The Author's POV

-Clank! -Clank!

The sound of metal clashing together reverberated across the surroundings as individuals could be seen sparring against each other or against the puppets in the training ground.

Not so far from them, in the middle area of the training ground, a lone boy was currently sheathing and unsheathing the katana in his hands.

As this had been a common sight for the past three weeks, no one paid attention to it any longer. They just brushed it off as the guy being crazy.

"I can feel myself reaching the threshold to the minor realm of mastery"

After spending most of my time training and attending classes, a week had passed.

Before I knew it, my level of mastery of the [Keiki style] had improved drastically.

If before I could only execute the first movement once or twice, now I could do it five times before running out of mana.

Gripping the handle of my katana tighter, I emptied my mind and focused on training.

'I must constantly unsheathe the sword in my heart.'

'Draw, slash, draw, slash, and accumulate the mana in my body that was constantly growing stronger as I trained.'

'If I could do this 10,000 times flawlessly without any loss in movement, only then would I achieve the minimum standard required to seamlessly execute the [keiki style]'

Soon everything around me disappeared. The scornful glances from the people around me, the loud sound of people practicing...only me and my mind

Draw the katana, slash out.

Draw the katana, slash out.

Draw the katana, slash out.

As if I was in a trance, I didn't stop until my mana and stamina were completely spent.

Taking a look at my surroundings, it was currently already dark outside. Around me, I could only see the silhouettes of a few individuals training.

-Ding!

Wiping off the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead, I glanced at my phone which was constantly ringing since a while ago.

Turning on my phone the first thing I saw was a large notification in red.

"...It finally happened"

[Breaking news]

—Thobias Church of C.B. pharmaceuticals has been assassinated last night in his high-security apartment. Reports and investigations point the killer to be rank 37 Silent creeper.

Lightly smiling, I turned off my phone and went back to training.

...talk about perfect timing. Was starting to get impatient from my slow progress.

By the end of today, I could finally kiss goodbye to my poor life...well to be honest, as I will spend most of my money on potions the luxurious life that I was dreaming of was still a long stretch away.

Actually, now that I thought about it, wasn't it a bit fucked up that I was celebrating someone's death?

Though I indeed made a lot of money, it was at the expense of someone's life...

Thinking thus far, I slapped my cheeks. He was destined to die anyway, nothing I could do about it. I only took advantage of the inevitable...could I have stopped it? Yes, I could've. But having been in this world for a while now, I realized that compassion was unneeded. It was every man to himself in this world, there was no need for such thing like compassion. If I wanted to be strong, I needed to become apathetic to this sort of stuff as this probably won't be the last time a similar situation happens.

-Ring! -Ring! -Ring!

"...Hm? who could be calling me at this hour?"

Noticing that someone was calling my phone, I went and picked it up. Soon a large smirk appeared on my face.

Picking up the phone, I cheerfully answered.

"~oh my, who could this be?"

[...you—how?]

After a short pause, the person on the other side of the phone spoke. His voice which was usually deep raised a few pitches.

"What are you talking about?"

Cheekily smiling, I teased smallsnake who was on the other side of the phone.

[...sigh, well it doesn't matter. You were right—how do you wish to proceed]

"Hmm, hold it until tomorrow and sell it in the morning as soon the stock exchange opens at 9:30 a.m."

[...but wouldn't it be better if we hold it for a bit longer?]

"Well from a normal person's point of view yes...but well, let's just say that its better if we don't become too greedy and play it safe"

[...Alright, I'll trust you this once]

"Next time you see me I bet you'll get on your feet to kiss my shoes"

[sure, sure, I'll call you later once I've settled everything]

"Aight"

-Tak!

With a grin still plastered on my face, I hung up the phone. I wasn't sure why, but I really enjoyed teasing smallsnake.

"ah, it's about time I headed back"

Collecting my stuff, I deposited my sword back and left for my dorm.

I was in a pretty good mood as I felt that I was only a few days away from reaching the minor real of mastery of my [Keiki style] which would considerably boost my strength.

...

Morning, Saturday.

-Ring! -Ring! -Ring!

Waking me up from my sleep was the constant ringing of my phone.

Lazily stretching my arm, I tapped all over my bed until I finally felt a small rectangular object on my hand.

Unlocking the phone, I answer the call

"...Hello? who's this?"

Hearing my groggy voice, the other person on the phone paused slightly and asked

[It's me...Did you just wake up?]

"Yea.."

[Ah sorry about that but I came to tell you some good news]

"What good news?"

[After removing all the fees your total profit stands at 14,673 million U]

"...that's a lot of money"

[Is that seriously how a normal person reacts to having just made this much money?]

"ah, well I'm still quite sleepy so it still hasn't hit me yet...but is that all you called me for?"

[No, there's a bigger issue at hand]

"What?"

Sitting up on my bed, I held the phone closer to my ear.

[Sorry but its not safe if I tell you on the phone as someone might tap on our conversation]

"...is it that serious?"

[...yes]

Hearing Smallsnake's solemn voice I let out a long breath and said

"Okay, when do you plan to meet up?"

[How about tomorrow at Epsilon cafe in Refton road, 10 a.m?]

"...yeah, okay, I'll see you then"

-Tak!

Hanging up the phone I pinched the middle of my brows for a couple of seconds before finally letting out a long sigh.

...this was going to be a long week.

...

Washing up, I headed outside my dorm.

Looking at my bank account that was now 14 million U heavier, a smirk appeared on my face. Was this how it felt to be rich?

Not bad...

"Where are you headed to?"

"Section C please"

"Okay"

Sitting inside a minibus, I patiently waited for the driver to start the engine.

Right now I was headed to the C section of the campus which was quite far from where I was staying.

...now that I had enough money, it was about time that I finally get in contact with the person that could provide me with below-market priced potions.

I sort of dreaded this moment.

Let's just say that the person I was going to interact with was very...hm, quirky?

"Section C? Which area?"

"Northside please"

"Alright, we'll arrive in fifteen minutes"

Starting the engine, the van soon sped off into the distance.

Sighing, I looked outside of the window.

These days I was sighing quite a lot. With everything that was going on, I couldn't get one moment of peace.

Staring at the constantly changing scenery, my stomach slightly churned due to nervousness.

What I was about to do next would either make or break me.

...let's just hope everything goes well.

"We're here"

Right on cue, the van stopped in front of a large facility.

"Thank you"

Thanking the driver I walked towards the facility.

Large metal fences covered the facility, where enormous buildings could be seen behind them. The sheer size of the buildings caused me to gape in awe.

"Stop"

Arriving at the entrance of the facility, two guards appeared before me. They were wearing black uniforms with the school insignia imprinted on their chests. They had black military hats and exuded strong pressure.

I'd estimate them to be at around rank D or less, as although the pressure they exuded was strong, it wasn't to the point that made me feel overwhelmed.

Handing one of the guards my student ID card, they scanned it briefly and after everything checked out, they granted me entry.

-Shlup!

Arriving in front of the main building of section C, two transparent retractable doors opened up.

A wave of cold refreshing air coming from the AC instantly hit me.

The interior of the building was very modern and slick. The most dominant color was white, and everything was decorated with a simplistic design.

Arriving in front of the reception of the building, a beautiful young lady smiled at me.

"How may I help you?"

"...er, I would like to meet Melissa Hall please"

The smile of the young clerk lady instantly disappeared. What replaced it was a look of slight disgust as she coldly said

"I'm sorry but this is a research facility, not a place where you can come as you please to court Melissa. Frankly, you're not the first one that has tried this and you probably won't be the last one...and let me be honest with you. You're not qualified"

Being berated by the young clerk lady, my eye twitched a couple of times.

'How did it turn out like this?'

"..err, I am not here to court her"

Hearing what I said, the young lady smirked and proceeded to cross her arms

"Oh? so what are you here for? "

She didn't believe me at all...

"I'm actually her classmate and I have a business proposition for her"

"...oh wow. This is the third person that has used this excuse"

Hearing her sarcastic voice, veins started bulging from my forehead. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I said

"fuuu...can you just relay it to her, if she denies me I'll just leave"

"he he, fine"

Laughing lightly, the young clerk lady picked up the phone on the counter and dialed a number.

"What's your name?"

"...Ren Dover"

"Alright"

[...Hello?]

Answering the call, a crisp and pleasant voice entered the young girl's ear.

"Hey Melissa, it's me, Rosie"

[Rosie from reception...?]

"Yes."

[How can I help you?]

"I got someone here that insists on meeting you"

[...why did you call me for this? You know that I don't care about this sort of stuff. Just send him out]

Covering the speaker of the phone, Rosie leaned forwards and smiled triumphantly at me.

"You heard her"

Rolling my eyes, I said

"Just tell her I have something important to tell her"

"He says he's got something important to say"

[Don't care, if that's all I'll hang up...by the way, what is the name of the student that is trying to meet me?]

"Err...if I don't remember wrong it's something along the lines of...Bend over?"

[...]

"..."

Multiples veins popped on my forehead as I tried my best not to assault her.

Seeing my reaction, Rosie stuck her tongue out and said

"...ops, I made I mistake I meant Ren Dover"

[...let him in]

"See she doesn't want to...eh? Did I hear wrongly?"

[No, let him in]

-Tak!

Before Rosie could finish speaking, Melissa hung up the phone leaving her there dumbfoundedly staring at her phone.

'What's going on? Doesn't Melissa usually detest interacting with people?'

A million questions entered her mind as she stood rooted on her spot.

"Well, well, well, look at how the roles have reversed miss Rosie"

Smirking, I looked at Rosie who seemed to be lost in her own world.

"You-what did you do?"

Pointing at me, Rosie looked at me as if I performed some sort of witchcraft

"Nothing really...hey, why are you backing away from me?"

As I was speaking I noticed Rosie backing away from me. Almost as if she was scared of me. Wait don't tell me she really believes I did something to Melissa?

"...cough, nothing really, just getting your pass"

Awkwardly coughing, Rosie quickly handed me a card and shooed me away.

Looking back at the reception strangely, I shook my head and made my way towards Melissa's lab. I couldn't be bothered to fix this misunderstanding.

Fortunately, there was a mini GPS map on the card that Rosie gave me, preventing me from getting lost.

Soon I was in front of a large metal door.

-Knock!

Knocking once, I nervously waited for the door to open.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to be let through this easily. I was prepared to spill some of my secrets and hook her into meeting me, but before I could even take out one of my trump cards Melissa allowed me to meet her.

...Something was fishy.