“Now, let’s talk about your new mission to the Dark Continent.”
The Director’s blond-haired assistant places 4 silver tablets on the wooden desk in front of us with a loud thud, exclaiming that our mission to the Dark Continent is about to begin.
The corners of my lips begin to curl upwards and I whisper under my breath.
“Finally.”
Both Abby and Maria look up at the tall thin woman behind the desk with wide eyes. The sun shines in from behind her showing off the beautiful city and high mountains in the distance a few kilometers away.
If I squint hard enough, I can make out the place where we took out C-Class exams.
Leo smirks, pulls out a small silver gadget from his right cloak pocket, and begins to play with it. He’s seemingly uninterested in the conversation, but I know he’s listening.
Arie’s jaw is clenched and his foot makes a light tapping sound on the hard white marble flooring.
He’s nervous, or… maybe excited just like me.
The Director’s assistant continues, pointing down at the desk.
“Each of you, take one of these transmission tablets. They’ve been made especially for your duties this week. Each of the cornerstones connects to one of the other tablets. It doesn’t matter the distance, you’ll be able to talk to each other at any time. They can even be used in dungeons if one of the other tablets is outside.”
She turns to Leo and he nods, speaking up.
“It takes a lot of raw dungeon materials to make one of those, so be careful with them. They’re not easily replaceable. All 4 connect to the Director’s main tablet, so he can call at any time. I doubt he will though…”
The silver-haired artificer lets out a chuckle as he watches the 4 of us stand up and begin examining the rectangular objects.
The one I pick up feels identical to the tablet I held in the labyrinth with Fisher not too long ago. It seems like they give these out to all Elite quads and higher-ups.
The woman keeps talking.
“Your new weekly quotas have been updated, please hand in your old tablets and they’ll be wiped.”
I reach into my item box and throw the old silver item on the table without thinking about it much, the others do the same.
Maria turns to me and grins after her blue eyes lift from the screen on her new quota tablet.
“It looks like you handed in your share of the MP crystals before coming in today, my credits just jumped up 5 points!”
I nod, taking a look at my own new and improved transmission tablet.
____________
[Jay Soju]
[Available Credits]: 9.4
[C-Class]
[Team Weekly Quota]:
[Clear Dungeons: Gate 1: Section 4][0/6]
[Reward]: 10 Credits
[Individual Weekly Quota]:
[NONE]
[Reward]: [NONE]
____________
My eyes dart up and down the odd text for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly this new team task is all about.
The Dungeon clearing part can be inferred pretty easily. Everyone has been mentioning the collapses up north, so clearing a few makes sense, but the specifications are unclear to me.
I look up at the blond-haired assistant with an eyebrow raised.
“What is this all about? We’re to clear 6 dungeons… Where? Gate 1? Section 4? What’s all this mean?”
She smiles and responds.
“You’re quite enthusiastic today, aren’t you? I was about to get to it. Let me run through the logistics, please make yourself comfortable.”
Her gaze moves across all of us as we get back to our seats and she begins to explain our mission assignment in full detail.
“Listen up, I’m sure you’ve all heard the news in one way or another this week. There’s been a series of large breaks near the northern border of our country and the Dark Continent.”
We all listen attentively.
“You’ve all started your training to become this year’s new Elites but were delayed slightly because of a large High B-Class break that needed attending to from as many Elites as possible. It’s under better control now, but the aftermath of a Labyrinth break isn’t something to take lightly. It created quite the surge and many of the dungeons and the surrounding area began to collapse.”
The mention of a labyrinth break piques my interest. I assumed it was possible, but haven’t heard of any of them actually breaking.
I clasp my hands together and try to control my widening grin.
She continues.
“Your mission this week is to help clear out some of the dungeon breaks that have resulted from the shock wave following the labyrinth incident.”
The blond pauses, looking over at me.
“Your question about the gates and sections earlier, that will all be answered in time. It will be much more clear to see once you actually arrive. To give you a quick explanation, they’re just labels to better organize the terrain you’ll be headed to.”
She looks over to Leo.
“You can handle bringing them to section 4? There’s no need for you to go through the gate, just dropping them off should be fine.”
He nods, and the woman looks back at us to continue.
“The 6 dungeons that you’ll be cleaning up are all C-Class rated. With all 4 of you working as a team, it should be well within your abilities. This is one of the least dense sections within the first gate so this will be a great starter mission for your new lives as Elites.”
As she finishes this line, I begin to think to myself.
We’ll be facing 6 C-Class breaks…
I’ve never seen a C-Class break before. I wonder if the monsters will be proficient in mana control, or if this will just be an easy walk in the park.
Either way, these are the less dense portions of the Dark Continent. This means there’s more powerful dungeon and breaks in other sections.
Maybe I can get access to a new labyrinth or farming territory if I snoop around a bit. This is becoming more and more interesting every second.
I speak up, starting to stand from my seat.
“So when do we leave? I think that’s more than enough of an explanation for me!”
She laughs again, then motions for me to sit down before placing a piece of paper down on the hardwood table with large red Xs on it labeled 1-6.
“Section 4 isn’t enormous, but I’ve had each Dungeon’s location mapped out for all of you. The higher the number, the more powerful the potential monsters that hide nearby are predicted to be. We’ve had these dungeons tested recently, and none of them ever surpassed level 400 monsters. With the unpredictability of breaks, you never know what you’re in for. If one is too difficult, stand down and leave the gates to contact us at any time.”
My teammates nod, and I do the same while letting out a sigh and sitting back down in my seat.
The woman continues.
“Lastly, there are small villages and towns filled with outsiders and rogues in section 4. They’re not very common, but a few breaks are nearby some of the settlement areas. If it’s gotten bad enough, monsters may be roaming in nearby towns, you’ll have to deal with them too. It’s our duty to protect, even if they don’t want to be protected. Got it?”
I gulp, giving her a firm nod, recognizing the new serious tone. The rest of my teammates do as well, Arie seems even more nervous than when this meeting started.
I know he has some untold history revolving around these regions, I’ll have to ask him about it later in a more private setting. Now doesn’t seem like the right time.
Leo stands up, looking down on all of us.
“Well, on that note, there’s no reason in wasting any more time. Every minute you 4 waste sitting around here is another minute that the next surge that hits this city gets even worse. Do you remember the one last month? They say this month’s may be almost twice as bad…
I fully stand up from my seat this time and turn to the silver-haired artificer. Our eyes meet.
“Really? It’s going to be twice as powerful, why’s that? Does it have to do with the labyrinth break? Is there-“
He cuts me off with a grin while turning and waving for us to follow.
“I can answer all your questions on the way. Come on, let’s go. It’s time to head out. You have some dungeons to clear.”