Mission

Chapter 14 - Mission

Mandatory missions were the horror of every acolytes. After all, they could not be refused, and even though the rewards were great, they were often very dangerous and would result in injuries or even deaths. In the last two weeks, out of the 67 acolytes in the tower, eight had already lost theirs lives.

However, all factions were asking for more mandatory missions. The reason was pretty simple. Magus Rutherford had set out specific rewards for factions in the tower. The factions would receive sets of rewards such as personal guidance, elixirs, high-grade rank 0 spells and even authority in the tower based on their rankings in the contribution ranking list.

[Ivory Tower Faction Rankings - Contribution Ranking

1°) Arcane Order - 5 860 Contribution Points

2°) Crimson Clan - 2 460 Contribution Points

3°) Master of Ravens (Individual) - 1 860 Contribution Points

4°) Ghost Sisterhood - 900 Contribution Points

5°) Bounty Hunter Clan - 650 Contribution Points

6°) Law Enforcement Faction - 540 Contribution Points

7°) Mercenary Guild - 320 Contribution Points

8°) United Faction - 220 Contribution Points

...]

Because Dorian could not participate in missions and had to assign them to individuals in the various factions, the Law Enforcement Faction only ranked 6 in spite of having 11 members. Arthur too, had refrained from participating in missions but it seemed like Dorian wished to reach new heights and contend for the top 5 spots.

"So...What is the mission about?", Arthur smiled

"A patrol of four beginner acolytes never returned from the Southern Mountains. I already sent an investigating acolyte, but he returned injured. He confirmed my worries. Orcs have been building settlements in the mountains, killing the dwarves who lived in this place", Dorian spoke

"How big of a settlement are we talking about? I am confident in my ability to take down a few orcs. But I am nowhere near the level of taking an army of orcs by myself"

"According to the investigating acolyte, we are talking about 50 orcs, perhaps a bit more. I want you to lead a team of 5 acolytes including you from the Law Enforcement Faction and get rid of them. Each member will receive 5 magic crystals, 10 knowledge points and 100 gold coins. As the leader, you will receive 10 magic crystals, 20 knowledge points and 300 gold coins. Are you confident now?", Dorian grinned.

He was obviously overpaying Arthur for the job. After all, most missions only paid a handful of magic crystals. Taking care of orcs was not that difficult. Granted, they possessed the physique of preparatory knights, or beginner level knights. However, they did not possess swordsmanship as skilled as knights, making it easy for a knight to take care of three or four orcs of the same level on his own.

As acolytes, as long as they remain focused and strong, taking care of a settlement of 50 orcs was an easy task, especially since half were bound to be elder orcs with little fighting capability, female orcs or even infant orcs with no fighting ability at all.

"How many contribution points can we expect from this mission?", Arthur asked out of curiosity

"I am not going to lie...It is quite enormous: If you complete it thoroughly with a complete report, it will probably amount to 300 contribution points. For the sake of fairness, however, I am not the one who assigns the amount of contribution points, but an elder close to Magus rutherford"

Arthur nodded.

This mission, if completed successfully, would earn the Law Enforcement Faction the 5th place.

"Orcs are growing fiercer every day. But they are not a monolith. The fact that they split their forces to build settlements must mean that Count Silverguard killed their leader. Every general must be seeking to become the next Orc King I suppose"

"Who knows?"

By the evening, Arthur had gathered his four companions.

[William - Level 5 Acolyte]

[Elizabeth Filister - Level 3 Acolyte]

[John Bellford - Level 3 Acolyte]

[Karl Yale - Level 6 Acolyte]

Elizabeth was a fine wood-elemental acolyte with one healing spell [Flower Healing]. William possessed the [Flame Arrow]. Karl Yale was a 58-years-old acolyte with tremendous experience and three spells, namely [Petrification Gaze], [Earth Spike] and [Earth Wall]. As for John and Arthur himself, both were body refinement acolytes.

It was a balanced team with tremendous assets. With his three enchanted items, Arthur was increasingly more confident in completing this mission flawlessly.

'Perhaps I will even get to find another enchanted item'

Besides Arthur, few were those who possessed appraisal abilities. Besides finding the said items, appraising them was just as hard and required countless hours of training. Hence, no one was aware of the existence of enchanted items, yet.

Still, not wanting to take any risks, Arthur took out 20 out of his 32 magic crystals and went straight to the market floor. There, he looked at the various shops, since he already knew all the items the Old Witch sold. The strengthening potions and toxins she was selling were not potent enough anymore to significantly improve his physique, at least in the short term. As for her enchanted items, they were suited for necromancers and witches, which did not suit his path as a warrior.

Dorian had recommended him to a dwarven blacksmith. Obviously, he was a Native judging from his green taint and lack of manners. Still, his talent in making weapons and talent in magic seemed to have successfully earned him a place in the tower. Judging from his shop, he was most likely ten times wealthier than Dorian himself. Plus, as a skilled artisan, he had the backing of the Arcane Faction and their high-grade meditation technique.

[Karg - Level 4 Beginner Acolyte]

If he had at least grade 2 talent, then he would reach the intermediate rank in a few years.

Arthur entered, and immediately fell in love with the weapons that were being sold.

[High-grade Cross Sword

Base Damage - 4

Weight - 6 kilograms]

[High-grade Claymore

Base Damage - 6

Weight - 12 Kilograms (two-handed weapon)]

However, the one sword that entered Arthur's mind was the one whose name shined in a blue light. His system could easily appraise items below a certain grade, and enchanted items were no exceptions.

[Celeste - Medium-Grade Enchanted Sword

Base Damage - 9

Additional effects: [Sharpness], [Sturdiness], [Bleeding Runes]

Weight - 5 Kilograms]

"Hello, Karg. Dorian Sylvester recommended me to this shop after making fun of my family heirloom", Arthur spoke while making a joke about the sword he had been wielding until now. Though it was a fine sword, it had suffered the passage of time and only possessed five base damage.

Getting Celeste, the medium-grade enchanted sword, would thus double his fighting prowess, or perhaps even more considering the additional effects the blade provided in terms of sharpness and sturdiness, not to mention the [Bleeding Rune] that increased the odds of inflicting hemorrhage

"20 magic crystals", Karg said with a stern look

Arthur smiled...and immediately tried to negotiate: "How about 15 magic crystals? You know how tough the times are..."

"20 magic crystals", Karg replied indifferently

An hour later, the same words escaped Karg's throat: "20 magic crystals"

This was the first time Arthur ever lost a negotiation in the tower. A tear flowing down his cheek, he unwillingly grabbed twenty magic crystals out of his pouch and put them on the table. Karg put his teeth on one of them, and after making sure that it was a real one, he put them in a small box before taking the sword out of its sheathe.

Twenty magic crystals for a medium-grade enchanted sword was not expensive or cheap. It was the market's price. Still, it was a harsh blow to the merchant skills he used to value. After all, he had always managed to bargain with merchants, including terrifying individuals such as Diana Blackhope.

But dwarves were off-limit.