Leon wished he could do another mission today. Fighting and adventuring would hone his combat skills and instincts, but nothing could beat the joy from adding money to his savings. However, Mr. Burke had told him, "No more missions today."

Luckily, every mercenary academy had a training center, so Leon could still gain the benefits of fighting and adventuring.

Before entering the training zone, though, Leon stopped by the building's cafeteria. Nobody could fight well with an empty stomach, especially when it happened because of missing out lunch.

Although it was already 1PM, Leon still ended up in the middle of a long queue. The worst part? If the mercenaries in front of him were all claiming their free lunch sets instead of buying snacks, it might take at least five minutes until his turn. The cashier had to scan every mercenary's ID card and check their names in the computer to prevent them from claiming free seconds.

By the time it was Leon's turn, acid had crawled up his throat thanks to the rich, buttery fragrance in the air. His stomach also rumbled, but the noisy environment - comparable to an outdoor marketplace - smothered the little sound.

Leon handed his ID card to the woman behind the counter. "One lunch set, ma'am."

"Yes, Sir." The woman took the handheld scanner from its stand and scanned the barcode on the ID card. After a beep, she tapped the computer screen several times and returned the card to Leon. Then she rushed to the service window behind her. "One carnivore lunch set!"

Leon kept the ID card in his wallet and returned it to his pants pocket. A moment later, a hand pushed a red tray out of the service window.

Like a hungry lion seeing its prey, Leon scrutinized the large chunk of grilled meat and the small pile of buttered vegetables on the tray. The cafeteria served fiend steak - the cheapest meal due to the abundance of beast-type fiends out there - almost everyday for those with carnivorous GSs, but the chefs knew the right blend of spices to make the steak taste different from time to time. Fiend meat would always share the same texture as beef, though.

The drink accompanying the meal was and would always be a glass of water. It was so cheap that one could simply refill it at one of the water dispensers in the cafeteria.

After placing a tissue paper and eating utensils on the tray, the woman brought it to Leon. "Here you go, Sir."

"Thank you."

With the tray in his grasp, Leon walked away from the counter while scanning the cafeteria for the least crowded area and the smallest table. Nothing annoyed him more than small talks when eating.

Spotting a few empty tables at the desolate corner of the cafeteria, he sped up. There were still many mercenaries who hadn't gotten their seats out there.

He arrived at a small square table without a fuss. After placing the tray on the table and his backpack beside the chair, he sat down and picked up the fork and the knife. Time to dig in.

Leon's tongue sensed butter with a pinch of garlic in the juicy steak. Of course, this was far better than his mom's cooking; not only fiend meat contained so much nutrient that non-mercenaries might suffer multiple organ failure after consuming it, but the academy also had all the tools and ingredients to make good food. However, it lacked what made his mom's cooking more satisfying.

Mom worked hard to turn whatever she could buy with Dad's and her earnings into something edible. A lump forming in his throat, he stopped chewing and stared at the half-eaten steak and veggies. Here? As long as you don't break the rules, you can claim a free breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

"Yo, old friend!"

Leon felt a smack in his back. Shocked, he swallowed by accident and coughed. Goddammit, who the hell was it? Snatching his glass and guzzling the water within, he stared at the perpetrator.

A short, rather muscular young man in a black t-shirt and blue baggy shorts looked at Leon with a puzzled face, his hand holding a cup of sweet corn. Recognizing the combed-up blond hair that resembled a rooster's crest, Leon slammed his glass onto the table and yelled, "Damn you, Neil!"

"Sorry." Neil sat on the empty chair across Leon and placed the cup of corn on the table. "You looked really grim earlier, so I thought you could use a bit of cheering up."

"That's very nice of you," Leon deadpanned as he continued to snarf down his food. Better finish this quickly. I'm not in the mood to listen to his long-ass story.

"So, how are things?" Neil asked with a broad smile.

Leon kept eating.

"Leonhardt?"

Leon pretended not to hear that.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll tell you my story. After graduation, I chose to stay at the countryside region of Kraindr. I got to raid a lot of Aedifex Dungeons out there, ya know? My savings right now are just a few thousands Bits away from reaching twenty millions!"

Once again, Leon ignored Neil.

"I'm still far from my goal, though. According to Mimi, my family travel plan might cost over one hundred million. Well, why not? Staying in five-star hotels, seeing the many wonders of Krixali, tasting the country's delicacies, and much more!"

Leon kept on munching and swallowing his food, although memories of Mimi Bailey began filling his mind. Her parents, being aristocrats at Krixali, sent this energetic girl to Rechel to study the art of GS at the age of six. Despite the wealthy background, Mimi got along very well with them, especially Neil. Just like this rooster head, after graduating, Mimi told Leon that she probably couldn't visit him again because she had to go home.

"I hope my family is still fine when I finally earn enough for the vacation. Grandma's pretty old already and can't walk so much anymore."

Leon looked at his plate. Oh, yeah, just one last bite and he'd have the reason to flee from Neil's ramblings.

"Yo, were you actually listening to my story?"

Leon finished off the last piece of meat and drank the remaining water in his glass.

"Earth to Leonhardt?"

After placing the empty glass on the table and wiping his mouth with the tissue paper, Leon stood up, picked up his backpack and wore it.

"Man, this is like talking to a wall."

"Whatever." The poker-faced Leon picked up his dirty tray and empty glass while staring at Neil's cup of corn. "You'd better eat your corn before I eat it."

"No!" Neil grabbed his cup of corn and leaned back like a stingy kid protecting his candies. "Not my corn!"

"Eat up then." Leon turned around and strode towards the water dispensers in the distance. His ears registered unpleasant stuff from other mercenaries, but he pressed on. Let those people criticize his attitude towards his old friend until their saliva dried up; he wouldn't give a damn.

After getting a glass of water from a dispenser and downing it, Leon headed to the tray return station. Stacks of colorful trays stood on the metal shelves, organized to one color per level. The red trays - the carnivores' - rested on the topmost level; according to popular belief, mercenaries with carnivorous GSs usually towered over others, hence the position. Leon found that funny, though, because he'd seen several people with herbivorous and omnivorous GSs standing much taller than him.

After putting his tray atop the red stack, he walked away from the shelves and towards the cafeteria's exit.

The training center's lobby was a massive rectangular hall with many mercenaries, both in-training and graduated ones, wandering about. A metal double door lay across where he stood, with an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign mounted on it. Infirmary staffers rested in that room; whenever mercenaries hurt themselves in the training, they'd rush to aid. If the wounds were too serious, they'd bring the mercenaries to the infirmary building instead. It stood across the training center.

Leon turned and hurried towards the entrance door of the training area in the distance. He had to claim the Colosseum for himself before others did; else he'd be stuck in the Hunting Ground with other mercenaries.

Upon entering the training area, Leon rushed to the men's locker room on the left side of the entrance and winced. Goddammit, the room not only felt like a sardine can but also reeked of sweat and blood. The scent of soap from those who came out of the shower rooms lessened the stench, but only a bit.

Leon dashed to the key cabinets beside the entrance door and grabbed a locker key. Looking at the number, his favorite number, he smiled a bit. Many inhabitants of the other world believed that number 8 brought wealth and prosperity.

As he approached the locker, a man spoke from behind in a derisive tone, "Finally smiling, Sir Frowns-A-Lot?"

Leon unlocked his locker and opened the door without saying anything. Just another guy coming up with another unpleasant nickname to me. Nothing new.

"Arrogant as ever. I hope your arrogance will bite you in the butt someday."

"Leave him alone, bro."

Eyes widening, Leon turned to the source of the voice. There Neil stood with his arms folded over his chest, staring at a bare-chested guy with a towel over his shoulders.

"What's the matter? He's notorious for being an asshole in the academy."

"Think you're better? He didn't do anything to you, yet you picked on him."

Brow furrowing, the man humphed and stormed away.

Why did Neil have to jump in? So that he could gain Leon's attention? So that Leon would want to train together with him? "You know," Leon grumbled, "I can deal with him by myself."

"How?" Neil scratched his head. "By being a wall and let him insult you as he pleases?"

"Yeah. He'll eventually get tired and walk away."

"Hey, you really need to fight back. If not, they'll keep getting back at you."

"Tried it. It didn't make any difference." Leon took off his backpack and stuffed it into the locker. "I've always been a jerk, so I'm bound to draw a lot of hate."

"So, you've really changed a lot since our separation," Neil commented. "Then why don't you try to be nicer? I mean, you used to be a sweet guy."

"Being nice hurts." Leon closed the locker door and locked it. After keeping the key in his pants pocket, he walked away with a long face.

Being nice makes it easy to grow fond of each other. It's a great feeling, but do you know how much it hurts when you have to say goodbye?