In the living room of the mansion in Atlantis City, Aurora projected an announcement of the academy.
Whoever was speaking was the person who acted as the host of the tournament and was now giving a smile, knowing that all the students were watching.
“We have finished the first week! For next week, we will have a match between the top ten fighters from Rank A. The five group showdown and, of course, we will go through the fifty matchups of the Rank B students,” Frank said, using a voice full of excitement and smiling at the camera he announced. “By Friday of next week, we’ll have the winners!”
This week would be hectic for the students and those who went through all the difficulties would become the winners.
“In the fourth and final week, they will fight for the few spots set!” Frank added and, giving a giant smile, he warned. “From now on you can sign up to challenge any participant for the spots - we look forward to your enthusiasm!”
Aurora, who was watching the online announcement, removed the projection and opened her holographic watch to read the names of those who filled the slots for the international tournament.
“Ten slots for B Ranks and five slots for A Ranks and only one for an S Rank. That’s pretty low,” Cithrel said, who was sitting next to her.
That was the number of students required for them to enter the international tournament.
In the last week of this month, those selected for the slots would have hard and fierce matches against all the challengers.
It was spread throughout the week and there were some rules in benefit to the one who had the position, trying to prioritize rest and balance. However, it was going to be exhausting.
“Oh, Alice and Clémentine have a slot,” Cithrel said and, giving a curious look, commented. “I thought second or third-year students, they’d fill it.”
Aurora nodded at that comment.
There were excellent students among the upper years who could fill that position and while it was possible that the likes of Clémentine or Alice could get the position through a challenge, certainly the upper students had a higher reputation.
However, they put first-year students in those positions.
“Maybe they want there to be a lot of challengers to help them improve?” hesitated Aurora, guessing at a possibility.
Having young freshman women fill the positions would lead to some students wanting to challenge them, believing they would win and such challenges, would push both to improve.
For Aurora, it was likely that the teachers would interfere with this decision, wanting to look for the newcomers to improve.
The biggest reason was Edward - the one in charge of the tournament - knew Alice and knew she didn’t need students to ‘improve’.
Although another reason could be that both Clémentine and Alice were two A-ranks who were among the ten A-ranks in the individual tournament.
Regardless of how it went, it would be interesting to see if they would be challenged and it was likely that they would be if their performance was low in the individual tournaments.
As for the B-rank positions, the slots were empty with no one to fill them, and the participants were likely to be chosen by the academy through the B-rank individual tournament.
Perhaps wanting that from this point on there would not be a queue of challengers in case they put some very different from Clémentine and Alice, who as A-ranks, there were not so many peers of the same rank.
In the end, the only S Rank was Edward as a third-year student of the academy.
“I think it will be interesting. I want to see how they try to steal positions from each other or keep it,” Cithrel said with an amused and expectant laugh.
For Aurora, these weeks were going to be an odyssey for the students, and it was likely to be complicated as well.
That student who was seen as weak was likely to be challenged by all, believing they could snatch the position from him.
She would not deny that it was fun to watch, and Aurora was glad she had refused to join in.
“I got ready to make lunch. Alice will wake up in a few minutes and she’s always hungry,” Aurora said calmly, and as she was about to get up, Cithrel held her hand.
Aurora turned around, curious to know if she wanted to eat something spacey, and her expression quivered when she saw Cithrel’s face.
Cithrel subtly lowered her head and watched her from below with blue eyes that shone subtly, resembling an adorable puppy that was sad for an unknown reason.
And Aurora was shocked at that look, which was like the one Alice could do when she wanted to eat something special.
“I hear you’re going to Asia this week,” Cithrel said and watched her giving a small smile. “Don’t you want me to come with you?”
A faint and subtle voice, which along with her expression and look was charming it was pitiful and guilt-generating.
Guilt that she had not asked her if she wished to go with them on their trip to Japan.
Aurora, not knowing how to react, noticed out of the corner of her eye that Venali, when she was about to come down, went up to see them, giving the impression that she didn’t want to ruin her ‘Mistress’ performance.
Was she avoiding disturbing the atmosphere?
“Actually, this is a different matter than asking you to accompany me to Africa. In Asia, I have a mission and it will be difficult to take care of your security,” Aurora said and realizing it was useless, she laughed and muttered. “Or at least give an image of protecting you.”
It wasn’t as if, thanks to her or her sister, Cithrel was safe and more so when it was obvious she could protect herself, but her general idea still stood.
Cithrel sighed in disappointment at not getting what she wanted and laughed in amusement at her muttering.
Urfin asked her to ensure Cithrel’s safety and, in a sense, it was more to take care that she didn’t get into trouble or keep others from looking for trouble while helping her adjust to this world.
“Come on... You’ve taken me into the lair of a group of gang members and made me beat them all up. This isn’t too much.” Cithrel said with a hopeful and slightly accusing look.
She was taking the role of victim, trying to use what happened that day to get what she wanted and, from her bright eyes, she had no desire to give up.
Aurora could immediately see right through her and laughed at the way she made it seem.
It gave the impression that it was all her fault that day and not Cithrel himself, who, in her eagerness to act like a gallant knight protecting a damsel, wanted to show off.
Showing that she was a rather dangerous knight.
“Well, I’ll take care of asking for a place for you and Venali, but I don’t know if you’ll take part in the mission officially. I don’t think there’s too much budget to hire you both,” Aurora said emphasizing that point.
She understood that Cithrel was joking in trying to blame her.
Akira had mentioned to her that she could take her protection targets and while part of it was out of kindness, the bigger reason was to get two S-ranks for free.
While money and payment didn’t matter, just like Aurora paid Akira’s group when they went to Africa, her partner liked to do the same.
And hiring the mercenary group and the students officially meant that she might not make as much profit from the mission.
Of course, even if she didn’t pay them too much, it was certainly impossible to hire two extra S-ranks and if she did; she was going to end up with losses.
“Excellent. I thought you were mad at me,” Cithrel said with an animated smile and seeing Aurora looking at her for an answer, she gave a sly grin and muttered. “I thought you were angry and jealous about Taqiyya.”
Aurora’s expression quivered.
It made her feel as if her reason for not inviting her was about an act of jealousy rather than a budgetary concern for Akira.
Without giving Aurora time to respond, Cithrel continued.
“You don’t need to worry...” Cithrel said and, getting up to approach, gave a charming smile, and whispered. “You have priority.”
The alluring and seductive smile led Aurora to blush.
She wasn’t about to admit that Cithrel was seductive, so for such a reason, she controlled her expression and shyness at that cheeky flirtation.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like people who play with two people’s feelings,” Aurora said, shaking her head in disappointment.
She flirted with Taqiyya and blatantly did it with her... Aurora emphasized that point, trying to look as disappointed as possible.
Leading to Cithrel laughing in amusement as she listened to her.
“Don’t worry. My relationship with her isn’t that way, and I don’t think the relationship is the way you think it is,” Cithrel replied, ambiguously winking at her.
Aurora shook her head with a smile and pushed her curiosity away.
She had no desire to give the gallant knight a chance to flirt with her.
******
Andrés moved his fingers across the computer keyboard as he skillfully worked with the AI of his holographic clock.
His body and his skill were performing similar jobs at the same time.
With his skill, he was supporting his AI, which at the same time was supporting him, to increase the efficiency of his work.
On the computer screen, the different images passed quickly as he searched for a particular person through all the data to which the information network had access.
In the end, he found his target and searched for all possible information from his birth to his last activity.
He searched for every trace of information through the virtual network, reviewed his history, his usual searches, his social networks, or any information about his target.
He didn’t need to hack absolutely anything because his colleagues had taken care of that task and he only had to organize the information.
That was the rookie job and he, with the help of his artificial intelligence and his quick handling of the information network, got all the information he was looking for.
Then he organized it and sent it to the person in charge of the information gathering task.
When Andrés finished, he sighed exhaustedly, rubbing his head.
He had completed these types of tasks with Liam, so not that heavy.
Sometimes he had even helped Liam to infiltrate devices of his targets and the only problem with this job was the quantity.
As a ‘rookie’ who was practically on ‘probation’, the superiors gave him enough work for the entire week, paying him a decent commission.
However, because of Akira’s invitation, Andrés had to set aside all his work for this week and finish it today.
All so that tomorrow he could travel to Asia with the others.
He did not want to do fieldwork where literally every time he lost a drone; he lost a part of his fortune, but he did not refuse to help Akira.
First, Akira and her group had helped them a lot during their time in Africa, and Andrés thought it was okay to help her back.
And most importantly, Akira was paying well for her work and mainly it was not just simply helping her, but this was a chance to further develop herself.
In that sense, Andrés understood Akira was giving them a possibility to improve themselves while she was completing a mission, which she could probably do on her own.
This was a way to be supportive and in order not to generate any pressure to give back, he tried to make it seem like a win-win for both sides.
“Andrés good job. I’ll send you your commission later.”
The door suddenly opened and a man spoke from the doorway.
That man was one of his peers and one of his superiors.
Fausto, a computer expert whose prowess came not from his skills or talents, but from his ability.
Pure dexterity.
“Thank you,” Andrés replied, and before he left, he asked. “Is the boss playing games?”
“Yes, but be careful. She’s in a bad mood,” Fausto warned and seeing Andrés look at him curiously, he laughed and revealed. “Some idiot beat her online and now she’s fuming.”
Chuckling amused after dropping the warning, he backed off and Andrés took a deep breath.
He had to get Serena to permit him and not give him any more homework so he could go on the trip.
Andrés had no specific work schedule and Serena was nice to avoid interrupting his studies, even so, she always left him chores to keep him busy.
Whether it was taking care of some simple task, organizing some information, or doing some internet checking.
He needed to get his boss to not give him work this weekend so he could take a vacation and focus on helping Akira with whatever he needed.
Leaving his office, Andrés walked down the hallway.
Serena not only had the basement that was a playroom, but she had different rooms in the building she was in.
Those offices gave privacy to the members of the computer network and could also be used to receive important individuals.
There were not too many members, but it was nice to have some privacy options instead of using the game room.
Also, there was a difference in the capability of the office computers that were focused on searching with the computers that were specialized in gaming.
Information networks were not simply places where a group would gather to do different jobs; they were areas that had to have great capabilities to remain hidden, so they could do their work in peace.
This building had those safeguards and provided the greatest help to the workers by giving them the best equipment and providing the best possible security.
They also had different amenities, as one floor of the building was completely theirs and one could find a living room, dining room, and other areas for entertainment and rest.
There were even different apartments for living and rooms for temporary rest.
Such equipment showed why this information network was one of the most important in Atlantis City.
Andrés, going down to the basement, went to the game room where first-time customers were directed.
First-time customers were misled, and they hid most of their capacity from them.
The cause was that this information network worked for very specific major clients, with very few jobs being minor and personal.
“Tch... Damn bastard, how dare he beat me?”
As soon as he entered the game room, he noticed his boss cursing as she lost.
“Oh, Andrés, are you finished? Come and sit down. I need help,” Serena ordered without accepting refusals.
His boss’s mood was very difficult to deal with and was the reason why no one wanted to go near this place.
The other reason was that if she caught someone, she wouldn’t let go until that person led her to victory.
As for if she didn’t succeed... Andrés, not wanting to be in that position, obeyed and sat down next to her.
Since playing was a way to get away from stress and entertain himself, Andrés, from time to time, played the different games that his boss liked.
They both started a game and...
“Ha, apparently my streak is back,” Serena muttered as they won the first game.
As troublesome as Serena was, once someone helped her have some fun, it was possible to score some points.
The two continued to play for several minutes and the successive wins continued, leading to Serena giving a giant grin.
The nice thing was that his boss didn’t have a high level of ‘qualifier’ in the games, and most of the time, she ended up playing with low-level players.
That helped make it easy to help her, although sometimes it was just like carrying a rock that did nothing.
So one had to be pretty good at the task.
“By the way, boss, can I take a vacation this weekend?” Andrés asked after a win and seeing Serena looking at him, he clarified. “I have another assignment and wanted to focus on that task.”
Serena gave him a look and nodded with a smile.
“Sure. I’ll pull all your work and pass it on for next week,” Serena replied calmly.
Andrés nodded rather happily and continued playing.
He had never traveled to Asia before and he had to admit he was excited.
In the living room of the mansion in Atlantis City, Aurora projected an announcement of the academy.
Whoever was speaking was the person who acted as the host of the tournament and was now giving a smile, knowing that all the students were watching.
“We have finished the first week! For next week, we will have a match between the top ten fighters from Rank A. The five group showdown and, of course, we will go through the fifty matchups of the Rank B students,” Frank said, using a voice full of excitement and smiling at the camera he announced. “By Friday of next week, we’ll have the winners!”
This week would be hectic for the students and those who went through all the difficulties would become the winners.
“In the fourth and final week, they will fight for the few spots set!” Frank added and, giving a giant smile, he warned. “From now on you can sign up to challenge any participant for the spots - we look forward to your enthusiasm!”
Aurora, who was watching the online announcement, removed the projection and opened her holographic watch to read the names of those who filled the slots for the international tournament.
“Ten slots for B Ranks and five slots for A Ranks and only one for an S Rank. That’s pretty low,” Cithrel said, who was sitting next to her.
That was the number of students required for them to enter the international tournament.
In the last week of this month, those selected for the slots would have hard and fierce matches against all the challengers.
It was spread throughout the week and there were some rules in benefit to the one who had the position, trying to prioritize rest and balance. However, it was going to be exhausting.
“Oh, Alice and Clémentine have a slot,” Cithrel said and, giving a curious look, commented. “I thought second or third-year students, they’d fill it.”
Aurora nodded at that comment.
There were excellent students among the upper years who could fill that position and while it was possible that the likes of Clémentine or Alice could get the position through a challenge, certainly the upper students had a higher reputation.
However, they put first-year students in those positions.
“Maybe they want there to be a lot of challengers to help them improve?” hesitated Aurora, guessing at a possibility.
Having young freshman women fill the positions would lead to some students wanting to challenge them, believing they would win and such challenges, would push both to improve.
For Aurora, it was likely that the teachers would interfere with this decision, wanting to look for the newcomers to improve.
The biggest reason was Edward - the one in charge of the tournament - knew Alice and knew she didn’t need students to ‘improve’.
Although another reason could be that both Clémentine and Alice were two A-ranks who were among the ten A-ranks in the individual tournament.
Regardless of how it went, it would be interesting to see if they would be challenged and it was likely that they would be if their performance was low in the individual tournaments.
As for the B-rank positions, the slots were empty with no one to fill them, and the participants were likely to be chosen by the academy through the B-rank individual tournament.
Perhaps wanting that from this point on there would not be a queue of challengers in case they put some very different from Clémentine and Alice, who as A-ranks, there were not so many peers of the same rank.
In the end, the only S Rank was Edward as a third-year student of the academy.
“I think it will be interesting. I want to see how they try to steal positions from each other or keep it,” Cithrel said with an amused and expectant laugh.
For Aurora, these weeks were going to be an odyssey for the students, and it was likely to be complicated as well.
That student who was seen as weak was likely to be challenged by all, believing they could snatch the position from him.
She would not deny that it was fun to watch, and Aurora was glad she had refused to join in.
“I got ready to make lunch. Alice will wake up in a few minutes and she’s always hungry,” Aurora said calmly, and as she was about to get up, Cithrel held her hand.
Aurora turned around, curious to know if she wanted to eat something spacey, and her expression quivered when she saw Cithrel’s face.
Cithrel subtly lowered her head and watched her from below with blue eyes that shone subtly, resembling an adorable puppy that was sad for an unknown reason.
And Aurora was shocked at that look, which was like the one Alice could do when she wanted to eat something special.
“I hear you’re going to Asia this week,” Cithrel said and watched her giving a small smile. “Don’t you want me to come with you?”
A faint and subtle voice, which along with her expression and look was charming it was pitiful and guilt-generating.
Guilt that she had not asked her if she wished to go with them on their trip to Japan.
Aurora, not knowing how to react, noticed out of the corner of her eye that Venali, when she was about to come down, went up to see them, giving the impression that she didn’t want to ruin her ‘Mistress’ performance.
Was she avoiding disturbing the atmosphere?
“Actually, this is a different matter than asking you to accompany me to Africa. In Asia, I have a mission and it will be difficult to take care of your security,” Aurora said and realizing it was useless, she laughed and muttered. “Or at least give an image of protecting you.”
It wasn’t as if, thanks to her or her sister, Cithrel was safe and more so when it was obvious she could protect herself, but her general idea still stood.
Cithrel sighed in disappointment at not getting what she wanted and laughed in amusement at her muttering.
Urfin asked her to ensure Cithrel’s safety and, in a sense, it was more to take care that she didn’t get into trouble or keep others from looking for trouble while helping her adjust to this world.
“Come on... You’ve taken me into the lair of a group of gang members and made me beat them all up. This isn’t too much.” Cithrel said with a hopeful and slightly accusing look.
She was taking the role of victim, trying to use what happened that day to get what she wanted and, from her bright eyes, she had no desire to give up.
Aurora could immediately see right through her and laughed at the way she made it seem.
It gave the impression that it was all her fault that day and not Cithrel himself, who, in her eagerness to act like a gallant knight protecting a damsel, wanted to show off.
Showing that she was a rather dangerous knight.
“Well, I’ll take care of asking for a place for you and Venali, but I don’t know if you’ll take part in the mission officially. I don’t think there’s too much budget to hire you both,” Aurora said emphasizing that point.
She understood that Cithrel was joking in trying to blame her.
Akira had mentioned to her that she could take her protection targets and while part of it was out of kindness, the bigger reason was to get two S-ranks for free.
While money and payment didn’t matter, just like Aurora paid Akira’s group when they went to Africa, her partner liked to do the same.
And hiring the mercenary group and the students officially meant that she might not make as much profit from the mission.
Of course, even if she didn’t pay them too much, it was certainly impossible to hire two extra S-ranks and if she did; she was going to end up with losses.
“Excellent. I thought you were mad at me,” Cithrel said with an animated smile and seeing Aurora looking at her for an answer, she gave a sly grin and muttered. “I thought you were angry and jealous about Taqiyya.”
Aurora’s expression quivered.
It made her feel as if her reason for not inviting her was about an act of jealousy rather than a budgetary concern for Akira.
Without giving Aurora time to respond, Cithrel continued.
“You don’t need to worry...” Cithrel said and, getting up to approach, gave a charming smile, and whispered. “You have priority.”
The alluring and seductive smile led Aurora to blush.
She wasn’t about to admit that Cithrel was seductive, so for such a reason, she controlled her expression and shyness at that cheeky flirtation.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like people who play with two people’s feelings,” Aurora said, shaking her head in disappointment.
She flirted with Taqiyya and blatantly did it with her... Aurora emphasized that point, trying to look as disappointed as possible.
Leading to Cithrel laughing in amusement as she listened to her.
“Don’t worry. My relationship with her isn’t that way, and I don’t think the relationship is the way you think it is,” Cithrel replied, ambiguously winking at her.
Aurora shook her head with a smile and pushed her curiosity away.
She had no desire to give the gallant knight a chance to flirt with her.
******
Andrés moved his fingers across the computer keyboard as he skillfully worked with the AI of his holographic clock.
His body and his skill were performing similar jobs at the same time.
With his skill, he was supporting his AI, which at the same time was supporting him, to increase the efficiency of his work.
On the computer screen, the different images passed quickly as he searched for a particular person through all the data to which the information network had access.
In the end, he found his target and searched for all possible information from his birth to his last activity.
He searched for every trace of information through the virtual network, reviewed his history, his usual searches, his social networks, or any information about his target.
He didn’t need to hack absolutely anything because his colleagues had taken care of that task and he only had to organize the information.
That was the rookie job and he, with the help of his artificial intelligence and his quick handling of the information network, got all the information he was looking for.
Then he organized it and sent it to the person in charge of the information gathering task.
When Andrés finished, he sighed exhaustedly, rubbing his head.
He had completed these types of tasks with Liam, so not that heavy.
Sometimes he had even helped Liam to infiltrate devices of his targets and the only problem with this job was the quantity.
As a ‘rookie’ who was practically on ‘probation’, the superiors gave him enough work for the entire week, paying him a decent commission.
However, because of Akira’s invitation, Andrés had to set aside all his work for this week and finish it today.
All so that tomorrow he could travel to Asia with the others.
He did not want to do fieldwork where literally every time he lost a drone; he lost a part of his fortune, but he did not refuse to help Akira.
First, Akira and her group had helped them a lot during their time in Africa, and Andrés thought it was okay to help her back.
And most importantly, Akira was paying well for her work and mainly it was not just simply helping her, but this was a chance to further develop herself.
In that sense, Andrés understood Akira was giving them a possibility to improve themselves while she was completing a mission, which she could probably do on her own.
This was a way to be supportive and in order not to generate any pressure to give back, he tried to make it seem like a win-win for both sides.
“Andrés good job. I’ll send you your commission later.”
The door suddenly opened and a man spoke from the doorway.
That man was one of his peers and one of his superiors.
Fausto, a computer expert whose prowess came not from his skills or talents, but from his ability.
Pure dexterity.
“Thank you,” Andrés replied, and before he left, he asked. “Is the boss playing games?”
“Yes, but be careful. She’s in a bad mood,” Fausto warned and seeing Andrés look at him curiously, he laughed and revealed. “Some idiot beat her online and now she’s fuming.”
Chuckling amused after dropping the warning, he backed off and Andrés took a deep breath.
He had to get Serena to permit him and not give him any more homework so he could go on the trip.
Andrés had no specific work schedule and Serena was nice to avoid interrupting his studies, even so, she always left him chores to keep him busy.
Whether it was taking care of some simple task, organizing some information, or doing some internet checking.
He needed to get his boss to not give him work this weekend so he could take a vacation and focus on helping Akira with whatever he needed.
Leaving his office, Andrés walked down the hallway.
Serena not only had the basement that was a playroom, but she had different rooms in the building she was in.
Those offices gave privacy to the members of the computer network and could also be used to receive important individuals.
There were not too many members, but it was nice to have some privacy options instead of using the game room.
Also, there was a difference in the capability of the office computers that were focused on searching with the computers that were specialized in gaming.
Information networks were not simply places where a group would gather to do different jobs; they were areas that had to have great capabilities to remain hidden, so they could do their work in peace.
This building had those safeguards and provided the greatest help to the workers by giving them the best equipment and providing the best possible security.
They also had different amenities, as one floor of the building was completely theirs and one could find a living room, dining room, and other areas for entertainment and rest.
There were even different apartments for living and rooms for temporary rest.
Such equipment showed why this information network was one of the most important in Atlantis City.
Andrés, going down to the basement, went to the game room where first-time customers were directed.
First-time customers were misled, and they hid most of their capacity from them.
The cause was that this information network worked for very specific major clients, with very few jobs being minor and personal.
“Tch... Damn bastard, how dare he beat me?”
As soon as he entered the game room, he noticed his boss cursing as she lost.
“Oh, Andrés, are you finished? Come and sit down. I need help,” Serena ordered without accepting refusals.
His boss’s mood was very difficult to deal with and was the reason why no one wanted to go near this place.
The other reason was that if she caught someone, she wouldn’t let go until that person led her to victory.
As for if she didn’t succeed... Andrés, not wanting to be in that position, obeyed and sat down next to her.
Since playing was a way to get away from stress and entertain himself, Andrés, from time to time, played the different games that his boss liked.
They both started a game and...
“Ha, apparently my streak is back,” Serena muttered as they won the first game.
As troublesome as Serena was, once someone helped her have some fun, it was possible to score some points.
The two continued to play for several minutes and the successive wins continued, leading to Serena giving a giant grin.
The nice thing was that his boss didn’t have a high level of ‘qualifier’ in the games, and most of the time, she ended up playing with low-level players.
That helped make it easy to help her, although sometimes it was just like carrying a rock that did nothing.
So one had to be pretty good at the task.
“By the way, boss, can I take a vacation this weekend?” Andrés asked after a win and seeing Serena looking at him, he clarified. “I have another assignment and wanted to focus on that task.”
Serena gave him a look and nodded with a smile.
“Sure. I’ll pull all your work and pass it on for next week,” Serena replied calmly.
Andrés nodded rather happily and continued playing.
He had never traveled to Asia before and he had to admit he was excited.
