Vice Chancellor, the Eclipse Order also had numerous other branches, which the Vice Chancellor had previously all lumped together as the "combat stream." However, it would be more accurate to categorize them as the field personnel, in contrast to those of the academic personnel.

The academic stream was only briefly glossed over in the presentation, likely because none of those recruited here were eligible for the academic stream.

To be accepted within that stream, they would not be forced to partake in a deadly field exercise like now—such a thing would be useless to them.

Instead, all members of the academic stream were recruited on a probationary basis based on their scholarly achievements or original creations.

This division recruited talents in the fields of blacksmiths, alchemy, evolutionary planning, research of ancient civilization and more.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

To be recruited, one must not only be skilled at their trade, but an innovator. Therefore, an extremely high-ranking alchemists would not be recruited over a lower-ranking one, if they show no ability of being able to produce their own potion and alchemical recipes. After all, the Eclipse order would prefer to invest in the talents of a young alchemist capable of innovating than an established stagnant one. The innovator will do more to raise the strength of the entire nation as a whole.

This was why, despite his fulfillment of many difficult evolutionary planner requests, Kain was only somewhat eligible for this stream after he'd developed a mass-produced evolutionary form that could be used by many citizens—unlike a specialized evolutionary form like Bea's, Queen's, and Yara's that could likely not be replicated. One can increase the collective strength of the empire, whereas the other only benefits his personal strength.

However, just one such achievement is not enough. Likely, Kain would need to make at least 2 more significant breakthroughs in the field of evolutionary planning in order to be recruited.

Of course, if Kain disclosed his ability to turn affinity-less individuals into beast-tamers they may immediately recruit—or hold him captive and torture him to control this ability for themselves. But he had no intention of disclosing this ability to anyone to just be recruited.

Not to mention, he hadn't given up on researching other evolutionary forms, including a follow-up form for the Gilded Serafin. Therefore, he was confident in gaining access to this department sooner or later.

In fact, he had one new research discovery in the works that had been put on hold due to Gabriel, but he could consider expediting publishing those results if the resources provided within the academic department of the Eclipse Order prove lucrative enough.

Likewise, the field personnel stream of the Eclipse Order, which encompassed all combat-focused and active field roles, was further divided into specialized subdivisions, each catering to unique tasks and missions critical to the survival and dominance of the Celestial Empire.

Kain read the descriptions on the screen with interest, assuming that once the timer went down, a choice or task related to these subdivisions would appear next.

He also noted that, unlike the academic subdivisions that clearly stated their purpose, such as "the Alchemical Research Division," and were extremely numerous; the subdivisions of the combat stream had more obscure names and were limited to just 6 in number. The presentation went deep into elaborating upon each of them, as well as providing a brief description on how "contribution points" would be rewarded within each subdivision.

The first subdivision was called the 'Lunar Veil.' They focused on espionage and deep-cover missions. More specifically…

"Our members specialize in long-term undercover assignments, infiltrating enemy nations, rogue factions, and even domestic organizations that might harbor traitors or dissenters. Agents of the Lunar Veil are masters of disguise and deception, often spending years or even decades embedded in their roles. Their missions are high-risk, with no guarantee of return, but their work lays the foundation for many of the Empire's strategic victories. As such, due to the importance of our role and extended periods of absence, each of our missions usually comes with a corresponding reward several times greater than the missions given by the other subdivisions…"

Kain looked at the plain-looking man, likely a member of the Veil, as he explained his work.

Based on the description and the man they used as the representative of this subdivision, Kain could tell that having an easily overlooked and unmemorable appearance was probably an important prerequisite of this department.

He looked at Serena standing next to him, whose blonde head was practically like a glowing beacon and knew she was unsuitable for this department.

He also didn't feel as though he was particularly suited for this stream due to still being a student and having a business and minor family members that could need his attention at any time.

He had already read that upon joining a subdivision, you did not select your mission, and they assigned whoever they felt could best accomplish it. Therefore, joining could end up taking him to a country across the ocean for years.

Thankfully, although it was suitable for him now, there does appear to be the possibility of transferring between subdivisions within each stream, so he could consider joining in the far future and using it as an opportunity to see the world.