CHAPTER 210: BABYSITTING MISSION

In the outskirts of Sellar City, inside a cave-like dungeon, a beautiful girl wearing armor made out of ice was dancing through a horde of skeletons.

Despite being a mage, she wielded two long swords forged from ice. A fierce gleam shone in her eyes as she tore through the horde as if they were constructs made out of cardboard.

Naturally, this player was none other than IceQueen.

Each attack of hers carried anger and determination. It was so fierce that those behind her started to whisper with concerned looks.

"She has been fighting for days now without logging off," one player commented. "Even for someone like her, she must be drained and mentally exhausted."

The man beside him shook his head. "It’s no use... she won’t stop until we clear this dungeon."

"I must say, even if the pay is very good, I’m seriously considering logging off... for the past couple of days we’ve just been constantly grinding."

"Shh... don’t let her hear you."

Just behind the rampaging figure of IceQueen, ChaosCleric, the shaman, stood with his hand clenching his staff tightly, trembling. His lips were dry despite drinking water several times.

"Dang, this fatigue feels too realistic. And having depleted mana points doesn’t help either," he complained under his breath.

He then looked at IceQueen and muttered, "I’m sure she’s used up all her mana potions as well. That’s why she decided to switch to melee."

Some time later, IceQueen finished off the horde of skeletons. When she was done, she didn’t need to give any orders.

The porters carrying monster cores, luggage, and supplies quickly went into motion.

IceQueen admired her ice blades for a while and couldn’t help but comment, "Brother’s instructions are much more effective than I thought."

In the past few days, she had taken sword practice classes from her brother Jayden. As a professional gamer with over ten years of experience, Jayden had explored multiple classes.

He was commonly referred to as a "Jack of all trades" in the gaming community. Although he had promised himself not to participate in games anymore, he decided to teach IceQueen some basic moves.

Now that she implemented those moves in the game world, she realized her brother wasn’t just hype. Not only was he skilled, he also possessed monstrous talent.

At that moment, ChaosCleric walked up to her.

"Leader, the players are exhausted... it would be best if we rested a little before proceeding," he suggested respectfully.

IceQueen’s eyebrows twitched, and she couldn’t help but snicker. "Bunch of weaklings. We’ve already taken so long to complete this quest. If we rest now, we’ll only delay it further and risk losing the treasure."

At her words, ripples of growls and grumbles spread among the players. But what could they do? One of the guild rules was to always listen to the leader and never oppose her.

While they continued down the passageway, IceQueen logged into the forum. The feed was flooded with highlights of one person—Sir Broken.

Her presence visibly darkened as she saw this.

Why was he always trending? Why was he always stealing the spotlight without even trying? The most annoying part was the thousands of players worshiping him like some kind of god.

She scrolled further through the forum feed, and her face grew darker and darker. Videos of Gabriel crushing Crane, Gabriel annihilating Bai Young, Gabriel taking over a camp—it was endless. Every highlight reel painted him as unstoppable.

At this pace, she was seriously considering if she could ever get rid of him. Each day, it seemed more impossible.

She remembered the Inter-Guild Display Event—everyone had laughed at her guild for losing ground while Sir Broken rose. The global forums still mocked her with cheap memes. IceQueen clenched her teeth, killing intent rising unconsciously.

"Leader...?" ChaosCleric’s voice was tentative, as if he was stepping on thin ice. "Should we... continue?"

"Of course." She sneered coldly. "Or do you want to turn back and admit we wasted days here?"

ChaosCleric bowed his head immediately, beads of sweat trickling down despite the cold air. "N-No, Leader."

IceQueen turned to the front, a cold light flashing through her eyes. "This treasure better be worth it, as Father claimed."

---

Back in Stellar City, Gabriel wasn’t thinking about what IceQueen could be doing. Although she wasn’t a threat right now, he still decided to keep an eye on her. The daughter of the developer would naturally have many things handed to her without putting in much work.

Lost in thought, he arrived at the mission room and walked to the quest board. Without thinking too much, he randomly selected two quests without even checking the details.

While heading out, he began to read them. One of them was a "special" type quest.

"Objective: Oversee the students of Stellar City Academy as they practice in the wilderness?" Gabriel read aloud with a slightly dazed expression.

In other words, he was about to act as a babysitter for a bunch of teenagers. But why would a quest as simple as this be reserved for the elite squad? Or did the academy just place so much importance on their student security?

Gabriel frowned at the parchment in his hand, his electric-blue eyes narrowing slightly. He pondered if he should return the quest. But if the Adventurer Guild listed it under the "special" category, there had to be more to it.

Furthermore, it wasn’t all bad. This could be an opportunity to win the hearts of the students from the most prestigious academy in the kingdom.

He rolled the parchment up and placed it inside his inventory. There was only one way to find out—start the quest.

According to the date, it was scheduled for today. Gabriel exited the Adventurer Guild, entered his truck, and drove towards Stellar City Academy.

Some time later, Gabriel arrived before the grand gates of the academy. It was one of Stellar City’s highlights, known for its size and history.

The academy was said to have been built by King Alveron II himself and had produced some of the finest adventurers in the kingdom and beyond.

Gabriel naturally knew about the academy, as it wasn’t only attended by natives but also by players.

However, he had never attended any academy. He played the game to escape reality and make a living, not to go to school. Even though the schools here were mostly practical, they still gave off a suffocating feeling.

The academy’s gates loomed high, decorated with banners of silver and white. Students in clean uniforms moved about in groups—laughing, sparring, or rushing to classes.

Among them were a handful of players. To Gabriel, who had seen more battlefields than classrooms, it almost felt like stepping into another world.

What he didn’t anticipate was the commotion his presence would cause. The moment he stepped out of his truck—

"Isn’t that... Sir Broken?"

"The one who dominated the Inter-Guild Display Event?"

"No way, why would he come here?"

"I always wanted to meet him!"

Gabriel ignored them and continued to stride forward.

Inside the main building, he was guided into a large room filled with tall windows and shelves stacked with tomes. Behind an oak desk sat a woman with dark eyes and silver hair pinned into a bun. She radiated authority that instantly pressed down on the room.

"You must be Gabriel Reyes," the woman said calmly. "I am Headmistress Elira."

Gabriel inclined his head slightly, cutting straight to the point.

"I accepted the quest. I assume you’re the one who issued it?"

"Yes," Elira nodded. "The academy’s elite class will be heading into the wilderness for practical training. Normally, our instructors would handle it. But... given recent disturbances, I requested external oversight."

"Disturbances?" Gabriel asked flatly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Apart from beast attacks, there have been incidents of rogue otherworlders interfering in our training grounds. If even one student dies under my care, the academy’s reputation will be questioned. You’ll not be alone—an instructor from the academy will join you to ensure nothing goes wrong."

In truth, Headmistress Elira was glad Gabriel had accepted the quest. She had followed the Inter-Guild Display Event religiously during its three-day duration.

That alone gave her confidence the students would be in safe hands.

Suddenly she added, "Also, I want you to join the instructor in evaluating them. Tell me which have potential and which are dead weight. I promise to handsomely reward you. It’s better they learn harsh truths now than die foolishly later."

Gabriel didn’t argue. It wasn’t his problem how the academy raised their elites. He was here for the quest.

"Handsomely reward me?" Gabriel narrowed his eyes.

"Yes." She smiled warmly.

"When do we leave then?" he asked.

"A few hours from now. Meet the students at the academy gates. You’ll find them eager but naïve." She allowed herself a small smile. "I trust you won’t go easy on them."

A few hours later, Gabriel went to the front gate to meet the students, ready to start his quest.