14 Taking Missions

Nemesis went to the library first thing in the morning. He plans to spend most of the day here. Scanning all alchemy books will take a long time, but he will finish them all in time.

Taking books from shelves faster than yesterdays, he gets the hang of it. Processing the incoming information is making his head hurt a bit but the system says that his level is too low. Only if he can level up more, then he can read and process all the information faster.

Having spent his time in here all day he then went to the cafeteria to eat and then check the Mission Hall for any task available so he can have an excuse to leave the school. Yeah his classes are just once a week but the classrooms are open and the professors are available should students want to study more.

This school is very lax regarding the student's classes. They can attend classes once a week; spend their days on research, take a leave for missions outside school, or not attend at all. But at the end of the year, the students must pass all the exams for their respective subjects. Failure to do so will have them stay on their current year with lessened freedom and stricter schedule enforcement, meaning that it will now be mandatory to attend classes every day and not like the last time where they can only attend once a week.

Each student only have three chances, if they exceed the count, they will be kicked out of the academy. Even the students know this, they didn't even think to slack and fail the end of the year exams.

The rewards for having high scores are all enticing. For example, being in the top 3 will get you your own research laboratory for your magical research and spell practice. You'll also get materials for your levelling. The school will provide you with high level beast cores to absorb.

Absorbing beast cores will increase your overall stats. They are also used for upgrading certain spells. Beasts with abundant mana are the ones that were always hunted and used.

The rest of the rewards were for the chance to stay in one of the Mage Towers around the Empire. Mage towers can only help a person to slightly increase his stats especially mana. It's slow, but that's the alternative for students that can't achieve the top 3 spots.

Now with all these rewards in place, the competition is really high amongst everyone in every year. Students from Lower or Middle Sections can occasionally beat the students from Upper and take these rewards. If they appear, the school will nurture them until the day they graduate.

With all these in mind, Nemesis started to go the Mission Hall. The Mission Hall is on the other side of the campus. It's near the foggy lake in the southwest part of the school.

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Entering the building, there are groups of students discussing what missions they will take.

Nemesis arrived at the mission board to look at what mission will take him the longest time to return. He needs it to level up fast and do the 2nd [Rebirth] as well if he can.

On the list were missions to kill monsters in Feigrbiǫð, the doomed land. It's a cursed land that is further beyond the desert on the western side of Midgard. It's a place where undead creatures like Draugar spawn.

The place is said to be cursed after a Demon King was killed ten thousand years ago. It was a war that lasted a thousand years to end when a great Mage in the Empire rise and engage the demons in that place.

The war ended, and so is the Demon King. Then the Mage disappeared after the war. Many speculates that he dies alongside the Demon King as their fight destroyed the nearby land and in turn turned into a desert years later.

The next was hunting witches in Vǫlvabjǫð, the witch fields. These witches were corrupted by demonic powers and wreaking havoc in the Empire from time to time. This place is just south of Feigrbiǫð. Yeah witches and undeads in the same neighborhood. Over the years these witches learned to control the undead when they discovered Necromancy.

Now with these two monsters near the boarders of the Empire, the school was giving missions like these to at least minimize their numbers and not have a potential undead swarm from that place and into the Empire.

When Nemesis saw all these, he just laughed at it in his head.

"Heh. A place where a Demon King was killed. I think it's just a level 300 or something monster when it happened. A place with many monsters to kill and maybe more treasures as well."

"Other people might've looted some of it over the years, but I think there are still more hidden in that place waiting for me to take. Ah grave robbing and treasure hunting. This will be exciting." He then went to the counter to apply for the mission.

He was welcomed by a grumpy looking old man on the counter reading a book.

"So kid what mission are you here for? Say it fast as I want to finish this." the old man impatiently said.

"Ah I would like to apply for the undead extermination mission in Feigrbiǫða and also the witch hunt in Vǫlvabjǫð." Nemesis politely replied.

"Huh? Aren't you a little young to take those missions? Most kids at your age just take the herb picking jobs in the mountains or research assistants for higher year students. Enjoy your youth kid; take them when you are old enough."

"Well I can take care of myself. I have some lifesaving tricks for those situations so senior can just relax."

"Relax my ass. You kids really want to play heroes huh. Well, let me tell you something. Over the years I've been working here, I've seen many kids like you take those missions on that place. The result? Most of them died. Some had returned but lost their insanity, lost a limb or two, returned with their incomplete corpse, or the worst of all turned into an undead by those Necromancers and Witches and never returned. So give it up and take my advice kid."

"Im really sure that I want to take those missions senior. Nothing will change my mind with that. Im sorry."

"Another brat that doesn't appreciate other people's kindness. Well here you go. These tokens will detect and count the undead or witches you kill. Just keep it with you at all times. The detection range is 500 meters. And incase you die, the tokens will be destroyed automatically and we will know that you died on that place. Now bind those tokens with your blood so we can monitor your life and progress." the old man annoyingly said.

"Ah, thank you senior." Nemesis bowed and left the building.

Seeing the fading silhouette of the kid in the distance, the old man sighed.

"Another talent that will be lost in that wretched place. I hope that kid won't be turned into an undead and return here with its corpse, even incomplete. I should've stopped my son all those years ago. I really regret that I didn't find his remains. Sigh."

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Nemesis left the building and went back to the library to finish the whole first floor of all the alchemy books in there and also find books about those places.

"Ha! Finally I can level up again. [Rebirth] will be such a pain but I hope I get more rewards after it besides the ones that the system has said. First times will surely have its surprises, right? Hahahahahaha."

"Man, that old man sure is grumpy looking but he really cares for the students taking missions there. Good thing he allowed me to get it without the additional permissions and whatnot in the higher ups. Maybe the school also lets its student train in there. Well whatever. Many had died on that place."

"I'm really excited on what the Demon King has in stored for me there since we are both Demons. Maybe his tomb will attract me. Ill also prepare in case his soul is still in there somewhere and waiting to take another body. I think there's a spell that can counter body possessions in the library or spells I know from novels and games."

"I'll do that tomorrow. Yeah."