CHAPTER 201: CHAPTER 201: SECOND MISSION

Lake returned to his dorm room, exhaustion etched across his face. If there was one thing Sylph never failed at, it was draining his mental strength.

Beep!

The sharp sound of his wristwatch vibrating cut through the silence, making him frown.

With a sigh, he opened it to check the message.

[Liam: 10:00 PM, outside the transfer station. Don’t be late.]

It was a simple message, but Lake immediately perked up after reading it. It had been almost three weeks since Liam last contacted him.

’Is it time for another mission?’ Lake wondered, glancing at the time.

It was still early in the evening, and he had a few hours before the meetup. With nothing else to do, he decided to catch some sleep. Sylph and the elder fairies had thoroughly drained him today, and he had no intention of staying awake any longer.

Not even bothering to shower, he collapsed onto his bed and was out within moments.

***

10:00 PM, outside the transfer station.

Lake arrived on time, already dressed in the full-body suit Liam had gifted him during their last meeting.

"I see you’re already dressed for the occasion," a voice called from behind him.

Lake turned to see Liam’s relaxed posture and his trademark fox-like grin. Once again, Liam had managed to sneak up on him, even with Lake’s sixth sense fully active.

"Come on, let’s go," Liam said, already walking toward the transfer station.

Lake sighed but followed reluctantly.

"You’re not going to throw up like last time, are you?" Liam asked casually, not even glancing back.

"No. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, so I’m hoping my reaction won’t be as bad this time," Lake replied, though his voice trailed off, betraying his lack of confidence. Still, it was the only reassurance he could give himself.

As they stepped onto the platform, the nearby guard began operating it almost instinctively.

"Is that so? Well, here’s to hoping for a pleasant trip," Liam teased, his tone grating on Lake’s nerves.

Before Lake could retort, the world around them blurred, and they were teleported away.

***

Deep within the wilderness on the outskirts of Blue Gate City, a group of about 50 something hunters had set up a perimeter around the rift. The rift itself was a swirling vortex of mana, its energy causing the wind to howl as it sucked in the surrounding air.

The hunters were a mix of freelance teams, unaffiliated with any guild. They had gathered here after receiving government notice and permission to raid the rift, and now they were just waiting for the official overseer to arrive before beginning.

Among the assembled teams, one group stood out due to their strikingly younger age compared to the rest. They sat around a small fire, roasting pieces of wild game over the flames.

"Is it done yet?" asked a young hunter, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth as she stared at the sizzling meat.

"Just five more minutes," replied another hunter, carefully turning the meat over the fire. He swallowed hard, his own mouth watering.

Their other two teammates sat patiently to the side, though their eyes were locked on the juicy meat roasting over the fire. They hadn’t eaten properly in days, relying on mana to sustain themselves while hunting monsters. This meal would be their first in three days.

"Hurry up, Landur..." the drooling woman, Hana, urged impatiently.

"Two more minutes, Hana," Landur replied, his tone distracted.

The other two teammates inched closer as the meat neared perfection. Finally, when it was ready, each of them grabbed a skewer and dug into the mouthwatering roast.

"Mmm!" Hana moaned, her face glowing with joy and satisfaction.

Landur tried to keep his composure, but the taste of the meat was almost divine, and he couldn’t help but let a smile slip.

Munch! Rip!

Their third teammate, a well-known musclehead, devoured his portion with gusto, tearing through the searing hot meat as if it were nothing. Even the bones didn’t survive his appetite.

The last member of the team, Gwen, ate with far more elegance, taking small, careful bites. Yet even she couldn’t hide the faint smile of contentment on her face.

When they were done, they tossed the bones into the fire and leaned back, utterly satisfied.

"Ah, that was amazing..." Jayce sighed, lying back on the ground and using a piece of wood to pick his teeth.

"You can say that again," Landur mumbled, slouching against a tree trunk as if he were about to merge with it.

Hana flopped onto his lap, using his legs as a makeshift pillow. Landur was too relaxed to protest, letting the moment pass without their usual bickering.

Gwen shook her head at the state of her team. It had only been a few hours since their last fight at Kamen Island. While their bodies were still in peak condition, the same couldn’t be said for their minds.

When they returned from the island, the academy had contacted them immediately, issuing a new mission within minutes of their arrival. They would have refused, wanting time to recover, but the mission’s details and rewards were too tempting to pass up.

[Rift Raid - 5000 points.]

The mission was straightforward: work with other freelance hunters to raid a government-sanctioned rift. Normally, such an opportunity wouldn’t be offered to students like them—rifts were considered too dangerous for inexperienced hunters. But the potential rewards were too great to ignore, not to mention the 5000 points on offer. If they succeeded, they could afford to relax for the rest of the semester, no longer scrambling to earn enough points to graduate.

For now, though, they savored the rare moment of peace, knowing the dangers that awaited them once the overseer arrived.

Just then, two figures emerged from the shrubbery, drawing the attention of the nearby hunters.

One of them was clad in a form-fitting black suit that covered him from head to toe, his face hidden behind a mask and hood. Only his steel-blue eyes were visible, glinting through the narrow gap.

The other was dressed far more simply, wearing a shirt, waistcoat, and pants, a small smirk playing on his lips.

It was Lake and Liam, who had arrived just a few minutes before midnight after sprinting through the wilderness.

"Stop right there," one of the hunters called out, stepping forward to block their path. "This is an official raid site. Unauthorized personnel aren’t allowed."

"Hahaha, my apologies for the late introduction, gentlemen," Liam said with a laugh, though his attempt to ease the tension seemed to have the opposite effect. The hunters only grew more wary, unnerved by his ever-present smile.

He reached into his waistcoat and pulled out a folded document, handing it to the hunter. "I’m the official overseer designated to supervise this raid."

The hunter carefully examined the document, then nodded and passed it around for the others to see. "The permit checks out. Sorry if I came off as rude earlier."

"Not at all," Liam replied smoothly. "In our line of work, it’s always better to err on the side of caution."

His gaze swept over the gathered hunters before landing on Gwen’s group not far away. His smirk deepened as their eyes met, and Gwen gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

"Since everyone’s here, we’ll begin the raid in five minutes," Liam announced. "If anyone has any last-minute preparations, now’s the time to take care of them!"

Lake watched as Liam began organizing the hunters. Despite his playful demeanor and unsettling smile, he efficiently coordinated the group, ensuring everyone was ready for the raid. It made sense, given his role as the official overseer—a position Lake hadn’t expected him to hold.

An official overseer was a government-appointed leader responsible for sanctioning rift hunts and guiding unorganized groups of hunters. Typically, they were at the level of a Peak Martial Warrior or Low-Rank Martial Master. While Lake didn’t know Liam’s exact rank, he was certain the man was at least a Martial Grandmaster in terms of strength. That made it all the more surprising to see someone who could likely clear the rift single-handedly working with a group of hunters, most of whom were Martial Warriors, with the strongest being only High-Rank.

"Why don’t you go say hello to my sister and her friends?" Liam suggested, his smile widening as he gestured toward Gwen and the others.

"It’s not necessary," Lake replied simply.

"Oh? That’s a shame. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to see their junior in a place like this."

Lake shook his head in response.

Under normal circumstances, it might have been nice to team up with his seniors for the raid, but this time was different. His mission was separate from theirs. While they were here to explore the rift and defeat monsters, he had a different objective in mind.

His gaze shifted to the swirling vortex of mana that was the rift. The system’s anomaly review appeared before him.

[Anomaly Grade: C

Anomaly Description: A small pocket dimension. Estimated difficulty: Low-Rank Martial Master.

Clear Reward: A Low-Tier Role.]

The rift itself didn’t seem particularly dangerous, classified as only a C-Rank anomaly by the system. But that didn’t matter to Lake. His mission this time had nothing to do with the rift itself.

Recalling the briefing Liam had given him on their way here, Lake’s eyes turned icy cold.

In Blue Gate City, a group of wanted criminals had evaded capture and fled into the wilderness surrounding the city. After tracking them down, the Execution Department discovered they had taken refuge inside the rift.

Normally, Lake wouldn’t have been so worked up over something like this. That was until Liam revealed which group these criminals belonged to.

Lake unconsciously clenched his jaw, struggling to suppress the fury burning inside him as he recalled his past run-ins with them.

’Prestige...’

This time, his targets for elimination were members of Prestige.