The Guardian

Chapter 49: Veteran bosses

“Come on, wake up. It’s time to start.”

A voice echoed from outside, and Clémentine, who was sleeping, woke up, still drowsy.

She looked out the window, only to realize that it was so early that there was still no trace of the sun.

“Quickly. I wouldn’t want to scold you on the first day, so go to the living room. In five minutes, I want everyone there.”

Again a voice echoed, and Clémentine realized it was a voice transmitted by the transmitters that were in the very living room of her apartment.

Using her psionic energy, Clémentine stimulated her mind to clear herself and drive away her drowsy state.

It was too early for her, but she didn’t forget that she was working.

She changed quickly, and when she opened her bedroom door, she found Nicole with a sleepy expression.

Last night, because of their nerves, they had stayed up late; it was inevitable.

And since no one came to order them to go to sleep early, they went to bed too late.

Now they were regretting it.

“We’d better go out,” Clémentine said as she used her psionic energy to stimulate Nicole’s mind.

That stimulation ability was pretty basic among psionics, so it wasn’t too much of a problem.

When they came out, they found Leslie and Érica on the other side of the room and Andrés arriving sleepily.

Clémentine and Érica looked at each other.

Clémentine used her psionic energy again to wake up the entire group, and Érica created a cold blizzard, which made everyone’s body shiver from cold waking up immediately.

“Should we wash our faces?” Nicole asked randomly.

“No, I think we’d better hurry,” Andrés replied in a serious tone.

They were already late changing and had no time to comb their hair or wash their faces.

The group, instead of using the elevator they created a small portal, and after passing through it, they arrived at the first-floor lounge.

“4:32 minutes... Good, they were on time,” Liam said, looking at the time on his holographic watch and noticing that some of the young students were trying to fix their hair, commented. “Prioritizing time is important. I’m glad you didn’t overdo it.”

Nodding calmly, he pointed to some drones.

“You can order your breakfast from the drones and then get ready more at your leisure. In fifteen minutes, you will have your first mission,” Liam reported calmly.

Clémentine could feel the others getting excited about their first mission... It was a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

Already from the first day, they had a mission... It was clear that the group was more than it seemed.

Since they were short on time, Clémentine asked a drone for her breakfast and then went upstairs to her bedroom to get ready.

Leslie, Nicole, and Érica followed her.

They knew that sometimes they wouldn’t have to make a big deal about their appearance, but for Clémentine, who had long hair, it was quite annoying if she didn’t tie it up... And more so because when she woke up, her hair was a mess.

“I wish there was a spell to fix the hair,” Érica muttered with a sigh as they walked down to the dining room.

“That sounds nice,” Nicole replied, and Clémentine couldn’t help but nod softly.

“Hair doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is washing my face,” Leslie commented in a low tone.

The three who heard her nodded... They were human, and like any human, when they woke up, they were a mess.

When they entered the dining room, they found their breakfasts ready and Alice calmly eating breakfast next to Andrés.

“Good morning.”

Greeting each other, they set about their breakfast.

Seeing them eating breakfast so calmly, Alice hesitated for a moment as she looked at them.

“There are times when eating breakfast in comfort is not possible, but if you are hungry, you can always get some snacks or energy drinks out of the fridge. There are magical invigorating drinks that are very useful. They reduce hunger and energize the body,” Alicia commented after thinking about it and, looking at her, added. "I recommend that from now on you keep a bottle."

The members of the group looked at each other.

Those words sounded like a warning-advice.

The group, after breakfast, took their magical drinks of the flavor of their choice and realized that in one of the refrigerators, this type of drinks was very common... Since they were filling several shelves.

Before the time Liam had marked was done, the group, along with Alice, who used every minute to eat, used a portal and went down to the basement training ground.

When they arrived, they found Aurora coming out of the portal room, and her gaze froze for a moment.

She was wearing a combat suit that the group had seen before, and seeing that it was filled with dirt, they all realized that she had been working.

“There was an emergency mission, and I took it,” Aurora informed not only the group who were looking at her with surprise, but especially Alice, who was questioning her with her gaze and ignoring that glutton’s expression, she reported. “You must have read yesterday’s briefing by now, right?”

All the students nodded in unison.

That summary was quite long and contained information on typical beasts, monsters, and creatures in the Central African area where they were located.

Weaknesses and strengths, along with how each of them could take down their enemies effectively and accurately following their particular professions.

For Clémentine, it was surprising, as the summary matched her skills very well.

Moreover, that summary had information about Zerzura and the mercenary group in general.

“As you must know. Like other people, we are in charge of protecting villages and doing missions. On some, we get paid, but usually, there is no reward,” Aurora commented, and looking at the students, she stated. “The Zerzura Protection System is a regional protection system. We get reports from all over the region and the system categorized them to send to the other mercenary groups, guilds, or local heroes. Unlike us, they get paid according to the creatures they kill, no matter where.”

The protection system was a complex system that, after receiving requests for help from villages or sightings, they analyzed it through drones that were stationed in villages and towns or scouting.

They also use high-tech satellites and war drones capable of being fast as airplanes to explore the area or simply high altitude drones to explore carefully and analyze the level of the creature.

Once analyzed, the danger of the creature was categorized into ranks and sent to be taken care of by the different mercenaries, adventurers, or heroes that were enlisted in the system.

And they used portals that Zerzura City had prepared to send them to take care of their enemies, traveling hundreds of kilometers in an instant.

Only these portals could only appear around the village or towns very different from the personal portal that Aurora’s group had.

All that information was in the summary that Clémentine and the others had read.

“A moment ago, three missions came to us. Search and eliminate subjugation, and another cleanup,” Aurora reported, and looking at the students, she ordered. “Clémentine and Érica accompanied by Alice, will be in charge of the subjugation mission. Andrés together with Liam will go to the cleaning. Nicole and Leslie will come with me on search and eliminate.”

Each type of mission not only required different skills, but they required following different procedures.

“You have ten minutes to prepare. Before that, I would like you to let the drones analyze your body measurements,” Aurora said with a serious expression.

“Analyze our measurements?” asked Nicole sheepishly.

It was one thing to prepare, but being told to let them check her measurements... Without an explanation, it seemed strange.

“You don’t need to undress. You can do it with your clothes on,” Aurora replied, trying to control her expression.

Nicole had become slightly shy because of her relating ‘taking measurements’ to being ‘naked.’

******

The portal opened, and both Clémentine and Érica felt slightly dizzy because of the distance traveled.

Clémentine cautiously stood ready in case something suddenly attacked, following the protocol found in the summary.

Érica at her side was the same, and only Alice was eating her chips at her back.

Seeing that there were no enemies, Clémentine was not embarrassed by her caution and just scanned the surroundings, checking the situation.

They were in a very strange ‘savannah’ as a few hundred meters away was a vast green forest.

As it was dawning, it was a beautiful sight, so both Clémentine and Érica felt dazzled.

“That’s the magic forest. We are at the edge of the forest,” Alice warned the bewildered students, as she ate her fries, she added. “This is your first mission. I’ll just be in charge of guiding.”

“Lead?” Érica hesitated perplexed.

This was their first mission... That meant they knew nothing!

In the summary were the basic procedures, but the theory and the reality were very different.

“Yes, you guys will take care of everything,” Alice replied, and opening her holographic watch, she stated. “The ‘Subjugation’ missions have another name... ‘Rescue’. We will be in charge of subduing and rescuing a regionally protected creature.”

Érica and Clémentine also opened their holographic watches, and when they realized the situation, they couldn’t help but shiver.

“We’d better get a move on. The latest report from the drone says it’s started to be hunted by a leopard,” Érica muttered with a rugged look, and then after looking at the map on her holographic watch, she looked with Clémentine, and they ran.

The scout drone in the area was sending information every second.

Alice, instead of running with them on foot, just let four arms out of her back to use it to move.

As she watched it move, Alice nodded half-heartedly.

This was their first mission, and she was not only serving as protection, but also to judge them.

To see their weaknesses and strengths.

As they ran towards the target, Clémentine realized that Alice was using her abilities, so she levitated, and Érica used a magical flying device to follow her partner.

The target was two hundred meters away from their place of arrival.

As they approached, the first thing they noticed was a drone flying over the area at a high altitude.

Common magic spells and common ranged attacks could not hit it.

The plain was tinged with yellow caused by the combination of sun and grass, and in the center of that place was a large tree.

It was very typical of the area, and if a professional was present, he would recognize it as a ‘flat top acacia.’

When they got close enough, they could see a meter tall leopard roaring and trying to climb that large tree, while at the top, a meter tall young gorilla was using a branch to ward off the predator.

Clémentine at first thought it was a predator hunting its prey, but as she got closer, she distinguished that the leopard had brittle skin with an ominous black color and realized her mistake.

“It’s a monster!” Clémentine exclaimed in surprise.

“I know, let’s go together,” Érica replied, and pulling out her wand, she launched ten ice arrows that made the leopard leap away from the tree where the gorilla was.

Her speed and reaction caused Clémentine’s eyebrows to flutter.

“It’s a Rank B creature, be careful,” Clémentine warned seriously, and using her psionic abilities, she began to lift stones around it.

“GRAA!”

Roaring with ferocity, the leopard dodged Clémentine’s rocks with great speed and leaped to cut down Érica, who was flying overhead.

Érica was not frightened by that attack; she condensed her magical energy into a barrier of ice, managing to drive the leopard’s claws into the cold, thick ice.

However, unlike Érica thought, the leopard did not fall to the ground but rather asserted itself, seeking to climb up and over that ice barrier to slay its prey.

As Érica was maintaining her barrier, she felt slightly pressured, but when she saw Clémentine’s surroundings stirring, she calmed down.

When the leopard reached the top, Clémentine let out a shockwave that pushed the leopard to the ground, managing to raise a cloud of dust and letting that monster let out a painful sound.

“Restrain its movements!” Érica requested earnestly.

Clémentine followed her request by moving her hands, seeking to trap the leopard between them, and even though they were far away and that movement seemed unreal, a force was created around the leopard.

“Do your thing... It’s too strong,” Clémentine muttered, sweating as she kept her invisible hands around the leopard as it madly sought to escape.

Érica didn’t let her down and used her best spell.

“[Ice Spears]” Érica exclaimed and, waving her wand at the leopard, sent five ice spears flying.

The leopard desperately sought to escape by cutting off the tangible force that was holding it back, but thanks to Clémentine’s efforts, the spears hit it hard.

When the leopard became immobile, Clémentine sighed and fell to the ground, unable to maintain her levitation.

Alice took her in her black arms, and Clémentine hid her surprise, caused by the soft and pleasant sensation that those black arms gave her, which came out of her partner’s back.

“Thank you,” Clémentine murmured, slightly exhausted.

The restraint skills were the ones that made her expend the most energy, since she required more mental strength to maintain them because of the monster’s resistance.

“So, what do we do now?” Érica asked after looking to see that Clémentine was okay.

Clémentine took a calming breath and looked at the young gorilla in the tree, watching in fear.

“It’s a ‘Thundering Gorilla’... They say these magical beasts have high intelligence and at adulthood are capable of reaching Rank A,” Clémentine recalled from the summary she had read.

This magical beast was quite unique because the Zerzura City treaty protected them.

“How about we talk to it?” Érica asked hesitantly.

They both looked at each other... Their duty was ‘subjugation,’ but just as Alice had said, these missions were called ‘rescue’ because they had to bring the creature back to its habitat with its kind, or at least to the safe zone.

Although they both knew the procedure, once they looked at a one-meter tall young gorilla, they hesitated.

This race was special, as it was a magical beast that developed naturally on Earth; its numbers were scarce, and its breed was very protective of its kind.

Adding the high intelligence, it was difficult to know how to deal with it.

“We’ll take you to your family,” Érica said, approaching the tree, but the gorilla responded by waving the branches in a clear signal to move away.

One could tell he was terrified.

Alice, who was watching all this, couldn’t take it anymore and walked over.

“He is a child gorilla, not a ‘youngster’, still his parents must not have taught him human speech,” Alice said, and looking at the gorilla carefully, she explained. “Thundering gorillas when they are in their youth are two meters tall and three in adulthood.”

Erica was embarrassed to hear that explanation.

She already felt awkward trying to talk to a magical beast, but now her embarrassment only increased as she discovered she was talking to a ‘child’ who surely wouldn’t understand anything.

“Clémentine, can you put him to sleep?” Alice asked, and when Clémentine nodded, she ordered. “You do that. I’ll take care of carrying him.”

Clémentine, looking at the gorilla, made use of her psionic energy to generate a state of natural drowsiness around the gorilla.

This thundering gorilla was in the developmental stage and was a C rank creature; for Clémentine, whose mental strength was high, she could force it into a deep sleep.

Using this ability was not Clémentine’s specialty, so just replicating it cost her a great deal of mental strength.

However, the gorilla could fall asleep and Alice caught him with two black arms that came out of her back.

Érica sighed in relief.

It was her first mission, and she felt accomplished... Even though they had only saved one gorilla.

Clémentine wiped the sweat from her brow, and her lips twitched at the sight of Alice eating her chips as she steadied herself with four arms reaching out from her back and one of her extra black arms carried the coiled gorilla.

It was a ‘striking’ sight... Not to say terrifying.

“Do you want a ride?” Alice asked, looking at Clémentine, who looked a bit tired.

Unlike Érica, who used a magical object, Clémentine used her powers to levitate.

Clémentine looked at the gorilla coiled by a black arm that could clearly stretch, then shook her head.

In her mind, she could see herself being rolled up and carried while Alice ate chips... And that was too embarrassing.

“Let’s go to the safe zone,” Alice ordered after seeing the map on her holographic watch.

The duo nodded and started moving as the sun stood out overhead.

“By the way... What’s with that drone?” asked Érica, looking up at the drone in the sky.

“Those are patrol drones. They are in charge of scouting the areas. If they find missions like these, they send it to Zerzura City for analysis and categorization,” Alice explained softly.

Africa was huge, and the area which Zerzura City had control over was enormous.

These drones allowed them to keep a watch around the villages and near the forests for unforeseen cases like this.

“They are quite useful. They discover dungeon overflows, monsters, waves, and migrations,” Alice added, eating her chips.

Such a large area was abandoned for a long time, so the best way to have control and surveillance was to use scout drones.hand,

“They must be a high expense for the city,” Clémentine muttered, looking at the drone.

It was impossible for her to launch an attack at this distance to shoot it down, and she was sure that mages or A-Rank creatures were the same way.

Those drones were safe from normal attacks, but that meant the cost to create them was high; after all, not only could they maintain a high altitude, but they could also surveil the area perfectly.

Most likely, they were created with the latest technology available.

Considering that those drones were scattered all over Zerzura City’s catchment area made Clémentine think that the maintenance cost was astronomical.

“Yes, the Apicius Enterprise spends hundreds of millions of dollars in the defense budget and sometimes runs into the thousands,” Alice commented, and noticing that Clémentine and Érica were surprised at that number, she stated. “But don’t be fooled, the Apicius Company makes double or triple what they spend.”

Africa was a land rich in natural resources, and when one added in the creatures, the available dungeons, and the magical forest, they were neighbors with and had trade and diplomatic relations with... The expense was minor relative to the profits.

Cores, magic, alchemical ingredients, magic metals, magic plants, taxes to the guilds that made millions, and all the service industries plus government profits more than paid back the profits.

“It makes sense that it’s one of the richest companies,” Érica murmured honestly.

A supposed food company that was behind only the Cosmos Company... It was clear that they were not only focused on food.

Moving for about fifteen minutes, Alice ordered them to be on the lookout, and as they approached a part of the magical forest that was considered the safe zone, a big three-meter tall gorilla jumped out of the forest, landing in front of them, raising a cloud of dust.

*roaring*

Roaring ferociously, the gorilla thumped his chest, letting out thunderous sounds from his powerful fists.

Both Clémentine and Érica felt the pressure of a very special Rank A creature.

“Here, don’t lose it again,” Alice said undisturbed, leaving the young gorilla on the ground.

The adult gorilla reached over and took the little gorilla in his arms.

Clementine could see his joy and happiness on the gorilla’s face at having his little gorilla safe.

Another three-meter gorilla approached from the back, carrying a strange object in his hand and declared. “Thank you, ‘Protector of Zerzura’.”

Both Clémentine and Érica were puzzled to hear the mechanical voice of the head gorilla... But they quickly discovered that it came from the object in the gorilla’s hands.

“This is our job. You know how it is... Today you guys and tomorrow us,” Alice stated with a nonchalant look as she ate some chips.

The gorilla nodded, and they both headed back into the forest.

Clémentine knew that ‘subjugation’ situations were quite rare and more so in species like the ‘Thundering Gorillas’ who were very protective of their own; however, today, she couldn’t hide her amazement at the situation.

Érica was the same and didn’t hesitate to look at Alice to wait for an answer.

“With Aurora, we’ve been doing this for five years, at the end of the day at some point they get to recognize you and put titles on you,” Alice commented and seeing that Érica and Clémentine were still surprised, she explained. “As for the saying... Well, they also protect humans in their territory.”

They were helping some of their own today so that tomorrow they would help a human... It was a simple exchange of mutual support.

A relationship that was created after five years of friendship and diplomatic relations.

However, Clémentine and Érica were attentive to the number of years.

Five years meant that Aurora and Alice, when they were fifteen, had been working here... At the age they were in school, their classmates were already venturing into Africa.

Both could not help but hide their excitement at their ‘veteran bosses.’