Chapter 149: Top 5

The announcement that the Ashcroft Family had reached the Top 5 did more than change the number beside their name. Once the Association finalized the ranking, their privileges changed with it, and the Association Leader personally explained what that meant while the others gathered around the reception hall.

"You’ve officially crossed the line between being an unusually successful team and being recognized as an elite organization," the Association Leader said, gesturing toward the ranking display. "That comes with several benefits that aren’t available to ordinary teams."

The first was financial compensation for the Garden operation, and when the final amount appeared on the Association’s documents, Reinhard had to resist the urge to smile too obviously.

The Association really knows how to make people feel appreciated, he thought, especially after everything they had gone through.

Lily, however, had no such restraint and nearly choked when she saw the figure, which immediately made Rhea lean over to see what had caused her reaction.

"That much?" Lily asked, staring at the number.

Mara glanced at the document and gave a small nod. "It’s compensation for an SS-grade operation, the recovery of important information, civilian protection, and the destruction of the Heart of Origin. You should have expected something substantial."

Lily looked at Reinhard. "Can we buy another house?"

Reinhard laughed. "You just got here."

"That wasn’t a no."

The Association Leader continued before Lily could start planning an entire shopping trip.

As a Top 5 organization, the Ashcroft Family would now receive priority access to high-value missions, meaning they would no longer have to wait for difficult contracts to pass through the hands of more established teams.

They would also receive restricted access to Association archives containing historical Bloodkin records, Abnormality reports, dangerous regions, Singularity information, rare relic records, and old mission documents.

Maki’s expression immediately sharpened at the mention of the archives, and Seraphine, who had been listening quietly, showed an equally obvious interest. Reinhard noticed both reactions and smiled. "Should I leave you two alone with the archives?"

Maki looked at Seraphine.

Seraphine looked back at Maki.

"Yes," they answered almost together.

Medical privileges were included as well, giving the family access to elite Association facilities whenever someone was injured during a mission. Reinhard immediately appreciated that benefit more than he showed.

They also received priority Association transportation, which immediately caught Lily’s attention.

"Does that mean we don’t have to take normal trains anymore?" Lily asked.

Mara looked at her with an expression that suggested she already knew where this was going. "It means we can use Association transportation when the mission requires it."

Lily’s smile widened. "So yes."

Mara sighed while Reinhard laughed, and even Emily had trouble hiding her smile.

The most useful benefit, however, was access to an elite training facility reserved for high-ranking organizations. It contained specialized Mana concentration rooms, controlled combat areas, recovery chambers, high-density Mana environments, and equipment designed for Awakeners who had already surpassed the level of ordinary training grounds.

The Association also granted them special expedition privileges and easier access to relic evaluations, allowing the Ashcrofts to participate in opportunities that ordinary teams would never even hear about.

Finally, their Top 5 status gave them a degree of political protection. Organizations couldn’t simply pressure, manipulate, or harass them without attracting the attention of the Association, which was particularly useful considering the information Reinhard had received about the Baal Family.

At least they’ll have to think twice before moving openly, Reinhard thought.

The Association Leader finished explaining the benefits, and the group eventually left the building. They hadn’t even made it very far before people began recognizing them.

"That’s the Ashcroft Family!"

"Can we get a picture?"

"Emily!"

"Reinhard!"

"Look this way!"

The crowd gathered surprisingly quickly, but nobody seemed hostile. People were smiling, congratulating them, and pulling out their phones to take pictures. Lily immediately became excited and started waving back, while Maki tried to stay slightly behind everyone else until Lily grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

"Come on, Maki. We’re all taking the picture."

"I don’t need a picture."

"You’re part of the family."

Maki sighed but allowed herself to be pulled closer.

Yuna stood beside them with a polite smile, and the Nephilim gradually joined the group as well. Reinhard rested one hand lightly against Emily’s back while she held his other hand, and Lily made sure Rhea stood beside her before insisting that everyone fit into the frame.

For a moment, the entire group was simply standing together while the city celebrated them.

Then Reinhard noticed someone else walking openly through the crowd.

Archon.

She wasn’t hiding her presence.

Reinhard glanced at her with mild surprise. "You’re not hiding?"

Archon looked toward the crowd and shook her head. "No."

He smiled. "Feeling brave today?"

"No."

Reinhard laughed, but the exchange was interrupted when someone several meters away suddenly froze.

The man stared at Archon for several seconds before his eyes widened.

"Wait..."

His companion followed his gaze. "What?"

"Is that..."

Another person noticed her.

Then another.

Someone near the front of the crowd suddenly shouted, "The Void!"

The reaction was immediate.

The crowd erupted into cheers as people recognized Archon one after another.

"It’s Archon!"

"The Void!"

"That’s really her!"

"Look, it’s the Void!"

"She came out with the Ashcrofts!"

Phones rose everywhere, and people started shouting her name with the same excitement they had shown the Ashcrofts.

There was no fear in their voices. Archon was a Calamity Awakener, one of the legendary figures of Elyndor, and the city treated her exactly as such.

To ordinary citizens, a Calamity wasn’t simply a powerful professional; they were living legends whose names had become part of the city’s history.

Lily covered her ears as the noise grew louder, while Rhea started laughing at the sight of Archon standing completely still through the entire commotion.

Reinhard leaned slightly toward her and said, "You might have made yourself more famous than me."

Archon glanced at him. "I already was."

Reinhard paused before smiling. "We can’t be too sure now~"

Archon rolled her eyes but smiled. Emily laughed beside him while the crowd followed for several minutes.

...

Eventually, the group escaped into the Top 5 training facility.

Once they were inside, the atmosphere changed completely.

The celebration was over.

Now it was time to see what all those resources could actually do. A couple of days passed before Reinhard felt himself reaching close to the peak of A-rank. His physical body was still ahead of his Mana, but the distance between them had become much smaller.

Now I only need to close the gap.

Across the training facility, the Nephilim were experiencing growth of their own.

Rhea’s Mana surged first, and she stared at her hands with a grin as the pressure around her finally settled into the B-Rank threshold. "I’m B-Rank!"

Lily immediately looked over from her own area. "Me too!"

Rhea turned toward her in disbelief. "Don’t steal my moment!"

Lily laughed. "We’re both B-Rank now!"

Seraphine’s breakthrough into the B-Rank, and she spent several seconds simply examining the change, testing how much more information her senses could process before Reinhard walked over.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

Seraphine considered the question carefully. "More information fits."

Reinhard laughed. "That might be the most Seraphine answer possible."

He answered her questions and pointed out several areas where she had become too reliant on analysis before making decisions.

Rika’s breakthrough was much less subtle. After reaching B-Rank, she tested her sword against one of the training dummies and cut straight through it.

She looked toward Reinhard. "Good fruits."

Reinhard grinned. "You’re welcome."

Rika gave him a small nod. The exchange was simple, but the change between them was obvious. Months ago, she had questioned whether Reinhard could even fight. Now she accepted his help without hesitation and treated his resources as something she could trust.

Kael reached B-Rank soon after, and when Reinhard asked how he felt, Kael looked down at his hand before answering, "Stronger."

Reinhard nodded. "Very insightful."

Kael gave him a quiet look, and Reinhard laughed.

Adrian’s breakthrough was followed by him immediately checking whether everyone else had succeeded. Reinhard caught him doing it and smiled. "You can celebrate yourself too."

Adrian looked slightly embarrassed. "Right."

Mara reached B-Rank shortly afterward, but instead of celebrating, she immediately began calculating how much stronger the team had become.

Reinhard noticed and shook his head. "You’re doing it again."

Mara looked up. "Doing what?"

"Turning a breakthrough into paperwork."

"Someone has to."

Reinhard laughed. "Of course you would say that."

Then he looked over to see Emily opened her eyes and he instantly she grew stronger.

At the same moment, a notification appeared privately before Reinhard’s eyes.

[Target Value Increased.]

[Emily Ashcroft: A → A+]

Reinhard stared at it for a moment before smiling internally.

Even the system thinks you’re getting more valuable, huh?

Emily noticed his expression and looked at him. "What?"

Reinhard shook his head while gently taking her hand. "Nothing. You look good."

Emily smiled and squeezed his fingers. "You’re shameless."

"You married me anyway."

She laughed quietly and leaned closer, allowing him to rest his hand against her back as they watched the others continue training.

Maki and Lily soon completed their own breakthroughs into B-Rank, and Lily immediately celebrated while Maki smiled at her.

"You were going to reach it anyway," Maki said.

"That doesn’t make it less exciting."

"Fair."

The only person who hadn’t finished was Yuna.

Her Mana had already reached the point where another breakthrough was possible, but S-Rank was fundamentally different from the previous thresholds. The moment Yuna pushed her Mana toward that final boundary, the pressure inside her body became intense enough that even she began struggling to contain it.

Archon stepped forward.

"I’ll help."

Yuna looked at her. "You’re certain?"

Archon nodded. "I’ve broken through before."

Yuna accepted the answer and followed Archon back to her hotel room, where the two of them isolated themselves so Archon could guide her through the process without anyone else interfering.

The door closed.

Reinhard looked at it.

Rhea looked at it.

Maki looked at it.

Lily looked at it.

Reinhard eventually said, "Well."

Rhea grinned. "Should we listen at the door?"

Mara immediately shook her head. "No."

Reinhard laughed while Rhea shrugged, and everyone settled down to wait.

Inside the room, Archon guided Yuna’s Mana carefully, helping her stabilize the overwhelming pressure as she attempted to cross the final boundary into S-Rank.

Outside, the others could only wait and trust the Calamity who had already crossed that threshold herself.

After some time, everyone eventually gathered again.

Reinhard turned toward Seraphine afterward. "Now that you’re B-Rank, what do you think you should focus on?"

Seraphine considered the question before answering, and Reinhard listened carefully. He eventually told her that she had become very good at understanding what everyone else was doing, but she needed to become more comfortable trusting her own decisions before she had every piece of information.

Seraphine was quiet for a moment before giving a small nod. "I’ll remember that."

Reinhard teased her. "Good. My advisor is supposed to be useful."

Seraphine looked at him calmly. "Then try being less troublesome."

Rhea immediately laughed. "She’s getting brave."

Reinhard looked delighted. "I like it."

Emily laughed beside him, and Reinhard reached for her hand again. Their fingers intertwined naturally, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze while his other hand rested against her back.

Emily glanced at him. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re smiling."

"I like holding my wife’s hand."

She shook her head with an amused smile and leaned slightly against him. "You’re shameless."

"You married me anyway."

Around them, the Nephilim laughed instead of looking away.

Rhea had long since stopped treating Reinhard as merely their handsome consultant, Seraphine now openly challenged his teasing, Rika respected him enough to ask him to train with her, Adrian trusted him completely, Kael accepted his jokes with quiet amusement, and Mara had reached the point where her complaints about him sounded more like family than professional frustration.

Reinhard then felt his phone suddenly vibrated.

Then it vibrated again.

Then again.

Within seconds, the device was buzzing repeatedly in his hand.

Reinhard looked down at the screen and saw message after message appearing.

New Message — Marvello Industries

New Message — Imperial Relic Corporation

New Message — Elyndor Financial Group

New Message — Aurelius Trading Group

There were dozens of them.

Then hundreds.

Reinhard stared at the screen for a moment before laughing.