Name: Tohgi Akura
Grade Class
Agility 81 A
Strength 83 A
Durability 76 B
Stamina 84 A
Reiki Quantity 63 C
Reiki Quality 71 B
Combat skill 76 B
Battle Rating 534 B
Aspen: still B Class, well that's expected. Head to Squad five's headquarters, my secretary would give you all the details and get you an apartment and some other stuff.
Tohgi: stuff? Isn't there a little more detail?
Aspen: not that I can remember, see ya!
Tohgi: I see.
Aspen left Tohgi with the examiner and returned to his business
Tohgi: Wait, how am I supposed to find squad five's HQ?
Examiner: Each Squad has their territory so to speak, Squad 5 is east and its headquarters is in Rydat City, you can get there by evening if you leave now.
Tohgi: Thank you very much.
Examiner: I only pay you the respect of a fellow knight out of respect for captain Aspen, don't get chummy with me.
Tohgi: Okay…?
Tohgi got the fastest wagon he could find to Rydat City, he found his way to the headquarters and met with the secretary who discussed the hierarchy and methodology of action in squad five.
Secretary: as a B class Knight, your monthly salary would be 1500 gold coins
Tohgi: huh?
Secretary: Is there a problem?
Tohgi: You mean like 1… 5...
Tohgi's brain stalled at the thought of the amount he had just heard, probably for the first time in his life he did not have a single thought. He became dizzy and fell to the closest chair; he had never imagined having such an outstanding amount of money in his life. The only conclusion he could draw was that his mind was playing tricks on him.
Secretary: Sir, are you alright?
Tohgi: Oh.. I must be afflicted by hunger, I couldn't hear you properly, sorry what were you saying?
Secretary: oh okay, I said at the end of every month you would get 1500 gold coins; all your expenses and taxes are your responsibility.
Tohgi: (wait I heard her right?)
Tohgi's eyes widened, he could not come up with a single way to consume all that money, his mind went into a frenzy whilst the secretary continued the orientation.
Secretary: there are a few apartments available around this area you can view, and with your current status they should all be easily attainable. I need your reiki-comm to input needed frequencies
Tohgi was still dazed from the shock of the amount he would be earning did not hear a single thing the secretary had said. All he could imagine was all the ways he would use the money acquired from his new station. The secretary stood there in silence waiting for Tohgi to hand over his reiki-comm, a device used to transmit sound waves across the north and central districts of Vandekar.
Secretary: sir, are you sure you're okay?
Tohgi: hmm? yes yes
Secretary I can direct you to a restaurant if you're that hungry, but your reiki-comm?
Tohgi: Reiki-comm?
Secretary: you don't have one? We should get you one first, do you have any money with you, I was told you might have difficulty with finances, there is a credit system for knights and other high earners. I can take you to the bank
Tohgi: that would be very helpful, thank you.
Secretary: what about food?
Tohgi: oh I'll be fine, let's go.
Tohgi was taken to the bank to open an account, he was also added to the credit system and given the frequency code for his account attendant, after which they went and purchased a reiki-comm and got him an apartment.
Tohgi: this apartment is big for one person; well it costs 40 gold coins a month. 500 gold coins in credit I can increase it if I want to, hmm... (This reiki-comm is actually very useful)
Flashback
Bank Attendant: Are you interested in a credit account?
Tohgi: What's that?
Bank Attendant: It's a way to assist our customers to either handle their responsibilities if they ever fall on perilous times financially. There are multiple categories, if you are interested in exploring all your options we could, but they all come with prerequisites and a lot of conditions you may not qualify for as this is your first time opening an account, and you have no kin or guarantor. However there is one that anyone with a verified reliable source of income qualifies for which you are more than qualified for, given your source of income is the order.
Tohgi: Okay, it sounds complicated, but it seems like I do need the credit, so how much would I be getting in credit?
Bank Attendant: What's your income?
Tohgi: 1500 gold coins (It is still feels unnatural to say that)
Bank attendant: our lowest package is a third of your monthly income and our highest is double your monthly income
Tohgi: How does it work?
Attendant: If your account is ever empty, like right now, you would still be able to withdraw or transfer between 500 and 3000 gold coins depending on your choice.
Tohgi: What's the catch?
Attendant: The repayment plan would be a deduction of a fifth of your debt with an additional 20% from your income until it is cleared. The amount would be automatically removed from your account every month or you can choose to clear your debt with a lower interest of 10% with a single payment.
Tohgi: I see
Attendant: We recommend the highest bandwidth to allow you the freedom to spend as freely as you'd like, but for those who lack financial discipline, we agree to limit their credit allowance.
Tohgi looked suspiciously at the attendant for his attempt to goad him into taking the highest limit.
Tohgi: (That also means higher amount lost in interest) start me out at the lowest for now.
Flashback ends
Tohgi: With this I can cover all my expenses until I get paid for sure, 1,500 gold coins. This is unbelievable.
The next day Tohgi met with the squad for the first time, when he walked into the headquarters, the lobby became very tense, there seemed to be a stark rejection.
Aspen: Go easy with those death stares.
Member 1: captain, just because you took pity on him doesn't mean we accept him as a knight, we heard he failed the exam the previous year and was chosen by default this year.
Tohgi: (that's a very casual way to talk to your captain, I guess he's like that with everyone)
Member 2: our squad's policy is simple; it doesn't matter who it is they have to prove themselves worthy to be members
Tohgi: Is that all there is to it? That's simple then.
Aspen: My squad works a bit differently; you only get the respect you deserve. Background? Status? Pay? None of that matter, if you want respect, earn it.
Tohgi: I couldn't ask for more.
Vice-Captain: That's all well and good but the word simple could easily be taken as an insult to our squad, how do you plan on proving yourself so easily? Are you going to be coming for my title?
Tohgi: (Vice-captain Yukimori, the only other face I am conversant with) not really, I'm not interested in a vice captain's position, it would be more work than being a captain.
Vice-Captain: oh? What then? You want to become a captain?
Tohgi: eventually…
Yukimori laughed at Tohgi's lack of hesitance.
Vice-Captain: You're not lacking in confidence, that's for sure, how about third mate then?
Tohgi: Third Mate?
Member 3: it's an unofficial rank given to the most recognised knight in a squad barring the captain and vice by the squad.
Member 4: you don't get any pay, ceremony or special treatment, just recognition from your squad.
Tohgi: interesting! one year then.
Tohgi smiled to himself, thinking back to the last time he challenged himself to complete a task in a year. All the members of squad five were shocked by the audacious statement Tohgi made.
Members: huh?
Tohgi: (I seem to have an affinity for one year deadlines)
Aspen: Is that a challenge?
Aspen gleamed with excitement; he was no doubt satisfied by his choice to recruit Tohgi.
Tohgi: In one year I would assume the position of third mate
Vice-Captain: You have some competition, Dale.
Dale looked sternly at Tohgi; he currently held the unofficial position of third mate in squad five.
Yukimori: My name's Yukimori, friends call me Yuki
Aspen: Oh I almost forgot.
Aspen tossed a briefcase to Tohgi.
Aspen: You might have your own fighting style, but to work in unison with our squad you would need to learn to use those.
Tohgi opened the briefcase and saw two pistols created to fire concentrated reiki from its user.
Aspen: that's a balanced model, the firing rate, power, accuracy, mobility and range are all fairly even. If you have any specifications you can order special units eventually.
Tohgi: No this is fine; a balanced weapon is the best for support.
Some months went by, Tohgi had been on multiple successful missions and he had integrated well with the team. Both Aspen and Yukimori had gotten fond of him and the rest of the squad had grown to respect him.
Yukimori: Tohgi, cap wants you at the spring meeting
Tohgi: spring meeting?
Yukimori: Oh right, I forgot you just became a knight, it's the captains quarterly meetings with the Xanarc, spring in March, summer in June, autumn in September and winter in December. Cap said, "if you want be a captain someday, come get a feel", or something along those lines, tomorrow 4pm.
Tohgi: Vice Captain Yukimori, not to sound ungrateful, but I don't think I have earned that yet.
Yukimori: do you mean Dale? That isn't for you to worry about. Just make your way to the palace square for 4pm tomorrow. Oh and it's Yuki.
Tohgi: understood.
Later that day, Aspen called Yuki to discuss the spring meeting
Aspen: Yo, did you get him to come?
Yuki: Yeah, he'll be there, are you sure about this?
Aspen: One thing I have learnt in the last 4 years is that he has an ego the size of a mountain, and that might be understating it. This meeting should be a fun one for the first time in ages
Aspen ended the call laughing through his pleasure.
Yukimori: fun? Does he think of anything other than entertaining himself?
Yukimori let out a deep sigh with his face in his palms before realizing what the captain had said.
Yukimori: Wait, 4 years?
END!