As soon as the meeting ended, Ria and Kai walked together to the top of the building. It seemed to be a serious matter since she acted a little suspicious like this, but Kai also felt that this matter would be closely related to the Protector.

"Teacher… What do you want to talk about?" Kai looked into her serious face. "Judging by your expression, it is either a serious matter for you or a grave matter for me. Else, you won't have this kind of serious expression."

"It's about you but not really a grave matter." She shook her head.

"Then, it's going to be about the Protector?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.

"Exactly."

"But I don't see the connection here."

Ria took a deep breath first as if she just wanted to mention a troublesome matter. "Why did you think you don't get Military Achievement this whole time?"

"You have been suppressing it, right?" Kai asked, recalling what Nathan said earlier.

"Indeed. However, I didn't suppress them in the way you're thinking."

"Ha?" Kai opened his mouth and didn't know what to say. He couldn't read the conversation at all, and by the looks of it, it would surely be a hassle. "What do you mean?"

"You actually have a military rank. Why don't you log into your account and check your current ID?" Ria suddenly uttered a weird request.

Kai's heart started beating rapidly, feeling something bad was coming. His anxiety was answered when he looked at his ID Card.

ID: 0000016487448 (US Base)

Name: Kai Carter - Chief Warrant Officer 4

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Education: Elite Magic Academy

Physical Rank: S++

Magic Rank: D (720)

"I don't see it wrong, right?" Kai scratched his head for the moment, asking whether his eyes were playing with him or not.

"You are not."

"How can I become an officer?"

"You know about Enlisted and Officer, right?"

"Yeah. Enlisted personnel have specialties within the Military. They perform specific job functions and have the knowledge, skills and abilities to ensure the success of their unit's mission. Officers manage enlisted personnel. They assign missions, provide orders and give tasks." Kai nodded. Even though he originated from United Asia, he had some knowledge about it. To be honest, Officer was what he was aiming for in his future.

However, all the things he saw literally shocked him. Never did he expect that he had a military rank this whole time.

"I don't have to explain it to you then." Ria nodded. "First of all, your achievement for the battle in Prince Rupert and Cuba didn't go unrecorded. You proved yourself to be a commendable officer yet with the specialty of Enlisted Soldier. Naturally, the Government wanted to confer you a rank befitting yourself due to your status as Michelle's fiance and planned to nurture you since young.

"Nathan and I agreed to it. In fact, you already had one after the battle of Prince Rupert. That was why Nathan offered you to be a strategist in Cuba. After that Cuba, he directly recommended you to be the strategist on this battlefield. Unfortunately, that battle had changed your fate completely." Ria finished it with a disappointed sigh.

"My fate has completely changed?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "Will I get more trouble because of this?"

"You will certainly get in a lot of trouble." Ria paused for a moment, creating a misunderstanding for Kai. He could only think about the bad side of his fate. Yet, it turned out to be different when Ria continued. "Normally, students wouldn't have a military rank until they graduated, except you who have my backing and Graham Family, of course. The Government might hasten your progress by involving you in many missions and force you to accept the promotion."

"Why would they do such a thing? It won't be normal, and others won't like it. They might even make trouble for me." Kai crossed his arms, appearing to be annoyed.

"I said it earlier, the war in Cuba changed your fate. Although it was very vague and confusing, the Protector that we had not much information actually acknowledged you. Nathan obviously reported it to the Government because it was a matter of importance. Even I wouldn't lie about it to the Government.

"After this mission, they will be more convinced that you might hold the key to learn the existence of this Protector. If the Government raises your rank, they will have more excuses to send you into the wars and have more opportunities to learn about this Protector thing because there will be a huge chance for a Protector to appear. This is one of my reasons for joining the war." Ria nodded with a serious face.

"I see… To think the Government put such trust on me… No, it should be my ears…" Kai narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah. Of course, your abilities are also important. That's why they are making you gain more experiences by sending generals like Nathan. My appearance is surely a good boost as well." She nodded.

"Teacher, can I ask you one thing?"

"Ask!"

"What is the Protector anyway? Where do they come from?"

"I know nothing about what they are… while the place they come from is only filled with rumors." Ria paused for a moment. "If you think rumors are not your cup of tea, then I won't explain it to you."

"Rumors can be right or confuse us. This is especially true when we know too much at one time, we won't be able to discern which one is true or wrong anymore." Kai looked into her eyes and asked. "Does Teacher trust those rumors?"

"Seventy percent."

"Then, I will hear it."

"You already know about the birth of Magic Power, right? And where did they come from?"

"It's the Atlantic Ocean, specifically the Bermuda Triangle, right?"

"You are right." Ria nodded. "I won't say anything like conspiracy theory saying there is an Atlantis or whatever there… but I certainly know that those Protectors can only be spotted either from US Base or EU Base. There is not a single report in United Asia. Hence we speculate that they are living under the Atlantic Ocean and most probably…"

"They were the ones who created all of this mess?" Kai narrowed his eyes.

"That is my speculation. I can't prove anything though."

"I see. That's why they want to see me having contact with the Protectors and somehow learn about the reason to see whether they are related or not. If they are not related, the Government won't place such an importance on me, and I will probably end up like Sir Nathan. If they are related, they will push me closer to learn the truth." Kai let out a long sigh. "This is truly troublesome. I don't wish to get involved in this matter."

"Unfortunately, as long as you have that hearing ability, I doubt it will stop." Ria patted his shoulders, sad. "I have fought for you and somehow have you become an Officer instead of Enlisted. I want you to have more freedom and enough reason to refuse a few missions in the future."

Kai smiled and closed his eyes. Ria was still thinking about him this whole time. "Thank you, Teacher."

"Well, you can also gather enough followers and create a huge family. If you are tired, you can escape to United Asia and won't be bothered by this matter anymore."

Kai nodded. "Whether I will go back to United Asia or not, I will only decide it in the future."

"One more matter." Ria thought for a moment and said. "Since a Protector has died in our hands, they will probably announce it to the media as a mutated Magical Beast that can control many magical beasts. In fact, they might put that seahorse at the same level as the S rank magical beast since the mass doesn't know anything about this.

"Although his ability was restricted in the Land, he was still very powerful. They might even resort to revealing our relationship to the public and have you become the second hero after me. The mass will accept it because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and you will be famous. No one can stop them again from promoting you."

"…" Kai put on an annoyed face while stomping the ground lightly, suppressing his anger.

"Anyway, I can also protect you that way, and not many people will bring you trouble as long as they know I'm at your back." Ria patted his shoulder to calm him down. "Just prepare for more trouble in the future. I will tell you one more thing. You are going to have another big fight soon. And I will also participate in that fight…"

"A big fight? A mission?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, thinking about Michelle and the others in danger. He didn't want to bring them into such a situation again, but Ria said a big fight. In other words, the possibility of it would be very high.

"Yes. A big mission… I don't know the exact date, but I assume it will be after you become a second year. A fight of that scale will certainly be a Raid Mission. And it won't be held next year. The latest will be in November."

"What is the mission?"

"Extermination of the last S rank magical beast in South America, Brazilian Wandering Spider."

*Thud—!*

They fell into silence as sweat appeared in this coldness. "Can I reject it?"

"No. Even if you are back away, all S rank will most likely participate in this mission. In other words, Tasha and Michelle will participate in this mess with or without you. I will be the one to take charge of this operation due to my success in the last fight against that toad." Ria let out a chill from her eyes. "So, what will be your answer?"