Chapter 199 Korean BBQ

"That really happened?" Liz asked. Ritsuka nodded as Lee Seng and Garcia trailed behind the group. They were heading to the Korean BBQ in between the First and Fourth year buildings.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, Lee Seng, when you said they've been bothering you for the whole week." Chloe turned her head to look at Lee Seng.

"Yup." Lee Seng nodded.

"You weren't kidding when you said you aren't patient." Ritsuka said.

"You guys really want to do a no power fight though? That seems kinda… long." Liz asked. Chloe started to nod along to her question as well. It did seem like it would take long, but Lee Seng just shrugged it off.

"Lee Seng is pretty strong." Garcia quietly said. The others turned to look at him. They had remembered Lee Seng introducing Garcia to them, but the guy waved and kept to himself. They hadn't heard him talk. Ritsuka had told them Garcia was quiet so he probably wouldn't talk a lot. "I've fought him many times before. Without using his powers, he can throw people off."

"He's kinda quiet." Chloe whispered to Liz. Liz gave Chloe a 'be nice' face as she was nodding to what Garcia said.

"Mmm, Garcia's actually really good at close combat." Lee Seng perked up. He pointed at Garcia, who tried to shrink and lose the height advantage he had amongst the group. "Naturally speedy and has quick reflexes. Probably better than mine." Garcia put his head down as they continued towards the Korean BBQ place.

"I'm not that good. You don't need to say that." Garcia quietly told him.

"Come on. You're really strong! Give yourself more credit." Lee Seng lightly patted him. Garcia tried to hide his smile, lightly rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't think so… I-I have a lot to work on…"

"Well," Lee Seng wrapped his arm around Garcia. Garcia grew more awkward and turned to look at the slightly smaller Lee Seng. "I'll continue to tell you until you believe it."

"Come on, you two!" Ritsuka waved. "We're already here!" Lee Seng and Garcia looked up and noticed they were already so close to the restaurant.

"Coming!" Lee Seng shouted. He gave Garcia one more squeeze before pulling away and motioning. "Come on, let's go. I'm starving."

Lee Seng sat on the left end of the table. Garcia sat in between him and Ritsuka. Chloe sat across from Lee Seng while Liz sat across from Garcia. They all looked at the menus and ordered what they wanted. The waiter quickly gave them their drinks and Lee Seng began to sip on iced tea.

"So, besides the betting match you guys got yourselves into, did you guys think about doing any extracurriculars?" Liz asked.

"Like what? Volleyball?" Lee Seng asked.

"Stuff like that." Chloe nodded. "But there are the PFLs."

"PFL?" Ritsuka asked.

"Power Fight League." Liz answered.

"Oh, based on the actual pro league?" Lee Seng asked. Liz and Chloe nodded.

"Those who want to get into the PFPL are encouraged to join the Academy's PFL. If you make it into the group, you go around and fight other schools in the area. It does give you travel time to see the sights and such, too." Chloe continued.

"Is there anything that could boost my application to the AA?"

"There is…" Chloe glanced at Liz.

"You'd have to sign up for this and get accepted into it, though." Liz began with a warning.

"What?" Lee Seng leaned closer.

"You can technically apply at one of the AA guilds. They accept Third and Fourth year high school students. You'd have to apply with one of them and go through the three interviews with three different guild workers. If two out of three like you, you're pushed into a demonstration stage. This gives them an idea of what you're capable of, but even if you get into the guild as a student adventurer, you can only go on low-ranked missions."

"Most of them literally are helping around the city wherever the guild is located. Very rarely are you asked to go on a mission and even if you do, you're a pack mule." Chloe added.

"Alright, I'm going to turn on the grill and I'll be back with your food." The server spoke. They all nodded and watched as the server's hand lit up and ignited the black crystal. She carefully put the metal grill plate back on and walked off.

"Woah, that's one way to use your powers." Ritsuka mumbled.

"Working as a student adventurer isn't the best thing. It's unlikely you'll be one of the few students who get to go on regular missions." Chloe continued. "It'll get you noticed by the AA and give you a secured place within a guild if you do it, but your chances are just as likely if you waited until you're about to graduate."

"Though, I heard students with high family backgrounds usually get good offers." Ritsuka spoke up. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten any offers from any of the guilds. Especially ever since that interview."

"Beginner's luck." Lee Seng shrugged.

"Alright, I'm setting your food now." The server spoke. The group watched as the trays of meat began to move onto their table. They had ordered a variety of different things and Lee Seng was already drooling. "I'll be back with your rice bowls and your kimchi fried rice." She pointed at Lee Seng, who nodded.

"Thanks." The group said. They began to grill the food, listening to the sizzle and smelling the aromas as it permeated the air.

"It's up to you, though. You'd be paid if you did get in." Chloe motioned. "One of my Fourth Year friends says they have to have IDs and a written notice every time they go in and out of the District. The invasion has tightened security and there's mandated lights out time for a while, too."

"So it's literally impossible to go out without the Academy saying you can." Liz summarized.

"What other extracurriculars are there?" Ritsuka asked.

"Sports, clubs, that sort of thing. The normal stuff you'd probably had back at your other schools before you came here. The Academy may be focused on training students in their abilities, but it doesn't mean they'll strip everything else away from them."

"I'm in a movie club." Garcia quietly spoke up. "We watch movies and analyze them. We're currently watching some old era movies and seeing how life was then. It's fun stuff."

"You're into that sort of thing?" Ritsuka asked. Garcia turned and nodded at him.

"You're probably going to have to inquire about the clubs and extracurriculars that happen around here." Liz turned the meat. Lee Seng could see the first set of meat were just finishing up. Chloe and Liz began to move the meat over to people's plates as the server set some rice bowls down for them.

"I'll be back with your kimchi fried rice, alright?" The server pointed at Lee Seng.

"Thanks." Lee Seng nodded.

"Is there a list on the Academy app?" Ritsuka asked. Garcia nodded at him.

"Just look it up on the app. Anything that's been okayed would show up there." Garcia answered. Ritsuka pulled his phone out and Garcia began to quietly direct him to the extracurriculars.

"So, do you two do anything?" Lee Seng asked. The meat sizzled as they were set onto the grill.

"Mmm, volunteer stuff once in a while, but other than that, I don't do much." Chloe answered. "I spend most of my time training."

"I help with lab studies when I can. Since the invasion happened, I haven't been able to do much. The teachers have temporarily put it on hold." Liz answered. "Which is fine because I need to take the exam and we need to get ready for the field test."

"Mmm, we should practice." Lee Seng nodded.

"But what about the others?" Ritsuka looked up from his phone. "The others are still in quarantine for at least another two weeks."

"We'll have to just prepare like its the three of us doing it. If the others end up getting out of quarantine then we'll just add them into the group like we originally planned."

"Would that… really be okay?" Ritsuka's eyes went back and forth between Lee Seng and Liz.

"If the three of us practiced a bit during our quarantine, I would assume the others would do some sort of training." Lee Seng shrugged.

"The Specialization courses do have the weekly hour homework you have to do, so they would all train at least ten hours a week." Liz reminded them.

"In my case, it was twenty hours, but I spent most of my time training anyway." Lee Seng shrugged.

"Well, enough about that, let's get to eating. We got a lot of food to go through and it's good when it's hot." Chloe motioned.

"Mmm, eat." Garcia motioned. The group started to dig into their food. The fresh bulgogi meat they had cooked first melted in Lee Seng's mouth. His kimchi fried rice came and he happily dug into that as well.

"Mmm, this is so good." Lee Seng elbowed Garcia. "Thanks for taking us to this spot."

"Mmm." Garcia nodded. "We'll have to go to other places some other time."

"Mmm! Let's do it."