Markus was in a perpetual state of heightened awareness and anxiousness.

"Can I get you anything, Sir?" A courteous feminine voice caused him to jolt in place. He turned to face the smiling facade of an objectively beautiful woman, garbed in a conservative yet elegant pastel-red robe. Her face was painted to accentuate her sharp features and was made to look as natural as possible. Markus figured that was the theme they were going for - sincerity. Even the woman's smile looked real - her eyes were lax with folds forming by their sides complementing her expression.

"I-I- No, thank you," Markus answered, swallowing an audible gulp. As he observed the woman recede out of the room and slide the door close without turning her back to him, he violently tapped his belt satchel and sighed in relief after confirming something.

Markus wasn't used to being treated this way, with such deference. Especially given where he was right now.

During his time at the Academy, Markus had heard of a legendary restaurant in the entertainment district. In fact, he heard that it was a restaurant in name only and that in reality, it was just as grand as the Emperor's palace. Markus never got the opportunity to verify these rumours at that time, given how he had more pressing issues to contend with. So he was shocked when his Master instructed him to book a private table for Sect business. At first, he was apprehensive, he was sure that booking reservations in a restaurant most people compared to the monarch's palace would be far from trivial. Before he could voice that thought, his Master plopped a luminescent bank account token in his palm. He then instructed Markus to visit the bank and withdraw some funds to "expedite" the reservation.

It was when Markus pursued that side-task that the second bombshell collapsed on him. The moment he entered the bank and displayed the token, he was dragged inside by a small squadron of powerful mages who proceeded to interrogate him on how he got his hands on the token. After a rather charged inquiry, the bank performed a complete one-eighty. He was whisked out from a dreary prison-like setting to a luxurious lounge being waited on by an armada of servants and a butler ready to bring him anything he requested while they verified his transaction.

During his wait, Markus finally understood that his Master hadn't been jesting when he repeatedly warned him about his wealth. His Master was loaded! Legitimately loaded! Markus hadn't seen that many zeroes after a number in his entire life!

He exited the bank with a small pouch filled with gold coins hidden in his satchel. The mere presence of that hot potato raised his anxiety levels to the max. Markus would intermittently tap his satchel to make sure that the coins remained there, unaware that his skittering behaviour had attracted the eyes of actual pickpockets. But before they could make their move, Markus turned a corner and arrived in front of The Golden Plate, the premier eatery in all of Radiant City, and possibly the Solar Empire. No one wanted to get caught in this neck of the woods.

Markus was so absorbed in protecting the booty that he failed to enjoy the visual before him. The Golden Plate was a marvel of modern architecture. By using marble to create intricately carved designs that evoked an imperious aura of exclusivity and wealth, it was the epitome of luxuriance. The restaurant was tall, seven storeys tall, and had balconies extending out from each floor which, if observed from above, gave the building an appearance of a blooming lily.

The first person to greet Markus was a man garbed in a formal suit and sporting a well-meaning smile. He welcomed Markus and led him to a reception area where another individual approached him and asked whether Markus had a reservation. Markus said no, to which the man immediately offered a possibility for an expedited reservation which was a bit more expensive - a bit in a similar sense to adding a bucketful of sand into a desert. Markus acquiesced since it was part of his Master's instructions and ended up paying, rather suspiciously, exactly a quarter of the gold coins in his pouch. It was exactly because the prescribed fee went down to the copper denomination in its precision.

Markus shook his head with a wry smile and followed a third individual, the woman from before who frequently greeted him and ask him for his order, to a private dining room.

A few minutes after Markus settled into a seat, the doors to the room slid open. Interestingly, Markus wasn't able to hear or even sense any presence from outside the room. He figured that the area was probably lined with a multitude of formations that isolated the private dining room.

"Boss!" A cheerful voice boomed through as the hostess moved to the side, revealing a portly young man of Markus' age.

"Furion Stoll," Markus greeted and approached with open arms. The two friends embraced for a brief moment and separated. Markus immediately gestured for his companion to sit down, and they began conversing.

"What happened? You just disappeared off the face of Gaea," the burly boy named Furion inquired as he squirmed into the comfortable cushion of his chair.

"Circumstances required my departure," Markus answered rather vaguely. "How's everything going? How's the Academy? Oh, and how are Fenman, Fuegan and Fennis?"

Furion scratched his forehead and answered, "Things are moving as they always have back at the Academy. Though, there have been some positive changes since Teacher Way took the Vice Principal position-"

"Didn't Teacher Way just recently achieve his license? How did he pull that off?"

"There was an inter-Academic Tournament against the Far Horizon Academy from down South, and Teacher Way and his Students pulled out some flashy victories that gained the Radiant Academy a hell of a lot of advantages," Furion shrugged. "There were a bunch of other stuff as well. He achieved two 2-star licenses in Painting and Alchemy, and then boosted through to a 2-star Teaching License within a month."

Furion frowned and commented, "Now that I'm saying it out loud, it doesn't make much sense... What kind of a monster is he?"

He paused to ponder on that tangent before waving his hands and continuing, "As for Fenman, Fuegan and Fennis, those three are doing well. If you have time, we should meet up later, Boss. Hit the entertainment districts, maybe visit a brothel or two!"

Furion immediately bit his tongue and said, "I forgot that Fuegan got hitched! His new fiancée is a firecracker. She'd murder him if he got caught sniffing around such places. And then she'd castrate us for tempting him..." Furion gulped while suppressing a shudder.historical

Markus chuckled as Furion continued elaborating on the trivial goings-on back at the Academy. Although Markus held no affection or nostalgia for that hell-hole, he definitely missed those four bully-turned-friends for all the hijinks and antics they got into.

If he were being completely honest, Markus was initially averse to forming a friendship with the four greatest miscreants who tormented most people back at the Academy. The F4, as everyone called them, were one of the more prolific bullies in the Academy. Although Markus' interaction with them was sparse, it wasn't pleasant either.

However, Master Larks told him that he should consider getting close to the F4 not to form a sincere friendship, but one that was based on a give-and-take policy. He should assume a position where he could contribute something of advantage to them, and in turn, they would involuntarily enter a favour-owing mindset when interacting with him.

What could Markus contribute to people who could buy everything they wanted? Their family's approvals of course. After some research, stalking and spying, Markus found out that the four acted out mostly to attract their parents' attention, which was usually distracted with their own businesses.

All four were second-generation rich brats of self-made businessmen. The parents were preoccupied with growing their fortune since they had personally experienced the pain of poverty. While the heirs, who were born with everything, lacked the one thing they sorely yearned for.

Thus, Markus enacted his plan. Through some pretty basic social manoeuvring and suggestion, he encouraged the F4 to shift their rogue enthusiasm into their studies. By fooling them into learning stuff and applying their knowledge, their academic measurables started to rise incrementally.

Within months, they were elevated into the top ten of the cohort, which immediately granted them their parent's attention and love. And thus Markus gained four valuable favours which were implicitly NQA (No Questions Asked).

Today, Markus was planning to cash in his first one for the benefit of the Sect.

"That's enough of my rattling," Furion threw out as he gulped down a mouthful of water to wet his parched throat from all the talking. "So Boss, how're things with you? Anything good happen with you?"

Markus nodded and released his control over his mana. The wave washed over Furion and nearly caused him to choke on his spit.

"Y-You broke through?" Furion exclaimed in shock, which turned into sincere awe. "As expected of Boss! That Gaige's been flaunting around the campus like he's hot shit. He just got lucky! Are you here to teach him a lesson?"

Markus chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm and spirit. "Revenge can be exacted at any point in time. The more you let it cool, the sweeter it is."

"Well said," Furion agreed while flashing a thumbs-up.

"By the way, Boss," Furion commented. "Why did you call me here? Before that, how can you afford this place? Not to be disrespectful or anything, but weren't you an orphan? Wait! Did you discover your true family? Are you a descendent of some rich royals? I knew it!"

Markus smiled wryly as his companion's overactive imagination started to bloat the circumstance exponentially with each passing second.

Before he could interrupt and explain himself, the door to the room slid open once again, and the woman proclaimed, "The host has arrived."

"Master!" Markus greeted while standing up.

"Markus," his Master responded with a nod.

"Master?" Furion blurted out in confusion.

"Ah, you must be Mister Stoll, Markus's friend," his Master commented as he extended his arm towards Furion.

"Master?" Furion repeated while alternating his gaze between Markus and his Master.

Markus coughed, "Furion. Let me explain..."