Well, that's another day's shift completed.

  After I went back to my apartment yesterday, I expined the situation to Kyte, packed my course books along few essentials, said goodbye to my other roomates, and went straight back to west Trigon.

  The lodging I booked is pretty small. It's got a bed, a small drawer that doubles as a table, and a chair. That's about it. Fortunately, it's pretty sparsely booked at the moment, so I pretty much have the entire floor to myself, including the floor's sole toilet.

  Much like yesterday, I'm relieved to say that we saw no trouble during our patrol. We simply did some menial jobs around the neighborhood. During that time, I got to know the two policemen a bit better, like learning that the names of the three of them being Lucas, Dougs, and Nichos. I did ask if they were reted after hearing that, but apparently they aren't.

  And most importantly...

  -THE SUPER VILLAINY SYSTEM-

  [Task: Spend 672 hours in west Trigon]

  [Progress: 31/672]

  [Rewards: Immunity (1)]

  Obviously, I'm still nowhere near completing the task. However, there's something very satisfying about seeing progress rise like this.

  Now I think about it, if I just rented a room near west Trigon, I wouldn't have needed to volunteer at all.

  Because I had been so preoccupied in making progress towards the task, I opted to volunteer for eight hours a week, for five days. That's a whole lot of walking around to do. On reflection, If my goal was just to finish the task as fast as possible, I realised that I didn't need to volunteer at all. As long as I do something here, progress increases automatically.

  However, I don't regret my choice. I'd rather spend my time in west Trigon doing something meaningful. If you think about it, I'm either going to walk around west Trigon as a domestic visitor, or as a police volunteer. This way, I'm learning a lot about how the police works. I also get a free lunch, courtesy of the station.

  Yes. Due to the fact I'm volunteering for such a long time, the police are covering my lunch menu alongside every other police officer out there.

  Actually, I think that's the common practice for most workpces out there. It's nice to live in a world where crops only take a few weeks to grow and produce food.

  I walk away from the police station and start heading back to my lodging in west Trigon. However, shortly before I reached my lodging, I see a teenage boy trying to climb over the wall to get into Trigon slums.

  Why does this have to happen off-shift?

  The boy has long, red hair and wears a pair of beige shorts and a red t-shirt. His shoes are probably meant to be white, but had been stained a dullish grey-brown with mud.

  I contempte whether to get involved or not while the boy raises his foot to a position above his head, slowly wiggling himself further up the wall.

  Thats... certainly an interesting way to climb. Ooh! I wouldn't have done that if I was him. Hmm? He's more flexible than he looks. Ah, I think he's almost up! No, nevermind. That's just not safe.

  I decide that I don't want to choose to ignore this. I approach the boy, apprehensive of what's to come.

  "Hey. Do you need help with something?"

  "Uwah!"

  "Careful now!"

  The boy loses his grip on the fence and starts to fall. Thankfully, I managed to catch the boy before he hit the ground. As I put him down, I ask him the obvious question.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Nothing!"

  "That hardly looked like nothing to me."

  "I'm not tresspassing or nothin'. So what's the problem?" The boy turns around and looks at me. "Hey! You're not the police! Get off me!"

  "You're right. I'm not the police. I'm just someone who happens to be passing by." I respond, letting go of his shoulder that I kept hold of.

  "I lost something. It's over there, beyond the fence. I'm just going to hop over quickly and get it. That's all."

  "Hmm. Rather than climb the fence, how about we go to the police station, and I'll ask to borrow a set of keys?"

  But the boy shakes his head.

  "No police."

  "Why?"

  "We don't use them here."

  "Why not? I'm pretty sure they'd be happy to help."

  "We just don't."

  "But why not!"

  "We've just been told not to!"

  "What? Nevermind. How did you get over the fence in the first pce?"

  "I didn't climb the fence."

  Huh?

  "How did you get in then?" I ask.

  "Like a normal person?"

  "What? Are some of the doors kept unlocked?"

  The boy looks at me as if I just said something incredibly stupid.

  "Of course not!"

  "Then how does a normal person get in?"

  "The sewers, obviously."

  Well, excuse me for not knowing!

  "May I ask, why didn't you get back inside using the sewers?"

  "They're guarding it."

  "Who?"

  "The people who stole my ball, duh!"

  "I thought you said you lost it."

  "Oh. Umm. Whoops?"

  The boy expins what happened. Originally, he and his friends were pying around over on the fence. Then some drunken guys passed by and started yelling. He and his friends ran away, but he left his ball behind. After he expins the situation to me, I make one of the stupidest decisions of my life.

  "Okay. I'll try and get it. I might take some time though."

  "Really? I, uhh, need to go soon. My mom's gonna be looking for me."

  [This system can offer assistance!]

  Really? You can find the ball?

  [Not to locate the ball. Please wait one moment!]

  Beachball disappears as quickly as he came. While waiting for his return, I continue talking to the kid.

  "See these rocks, here? How about I put it behind them if I find it? You can pick it up tomorrow."

  "Okay! Thanks strange guy! I'll tell you how to get there."

  A brat 'til the end...

  The boy takes me over to a manhole some distance away from the fence, out of view. While walking, he gives me a set of directions on where to go to find his ball.

  "This is it?" I ask upon arriving, opening the manhole and looking down.

  "No. I just decided that I'd waste both my time and yours by taking you to the wrong manhole." The boy replies sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

  Why am I helping this guy?

  I descend down the dder and the boy covers the manhole behind me.

  "Good luck, mister."

  "Thanks."

  My foot finds solid ground below the dder.

  Hmm? It doesn't smell anything like I thought it would.

  The sewer definitely smells bad, but nothing near what I expected. I thought I would need to cover my nose with something until I reached the other end. I reach the bottom of the dder and start looking around the sewer, using my phone as a light. On the wall just opposite the dder, I see a warning sign made in white paint.

  WARNING!

  STORM DRAIN PIPE.

  LEADS TO SEA. NO ACCESS ALLOWED DURING OR AFTER A STORM.

  Oh! It's not a sewage pipe after all. It's for rainwater. That makes a lot of sense.

  [I have returned!]

  Beachball!

  Beachball returns and starts spinning rapidly on the spot. Then a bolt of intent strikes and a task from Beachball appears in front of me.

  -THE SUPER VILLAINY SYSTEM-

  [Task: Get the ball!]

  [Progress: 0/1]

  [Rewards: 50 mP]

  Oh. So this is what you meant! I guess that makes sense. You're a system, after all.

  I walk eastwards and climb out the next manhole I come across, arriving in the middle of a rubble-filled street. According to the boy, his ball should be somewhere on the left.

  What did he say? I think it was that I should keep walking straight on, then turn into the road with the bent street sign.

  While I get my bearings sorted out, I hear a loud voice calling out to me from some distance behind.

  "Hey! Bros! Someone's come! Someone's come!"

  "Wow! It's just like what you said would happen!"

  "Of courrr-se! Hic! Didn't I tell you? Hic."

  Nearby, three men are sitting down on some rge rocks. A cigarette is held by each person, filling the atmosphere with an odour more foul than that of the storm drain I was just in.

  "Allow us to introduuu-ce ourselves. Hic! We're the striped tigers- hic- a newly emerging gang in west Trigon. We're currently collecting some dooo-nations to help fund our startup. Hahaha."

  "Bro! We here gonna be the bestest of the gangs, right bros?"

  "Yeah. We're reee-al intimidating, riii-ght? Haha. Hic!"

  "I bet even those blue sharks wouldn't mess with us!"

  "Blue sharks! Hic! What sorta name is that for a gang? Don't they knooo-w, aaa-ll sharks are bluuu-e? The name 'Striped Tigers' is so much cooler. Hic!"

  "Right you are, bro! Right you are!"

  "Hic!"

  After calling out to me, they stand up and start walking towards me with creepy grins on their faces.

  Or rather, staggering towards me might be the better term. Those gaits are not the gaits of sober people.

  "Bros! Hows 'bout we show this young d 'ere a taste of our skills, hmm?"

  "Hehehe... Hic!"

  The three begin to approach. I grit my teeth and clench my fists. In my panic, my mind fshes back to the little self- defence I've learned.

  I'm fast enough to run away, but I don't know the area here well enough. Getting lost could easily put me in a worse position than I'm already in. I don't think they want to talk, either. Do I fight, then? How do I fight? Fighting courses aren't until second year in SIT!

  However, All three men look pretty skinny. They clearly aren't in good condition, and they look unarmed. Realistically, I shouldn't actually be at much of a disadvantage here. At least, if they have as little fighting experience as I do.

  That might seem like a strange conclusion to reach, but one of the first lectures in SIT is about the average adult's status points. I'm pretty confident I have an advantage in status, here.

  While thinking my options through, A certain conversation with Alice fshes through my mind.

  "You don't just get into a fist-fight and start preforming kata. Instead, you practice it so your body knows the motions. Then when in an actual fight, your body might remember those techniques when it's practical to use them."

  But unfortunately, I'm panicking slightly at the moment. Because of that, I ignore her words and start performing whatever little Kata I remember her teaching me. What does this mean? It means I'm currently waving my hands in some weird martial style in front of three drunk people.

  My face is going red. I don't think this is going to be worth it, but I might as well commit to it now I've started.

  After finishing what I remember, I excim a loud "Hah!". Why? Alice told me I should do it. I don't know what it's for. However, it seems to have some affect. One of the three men throws his arms up and excims aloud.

  "Woah duuu-de! This guy knows, hic, kuuu-ng fuuu!"

  "Bro! He's scary!"

  It worked?

  "But I- hic- I know kung fuuu too!"

  It didn't work well enough, it seems. I raise my fists up and prepare for the worst as he approaches.

  However, before the man reaches me, he trips over nothing and proceeds to fall ft on his face. The other two scream in horror.

  "Bro! Hang in there! Don't die on us!"

  "Am I, hic, going to die? Hic!"

  What... just happened?

  "He's going to die! He's going to die! You fiend! How could you!"

  "You two, hic, were the best friends, hic, that I could ever have. Hic!"

  "Bro, can you hear me! Bro!"

  "Zzz..."

  "He's dead!"

  "Brother! No! Bro!"

  The two guys dive to their knees, shaking the sleeping third member. What's wrong with these two?

  "He's asleep! Can't you hear him snore?" I yell at them in frustration.

  "I think he's getting angry."

  "Bro, Lets retreat for now. We'll get our revenge ter!"

  As they're about to leave, I stop them.

  "Hey!"

  "Eep!"

  "Take this guy with you!" I point to the drooling mess of a person on the floor.

  Silently, the two men pick up their friend up by his ankles and drag him off. I wince as his head bounces around on the rocky floor.

  After the men leave, I follow the instructions the boy gave and found the ball perched between two rge pieces of concrete in a pile of rubble. It only took about five minutes to find.

  "Well, that wasn't too hard to find." I say to nobody in particur while climbing up the rubble pile.

  Before I can reach the ball, however, I hear several voices from behind.

  "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

  "You don't look like no regur in this district. Don'cha know this pce is dangerous?"

  I turn around. Behind me are four people. Each person is wearing a bck trenchcoat and a familiar red mask over the top half of their faces.

  Beachball appears from the corners of my vision.

  [The Super Viliny System informs the host that he has jinxed himself.]

  No, really? You don't say!