Harrison’s expression twisted into an ugly grimace.
He glared at Neo.
The students from outside of God Clans looked at Neo in a different light.
They didn’t see him as a fraud anymore.
Their gazes carried respect towards him.
“That’s it for today’s ‘Aura Manipulation’ class.
“We’ll go to the Mission Hall now,” Anna said.
The students followed her out of the classroom.
Felix and Arthur approached Neo.
“That was amazing!” Felix smiled.
“Yeah, your Aura is strong. It makes me shiver every time I feel it,” Arthur said.
Neo nodded with a pale face.
He was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.
Creating an Aura Blade exhausted him greatly.
‘I should be able to create water if I train now,’ he thought.
The trio reached the Mission Hall with the class.
It was a huge pavilion with countless students going to and fro.
“That’s the Mission Board. You can see the available missions on it.”
Anna pointed at giant hologram floating in the air.
There were thousands of Missions on it.
Dozens of missions were being taken every second and new missions continued to replace them.
“For the first semester, you are only allowed to take Missions inside the Academy.
“The Missions are divided into F~A ranks on the basis of difficulties.”
Anna explained the reward system.
A rank mission = 6 Credits
B rank mission = 5 Credits
C rank mission = 4 Credits
D rank mission = 3 Credits
E rank mission = 2 Credits
F rank mission = 1 Credits
The credits were awarded by the Academy on the mission’s successful completion.
That was not all.
The person who posted the mission would give separate rewards.
“C rank and higher missions can be accepted by teams with 5 members minimum.
“The team leader will get twice the Credits for mission completion.
“You all have a week to headhunt your team members.
“The team members can’t be changed until the next semester. Think carefully before choosing your teams.”
Anna suddenly stopped speaking.
She looked the students in their eyes.
Her gaze made them shiver.
“Forcing others to join your team or prohibiting others from joining a team is strictly banned.
“If it’s revealed anyone blackmailed the students, be ready for severe punishments.”
Some of the students did not understand why Anna was confident in catching the rule breakers.
Their friends explained the reason to them.
After knowing the academy principal could observe the academy grounds at all times, they trembled with disgust and fear.
“Speak up if anyone has a doubt,” Anna said.
Lucas raised his hands.
“What about S rank missions and higher?”
“…”
Anna stared at him silently.
“We can’t choose them?” He asked again.
“You can choose an S-rank mission if three of your team members are Top 100 students.
“But I won’t recommend them due to their difficulty.”
“What about SS-rank and SSS-rank missions?” Lucas ignored Anna’s warning and asked.
“You need to meet special requirements for them. The requirements will be released after you complete an S-rank mission.”
Neo, on the side, frowned.
He wondered if he should reveal the requirements to Arthur and Felix.
Arthur might not be hit by the requirement but Felix would.
“Don’t take too many credits from others,” Neo said to the two.
In the end, he decided to give an ambiguous advice.
“…?”
Arthur didn’t understand the underlying meaning behind Neo’s words.
Felix, on the other hand, had an epiphany.
‘Smart bastard,’ Neo thought as he stared at Felix.
“How did you know?” Felix asked.
“Know what? I don’t understand what you mean by that.”
Felix didn’t ask further questions when Neo made it clear he wouldn’t reveal the source of information.
The class was dismissed for the day.
“Let’s go and search for two other teammates,” Felix said to Neo and Arthur.
She expected it to be a given for them to form a team.
But…
“Sorry, I don’t want to be in Neo’s team.”
“Wait, why? Isn’t it good for friends to stick together? Neo’s rank might be low but—”
“That’s not the reason.”
Arthur faced Neo with an apologetic face.
“Sorry, Neo. I want to be the Ruler. It’s the reason I came to the academy.
“I’ve confirmed it from Student Council President that I can buy the first rank with Credits.
“It costs an exorbitant price.
“I need to be the team leader if I want to earn enough Credits for the first rank.”
“I see. Guess we have to form different teams.”
Neo made it clear he had no intentions of giving up the position of team leader.
Just like Arthur, he had his own reasons.
“Felix, whose team will you join?” Neo questioned.
Felix frowned.
She tried to soothe them but Neo and Arthur were adamant about forming different teams.
‘Dammit!’
‘Arthur is the obvious choice, but I don’t want to take sides.
‘The moment I choose one of them I will fall out of the favor with the other one!’
Felix tried to think of a solution.
She opened her mouth.
“Then I will form my own too.”
“What!?”
Arthur’s reaction was just as Felix predicted.
Felix sneaked a peek at Neo to look at his expression.
‘This guy is always maintaining that cold face. I can’t even understand what goes through his mind,’ Felix thought.
It was a risky move to say she would form a team.
Despite the risk of actually being left alone, she decided to move forward with the plan.
“If you two think it’s better to be alone, I should leave too.”
“What are you saying Felix? You are wea—”
Arthur stopped speaking before he said anything inappropriate.
However, it was clear what he was about to say.
“I’m weak?” Felix smiled bitterly. “Yeah, that’s right. I need to be protected by you two.
“But that’s why I’m trying to leave.
“You won’t be able to give your best on missions if you have to worry about protecting me.”
“That’s not true!”
“Don’t lie. Both of us know you were about to call me weak, and there is no need to feel bad, because it’s the truth.”
Arthur bit his lips.
He turned to Neo for help.
“Stop being annoying Felix.”
“…!?”
Arthur’s eyes shot wide open when he heard Neo.
Neo continued to speak before Arthur could stop him.
