KON POV

A few days have passed since the conversation with Ms. Emma in the clubroom. The classes themselves are relatively normal, focusing on refreshing what we’ve learned in previous years during the first week.

My classmates still occasionally fuss around me, but I anticipate the novelty will wear off soon. All I have to do is keep smiling and entertain their interest a bit longer. I’ve been trying to convince them that Venti and Zack aren’t as bad as they seem. They didn’t believe it until Elizabeth stepped in and dispelled their doubts.

However, she still wants to keep an eye on them, just in case they are up to no good. The class cheers at that, leaving the problematic duo in her capable hands. I genuinely think she makes for a good class president, readily accepting the problems that people throw at her.

Her intuition for trouble is spot-on, as I have a feeling that Venti and Zack will be causing headaches soon enough. I haven’t seen them on the way home since the first day of school. When I asked them what they were up to, they remained tight-lipped, promising to tell me when the time was right. What the heck are they plotting now?

Speaking of Elizabeth, she ended up joining a tea ceremony club after attempting to join a cooking club, which turned out to be disastrous. I witnessed purple smoke billowing out of the cooking clubroom yesterday, and let’s just say the nurse’s office was fully occupied that day.

So, she is the clumsy Ojou-sama type. Good to know.

I wanted to pester Zack and Venti for answers, considering they would likely involve me in whatever shenanigans they cooked up sooner or later, but I simply didn’t have the time. I’ve been busy with courier work right after finishing school. Money is tight, and at this rate, I’ll barely make it for next week’s SpeedGear License Exam.

That’s why I’ve been occupied with work since registering my official SpeedGear account and installing the app for various tasks involving deliveries.

I handle deliveries for food, small packages, information shards, chips, and more. While there are official courier services with a better security rating for delivering larger items, navigating certain districts can be challenging for vehicles.

The architecture, with houses stacked on top of one another and winding stairways resembling a 3D rat maze, can make deliveries complicated. Sometimes, I even have to go through a house before reaching my destination due to the peculiar apartment structure. I’m not complaining; the faster the delivery, the higher the reward for bonus work efficiency on my account.

Overall, the layout of most districts I’ve encountered is relatively tame compared to my days of delivery in sector 31. Working here feels like a walk in the park since I don’t have to worry about Rogue AI or unsavory thieves attacking me. Gone are the days when I had to park my scooter and sneak through their patrol areas.

At least here, guilds and the police are keeping an eye on things. I don’t have to constantly read the intent of every person I come across.

“So, that’s what I have been doing for the past couple of days. Just getting the feel of nearby district’s layout and delivering a bunch of stuff.”

“That’s cool.” Venti nodded.

“Think you will be able to get your SpeedGear License by the end of this week?” Zack asked me.

“Should be doable. What about you guys? What have you been cooking?”

“Oooh nothing, just a bit of research here and there.”

I narrowed my eyes. The way Zack said it leaves me 90% sure that I won’t like what he has in store for me. We are currently sitting in the canteen for lunch, a change of pace. I brought out my bento box and their share, as they couldn’t be bothered to eat healthy. I’m starting to wonder if I am spoiling them a bit too much.

“Also, Kon you should be more careful from now on. Tons of guilds are ramping up their talent recruitments.” Venti warned

“They are still recruiting aggressively? I thought it would die down in a month or two.”

“It’s gotten worse. Some even tried to coerce a member of a party to quit and join them.”

“That’s bad.”

“Yep, and my old guild may be guilty of the same thing.”

“BOA?”

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“Uh-huh. I have been snooping around for a bit and I’m guessing they wanted to climb the ranking ladder in the major tournament this year and break through their mid-sized guild status.”

“Well, that isn’t concerning at all, but why tell me this when I haven’t even gotten my license?”

“Because your district is close to BOA’s?”

I whipped out my phone and checked the website for BOA’s area of influence. Currently, they have supervision over four districts, the latest one obtained after merging with a party. It’s quite large, and on the official server, they are still labeled as a mid-sized guild. That might change after a major tournament or two, though.

Although, I’m not too worried about any bad solicitation coming my way.

If I don’t like their intent, I will just avoid them before they can even see me. It’s the same old routine I did when I was delivering in sector 31. Notice people from afar, observe them for a bit, and then either continue or go around them.

“Are you still worried about your old Guild?”

“Well, I would be lying if I said no, we didn’t exactly part ways on the greatest of terms. But yeah, I still visit them from time to time.”

“Did you ever wish you could join back?”

“Heck no. Why would I wanna go back to that old mobster mentality? Granted they are a bit different now, but don’t cha worry Kon, Uncle Venti is here to stay.”

“I’m not worried.”

I secretly smiled when he ruffled my hair, but couldn’t he wash his hands first before doing it? My hair now has some yakisoba grease stains, yuck.

Also, Venti can deny it all he wants, but I know he still holds attachments to his old guild. It’s easy to see when you look at his caged fight commission records. Most of them involve smacking down BOA’s neighboring guild and potential future enemies.

“Oh, by the way, we got our SpeedGear license yesterday.”

“What!?” My eyes bulged out in surprise when Zack dropped it out of nowhere. When? How? Why didn’t they tell me?

“Hehe, why spoil the surprise yea? But meh, there was nothing exciting going on. Just a plan ol’ written test and practical exams. Nothing too groundbreaking.”

“The details Zack, give me the details!”

“There are no details. The paper test is so simple Venti could pass it. The Vertical maneuvering aspect of the test is also very bland. We were not allowed to do tricks. Only safety practices.”

Well, duh. What kind of SpeedGear license exam requires you to pull off a wall run? If safety measures are the only thing they test aside from having us run through a normal obstacle course, then I think it’s pretty tame.

It’s tame by our standards, at least. We have been practicing for years after all.

“Then it’s just a run through a bunch of hurdles and cornering properly. Looking at the no crazy speed zone sign properly. That’s that I guess.”

“How long does it take?”

“Not long, a couple of hours or so, and it’s mostly just spent on waiting on other people.”

I guess the exam is pretty much normal stuff then. Looks like I was worried for nothing. I thought for sure that getting the AB (Ankle Breaker) version of the license would be much more difficult and require many tries. If these two brash individuals can get it on their first try without being kicked out by their pissed-off proctor, why couldn’t I?

“You are thinking something rude, aren’t you? Well, good luck with your exam. Try to get it before the school club opens.”

“Yep yep, then we can borrow their SpeedGears and leave the maintenance cost to the school wahaha.”

That’s a good idea. I haven’t seen the whole clubroom in detail but I bet there are some spare gears lying around. Also if I can build a connection with the members that know how to tune, I could persuade them for some discount maybe?

Lunchtime is over, we head back to the class and then part ways again at the afterschool. I’m still curious as to what they are doing, but for now, I need to focus and earn enough money to get myself a license.

Back at home, I prepared my essential courier equipment.

First and foremost is my old trusty scooter that has been modified to hell and back. I installed a mundane gear into it and slowly ramped up the setting by replacing bits of parts here and there, allowing me to easily go through a flat plane at 35kmph maximum speed.

Though I don’t I think I should push it any harder than necessary, since the bearings are all worn out. I rather have it last until I can afford myself a SpeedGear then I can put it in the living room as a decoration. Maybe give it a respectful salute every now and then for its life contribution. Don’t worry, I won’t ever scrap you.

Lastly, my lightweight backpack has been modified extensively too. The parts used are even more expensive than the scooter since I had to get my hands on a Speed cushion. A specialized cushion that stabilizes and balances the object that sits on it. It’s pretty nifty. Coupled with gravity bearings installation, the whole inside of the backpack will automatically shift and right its center of balance, making it harder to topple stuff up.

I use this backpack all the time when making deliveries that require me to store liquids and stuff. Granted it’s not foolproof, but as long as the journey is smooth, I can even deliver a bowl of ramen easily after wrapping it properly.

So here I am in the Suanka district, my preferred place when it comes to making money. There is less winding road but the layout and structures of the buildings are a funny wonder to navigate through. To the non-locale, the place is easy to get lost in. With buildings stacked up on top of one another, sometimes you have to access a rooftop before you can get to the next place.

To normal people, working as a courier here is not worth the trouble. When the rates are the same, why make your life more difficult by navigating through a confusing maze?

To me, it’s just a minor inconvenience at best. I have traversed and mapped an entire slum sector for the better part of my life. Not to mention, the junkyard maze has a more insidious dead-end than one could ever imagine, courtesy of Gramps and his dogs.

So, with all these juicy unanswered requests displayed on my app, I would be a fool not to grab them all and treat them like a time attack. A generous one too since people automatically give the highest time frame they can for the courier knowing how time-consuming navigating in this kind of place can be.

Which means, more tips for me.

I put on my goggles and began my courier work. I reckon by the end of the day I would have made enough for my SpeedGear License and then some. Then I can start saving up the remainder of the funds needed to buy a SpeedGear.

After that, I can worry about buying some nice shampoo and soap.

Maybe a nice spice rack too.