The next day, Desper woke up in the bedroom of his apartment. He touched the spots on his neck where the ape's claws had pierced him. He was amazed that they had healed.
"The Healing Pills never fail to surprise me."
Yesterday, he took a Healing Pill from the Medical Pavilion after the test, and wounds that might have needed weeks to heal disappeared in only one day.
Suddenly, Desper narrowed his eyes. He felt something strange, as if it were calling him. He looked around and found that this call was coming from the small item on the table beside him.
"That is really…" Desper was surprised as he picked up his token. "How does it even work?"
The token was now glowing with a blue light.
"The mission," he murmured.
Each light the token emitted had a different meaning. The blue light meant that it was time for a mission, and the disciple had to go to the Order Hall that day to receive it.
There were many other colors, like orange, white, red, and others. The red one was the most important and the rarest among them. It meant that the sect had an emergency, and the disciple must return immediately if he was outside. Not answering this call might result in execution.
Desper got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He took a shower, then changed into his sect uniform before leaving the apartment.
After having breakfast, he went to the Order Hall.
It was still crowded with many disciples, all of them dressed in the sect's uniform. They gathered in small groups, since most missions required a team.
Usually, for a new disciple like Desper, no one would want to pick him for their team, so the Hall would assign one to him, and that team couldn't refuse. However, Desper didn't need that.
He stood alone and waited for about half an hour.
"Good morning, Desper," a voice came from behind.
He turned and saw a man with red eyes and red hair, holding a long spear.
"Good morning, Eland," Desper greeted him.
After picking him up from the village and introducing him to the sect, Eland had been visiting him from time to time over the past three months. Yesterday, Eland offered him a place on his team, and Desper had no reason to refuse.
"Are you ready for your first mission?" Eland asked with a smile.
"I think so," Desper shrugged.
"Let me introduce you to the team," Eland said, pointing at the five men behind him.
When Desper looked at their faces, he recalled seeing them in the village three months ago. However, he wasn't in the mood to observe them closely.
"This is Taros, and this is Silas."
Desper looked up at the giant man called Taros. He had bronze skin, and his head was completely bald. He held a mace and a tower shield the size of his body. Beside him stood Silas. His face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. Desper felt a sharp aura surrounding him. He wasn't holding any weapon.
Together with Eland, they were Organ Cultivators. Eland and Taros were in the Fifth Stage, while Silas was the strongest in the team, at the Seventh Stage.
"This is Zen, Arkan, and Bron."
Zen was short and thin, with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. Arkan was a tall, blond, handsome man wielding a spear like Eland.
Last came Bron. He was the oldest; Desper guessed he was in his late thirties. He had an average build and a cheerful face. A sword hung at his waist.
All three were Muscle Cultivators. Zen was in the Seventh Stage, Arkan in the Ninth Stage, and Bron in the Tenth Stage.
"Guys, this is Desper I told you about," Eland said.
"HAHAHAHAHA, so you are our new member," Taros laughed as he stepped closer to Desper.
He patted Desper's shoulder several times. Desper felt as if his shoulder was about to break.
"N-nice to meet you," Desper said with a forced smile.
"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too," Taros replied, still patting his shoulder.
Desper suppressed the urge to cut off his arm, even though he didn't have enough strength to do so.
"Taros, restrain yourself. He is far weaker than you."
Desper saw the middle-aged man called Bron approach them.
"Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't had a new disciple with us for a while, so I got carried away," Taros apologized sincerely.
"Please forgive him. Sometimes he acts before thinking," Bron said with a sigh.
"I understand," Desper nodded, rubbing his aching shoulder.
Bron changed the topic. "by the way, I didn't expect the new talent to join our team."
"New talent?" Desper was startled.
"Don't be shy." Bron put his arm around Desper. "Yesterday, after the new disciples' test, everyone heard about the new disciple called Desper who reached the Third Stage of Muscle Cultivation in only three months. You are only the tenth to achieve this in our sect's history."
Desper was utterly shocked. He had never expected something like that to happen.
'I hope nothing bad comes from it,' Desper muttered inwardly.
He didn't mind the fame, but he didn't want it to raise suspicions about him being a Svikari.
"HAHAHAH…" Taros laughed again. "That is very good. You won't be as useless as the other new disciples."
"The first to die are the arrogant geniuses." Silas joined the conversation. "Don't overestimate yourself. You are too weak."
His tone was full of depression and pessimism.
'What is wrong with this group?' Desper thought, annoyed.
"Silas, stop."
Desper was glad to see Eland intervene.
"Let's carry out our mission," Eland said, leading the group into the Order Hall and toward a room with the words 'Stationing Missions' written on it.
The room was very large, with many old men sitting at tables, each with one in front of him. There were also several teams of disciples receiving their missions from them.
"These Stationing Missions are considered the safest, so they are the perfect choice for a new disciple's first mission." Bron came closer to Desper and explained, "So, you don't need to worry about it."
"Thank you," Desper said, grateful for his concern.
Eland headed toward an empty table.
"We need a Stationing Mission," he told the old man.
After that, Eland placed his token on the table. So did the others. Seeing that, Desper did the same.
Desper noticed that Eland's token was slightly different; it had many diagonal blue lines running along each side.
'The Leader Token,' Desper thought.
To become a team leader, a disciple had to pass another test, which was very difficult, as it required extensive knowledge about monsters and missions. The test determined whether he could lead other disciples or simply get them killed.
The old man took the tokens, passing them across the table one by one. After that, he took out a circular board and handed it to Eland along with the tokens.
'The Detection Disk,' Desper named inwardly.
Basically, it was the most important tool for the mission. It could detect Spatial Cracks, Distress Signals, the level of monsters, and many other things. Without it, they wouldn't be able to do anything during the mission.
Eland took them and handed each person his token.
"Let's go."
They left the Order Hall and headed to another distant place in the village. There, Desper saw a very wide, short stone wall encircling a vast expanse of land. He was amazed as he saw thousands of large red horses running inside. The horses seemed peaceful and playful with one another.
Eland approached an old man and spoke to him, showing the Detection Disk.
Desper turned to Bron and asked, "Why is everything in the sect handled by old men? I don't mean to be rude, but…"
Bron smiled. "That's because they are too old."
"Huh?" Desper looked at him in confusion.
"All of them were once disciples like us. They were lucky to survive to this age, and unlucky that they couldn't break through the Channel Forming Level. Now, they are too old to fight monsters or to carry out any mission, so the sect assigns administrative work to them."
Bron added in a depressed tone, "Most likely, I will become one of them."
Desper opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him, as it was the truth. Bron was in his late thirties and still a Muscle Cultivator. It was clear that his body wasn't suited for cultivation.
After about ten minutes, the old man gave them six Crimson Horses and one Azure Horse.
Each member mounted one; Eland took the Azure Horse.
It was Desper's turn.
"Is it really going to be okay?" he asked, a little nervous.
"Don't worry. The Crimson Horses are very easy to ride," Eland assured him.
Desper nodded and climbed onto the horse. The horse moved slightly, making him lose his balance; he almost fell but managed to steady himself.
"You don't need to guide it. It will follow us," Eland explained. "Just hold the bridle, and everything will be fine."
Desper was still worried, but he did as Eland said, and the horse followed them on its own.
They moved slowly across the sect until they left it through the huge gate.
Desper took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the dry desert air. It was his first mission and the first step toward becoming a true disciple.