Soon enough, the sound of heels clicking against marble floors reached Moon's ears from the corridor. He turned toward the approaching footsteps to see a professionally dressed woman walking toward him, wearing a black blazer and matching, long skirt.
"Mr. Outlaw? It's a pleasure to et you. I'm Carla—the manager of this Association branch," the woman said with a professional smile on her face. "Could you please follow so we can proceed with your advancent request?"
Moon's eyebrows rose for just a fraction of a second before returning to their usual position. 'There's a new branch manager? What happened to Isabelle?' he wondered internally, though he chose not to voice the question imdiately.
Inside Carla's office, she processed his rank advancent efficiently within a few minutes. She then took his current badge and replaced it with a new one crafted from noticeably stronger materials with more pristine coating.
"Your existing funds will remain accessible through this badge," Carla explained. "I've simply transferred your identification to the new device. Your monthly allowance will now be $100,000 as befits your S-Rank Awakener status."
Moon nodded acknowledgnt before standing to leave. "Thank you for your assistance."
Before he could reach the door, the manager coughed softly, clearly attempting to gain his attention for additional discussion.
Unfortunately for Carla, Moon didn't seem to recognize the hint, simply continuing toward the exit while apparently ignoring her signal. 'Is he deliberately ignoring , or is he really that oblivious to social cues?' she wondered internally.
Carla wasn't sure whether Moon's behavior was intentional dismissal or genuine social blindness, but she decided to pursue her objective more directly. If she succeeded in her assigned task, she would certainly be rewarded and potentially promoted to a higher position within the Association hierarchy.
"Sir! Mr. Outlaw!" she called out with increased urgency, finally capturing his attention as Moon turned to face her, his dark eyes eting hers.
"Yes?"
His direct gaze montarily overwheld her composure as she scrambled to find the carefully prepared words she'd been instructed to use. She shook off the montary distraction and regained her professional deanor.
"Regarding the S-rank gate incident, do you rember anything additional about what occurred inside? Or are your mories still unclear from the experience?"
Moon's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he grasped why the receptionist had been so dramatically affected by his na and why she'd specifically called for the involvent of a manager to handle his simple rank update.
'They were specifically waiting for to appear. It's exactly what I should have expected,' Moon realized. The Association had clearly briefed their employees about his importance and instructed managers to probe for additional information whenever opportunities arose.
"Unfortunately, no new details have returned," Moon replied with a carefully neutral smile. "Everything remains frustratingly hazy, but I will certainly inform the Association imdiately if any mories resurface."
Carla nodded with obvious disappointnt masked as understanding. "Of course, of course. There's absolutely no pressure or ti-line for recovery."
"Thank you for your patience," Moon acknowledged. "Also, I recall a different person serving as manager of this branch previously. Did anything significant occur that led to the change?"
"Ah, you must an Miss Isabelle, she was indeed the previous manager here. But she departed the position so ti ago, and I've been appointed as her replacent. As for the specific reasons behind her departure, I'm afraid that involves classified personnel information that I'm not authorized to reveal."
Moon nodded his head in understanding. It made sense, and he wasn't going to push for answers, he had been rely curious and nothing more. Where Isabelle went, or what she was doing was none of his business, after all.
"I understand. Thank you again for processing my advancent."
With his objective accomplished, Moon departed the Association office, his new S-rank badge secured and his monthly inco increased to $100,000. As he made his way back toward his apartnt through the familiar city streets, Moon checked his phone for any important ssages he might have missed during his ti in the Sanctuary.
'So many missed calls... even from Kael? That's unusual. Wait, he sent a ssage too.'
The calls and ssages weren't too long ago, just a few hours earlier.
Just like always, Kael remained a man of extrely few words, communicating with minimal elaboration.
Moon called him back.
Ring-ring!
The call was answered after a single ring tone.
"Hel-"
"We have an urgent mission for you, where are you currently situated inside the First Sanctuary?" Kael interrupted without any greetings. "I'm currently stationed at Stonewatch base." Moon responded, not declining the mission offer just yet. He could sense that sothing important had happened. If the location was close, he was going to participate in the quest if it was useful for his goals and close in proximity. If it was too far—days away, Moon would reject no matter how attractive the offer sounded. He didn't have much ti to waste in traveling.
"You're at Stonewatch? That's not too far from the Bastion Base. Approximately four hours of travel on a high-level direhorse…" Kael muttered to himself.
"Two of our bases in the First Sanctuary were attacked by monster hordes containing S-rank beasts, each led by S-rank outcasts—similar to the previous incident we handled at the Ironpeak base, except this ti the attackers succeeded in overrunning the defenses of our base.
We lost dozens of powerful fighters, and the base lord—A-Rank warrior—died under their attack."
He paused briefly before continuing with the important details.
"Your bonus for reclaiming and clearing one of the bases will include an S-rank weapon of your choice, plus all loot from any beasts you eliminate during the operation. Additionally, you'll receive 5% of the monthly inco that the cleared base generates going forward."
Moon remained silent for a mont as he processed the offer, then a satisfied smile ford on his face. These were so excellent rewards from the Glassy Group—equivalent to killing three birds with one stone. He could eliminate S-rank beasts and awakeners while earning so good equipnt and establishing another passive inco stream.
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