“At 4 am yesterday, the remains of a white mech were discovered in the South Plains area. According to investigations, it was probably a wandering mech that entered our borders without permission, and was therefore shot down by our pilots stationed there. Now, three of the militaries Black-Clothed Generals have already moved out, and are practicing military drills, while they completely eliminate threats and search through the area. Would unrelated personnel please evacuate the area as soon as possible…”
Garen stood in the bathroom, allowing the hot water to wash down his head, wiping the sweat stains off his body as he listened to the news being broadcasted in the living room.
The whooshing sound of water mingled with the sound of the news, and gave off a strangely peaceful feeling.
“Black-Clothed Generals?” His expression changed slightly. Others might not be so aware of it, but he had recently been using his hacker skills to search up information regarding pilots, so he was particularly sensitive towards these sorts of information.
“The Black-Clothed Generals are another name for the Academy’s Black Light Squad, in other words, it’s an umbrella term for the elite students. Some of the elite students are stationed outside, so they’re called the Black-Clothed Generals outside, they all have the military title of major general. Here are at least fifteen powerful pilots under the command of every Black-Clothed General, and these pilots are not your average pilots. To think they brought out three teams at once this time…”
Garen turned off the water, yanked down a dry towel hanging beside him, and covered his head with it, rubbing his hair dry.
Wiping the water off his body, he walked out of the bathroom and put on his clean underwear that was warmed in the dryer. Then, he walked straight into the living room and sat down in front of the computer.
“Did something happen again? How troublesome…”
He glanced at the images on the news nonchalantly, pressing Previous and Pause. The picture of the white-and-red mech remains was especially eye-catching.
Turning off the news, he picked up his Watch Terminal and looked at the time.
“It’s almost time.
Ding… ding…
There was the sound of the bell from the door.
“Please enter.”
Garen pressed a button on the computer, and the house door opened automatically, making a crisp smacking sound.
The door was pushed open, and a large, tall boy walked in. His skin was dark and his hair short, his aura giving off a sharp and stormy feeling.
“You are Nonosiva? I’m Mondo, from the second year. I’ll spare the long introductions, let’s get straight to business.”
“Sure,” Garen nodded and stood up. “Please sit, do you want some tea?”
“No. This is your proof of membership card, please keep it carefully.” The boy Mondo evidently had a decent impression of Garen, he did not seem to look down on Garen because of his family background at all. Instead, he spoke to Garen as though they were complete equals.
“Also, because of your excellent performance at the finals, the management team has decided to give you full Level Two support. As for what that entails, you can use the card to check the website, it’s stated there.
“Understood.” Garen accepted the silver-white card. There was a black V on it, and some delicate patterns like vines on the sides. It looked very intricate and extravagant.
“Also, if there’s anything urgent, you can call this number directly. He’s Lady Britney’s direct disciple, he can easily settle any normal problems, such as that kid you offended.” Mondo pressed around his Terminal, and sent Garen the contact of a third-year boy called Gurs.
Mondo gave Garen a friendly smile.
“Lady Britney really likes you, and she told us to take special care of you. Otherwise I wouldn’t be the one here today, it would be a regular worker instead.”
“Then I owe my thanks to Lady Britney,” Garen smiled as well, his Terminal moving slightly.
“As long as you understand,” said Mondo with a satisfied smile. Seeing the more than ten thousand units that had suddenly appeared on his watch, he was in an extremely good mood.
He patted Garen’s shoulder.
“If you have any problems from now on, you can come look for me. There’s no need to bother Lady Britney and Gurs with everything. As a senior, it’s expected of me take care of my juniors.”
“I won’t forget you, senior.” Garen nodded, in a good mood as well.
“I won’t forget such a generous and direct new member either!” Mondo had a very good impression of this Nonosiva.
The two of them quickly exchanged their contact methods, as a third-year student, Mondo had evidently started to dabble in society, so he was pretty familiar with haggling. The two of them exchanged their respective limits, so Garen knew what kind of problems he could go to Mondo with, and which problems he should not trouble him with.
99% of the members in Blue Narcissus were rich and powerful, but there was no such thing as too much money. And Mondo’s family was very strict, so he did not have much allowance. That was why he placed more emphasis on this money-making method, constantly telling Garen to come to him in case of trouble. His grandfather, who was in charge of the family, was a boss of the Blackboard Region army, and was also one of the academy’s lecturers, so it was easy for him to mobilize of the city’s defense corps. It was even possible for him to hire one of the elite students, the Black-Clothed Generals.
This was the part that really shocked Garen.
The title of Black-Clothed General was a military position that the elite students had to reach Level Five at least to obtain, and this inconspicuous boy in front of him could actually reach such a level. He had to appreciate the power of the members of Blue Narcissus here. It was no wonder that even though so many new students joined the academy every year, the number of Blue Narcissus members had always been maintained at several thousand members. This was more than one in a hundred, it was one in a thousand, or even ten thousand. Because many of the Blue Narcissus’ higher-ups were actually students who had graduated, and they had fifty- or sixty-year-olds in key positions as well. With a web of connections like that, they represented what was basically ultimate power.
After Mondo left, Garen closed the door, and arranged his connections in his heart.
“Now that Department Head Britney’s side is slightly more stable now, as long as it was not too troublesome, it would be easy for me to borrow some influence now. In that case, the Blue Narcissus’ Department Head Britney, Mondo, Gurs. On Celine’s side, there’s Vivienne, Wade. The Blue Narcissus has more influence on department checks, as well as the backgrounds and powers inside the Blackboard Region, they can also influence some small-scale military mobilizations. From the results of my investigations, I should be able to mobilize a team of about ten Level One pilots. In other words, my connections with the Blue Narcissus are mostly to help increase my actual power in the Blackboard Region.”
He balanced the weight of the favors he had bought with the money this time.
“And then there’s Celine and Vivienne, they mostly lean towards a wide reach of influence. Celine’s family business spans the different regions, so they can get news and intel quite easily, plus it’s easy for them to buy all sorts of supplies as well. They have a certain amount of influence in the other regions, and Vivienne’s family seems to be involved with the black market and high-interest loans as well, so I should be able to get some forbidden items as well. For example, high-level training methods that even the Blue Narcissus would not dare to sell out in the open… as well as hiring outside mercenary groups for jobs. They’re a lot more complicated than the Blue Narcissus’ side.”
He analyzed the meaning of each side’s relationship with him, and how to borrow power. Now, when he was at his weakest, it was key that he borrow power and influence so that he could develop quickly.
“But the foundation and core of all these connections is still my own strength and development.”
Garen released a breath. He was going to reach the peak of his training method very soon, the Blackboard training method could only reach Level One, and after that the academy would not provide any more higher-level training methods for free. At the most, they would only provide the right to train with higher-level training methods, after all most people were not allowed to obtain Level Three or above training methods without a certain background. But if he wanted to get the actual content, he would need to work for the school, or simply use money to buy it, or he could sign a contract to become a lifetime worker for the academy. Only then could he get the training method to continue training.
“Without a training method, no matter how much stronger the Peacock Technique makes me, I still wouldn’t know which direction to go. I need to find a training method that fits my Willpower ASAP.”
The Peacock Technique’s strengthening as it levels up was actually a forceful push as he advanced down the path with his training methods. If the path ahead was unclear, it would also naturally appropriate that power for some other uses, and not to strengthen his Willpower.
“I don’t know enough about Willpower right now, if I had enough information and intel, maybe I could try to invent a Willpower training method of my own, but unfortunately I need money and position to get a higher-level one.”
He brought out the website that led to a market selling training methods again.
Each training method was shockingly expensive, and they only sold a maximum of Level Three ones on the market. If you wanted anything higher, you needed a proof of identity. Unless you were from the military or a core member of some faction, you were not allowed to buy it, no matter how much money you offered.
Garen’s ambition went way further than Level Three, the way he saw it, many of these training methods were all just abridged versions, if he wanted to create his own complete version, it would take too much time and energy, so it was not worth it.
“Looks like I still need to settle with the connections from Vivienne and Celine. A slightly higher-level training method… can’t be cheap.” He looked at the prices on the site that started by the ten thousands, and these were just the Level Three ones. The higher level ones were not allowed to be sold, so their prices should be a lot more astronomical than these ones.
“Forget it, I’ll slowly accumulate money, and get a Level Three one first.”
He began to browse the site.
It was not quite the same as what he saw last time, and the prices had changed as well. Many of the training methods were different too, some had evidently sold many copies, so the prices were lower. Some were on a limited-time sale too, with signs indicating that it was recommended by the website, or endorsed by some XXX famous pilot, some XXX famous training method, the fastest training method, and so on.
Glancing through it, Garen set his gaze on four training methods.
‘Herculean Warhammer — increases the power of Will-powered mechs, the degree with which increases by level. At Level Three, the increase is at 200%. This training method has a special effect with regards to Willpower defense, it has very effective defense against Willpower techniques of Level Three and below… Each level is sold at 380000 Universal Units.’
‘Wind Words — increases the speed of Willpower control, allowing you to play with your opponents like the wind, and grasp victory in your hands easily. At Level Three, the mech’s speed will be increased by 35%. At the same time, it also speeds up Willpower manipulation to a certain extent. Suitable for speed-type pilots. Each level is sold at 400000 Universal Units.’
‘Galaxy Glow — training method that allows control of several mechs, allowing your Will to split up, and carefully control several units at once to attack. The number of splits depends on the level, Level One allows one split, Level Two allows two, Level Three allows three. Suitable for fortification-type pilots. Each level is sold at 260000 Universal Units.’
‘Sword of the Sun — training method that adds on an effect, it adds a layer of high heat to the mech’s fists, allowing it to burn and melt the enemy’s outer shell, thus increasing destructive power. At the same time it produced high radiation, and has a certain negative effect on the opponent. Suitable for close combat pilots, each level is sold at 190000 Universal Units. Be warned that this method is very hard to learn, please consider carefully.’
These four training methods were all top quality to Garen, they were very suitable for his fighting style. And most importantly, these four methods seemed to hide the potential to grow, as though they were the abridged versions of some high-level techniques. There was a chance they could be perfected later, and there were many other training methods that looked impressive or cheap, and seemed more worth it, but in truth there was no other chance to advance after that.