When Cadmus awoke the next morning, he was very slightly miffed. It seemed that Arthur’s gratitude didn’t actually mean anything substantial. After they had shaken hands, Cadmus had tried asking Arthur for a bit of his laurite as a sign of his gratitude, but Arthur had refused with an amused laugh, stating that if Cadmus wanted Camelot’s laurite, he would have to win it from him.

Now, Cadmus was confident in his abilities, but even he had to admit, the sheer complexity of Caliburn made him wary. He doubted there were very many magical treasures out there worth more than that blindingly golden sword. It would take time to come up with a suitable counter for that.

And thus they had parted on good terms, but Cadmus had nothing but Arthur’s gratitude to show for it—something he honestly couldn’t care less about. Beyond that, he also had to think about ways to catch up with his peers in terms of points, and it was with these thoughts that he distractedly took a seat beside Oliver in their first Magic Fundamentals class in a week.

Maybe he could challenge Morgana or Gwen? Considering their skills and fighting styles, he was certain he could defeat them with little to no risk. Then again, they probably knew that as well, and would just decline his challenge. Gwen didn’t even like to fight…

“…And he gets like this sometimes. Don’t worry about it…” He heard Oliver say in the background after a while. He was talking to Candice, who was also here for some reason. She seemed to have integrated herself into their group after the Tournament. “…If you really need to grab his attention though, you can smack him across the face as hard as you can. Don’t worry, he won’t hold it against you. He told us to do it, in fact.”

“Please don’t,” Cadmus said dryly.

Oliver gave a theatrical sigh, “Damn. If only you’d stayed distracted just a few minutes longer…”

Alice harrumphed, “Don’t kid yourself. Candice would never do something as mean as that anyway.”

Oliver merely grinned at her. Professor Mackenzie walked in at that moment, and she held up a hand.

“Alright everyone, settle down!” She told the chattering class. The sounds of conversation quickly died away, and she continued, “We’ve all had a good break watching the Twin Peaks Tournament—well, you have. We teachers have been busting our asses for several weeks now organizing the entire thing. And we have several people here who participated in it as well. All that is over now though, and it’s back to classes for all of you. No slacking off just because you’re all stuck in holiday mood.”

There were a few groans, and Professor Mackenzie grinned, “Before we get started though, I have an exciting announcement for you all. It was delayed this year due to a few complications, but we’ve finally got the quest system up and running again!”

The classroom was enveloped in whispers, equal parts confused and equal parts excited, as Oliver leaned forward. “Wait, seriously? I was beginning to think they weren’t going to do it this year.”

Cadmus looked at him curiously, but before he could ask anything, Professor Mackenzie spoke.

“For those of you who don’t know, the quest system is a program set up by the school which allows you to take on various requests in exchange for points and payment. It is essentially a way for you to get some real-world experience. The requests we receive have an exceptionally wide range: from an internship with a government-employed researcher, to a hunting request from a hamlet in the countryside.”

Cadmus found himself leaning forward as well, recalling that this was not the first time he was hearing about these quests. When he had been young, Ember had talked about making money through quests. Though all of Ember’s needs had been provided by the Academy due to her scholarship, the same could not be said for Cadmus. The money earned by Ember’s completion of quests, Cadmus’ tiny contribution with the money he earned through manual labour, and the money their parents had left behind for them had allowed them to eke out a comfortable existence in Anguis.

He had not actually known what quests were before now, but it felt almost comforting to learn of them, as though he was somehow taking a few steps closer to Ember. Furthermore, he had not been aware that completing quests also granted points alongside money. His interest piqued, he listened on.

“The amount of money and number of points awarded will be commensurate to the difficulty and level of commitment required by the quest,” Professor Mackenzie said, “And of course, we can’t can’t fully guarantee your safety during them, so you’ll need to get a parent to sign an acceptance form, just like with the Twin Peaks Tournament. Any questions?”

Gelida Olvo’s hand shot upwards and Professor Mackenzie gestured for her to speak.

“Will we really be allowed to leave the Academy and go anywhere for these quests?”

“You’ll be allowed to go where required by the quest,” Professor Mackenzie corrected, “Keeping that in mind though, we teachers will review any quests you want to go on, and will only allow you to take a quest if we feel it won’t intrude on your class attendance or grades. Meaning, if you want to go do a quest that requires you to go out into the countryside, we’ll only allow you to go during the weekends. This is a supplemental program to help you become better mages, not a replacement for your education.”

“Where can we check out these quests then?” Gelida asked.

“We’re setting up quest boards outside certain classrooms and the Main Hall right now. One of those classrooms is this one, so you can take a look as soon as class is over.”

The whispers from the students increased in excitement and volume, and Oliver looked round at Cadmus. “You’re definitely going to try a few of these quests, aren’t you?”

Cadmus considered it, “Depends on how many points they’re worth.”

“Well, I know I am,” Oliver said, “Might be a pain convincing my family to sign the acceptance form though…”

“What about you, Candice?” Alice asked.

“I… I think I might try them as well,” Candice said, looking as though she was mustering her determination.

Professor Mackenzie’s loud voice cut through the classroom, “Alright, that’s enough yapping! Now that we’ve gotten all the news out of the way, it’s time to get back to Magic Fundamentals class. Bit of review first: who here can tell me what magical circuit techniques are?”

And just like that class was returned to normal, as though the past week had never happened. Although, in that time Cadmus had forgotten just how boring these classes were. He didn’t really enjoy fighting or somesuch, but there was no denying that he had been strained to the limit trying to keep up with his fellow tournament competitors. Even if it wasn’t in the direction he wanted, he had been forced to grow by leaps and bounds during the tournament. To go back to this after all that…

It was almost disappointing.

He made an honest effort to try and pay attention anyway, he really did, if only just to see if he would be reminded of something basic that he’d forgotten. However, just fifteen minutes in, his mind drifted away, dancing around the thoughts of the newly-revealed quests instead.

Depending on the amount of points they were worth, quests might perhaps even be a viable way to catch up with Camelot and Ardea in the rankings! Then again, they too were able to take quests…

So deeply involved he was in his ruminations that he didn’t even notice when class finally came to an end. It was only when Candice hesitantly shook him to get his attention that he realized that everyone was already getting up to leave.

He quickly got to his feet and exited the classroom (ignoring the stink-eye Professor Mackenzie shot him), before joining the growing crowd right outside. They were gathered around a large billboard, upon which many pieces of parchment were pinned, all saying different things.

QUEST

We require a mage proficient in fire magic to accompany our class trip to Fairview Village and back. We will be camping on the way, and need a skilled mage to light the firepits and provide sources of light. We hope that the student sent will be worthy of your school’s great pedigree.

Please keep in mind that our class is comprised of children aged between five and six years old, as such it would be much appreciated if a student adept at dealing with children were to be sent. They will not be required to interact with the children, but should any unforeseen circumstances arise, the ability to interact with children in a skilled manner will serve them well.

This request will take two days maximum to complete.

Reward:

15 Silver 10 Points

Minimum Requirements:

1 Student

QUEST

Tutor needed to help my daughter get a head start on her magical education. She’s already figured out on her own how to cast some kind of really powerful water spell, so she’s pretty talented. The tutor needs to be really skilled to be able to teach her.

My daughter is thirteen years old, and the spell she figured out looks like this incredibly powerful stream of water, kind of like something you see coming out of those fountains in the park. The request is for only one, two-hour, lesson. I figure with her talent, that’s pretty much enough to get her started.

Reward:

5 Silver 5 Points

Minimum Requirements:

1 Student

Cadmus looked over the second quest again. “Isn’t that just the most basic Water spell…?” He muttered to himself confusedly.

“You’re thinking about taking that one?” Oliver asked, gesturing at the sheet he was staring at. He and Candice had gotten here while Cadmus had been reading.

“No. It doesn’t seem worth it.”

He let his eyes roam again, taking in the other requests.

QUEST

I need a mage to serve as a bodyguard for my trip to Brightfoam Cove and back. The trip should take only a day, two at the most, and the only things that need to be protected are me and my luggage. While it’s doubtful that bandits will show up this close to the capital, I would still like to be sent a powerful bodyguard just in case.

Reward:

7 Silver 15 Points

Minimum Requirements:

2 Students

Cadmus raised an eyebrow, “The request is for a single mage to serve as a bodyguard, but the minimum requirement is for two students?”

“Everything after the request description is set by the Academy,” Oliver explained, “They must think that the potential danger in this quest is enough to warrant at least two people.”

“I see.”

He withheld a sigh, feeling rather let down by the number of points these quests provided. Even if he took a quick quest every day, it would not help him keep up with Camelot or Ardea. On the contrary, it would simply be time wasted.

He let his eyes rove over the quest board one final time, his excitement rapidly dwindling, and just when he was about to leave and declare this whole thing a bust, he caught sight of a particular quest.

QUEST

We need someone good at fighting to deal with some wild wolves near our village. It’s called Mento Village. We haven’t seen too many wolves yet, but we can hear a lot of howling, and it gets more frequent with each passing day. Be careful, these wolves sound stronger than normal.

Reward:

10 Silver 70 Points

Minimum Requirements:

2 Students

The description of the request was sparse, but the number of points on offer was nothing to scoff at. It was certainly not as much as was on offer for the first school activity in Lorem forest, but it was still a substantial amount—especially when one considered the fact that he could take several of these quests fairly quickly in a row.

He reached for the sheet, but as he grabbed hold of it, he saw another, tanned, hand try to snatch it from the board at the same time. He looked round and saw that it was Gelida.

They stared at each other for a moment, holding the quest sheet between them.

“Don’t you need to get your form signed by a parent before you can take any quests?” Cadmus asked.

Oliver tapped on his shoulder awkwardly, “Yeah, um, she’s just like you: she doesn’t have a guardian either.”

Gelida blinked, turning to him, “Whoa, how do you know that?”

Alice was glaring at him suspiciously as well, “Yeah… how do you know that? I know you like to gather information and stuff, Oliver, but investigating this deeply into people’s lives is just wrong. It comes off as kind of… stalker-ish.”

“No, no—it’s not like that!” Oliver exclaimed, looking sheepish, “I just… accidentally saw your tournament entry form when Cadmus was turning in his. Er—sorry…”

Gelida perked up, “Oh, that makes sense. In that case, don’t worry about it.” She turned to Cadmus, “However, I really want to do this quest, so can I ask you to get another one?”

“Unfortunately, I quite want to do this quest as well,” Cadmus said, making sure to keep his hold on the quest sheet tight, “Can I perhaps help you find another combat-related quest in exchange for letting me keep this one?”

“I-isn’t the minimum requirement for this quest two students anyway?” Candice interjected timidly, easily reading the stretched-out quest sheet between them, “Why don’t you both go together?”

Gelida made a troubled face at that, and Cadmus wasn’t much fan of that idea either. He had hoped he could just somehow convince Professor Mackenzie to make an exception for him and let him go alone. Surely she knew he was more than capable of easily handling this on his lonesome.

It was not that he disliked having a partner to work with, it was simply that if Gelida tagged along, he might have to share his points with her. He was unsure whether these quests would reward them both seventy points each, or whether it would be divided in half between them.

Cadmus and Gelida both looked at each other once more, and perhaps realizing that neither was willing to give in, Gelida caved. “Alright then, let’s just do this quest together. How about that?”

Cadmus supposed he hadn’t seen a quest worth any more than thirty-five points either—the maximum amount he would receive if the points would be divided equally between them—and so he nodded with a sigh.

“Very well.”

Gelida grinned, smoothly plucking the sheet out of his hands. “Great! I’ll hold onto this until the end of the day then!”

Cadmus blinked in confusion for a second, before remembering that they still had classes to get to. He suppressed a frown at the thought of letting such useless commitments get in the way of far more important things.

Then again, it was only Magic Fundamentals class that was useless; the other classes, such as Magical Combat had actually managed to teach him a thing or two…

“We could go to her during lunch,” he posited.

Gelida looked scandalized, “Teachers need to eat too, you know! We’ll go after all the classes have ended!”

Without waiting for a response, she tore off like a whirlwind, and Cadmus was left reeling.

“She’s… spirited, isn’t she?” Alice noted.

“I-I think it’s nice,” Candice said.

“Yeah…” Alice said. Then she looked up at Cadmus sternly, “You should be more like that!”

Cadmus blinked, “Me?”

“Yeah!” Alice nodded emphatically, “You need a little more bounce in your step! You’ve been acting so gloomy recently.”

“Er—sorry?” Cadmus said.

Alice sighed, “No, if you apologize it just makes me feel guilty… Let’s just go, don’t want to be late on the first day back.”

Cadmus nodded confusedly, and set off with Oliver and Candice towards Magical Combat class.

Autumn was nearly over, and Anguis was on the verge of entering into winter, and so by the time classes had all come to an end, the sun was already more than halfway sunk into the ground already.

As they had agreed, Gelida brought the quest sheet together with Cadmus to Professor Mackenzie, and after making them sign the permission forms themselves, she took a look.

“Wolves, huh? It may sound like an easy task, but any situation involving wild animals can instantly end terribly,” Professor Mackenzie said.

Gelida nodded vigorously with a serious look on her face, while Cadmus…

“How will the points be divided?”

Professor Mackenzie seemed as though she were barely holding in a sigh. “Of course… well, usually the division of the points is agreed upon by the participants. It’s only fair for the person who did the most work to receive the most points.”

“Do you really want the points that badly?” Gelida asked curiously.

“I do,” Cadmus said honestly, looking her in the eyes.

Gelida seemed almost slightly taken back for a moment, and then she grinned, her eyes squinting at its wideness, “Oh, if that’s the case then I’m fine with giving you all the points we get from this quest! I’m not after the points anyway!”

“Really?” Alice asked amazed, “Then what are you after? You said you wanted to do this quest pretty badly.”

Gelida’s grin faltered slightly, “Well, in return I hope you’ll give me the entirety of the cash reward. It’s only fair, no?”

Cadmus didn’t even need to think about the answer. “Very well.”

“Now, with that settled…” Gelida turned towards Professor Mackenzie expectantly.

Professor Mackenzie frowned, “…I worry that you brats aren’t taking your target seriously—we didn’t even get the chance to teach you how to deal with wild animals properly because of Everett’s attack… but, well, I guess you both are skilled enough to come out of it alive at least. Alright then, quest accepted!” She signed the quest sheet with a flourish and handed it back to them, making a note on her journal right beside it. “Since Mento Village is far from here, you’ll head out on Friday after classes.”

Cadmus clamped down on the urge to complain at the idea of waiting till the end of the week, and Professor Mackenzie seemed to sense it, as she gave him a stern look.

“If all goes well, you’ll be back by Sunday evening. Make sure to plan and pack accordingly.”

Gelida gave a cheerful salute, “Understood!”

As the rest of the week passed by, Cadmus turned his attention elsewhere, choosing instead to focus on making several improvements to the magic he already possessed. After all, he had received five-hundred more units of laurite for surpassing twentieth place, alongside access to all floors of the library save one.

Initially he had been impatient about having to wait to do the quest, but he had quickly realized that this quest was not the same as the survival training in Lorem forest or the Twin Peaks Tournament. There the points had not been guaranteed; it had been a competition against those who desired the same victory he did.

Here he knew he would receive the points promised to him if he just went and killed a few wolves, and so those points could already be considered as earned. It felt more like an errand that he knew he could complete with ease rather than a challenge he would have to tackle with great difficulty.

Still, he had taken what Professor Mackenzie had said into consideration as well. Wild animals, while probably not as dangerous as most of the mages he had faced, most likely had their own brand of unpredictability.

Thus, he chose to focus primarily on Dead Puppetry. It worked adequately on recently deceased humans, but it would serve as an incredible weapon if he could adapt it to use on those wolves and simply have them kill each other. Gelida would provide the first few corpses: she seemed rather skilled in the art of long-ranged combat anyway.

As he worked on this new project, endlessly formulating and altering his magic circle with several books of wolf physiology in hand, Oliver seemed to have found considerable excitement in his newfound plans for the coming Friday. He made no secret of it.

“And they’ll just let you go? No supervision at all? I’d heard that’s how it was, but I thought people were exaggerating, and that they’d at least send a chaperone or something. It’s so cool that they won’t! I mean, it’s probably dangerous, yeah, but still! You’ll be doing actual mage stuff!”

Candice seemed to take the news with far less enthusiasm.

“Y-you’ll be fighting wild animals? And wolves at that…? Isn’t that incredibly dangerous? Wh-what if you get hurt? How will you escape?”

Alice had been quick to assuage her fears.

“That’s why we’re going with Gelida! If one gets hurt, the other can help! And don’t forget, I’m going as well; if worst comes to worst, I’ll fight as well!”

Though Alice’s words were not enough to quell Candice’s worries, they were enough to silence them.

Soon enough, the day of departure arrived. Once again, after classes, the Autumn sun was in the midst of setting, dying the crowds of student moving to and fro in a coat of madder light as Cadmus met Gelida at the main gate of the campus.

“Ready?” She asked, a large pack on her back, just the same as Cadmus.

Cadmus nodded.

Gelida grinned, raising a fist to the air, “Alright then—let’s go!”