"Wait! Kael Vane, you're a new member! You don't know what S-Class missions are! You don't know how dangerous they are! And we aren't S-Class mages! We aren't qualified! This job should go to an S-Class mage!"
Elfman quickly pulled Kael aside and whispered, trying to stop him. He didn't want to lose another guildmate to an S-Class mission.
"But we've already accepted. And today is the third day. Are we just going to watch the client get killed?"
"This..."
Elfman couldn't say that in front of the client. But Kael was right. S-Class missions were very dangerous. One wrong move could get you killed. Even S-Class mages didn't take them lightly.
And they were out of time. Even if an S-Class mage took the job now, it might be over by the time they arrived.
Kael Vane kept pressuring Elfman. "Elfman, this is an S-Class mission. Don't you want to challenge it?"
Elfman was tempted. It was true. It might be years before he was allowed to take S-Class missions, and he'd have to pass the S-Class trial first.
"This is a rare chance. If we miss it, who knows when the next one will be."
"Don't you want to see the view from the second floor? If we complete this, the Master will see how strong we are. We might get to go up to the second floor early."
"Besides, aren't you Elfman the Man? Are you really going to watch a client get killed by bad guys?"
Elfman was fired up by Kael's words, his face red. "A MAN!!"
When Kael heard him yell "Man," he knew he had won.
"Mr. Mayor, we accept this mission."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The mayor was thrilled. He had been terrified ever since he got the letter. Even with the Rune Knights protecting him, he didn't feel safe. That's why he re-posted the request.
It was just too bad they weren't S-Class mages.
Kael Vane looked at the mayor. "Mr. Mayor, since they plan to attack, we don't need to hunt for them. We'll just wait here for them to come to us."
Elfman asked, "But will they really come?"
This place was surrounded by Rune Knights. It was heavily guarded, with traps everywhere. They wouldn't be stupid enough to walk right in, would they?
"They probably will. After all, they already made the threat. If they don't show up, they'll be laughed at for the rest of their lives. Since they sent a threat instead of just attacking, it means they are very confident in their strength."
"Mr. Mayor, you cannot leave our sight during this time. If you do, I can't guarantee your safety. I don't want to beat all the enemies just to find there's no one left to pay us."
Kael Vane's voice was calm, but it was full of pressure, making the mayor feel nervous.
"O... Okay!"
"Good. Elfman, you stay with the mayor and protect him."
"What about you, Kael?"
"Me? I'll be in charge of beating all the enemies that show up," Kael Vane said with a smile.
"Wait! Kael! The enemy is the famous King of Assassins!"
Elfman couldn't believe it. Kael was really planning to fight the King of Assassins.
"So what?"
Those two words left Elfman speechless.
"Mr. Mayor, please prepare some food for us. We might have a big fight ahead of us. It would be bad if we ran out of energy at a key moment because we were hungry."
"Yes, yes, of course!"
Seeing how calm Kael Vane was, the mayor felt a surge of confidence in him. He immediately told the kitchen to prepare food.
Soon, delicious food was brought to the table. Kael Vane dug in, but Elfman had no appetite.
"Hm? Elfman, you're a big guy. Why are you eating so little?"
"Kael, this is S-Class..."
Kael Vane smiled. "I know. That's what makes it so exciting, right?"
"..."
Elfman finally understood. Kael Vane looked normal, but deep down, he was a total madman.
After he was full, Kael Vane sat on the sofa and looked at his panel.
[S-Class Mission: Stop Phantom Lord's Elite Team. Mission Reward: One Ten-Pull.]
The system panel had updated. This was the main reason Kael wanted the mission.
Kael Vane tapped the screen, selecting all the characters he had pulled except for Ulquiorra. He then chose "Recycle."
[Confirm recycling all selected characters?]
"Confirm!"
[Ding! Recycle successful! Host's Magic Power increased by ☆!]
This was a built-in function. Extra characters could be recycled for magic power. This meant all the junk characters he pulled could be used to strengthen himself.
"Half a star? System, you're too cheap! I had a 'blue elite' in there. That was the first character I ever pulled. It was very meaningful."
[Everything is based on calculations. If the Host wishes to gain more magic power, please recycle higher-quality characters.]
"Fine. I'll let it go, just because I'm so generous."
Recycle higher-quality characters? What a joke. He only had Ulquiorra. If he recycled him, who would he use?
A gold character was only guaranteed after 100 pulls.
To put it simply, one S-Class mission gave one Ten-Pull. He would need to complete ten S-Class missions to guarantee one gold character.
It showed just how rare gold characters were.
Of course, a gold character was worth the cost.
[Host: Kael Vane]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Magic Power: ★☆]
[Magic: Take Over]
[Character Card: Ulquiorra Cifer]
"One and a half stars of magic power. I should be able to use one-tenth of Ulquiorra's strength for three minutes."