MARVEL : A myriad of personalities

After sending Ray into the open-air training base, Weaver was escorted by a staff member from the Combat Division to the central control tower.

From there, she could monitor the entire match in detail through surveillance equipment.

However, when she arrived, two of her old friends had already beaten her to the scene.

The first was Claude, the Director of the Espionage Division — the same one who had gossiped with her about this matter earlier on the phone. A middle-aged white man in his fifties, he wore a crisp gray suit, classical gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and leaned on a peachwood cane, looking like a gentleman straight out of a fashion magazine.

Alongside him stood an Asian man with a scholarly appearance, wearing square black-framed glasses. His exact age was hard to determine, perhaps due to good maintenance. His name was Vincent, and he was the Director of the Communications Division.

With Leonid personally participating in the duel, the remaining three deans of the Four Major Divisions were now present.

Claude, always sharp-eyed, spotted Weaver at once and approached her warmly.

"Weaver Agent, what took you so long? We've been waiting for you forever..."

"You mean waiting for my intel forever, right?" Weaver rolled her eyes.

"Good afternoon, Agent Weaver," Vincent greeted politely, much more like a gentleman in demeanor than Claude despite appearances.

"I thought only Claude would be nosy enough to show up, but even you came, Agent Vincent?" Weaver replied more respectfully to Vincent.

But politeness often implies less familiarity. Clearly, Weaver was more comfortable with Claude, hence the casual tone.

Vincent smiled slightly.

"If this were just about Leonid, I probably wouldn't have come. But since it concerns Dr. Ray, I couldn't ignore it. You know, Agent Weaver, I've been considering recruiting Dr. Ray to our Communications Division for a long time. Who would've thought..."

Weaver nodded, fully aware. Perhaps due to Ray's partial Asian heritage, he had always had a good relationship with Vincent when he was a visiting professor. If he were choosing based on relationships, the Communications Division would have been the logical choice.

"Come on, Weaver. At this point, you're not still keeping it secret, are you? Tell us what really led to this duel between Leonid and Dr. Ray," Claude pressed.

Weaver hesitated but soon realized there was no point in hiding it now. Everyone would find out soon enough anyway, so she briefly explained the situation.

"What?! The Integrated Combat Course?!"

Claude was stunned. "No wonder Leonid lost it. I'd probably have jumped, too."

Vincent, however, focused on something else.

"Agent Weaver, did you say that Director Dugan already approved this?"

"That's correct," Weaver confirmed.

"I see..." Vincent murmured, deep in thought. "Then Leonid's going to lose this one."

"???"

Claude looked at him in confusion and even touched his forehead.

"Vincent, are you okay? Did you catch a fever or something?"

"Enough chatter. It's starting—"

Weaver suddenly noticed the central screen now showed two split screens: one of Ray and one of Leonid, both already dressed in their combat uniforms.

The loudspeakers in the base came to life.

Countdown: Ten, nine, eight... two, one. Start!

At the exact moment "start" echoed from the speakers, Leonid sprang into action!

He shot toward his designated armory like a hunting leopard, covering the 50-meter distance in just six or seven seconds. His screen immediately switched to an interior view of his weapons room.

A countdown was displayed. They had only two minutes to enter the armory, identify and assemble a weapon from a jumbled pile of parts, and exit the room. If they failed to leave in time, the door would lock automatically, resulting in immediate failure.

That's why Leonid didn't waste a single second.

In stark contrast, on the right screen, Ray strolled casually toward his armory, showing no sense of urgency.

The same 50-meter walk took him almost thirty seconds — as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.

In Leonid's room, he was already flipping through the parts with precision and had begun selecting what he needed. Ray had just stepped into his.

Claude looked dumbfounded.

"Is Dr. Ray giving up already?"

Not just Claude — even Vincent, who had just predicted Leonid might be at a disadvantage, began to doubt his own judgment.

Weaver, too, seemed puzzled, her expression thoughtful.

When one minute had passed, Leonid had finished picking his parts and began assembling them. Ray was still calmly browsing like he was grocery shopping.

At 1:20, Leonid finished his assembly.

He had built a scout rifle — instantly recognizable to many in the room as the so-called "Bird Sniper," a compact version of a sniper rifle.

Though it lacked the power and range of a standard sniper rifle, it was far lighter and ideal for close-quarter defensive scenarios against small numbers of enemies.

Both Claude and Vincent, as former top-tier S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, recognized it immediately. Even Weaver, though not a field agent, knew this weapon.

"He found the most optimal weapon in such a short time... Leonid's really impressive," Weaver said, growing a bit concerned for Ray.

"Dr. Ray seems to have picked his parts too and is starting to assemble now," Claude noted.

With that reminder, Weaver looked back at the right screen.

"A Desert Eagle?"

At the same moment, Vincent's voice came, slightly amused...