Chapter 860: The Opening Of The Mission Hall


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    A few dayster, the Mission Hall was once again opened, offering students missions they could take outside of the academy.


    Truth be told, there were some opinions iming that the Mission Hall should remain closed this year due to the threat of the Fomorians.


    However, after careful consideration, Professor Rinehart decided to let the students take missions, especially the First Years, because until the threat was upon them, it would be best if they could gain experience in the field.


    Since the Academy might be the battlefield for the war, it was important that all students, even those who had just enrolled in the academy, were ready to defend themselves.


    Thebat-oriented sses had all stepped up their game, encouraging the students to duel with their Professors and each other, allowing them to get a better feel of what realbat was like.


    Ethan eyed the Mission Hall with nostalgia. Thinking about it, this was where everything began.


    His first mission, a supposedly simple task to escort a client, didn''t proceed ording to what he had in mind.


    They were attacked by a bandit group led by rogue wizards, forcing him and Lily to enter a Nexus that took them back to the past, where he was hailed as the Tidebringer.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Everything that happened back then felt like a lifetime ago, and yet, the events were still fresh in his mind as if they had just happened yesterday.


    "What''s wrong, Brother?" Joanne, whom Ethan had apanied to the Mission Hall, asked. "Are you worried about the gazes of the guys that are looking in our direction?"


    "Hmm?" Ethan nced at his surroundings and noticed that many First Years were looking in his direction.


    It took him a while to understand why they were looking in his direction, and when the realization hit him, he couldn''t help but show a bitter smile on his face.


    Currently, he was holding hands with Joanne and Princess Ramona, who asked him to escort them to the Mission Hall.


    Most of the First Years, as well as the upper years, had their eyes on the two beautifuldies, who had shown great potential during the Initiation Ceremony.


    Although Joanne was still young, it was obvious that she would grow up to be a very powerful witch. Naturally, no one wanted to wait for other people to take a step ahead in trying to win her good graces.


    Princess Ramona, on the other hand, was also their object of affection.


    Her Magic was extremely powerful-albeit with a big downside-but she couldn''t really use it, for any other spell aside from body strengthening spells would summon a random Elemental that would nearly a hundred percent attack thedy.


    But that downside didn''t stop anyone from thinking that since her magic was extremely powerful, her bloodline might help increase the prestige of their own bloodline if she agreed to their marriage proposal.


    Such was the way of thinking for Magical Families, especially the Old Families who truly cared about the bloodline of their lineage.


    As for why Ethan was escorting the two teenage girls, it was because they had asked him to pick out a mission for them, which Ethan didn''t reject.


    Knowing that his sister''s confidence was sometimes out of bounds, he was worried that she would pick an extremely difficult mission that might endanger their lives.


    "Let''s go, Brother," Joanne said as she pulled Ethan towards the entrance of the Mission hall. "The good missions might be taken if we don''t hurry."


    "Fine," Ethan replied with a smile because Joanne seemed really excited about going out on a mission with her best friend.


    The students of Schwartz Manor had invited Joanne many times to join their team, so they could work together to clear missions.


    But Joanne politely rejected them all, saying that she already formed a team with Ramona.


    Of course, they insisted that adding Ramona to their team wasn''t a problem, but Joanne still rejected their invitations.


    The youngdies, who were members of the Meredith n and assigned to guard Joanne, were almost in tears because Joanne didn''t want them to join their group.


    Fortunately, Ethan told his sister to not make things difficult for the members of their Protector ns.


    Heeding her brother''s words, Joanne reluctantly agreed to let two of the four youngdies, who had been assigned to protect her, join their team.


    The four teenage girls, Themis, Eunomia, Dike, and Eirene were finally able to breathe easier. At least two from their group managed to worm their way onto their Young Mistress'' team.


    Ethan eyed the pir where countless missions were posted.


    He raised his wand and pointed at one of the posted missions hanging near the top of the pir, making it fly in his direction.


    "Escort a Merchant Group traveling to the Beastkin Territory," Ethan said. "Applicants must have a good rtionship with Beastkins, or must be someone proficient in dealing with


    them."


    "Eh? That sounds boring," Joanne puffed her cheeks. "I want something filled with action! Like... hunt down Bandits or hunt down Rogue Wizards and Witches!"


    "Don''t underestimate escort missions, Joanne," Princess Ramona said. "Have you forgotten? Your brother''s first mission was an escort mission, and he ended up in the Lands of stor." "Ah! Right!" Joanne suddenly became serious as she read the contents of the escort mission. "It says here that they need four teams to protect their caravan. The reward is forty-thousand Merit Points per team, so if the two of us split it, we get twenty thousand merit points each." Ethan''s sister pondered for a bit before looking at her best friend for her opinion.


    "So, should we get it?" Joanne asked. "There''s a high chance that we might get attacked by bandits along the way. This is exciting, right?"


    Princess Ramona giggled, seeing her best friend finally very eager to start the mission, contrary to her earlier reluctance.


    "I think it''s good," Princess Ramona replied. "I also want to see thend of the Beastkin where Master was born."


    Lily had told Princess Ramona that she should call her sister because they would be part of the same family in the future.


    However, the Princess couldn''t bring herself to do it, and asked Lily if she could still call her ''Master'' until she got used to the idea of calling her ''Sister''.


    Lily didn''t mind, so she agreed with Princess Ramona''s request.


    However, while the two youngdies had already made up their mind, Ethan was feeling a bit


    anxious.


    Just like what Princess Ramona had said, his first mission was a mere escort mission, yet it turned out to be a battle of life and death.


    At that thought, he was feeling conflicted whether he should send the two girls to take on


    such a mission.


    "Don''t be such a worrywart, Brother," Joanne, who seemed to understand what her brother was thinking, confidently patted her chest. "Don''t worry, since there are three other teams aside from us, we will be able to ovee any problems. Also, Ramona and I are not weak. We can handle a few Rogue Wizards without problems."


    A few minutester, Ethan sighed before nodding in agreement.


    "Okay," Ethan replied. "But be careful. Confidence is a good trait. Overconfidence is not. Just


    be careful on this mission, okay?"


    ""Yes!""


    Both girls replied in unison, and Joanne hurriedly ran over to one of the staff members to have


    their mission approved.


    When he was certain that the two girls were out of earshot, Ethan ordered Dainsleif to guard


    both of them.


    With the Ancient Wendigo watching over the two youngdies, Ethan would be able to have some peace of mind. His Ancient Wendigo was undoubtedly a powerful monster, which only a handful of people in the Shire Continent might be able to defeat.