Later that day, Albedo entered his class not long before horoom began, feeling like a ghost walking through a dream. His eyes were heavy, haunted not just by exhaustion, but by the pain of last night's relentless training.
Every part of his body throbbed. His back ached. His arms twitched from muscle fatigue. He was basically moving on auto pilot at the current mont due to how tired he was.
Even his mana felt strained, like it had been stretched thin and forced to snap back into place. Yet despite that, or perhaps because of it, he walked with a new sort of weight behind each step.
The weight of focus.
He was still adjusting to the new rhythm his body was learning. He could tell the training had paid off, even after one night. He understood more deeply how to control his mana efficiently, and that made him confident.
"No wonder that doofus got so fast in the Novel, training with that sadist." Albedo muttered as he thought of Lucian, who was her secret disciple.
The Novel didn't really go into much of how Raphaeline trained Lucian, especially since her training beca less frequent when he arrived in the Academy, mostly since Lucian had 10 different things going on that increased his power at that ti with how fast paced the Novel was.
He quickly stepped through the class and took his seat next to Morgana who was reading a book, and no sooner after he sat down did Professor Kayle arrive, materializing on the platform in a flash of golden light.
She was dressed in an ivory teaching robe woven with faint sigils of sunlight, her hair tied back in a braid that shimred with golden strands. The air itself seed lighter in her presence.
Kayle's eyes swept across the gathered students. Then she spoke, her voice clear and calm, but layered with authority.
"Good morning. I'll keep this brief."
A glowing white scroll unfurled in the air beside her, shifting as she gestured. Several students sat up straighter, and so glanced around nervously as they wondered what it was this ti.
"As Myth Class students, you are required to complete two sanctioned missions per month. These are not mock assignnts or simulations. These are real-world engagents, resource escorts, monster subjugation, noble protection, artifact retrieval, and more."
Albedo nodded, as this was a common plot from the Novel. A noticeable amount of the resources and training Lucian had done in the Novel had co from these missions.
Kayle continued, "These missions will not be easy. They are dangerous, unpredictable, and in so cases, fatal. You will not be sent in blind as these missions have already been scouted, but know this: your enemies won't care that you're students."
"You can go alone, or in groups. It is up to you, but note that Myth Class students receive priority in mission selection. That ans you will have access to higher-rated assignnts and first pick. Use that wisely."
The scroll beside her shimred and split into multiple mission listings, S-Rank, A-Rank, B-Rank. So glowed in red, indicating special or restricted classification.
"You'll choose your first mission by this evening. For now, we begin with today's lecture."
She waved her hand, and the scroll vanished. In its place, a diagram of a mana core rotated slowly in the air, lines of runes orbiting it.
"Mana Theory. Let's begin."
Hours Later – The Mission Hall
The lecture had been long and excruciating, not because it was boring, Kayle was far too intense for that, but because Albedo's body was still recovering from Raphaeline's midnight gauntlet.
Every long explanation Kayle went into was just testing Albedo's willpower to stay awake, but he powered through, and now he stood in the Mission Hall, an expansive chamber built into one of the lower wings of the Academy.
Tall crystalline boards displayed mission listings that updated in real ti, shifting between glowing gold, silver, and crimson tags.
Students moved in small groups, browsing, whispering. So of the lower-ranked classes were limited to choosing D or C-rank missions, many already marked "Taken."
At the center of the room stood an older man with a thick beard and a slate-gray robe, arms crossed, Professor Halrick, the Academy's Mission Coordinator. He nodded slightly as Albedo approached the terminal for Myth Class.
"You're one of the new Myth students, Neverwinter. Right?" Halrick said, tapping a sigil to open a shimring interface in front of Albedo.
"Yeah," Albedo replied, voice still rough.
"You get first pick," Halrick said with a grunt, "No team requirent for your first mission, though I'd advise against going solo unless you're trying to get killed."
Albedo's eyes flicked across the mission listings for Freshn. The missions were graded based on year-group.
So Freshman had at maximum Peak Silver Ranked missions, while the upper-classn could take on missions at a higher rank.
Available Freshn Missions:
[A-Rank] – Gather 20 Sulfire Crystals from the Delmoor Ruins
Suggested Team: 3-5.
Reward: 800 rit. Any Extra Sulfire Crystals found can be kept or sold.
[B-Rank] – Beast Culling: Thunderhorn Migration Interference
Herd has begun migrating dangerously close to nearby village.
Suggested Team: 2-4.
Reward: 500 rit.
[A-Rank] – Escort: Royal Alchemist to Southern Outpost ( Taken )
Target must reach the fortified base within 3 days.
Known threats: bandits, minor Abyssal creatures.
Suggested Team: 3 .
Reward: 750 rit.
Albedo read the missions and narrowed them down to those 3. In the Novel and in this world, Lucian had taken the mission to escort the Royal Alchemist alongside Miranda, Lira, Veronica and Dorian.
They were attacked by a well known gang and ended up defeating them, which did wonders to make Lucian popular.
As for the one Albedo wanted to choose, "I want this one," he said firmly to Halrick, who raised a bushy brow at his selection.
"Delmoor, huh? Most first-years don't go near that hellhole unless they've got a death wish. The environnt is too hot."
"I'm not most first-years."
Halrick gave him a grunt that could have ant anything from amusent to pity. "Up to you, lad. You've got until sundown to finalize your selection. But once you accept, there's no backing out."
"I won't."
The light pulsing on the terminal flickered again, recording his selection before dimming slightly to indicate a successful selection. The terminal then spit out a storage bag, where he could carry the Sulfire crystals gathered.
Albedo picked up the bag and turned around, heading out of the mission hall to begin planning.
Albedo turned, his cloak fluttering faintly as he stepped away from the crowd of students as he thought about the story of Delmoor, a now Dead City.
Delmoor was once a neutral trading hub built around a mountain of magma-rich ores. However, three centuries ago, Delmoor was destroyed by a Pure Magma Titan, a living calamity born of fire and hatred.
Even though the Magma Titan was eventually defeated, it's body lted into pure fire mana and devoured the surrounding area, leaving it uninhabitable for over 150 years.
When people finally re-explored the environnt over 150 years later, they found that from the Titan's grave, Sulfire Crystals had begun to grow.
They were the byproduct of compressed elental fire mana, condensed through ti, pressure, and luck. The crystals had quickly beco valued by alchemists, Beast Tars, even blacksmiths and fashionistas.
"Oi! Albedo!" As he was deep in thought, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, leading him to stop and turn to his left.
He spotted Lucian walking towards him alongside Miranda, Dorian, Lira and Veronica, his main group from the Novel, but missing Zeus who still hadn't beco friendly rivals with Lucian as of yet.
Lucian offered a grin, bright and genuine, "We just accepted a mission, we were going to invite you," Lucian continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "but looks like you beat us to the punch."
Albedo noddedm "I already accepted a mission."
"Which one?" Lira asked, arching an elegant brow.
"Sulfire Crystals. Delmoor Ruins."
A brief silence followed his words. Even Miranda's calm deanor shifted. Dorian frowned, and Veronica finally glanced at him, surprised. Lucian's grin faltered, just slightly.
"That's a solo pick?" Lucian asked.
Albedo nodded again.
Miranda narrowed her eyes, "That environnt is extrely volatile. The air alone can ignite the lungs of the unprepared. Not to ntion the fire-aspected beasts that dwell there."
"You're going alone?" Lira said, her voice caught sowhere between incredulous and impressed.
"I am."
Lucian crossed his arms, "You've got guts, I'll give you that. But the heat out there isn't a joke. Even mana barriers burn out fast if you're not careful."
Veronica finally spoke, "It's not just the heat. That kind of atmosphere sses with your magic channels. You'll burn out from the inside if you're reckless."
Albedo t their concerned expressions calmly.
"I've got my own thods," he said quietly.
Lucian studied him for a mont, then slowly grinned again, this ti with a hint of admiration, "Alright then. Be careful. I don't want to hear that you got cooked out there."
"You won't."
Miranda offered a respectful nod, "If you do survive, bring back more than twenty crystals. I'd be interested in purchasing a few. I need so new earrings."
" too," Veronica quickly pitched in and said.
Albedo gave a half-shrug, "We'll see."
"Good luck, Albedo," Lucian said, raising two fingers in a lazy salute.
Albedo turned away, cloak swaying with the movent. He'd rest for a while until he was in at his peak and then head off towards the mission.
Reviews
All reviews (0)