Suzuki's heart boomed like war drums before a great enemy. But, unlike most trainees who recoiled in fear and disbelief, the youth's gaze narrowed with dense killing intent. So great was his aura that the other trainees turned to him in shock when they began feeling like someone was running blades across their skin. Only James' familiar but annoying voice retained the last of Suzuki's sanity, preventing him from lashing out.

Perhaps because he sensed Suzuki's state, 'James' turned to look at Suzuki. His gaze seemed to contain the magnitudes of several realities simultaneously bombarding the youth's psyche.

Faced with the overwhelming pressure that felt like planets exploding in his brain, Suzuki gritted his teeth, refusing to back down before James' threats. He resisted the grinding force, eyes bloodshot with anger and determination. After a few seconds, blood seeped down his nose, and ten seconds later, even his ears began bleeding. However, even when it felt like his brain would explode if he refused to back down, the young man's eyes remained fixed on James' eyes, filled with innate defiance.

"Su—" Jade tried to reach for Suzuki, but Taiga held her back, shaking his head as he looked at Suzuki.

BOOM! Just when it seemed like Suzuki would collapse, a massive pulse exploded, sending the trainees scattering. The trainees' eyes widened with shock when a giant glaive appeared above Suzuki's head. Then, before anyone could react, the spiritual weapon shattered, forming several smaller glaives that streaked across the room in the blink of an eye, striking toward James' eyes.

However, just before the foremost projectile struck James, it paused before the alien's eyes, hovering mere millimetres away. James looked away from the translucent blade to Suzuki, whose hand was held out in a grasping motion. The youth had seized control at the final moment.

"Well, well, would you look at that?" James lightly teased while shutting his eyes. "Congrats on solidifying your expert realm, Suzu-kun. Most take a few months to years to take that final step."

"Shut up." Coughing, Suzuki groaned and squeezed his hand, causing the glaive to dissipate. He then leaned back on his chair and glared at James, the hostility in his eyes considerably lessened. "What the hell are you? Training us through the game, then familiarizing us with fighting aliens through the tests. Are you going to invade us? Why go through the trouble of training us then?"

Several trainees' eyes trembled as they, too, began to connect the dots. These men and women were elites capable of changing the course of history in L.N.E. They only needed a little illumination to finally realize how everything they had done so far was undoubtedly connected to Suzuki's proposed picture.

"Heh. You little bastard. You're always so perceptive on this stupid shit." James chuckled. "Yeah, you're about right. We're training you not to fix Parallel or fight some stupid interplanetary war but to combat an incoming invasion from my species. Well, it's not exactly an invasion, but more of a test."

James' skin shimmered slightly, and then he metamorphosed back into his human form. Running a grateful hand through his golden mane, as the lights came on, he issued a bright smile. "We go by many names in the universe, but you can call us the Forerunners—pfft!" James burst out laughing, unable to complete his joke. "No, but seriously, our species has an actual name. However, the many intelligent species across the galaxies refer to us as Overseers or Examiners. On Terra, you may call us Overseers."

A massive hologram depicting several planets in a galactic system spread across the room. "The Overseers, as we know, are the first spacefaring race. Over countless millennia, we have watched over the cosmos, viewing the rise and fall of innumerable species, kingdoms, empires and even galactic federations. In this time, we have witnessed several species which, once given access to space, brought untold chaos, death and misery to the galaxy. So, to prevent this, we took it upon ourselves to screen any potential spacefaring race. Those who pass are granted access to technology centuries beyond theirs, joining several others in their galaxy." A small, rat-like race raised their hands in praise before an Overseer while a giant spaceship floated above their heads. "Those who fail are razed to the ground, sending their civilizations back several centuries or millennia."

The hologram depicted a planet on fire. Several magnificent spires that pierced the skies crumbled in seconds. Space-born ships disintegrated, dumping their inhabitants into the lavas flowing across the earth. Within moments, most sentient life and all signs of technology disappeared off the planet's surface. Then, a few collected pockets of survivors retreated into the safety of caves to escape the damage to the atmosphere. A few generations later, the aliens had forgotten all about their previous glory, starting afresh with stone tools.

James paused the hologram, then fixed the youth with stern eyes. "Your planet, Terra, has failed this test twice, one of which resulted in the decimation of what your documentaries now call Atlantis. Fortunately for the rest of the world, both were isolated countries, so the punishment did not spread to the entire species. Now, however, your technology has spread to all corners of the earth. In 2030, Nole landed the first manned shuttle on Mars, effectively solidifying humanity's status as a spacefaring race. In doing so, you also qualified to once again be tested.

"Only, this will be your third and final test. If humanity fails this last test, your species will be given a choice. You can choose extinction, either be eliminated once and for all, or deemed a slave race to be shared between the other species in your galaxy. All races in humanity's history have engaged in slavery, so I know you have an idea of what that kind of existence means. If you do not want to suffer that fate, humanity must pass the incoming test."

A collective gasp echoed across the hall as the colour drained from the trainees' faces. They could not quickly identify with all these talks about aliens. But slavery and extermination, on the other hand, those two resonated deeply. Whether from their history classes, or their experiences in L.N.E, they had felt and understood the magnitude and horrors of those words.

Among them, Suzuki's eyes narrowed as he asked, "What's in the test?"

James chuckled. "I can't tell you the specifics. All I can say is that there'll be two aspects: the virtual world and the physical world. If you fail in either, you lose." James smiled as he watched the gears spin in the young man's head. He knew Suzuki would close in on the truth with a few more clues, but that was not his business. Everything was fine as long as James did not deliberately give out classified information. "For the virtual world, there's actually a prerequisite I can tell you about. Both game worlds are facing extinction events. If either world falls to these events, Terra loses. That is the first and only clue I am allowed to share with you by virtue of Suzuki's awakening."

"And the real world?" Natsu asked.

"No comment," said James, much to the trainees' chagrin. Ignoring the loud dissenting mutterings, he continued, "If I tell you anything, my colleagues will increase the difficulty of your test by several magnitudes. Is the knowledge worth it?"

That quieted the room. Amid the silence, Suzuki spoke again, "Fine. I won't ask about the test. But what about you? Why are you here? Why introduce technology that would help us fight these Overseers?"

"Now that I can answer," acknowledged James with a smile. "But to answer that, I need you to understand the nature of my species." He paused briefly and continued, "Like I said earlier, we, Overseers, as far as we know, are the first intelligent species in the universe. Through numerous millennia, we evolved to travel freely through the stars, using both natural and artificial means. Due to our countless evolutionary discoveries, we eventually became immortal and, to an extent, invincible. But our rebellion against nature was not without cost. We lost most of our emotions, as well as the ability to procreate."

James swapped the hologram, depicting a beautiful mountainous grassland. The 'camera' zoomed onto a group of Overseers standing listlessly on the plains, their once vibrant, starry-sky eyes blank and dead like the void of space. "Without a need for food, shelter, or procreation, my people lost all sense of meaning after a few millennia. Without purpose, we were hollow husks, unable to even die. But then, one of our scientists developed a method to travel between galaxies. In the hopes of finding something stimulating, we quickly ventured into new galaxies, where we found many budding intelligent species. We found meaning in watching over these species, granting them technologies several decades to centuries beyond theirs. We thought we were doing the right thing, uplifting primitive tribes to greatness. But we soon learned age does not necessarily equal wisdom. In our quest to fulfil meaning, we overlooked the species' tendencies. Tragedy predictably broke out across the galaxies shortly afterwards."

"Many species, armed with these powerful technologies, waged war, first against other galactic species, and then even pointed their weapons at us. Similar wars broke out across multiple galaxies, resulting in the deaths of multiple solar systems and even two whole galaxies. Evidently, not all races were suitable to acquire advanced technology. We went to war for the first time, eliminating most of the rebellious species and regressing others to their equivalent of the stone age."

James sighed as the hologram switched to a cold, dark room, where several Overseers stood around a table. "Our people had a decision to make following this tragedy. Return to our planet and isolate ourselves, or resume our efforts to improve the lives of the indigenous species. A return to isolation was swiftly removed from consideration. Instead, we moved forward with watching over these budding lives, only with many rules in place. First, we shall not contact any species that has not achieved some form of intergalactic travel. Be it through spaceships, portals or wormholes. Second, an Overseer will be tasked with preparing a selected species to run the tests without informing them about the tests' specifics. Finally, the chosen Overseer undergoes gene manipulation to make their genes more compatible with the species, giving them a chance to procreate. The offspring's blood can then be synthesized to produce gene therapy for the species, greatly improving their mental, physical and spiritual prowess, granting them long lives and bodies suitable for the galaxies' many hostile environments."

Chuckling, James said, "Many of Terra's myths are a result of future generations of these special children luckily unlocking their hidden bloodlines." He clapped his hands, switching the hologram to a view above Terra, depicting several falling debris. "In 2025, a Terran successfully sent a manned spacecraft to Mars, meeting the requirements. I was thus chosen to oversee the upcoming tests. I arrived on Terra during this famous meteor shower, choosing to crash just off the coast of Japan near a food, transport and logistics company named Genaco. The company's fishing crew, who happened to be out on a transport run, found me and took me in, along with salvage that contained manufacturing details about Nesla Coils, mechs and more. With my expertise and advanced technology, we grew Genaco into the juggernaut it is today. But that is only secondary. Everything we've done, we've done to increase Terra's chances of winning this test. If we fail, I lose the chance to rewrite my genes, meaning I'll one day die human-ish."

"Why would you take that gamble?" asked Ayumi, brows scrunched in confusion.

In response, James shook his head, "Stay alive as long as I have, and everything begins to lose meaning. I have lived more in the past two decades than in many millennia. Hunger, fear, anger, frustrations; a full belly, courage, happiness, satisfaction. Living things require a mix of these throughout their lives for their existence to have any meaning. Without one or the other, the purpose of life ceases to exist. So, we take this gamble to feel alive, and should we fail, finally embrace the sweet release of an enviable end." Pausing, he turned to look at the teens. "In summary, I am a cheat sheet sent by the Overseers to give you all a prayer of passing this test. My role is to provide the technologies, ensure you do not abuse them, and then leave you, humans, to your devices. All world leaders have been informed of the incoming threat. How they choose to deal with the situation, I cannot interfere."

"Akari-san told us we need to be wary of other countries." Perhaps due to becoming an expert pilot, Suzuki's instincts were sharper. Immediately piecing the gathered information, he surmised, "Are you saying that even now, countries are fighting to get the best mechs and gear in their hands? Why? What incentive did you give to stoke their greed? Otherwise, this would be a joint venture."

Faced with Suzuki's judging glare, James smiled. "Like I said, you're uselessly perceptive regarding these things. Yet you can't see the girl that's fallen for you right over there. No wonder you're still a useless virgin."

James' taunts evoked a few mutterings. The trainees looked at Suzuki, eagerly anticipating his reaction. By Suzuki's side, Jade's pale complexion turned several shades of red in a minute. She glared at James, hoping to bury him and then herself six feet under.

Shiing! But then, the mutterings suddenly stopped with a slight shake of Suzuki's sharp aura. The young man's expression remained neutral, seemingly uncaring of James' taunts. "Don't change the subject. What did you offer our leaders? Is that information classified?"

James' smile momentarily dimmed but then returned, slightly more cynical, more demented. "The leaders of the country or coalition with the highest achievements during the war will be given an immortality serum and granted governance over planets, systems or entire sectors dependent on certain factors. By the rules, a coalition can contain a maximum of five countries, and the prizes differ, ranked from the strongest to the weakest. For example, only the first two country leaders in a coalition are guaranteed immortality serums."

"How detestable." Suzuki snorted in derision. But judging by his neutral gaze towards James, it was unclear if he meant that toward James or the leaders.

"A perfect test indeed," murmured Tsukudan as he adjusted his glasses. "Pitting humanity's greed against each other. The strongest countries will never ally together under such rules. Instead, they'll carry along guaranteed weaker countries to maximize their benefits."

Ayumi shook her head. "If that was all, it would be manageable. Many will go as far as sabotaging each other, hoarding technological advancements, and even assassinations to ensure their country comes out on top."

"It's their pride," Natsu opined. "These countries believe we will definitely win. All that matters is securing their benefits for the upcoming victory."

"Does that even make sense?" Jade bit her lips in frustration. "These are aliens we're talking about. Aliens!? Earth's already failed twice. Why do they think we'll win this time?"

"Hubris. Plain and simple. Pride cannot be reasoned with logic."

"Great!" James exclaimed and clapped his hands, shutting off the holograms. "I'll leave you all to ponder on that. Your next mission is on your phones." He walked to the door but then paused just as it slid open. "Oh, according to our metrics, the Crazy Heads were the best-performing team. As a result, we've awarded them an additional three hundred million yen. The rest of you need to work harder."

Wearing an evil grin, James smirked and then walked out of the room, leaving behind a heavy, terse silence.