Ash raised an eyebrow when he heard that, before looking back to the table, after his opponent had taken their shot. He sighed, before shaking his head.

"Gimme a sec, Vyn." he said.

He then made another shot, narrowing his eyes as the balls clattered around... and won him the game. Barely.

"That trick shot's got a 45% chance of working." he muttered, as he handed the cue to another person, and walked over towards Sydney.

"And yeah, it is. But I have the key." he informed her.

The heard the other hunters muttering and talking amongst themselves, and Ash sighed.

"Nowhere NEAR as good as you, though." he said.

"Seriously. I got a loooooong way to go before I reach anywhere close to YOUR level." he chuckled.

"But I DO have a 95% win rate." he said proudly as they walked towards his office.

When they reached the closed door, he unlocked it, and they stepped inside, with him closing the door behind them.

"Grab whatever you want." he told her.

"....a strategist?" Ash asked, sitting behind his desk and booting up the laptop that was on it.

"Lemme check." he said.

"I'm thinking she IS... but I need to make sure." he went on, as he tapped away on the keys for a few moments, and then stopped as he looked at what was brought up.

"Sheeeeeeeee... is!" he finally said.

"Crystal's going to be going on maternity leave in the next month or so, and she's been talking about quitting as a full-time hunter anyway, to focus on her child." he told Sydney.

"Essentially, turn into a contractor-for-hire, I suppose." he went on.

"Why do you ask?"

Ash listened to what Sydney had to say, but obviously froze when she mentioned about the candidate being Desiree's daughter.

"...excuse me?" he asked.

"She... has a daughter?" he asked further, before shaking his head.

"Bet there's a story behind THAT..." he mumbled.

"But all right... interesting..." he said further.

"Well, if you can vouch for her character, that's a big step, but... what's the situation with her bounty hunting right now?" he then asked her.

"As in, what's her claim to fame, so to speak, and why is her current bounty hunting status in question?"

Ash raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

"Intriguing." he said.

"She sounds like she'd fit right in." he told her.

"Hmmmm..." he then mumbled, tapping on the laptop again.

"Welp... can she stop by here in the next couple of days?" he asked. "Specifically, actually, IN two days?" he asked further.

"I can arrange a little interview, see if she's got what it takes."

Ash nodded.

"Works for me." he said.

"And nearer the actual date, I'll give you more info for her." he went on.

"Ie: temporary codename and password to get INTO here." he clarified.

"...on that note, HOW is she getting here?" he then asked.

"You say she doesn't have mana... how is she even getting here?"

"Well, of course." Ash responded.

"Anyway, I'll need some basic info about her, though." he then said.

"You give me her name and such, I'll get her into the interview slot, and we'll go from there." he went on.

"...I admit, I'm interested in this girl." he then told Sydney.

"She sounds like a... unique case."

Ash took down the info, and then hit a button with a hint of finality.

"And done." he said.

"Ball's in your court now." he told her.

"At any rate, this should be interesting." he went on.

"Mana hunters are... well... they get interesting around me." he chuckled.

"Hasn't happened very often, but sometimes their reactions to getting close to me are... quite something." he went on, before pausing.

"Well, I suppose the first test of her mettle will just be meeting me." he then added.

"A test in more than one way."

Ash just smirked.

"Yup." he replied.

He then sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"Been a while since we've had a new recruit." he commented.

"Kinda miss it." he said.

"Hope she meets the grade." he went on.

"....who do you think she should fight against?" he then asked her. "Regardless of position, we need a minimum standard of capability in combat, but we need it to be... well... at least a LITTLE fair."

"Really? Ashley?" Ash asked.

"All right then..." he said.

"I'll make sure she's available for the spar." he told her.

"Other than that... I think we're done here." he said. "As far as the potential new recruit goes." he clarified.

"All that's left for me to say is I WILL beat you one day." he then told her.

"One day, I will beat you in billiards."