CHAPTER 248: EASTERN BATTLEFIELD REWARDS

Hal was silent the whole time as he drove back to the academy, pondering the new information he had learned from the companion registration officer.

’At the very least, if I raised Loki’s rank, then I wouldn’t have to worry about him as much, and I can take him to more dangerous missions, maybe even leave him alone in a slightly safer area if needed...’

A lot of options would open up if his wolf companion at least made it to the low A-rank.

But to do that, he had to feed Loki a lot of cores, or at least allow the pup to hunt for himself.

’His current strength should be of the high C or low B rank...’ Hal mused as he glanced at his companion.

Soon, they arrived at the academy, and Hal had to temporarily put the matter at the back of his mind.

He dropped by the Wanzin’s Arcane Emporium before returning, and he promised that the next batch of artifacts he would deliver would include a rare-tier one.

He had to shift his focus to artifact crafting.

Only after he received his rewards from the eastern battlefield, though.

Hal stored his Manatech Motorcycle inside the system’s inventory and rode Loki’s back to Deputy Headmaster Korvus’ office.

Naturally, a lot of heads turned, and he loved the attention.

He had already thought of and tried this before they even made it back to Aeloria.

The wolf companion also loved it, so it was a win-win idea for both sides.

Hal’s puny human weight didn’t even matter in the slightest for the now-mighty pupper.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to arrive in front of Korvus’ office, even though Loki held his speed back.

It would be embarrassing if Hal fell, after all, and his master wasn’t too adept at wolf-back riding yet.

Hal knocked on the door.

"Come in," the deputy headmaster instructed.

The two of them were more or less fairly close now, and both had seen the worst of the other’s attitudes, so Hal entered rather casually, though he still offered the mandatory bow as a sign of respect for the older man.

"Here, check this bag."

Korvus knew what the young Magna Prospect, who was strangely also still their student, wanted, so he didn’t stand on ceremony and retrieved the sack bag he stored below his desk, placing it on the tabletop.

Hal bowed before snatching the bag rather excitedly, having recovered a bit from the traumatizing and brutal battlefield scenes.

It was quite heavy.

’Let’s see...’

Loosening the stringlocks, he opened the bag and enthusiastically checked what was inside.

As expected, there was a lot, but the first thing that got his attention was the faintly glowing monster cores.

There were twenty, all of which are B-ranked based on their color.

Hal couldn’t suppress a smile.

’Timely!’ he thought inwardly. These were the cores he needed the most at the moment.

He decided that half would go to Loki’s mouth and half would be for artifact crafting.

The next item that got his attention was a claw.

’No, a horn?’ Hal grabbed it, frowning as he examined it in front of Korvus.

"That...is the horn of an S-ranked Dusk Stallion," explained the old man.

Hal’s eyes naturally widened at the revelation, his smile widening a moment later.

He didn’t know if this could be used in artifact crafting, but if the empire stored this in the treasury, then it would have some uses.

Just the fact that he could exchange this for probably thousands of points in the Chaos Converter was already enough.

But Hal didn’t jump the gun, as there might be better uses for it.

Korvus fell silent, observing the young man’s reactions.

The elderly deputy didn’t expect that, like Isolde had said in the meetings they attended at the Imperial Wizard Guild Headquarters, the stranger the item, the more Hal would like it.

Even he, who had decades of experience, didn’t know how the young man would benefit from such a random item, although it could be argued that he hadn’t delved deeply into this field of study at all.

’Well, if he likes it, then good...’ inwardly shrugged the old man.

Hal returned the horn inside the sack bag and retrieved another small sack bag inside containing good old gold coins.

There were two hundred, ramping up his reserves to over four hundred gold coins.

Money was never a disadvantage.

Aside from the cores, the Dusk Stallion Horn, and the gold coins, there was another strange item inside, and Hal grabbed and inspected it.

"A...map?"

To be precise, an old, perhaps ancient map drawn on a beast hide.

"Ahem." Korvus cleared his throat to capture the young man’s attention. "This is a map of an ancient labyrinth in a restricted area."

Hal’s brows furrowed at the information.

Did this mean he was being granted entry? Even if he did, what could he obtain there?

In any case, although this was a strange reward, Hal somewhat liked it.

"Please elaborate, Deputy Headmaster."

"I shall," nodded Korvus. "In simpler words, these locations are both trials and rewards to the youths of the Imperium who displayed peerless generational excellence."

Hal’s gaze turned a bit more serious.

In short, the labyrinth was probably a resource-rich location that the empire preserved for its most talented youngsters, forging a mighty pillar through a trial of fire.

It was probably a dangerous area, perfect for the most talented of youths, but wouldn’t be as useful for aged and long-established wizards.

Hal already understood what Korvus meant, but the old man suddenly added an example for better understanding:

"To allow you to appreciate this reward more, even Lord Targon, Lord Zephyron, and Headmistress Isolde, in their youths, were never granted entry to one. Why? They weren’t capable enough to survive and enjoy the rewards of scouring these special locations. If you’re familiar with Lord Kalna, the Time Magna, he’s someone who managed to return alive from one of these restricted-access areas."

Hal’s eyes momentarily widened at the examples.

Even Lord Stiff Face and his master weren’t capable enough?

He finally understood how weighty this reward was.

This was the empire fully supporting and believing in his abilities, giving him the most optimal of opportunities.

Whatever he obtained inside would probably be his.

Hal was lost in his heavy thoughts, flattered and excited at being regarded this highly by the Imperium, when, suddenly, Korvus spoke once more:

"Of course, there were quite a number of youngsters rewarded with such a map, but not all of them returned. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hal nodded. He would be dumb not to understand such simple words.

"You’re free to go whenever you wish, just inform us beforehand so we can take you to the location. The creatures around these areas aren’t something youngsters are meant to fight yet."