Chapter 111: Calling Over Help

Emily looked at the ranking board for several seconds. "How long until the next ranking evaluation?"

"One month," Maki answered.

Emily looked at everyone. "Then let’s see how high we can climb in one month."

Reinhard smiled as a familiar notification appeared before him.

[Investment Opportunity Detected.]

The rest of the notification appeared a moment later.

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Rank: D.]

[Current Value: D.]

[Objective: Reach the Top 40 of the Elyndor Team Rankings within Two weeks.]

[Difficulty Grade: B.]

[Success Probability: 71%.]

Reinhard stared at the display for a moment.

B-Grade.

His previous investment had been C-Grade, and its rewards had already transformed the family’s foundation. A B-Grade investment would undoubtedly provide something even more valuable, although the system had not revealed what awaited them at the end of this one.

His gaze returned to the ranking board.

They were currently ranked #47, which meant they needed to climb seventeen positions before the next evaluation.

Lily looked at the number and smiled. "Only seventeen spots? We can do that."

"It isn’t that simple," Maki said as she studied the teams above them. "Most of these teams have been operating for years, and some have dozens or even hundreds of completed missions."

She pointed toward their own record.

"We have two."

Lily’s smile faded. "Two?"

"Two," Maki repeated.

Yuna crossed her arms while looking at the board. "Our problem isn’t only the number of missions. We don’t have enough professional history for the Association to properly judge us, and we still don’t know how much contribution matters compared to speed, rescue success, collateral damage, or other factors."

Emily nodded slowly. "We’re inexperienced."

Reinhard looked at her.

She wasn’t talking about combat. Emily had years of combat experience behind her, but she had been away from professional missions for a long time, and the world she had returned to was not exactly the one she remembered.

Their real weakness was everything surrounding the fight.

They didn’t know which missions were worth accepting, which clients could be trusted, how dangerous different regions had become, or what experienced teams noticed before a battle even started.

Reinhard looked at the board again before an idea came to him.

They didn’t need someone stronger.

They needed someone who understood the field.

He pulled out his phone, and Lily tilted her head. "Who are you calling?"

"Lucien."

Maki immediately understood. "Eclipse?"

Reinhard nodded. "Probably."

Lily leaned closer. "Why?"

Reinhard smiled faintly. "I know someone who might know someone."

The call connected after a few seconds.

Lucien’s voice came through. "Reinhard."

"You sound busy."

"I am. What do you need?"

"Information."

Lucien paused. "That usually means you’re about to ask for something inconvenient."

Reinhard glanced toward the ranking board. "I’m trying to reach the Top 30."

"Within a month?"

"Yes."

Lucien was quiet for a moment before asking, "You’re aware that most of those teams have been operating for years?"

"That’s why I’m calling."

Lucien gave a quiet laugh. "Fair enough. What exactly are you missing?"

"Experience, but not combat experience. We need to understand the profession itself, including mission selection, Association expectations, current field conditions, enemy patterns, and anything else we don’t know."

"That narrows it down considerably," Lucien said after a brief pause. "You need the Nephilim."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "The Nephilim?"

"They’ve only been active for about three months, but they’ve adapted quickly. They’ve been taking missions constantly, so they understand the current environment better than most new teams. They know how the Association operates, which areas are becoming dangerous, how missions are evaluated, and which jobs aren’t worth accepting."

Reinhard nodded slowly.

That was exactly what they needed.

Lucien continued, "They’re also becoming familiar with recent Bloodkin activity and Abnormality patterns. They aren’t veterans, but they’ve learned quickly."

"Good."

"There is one problem."

Reinhard waited. "What?"

Lucien’s tone became slightly amused. "They’re the Nephilim."

Reinhard stared at the device. "They weren’t that bad."

"Hahaha, well you will see." Lucien added before ending the call.

Reinhard lowered the device and remembered his last encounter with them. Rhea had talked almost continuously, Seraphine had been curious about everything, Rika had immediately wanted to know whether he could fight, Adrian had been awkward but friendly, Kael had barely spoken, and Mara had tried to keep everyone organized while Archon had simply watched them all like a tired guardian.

Lily noticed his expression. "What?"

"Nothing."

...

A day passed before a knock came from the door.

Everyone turned toward it, and Lily blinked. "They’re here already?"

Reinhard looked toward the entrance. "Apparently."

The door opened, and Rhea stepped inside with a bright smile. "Consultant!"

Her eyes immediately moved around the room before settling on Lily’s sword. "You’re the sword girl, right?"

Lily frowned. "Sword girl?"

"You looked like you were going to stab the enemy before anyone finished explaining the mission."

Lily stared at her for a moment before grinning. "I like her."

Maki sighed quietly, and Rhea immediately looked toward her. "You must be the one who sighs a lot."

"I don’t," Maki replied.

"You just did."

Before Maki could respond, Seraphine walked past them and glanced at the notebook in her hands. "You calculate before you move."

Maki looked down at her notes. "Usually."

"Does it work?"

Maki stopped, and Rhea covered a laugh while Seraphine continued watching her with a completely serious expression.

"Out there, you’ll never have enough information," Seraphine said.

Maki considered that before closing her notebook. "I know."

"Knowing isn’t the same as doing."

Maki nodded slowly. "Then I’ll have to get faster."

Seraphine gave a small nod. "That’s better."

At the same time, Rhea had already turned back toward Lily. "So why do you keep rushing into enemies?"

"Because if I don’t, they might attack me first."

Rhea stared at her. "That’s not how defense works."

"It works sometimes."

"That’s worse."

Lily laughed while Rhea looked completely serious.

Rika entered next and immediately focused on Emily. "How long have you been fighting?"

"Most of my life," Emily answered.

Rika studied her for several seconds. "Your technique is polished."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"The battlefield changed."

Emily’s expression became thoughtful because she knew Rika was right. "I’ve been away for a long time."

"Then you’ll probably adapt quickly," Rika said.

Emily smiled faintly. "I intend to."

Kael entered behind her and looked toward the ranking board. His eyes stopped on their mission record before he spoke. "Two missions."

Everyone looked at him.

Kael pointed toward the record. "That’s not enough."

Adrian stepped into the room behind him and glanced at the board. "Two isn’t bad."

Kael looked at him. "It is."

Adrian paused before quietly answering, "...Right."

Lily covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

Mara entered next, and unlike the others, she immediately looked at the ranking board before turning toward Reinhard.

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

"Top 30," Emily answered.

Mara looked at her. "In one month?"

"Yes."

Mara considered that for a moment before looking at the others. "Then we should stop talking."

Rhea raised a hand. "I think we’re already talking too much."

Mara ignored her.

The atmosphere changed when Archon entered behind them. The Nephilim had been noisy until that moment, but the room became noticeably quieter as she walked inside.

Reinhard smiled. "You came too."

"Someone has to make sure they return alive," Archon replied.

Rhea immediately pointed at her. "See? Bossy."

Archon looked at her.

Rhea lowered her hand. "I’m done."

Reinhard couldn’t help smiling.

Archon turned toward him. "You’re trying to reach the Top 30."

"That’s the plan."

"Then you’ll need more than strength."

"I suspected that."

Archon glanced toward the Ashcroft Family. "Good."

She said nothing else, and Reinhard didn’t ask her to. The Nephilim were here because they knew the current field, while Archon seemed content to observe unless something genuinely required her attention.

Mara turned toward Reinhard. "What do you want from us?"

"Teach us how to operate."

Mara nodded.

Reinhard continued, "I’m strong enough to deal with most of the enemies we’ve encountered. That’s not the problem."

He glanced toward the ranking board. "I don’t know what I don’t know."

Mara’s expression softened slightly. "That is a better answer than most teams give."

Emily stepped forward. "I can teach you how I used to fight."

Rika looked toward her.

Emily continued, "You can teach me how people fight now."

Rika smiled faintly. "That works."

Mara brought up the Association mission board. "Then let’s find you a mission."

Several contracts appeared in the air, and Mara dismissed them one after another.

"Bad reward-to-risk ratio."

Another vanished.

"Unreliable client."

Another disappeared.

"Recent Bloodkin activity."

Emily frowned at the words but said nothing while Maki watched closely as Mara continued through the list.

"This one has incomplete Abnormality information. Too risky for your current experience."

Rhea pointed toward another listing. "That one pays well."

"It’s bait," Mara answered without looking at her.

Lily looked over. "How can you tell?"

"The client requested four teams in the last month, and all four abandoned the mission after reaching the location."

Lily stared at the screen. "That’s definitely bait."

Rhea nodded. "I vote we don’t go there."

Mara gave her a brief look. "Thank you for your valuable contribution."

"You’re welcome."

Mara finally stopped scrolling.

"This one."

A new mission appeared.

[Mission: Blackwater Convoy Recovery.]

[Difficulty: C+]

[Location: Western Badlands.]

[Recommended Team Rank: Top 100.]

[Recommended Experience: 8 Missions.]

[Objective: Locate missing convoy.]

[Objective: Recover relic cargo.]

[Objective: Rescue surviving personnel.]

[Objective: Eliminate hostile forces.]

[Objective: Return with evidence.]

[Estimated Duration: 3–5 Hours.]

[Base Reward: 42,000 Credits.]

[Contribution Rating: High.]

[Special Bonus: Additional Contribution for Full Cargo Recovery.]

Mara nodded. "This is good."

Maki studied the mission. "Why?"

"It has multiple objectives," Mara explained. "You don’t gain everything by killing enemies. You gain contribution through rescue, recovery, efficiency, and completion."

Reinhard looked at the mission again.

The objective wasn’t simply to win fights. It was to perform well, and that meant speed, rescue, recovery, leadership, low collateral damage, and even proper evidence could affect their ranking.

"So that’s how the Association actually measures teams," Reinhard said.

"Exactly," Mara answered.

Reinhard smiled. "Then we’ve been approaching this wrong."

"A little," Mara said.

"A lot," Rhea corrected.

Mara slowly turned toward her.

Rhea looked away. "I’m just being honest."

Emily laughed softly before looking toward the Nephilim. "Are you joining us?"

"For this mission," Mara answered.

Rhea immediately raised her hand. "And the next one."

Mara glanced at her. "One mission at a time."

"That’s boring."

"No one asked."

Rhea smiled anyway.

As everyone began preparing, Archon stopped beside Reinhard.

"You’re collecting people."

Reinhard looked at her. "I’m hiring help."

Archon stared at him for a moment. "If you say so."

She walked away, leaving Reinhard to look back at the others.

Rhea was already talking to Lily again, Seraphine had opened Maki’s notebook and was discussing the mission with her, Mara was going over the field structure with Yuna, Emily and Rika were discussing combat, and Kael and Adrian were checking their equipment.

For the first time, the Ashcroft Family wasn’t preparing for a mission by themselves.

Reinhard registered the combined team through the Association terminal.

[Mission Accepted.]

[Blackwater Convoy Recovery.]

[Combined Team Registration: Approved.]

[Ashcroft Family + Nephilim.]

[Mission Departure: Tomorrow, 07:00.]

Reinhard looked at the group gathered around him and then at the ranking board.

The Top 30 no longer seemed quite as distant.

More importantly, it no longer felt like something the Ashcroft Family would be reaching alone.

Whatever reward waited at the end of this B-Grade investment, Reinhard intended to claim it.