Escort Mission

Lucas heard the whispers of the adventurers in the guild hall but remained calm as he walked confidently to one of the tablets to search for a suitable mission.

[Luna, why would they call me a devil and why white? What have I ever done to them?]

[Isn't it because of your white hair, father? And it's not like you're an angel with how you scare everyone away...]

[I guess you're right, but I need to have a reputation, you know. And it's kind of cool, I guess, to be feared...]

[Hehe, father is like a little child.]

[Shut up.]

As they bantered, they arrived at one of the tablets where Lucas found an intriguing mission, which he could hardly believe when he read the details:

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Mission Type: Escort 

Difficulty: B-S Rank 

Description: Need powerful adventurers to escort a high noble elf to the elven domain. Come to the northern open field at the city border at 5:30 PM for an evaluation if suited for the mission. 

Time Limit: 5:30 PM 

Reward: 500 000 golden credits 

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'This mission is perfect! But it seems I can't apply with the card; instead, they will hold a test. Hmm, why not?' Lucas thought.

"Hey," Lucas suddenly called out in a cold voice, causing everyone in the hall to flinch.

'Did we do something wrong?' They all panicked.

"What time is it right now?" Lucas asked.

"S-sir Noctis, it is currently 3:46 PM," the receptionist lady replied, trembling.

They were all quite scared; they could tell they wouldn't stand a chance fighting him just from his aura and the way he carried himself. They all feared the man called Noctis, known as The White Devil. You don't fight someone with such an ominous name unless you are sure of defeating them.

"S-sir Noctis," an adventurer called out. Everyone looked at him with pale faces, silently urging him to shut up.

Lucas looked at the man who called out to him.

"Hmm? What is it?" he asked, making the man flinch under his gaze.

gulp

The man felt as if he was being watched by a predator, and one mistake could get him killed without knowing why.

A human would instinctively know when being watched by a predator, which Lucas was... He was a half-dragon, something above human, a predator among predators. Of course, they would feel fear without knowing why. Of course, Lucas could suppress himself and his Dragon's Aura as if it were nothing, but why bother? He was having too much fun!

"A-are you perhaps going to the escort mission at the northern open field?" he asked with difficulty.

"That is correct. What of it?" Lucas replied, not understanding the meaning.

"W-well, the reward is quite high, so high that it might not be true," the man said nervously.

"W-what if they end up betraying or scamming you?"

"Well, isn't that simple? What would I do?" Lucas said, as if the answer was obvious.

"I-it is?" the man said, gulping nervously.

"Of course, since I would kill all of them," Lucas said, making all the people present pale in fear.

[Hahaha! Luna, isn't their reactions fun?]

[Father really is childish...]

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In an open field filled with grass, a luxurious carriage could be seen surrounded by a few guards emitting an aura that warned adventurers not to approach too closely. If one took a closer look, they would notice that the four guards surrounding the carriage had long pointed ears, indicating one thing: they were elves.

One of the four elf guards stepped forward toward the lineup of adventurers, gazing at those who wished to join the escort mission. The elf had long blond hair and green eyes, and carried a rapier at his waist. Though armed with a rapier, elves were still adept with magic, as they were attuned to mana and nature, resulting in all of them having an affinity with life magic, and almost all elves having more than two basic elements as affinities all because they are supposedly blessed by Yggdrasil, the World Tree.

"Sir Gerhald, ten minutes left until we can start selecting them," a short green-haired elf said, who was one of the other four guards.

"Hmm, we will wait until the end and pick only a few from the many humans gathered here. Though I can see a few of our own kin... tch, despicable. Rather than serving the royal family, they would rather go out and play like children," Gerhald said.

"Sir Gerhald, serving the royal family isn't a rule or obligation. We elves are allowed to carve our own paths, whether you are a noble elf or not," a voice rang out from inside the carriage, captivating everyone present. Instantly, the crowd quieted down and listened to the speaker.

The voice belonged to a female; it was like listening to a beautiful silver bell, gentle and soft.

"Y-yes, my lady, I apologize," Gerhald responded respectfully. Raised with the belief that all elves should devote themselves to the royal family, Gerhald had spoken those words. His father and grandfather were royal guards, and he aspired to follow in their footsteps. Achieving success on this mission would bring him closer to joining the royal guards, perhaps even becoming a knight of one of the family members later on.

"Sir Gerhald, it is time," the short-haired green elf said.

"Hmm, alright. We will now begin with the eval—" Before Gerhald could complete his sentence, he stopped talking as he sensed someone with a strong presence slowly approaching from behind the adventurers.

'Is it a threat?' he thought, and all the guards got ready in case they needed to fight.

Everyone turned around, feeling the strong presence coming from behind them. When the adventurers gazed at the cause of everyone's alertness, they widened their eyes.

"H-hey, is that..."

hiss

They sucked in a cold breath as they watched a man donned in black clothes and a black mask. His eyes were blood-red, and he had white hair as snow. On top of his shoulder was a majestic-furred cat with the same blood-red eyes.

"The White Devil..." one of the adventurers said as they saw him walking towards them.

"No way he is joining the mission as well..."

Hearing the adventurers whispering to each other, Gerhald and all the other guards became interested, but they couldn't help but stay on guard after hearing the ominous name of 'The White Devil.' Except for one person, the green-haired elf.

"Sir Gerhald, that is Noctis, The White Devil. He was first seen 2 years ago. He is a pretty famous adventurer and is discussed by many, making theories about who he is on the adventurers' blog. He is known for a lot of things, like having a 100% completion rate to defeating a Demon. Unfortunately, the rank of the demon is classified information, so we don't know much about the fight. But it is also known that he is a special cardholder of the Lunar guild," the green-haired elf spoke as if he was fanboying over Noctis, The White Devil.

Hearing this, Gerhald and the other guards calmed down considerably, but still, they kept their guard up a little bit more for now until they were sure he wasn't a threat.

As Noctis approached, all the adventurers split into two groups as if the sea was split. No one wanted to stand in his way, either out of curiosity, fear, awe, or indifference.

When Noctis finally arrived in front of Gerhald, who was guarding the carriage, he asked, "So what requirements do I need to join this escort mission?" in a cold voice that sent shivers down the spine of most adventurers who weren't that strong.

Hearing his cold voice, Gerhald was a little annoyed. He could tell that the man they called the White Devil didn't think much of him. Gerhald was a High 7-star level Mage who was also skilled with the sword, to the point where he could rival a mid 4-star level swordsman. He was considered talented in the elven domain, and most would look at him with reverence and awe. So, he didn't like it when a mere human, whose race he always looked down on, watched him as if he were some sort of ant!

"You—" But again, before he could give a response, he heard a gentle and kind voice cutting him off from talking further.

"Sir Noctis, since you are willing to join, I doubt a test would be needed to determine if you are capable or not. After all, you have never failed a mission. Instead of a test, I would like to invite you inside the carriage, where we could have a proper talk."

The voice sounded like a silver bell, causing the White Devil's eyes to shoot up in surprise for a second before returning to normal.

"Hmm, very well. I will graciously accept your offer then," The White Devil said in his usual cold voice.

Hearing this, the adventurers were shocked, and some wanted to protest. But before they could, Gerhald interrupted.

"My lady! You can't invite a stranger like him inside your car—"

Once again, he was interrupted by the same voice.

"Sir Gerhald, please behave yourself in the presence of others. Whether I invite him or not is none of your business. Your duty is to protect me and get me back to the elven domain. Is that understood?" She said in her usual tone, but this time everyone could tell that she was angry and wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Y-yes, my lady. I apologize again for this," he said while glaring at the White Devil, who went to the other side of the carriage where no one could see him, further ignoring Gerhald, and stepped inside the carriage.

As this mission would change the fate of the entire elven domain.