Early Departure

Jin stood outside the door, his hand still raised in a temporary farewell wave, as if the gears inside him had jammed and time itself had stopped.

Only when Yi Chen emerged from the Tailoring Room did he return to normal.

Seeing Yi Chen in this formal, elegant suit, which also carried an air of scholarly pursuit, Jin could more or less guess his chosen career path.

"An academic style~ Looks like your career leans toward learning and thought.

"Even from this far away, I can smell the ancient aura wafting from your clothes. Is this the First Gentleman's skin?

"Unlike me, I can only make do with this watered-down old skin for now. Sigh~"

The old-world skin corresponding to a score of eighty in the assessment was beneath Jin's notice.

He had even thrown it into a storage box long ago.

The Gentleman's Skin that others regarded as a treasure had merely been stuffed casually between his shirts.

Jin turned his gaze toward the Tailoring Room's entrance. "Mr. Ivan~ Is my outfit ready? Just do something quick. As long as it lets me check my physical condition, that's enough.

"Once I get skin like William's later, I'll come back and have you remake it."

"Too much Skin Content isn't necessarily a good thing. You'll naturally understand that in the future.

"Besides, I never treat my works casually. Come over quickly~ Once I finish your order, I'll need a good ten days to half a month of rest."

Jin shrugged and walked straight toward the Tailoring Room.

Since Yi Chen was standing between them, the two happened to brush past each other... Jin's fingers also slid across Yi Chen's shoulder.

"Hey~ I have an idea.

"How about we form a special team later? At our level, we'd definitely be able to sweep through missions quickly. We could even consider applying for missions above our rank.

"We could accumulate a large amount of high-quality skin in a short time and complete our outfits,

"while reaching the limits of our 'rank' sooner. Then we could do more truly meaningful things."

Faced with Jin's invitation to team up,

Yi Chen still had much to learn about the organization, the world, and the ability-related career he had just obtained. He was practically a blank sheet of paper, so naturally he did not agree.

"Our growth patterns may be different. Let's talk about it later."

"What a boring man."

Just as Jin's fingers were about to slide off Yi Chen's shoulder, they suddenly exerted force!

The danger that struck in an instant stimulated the plants within Yi Chen, which tried to build a defensive layer over his shoulder.

However,

The fingers slid normally off his shoulder, and nothing happened, as if it had all been some kind of trick—a complete deception of Yi Chen's instincts.

Jin placed the back of his flower-patterned gloved hand against his buttocks and swayed slightly in farewell... clearly still looking forward to working with Yi Chen in the future.

Once Jin entered the Tailoring Room, the hidden door closed.

A bead of cold sweat slid from his temple down his cheek and was absorbed by his collar.

"This man... He's dangerous. More dangerous than any diseased creature I've ever encountered."

At the same time,

Little Grape squeezed out from between his collar and stretched its body.

"He really is an extraordinary human~ Even I could sense that sudden killing intent and the danger it created... But he could control it perfectly, as if nothing had happened.

"William, why don't we team up with this guy?

"With him around, we could save ourselves a lot of effort killing enemies.

"After all, with the career you chose and the senses I provide, you can openly call yourself a support-type gentleman."

"We'll see. I'll consider it later."

Little Grape did not comment on Yi Chen's career choice or Gentleman's Attire.

However,

Judging from how it bounced around on his shoulder, waving its arms like seaweed, it was clear that it was quite satisfied with Yi Chen's transformation.

Yi Chen recalled their conversation just now.

"According to Jin,

"after becoming a gentleman, completing the various missions issued by Zion can also earn us skin, which can be used to complete, modify, or even remake our outfits.

"During this process, it seems possible to gradually touch the Human Limit and break through to the next rank."

Little Grape waved its arms.

"It isn't that simple! Humans have been imprisoned in restrictive physical cages for generation after generation. To break through the limit and shatter such a 'cage,' you have to pay an enormous price."

"Then I'll reach the limit first and worry about the rest later... By the way, Little Grape, do you know what the next stage is?"

"My memories don't contain knowledge about that~ It's probably directly related to ancient creatures and your career."

"Oh~ By the way, Little Grape, would you kill me?"

The relaxed moment of idle chatter

was suddenly drawn into a strange and tense atmosphere by Yi Chen's question.

However,

Little Grape did not become unhappy. Instead, it rubbed its eyeball with its teeth and said with a beaming smile, "Looks like your outfit detected something, huh? Is my evaluation especially dangerous?"

Yi Chen nodded. "Something like that."

Little Grape folded its two tiny hands across its chest, and its mouth narrowed into a slit like an eyelid.

"I might indeed kill you... but there are conditions.

"If I discover that you're no longer 'interesting,' that you're filled with hatred toward yourself and this world, that you've abandoned your desire to explore the outside world and turned into a meaningless coward, I'll end your life ahead of time."

Hearing Little Grape's answer,

Yi Chen looked relieved, as if this was the final answer he had wanted.

"That's good... Little Grape, please supervise me seriously. If I really become like that, or start showing signs of changing in that direction, my two grapes are yours. Remember to tell me how they taste."

"You're really interesting!"

That simple exchange raised Little Grape's interest once again.

It protruded half of one eyeball and rubbed it back and forth against Yi Chen's cheek, smearing his face with mucus.

Two deliberately suppressed laughs echoed through the second floor.

Just then,

the sound of a door opening came from downstairs again.

"Hm? This Tailor Shop doesn't seem very secretive at all... Why is someone else here?"

When the footsteps reached the second floor, a familiar owl came into view.

"Professor Chamberson? Are you finished with your business?"

"An emergency meeting was called at the last minute. It was a short procedure... Hm!? Is this your outfit?"

When Chamberson noticed Yi Chen's suit, both his eyes widened.

The owl on his shoulder also stared with its round, bulging eyes as it observed the suit.

About a minute passed.

"Perfect!

"Ivan's craftsmanship not only survived his injuries—it has actually developed an even stronger personal style! It's truly perfect... In fact, the current you isn't even worthy of this outfit.

"To be precise, you can't bring out its true function.

"Just as the First Gentleman said, you're still a completely blank sheet of paper.

"I'll put you through a series of long-term special training,

"so that you can catch up with the other gentlemen at the 'basic level.'

"After you report to the academy tomorrow, come straight to my office... No! There's no time to waste. Let's go to my office now and work out the relevant training plan."

Chamberson was already somewhat impatient to polish this rare piece of raw jade that was Yi Chen.

"Um... Manager Ivan asked me to stay here. He still needs to inspect the outfit again later."

"With me here, there's no need to worry about that. I'll handle the reinspection."

Chamberson pulled out a fountain pen decorated with a white feather.

The organization's emblem was carved into the nib, while the body featured an owl half-hidden in a tree trunk, painted using ancient lacquerwork.

He wrote a note and wedged it into the crack of the hidden door.

The two were about to head to Arfros Tistic Academy (Omphalo-Centric-Academy, or O.C.A. for short).

It was located deep in the northern part of Zion City.

The academy was enclosed by towering walls, separating it from Zion City and giving it the feeling of a city within a city.

The academy was permanently shrouded in a night filled with auroras. There was no alternation between day and night, and all outside observation was blocked, making it extremely sealed off.

It was a special academy that most gentlemen, except those of the Black Letter, were required to attend.

Gentlemen trained by the academy could greatly reduce their mortality rate when carrying out missions, exploring the Gray Regions, and facing the Sick One.

At the same time, the academy could effectively guide the gentleman population to touch the Human Limit more quickly and steadily.