Selena slapped her phone back on the table. ’I won’t have that brat ruin my night,’ Selena thought, sliding into her comfy bed.

She already had enough through the day; she couldn’t let that extend into her nighttime.

’What sort of ridiculous costume is that? A coat? Black trousers? What are we doing, some gala or something?’ Selena hissed, flipping over on the bed.

’Those weapons.... That’s enough to stock up a whole military base. How was he so detailed with each gun?’ She dragged the pillow from underneath her head, tying it into a tight hug.

’That single set could cost thousands of dollars to get! What does this guy think he is? A military commander?!’

"Ahhhh!" Selena let out a frustrated yell, tossing the pillow away.

"Why do I even care? I’ll just send this to Dana and call Eric first thing in the morning so he can get this brat off my neck."

She got out of bed, put the pillow back and lay down, wrapping herself in the blankets. She definitely wouldn’t let Nicholas trouble her anymore.

’By tomorrow, I won’t have to deal with him anymore,’ she reassured herself as she fell asleep. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

---

The alarm went off, dragging her out of her long sleep, and the moment she woke up, Selena got her phone, sent the costume request to Dana, and called Eric right after.

"My goodness, Selena, what’s wrong? This is the first time you’re calling me so early in the morning. Did you miss me?" Eric said with a teasing voice from the other side.

"Sir Eric, no, I didn’t miss you. I called to report an issue that I’m not quite comfortable with," Selena replied bluntly.

"You always hurt my feelings, Selena," Eric pouted, feigning a cry.

Selena let out an exasperated sigh. ’I already had to deal with him as my manager, and they want to hand me another menace for supervision?’

"What do you want to report, Selena?" Eric asked gently, his voice shifting to a more serious tone.

"The newbie was assigned to me for supervision. I’m a Rank A supervisor, I don’t supervise newbies."

Eric let out a soft sigh. "I know, Selena... But for now, there’s a shortage of supervisors. Most already have their slots filled up, and the others work directly under the council. We don’t want the council luring him in for now. We want to keep him away from the council for now. If they pull him into their politics too early, it’ll become a problem. He has potential, at the very least... Just fill the role until another supervisor is open."

’I do agree that he has potential, if he wasn’t such a pain in the ass,’ Selena thought. "Two weeks, and that’s it. I won’t be going any further than that," she stated firmly.

"You see, I always admire your work ethic!.. You’re one of the most hardworking supervisors out there, always turning up for your good old manager. See why I love you?"

"...."

"Have a good day, Sir Eric." Selena cut the call, falling back into the bed. "I can’t believe I have to deal with this for two weeks."

Just then, another call came in.

"Good morning, Supervisor Selena," Dana said with an uneasy tone. "I just saw the costume description as well as the weapons and gadgets you sent. It all rounded up to quite the whopping sum."

Selena couldn’t help but smile wryly; she saw this coming from miles away. She wouldn’t have to worry if Eric had simply given her role to someone else, and now she had to deal with this. "How much are we talking about?"

"$500,000. He’s definitely getting a world record for the most expensive costume and gadgets," Dana chuckled awkwardly. Even she was amazed by how much detail he put into naming every weapon and gadget he’d need. ’How does a civilian know so much about guns and weapons?’ she couldn’t help but ask herself.

Selena’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets hearing the sum. ’That fucking bastard,’ Selena raged in her mind. Even she didn’t know what the sum of his requests would amount to.

To be frank, she didn’t even know half the guns or weapons he’d mentioned.

"...."

Seeing that Selena was still speechless from the price, Dana continued, "That alone clears the budget for weapons from the association, so we can’t give out that much immediately. So he’ll have to work with limited equipment for now."

"Alright, I’ll let him know," Selena said casually.

"Also, it’ll be great if he can start taking up some missions. We can deduct some of the income to get him a complete set as well," Dana added.

"I’m even surprised the association is still willing to get the equipment. I’ll inform him about this."

"Alright, thank you, Supervisor Selena." Dana ended the call, leaving Selena to her nagging.

"The brat wants to swallow the entire association. How does someone request weapons worth that much?!" Selena angrily dialed her phone, calling Nicholas.

---

Nicholas was already up, dripping with sweat as he finished his 50th push-up rep.

’Since I’ve started work again, building this body is essential,’ Nicholas thought as he finished. He could feel the spasms in his muscles, each muscle aching.

’With the system, I can also keep track of my growth.... Although it seems physical work won’t get me stronger as fast as Charm points.’Even with how much he’d worked out, not even one point had been added to any of his stats.

Nicholas thought, looking at his stats. He had thrown the one Charm Point he’d gotten from Dana into stamina.

✦ ݁˖Strength: 12.5

.✦ ݁˖Agility: 3

.✦ ݁˖Stamina: 2.5

.✦ ݁˖Intelligence: 3.5

.✦ ݁˖CP: 0

Regardless, he wasn’t giving up.... He wanted to know just how much he’d have to push to get an equivalent strength gain from push-ups like he’d get from Charm Points.

He was about to delve back into his workout when his phone rang.

He picked the call and quickly regretted it.

"What are you using all those weapons for?! How do you even know about them?!"

It was a trail of questions—no greetings, no regards, just a flood of questions with the undercurrent of anger and frustration hidden beneath.

"Good morning, Supervisor Selena. You’re yelling. Don’t be ill-mannered, it’s morning."

Selena’s breath hitched. "Well, I wouldn’t be ill-mannered if someone didn’t request weapons worth $500k! What are you? Some president? And what was with the costume? Does that sound like what a hero would wear?!"

Hearing Selena’s outrage, Nicholas couldn’t help but ponder. ’Did I estimate wrongly? Is the association too poor to afford that? I limited my equipment, so it shouldn’t be too much.’he thought, genuinely surprised.

Back in his previous life, he was certain he’d acquired a large arsenal for all his weapons that was worth much more.

"You’ll have to work with limited equipment. The association can’t give all the required weapons for now. So you’ll make do with what we have for now. If you want to get more, then you’ll have to complete a mission," Selena continued with a much calmer voice.

"Alright then, let’s go on our first mission."