"As I discovered, the camp was never an ordinary' summer camp. It was a special kind of Agent Recruiting center! That's why they had all kinds of IQ tests and weird games at first. They were not only training youths for a future line of work, but scouting those with enough potential to become Agents in the first place. Obviously failures would just be sent home and never think of it as anything but a kooky camp, but those who were especially gifted and shined in their talents, well they would be approached for the wayward order. The Order of Conformality."
John's eyes went wide. "Woah. So the whole thing was just, like one big test?"
Carol crossed her legs.
"Yes and no. Yes, the camping experience was testing us. Remember when I said the training and activities had already prepared me for the long game of hide and seek? Well that part was intentional. But it was supposed to be rearing me for a future assignment, reconnaissance on duty. They'd never expect me to actually use it during my time there in that serious of a manner."
The boy nodded. "I see."
"Yeah. The thing is they never expected an actual threat of that level to sneak into the camp. Seems like those ones were a particularly nasty breed, since they'd targeted one of it's scouting centers just so they could stop the influx of new agents. Gotta hit'em while they're young right? Anyway, after that whole ordeal I was recruited and my training began immediately. "
"I see. And what does that entail?" John asked curiously.
Carol shrugged. "Oh you know, the usual stuff. Stealth training, threat handling, how to evaluate a large population. Or eviscerate an entirely corrupted one. We get some basic ability' training, although it's not like they make us wizards or anything. A lot of Weapons handling too! I can say that I am 100% licensed to utilize an AK-47 with special bullets that put holes in meters of lead. Combat maneuvers too."
"Hmm, sounds interesting."
"A little. But the thing they drill into us most is an understanding on the philosophy of the Wayward and Conformality. Namely, just what exactly Conformality is, and how to handle it."
