Chapter 30 — Missions
Ren opened the university app and browsed through the extensive list of available missions.
There were many different kinds.
Tracking down criminals, investigations, guarding places or people, escorting others, tutoring, gathering resources from the wilderness, hunting, various sub-occupation jobs, hunting magical beasts, and more.
The rewards varied depending on the difficulty.
Solo missions requiring only quasi-mage strength generally offered between 1,000 and 30,000 Astra.
For solo missions requiring the strength of a decent Rank 1, Level 1 mage, the rewards started at 100,000 Astra.
Anyone could choose whichever mission they wanted.
Of course, that didn't mean they should.
Taking a mission far beyond one's capabilities was simply an easy way to end up dead.
Higher-level mages also generally didn't bother with lower-level missions.
There were two main reasons.
First, missions still required time to complete.
Second, the reward was far lower than what a mage of their own level could earn from an appropriate mission.
There was also no way to hoard missions. A person could only take another mission after completing their current one.
After browsing for a while, Ren found a mission that caught his attention.
A group monster-hunting mission with a total reward of four million Astra.
The mission required four people to hunt twenty Ironspike Earth Lizards, each of which possessed decent Rank 1, Level 1 combat strength.
If the reward was divided equally, each person would receive one million Astra.
'Not bad.'
Ren accepted the mission.
The university immediately provided him with the mission details.
There was information about the location, the habitat of the Ironspike Earth Lizards, their usual behavior, the surrounding environment, and various things they needed to be careful about.
There were also instructions regarding the condition of the beasts.
The bodies couldn't be damaged too badly. If the useful parts were excessively damaged, the corresponding value would be deducted from the mission reward.
Ren carefully read through everything.
The university had also provided the contact information of the other three people who had accepted the same mission, along with some basic information about them.
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All three were his seniors by one year.
They had enrolled at the university a year before him.
Just as Ren finished looking through their information, his phone rang.
It was a group call.
Ren accepted.
The screen was divided into four sections, showing the faces of his three future teammates.
They had presumably received his information as well and wanted to confirm things before heading out.
"Hello. You're Ren Aster, right?" a young woman asked.
"Yeah, that's me. How should I address you?"
"I'm Serena Vale."
She pointed toward the other two people on the call.
"That's Kaelen Aris."
"Hello," Kaelen greeted.
"And she's Mira Dalen."
"Hello," Mira said.
Serena looked at Ren for a moment.
"So, we wanted to ask if you've really thought this through. You only recently enrolled in the university."
"Yeah," Mira added. "This mission requires a decent amount of strength. You could potentially lose your life. Maybe you should start with something easier."
Ren wasn't surprised by their concern.
This was going to be their first time working together.
Naturally, they would want to know whether their newest teammate could actually handle the mission.
"Don't worry about it," Ren said calmly. "I'm somewhat of a genius."
The three stared at him.
"I had some money, so I've been training continuously for quite some time. I've already mastered several of my spells to Advanced proficiency."
He paused.
"Although this will be my first mission, so I'd appreciate it if you could look after me."
There was no reason to hide his strength.
They were going to work together.
If he deliberately pretended to be weak and then revealed his actual strength during the mission, it would only create unnecessary suspicion.
Better to be honest from the beginning.
"Is that true?"
Kaelen sounded somewhat skeptical.
Serena and Mira were equally surprised.
Mastering several spells to Advanced proficiency so quickly was extremely fast.
They had also reached Advanced proficiency in several spells, but they had been at the university for an additional year.
"Yeah. I'm not lying."
Ren shrugged.
"What's the point of lying about something that will be obvious once we start the mission?"
His words made sense.
Besides, Aurelia Planet's talent ceiling only reached Tier 2.
With Ren's talents, his progress was naturally going to be much faster than most people.
The three remained surprised, but their expressions gradually relaxed.
The mage world had produced plenty of geniuses throughout history.
Not everyone who became powerful possessed extraordinary elemental talent. Some had carved out their own paths through exceptional comprehension.
There was no reason Ren couldn't be one of them.
And ultimately, whether Ren was telling the truth or exaggerating wasn't particularly important.
If he really had several Advanced-proficiency spells, then the mission would become easier.
If he was exaggerating, then he would simply contribute less, and the others would receive a larger share of the reward.
"Well, that's good then," Serena said. "Since it's your first mission, we'll look after you. Just follow our instructions when we're in the wilderness."
"Understood."
The four then began discussing the mission.
They went over the information provided by the university, discussed how they would approach the hunt, and talked about what they needed to be careful about.
After discussing everything they needed to know, Kaelen spoke.
"Alright. Let's meet at the university gates in an hour."
"Okay."
The call ended.
Ren put down his phone and thought for a moment.
Since this was his first time entering the wilderness, it wouldn't hurt to prepare a little more.
He ordered several additional potions and had them delivered to his apartment.
As he waited, Ren thought about why he had chosen a group mission.
It was fairly simple.
When a mission had a large reward but also required a large amount of work or had a high difficulty, the university would often turn it into a group mission.
That allowed several students to participate and get a share of the reward.
Solo missions existed as well, but they generally didn't pay as much.
Group missions also had another advantage.
Safety.
And time.
Time was money.
Several people could divide the work and search different areas instead of having one person do everything alone.
For Ren, there was another reason.
This was his first time entering the wilderness.
It was better to be careful.
The wilderness was filled with danger.
If he traveled alone and some magical beast suddenly decided that he looked tasty, what then?
In a group, he only needed to be faster than his teammates.
It wasn't even an exaggeration.
Things could go wrong even when everyone followed the mission information.
Unexpected situations could always occur.
As for the possibility of a teammate harming him...
Ren didn't consider that a sufficient reason to avoid group missions.
If he trusted the wrong person and was betrayed, that would ultimately be his own poor judgment.
Besides, even if he traveled alone, an evil mage could still attack him in the wilderness.
What then?
Was he supposed to hide in his apartment forever because there was a possibility of encountering a criminal?
That was obviously impossible.
If there was a safer way to accomplish the same thing, why take the unnecessary risk?
Ren also didn't need to worry about not receiving the earnings he deserved.
The mission reward could be divided according to everyone's contributions.
If the members couldn't reach an agreement, the university could intervene and help settle the matter.
So unless he eventually became overwhelmingly strong, Ren would probably continue taking group missions.
There was simply no reason to make things harder for himself.
'If there's a safer way, why take the risk?'
Ren glanced at the time.
The potions would arrive soon.
In an hour, he would meet his teammates at the university gates.
It was time for his first mission.
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