"Richard! What are your plans for the dinner party yet?"

"Huh? My plans? Isn't it on Sat.u.r.day?" I stared at him blankly.

"Yeah, it's on Sat.u.r.day, but…" Dong Fang Yue Chu buried his face in his palm, looking annoyed. "That's not what I meant. I'm kind of worried about you…I'm aware you don't have much experience with high-cla.s.s elite events. The last time you went to the hotel opening ceremony with Alicia, you were in quite a bit of trouble, weren't you?"

"I managed to get a suit for the event," I pointed out reasonably. At that time, I had to ask Dong Fang Yue Chu for advice on where to grab the most appropriate clothes for cheap, and he accommodated. However, this time he didn't seem to think it was enough.

"You had better not wear that cheap suit this time!"

"Why not?" I asked, puzzled. "I thought that's the sort of formal attire required for this kind of event."

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"NO! That's not what I meant! Alicia already saw you wearing that the other time! What will she think if she sees you wearing the exact same suit you wore for that other event?!" Dong Fang Yue Chu waved his hands frantically. "It'll leave a bad impression! You'll look like a cheapskate! 'Oh, look at me! I only have a total of one suit in my wardrobe!' I'm sure Alicia is too nice to say anything about that, but you can't chase a girl with that kind of att.i.tude!"

"What makes you think I want to chase girls?" I retorted, annoyed.

"Are you honestly that dense?!" Dong Fang Yue Chu roared. "I'm serious! I've attended many mixers like this before! Suddenly inviting an outsider…either Alicia has a thing for you, or you are the…clown."

"…huh? Clown?" I gaped at my friend blankly. Then I snorted. "Okay. So the suit is fine. I'll just need white makeup and red lipstick." I began chuckling darkly and mimicked cutting the sides of my mouth with a razor. "Let's put a smile on that face."

Dong Fang Yue Chu had gone pale and was trembling violently as he backed away from me. My grin widened as I advanced toward him.

"T…that's not what I mean!" he shouted in fear. I stopped my Joker imitation and he calmed down. "A…anyway, if you end up being the clown, you'll be mocked and insulted by Alicia, Harrison and Miranda's group of people."

"Harrison? You mean Harrison Reed?" that name caught my attention. Harrison Reed was the current president of the Holy Saints Society, which was one of the four great societies of Jing Tian Academy. And one of my eventual goals. I began to grin excitedly. "Hmm, I would really like to challenge him one day."

Not that I expected to win, but it would still be a great learning experience, dueling one of the top student mages in our school.

Dong Fang Yue Chu was staring at me in disbelief.

"You…all you can think of is fighting?" he finally spluttered. "What are you, a battle maniac?"

"I aim to join an elite military organization like my Dad someday." I raised my hand up and stared at the ceiling. Right now Dad was a private solo operative from the elite military organization called the Apocalyptic Apostles. Don't ask me why they had such a chuunibyou name. I suppose the founder thought it sounded cool, but…whatever.

My ambition was to join the ranks of such elite soldiers, fighting on the forefront of humanity against the monsters from the Emergence. Some people might find it weird that the students were more obsessed with their rankings than monsters outside their cities, but the two issues were actually related. After all, the only way you could join a military organization was by performing well in magic academy. Only the top ranked students had the qualifications to join an elite military organization – which was why compet.i.tion for the elite combat universities were so fierce. Obviously the more prestigious the military organization, the more resources it would have – that meant better weapons (Divine Devices), equipment, vehicles, armaments and even more skilled teammates and parties who could cover your back. The last bit didn't apply to me because I was delusional enough to aim to be a solo operative like my Dad, but still having the right colleagues mattered.

Not that I was going to ramble all that to Dong Fang Yue Chu, of course.

"A…anyway, you will just end up making a fool of yourself if you wear the same suit within the s.p.a.ce of a few weeks!" Dong Fang Yue Chu told me. "Don't underestimate the connections these people have. If they want, they can track down all your past and reveal it all to public! I wouldn't be surprised if they have a video recording of you attending Alicia's uncle's hotel ceremony and use it to make fun of you wearing the exact same suit!"

"Are they seriously going to waste their time with such trivial nonsense?" I asked in disbelief. If they really wanted to waste their time, effort and resources in doing something as inane as that, then I might as well let them.

"I'm not taking the risk! You're the face of Ultimate Outcast Society! I can't let them embarra.s.s you!" Dong Fang Yue Chu frowned. "Look, if it's about money, I'll pay for your new suit. I can do that much, at least."

"No, please don't. I'll buy a new suit myself."

Even as I said that, I was aware of how expensive the blasted thing cost. Glancing through my account, I paled when I saw the tiny amount left. I must have been spending too much money on games and tabletop miniatures recently. Whoops.

Well, I guess it was about time I go on a mission and earn not just some monetary rewards but also a bunch of prestige points. We were safe for now, but…better safe than sorry, right?

*

"h.e.l.lo, Allison. I'm here to take on a mission today."

The administrative clerk, Allison, glanced up when I approached her desk. She nodded and waved a hand in the air, conjuring a blue-tinted holographic screen.

"Have you already decided?"

"Yeah. Another combat mission. I was thinking Mission E012, against Ghastly Goblins."

Ghastly Goblins were rank F monsters, and relatively easy to dispatch when compared to other monsters. That didn't mean I could afford to underestimate them. They were cunning, and in certain ways more dangerous than mindless Phantoms. They gathered in tribes, hid in caves and were capable of even setting up traps and using advanced tactics to ambush mages. That was why, even though they were rank F, missions that involved slaying a nest of them were considered rank E. More than once, amateur combat mages took the mission, but their parties were wiped out and the girls raped because they underestimated how dangerous and terrifying these little green monsters could be.

I recalled there was one high-ranked mercenary who specialized completely in slaying Goblins, and he made a name for himself. Like Dad, he was mostly a solo operative, which was why I remembered him in the first place (okay, and because I read the manga and watched the anime). The thing was, n.o.body had ever seen his face because he kept it hidden behind a helmet all the time.

"Hmm…" Allison was about to input the details when she noticed something. Her finger hovering over the blue touch-screen that came with the holographic image, she turned back to me. "Speaking of which, do you realize you've ranked up?"

"You mean student rankings? Yeah, after I defeated Jie Bing the other day…"

"I don't mean that, I mean in terms of mission rankings. You now have access to rank D missions."

Oh, right. In the past, when I just started, I was only allowed to take rank F and E missions. Such as that escort mission I took for the very first time, which was ranked E. I was never allowed to take rank D missions if I insisted on going solo, even though I technically accomplished a rank D mission when helping out Alicia and her beleaguered party that other time. But that counted as me reinforcing and joining a party, so there was no problems with the administrative details.

But now I could take a rank D mission solo, as a result of completing a bunch of missions and raising my academic ranking. Sweet.

"What do you suggest I take?"

"You can look through the catalogue, though I wouldn't advise you take the highest-paying rank D missions immediately."

Even though missions were ranked, within each of these categories was a broad range of difficulties that were represented by the monetary rewards. A rank D mission that paid a thousand dollars was obviously easier and less dangerous than a similarly ranked D mission that paid out ten thousand dollars for the completion of the mission.

Most of the times students would mitigate the dangers by going in parties, but I was too enamored with my Dad's decision to go solo all the time that I decided to go solo too. Not that I hated the world or anything, or because I was confident that I could do everything on my own, but I preferred the freedom it afforded me, and the lack of restrictions. I wasn't arrogant enough to make a remark like I didn't want anybody to hold me back or get in the way – more likely I would be the one dragging everyone down. But I had my own pace and ways of doing things – methods that I had learned from Dad.

After looking through the list, I decided to pick a relatively safe one that would give me a thousand bucks. There was no need to risk my life, after all. I mean, of course there would always be an element of risk involved, but there was no necessity to take a more dangerous mission, not when I was determined to go this solo. Plus I just needed enough money to buy a new suit, and a mission short enough to complete before the weekend.

"Mission D016?" Allison scanned through the details and nodded. "Ah, the Mad Monkeys. Be careful."

I nodded. "I'll do my best."

The Mad Monkeys were similar to Ghastly Goblins in that they were cunning, hunted in packs and favored ambushes. That was precisely because I picked it – because I could employ a similar strategy that I already prepared for the Ghastly Goblins against the Mad Monkeys. There would be differences, and I would have to change it up a little, but nothing too serious.

Thanking Allison, I then left to embark on my new mission.