NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87: Hayden's Mission
More than a week had already passed after Hayden won against Laxus and no one was talking about it anymore.
With about two weeks left before the Academy Competition which he needed to attend with the Headmaster, Hayden decided to accept a mission to earn some more Dawn Points.
Of course, he had to ask permission from the Headmaster about this and thankfully, the latter didn't mind as long as he could return two days before the competition since they still had to travel for almost a day to get there.
Well, the Headmaster knew that Hayden still needed some real experience and the Academy's Mission Hall was exactly built for that purpose.
"Bring this…" Mensa said as he tossed a canteen to Hayden and explained how to use it.
Soon, Hayden arrived at the Mission Hall of Dawnspire Academy. It was actually quite lively.
Many of them noticed Hayden and greeted him.
Hayden didn't know all of them and could only nod to return the greeting.
"There's a lot of people." Hayden muttered as he listened to their conversations.
Apparently, the Armory Hall announced that they had obtained relics of Aura Knights recently.
There was some information about it in the Academy Newspaper and they were about to sell or maybe auction those items in the Armory Hall using Dawn Points as payments.
"No wonder they're scrambling to accept some quick missions to earn Dawn Points." Hayden muttered.
After considering it for a moment, he decided to ignore it and not participate. He knew that if those items were truly important, the senior students or those graduating students would surely use all of their Dawn Points if necessary to get them.
With the minimal amount of Dawn Points that he had collected for such a short time, he knew that it would be impossible for him to win.
'I should read those newspapers again.' Hayden thought as he was forgetting it sometimes since he hadn't been able to find interesting news on them for such a long time.
Anyway, on the mission board, there were many students, scanning the postings for assignments that suited their skills. .
Hayden stood before the Regional Assignments board, which he could accept as a Squire and Aura Initiate.
Soon, his eyes scanned the available missions.
[ Beast Hunt – 20 Dawn Points ]
"Group up and eliminate a pack of Half-Horned Wolves terrorizing the village of Hearthglen."
[ Supply Retrieval – 25 Dawn Points ]
"Gather Moonblossom herbs from the Whispering Woods. Warning: Territorial One-Horned Bears reported in the area."
[ Escort Mission – 30 Dawn Points ]
"Guard a merchant caravan traveling to Silvercrest City. Route passes through Blackridge Pass—known bandit activity."
Magical Beasts or creatures that had been mutated or strengthed by mana could be easily classified with their horns. A single-horned Magical Beast was said to be as strong as Aura Users who hadn't developed their path just yet. In short, those with still invisible Aura.
Of course, the comparison was not absolute since weapons, the location of weak spots, and others still had to be considered.
Nonetheless, the Half-Horned Magical Beast should be something he could deal with, considering his strength as a Knight Candidate.
However, Hayden also liked the idea of going to other places…
Hayden considered for some time before he stopped at the escort mission. Bandits meant combat experience, and combat experience meant improving his Aura control in real battles.
He could do this as well against Magical Beasts but the fighting style that he had was meant against humans…
Next year, his Swordsmanship and other classes would teach them all about Magical Beasts, including their weakness, how to identify them, and how to deal with them, or even dismantle them.
With this thought, Hayden decided to accept the mission and visited the clerk. It was a man this time and seemed to be an assistant teacher as well since he would notice him from time to time.
"Elite Squire Hayden Gray," Hayden announced, presenting his ring—the one Headmaster Mensa had given him. "Accepting the Silvercrest caravan escort."
The clerk squinted at him, then at the ring. "You're… that guy… You're really nine." The clerk said as he was amused with the situation.
"Ten next month," Hayden corrected smoothly.
The clerk wryly smiled but stamped the parchment he needed. "Although you accepted the mission, it's still up to the Caravan Leader whether to bring you or not, Squire..."
"I understand. I just have to prove myself, right?" Hayden replied.
"Yes… Go ahead and report to the West Gate by noon. The caravan leaves in three hours or so. Show this parchment to Silas, the Caravan Leader."
Hayden nodded and moved quickly.
He decided to first return to his dormitory and brought various things he had prepared with Professor Althea's help.
He strapped on his leather armor. It was a lighter alternative to plate that still offered solid protection. His sword was then hung at his hip. He also packed a small satchel with essentials: healing salves, a whetstone, dried rations, and a canteen of fortified water…
This canteen was actually a special item that Mensa had just given him. Any water poured on it will become fortified. In short, they would become Aura-stimulants for endurance.
"I'm ready…" Hayden muttered as he soon left the Academy.
As he passed through the Academy gates, the guards gave him a once-over but nodded respectfully when he flashed his Elite Squire insignia.
"Stay sharp out there, kid…" The guard reminded before returning to his task.
***
The West Gate was a lot livelier than he imagined. There were merchants shouting, some beasts of burdens grumbling, and mercenaries all over the place…
It was easy to find the Caravan he was looking for…
After all, the caravan itself was a line of six sturdy wagons.
With his Ocularis Lens, he easily noticed that inside them were the trade goods—spices, silks, and what looked like mystical ores, maybe even beast cores, judging by the faint glow from one of the crates.
Then, to his surprise, there were actually three other Academy students who were already there!
They had also accepted the mission like him!