Mission Day

Back on the outside, it was far into the late evening. As the night gradually crept over Pearlcrest City, Asher and Elsa were one of the last few still remaining in the streets.

The duo is currently at their meetup alleyway, and there was a certain silence permeating between them.

Both of them had already lifted their masks, revealing their faces that had incomparably serious expressions.

Out of everything they had experienced, this was probably the most serious they both had ever looked. Although, the duo had a very good reason to be this serious.

After all, tomorrow is their life-changing day.

They would take on a mission that would give them a reward that defies all common sense and permanently upgrade their soul talents.

Both of them were precisely aware of the tremendous risks that will come with this mission. And yet, neither Asher nor Elsa felt their confidence waver.

For the good of their future relationship, they urgently needed to complete this mission. Moreover, this mission would also do wonders for their own personal mental state. Willingly heading straight first into unending dangers would help develop their wills for future challenging situations.

All of these thoughts contemplated deep in both Asher and Elsa's minds.

Then, after only a few seconds of tense silence, Elsa suddenly spoke up. "It's better for me to get home early now to avoid any suspicions possibly cast on me. But for sure, I will have free reign all day tomorrow."

"Right. Now, remember, early morning, you will first meet Reese and Kylee. Then afterward, we'll venture out to the mission point." Asher stated, his tone sounding charismatically determined.

Elsa didn't verbally speak up, only silently nodding to affirm Asher's words.

The closer she gets to their inevitable day tomorrow, the more Elsa found it genuinely hard to suppress the anxiety swelling within her.

Even for how mature Elsa is for her age, tomorrow's mission is still a tremendous leap to take. The possibility of everything ending tomorrow is very real, and it was a genuine chilling thought.

Right then, it was as if Asher could directly read Elsa's mind. He suddenly gently grasps Elsa's shoulder, causing her to slightly shudder as warm energy softens her increasingly tensed body.

"No matter how insanely dangerous this is, Elsa, remember this, we are a team. Together, I'm undoubtedly sure we can get through this and grow to just unimaginable heights!" Asher's tone was full of unwavering confidence.

He directly stared right into Elsa's gorgeous eyes, showcasing to her a confident smile full of charm and bright sunny radiance.

"Huee~."

Elsa instinctively released a tension-filled sigh.

Just from this, she actually felt her body become lighter, and at the same time, her determination shot through the roof.

"Get plenty of rest tomorrow. It's first thing in the morning, and we can't delay for even a second." Elsa decided to give Asher a cautious reminder.

"Of course."

Was Asher's simple reply, but his voice was entirely firm.

Elsa gave one last nod to Asher before swiftly turning around and blurring from Asher's sight. In just a second, Asher was the only one left on the street.

'That was quite the nice little front you put on for that little girl, Asher. But really, with everything we have, you don't have to worry yourself to death even before the mission. Come on! Let's get pump!'

Yuki's brightly energetic voice sent tingles coursing down Asher's spine.

Asher could say a lot of things about Yuki, but one consistent thing about her was the fact she's terrific as a hype man.

Just from her words alone, Asher already felt his blood boil over in excitement for tomorrow. With a pep in his step, Asher began to make his own trek home, ready to squeeze any extra prep time for the remainder of the night.

….

The night quickly passed, and morning soon came.

It was at the very break of dawn, and Asher was already up at me inside his room.

In fact, Asher didn't even sleep at all last night. He had sat in a cross-legged position for the entire night, cultivating his various Ghostly abilities.

And as soon as dawn broke out, Asher flung his eyes wide open. A dazzling bright blue flash burst from within Asher's pupils, briefly lighting up his whole room.

"Huu~." Asher released a small sigh, feeling incredibly vibrant.

Indeed, despite not sleeping the whole night, Asher wasn't tired in the slightest. The abundance of Spirit Mana running within his veins gives him the ability to skip over sleepless nights without any consequences.

'Alright, after all these practices, both of my Ghost powers should be able to last long enough….speaking off, my stats.'

Asher had the thought to check his System stats after not doing so for some time.

He was mainly interested in seeing how far his Ghost Powers develop. After calling System in his mind, Asher was satisfied by what he saw.

His previous Ghost Stat that sat at 13 was now at a surprising 20!

By now, Asher was able to determine how these stats correlate to what he can actually do in battle. Both his telekinesis and Phasing ability had massively improved to the point where Asher was sure he could make Elsa get slightly serious when sparring.

Unlike how most average or even genius System Soul cultivators needed an abundance of time to improve any of their abilities, Asher noticed he once again veered off the standard norm.

For a reason he wasn't totally sure why; Asher realized fighting constant battles would force all of his abilities to grow at a rapid rate.

Of course, it wasn't on the level of System Mission. But it was much faster than if he were to simply do regular cultivation.

'Mnh-hm. Not only that, Asher, even I'm still impressed with how quickly you grasped phasing ability. I'll have you know I witness many geniuses within our Ghost Races. And you are for sure at absolute top ranking!'

Yuki suddenly told Asher, having genuine praise within her tone.

Asher felt a mix of pride and curiosity from Yuki's praise. In terms of all races that are known, Asher wonders how far does the Ghost Race stack up against other beings.

'Oh, this? Hmph! Rest assured when I say this, Asher, our Race is at the apex of all beings! I'm not being boastful at all, not even a single bit. We Ghosts-'

'Ding!'

Yuki and Asher's attention was suddenly interrupted when they heard Asher's phone loudly vibrate on his small dresser.

'You can fill me in on our Race glorious details later, Yuki. For now, it's mission time.' Asher said with a slightly wry smile.

He did feel genuinely curious on hearing how great the Ghost Race was, but they had other pressing priorities.

Asher only heard a small grunt from Yuki as he reached over to check his phone. Three text messages lit up his phone, and it was, of course, from Reese, Kylee, and Elsa, respectively.

All three of them gave him eager morning messages, telling him that they were ready and are coming to the Decrypted Woods now.

And not the one to keep people waiting, Asher readily replied back he was on his way as well.

….

In no time at all, Asher swiftly prepared everything he needed, left his apartment complex, and made a direct beeline towards the Decrypted Woods.

As he walked through the slightly dead morning streets of Pearlcrest City, Asher could feel a cold chill sweep through his body.

Breathing in and out, Asher could even see slight patches of cold breath flow out of his mouth. Truly, Asher doesn't know if it's actually genuinely cold, or he still has some slight apprehension about the mission.

But, either or, Asher continued his trek down to the Decrypted Woods.

After several minutes of walking, Asher eventually made it into the Decrypted Wood's starting area. As he made it towards his meeting point, Asher initially believed he would be the first to arrive.

However, when he spread his Aura Sense out just to make sure there wouldn't be any other unexpected trouble, Asher detected two familiar presences already at the meeting point.

His lips slightly curved up once realizing it was Reese and Kylee.

Surprisingly these two were so pumped up to come that they made it even before him or Elsa.

As Asher gradually closed in on them, he picked up on the tail end of their conversation.

"-Still….I think we should at least be prepared to fight against any shit this mission has to throw at us. Cause, well, I mean….Elsa Tirel is like a goddess to us, but she ain't invincible."

It was Reese's voice that Asher heard first. Asher felt a bit impressed since it seems like Reese was aware of anything unexpected possibly happening.

Following Reese's voice was Kylee as she added on, "Yea….you're right. But, let's remember to not try and be reckless heroes that will basically end up burdening this mission even more. Hell, if we accidentally try getting in either of their ways, Asher or Elsa Tirel might end up seriously injuring us."

Asher also felt impressed by Kylee's caution. Some may see her way as more cowardly, but Asher knows this was simply the smarter choice for them.

And he would tell them the same anyways since, in the heat of battle, life or death, it's complicated to focus on protecting another person.

Right then, while musing to himself, Asher had accidentally stepped on a small branch, causing a loud snap to echo out in their general area.

"Huh?!....Oh! Asher!"

Both Reese and Kylee nearly jumped out of their skins from that sudden snap. But they had immediately calmed down once, seeing it was only Asher.

Just from that reaction, Asher could tell they both had their tension raised to its highest level. Although, he couldn't blame them for being so tense.

To quell their nerves, Asher put on one of his most calming smiles and asked his friends, "So early are we? Even more than me….just go to show how serious you are about this. You two are ready for this, right?"