Azrael sat on the sofa in the living room, his gaze fixed on the two people seated across from him.
Among them, the first was a beautiful elven woman with long black hair and emerald-green eyes. Dressed in a flowing green gown, Elyara carried the dignified presence of nobility even while sitting calmly.
The second was a handsome man with shoulder-length snow-white hair and light blue eyes. Luo Bingqing wore a somewhat serious look in his gaze, while his expression remained cold and reserved.
"Would you like something? I have…" Azrael paused, trying to recall what he had on hand before continuing, "I have water here."
Luo Bingqing and Elyara looked at Azrael speechlessly, silently wondering what kind of cheapskate he was to offer them nothing but plain water instead of tea or at least a cold drink.
"Thank you for asking, but I just had lunch, so I don't need anything," Luo Bingqing replied politely and Elyara simply nodded in agreement.
"I see," Azrael nodded calmly before finally asking, "So, why are you both here?"
"It's because of Professor Ronald," Elyara answered. "Since the current lessons don't help me much, he suggested I take on some missions instead of attending classes that are barely useful. He showed me a mission in the Flato Solar System and told me it was a three-person mission. Two people had already chosen it, and he said I could go with them."
"Same here," Luo Bingqing added. "He told me the same thing, that this mission would be suitable for my current level, and advised me to join the two people who had already selected it."
'Ronald, my ass… I am certain it was that woman who asked Professor Ronald to assign them this mission,' Azrael rolled his eyes inwardly, frowning as he wondered why Mira wanted these two to be his teammates.
When she had mentioned he would have companions on this mission, he had honestly thought they would be from the second year or a higher grade. After all, newly joined first-year students rarely participated in missions involving epic-rank warriors, and this one was tied to an underground force with many members.
'Just what is going through that woman's mind…' Azrael thought, but when he recalled the second part of Mira's message that he had received earlier, he felt a bit more at ease.
'Well, at least I will still receive two hundred credits if I complete this mission successfully, regardless of these teammates.'
He studied the two people in front of him, his mind racing.
Truthfully, he had a fairly good impression of both of them. He had encountered them a few times during theory classes, and unlike the other students who always glared at him with hostility because of what he had once said, these two were among the rare few who simply acknowledged him with a nod whenever they crossed paths, instead of shooting daggers at him.
"Have you both checked the mission details?" He asked after a short silence.
"We are supposed to find the hideout of the Transcendent Force, right?" Luo Bingqing said.
"Yes," Azrael nodded. "According to the mission information, their leader is a level 36 epic-ranked warrior. Other than him, there are two more epic-level warriors within the force, but both of them only recently broke through and are below level 30."
He paused before adding, "Although it's already obvious, I should remind you again. Even though our mission is only to locate the hideout and the security forces will handle the rest, there is no guarantee we won't face epic-level warriors during the mission. Nothing is absolute. If you are planning to do this, then you should be prepared to face such enemies."
Neither Elyara nor Luo Bingqing appeared surprised by his words as they both understood the risks. After all, with a mission involving epic-level warriors, the possibility of encountering one was always clear.
"You don't have to worry about me messing things up or being a burden," Elyara spoke in a flat voice. "I have my own ways of handling an epic-level warrior. Instead, I'd appreciate it if both of you listened to me during the mission. I don't want to fail and lose the one hundred credits this mission offers because of someone else's fault."
Luo Bingqing frowned slightly at her words, but he had no intention of arguing. Instead, he rose from his seat and turned toward Azrael.
"We will be leaving tomorrow, right?"
Azrael completely ignored Elyara's remark as well and nodded to Luo Bingqing.
"We'll rent a spaceship to go there," He said, before adding, "Of course, if you have your own arrangements, you're free to use them."
"Just send me a message a few minutes before leaving and I'll meet you directly at the mission hall," Luo Bingqing replied and extended his student ID card to share his contact information.
Azrael tapped his own student ID card against it, nodded, and once the exchange was done, Luo Bingqing left without another word.
"Do you have anything else to say, or would you like some water before leaving?" Azrael asked Elyara once Luo Bingqing was gone.
"It's nothing," Elyara replied with a faint smile. Her emerald-green eyes glowed faintly as she added, "I just feel like it was a little too sudden for Professor Ronald to ask me and that guy to take this mission. Do you know anything about it?"
"If you have questions about the mission, you should ask Professor Ronald, not me," Azrael said flatly as he stood up.
"If you don't have anything else to say, you can leave. I still have a lot of things to prepare."
Elyara looked at him intently for a moment before standing up with a smile.
"Let's work together to complete the mission, teammate," She said lightly, then walked away while humming a strange tune.
Once she was gone, Azrael yawned and stretched his body.
"Let's start preparing after eating something," He muttered, rubbing his grumbling stomach. After freshening up, he went to the cafeteria to eat.
Once he was done, he left the academy using a hover car to purchase some essential supplies.
It took him a few hours to buy everything he needed, and upon returning, he went to the library to read books while simultaneously using his second consciousness to cultivate his source core.
Time passed, and just like that, the next day arrived, and Azrael was fully prepared to depart.