Chapter 48
Blaze stood in front of the academy's Quest Hall, taking in the bustling scene.
Students from different departments moved in and out, submitting completed missions or searching for new ones. Some looked exhausted, others triumphant, and a few… well, they just looked traumatized.
He ignored them.
His eyes landed on a row of glowing display panels, each listing available missions. The higher the reward, the harder the quest.
After scrolling through "Retrieve a lost pet" (D-rank, 50 points) and "Deliver supplies to a village" (C-rank, 120 points), his eyes lit up at one particular mission.
> Quest: Bandits Terrorizing a City
Rank: A
Reward: 2500 Points
Status: Available
Blaze grinned. Jackpot.
Without hesitation, he strode toward the quest counter.
The woman behind the counter barely looked up from her book. She had violet hair tied into a messy bun, sharp pink eyes, and an aura of sheer "I'm too tired for this nonsense."
She lazily twirled a pen between her fingers before exhaling. "Next."
Blaze stepped forward confidently. "I'd like to take the A-rank quest about the bandits."
Cassandra finally looked up. Then blinked. Then stared.
Then she laughed.
It wasn't a polite chuckle. It was full-blown, tears-in-her-eyes, I-might-choke-on-my-own-breath laughter.
Blaze frowned. "Uh… something funny?"
She wiped a tear. "Oh, kid, that's adorable. No."
Blaze blinked. "No?"
Cassandra shook her head. "Not just no. Absolutely no."
He crossed his arms. "Why not?"
She sighed like a mother explaining to a particularly slow child. "Because, sweetheart, you're a first-year. That's an A-rank mission. Do you even know what that means?"
Blaze tilted his head. "A really good challenge?"
Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, for the love of—Okay. Lesson time."
She gestured to a glowing chart behind her:
D-Rank: Simple errands (ex. Finding lost animals, delivering letters).
C-Rank: Beginner combat missions, only allowed in groups.
B-Rank: Advanced combat missions, for second and third years.
A-Rank: High-risk missions reserved for elite squads.
S-Rank: Near-suicidal missions even Head Wizards take seriously.
She looked at him flatly. "See where I'm going with this?"
Blaze thought for a moment. "So… what you're saying is I should be in a squad?"
She facepalmed.
"No, I'm saying you can't take the mission because you're not qualified!"
Blaze leaned on the counter. "And what if I really, really want to?"
"You'd really, really die."
"But—"
"No."
"But I—"
"No."
"I can—"
"Still no."
They stared each other down, a silent battle of stubbornness.
Cassandra's patience was legendary. Blaze's persistence was worse.
The standoff lasted so long that the student behind him muttered, "Should we get popcorn?"
Just as Cassandra was about to throw him out, a new voice joined in.
"He's not going alone."
Blaze turned to see Nephis, Akira, and Volt who seems to have completed his quest standing behind him.
Nephis, as composed as always, gave Cassandra a small nod. "We'll take the mission as a group."
Volt smirked. "Sounds fun."
Akira just yawned. "Might as well. I'm bored."
Cassandra's eye twitched.
"You do realize this is an A-rank mission?" she asked, massaging her temples.
Nephis nodded. "We're aware."
Cassandra sighed. "Fine. It's your funeral."
She pressed a button on her panel, and the quest display changed from Available to In Progress.
As the confirmation chimed, she muttered under her breath, "Another batch of idiots walking to their deaths…"
Blaze grinned. "Thanks,. You won't regret this!"
Cassandra deadpanned. "I already do."
With their mission officially accepted, the group stepped out of the academy, ready for their journey.
_ _ _ _
The group set off, following the path to Solhaven, a Tier-3 city nestled between towering cliffs and vast plains. Unlike smaller towns, a city of this caliber should have had its own strong faction for protection.
And yet, they were the ones being called for help.
"That's weird, right?" Akira spoke up, adjusting her gloves as they walked. "A city like that should have its own security force."
Nephis nodded. "For them to need outside help… something must've gone terribly wrong."
VOLT smirked. "Well, that just means we'll get extra credit for taking this mission."
Blaze scoffed. "You really think points matter if we die?"
"Optimism, Blaze. Ever heard of it?"
As they bantered, they noticed two familiar figures waiting on the path ahead.
One looked like he wanted to murder someone. The other… well, he had the grin of someone who narrowly escaped death.
"Kaito, what the hell happened to your face?" Blaze asked, eyeing the bruises.
Kaito rubbed his swollen cheek. "Ah, minor inconvenience."
Lucas cracked his knuckles. "He gambled. He lost. He made me bet. I lost. He lost again. Then he bet EVERYTHING."
Nephis sighed. "So you beat him up."
Lucas scoffed. "That was me holding back."
Kaito huffed, adjusting his cloak. "It's called high-stakes strategy. I just happened to have a small setback."
Blaze snorted. "More like a high-stakes beating."
Despite their bickering, Lucas and Kaito joined the group, and they continued their journey toward Solhaven.
As they walked, their conversation drifted back to Ironclad, the first bandit group Blaze, Nephis, and Lucas had fought before becoming Wizard Knights.
Kaito, who had been mostly quiet, suddenly grinned. "Ahh, Ironclad… Good times."
Lucas snorted. "Good times? Kaito, we found you locked up like a criminal to be executed."
Akira smirked. "Yeah, if I remember correctly, you were the first to beg for help."
Kaito scoffed. "Lies! I was simply biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike."
Blaze deadpanned. "You were literally crying about how unfair life was."
"TACTICAL TEARS!" Kaito defended, puffing his chest. "It made them lower their guard. A true genius move."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So the part where you yelled 'Please, I have a weak constitution!' was part of the plan?"
Nephis, smirking, added, "And when the Ironclad leader, Raven, wanted to kill you, you said 'SORRY, SIR, I'LL BE THE BEST PRISONER EVER"
Kaito coughed into his fist. "Ahem. As I said, strategic surrender."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so strategic that we had to save your sorry ass."
Nephis chuckled. "Honestly, the real miracle is that we all survived. Raven was close to killing us all before Troy from Blue Whisper squad showed up.
Blaze's grin faded slightly. "Yeah… that guy wasn't normal. If Troy hadn't intervened, we would have kiss the dust ."
Akira sighed dramatically. "And here I thought this would be a lighthearted trip down memory lane. Instead, it's 'Remember When We Almost Died: The Sequel.'"
Kaito smirked. "Well, I was never in any real danger."
Lucas facepalmed. "You were literally chained to a boulder."
Kaito waved him off. "Minor detail."
The group laughed as they continued their journey, but the memory of Ironclad still lingered.
Unlike Mussel City, which had been eerily silent, Solhaven was… alive. But something was off.
People moved around, talking, working, selling goods. But their faces—
Sorrowful. Empty.
Even as merchants called out deals, there was no excitement.
Children should have been playing in the streets. But instead, there were very few children at all.
Kaito, ever observant, whispered, "Guys, do you notice how… few kids are here?"
Blaze frowned. Now that he mentioned it, the number of children in the entire city seemed alarmingly low.
Volt shrugged. "Maybe they're in school?"
Nephis shook her head. "Something's wrong."
But they decided not to ask—not yet. The residents already looked on edge. The last thing they needed was to make them feel worse.
As they moved through the city, even Kaito, usually full of jokes, fell silent.
He had earlier described Solhaven as looking "lively."
Now? It felt more like a stage performance, where everyone was pretending to be okay.
They were soon led to the mayor's residence, a grand building near the center of the city.
Inside, they were met by Mayor Raegan, a tall man with graying hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite his age, his presence was overwhelming—an aura of power.
Blaze, with his trained senses, immediately noticed. This man was strong.
Lucas whispered, "He's at the mid-stages of the Alkan Phase."
The entire group was shocked. Someone that powerful was in charge here?
Raegan studied them, clearly unimpressed. "You're not the elite squad I was expecting."
Volt muttered, "We get that a lot."
The mayor sighed. "Not much choice. You'll have to do."
He leaned forward, his expression darkening. "Let's get straight to the point. You're here because of the Aurora Bandits."
Blaze crossed his arms. "What do we need to know?"
Raegan's gaze hardened. "They're the reason our protectors are gone."
Akira narrowed his eyes. "You mean your city guards?"
Raegan shook his head. "No. Solhaven's true defenders were the Obsidian Fangs."
The group stiffened. Obsidian Fangs? That was a well-known faction!
Lucas frowned. "Wait… what happened to them?"
Raegan's hands clenched into fists. "The Aurora Bandits hunted them down. One by one. Even our leader—who was at the Alkyl Phase—was slaughtered."
Silence filled the room.
That level of strength wasn't something any normal bandit should be able to deal with.
Blaze exchanged looks with Nephis, Akira, and the others. This mission just became a whole lot more dangerous.
Kaito, trying to lighten the mood, chuckled nervously. "S-So, uh… how much did they steal?"
Raegan exhaled heavily. "Money means nothing to us."
Kaito blinked. "Huh?"
Raegan's voice dropped.
"They don't target gold. They don't take supplies."
Blaze frowned. "Then… what do they want?"
Raegan's face darkened.
"They take our children."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Kaito's usual playful expression vanished.
Lucas's fists clenched.
Blaze took a deep breath, his mind racing.
Bandits stealing kids? That wasn't normal.
Nephis asked the only question that mattered.
"…What would a group of bandits want with children?"
No one had an answer.
But whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
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