The automatic door of a medium-sized bus closed behind me as I looked towards a high-rise building.

The massive structure looked about 40 stories tall, and the majority of the building was covered in reflective glass.

Above the entrance to the building, a sign in the form of bright red channel letters spelled out 'Umbella'.

I just recently been accepted as a recruit in the organization, and today would be my very first day of training.

Looking at my wrist watch, I saw that the time was 8:30am.

Crap! I am late for my appointment because I unknowingly took the incorrect bus.

I impatiently waited for the traffic light to turn red before crossing the busy roadway.

After making it to the other side, I started to bolt towards the entrance of the building.

I carefully squeezed through the extra busy walkway, which was littered with lots of people.

I felt like I must have broken a world record at the speed at which I ran.

I would guesstimate that it was roughly around 45 seconds.

I put my hands on my knees and panted heavily. For some strange reason, that short run took a lot of energy out of me.

Regaining my breath, I calmly walked into the building.

There was a security checkpoint.

The burly security guard who stood at the post glared at me and asked, "What's your reason for visiting?"

I nervously smiled and replied, "I'm here for an appointment."

The guard observed my outfit and said, "You don't seem to be dressed for the occasion."

He's right. The only good clothes which I currently have in my possession are a pair of jeans and a navy blue long-sleeved t-shirt.

Let's just say that I was lacking in the funds department.

The guard, still eyeing me suspiciously, made me walk through the metal detectors a grand total of 4 times and gave me an extended pat down to boot.

Sigh. He's making me feel like I am a four-star wanted criminal.

While in the middle of the pat down. I turned my head towards him and said, "You're about to make me even later."

With an annoyed attitude, he motioned for me to go on ahead.

I can tell, it probably pained him to let me go. I should avoid any issues before he gladly throws me out of here, Jazzy Jeff on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air Style.

Finally entering the building on the first floor, I approached the desk where the receptionist was stationed.

"Good day, I have an appointment with Mr. Madoka."

She observed me for a bit, then began to type on her computer.

"Oh yes. I presume you're Mr. Ayato Amaya?"

I smiled and said, "Yup, that's me."

"I need some ID."

My smile quickly faded from my face.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out my wallet, then opened it.

I handed over my identification card to the receptionist who took it while looking at me in a suspicious manner.

She looked at the card, then looked at me. I could feel her potentially passing some sort of silent judgement.

Well, this is getting very awkward.

I spoke up, "Um, is there any issue?"

She replied, "No, there isn't. It's just strange to see an individual with snow-white hair. Did you chemically alter it?"

"Uhm no. This is just my natural hair."

She had a look of disbelief on her face when she handed my identification card back to me.

"Mr. Madoka's office is situated on the 15th floor. You can take the elevator to get there."

I thanked her and proceeded towards the elevator.

There were four of them to choose from. I decided to use the one closest to me.

After a few moments, I stood in front of the metal doors.

Pushing the button signaled the elevator. I waited around a minute or so before the doors opened.

After entering the elevator, I stood in between two individuals, a male and a female. Both were wearing beige trench coats and white dress shirts with a grey tie.

The male wore black pants while the female wore a black skirt.

On the upper right sleeve, the 'Umbella' logo was embroidered, and on the upper left sleeve, there are three black stars.

The man looked on as I pushed the button for the 15th floor.

To my surprise, he actually struck up a minor conversation with me.

"Hey kid, are you planning on being an investigator?"

I nodded my head in an answer to his question.

The woman who stood next to me joined in on the conversation.

"Our biggest advice to you would be to never hesitate in the midst of a fight, because that will lead to your death. We've seen many bright-eyed individuals who approach this job, thinking it's easy work. Only to get killed or eaten alive by witches. "

I froze for a bit after hearing that.

Finally, I was on my floor and the elevator doors opened.

I thanked the two strangers for their advice and made a quick exit.

As I walked into the hallway, when I looked out of the glass panels, the view was actually amazing. The people walking along the streets looked like miniature humans, and the vehicles looked like toy models.

Suddenly, the hallway became busy. Waves of individuals wearing the same beige trench coats began to walk up and down.

Some of them are entering different offices or standing around, having short conversations.

I made a sharp left and followed the hallway until I saw a door with Mr. Madoka's name on it.

Taking a deep breath and knocking twice on the door

A few moments passed, and a male voice said, "Come in."

I turned the cold, metal door handle and entered the decently sized office.

Mr. Madoka, who sat at the back of a desk, removed his glasses and then closed his laptop.

He looks like he's in his mid 30's with short, jet black hair.

I observed the office. There was a small wooden book case to the left of the room. On the right hand side, the blinds of the window were shut and the files on his desk were neatly stacked.

I sat on a soft chair, which was positioned directly in front of his desk.

"Ayato Amaya?"

Yeah, that's me.

Mr. Madoka flipped through a bunch of papers and said, "I have your application right here, inclusive of your results."

He proceeded to hand me a sheet of paper, which I took and read.

Name: Ayato Amaya

Gender: Male

Age: 18 years old

Reason for applying: The pay is higher than most places.

Physical Strength: C+

Intelligence: B+

Adaptability: A-

Endurance: B-

Aura type: Neutral

Magic Type: Null

Projected Investigator Type: Relic User

Hmm. These results look kind of shaky.

Mr. Madoka broke me out of my deep focus by saying, "Right now, you're probably thinking, those results look kind of shaky, and believe me, they are, but you did get accepted."

Heh? How did he know that?

I breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Oh thank goodness."

Mr. Madoka then trained his brown eyes on me and said, "The main reason why you were accepted is due to the fact that you possess the unique ability to use any relic, due to your neutral aura."

I nodded my head when he said that.

I was a bit disappointed that my only saving grace is my neutral aura. I actually tried my hardest during that examination. Anyway, this isn't the time to complain. All that matters is that I got accepted as a recruit.

Mr. Madoka reclined his chair and said "Don't get too comfortable. You'll still have to pass training before you're appointed as a Junior Investigator.

I believe training won't be that difficult compared to finding a Relic partner.

Maybe we will be assigned one before training commences.