Finally, we—the students of Class A—were taken to the city assigned to us.
We went through the carriages and it was really boring.
We went to Eastfall City. It was a large city, famous for trade. Not as big as the capital, of course, but still significant. It was two days away from academy.
The professor knew the number of students in the class, and thus how many pairs would be formed. We all gathered in a large room inside the Adventurers' Guild. We were given a temporary adventurer ID which we can use while doing this mission.
Professor Kael addressed us:
"Here, there are the same number of missions as there are pairs. Of course, the details are covered until I give instructions. We have filtered the missions so you won't receive the easiest or the hardest ones. However, difficulty still varies among them. You need to pick a mission carefully. If you are late and someone else picks an easy mission, that is your fault for being slow. Choose a mission that suits your pair. If you feel a mission exceeds the capability of a first-year student, report it to me. But if I determine it is your incapability, be prepared for your grades to suffer."
Then the professor gestured to the missions. "Now pick one."
The academy categorized the missions by type: Subjugation, Exploration, Investigation, and Collection, but each carried the same warning at the top:
Warning: Students are responsible for assessing their own readiness.
Failure to report overestimated threat levels will result in loss of points or expulsion.
We quickly scanned the available missions. Without trying, I used Omniscient and ended up selecting an easy one. Of course, I decided not to use Nature Force—but since it's passive, I couldn't do anything to influence it.
But that was alright. Do what I can, and don't worry about what I cannot.
We accepted the mission and left the guild. It was still early in the morning, so we stopped at a restaurant to eat.
We chose a seat at the corner and sat opposite to each other.
Lucas said," I am tired."
I replied," I am hungry so other things I don't even care about."
He laughed.
Soon waitress came.
The waitress smiled and asked, " Sir have you decided on what to order?"
Lucas scanned the menu roughly and said
" Just bring this,this,this and.....this."
I looked at him and joked, " maybe you are more hungry."
Then I looked at waitress and ordered, " same for me too please."
The waitress nodded and left.
Soon the food came.
Lucas asked, "So how do you think we should proceed?"
I replied, "I chose based on the title, but we should at least read the description before planning further."
He nodded. "Shall we do that now?"
I smirked. "Do you think they grade us on how quickly we finish the mission?"
He looked puzzled. "Well… I don't see any other way."
Even the main cast had thought that before—but it wasn't true.
I shook my head. "The difficulty of a mission can never be guessed from the information available. Rushing could be disastrous. Your mission might go smoothly, but what if other forces are at play? What if it's harder than you thought?"
I paused, letting him think.
Then suggested
"Maybe a spy is here."
He looked visibly shocked and glanced around. Then he said, "Then we might…"
I nodded. "We might die in the worst-case scenario. Or someone could manipulate events so it looks like we completed the mission safely in the best-case scenario."
He thought for a moment and asked, "So we should go to the most secure location we can find?"
I shook my head. "Though marks wouldn't be deducted for that, we can gain more by thinking even further outside the box."
He looked puzzled. "How?"
We were already finished with our meals by then....
I signaled him to follow me and booked a room at an inn—not too expensive, not too cheap.
Once we settled, I asked, "Are we in uniform?"
He answered immediately, "No."
I said, "But generally, we wear it. Why not now?"
He asked, questioning, "To hide that we are academy students?"
I was surprised he got it. "Yes. It protects high-profile students. And now, it's even more important."
He interrupted, astonished. "The Hero!!!"
I smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Trying to be too secretive won't improve our grades. But if an organization is indeed present, even if our mission is small, the mere fact we are academy students makes us a target."
I continued. "If the organization is too small to confront the academy, they may let us be. If they are too large, and their mission is critical, they may also leave us alone to avoid unnecessary risk. But aside from these extremes, our presence can put the whole class at risk."
I paused again. "Everything changes if a hero is involved. If the organization is small, they may spread information for gain. After all small organisations also want to gain favour or gather resources. If medium or large, they may try to harm or capture the Hero."
He nodded slowly.
I added, "Missions are never perfect. Even if executed flawlessly, the most you can gain is about 90%. But with this kind of out-of-the-box thinking, we can increase our results."
He laughed. "And choosing an average inn is part of the strategy too?"
I nodded.
He asked, "Now shall we look at the mission?"
I thought for a minute, then nodded.
---
Before taking the mission in the guild, we met with Professor Thane Edrich for a briefing.
"You've chosen the Fallen Ridge Ruins," he said, calm but piercing. "This mission was designed for groups, not pairs. But it has been explored frequently so maybe that's your thinking. It's for groups so your grades won't suffer for trying to choose easy ones but it's an easy one so since it's explored periodically. So you believe you can handle it?"
Lucas straightened. "Yes, Professor. We believe we can handle it."
Thane raised a brow. "Confidence can be strength—or stupidity. The line is thin."
His gaze shifted to me. "And you, Lewin? Do you share his enthusiasm?"
"I share his resolve," I replied carefully.
He studied me a few seconds longer than I liked, then nodded. "Very well. You will go now and start. Report back within a week. The Guild has already been notified of your clearance."
Then, almost as a warning, he added quietly, "Do not chase curiosity beyond your strength. Exploration kills faster than arrogance."
I bowed slightly. "Understood."
---
Present time, inside the inn room.
We looked over the mission documents again:
Mission ID: E-17 — Exploration of the Fallen Ridge Ruins
Description: Investigate ancient ruins near the base of Fallen Ridge, east of Eastfall.
Objective: Retrieve any records or artifacts bearing royal insignia. If nothing abnormal found return after exploring once.
Warning: Unstable terrain. Magical anomalies suspected.
Difficulty: Medium–High
Although the difficulty said medium–high, overall it was appropriate for D-rank adventurers, which is why we took it.
We prepared our equipment and left.
---
"Fallen Ridge," Lucas said as we passed the last watchtower. "You know the story, right?"
"Bits and pieces," I replied.
He grinned. "Legend says it used to be a fortress city, destroyed centuries ago when a warlock tried to summon something he couldn't control. Now it's just rubble and bad air. People say you can still hear whispers there at night."
"Encouraging," I said dryly.
Many cities, kingdoms have fallen throughout history and their treasures are sought by current people in power. I don't really care but how many times are they going to explore it. From what I know in four five years nothing of value was found.
The dirt path eventually turned to uneven stone as we approached the ridgeline. The trees grew thinner, twisted by old magic, and the air carried a faint metallic tang.
By sunset, we reached a clearing overlooking a steep descent—cracked earth and blackened stone marking what must have once been the outer walls of the fortress. Below, faint lights glimmered—ghostly blue wisps flickering like candle flames.
Lucas whistled softly. "There it is. Fallen Ridge."
I nodded, studying the ruins below. "We'll camp here tonight. Going down in the dark would be suicide."
I can manage but I am not alone and I don't want to use Nature Force as much as possible.
"Agreed," he said, tossing his pack down.
As we set up camp, I couldn't shake the faint hum in the air—the kind that crawls under your skin. It wasn't just old magic. It felt… alive, watching.
Lucas noticed my silence. "You feel it too, huh?"
I glanced at him. "Yeah."
But I felt it even more clearly now. Maybe my choice of location was wrong…
He poked the fire with a stick. "Guess tomorrow's going to be fun."
I looked down at the ruins again, their broken shapes silhouetted against the moonlight.
"Fun," I echoed quietly. "Sure."
If you will call it fun tommorow is something I would love to see.