Delph paused to let everyone consider his words. Students chattered in low tones for a few minutes until the professor cleared his throat. “There are a few modifications this year for students capable of completing B-rank or higher quests. The Seventh King has put out a bounty on a group of monsters. There isn’t much known about their abilities, but they pose a significant threat to the kingdom. We have need of scouts and students that can seek out the monsters. You will not be engaging them yourselves. If you’re interested, please see me after class.”

Delph turned and looked straight at Damien. The boy’s blood ran cold and his skin prickled.

“Relax,” Henry hissed. “Don’t give away so much information through your expression. There’s no guarantee that they’ve discovered the other void creatures.”

Damien forced himself to relax. It took everything he had to keep his face plain and only slightly interested, as if Delph had told them that it might rain tomorrow.

The professor spoke for a few more minutes on proper questing preparation and the different types of quests that they could take on. Unsurprisingly, the more dangerous ones also happened to pay the best. However, the piece of information that caught everyone’s mind was that a quest could only be taken by a single group. That meant that whoever got there first had the best pick of the options.

When Delph had finished, he dismissed the class with a wave of his hand. Almost everyone dashed out of the arena at max speed. The only students that remained behind were Damien, Sylph, Mark, Loretta, and Cody – Loretta’s partner.

The students looked at each other, nobody wanting to speak up first. Delph rolled his eyes and pointed at Mark. “Right then. If you can’t decide who starts, I will. What do you want?”

“I just wanted to confirm that my… special circumstances will permit me to take quests of the level you assigned me, even though I’m going alone,” Mark said.

“They do,” Delph said. He examined Mark for a moment, then sighed. “Just keep in mind that you aren’t immortal. It would be a shame to lose someone of your talent, but it happens more often than we’d like. Use your head as much as your powers.”

“I’ll keep your advice in mind,” Mark said. He nodded to everyone and turned on his heel, striding out of the arena at a brisk pace. Mark didn’t seem particularly concerned that someone would take the quest he wanted before he got there.

“And what about the rest of you?” Delph asked. “Anyone going to pipe up, or do I have to pick you like a schoolteacher?”

“I’ll go next,” Loretta said. “It’s about Cody and I. He’s planning to become a combat mage, but I want to be a researcher. How should we go about our quests? You said that there were some for everyone, but I don’t know how that would apply to us.”

“A lot of the quests have a good amount of overlap between the two subjects,” Delph replied. “Take a look at them first. If both of you had wanted to be researchers, that’s one thing. However, a lot of the combat heavy quests would heavily benefit from the usage of some non-traditional abilities. And the same goes the other way around. After you look at the quests, come back and let me know if you can’t find something you like.”

Loretta and Cody exchanged a glance. They nodded and bid farewell to Delph before setting off after Mark and the other students, leaving Damien and Sylph alone with the professor.

Delph’s stern expression softened slightly once they were alone. He uncrossed his arms and let out a sigh.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to chase the two of you down. It would have been a bother.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sylph asked. “Why would you need to chase us down?”

“Dean Whisp has specifically requested that you two assist in the special bounty quest,” Delph said. “Keep in mind that this is not an order as you aren’t in the military.”

“What? Why? What’s the benefit?” Sylph asked. “We can do A rank quests right now. Why wouldn’t we just do those? They’re rewarding enough and don’t carry the extra risk of hunting out dangerous creatures. Why does Whisp need Year One students to help with something that dangerous?”

Delph’s face darkened. He glanced into the sky, then shook his head. “Frankly, I don’t know. I’ve been ordered to convey this information to you. Like you said, Year Ones have no place hunting dangerous creatures. You don’t have the experience or talent.”

“So then why would Whisp invite us?” Sylph asked, baffled.

The professor pressed his lips together. “It’s not my place to say. If it were me, I’d refuse. Risking your lives like that is point–”

Delph’s body abruptly stiffened. A flash of anger crossed his rugged features. “Damn it, Whisp. Why are you like this?”

His eyes lit up with dull purple energy and his posture shifted, becoming more relaxed. Delph rested a hand on his hip and smacked his lips.

“Because I can be.” Dean Whisp’s voice came out from Delph’s lips. Damien and Sylph took a step back.

“Relax, kiddos,” Whisp said. “I’ve asked Delph to let us have a quick chat. I’d do it myself, but I’m not at the school right now. As your professor said, I’m not going to force you to take this quest. However, I can certainly make the rewards more enticing that any of the A rank quests can offer.”

Sylph blinked. “How enticing are we speaking?”

“One thousand five hundred contribution points, among any magical items or other rewards that we find along the way,” Delph-Whisp said without an instant of hesitation. “That’s more than two times what the hardest Year One quest offers, and that quest is SS rank.”

Sylph swallowed. She glanced at Damien, who still hadn’t said anything. Damien forced himself to put on a pensive expression. “I still don’t understand why you want us to help. We’re Year Ones. The most we can do is act as bait. It sounds like these monsters are strong, so why does it matter that the reward is high if we just end up getting killed during the quest?”

“You can die during any quest,” Whisp’s voice said. “The two of you showed some serious ingenuity during the ranking battles, so it would be a shame to waste your talent on low level quests. Look, I’m not going to argue with two munchkins to try and get them to join a quest. Just keep this in mind – Blackmist has no need for cowards.”

Whisp trailed off. Delph’s face twitched and she turned to look Damien in the eyes. “Adventurer or frontline soldier – we need people that follow orders, even when they don’t have to. I’ve spoken with Delph about both of you. You’ve yet to back down from a challenge, Damien. It would be quite strange if you suddenly changed how you act. I might be concerned that something is affecting one of my students and look into it. And, trust me. Given the circumstances of a certain missing student, you don’t want that.”

Delph looked over at Sylph, his brow contorting in anger. He let out a huff. “Delph is being temperamental. If you’re taking the quest, talk to Auntie. She’ll point you in the right direction. You’ve got one hour – the group will be leaving Blackmist very soon.”

Delph’s eyes flashed and returned to normal. The professor grimaced and curled his nose like he’d smelled something nasty. “Damn body snatcher. Regardless, the two of you have heard your options. Whisp has informed me that I’m not allowed to say anything else on the topic.”

The professor made a shooing motion with his hands. Despite the situation, Damien nearly let out a small chuckle. He and Sylph obediently headed out of the arena.

“Get to your room,” Henry ordered Damien as they walked. “I’ll try to scout out what’s going on, but we can’t have you walking around in the daylight without a shadow.”

On it. And what does she mean by missing student? Did something happen?

“Don’t worry about it.”

“What do you think about the quest?” Sylph asked, interrupting Damien’s internal conversation. “I’m pretty sure we just got threatened.”

“I’m not sure, but I think you’re right. But I’ve got no idea what she’s threatening me with. I don’t know anything about a missing student,” Damien said hesitantly. “There has to be a reason she wants us to join. Us finding a loophole in the tournament hardly seems like a good explanation for why she’d personally contact us. Look, why don’t we figure this out in our room? We’ve got an hour, but it might help to be away from prying eyes.”

“Sure,” Sylph said, cocking her head slightly at the request. She gave him a curious glance, but the girl didn’t find what she was looking for in Damien’s eyes. By the time they got back, Damien’s back was drenched in nervous sweat.

Is it safe to talk?

“It should be. The woman isn’t anywhere near here,” Henry said. “That was a long ranged spell, and it was already getting weak when it hit your professor. Just keep your voices down. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Wait! What was Whisp-

Henry tore Damien’s shadow away from him and shot off.

“So, what’s got you so nervous?” Sylph asked, sitting down on her bed.

“I don’t get what she’s playing at,” Damien said, pursing his lips. “That was definitely a threat. Does it have something to do with Jayce? Delph was talking about him earlier.”

“He was,” Sylph said, eyeing Damien. “He’s apparently gone missing. I don’t think you had anything to do with it, though. Should we just refuse the quest?”

“I don’t know if I can,” Damien said, frowning. “It doesn’t matter if I had anything to do with Jayce. Whisp is the one person I can’t have looking into me. And… it’s one thousand five hundred points, Sylph. That would put you just one thousand points away from the dagger.”

Sylph shrugged. “We can get it later. If this quest is something dangerous for you, we just won’t do it. We can still get points the normal way.”

Damien’s stomach unclenched a little. He gave her a slight smile. “Thanks, Sylph. But, to be honest, I’m worried that refusing the quest will cause more problems than accepting it.”

“Your situation is that serious?” Sylph asked, her eyebrows knitting together. “Well, this is a dilemma. You don’t have to tell me this, but why do you think this quest is dangerous for you? I’ve got my own thoughts as to why you might be worried, but nothing that would explain why this quest would pose a threat.”

Damien opened his mouth. Then he paused, considering Sylph’s words. If they already knew that he had a void creature within him, Whisp or Delph would have probably killed him. Whisp might have been planning to investigate him on the quest, but that wouldn’t make sense given her threat. Damien’s hands clenched.

“Damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” Damien said. “But for reasons I think we both know; I can’t have her investigating me. What about your own thoughts on it, though? Do you think it’s worth it?”

“It’s hard to say,” Sylph replied. “The reward is certainly tempting, and Dean Whisp framed it in a way that makes it feel like the quest won’t be that hard. I don’t believe that for a second, but we can’t get stronger without taking on serious risks. The faster I can get that dagger, the better it is for my growth. That being said, if you need to avoid Whisp’s ire, you might not have a choice. But if you go with this, she’s going to keep doing it. You’ll need to find a way to get out of her thumb at some point.”

Damien rubbed his chin and paced back and forth along the thin hallway between their beds for a few minutes. Then he sat down and sighed. Henry clearly knew something about what Whisp was talking about. All he could do for now was wait until his companion returned.

Luckily, his companion returned after only around fifteen minutes. Damien’s shadow slid under the door and discretely returned to his feet as Henry rejoined him.

Well?

“They don’t seem to suspect you,” Henry said. “In fact, it doesn’t look like they’re hunting the void creatures at all. Your professor was speaking to Whisp after you left. I didn’t get all of it, but they were talking about the two of you as bait. Apparently, some monsters have been hunting students and either killing or kidnapping them. They need a way to lure them out.”

And what about the threat Whisp made? She seems to know something, and I think you do too.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know right now,” Henry said. “I might be able to hide myself if Whisp goes digging around on a surface level, but I can’t hide your own thoughts. Wait until after the quest.”

I’m not sure I like that idea, but fine. So you think I should do it?

“Given the circumstances, I’m not sure you have a choice,” Henry said. “Not if you want to remain at Blackmist.”

Wonderful. Assuming I do take the quest, what use do they even have for us? Why do they need me and Sylph to be bait?

“Maybe they think you’re strong enough to hold the monsters off for a minute or two,” Henry offered. “Delph said something about them not being able to predict where the monsters attack, so I get the feeling they’re inviting capable students in the hopes of luring it out. Either that or Whisp wants you under her control. She’s got a sword at your neck.”

Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Do you think we should do it?

“It’s up to you,” Henry replied. “The choice is do it or leave the college. On the plus side, I think the experience would be valuable. Your fighting style is still amateurish. The reward seems quite significant as well. We could get some significant boosts to your power with that amount of contribution points.”

“None of the options seem ideal,” Damien said, sighing. “No matter what we do, I’m getting unwanted attention. But I think Whisp is going to be more attentive to us if we refuse than if we accept. I don’t think she’s leaving me much of a choice.”

“So… we’re taking it, then?” Sylph asked.

“That’s probably for the best,” Damien said, feeling dread build up in the pit of his stomach. Whisp had put him in a spot where he was in trouble no matter what choice he made.

“You’ll be fine,” Henry said. “If worst comes to worst, I’ll reveal myself and we run. We can’t beat Whisp, but I can probably get us out of a sticky situation.”

That’s reassuring.

“Just try to learn as much as you can. Whatever these monsters are, I doubt that they’re anywhere near as dangerous as my brethren. In fact, this is the perfect time to eliminate one of them. If the quest brings you near the closest void creature, we should consider seeking it out. I don’t know if one will be in the area, but I’ll check if we get the chance.”

Am I really ready to fight an eldritch monster?

“Not in the slightest,” Henry replied cheerfully. “But I am. They’re either bound or sleeping, so it shouldn’t be hard for me to take care of things if they go south. Just think of it as a fun detour.”

I’m not sure I’d call killing someone that hasn’t done anything wrong a detour. And speaking of which – we aren’t killing them the moment we see them. What if they’re just like us? Maybe they have no plans of destroying the world. I don’t want to kill someone that’s completely innocent.

“That’s a fair point, actually,” Henry said. Damien blinked as his companion actually considered his words. After a moment, the eldritch creature let out a grumble. “I don’t even know if we’ll get the chance to find my brethren. But, if we do, we can try to speak with them first. They’ll expect me to be on their on their side anyways. For now, just focus on keeping extra suspicion off of us.”