51 Chapter 51: Out of City Invitation

About a month passed since I brought my society to Dad's dojo. As a side note, we classified that as society training, and whatever little resources we earned from our prestige points were diverted to Dad's dojo as "training fees." Normally dojos would require a stipulated amount, but since the dojo master was my Dad, he gave us a one-year discount.

The idea was to build up our foundation this year, and by the time the second year came by, we were able to accrue prestige points and more resources for our society, and thus pay the proper amount once the discount expired. We couldn't keep getting free lunches forever, after all, and it served as a motivation to become stronger.

Of course, as Dad pointed out, his training wasn't going to produce instant results. Even though I won quite a few matches (and lost a coupe as well), our prestige points were increasing at an incredibly slow rate. Probably because, as I had feared, the older students and bigger societies would target the first year students in our society and crush them. They won a few, but they also lost a lot. At least they were putting up a good fight, from what I could see.

Consequently, even though we were earning a net profit of prestige points, they were nowhere near the margin for healthy growth.

"We can't go on like this!" Stan growled one day, before we left the Rear Building for our usual evening training in Dad's dojo. "At this rate…"

"Slow but steady growth," I reminded him. "It's only been one month. Have you forgotten what my Dad told you? No instant success. Be patient. You'll see the fruits of your training in another three to five months."

"Will we be able to survive that long?" Stan asked.

"Well…" Dong Fang Yue Chu checked his smartphone and made several calculations. "Actually, we'll just barely scrape by, but yeah, we'll survive. However, we'll need to up our game in the second half of the year. We just need to follow the training program that Richard's Dad planned for us."

Dad had already prepared a schedule, and according to him, we should be able to challenge the upper ranks in the second half of this year, and get a consistent win-rate. Not a perfect win ratio (hell, even I still lost quite a few of my matches), but enough to see us steadily climb the ranks and accumulate a healthy amount of prestige points to grow our society.

We were really lucky to have an alumni training us. I knew this was probably different from what people expected – a rags-to-riches story based entirely on hard work alone, but sometimes a little bit of luck went a long way into making our lives a lot easier. Since I wasn't a good teacher and I didn't have good connections, I needed to outsource. It just so happened that my Dad was an amazing martial arts teacher.

"Just be patient. I promise you, my Dad's training methods are effective. They are meant for the long-term. The important thing isn't to win or to gain prestige points – it's to establish a solid foundation." I glanced over my juniors. "Even if the society is disbanded, you guys will build a strong enough foundation to be able to survive no matter where you are, which society you're in, or what scenario you're in. This isn't just about Ultimate Outcast Society, but also for your own futures as well. And your own individual rankings."

"Yeah!" Harvey nodded in total agreement, buying whatever I said. Damn it…while I was encouraged by his total faith in me, he should develop his ow mind. Stan was too cynical and impatient, while Harvey was too naïve and trusting. Wang Fei was a good in-between, but he lacked the motivation of Stan and the diligence of Harvey.

Shaping them into a cohesive unit with strong combat magic skills was going to be quite the difficult task, even with Dad's help.

"You guys know my record, right?" I suppressed a sigh. "It took me over a year just to reach the level where I can compete with the other second and third year students. You guys are going to accomplish that in half that amount of time, so already you guys are better than me in that aspect. Don't be too impatient and expect instant success. Think about the future, the long term. What is most important isn't the society itself, but the members who comprise it. I want you guys to be able to handle the future without relying on me – once I graduate, you'll be the ones running the society. That's why a solid, strong foundation is important."

"Yes, Vice-President!" Harvey said enthusiastically. "We'll do our best!"

I sighed.

Did he even understand what I was saying? Well, one thing was for sure. Harvey might be the last member remaining even if everyone else left. Or he would follow me to whatever society I joined if the society was disbanded. If we did manage to preserve the society and I graduated, I was sure Harvey would end up being the future president.

He was the only one with the passion, motivation and enthusiasm for it.

"Okay, let's go."

There was no point talking so much. Dad was waiting, and we needed to train. By now we had gotten used to his Spartan training regimen, and we often emerged from the session bruised and scraped. Again, magic was useful in that we healed from those injuries in under an hour, but at least we could feel ourselves getting stronger.

That was probably an illusion, admittedly. A single month was too short to display any sort of visible results. And our improvement, if any, was too miniscule to have any significant effect in our matches. Of course, if we closely analyzed our performances, we would see instances where our reflexes gotten us out of attacks that would have hit us before, we would have seen slight improvements in areas of attack and defenses, and a developing comprehension of tactics, but still not enough to tilt the favor of our matches in our favor.

But that was why you train for months, and not just a single month.

While we were passing through the campus's front courtyard to exit through the gates, a familiar voice called out to me.

"Student Richard!"

"Hmm?" I turned around and caught sight of Alicia Violet jogging toward me. She waved, and then nodded at my members as she came to a stop.

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"Are you…having a society activity?" she asked, recognizing Dong Fang Yue Chu and the juniors. I nodded.

"Regular training for our society, as always."

"Ah, I see." Alicia smiled. "That explains your improving performances."

"Still not good enough," Stan muttered darkly, still sore over his last defeat. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he wisely fell silent. Not that he was scared of me – I was the lenient, easygoing guy (especially compared to Dad or Dong Fang Yue Chu) who got along with everyone, but because he realized he would be making a fool out of himself by ignoring everything I said earlier.

"Do you need us for something?" I asked, turning back to Alicia. She nodded.

"A moment, Richard, if you don't mind."

"No, I don't."

Alicia bowed apologetically to my society members, and then strode to a spot some distance away, where we were out of earshot of my friends. I followed her, guessing that this was a private matter.

I was right.

"Are you free this weekend?" Alicia asked, catching me off guard. I ogled at her for a moment, then shut my mouth in a manner similar to Stan a few seconds ago. Was Alicia Violet, the goddess of our Jing Tian Magic Academy, asking me out on a date?

"Um…yeah." Weekends were generally free for me. There was no society training during the weekends. As punishing Dad's regimen was, he let us off during the weekends. According to him, we were still students, and we should have fun during our precious years of youth. I sometimes trained for a couple of hours during the weekends, but otherwise my schedule was flexible. "Do you need me for something?"

"Yes." Alicia nodded. "If you don't mind…I need an escort to Southampton City this weekend. I was hoping you could fulfil the role."

"Huh? Escort?" I stared at Alicia blankly. So it wasn't a date. I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed, but I did half-expect that. there was no way the goddess of our school would ask me out on a date, no matter how many signs she showed. Actually, I was pretty sure she displayed the same positive, friendly signs to everyone, such as Troy. I heard she was also very friendly with Theodore Hammond and Craig Carlson as well.

I was just overthinking it.

"Okay. So what does an escort do?" I understood the word as a verb, but the term was unfamiliar. "Bodyguard duties?"

"Ah, that's right. You're not very familiar with the way the great families operate." Alicia looked a little guilty. "Basically I've been invited to the Stuart family's opening of one of their hotels. It's a formal event, and I'm going on behalf of my father. Usually, those invited have to bring an escort. It's sort of a ball, so there will be dances and a banquet."

"You're asking the wrong guy," I said bluntly. "I can't dance, and I'm not good with formal events."

Alicia giggled. "I sort of expected you to say that. But I'm not asking you because I want a dance partner. Cecilia will be there too. She's the one who invited me, actually."

I cocked my head to the side silently. I would prefer to avoid Cecilia if I could. Having seen her take out both my Vermillion Phoenix and a rank C Frost Wyvern, I thought of her as an extremely scary person.

"I don't believe Cecilia specifically asked you to invite me along as your escort, did she?" It had better not be anything to do with that bullshit declaration she made about the first guy in her generation who defeated her having the right to be her boyfriend. She hadn't bothered me in the couple of months since then, so I doubted she would suddenly bring that up again.

"No, actually it was Adrian who asked if I could bring you along. Cecilia passed the message on, and told me that Adrian would really like to meet you again and express his thanks for helping him. She would also like to express her gratitude to you as well, for saving her cousin and bringing him to safety."

"I didn't do much." I scratched my head uncomfortably. But if Adrian and Cecilia were putting it that way, then it would be rude to reject them. Not to mention, if there was a banquet, I would get free food – ridiculously expensive and delicious delicacies usually available only to the upper class. Might as well take advantage of that. "Okay, I'll go with you then."

"Excellent!" Alicia beamed in delight. "I'll send you the details through email then!"

"Yeah." While watching her, I was reminded that Alicia wasn't asking me to be her escort necessarily because I was her first choice. She only approached me because Cecilia and Adrian specifically requested for me. Why didn't they just directly invite me, though? Oh, because Dad and I weren't from a high-class, wealthy family.

The rich, upper-class people had their weird etiquettes, ceremonies and rules, which were convoluted and excessive, to say the least. I was so glad I wasn't among them.

"I'll see you on Saturday then!" Alicia waved before she turned to return to wherever she came from. Most likely the Black Roses training rooms. I nodded and watched her for a bit before returning to the waiting Ultimate Outcast Society.

"What was all that about?" Dong Fang Yue Chu asked with a knowing grin. Not liking his expression, I merely scowled.

"President Alicia asked me for a favor." Before he could press me for details, I strode to the front. "Okay, let's go. Sorry for the holdup, but we had better hurry before my Dad punishes us with an extra set for being late!"

That got everyone running as quickly as possible toward the direction of my house.