The rest of his week was uneventful. He went to lectures, exercised, and that was all. Soon, he felt bored. Then he found out that most students in the academy do not actually just take classes for 10 years; they usually take missions, which could replace the credits needed to pass the class. So he thought to check it out.
After a close-combat weapons division lecture, he went to the missions hall. There, a lot of missions hung on a board. Ash first walked around to find out more about it. He looked at the various missions that were hung.
Then he saw a particular mission.
'Rank: F
Mission: Capture (10 points) / Kill (5 points) a rabbit monster.
Location: Greenweld Forest
Credits: 1 per day.'
'F', it was probably the lowest rank. Then Ash checked his point pouch. The number on it showed '290'. He decided to take the mission. Before he left, though, he first went to buy equipment.
"How much is a sword?" Ash asked, stepping up to the receptionist.
"A first-year?" she replied, raising an eyebrow. "I doubt you have enough points to afford even the cheapest equipment." Her tone wasn't rude, just surprised.
"Just tell me the price," Ash said, frowning slightly, though he kept his voice polite.
"A basic sword costs fifty points."
"And a bow? A dagger?"
"Same price," she answered. "Fifty points. Bows are a set with 20 arrows and daggers are sold in pairs."
"If that's the basic version, what about something better?" Ash asked.
"There's the lowest-grade tier above basic," she replied. "Upgrading from basic to that costs an additional fifty points."
Ash gave a small nod. "And for monster capturing? What equipment is used?"
"You're supposed to learn that in the weapon division," she said, glancing at him. "But fine, I'll tell you. You use a monster net. It costs twenty points, and it's reusable."
"Hm… I'll take a lowest-grade bow and a monster net, then."
"That'll be one hundred and twenty points." The receptionist studied him more carefully this time. A first-year wouldn't usually have that many points to spare, not within their first two weeks, at least.
After Ash finished the process of transferring the points, which was guided step by step by the receptionist who now treated him like a proper academy student, he headed off to take on the mission. He had considered inviting Ezra, but decided against it; the boy wasn't ready yet.
Before he left the academy grounds, he received a token that served as a location tracker and a map to show him the location.
When he arrived, he started his hunt. First, he laid out a trap with his monster net. Although he had absolutely no experience in hunting, he managed to make it on his first try.
"Blood sense." Then he started to wait patiently, searching the area for any targets. Then he saw one. He first acted cautiously, which turned out not to be needed when the rabbit noticed him and immediately went to chase him. With his fast reaction, he guided the rabbit to the trap with calculated steps.
Then he jumped. Following him, the rabbit also jumped. But because they were a distance from each other, instead of Ash, who jumped over the trap, the rabbit jumped inside it instead.
"Huu… Perfect." This was his first time doing something like this, so he was actually slightly nervous, but everything had gone according to his plan. Just like that, 10 points fell into his hands.
Suddenly, the rabbit escaped the monster trap and jumped on top of Ash. The rabbit was definitely not cute. Its claws dug deep into Ash's flesh.
Staying calm, Ash grabbed the arrow on his back and stabbed the rabbit in its belly. "Void Step." When he got out of its grasp and appeared behind it, he pulled his bow and stabbed another arrow through it.
Ensuring it was dead, Ash finally allowed himself to calm down. Then he saw his wounds and remembered his skill. "Blood sucking." He only allowed himself a little bit of blood. And although little, it felt much more effective in healing him than human blood. In a few minutes, his wounds were all closed.
Right after Ash thought it was the end, another rabbit monster appeared. Ash immediately shot at it with an arrow. However, this one was faster and dodged it. Seeing it was not working, Ash climbed a tree. But something he did not expect happened: the rabbit could also climb.
He couldn't use Void Step again as his mana was already depleted, so he decided to shoot another arrow. He doubted the rabbit could dodge while climbing anyway. And it worked. The rabbit fell dead on the ground before reaching him.
This time, he really went back to the academy.
When he returned to the mission hall, he looked like the older students who risked their lives on missions, only in a smaller frame. He walked up to the receptionist and set his catch down.
"You're back!" she said, clearly surprised. She hadn't expected him to actually go on a mission.
"I just finished my first one."
She glanced at the corpse and gave a small nod. "They are both dead, so that's ten points. Congratulations."
"Thank you." He then returned the token he had received before he left.
When he returned to his dorm, he found Ezra asleep on the couch. At the slightest noise, Ezra stirred and shot upright.
"Ash! Why didn't you tell me? Are you okay? Why is there so much blood?" His voice was tight with worry.
"I'm fine," Ash replied calmly. "It's just the monster's blood."
"You're the talk of the first-years again," Ezra said, still staring at him. "Even the seniors are starting to notice you."
"Who cares," Ash said, his expression unchanged.
"I do! You're my friend! And hey, I'm not that weak, you don't have to leave me behind on missions."
"You are," Ash said bluntly. "You would've died if you went, by the way."
"Alright, alright… fine." Ezra raised his hands in surrender, but the look in his eyes didn't match his words. Deep down, he had already decided that he would get stronger.