Markus strode into the mission hall nonchalantly; it was one of the busiest places in the academy.
"How may I help you, fellow student?" A student was manning a counter in the mission hall.
Contribution credits could be obtained through several pathways.
1 – Performing Academic Tasks
2- Completing missions
3 – Participating in military training
4 – Completing Alchemy or Array Tasks
5 – Arena Challenges
"I would like to browse for available Tier-1 and Tier-2 Missions," Markus requested.
"Your student badge."
Markus handed over his badge, "First Year, Ranking: 1" displayed on the digital system in front of him.
"First-year students are only allowed to accept Tier-1 missions."
"Headmistress Quartz gave me permission to accept up to Tier-2(up to level 29) missions," Markus explained, as he browsed through the missions.
[Tier 1 - Harvest Glimmer herb]
Location: Outskirts of the Forbidden Forest
Objective: Collect 10 stalks of Glimmer Root.
Reward: Up to 50 CP, dependent on the quality of harvest.
[Tier 1 – Eliminate Stoneskin Rats]
Location: Capital Sewage System
Objective: Eliminate the growing herd of Stoneskin Rats in the Valerian Capital Sewage System.
Reward: 30 CP. Bonus if the source of rats is discovered.
[Tier 2 – Mana-Orb Calibration]
Location: Academy Training Halls
Objective: Stabilize the Mana – Orbs surrounding meditation chambers and arena grounds.
Requirement: Alchemical Knowledge of Mana Orbs
Reward: 50 CP.
[Tier 2 – Tutoring Session]
Location: Valerian Royal Family Estate
Objective: Tutor the youngest daughter of the Valerian Crown Prince
Requirements: Proficiency in the lightning element
Reward: 150 CP
[Tier 2 – Portal Maintenance]
Location: Academy grounds
Objective: Clear a Level 20 portal to stabilize its energy output. (The academy's foundation is built upon several portals to serve as the school's energy source.)
Reward: 100 CP
Markus selected the portal maintenance task.
[Task instructions: Enter the central lift in the academy, head to the 5th basement level]
Markus daydreamed as the lift descended, heading towards the mission area.
"Good afternoon, student, please scan your student badge," a level 42 professor sat by the entrance of the basement guardhouse.
This guardhouse has a professor stationed 24/7 to prevent mana overflow from destroying the arrays under the academy's foundations.
Markus tapped his student badge onto the ID scanner, and the doors slid open. Neon lights shone on the pathway guiding him towards his mission area.
(Wow, incorporating technology and magic sure is fascinating.)
Markus stood in front of a glimmering blue portal; the mana pulsing from the portal was at a stronger frequency compared to the other portals in its vicinity.
"Student, hurry up and clear the portal. You have about 6 hours before it upgrades from a level 29 portal to a level 30 portal." The professor shouted across the room.
Markus nodded and stepped into the vertical whirlpool of liquid starlight.
Stepping into solid ground on the other end of the portal, Markus had his guard up and checked his status panel.
----------------------------------------------------------
Name: Markus Blackwell
Age: 10
Class: Void Apprentice
Affinities: Space (L), Time (L)(Sealed), Fate (EX)
Level: 1
Strength: 50
Agility: 50
Constitution: 50
Intelligence: 200
Available free attributes: 0
Active Skills:
Spatial Slash
Spatial Bubble
Passive Skills:
Body refinement (Tier 3)
Void Perception
Dimensional Inventory (100 x 100 sqm)
Fate's Eye
Equipment:
Valerian Academy Student Badge
Aurelian Royal Family Crest
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 3)
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 1)
----------------------------------------------------------
Markus checked through his infinite-dimensional inventory and made sure his supplies were in order.
"Spatial Perception"
Markus expanded his sensory range outwards with a radius of 150 meters.
(No immediate threats)
He started analysing his immediate surroundings, which seems to be one of the academy's resources for cultivating herbs.
He noted the tall grass surrounding him, accompanied by a vibrant green forest.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
A rhythmic, bone-shaking roar sounded across the plains. A stampede of level 10-19 Thunderous Cattle, their hooves turning the grasslands into a dust storm.
At the rear of the horde, a level 29 Behemoth emerged. It was an unnatural monstrosity, teeming on the edge of level 30, four times the size of its brethren, with horns conducting electricity and eyes clouded by a mana-induced frenzy.
It drove its kin forward, a living avalanche of beasts.
(I guess this is where we get our steaks from the dining hall.)
As the lead bull came within 20 meters, Markus didn't flinch. He simply raised his hand and waved it towards them.
[Spatial blade]
[Spatial blade]
[Spatial blade]
[Spatial blade]
[Spatial blade]
Five translucent ripples in spaces cleaved through the air.
There was no resistance.
The spatial blades cleaved through the front ranks of the horde, collapsing instantly, extinguishing their momentum.
The result was a gruesome pile-up. The cows at the rear, unable to stop their frantic momentum, tripped over the severed remains of the front line.
The stampede halted, the thunderous roar of hooves replaced by thuds of thousand-pound bodies bouldering across the grass.
Markus stepped over a fallen carcass. The level 29 thunderous bull came to a halt, its massive nostrils flaring as it met its opponent.
Markus propped his leg over a bull and rested his armon his knee.
"Let's see if the dining hall pays extra for you."
[Spatial bubble]
Markus didn't move to strike. Instead, he used his defensive ability, refusing to take any risks in this portal.
The colossus thunderous bull lowered its ivory horns, and electricity began to charge around it.
[Spatial slash]
Markus targeted its left horn, cleanly severing the horn from its head.
There was no sound of a blade cutting meat. Only the absolute silence of reality being unzipped.
The Behemoth's horn didn't break; it simply ceased to be attached, the atoms on either side of the spatial rift perfectly smooth.
The lightning spell lost its stability while charging up and detonated on itself.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
The beast was further enraged, charging forward at Markus with reckless abandon.
Markus stepped onto a fallen bull's carcass and leapt over the charging beast.
[Spatial slash]
[Spatial slash]
[Spatial slash]
[Spatial slash]
Markus sent 4 consecutive strikes as he vaulted over the charging beast's neck.
Each strike cutting deeper through the neck of the beast till it completely severed its head from its body.
Markus spared the remaining herd, allowing them to graze across the grassy plains. The portal instability has been addressed with the execution of the level 29 thunderous bull.
(Status Panel)
----------------------------------------------------------
Name: Markus Blackwell
Age: 10
Class: Void Apprentice
Affinities: Space (L), Time (L)(Sealed), Fate (EX)
Level: 19
Strength: 50
Agility: 50
Constitution: 50
Intelligence: 200
Available free attributes: 95
Active Skills:
Spatial Slash
Spatial Bubble
Passive Skills:
Body refinement (Tier 3)
Void Perception
Dimensional Inventory (100 x 100 sqm)
Fate's Eye
Equipment:
Valerian Academy Student Badge
Aurelian Royal Family Crest
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 3)
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 1)
----------------------------------------------------------
With a flick of the wrist, he stored the fallen beasts into his infinite-dimensional inventory and made his way back to the portal location.