Lorevil hesitated, Vivian’s words still echoing in her ears.
“I’ll discuss forming a team with Fini and Leina. If that doesn’t work, I’ll complete the task alone.”
Jerwen took a deep look at the young girl and finally nodded.
“Have you developed reverence for life?”
The girl dared not think, and even less wished to.
Then what would be the consequence of not revering life?
“Very well, I’ll submit an early application for you. Be cautious this time, don’t act recklessly. Safety comes first.”
He pulled a sealed mission scroll from the bookshelf and handed it to Lorevil.
The girl took a deep breath and slowly filled in her name.
“Thank you, Mentor!”
Lorevil bowed solemnly to Mentor Jerwen.
As she left the office and descended the stairs, the Communication Blood Crystal in her bosom suddenly pulsed.
She tapped it, and a short message surfaced.
“The third-rank Blood Beast for the special mission is controlled by the Vampires. Be careful.”
A trace of warmth spread across the snow-haired girl’s pretty face, and she looked down at the Communication Blood Crystal.
“Is that a message from Noxia?”
Lorevil’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she stared at the Communication Blood Crystal, alarm bells ringing in her mind.
Who sent this message?
“Who are you? And why do you know about my mission?”
Coming to her senses, Lorevil urgently typed a reply and pressed for an answer.
There was silence on the other end. Just as Lorevil was about to lose patience, a new message came:
“Don’t rush to ask about my identity. I know you accepted Jerwen’s special mission. I can’t interfere within the Academy; that’s a rule set by the City Lord.”
“So you must team up with them. Don’t act alone!”
“Why?”
Lorevil didn’t trust the speaker’s words and felt resistant.
“Acting alone might suit me better. Having them come along would only put them in danger with no benefit.”
“If you go alone, you’re too conspicuous and will easily expose your goal. By teaming with them, you can pretend you’re after points, which will actually draw less attention.”
The tone felt both foreign and familiar to Lorevil, but she truly couldn’t recall who it was.
Lorevil frowned slightly.
The meditation device was certainly important.
Even so, dragging Leina and Fini into unknown danger just for her own meditation device was truly not right.
The girl bit her lip, her fingers stopping on the screen, her inner scales swaying uncertainly.
As if seeing through her thoughts, the other side pressed the advantage:
“You care too much about feelings. It’s a flaw, but also what I admire about you.”
“But if you don’t tell them the true risks of the mission, and don’t ask their choice, how will you know if they’re willing to stand with you?”
Those words struck like a thunderclap, leaving Lorevil frozen.
Fini had advanced to Third Order Early Stage, and Leina was no weakling needing protection. They both had their own wills.
“Alright.”
Lorevil took a deep breath and forced a decision.
Though she didn’t know who the sender was, so far the other party bore no ill intent—they simply wanted her to think calmly.
She put away the Communication Blood Crystal and turned back toward her original direction.
When Fini had bid her farewell, she’d said she was going to the Blood Hunting Ground to hunt Blood Beasts, improve her strength, and hone her talent.
Leina was likely there as well, polishing her Secret Art.
At the open ground on the outskirts of the Blood Hunting Ground.
“Why did you call Fini and me over? Is something wrong?”
Seeing Lorevil hesitate, Leina was the first to ask.
“Yeah.”
Fini echoed.
“Well… it’s like this…”
Under the curious gazes of the two girls, Lorevil laid everything out.
Then she stood there nervously.
They’d refuse, wouldn’t they?
After all, it was a mission she’d taken on herself.
“Oh, is that all? I thought it was something serious. We just need to find that marked Blood Beast, right?”
Fini wasn’t bothered at all; in fact, she seemed eager.
Beside her, Leina said nothing, but her expression suggested she was also tempted.
Out in the outer ring, she too had hit a certain bottleneck.
Lorevil’s special mission seemed tough to her, but not entirely impossible. Trainees in the inner ring could already enter normally after the Beast Tide.
Leina saw farther ahead. Mentor Jerwen’s mission scroll indicated that the Holy Blood Academy already had some leads on the source of the Beast Tide.
Lorevil was, at best, filling in the gaps to make those leads more complete—but danger still existed.
For Leina, this was indeed an opportunity not to be missed.
After a brief consideration, Leina spoke up:
“I can join too.”
“Leina.”
Hearing Fini and Leina’s replies, the restless snow-haired girl looked up, a hint of surprise on her small face.
“However, I still need to inform my original squad of the situation.”
Seeing the girl’s incredulous gaze, Leina tilted her head, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
“I’ll hand over my captain position to Vice Captain Loren. She’s at Second-Tier Peak now and can easily handle most Blood Beasts in the outer ring.”
“Leina… thank you.”
Lorevil looked at Leina with sincerity.
“It’s not entirely for your sake. I’d already planned this for a while. I’ve passed on plenty of practical experience to them—if they still can’t stand on their own after that, it just means they don’t take training seriously.”
Leina waved a hand, looking unconcerned.
After her initial excitement faded, Fini began to think more carefully.
“But going to the inner ring right now might be too hasty. We’ve teamed up once before during the Beast Tide, but if we plan to stay as a group, we’ll need to sync up.”
Leina nodded, agreeing with Fini’s view.
“Then let’s first look for some third-rank Blood Beasts in the outer ring and practice our teamwork.”
Lorevil’s emotions calmed down as well, and she began seriously considering Fini’s point.
“But since we’re a squad, we need a leader. Why don’t you take the role, Leina? You have more experience.”
“The only reason I’m handing over the captain position is because it’s too tiring. This special mission is your chance—ah no, it’s yours.”
Leina shook her head in refusal.
“Don’t look at me. I can’t do it.”
Fini quickly declined.
No way—if she were captain, wouldn’t that be a disaster?
Fini was suited for following orders, not giving them.
She got emotional easily and wasn’t fit to lead a team.
“Then… then I’ll do it?”
Lorevil hesitated, uncertain.
Fini and Leina exchanged a glance and said helplessly:
“Other than you, there’s no other Vampire here.”
“Alright then, I’ll try my best. Leina, go handle your business first—thanks for your trouble. Fini, wait here with me for now.”
Lorevil steadied her nerves and spoke seriously.
With just Fini, Lorevil wouldn’t have felt much pressure.
But Leina’s addition made her a bit tense, after all, the other girl had once held the captain’s seat.
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