The next day, Lance had to confirm the previous day wasn't a dream and he truly had the opportunity to go to Japan.

  Sitting down, he asked why Colin was even willing to consider this monumental trip.

  “I have some… stuff… I need to take care of in Asia in a few months, and Japan would make a good place to start from.”

  Lance squinted.

  “What the heck are you gonna do in Asia?”

  Colin grimaced a little.

  “Well, my half sister is gonna be Graduating from the Hong Kong Ranker Academy next february, and my mom invited me.”

  Lance stared at the black haired man in front of him.

  ‘Poor guy looks like he's gonna throw up. He must not have a very good relationship with his family.’

  Lance smiled.

  “Well, if you're offering, I can always join ya. I'm sure there are some cool spots in Osaka we can check out once you get back from the ceremony.”

  This seemed to cheer up Colin a little.

  “Y-Yeah, that'd be great. Just promise me you wont get too drunk before I come back!”

  Lance laughed. “Hah, just for that i'm gonna drink at least 5 beers.”

  Colin laughed. “Better save 6 for me.”

  …

  January and Lance's birthday came and went, and he made no progress with his circles, truly at a stalemate. Finally, now it was time to go to Japan and change that, hopefully.

  The drive and air trip didn't take nearly as long as would have been expected. What especially was beyond expectation was the first class seats Lance and Colin were Using.

  It was a much fancier experience than he ever would have thought. And it only got weirder when they arrived At their hotel room, the deluxe suite of one of the top hotels in the Osaka area.

  Lance gave Colin the side eye as Colin looked away nervously, his brown eyes dotting from side to side.

  Lance spoke up.

  “So. How long have you been a Millionaire?”

  “I'm not one actually.”

  “Bullshi-”

  “I'm a Billionaire.”

  The two sat in silence for a moment before Lance lightly punched Colin in the arm. Then again. Then again.

  Lance then began violently shaking Colin while yelling, his brown hair going all over the place.

  “WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL, WHY DO YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT WHEN YOUR FILTHY STINKING RICH!?!?”

  Colin shrugged. “It's convenient.”

  “Bullshit!”

  Colin crossed his arms and sighed.

  “I'm serious, it keeps the money grubbers away since everyone assumes you're poor.”

  Lance sighed and rubbed his forehead.

  “What the hell man? Couldn't you have said something sooner? I was about to have a heart attack when you got into a limo earlier.”

  “It's a different country, I don't have to worry about being judged here. Well, besides by you.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Lance sighed and put his hands up.

  “Ok. Ok, not judging. How the hell did you do it?”

  Colin scratched his neck and mumbled.

  “I won the lottery 3 times.”

  “You WHAT-”

  Colin laughed awkwardly.

  “W-What? Everyone gets lucky every once in a while…”

  “3 times. 3. 3 TIMES!?!”

  Colin seemed to go silent as he stopped protesting.

  Lance just climbed into his bed in the next room over, turned off the light and rolled over, not even bothering to close the door.

  “You are gonna owe me 3 Beers when you get back from Hong Kong.”

  In the other room, Colin chuckled. “Fair.”

  …

  As the duo went their separate ways the next day, Lance noticed something odd.

  Colin was in a different outfit from his normal one. It looked very expensive, but given last night, that was no longer a thing to question. What Lance did wonder about was the odd number of pockets on the pants he was wearing, And the fact all of them seemed to be full of knife-shaped objects.

  As Lance knew, Knives were Colin's choice weapon as a Ranker.

  “You're not going to secretly fight someone are you? Is your sister dating someone you don't like or something?”

  Colin laughed. “No, I just want to be prepared. Just in case. That's all.”

  Lance looked back at his friend. He was going to ask what, what he was preparing for, but the expression on Colin's face made him reconsider. The black haired man's expression held pure determination in the form of a smile.

  Lance waved.

  “See ya tomorrow?”

  Colin nodded.

  “See ya.”

  Colin began walking before stopping. He tossed something to Lance before turning around, much faster than Lance had expected.

  In Lance's hand was a debit card. He looked up.

  Colin spoke one last time. “In case of emergencies only.”

  Lance smiled. “Right.”

  As his friend walked away, Lance turned around. As he left though, something felt off. It was like the air itself shifted.

  Looking back, Colin was gone. The energy was gone too.

  …

  The next day, Lance woke up early, and he immediately got to work using the card, a devilish smirk on his face.

  He ordered a valet service to escort him places for the day on command, of course getting the most expensive option available.

  His first stop was a famous clothing store, where Lance bought several expensive outfits, fanciful quality stuff. He even bought a real Kimono, and though he didn't plan to wear it on the trip, it was an awesome souvenir in his opinion.

  Carrying over 10,000 dollars turned yen in clothing around in a bag, he next visited a large line of shops that carried anime style figurines, comics, and many other things. He of course splurged here too mischievously, planning to rack up as many charges as he could to prank his friend.

  Walking down the way, Lance next planned to find a good restaurant, but that unfortunately never came to be. In a flash, a figure blasted past Lance, tossing his bags into the air. The figure, A Man with a Fox mask, grabbed the bags from mid air and began running.

  Lance ran as fast as he could in pursuit, but he couldn't even close to keep up. Coughing and wheezing from over straining himself, Lance stopped. It was apparent the Thief was at least a D Rank, maybe even C. He'd never get that stuff back.

  Still, Lance grinned, he could always find more.

  Before he could walk away, a large crack filled the air as the wind howled. Lance looked up to see a proud looking man with blonde hair and a Japanese flag wrapped around himself like a shawl.

  He tossed Lance his bags from mid air, calling out.

  “These belonged to you, right?”

  Lance nodded.

  “Thank-”

  The man put up a hand, smiling.

  “No need to thank me, citizen. It is my duty to protect The people of these fine lands from problems like this guy-”

  The man motioned to his left hand, holding a skinny Japanese guy who looked to have been beaten senseless.

  The blonde looked to Lance, smiling.

  “There's nothing to fear, as long as Nippon Man is here!” Nippon Man flexed dramatically, showing off his muscles.

  The crowd mildly cheered, but seemed quite unenthusiastic for whatever reason. One man in the back loudly shouted “NIPPLE MAN!”

  Clearly not hearing it right, Nippon Man smiled. “Thank you citizens! As one of Japan's A Ranks, I must always do my best to serve you!”

  The crowd clapped unenthusiastically in response. Clearly Nippon Man wasn't very popular.

  Looking To the sky, the blonde A Ranker saluted.

  “Well then, farewell! Justice Calls!”

  The man jumped, leaving a crack in the cement as he soared into the sky with speed Lance couldn't keep track of.

  As Lance sat there with his bags and the unconscious criminal who had been left behind, the crowd dispersed. All Lance could do was think out loud.

  “Are all A Rankers as extra as he is?”

  …

  Back in the hotel room, Lance began his preparation, auto-failing his circle creation exactly 10 times before pumping himself up.

  “This time I'll do it. 4th circle, then i push for 5th.”

  Lance began breathing slowly, focusing with all of his effort on the Rings within his soul. So far, he had made 2 Fire Circles and a Wood Circle. Currently, he couldn't get any more skills as his slots were full, however if he was to truly push and reach 5 Circles, he would gain two new slots.

  Crafting a ring was a hard process, much harder the less you understood the concept you wished to use as a theme. You had to effectively draw a circle around your soul, without breaking concentration once.

  If the circle had creases, it would become much weaker and fail. As such, it had to be a perfectly drawn circle.

  Lance focused with all of his might on the concept of fire. Burning, everlasting fire that fed upon the wood in his 3rd circle. He drew the circle, feeding it the energy he had consumed from his day out.

  Half a circle was completed. The. 3/4ths. Finally, the 4th circle was done.

  Lance smiled, but he wasn't done yet. No, he knew ambition was rewarded when you put in enough effort. Risk makes reward.

  Lance began crafting his next circle, but with yet another theme, one much harder than the last.

  “After what I saw with that man today, I realized I need to work on my agility and defense. As such, since wood is frail and Fire is destructive, I need something different.”

  Lance considered his options. Stone or Metal were easy to use, but both would be too narrow focused. Lance had been thinking about his past choices, and he had been far too narrow minded before in his approach.

  Sure, Fire was good, and he would keep improving it since he had it already, but it was a very simple concept with very little utility.

  Lance wanted more, something stronger and more useful in many ways. To this, Lance found a new option- Space.

  An element often used for Agility and covering distance, it could be used for much more. More or Less Space could make someone faster or slower, yes, but it also could determine size and density of objects. Space was everywhere, and it likely could be the most powerful of concepts if wielded correctly.

  Lance prepared. He failed the Space Ring 10 times in a row, as he did with Fire before. Then, he began to draw the circle, envisioning space as he did so.

  ‘The empty expanse. Distance. Volume.’

  The circle grew as it drew itself. It creased and fell apart.

  ‘again’

  The circle expanded, growing too large and collapsing.

  ‘again’

  The circle wrapped ?’s the way before creasing. It didn't falter, but Lance dismissed it.

  ‘Once more.’

  Lance tried one last time to harness the concept of space. To his surprise, the attempt worked. The circle wrapped around his soul, and finally it connected and became whole.

  Lance cheered. He was officially an E Rank.

  In his vision, Lance saw a notification.

  [You have created a new Skill- Distance Manipulation (A Rank). Would you like to accept the new Skill?]

  Lance quickly said yes, as such an opportunity was rare. At times, building a circle could influence or create new spells for Mystics.

  The higher the rarity, the less likely it was to happen, and yet here was a new A Rank Skill, much superior to the purchased D Rank Fireball and E Rank Roots.

  Lance read the description.

  [Distance Manipulation Rank A- if nothing is blocking the way, move an object under 5 times your mass closer or further away to a desired extent.]

  Lance cheered.

  “Jackpot!”

  This was a skill he could build so many strategies around. Lance was thrilled, and he knew Colin would be too once he found out.

  Celebrating, Lance grabbed a Wine bottle out of the cabinet and poured himself a glass.

  “Cheers to a bright future!”

  Lance took a sip, sitting down and turning on the TV.

  Upon looking, he dropped the wine glass. It shattered all over the floor, glass and wine spilling everywhere.

  Shock overtook Lance as his heart fell.