Chapter 17: Another E-Rank Mission

I handed the mission report to the secretary at the Mission Administration Unit.

She took the papers from me, flipped through the first few pages, and stamped the front sheet without much expression.

"We'll review the report shortly," she said. "You should receive an answer within a few days."

Then she reached beneath the desk, wrote something on it and then handed me a small paper slip. It looked almost like a check, with my name, identification number, and mission status printed across it.

"Show this to the mission receptionist if you want to register for new missions," she said. "It proves that your report has been submitted and that you are temporarily cleared for mission selection.."

I looked down at the slip. So that was it.

After leaving the counter, I did not immediately head back to my room. Instead, I wandered through the Administration Unit, trying to understand what else Beacon offered now that I was an official member.

That was when I noticed the course boards.

At first, I thought they were only for military training, but I was wrong. Beacon had public courses that anyone could join: first aid, basic mechanics, survival theory, map reading, weapon maintenance, fitness conditioning, cooking, sanitation, language lessons, and even simple engineering workshops.

Most of the public courses were free, or close to it. They were meant to keep people useful, because in Beacon, a useless person was a burden.

But then there were the paid courses. Those were different.

Paid courses offered private tutoring, smaller groups, better instructors, and access to information that was not given in the free classes. Some taught advanced shooting, close-quarters combat, reconnaissance, Radiance theory, field medicine, blacksmithing, engineering repairs, and Ossarian behavior analysis.

The instructors were usually veterans, retired soldiers, engineers, medics, or specialists who had survived long enough to turn their experience into income.

And from what I could see, some of them made a fortune. They are earning thousands of Lumens, all from teaching.

Either way, I was already on my way to register for one of the free courses.

The first course was already ongoing, and it covered radio transmitters and receivers. From what I understood, it taught the basics of operating field radios, sending short reports, receiving orders, checking signal strength, and avoiding common mistakes during missions.

That sounded useful enough.

The second course would start next week and focused on first aid and basic medical assistance. After what happened to Harper, I did not need anyone to convince me. Standing there uselessly while someone bled out was not an experience I wanted to repeat.

There was also another thing I needed to work on. 

My aim.

The most effective way to improve was also the most obvious, it is to train with a real springfield rifle with real radiance capsules

The problem was money.

Radiance capsules were far too expensive to waste on basic target practice, so I chose the cheaper option, paintball training. I can pay ten Lumens for three sessions of training, where each session lasts one hour. It was not perfect, but it was better than doing nothing.

I approached the course registration desk, where a tired-looking clerk sat behind a stack of forms.

"I want to register for the radio transmitter and receiver course," I said. "And the first aid course starting next week."

The clerk looked at my badge, then tapped something into the small terminal beside him.

"The radio course is public," he said. "No payment required. Attendance is mandatory once registered. Miss two sessions without reason and you'll be removed from the list."

"That's fine."

He slid a form toward me.

"Name, badge number, current rank, and assigned district section."

I filled it out quickly and handed it back.

He stamped it, then gave me a small paper slip with the course time and location.

"Radio course is in Training Room B-12. First aid starts next week in Medical Instruction Hall C-3. You're registered for both."

Then I pointed toward the paintball training notice.

"And this one?"

"That one is paid," he said. "Ten Lumens for three sessions."

I handed over the amount, and he stamped another slip.

The ten Lumens did not come from my own pocket.

Earlier today, I had taken a small loan from Beacon's credit office. The minimum amount was one hundred Lumens, so that was what I borrowed. Since the amount was low and the risk was considered high, the interest rate was ridiculous which amounts to 25%. That meant I had to pay back 125 Lumens next month.

It was not ideal, but I can't sit there and do nothing, I feel like this is the only way to move forward. I could not afford the delay.

Just like that, my next few days were no longer empty.

If I wanted to survive the next mission, I needed to become useful.

Three days later, I was in the cadets' cafeteria.

I had just finished an aim training session, and my body still felt sore from the repeated movements. After returning to my dorm, I took a quick bath, changed into a clean uniform, and headed straight for lunch.

The cafeteria was already busy when I arrived. I grabbed one of the metal food canteens and walked toward the serving line. When it was my turn, I showed the woman behind the counter my cadet ID.

She glanced at it, noticed I was new, then took the canteen without asking much.

"Basic portion," she said.

I nodded.

She filled it with a serving of boiled grains, a few pieces of stewed vegetables, and a thin slice of salted meat. Nothing impressive.

I found an empty seat and started eating.

The food was moderate at best. Not good, not terrible. It had enough warmth and salt to make it feel like an actual meal.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Well, look who we have here."

I looked up and saw Aaron walking toward me with his own food canteen in hand.

I raised an eyebrow. "You survived lunch registration too?"

"Barely," he said, dropping into the seat across from me. "The line was more dangerous than our last mission."

He poked at the vegetables with his spoon. "I swear, they somehow found a way to make vegetables taste tired."

"That's impressive in its own way."

For a moment, we ate in silence.

Then he leaned forward slightly.

"You know what I heard?"

I looked at him.

"Victoria and Alexander got accepted into another F-rank reconnaissance mission."

My spoon stopped halfway to my mouth.

"This fast?"

"Yeah," Aaron said. "Surprised me too."

I frowned. "Reconnaissance missions are not usually given to new cadets, right?"

"Not unless someone puts in a good word," he replied. "Details are secret, especially for recon missions, but from what I heard, Captain Maren recommended Victoria after what happened at the clinic."

That made sense.

Victoria had killed two Ossarians during Team B's mission. One male, one female. If even half of what Alexander told me was true, then she had reacted faster than some trained soldiers.

Still, something about it bothered me.

"And Alexander?"

Aaron shrugged. "Probably got accepted because he is reliable. Or maybe because they wanted someone who works well with Victoria."

I looked down at my food.

Reconnaissance meant moving quietly, observing enemy activity, mapping routes, and avoiding unnecessary fights. In theory, it was not supposed to be direct combat.

But after our so-called F-rank supply mission, I no longer trusted mission ranks.

"I could not believe Victoria had done this. She really went on another mission without telling me. After everything that happened at the clinic, after I stood beside her on guard duty, she just disappeared like it was nothing."

"When I see her, I'm going to let her have a piece of my min– Wait. Wasn't that Aaron from Team A?"

I stopped walking for a second.

A few tables ahead, Aaron was sitting with another cadet I did not recognize. He had the same arrogant posture as always, leaning back like the cafeteria belonged to him. The guy sitting across from him looked calmer, almost annoyingly calm, just nodding along while Aaron spoke as if he was delivering wisdom from the heavens.

Who was that?

I walked closer.

Aaron noticed me first, his eyes shifting toward me with that usual look of his, the one that made me want to throw my food canteen at his face. The other cadet barely reacted. He only glanced at me for a moment before returning his attention to Aaron.

As I came close enough to hear them, the unfamiliar cadet spoke.

"If Alexander is taking another mission, then I can't afford to fall behind." His voice was steady, but there was something firm beneath it. "There's no other choice. Once I'm done eating, I'll go register for one."

Aaron smirked.

"Well, if you're that desperate, you can join me. I've got an assault and ambush mission lined up, and I'm still missing a few members."

I blinked.

'Assault and ambush? Is he insane? Actually, no. It was Aaron. Of course he is insane.'

I looked between them, trying to understand how Aaron had somehow gotten his hands on a mission invitation.

The unfamiliar cadet did not seem convinced either.

He looked at Aaron and asked, "How?"

Aaron leaned back with that same arrogant expression.

"I'm just that much better than you."

The cadet stared at him for a second. "We both read the Member Guidelines manual. New cadets aren't allowed to create missions, let alone invite others into one."

Aaron blinked.

"It says that?"

The cadet's eyes narrowed. "You didn't read it?"

"Of course I did," Aaron said quickly, lying so badly even I could tell. "If you don't want to join, suit yourself."

"No," the cadet replied. "I'll join. But I need details first. Starting with how you even got access to a mission like that."

Aaron clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed that he had to explain.

"While I was on guard duty with Captain Sullivan, he told me about a mission that still needed members. It is an E-rank. Assault and ambush type. The captain leading it is one of Sullivan's friends, and they're short on people, so they're accepting new cadets if someone recommends them."

I stepped forward before I could stop myself.

"Can I join?"

Both of them turned to look at me.

Aaron looked me up and down, genuinely confused.

"Who are you?"

Rude.

I straightened my back. "My name is Rina Kobayashi. I'm from Kyoto, Japan. Nice to meet you."

Aaron stared at me as if that explained absolutely nothing.

The other cadet, however, seemed to recognize me after a moment.

"You were in our training group," he said. "You were usually with Victoria."

'Exactly,' I said

"Exactly," I said.

Aaron looked at me like I had just said the stupidest thing he had heard all day.

"Okay, so?" he asked. "Why should we take you with us?"

Before I could answer, the other cadet spoke first.

"She's part of the same batch as us," he said. "In fact, she was part of Team B."

I looked at him in surprise.

"You remember?"

"I pay attention to those details," he replied simply.

For some reason, that caught me off guard. Aaron, however, did not seem impressed.

"How many Ossarians have you killed?" he asked.

I froze for half a second.

"None," I admitted. "But I'm confident I can kill one if given the chance. Just let me join."

The unfamiliar cadet's expression changed slightly.

It was subtle, but I noticed it. His mood darkened, as if my words had reminded him of something unpleasant. For a moment, he looked at me, but I felt like he was seeing someone else.

Then he stood up.

"Either way, Aaron, count me in."

Aaron raised his hand. "Wait. There's a condition."

The cadet's eyes narrowed. "I don't have time for your games, Aaron."

"Calm down, big guy," Aaron said, wearing that same arrogant smile. "This isn't in my hands. The captain's condition is that every member only gets ten Lumens from this mission."

The cadet stared at him.

I blinked.

"WHAT?" I snapped. "You've got to be kidding me. That's a scam."

Aaron shrugged. "That's why no one is joining. He wants us to do the work while he takes most of the profit."

I looked between the two of them. An E-rank assault and ambush mission. Only ten Lumens. A captain desperate enough to accept new cadets. Everything about this sounded terrible. And yet, the unfamiliar cadet was still listening. I'm too to be honest.

Aaron leaned back, clearly enjoying the fact that we were still listening.

"The good part about this mission is the location," he said. "The ambush point is not far from here. It's about an hour and a half away by Humvee, so if everything goes well, the entire mission should be done in four hours in the best case scenario."

Of course.

He then tapped his spoon against the edge of his canteen.

"The mission is tomorrow, so I need your answer now."

I looked down at my food for a moment.

Ten Lumens was a joke. For an E-rank mission, it was practically theft. But at the same time, this was not only about money. Another E-rank mission would look good on my record, especially this early. It would give me field experience, more combat exposure, and maybe a better understanding of how these ambush missions worked.

Besides, if I wanted to improve, I could not stay inside Beacon waiting for perfect conditions. I could think of it as a training session. A very dangerous training session with paid lunch.

I looked back at Aaron.

"Count me in."

Rina stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not."

"It pays ten Lumens."

"I heard that part."

"And you still want to go?"

"Yes."

Rina opened her mouth, then closed it again, clearly struggling to decide whether I was brave, stupid, or both.

Aaron grinned. "Good. Then that makes two."

Rina crossed her arms. "I never said I was joining."

Aaron looked at her. "You asked first."

"That was before I knew the mission was a scam."

"It's still a mission," I said.

Rina turned toward me. "That does not make it better."

"No," I admitted. "But it makes it useful."

I did not wait for her response.

I picked up my canteen, finished what was left of my food and then left the cafeteria after washing my hands.

I think it was time I checked on Harper.