Chapter 15: First Mission
Another day passed.
March was the season when spring began to fill the air. Every morning, upon waking up, one could clearly hear the birds singing and smell the fragrance of flowers, with green shoots emerging.
Minamoto Sōjun didn't rush to take any missions.
He kept up with his daily tasks and began familiarizing himself with his surroundings, finding a rhythm for both his training and lifestyle.
Mishima Shiko was decisive and had already moved nearby. She only brought a single suitcase, packed everything in, and directly settled in.
Although nearby, it was still two or three kilometers away, which Minamoto Sōjun had purposely chosen. The reason for selecting this area was because it was secluded, providing a quiet environment he could enjoy alone.
In the morning, after finishing his daily curse power refining, Minamoto Sōjun walked out of the attic with a cheerful mood, planning to head to the cafeteria for breakfast.
In his line of sight, Mishima Shiko was practicing her body and swordsmanship in her backyard.
She wore athletic pants and a white tank top, her abdominal muscles visible and flexing with her movements, like gills breathing. She was surrounded by heat, clearly having been training for some time.
She was very dedicated.
Minamoto Sōjun didn't disturb her.
He went alone to the No. 5 training field.
There were still few people around, so Minamoto Sōjun had the entire field to himself, just as he liked.
He studied theoretical knowledge, practiced martial arts, and developed curse techniques, making full use of every sports hall available in all directions.
The morning passed in the blink of an eye.
He optimized his Eagle Eye and built his compound eyes during fragmented moments.
Unless it was a new project or a confirmed second-phase renovation plan, he would spend a large amount of time researching experiments. For other tasks he had prior experience with, assisted by his techniques, it was almost like copy-pasting, so he removed them from his daily schedule.
In the afternoon, Minamoto Sōjun went to visit Night Moth Seidou at his residence, just in time to meet him returning from outside.
"Isn't it vacation time now?" Minamoto Sōjun asked curiously.
Night Moth Seidou became a bit silent. "Besides teaching, I also have my own hobbies, okay?"
Minamoto Sōjun asked him what his hobbies were.
He refused to answer.
Then Minamoto Sōjun asked where he had been.
He stammered and said, "In the forest."
He refused to provide more details.
Minamoto Sōjun smiled.
"Heh heh heh~"
Even at this age, he still had a secret base.
As a result, he was angrily kicked out of the attic.
...
In the evening, after spending the day wandering the streets, Minamoto Sōjun finally returned to his place.
He logged into the sorcerer's forum again.
First, he browsed through the popular threads. The comments weren't all idle chatter; some had useful information hidden within. Minamoto Sōjun, skilled at extracting this information, carefully noted down what was useful to him before opening the mission board.
He glanced through it; all the tasks were level 1. The screen was crowded with them, and when he moved the mouse to the bottom, it indicated there was another page, with too many pages to display, showing an ellipsis instead.
At the very bottom, a small text prompt appeared: "Special tasks require authorization."
He couldn't access them yet.
Because his real identity was bound, the tasks he could take were limited to levels 1-2.
Minamoto Sōjun clicked through the pages, until after four pages, level 2 tasks finally appeared.
The first was a level 2 curse spirit group extermination mission. After reading the specific details, Minamoto Sōjun thought it was suitable and decided to take it on to test the intensity.
He sent the mission details to Mishima Shiko.
"When and where do we meet?" she replied quickly.
"I'm planning to take this task, any suggestions?" he asked.
She paused for a moment before replying, "Anything works."
Minamoto Sōjun clicked to accept, and a prompt soon appeared saying the review was approved, and the task was successfully accepted.
"Meet at the front gate of the school at 14:30 tomorrow."
"Got it!"
...
The next day, the routine of the morning was the same.
After lunch and a short rest, Minamoto Sōjun prepared and walked out of the school, arriving at the gate calmly.
He was 15 minutes early.
Mishima Shiko, however, was not yet there.
When he arrived, she was already standing by the roadside, looking down at the lush forest. When she saw Minamoto Sōjun, she immediately ran ahead to lead the way, heading to a black sedan, where she got into the driver's seat.
She seemed a bit more attentive today?
Minamoto Sōjun followed and sat in the passenger seat.
There wasn't much conversation between them.
The sedan smoothly started, then suddenly shifted gears and accelerated.
Minamoto Sōjun's body swayed but quickly stabilized. He glanced curiously to the side.
It was indeed fast.
As soon as they hit the smooth road, Mishima Shiko began speeding, significantly shortening their travel time to the destination.
The car left black tire marks on the ground before finally coming to a stop by the roadside. Mishima Shiko got out, assessed the situation, and casually raised her sword.
"Born from darkness, darker than black, the filth and corruption, all are purged."
A black "curtain" began to slowly flow down.
The curtain blocked normal people while allowing the curse spirits' presence to show.
Minamoto Sōjun also started sensing, and after a moment, he concluded that the task information wasn't far off. There were four level 2 curse spirits, and quite a few level 3 and 4 spirits.
He felt relieved and waited for the curtain to fully form. He casually called out, "I'm going in."
Mishima Shiko suddenly stopped in front of him, her face filled with expectation, about to speak but hesitating. Finally, she bit her lip and said, "If possible, can I go first?"
Hmm?
This auxiliary wanted to act as the warrior?
Minamoto Sōjun was puzzled but after thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement. He didn't mind—it wouldn't reduce his own rewards.
He stepped aside, letting her go first, and walked into the curtain behind her. He stood to the side, his eyes gleaming with the power of his special eyes.
Mishima Shiko's expression shifted from joy to calm, her emotions gradually settling. She gripped her sword tightly with her right hand and began to gather curse energy around it.
The curse spirits had already clustered together.
She stomped her right foot and almost dashed across the ground. With a swift draw, her sword released several traces of air in the air.
The air currents sparked a breeze, flowing past the curse spirits and slowly dissipating.
It seemed as if nothing had happened, and the scene fell silent.
Until the curse spirits sensed a faint sharpness and collapsed into large groups, revealing the power of her strike.
Mishima Shiko's slash was continuous, using the terrain to maneuver through the curse spirits. Every normal attack felt like a special move, and the curse spirits began to fall in large numbers.
Level 2 curse spirits fell one after another. Three of them rushed towards Mishima Shiko, while one hid among the others, looking for an opportunity to strike.
Although they lacked intelligence, they understood teamwork. If left unchecked, they would grow more dangerous.
Mishima Shiko's pressure increased, but instead of retreating, she advanced. She skillfully dodged an ambush and raised her sword high, slashing down, trading injuries for the kill, cutting down two more curse spirits.
She shivered, her aura becoming more violent. She couldn't hold back and laughed in a classic three-stage burst:
"Ah—hahaha~ hahaha~ hahaha~"
Her attacks came with laughter, and she didn't care about her injuries. She fixed her target, determined to finish it off. As her sword swung, gusts of air gathered around her, pulling sand and rocks toward the curse spirits.
When the scene finally quieted, only Mishima Shiko stood amidst the fallen spirits, her breath slightly ragged. Her figure was faintly visible, surrounded by curses and her silhouette.
This person wasn't weak; her pursuit of power was strong, and she seemed very eager for battle...
So why was she an auxiliary?
Minamoto Sōjun's eyes briefly lost focus as he withdrew his gaze.
The mission was completed like this.
On the way back, Mishima Shiko smiled the whole time. Her injuries made her grimace occasionally, but it didn't dampen her good mood.
Is this how all sorcerers are?
Minamoto Sōjun wondered.
"Don't worry about the reward!" she suddenly spoke up.
Huh?
Minamoto Sōjun nodded without saying anything. He couldn't exactly say he hadn't been worried at all.
The two returned to the school.
Under Mishima Shiko's guidance, Minamoto Sōjun logged onto the website, submitting the task together.
This process required both of them to confirm at the same time. Then, a specialized team would go to the site to verify. After approval, the reward would be automatically credited to their accounts.
The whole process usually took 2-3 days.
As an auxiliary supervisor, Mishima Shiko's reward wouldn't be much. But for Minamoto Sōjun, this reward wasn't small either. If everything went smoothly, he would get some upgrade materials for his techniques.
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