Turtle Crew

Missions were categorized in three colours in the [Mission Floor]. The missions were usually requested by feudal lords in the Greenhill Kingdom, merchants or even other magical academies in the continent who requested assistance.

The blue colour was meant for the lower danger missions. While the pay and difficulty widely differed based on the mission, the blue-coloured missions were the least dangerous and they were meant for beginner rank acolytes. Missions like patrolling, which Greem got through the Sky Eagle Mercenary Group's network, were all marked as blue.

The Yellow colour was meant for medium-danger missions, and usually, elite parties of beginner rank acolytes or intermediate rank acolytes would choose to complete them. However, the mortality rate for those kind of missions was quite high, and every year, many acolytes would lose their lives out of greed, overestimating their strength.

As for red-colour missions, there were only a couple of them in the mission floor, and besides the advanced rank acolytes, no one would even dare to look at its contents.

Naturally, there were missions which were not dangerous and classified as yellow-ranked, especially when they were of high difficulty regarding craftsmanship. So the pay and dangerousness of missions were not absolute, but enough to get an overall evaluation of what you were getting into.

With his strength, Greem didn't need a party to complete the easiest blue-ranked missions from the mission floor.

Unlike elemental acolytes who needed to preserve their mana, Greem possessed the physical strength and agility of a knight, and even mastered a knight killing technique. Even if he did not use his frozen enchant spell, his durability and combat prowess far exceeded that of an average beginner rank acolyte.

Of course, he had weaknesses too. Although he was strong in close combat, he would find it very hard to defeat a beginner rank acolyte of the same level if he could not close the distance. This is why Greem relied on his stealth as well when he had to fight a fellow apprentice.

In the arena, three acolytes were looking at the fight unfolding before them with great attention. On the table, there were several pouches filled with gold coins, as well as a couple of magic crystals, the main currency in the Citadel

"Do you think he will be able to beat him?", Swale asked, her hand running through her blazing red hair with a bit of anxiousness

"The boy has shown tremendous tenacity over the past month, and it seems like Spark cannot keep up with him anymore. Although he still seems on the winning side attribute-wise, it is quite obvious that the boy is more skilled with the sword", Ourin said.

Be it Swale, Ourin or Elazar, who observed the fight with great interest, all three of them were actually big shots in the Citadel, especially famous among the beginner rank acolytes. As for intermediate rank acolytes, these people either hid in their laboratories all day long or ventured outside the tower for the sake of completing long-term missions.

With Spark, the barbarian-like knight fighting in the arena, they were the [Turtle Crew], a famous balanced party of beginner rank acolytes who could complete subjugation of ant folks, humanoid magical beasts that had conquered most of the region around the Citadel.

Besides the lucrative rewards, antfolks possessed tremendously hard exo-skeletons that could be sold for hundreds of gold coins. If refined into armour, then it could even be sold for one or two magic crystals, making any expedition in antfolk nests very rewarding.

Unfortunately, these beasts were very strong, and without a proper party, going inside a nest was nothing short of committing suicide. Hence, the repeated successful expeditions of the Turtle Crew earned them considerable reputation within the tower.

As a body refinement acolyte, Spark, their vanguard, trained in the 11th floor of the tower, called the [Arena Floor]. For the sake of sharpening his skills, Spark offered 10 gold coins to anyone willing to fight him. If they won against him, he was willing to give up a magical ingredient among a collection of lower-grade herbs.

It was a tremendous opportunity for Greem. Although he ended up with broken bones thrice in the past two months, he could feel his skills and attributes going up at a tremendous rate, the effects of harsh sparring being incomparable to the basic knight training he used to do in his room.

[Name: Greem Steelguard

Rank - Beginner Acolyte

Strength - 7 | Agility - 5 | Vitality - 5 | Magic Power - 6

Talent - [Upper Low Grade]

Affinity - [Water]

Perk - Knight Physique

Spell mastered: [Frozen Enchant] (Zero Circle)

Skill mastered: Greenhill Breathing Technique (Knight Level), Greenhill Military Swordsmanship (Knight Level)

Knight Killing Technique: Hyena Heavy Cleave (Knight Level)]

As the two apprentices fought the sparring arena, the difference in their styles was immediately apparent. Greem stood tall, his form graceful and precise. He held his great sword with a firm grip, his eyes fixed on his opponent. Spark, on the other hand, crouched low, his muscles bulging beneath his skin. He snarled like an animal, his eyes wild and unpredictable.

The two circled each other warily, each sizing up the other's strengths and weaknesses. Greem knew that Spark's greatest asset was his strength. He would have to avoid the brute force of Spark's attacks and use his speed and agility to his advantage. After dozens of fights, Greem had studied his opponents and he had managed to uncover this much data, clearly understanding Spark's strengths and weaknesses.

[Name: Spark | Rank - Beginner Acolyte

Strength - 10 | Agility - 3 | Vitality - 7 | Magic Power - 5

Talent - [Medium Low Grade]

Affinity - [Earth]

Spell mastered: [Tough Skin] (Zero Circle), [Beast Senses] (Zero Circle)

Skill mastered: Basic Brawling (Preparatory Knight Level), (?)]

His attributes were worthy of praise. Spark was not an elite beginner rank acolyte for no reason. Besides having mastered two spells, he also possessed monstrous strength and vitality that allowed him to fight on par with magical beasts. However, he also happened to have one huge weakness: he possessed too much muscle mass to move around swiftly.

With a sudden burst of energy, Spark charged at Greem, swinging his massive fists in a wide arc. Greem stepped aside with ease, his sword flashing out to deliver a sharp strike to Spark's side. The barbarian grunted in pain, but he didn't give up. His eyes showed tremendous surprise once again. Two months ago, his opponent could not last for more than a couple of minutes. Now, Greem could not only easily dodge his blows, the strength and precision behind his sword had also improved by leaps and bounds.

He lunged forward again, this time with a ferocious roar. He knew he would end up losing this match if the fight lasted for too long. His arm was already bleeding profusely, so his strength would gradually decrease.

Greem parried Spark's attack with skill, but he knew he couldn't keep this up for long. Even then, he had to use his opponent's momentum against himself. With a sudden feint, he drew Spark in close, then spun around with lightning-fast speed. His sword sliced through the air, and he felt it connect with Spark's heel.

Spark howled in agony, collapsing to the ground. Greem stood over him, his sword at the ready. He had won the fight, his first real victory out of dozens of challenges. The cut to Spark's heel was a deliberate and heinous move, a way to end the fight while causing fatal damage. In the Greenhill Kingdom, this type of injury would mark the end of a knight. However, there were plenty of means to heal this kind of injury in the Citadel.

"Spark!", Swale shouted, completely taken aback by this development

As the other apprentice Ourin rushed forward to tend to Spark's injuries, Greem walked away from the arena, as if to claim his prize. With Ourin's skills, even if he were an excellent healer-type acolyte, he would not be able to repair the injury to the point where Spark would be able to fight. His already low agility made him unflexible, and this wound basically crippled him for the next three to six months, unless he could purchase the medium-grade healing potions. However, these items were far too expensive, and relying on low-grade healing potions would still claw him to his bed for quite a long time.

Greem grabbed the [Eastern Dragon Grape], and consumed it raw. It was said to be a great source of nourrishment, one that could raise the average apprentice's strength by one whole point. Of course, Greem had long since gone past the realm of the average human being, and the magical ingredient's effects were greatly lessened. Still, he could feel his strength increasing slightly. He knew his strength would rise if he consumed dozens or hundreds of them.

His blow was deliberate, but it all happened too fast. Furthermore, Greem had completely cut through Spark's heel, which could not be seen unless the healer was an expert in physical anatomy. Most likely, it would take them days to discover that Spark had been crippled in the fight.

'Body refinement acolytes on par with Spark can be counted on one's hands in the tower...As for those willing to replace him in the Turtle Crew, reputed for its dangerous expeditions, I doubt anyone would apply to join them on their own...', Greem analysed

He had not crippled his sparring partner for no reason at all.

All of it, from approaching Spark to crippling him, had been for the sake of joining the Turtle Crew.

As expected, Elazar came to find him a couple of days later, with an uneasy and pleading look.