"Hahaha... Vince, another good day at Haven, Huh? Not even a single soul was lost today." A floating figure spoke joyfully.
"Yes, yes. But these cultists are really getting overconfident as of late. We better let the higher ups know about this." A figure dressed in white responded.
"Quite a shame we couldn't take out the leader ourselves, but thank goodness we saw the disturbance cause by that red mist. It felt like a bomb of VP just exploded there!"
"You're right Conrad, but it's best to keep this a secret. Whoever it was, they probably don't want to be exposed, we owe them anyway." 'Vince' responded as he started flying away.
"Yep, best to keep our hands out of dark places!" Conrad shouted as he followed from behind.
Everyone at the hub was left wondering what on earth had just happened to them. To some, it was a near death experience. To others, it was a sight to behold. And to all, an event that defies reason.
"You there, who are you?" A female student asked Simon as she pointed at him with a shaking finger.
"I am Simon, and who may you be?" Simon smiled as he went back to the vendor to buy more popcorn.
"Sam Jin. How did you manage to do that?! You killed more than a couple of those elite ranks! What rank are you?"
'Hmmm... I can't say expert, because that would be too annoying to deal with. I can't say master, because of the same reason. But a I can't be an intermediate rank, because they'd probably interrogate-'
'Nope, they wouldn't. I specifically designed Haven as a meritocracy. But then again, intermediate rank is probably not good enough to convince this girl. Elite rank should be justifiable.'
"I am Elite rank, 6th vision." Simon plainly said as he grabbed a handful of popcorn.
'Shame I had to leave my other 3 bags earlier... what a waste of good snacks.'
"Oh my... how in the world did you get to Elite rank, not to mention 6th vision?" The girl asked.
"Training." Simon lied as naturally as he ate snacks.
"What type of training?"
"Trade secret."
'I can't go around saying I chugged magical pills and did video game style quests.'
"I will pay you a good sum if you tell me."
'She's not budging! Did nearly dying bruise her ego?'
"Uhhh... the new professor has been teaching me privately-"
"YOU MEAN PROFESSOR PETER WHITE?!"
'Hmmm... this has gotten complicated and interesting...'
"Yes, he is my master."
"DROP DEAD! You somehow managed to not just become a student, but his personal stu- disciple?"
Simon had a lingering feeling in his mind that his class might have been spreading a lot of rumours. He still had a bit of trouble with the goal, meaning that some students didn't view him as their teacher yet, but who? If he is such an amazing teacher, why is this goal so hard to complete?
"I take it as you also want to join his class?" Simon asked.
"OF COURSE! He is said to be able to train even the most hopeless students, who wouldn't want to join his class? Even an S-class student said he'd gladly drop out of his class to join!"
"Who?" Simon quickly asked.
"Mark Hale! You know... the guy that recently got promoted. He got some amazing ability and rose through the classes, he is only half-step elite though. Nothing compared to you, Simon."
"I see, I'll ask my master to take him in. Bring him over to my master's auditorium half an hour before my master's lecture starts."
"WOW! The professor must trust you a lot! Dammit, if only I had higher talent!" The Sam complained to herself.
'This girl is probably another extra, I definitely didn't write her. It would probably be a good idea to recruit her early on, she is quite brave after all.'
"Hey, report to the lecture room along with Mark. Master always said he wanted brave students, but remember not to be stupid."
'How ironic'
Simon left just like that, leaving behind an empty bucket of popcorn in the recycling bin.
' I might as well go and train my abilities, I have been putting that off for so long. Heck, I haven't even been hit once because I didn't want to see the effectiveness of my Boundless Regeneration Physique... I'm not sure if training it will involve me hitting myself and becoming a Sadi-masochist. I do not want to try, but some things are more important than comfort!'
'I mean Dagger Saint is good and all since it makes my learning faster, but I need combat experience to temper it. Fluidity has already been tested, I have been contorting myself in my free time. But blade manipulation can definitely do much more than what I think. I need to test everything.'
'And the best way to do that is some legally sanctioned bounty hunting.'