As the group came by the mission hall, tons of students were already standing at the board.
"What's wrong?" Lina asked.
"Oh, it's the princess. There's a new mission!" someone replied.
There were multiple S-rank or higher missions available from the adventurer guild, but the academy usually never had them on board.
S-rank mission: Black dragon's nest check
Reward: +400'000 points when photo proof
Description: Go into the black dragon's nest and provide proof about the dragon's condition. You must get permission from the school and the king to attend this mission.
Warning: Do not fight the dragon!
Lina's eyes turned dark as she read the mission paper.
"Guys, should we try this mis-"
"No," Nox replied, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Every group seemed to have picked their mission and turned toward them.
Lina glanced at Nox with watery eyes.
"I can't cry before them," she thought, her face filled with unfamiliar panic.
"It's okay," Nox whispered.
She swallowed hard, trying to calm the racing of her heart.
As the crowd marched past them, he embraced Lina and pressed her head against his chest.
"Is it because of your brothers?"
"Y-Yes," she whispered, her tone broken.
Beatrice and Regea glanced at them, not knowing what was going on.
"Is something wrong?" Beatrice asked.
"No, I just felt dizzy for a moment," Lina replied. Her tone was completely calm, but Nox could feel her hands trembling.
"Thanks," she whispered, her cheeks turning red.
"Let's choose a mission then," Regea suggested.
When they stepped closer to the mission board, many were already marked as taken.
"That one sounds really cool," Beatrice shouted, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
B-rank mission: Elf negotiation
Reward: +10'000 points when establishing a neutral relationship, +40'000 points when establishing a friendly relationship
Description: Go to the big elven forest and make friends with the elves.
Warning: Elves are hostile to humans. Don't visit big cities.
"B-rank mission? That's just impossible no matter the rank," Nox said.
"Why?"
"Because elves attack humans at sight," Lina replied. "200 years ago, we destroyed a large part of their forest, destroying their territory."
"That's sad. I heard there are amazing plants in the elven forest," Regea uttered.
"How about we take that one instead? The city we'll visit is right beneath the forest," Nox suggested, pointing at a small paper on the top-left corner.
C-rank mission: Caravan Escort
Reward: +15'000 points for completion, -2'000 points for every carriage lost (can't drop under zero)
Description: Protect 10 carriages on their way from the Holy empire to the Western city.
"Sounds good. Can we accompany you?" a voice rang out from the back.
Alma and Amon stood behind them, gazing at the mission board.
"Is that even possible?" Nox asked.
"Yes, you will still get the whole points, and we will just get a portion."
"But why would you want to take such an easy mission?"
Amon's eyes glanced at Alma, as if he didn't know either.
"There will surely be a free carriage for us two, so we can enjoy our free time instead of hanging around in a dungeon. Our other team members will collect the big points."
"So, you just want to benefit from us," Lina said with a strict face.
"No, No, we will obviously help when there are monsters," Beatrice clarified, shrugging her shoulders with an innocent smile.
A short silence lingered, as the group thought about the suggestion.
"Let's do that. It's not like we'll lose anything!" Beatrice suggested, walking toward the teleportation room.
Alma grabbed Lina's arm and tiptoed to reach her ear.
"Don't worry. I won't steal your Nox away," she whispered, laughing brightly.
"You better don't… he doesn't like old women like you anyway," Lina countered.
As the six students stepped through a small teleportation gate, a faint autumn breeze brushed over their faces.
Grassland stretched over kilometers. Trees and flowers decorated nearby hills, adding a warm, honey-like smell to the cool wind.
Before them stood a caravan of carriages waiting to set off.
The quiet beauty of the landscape made the students forget about their points for a second.
"Hello! You must be our protection."
A man with long black hair walked toward them.
"It's nice to meet you. We will travel for five days, so please prepare yourselves," he said, pointing at a small empty carriage in the back.
"Let's split ourselves up. Nox and Lina at the front, Beatrice and Regea in the middle, and the two of us in the back," Alma suggested.
No one complained about it, which was answer enough.
At the black-haired leader's sign, the carriages slowly started moving.
"We aren't they just using a teleportation gate?" Nox asked.
"It's not possible to fit such high masses through a gate. It would need way too much mana," Lina replied, strictly keeping her eyes on the road.
"Be a bit more relaxed. There won't be any monsters crawling out of the ground."
"You should be a bit more careful" she commanded, pulling his ear with a warm but warning smile.
After a while of marching, Nox's legs already started hurting. Lina's stamina stone tried to replenish his stamina, but he lost it way too fast as if something invisible sucked it out of his body.
"Come on, it's only been 30 minutes!" she scolded.
"I can't anymore!" he whined. "We've been stamina walking the whole time."
Mages could channel their stamina and mana into their feet, increasing their walking speed threefold.
"Right, I still got that small wave skill I learned in the palace."
Without thinking much, Nox collected greenish mana in his left hand, nodding at Lina.
"If you wish," she said, embracing him tightly.
"I-I just wanted you to cover me!" he squirmed.
"The carriage is coming."
Before anyone could see him, Nox summoned a miniature version of his wave skill and pressed his palms together.
A smooth feeling surged through him, as if his body was flushing out all the toxic substances.
-You have unlocked the skill Ice Wave
"Ice wave? That makes no sense. How could ice move like liquid?" Nox murmured.
"We live in a world full of magic and you're wondering about that" Lina asked, letting go of him.
"…"
"How about you try it out?"
The earth shook as Nox slammed his hand on the mossy ground.
Ice particles started to form, growing larger by each second until a two-meter-high, wave-like sculpture appeared before the two.
"Hm? It doesn't move."
He frowned, realizing controlling this new skill would take more finesse than he expected.
"Maybe if I focus my thou- woahhh!"
As Nox concentrated his mind on a specific spot, the ice formation shot forward with immense speed.
"It's like my snowball, but way faster and stronger," he thought.
"Now, your legs won't have to hurt anymore," Lina said.
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes you're so smart and sometimes you don't think at all… summon it again."
As the ice particles built up once again, Lina grabbed Nox's arm and dragged him onto the formation.
"Try to focus on the ground before you and control the ice's speed."
The wave started moving abruptly, making Nox lose balance.
"Careful," Lina whispered, grabbing his waist. Sometimes she sounded oddly sincere, completely different to her usual teasing self.
"T- Thanks."
The ice formation now rolled at the same pace as the carriages, earning some surprised glances.
The wind rushed past as they moved, and for a second he felt exhilaration instead of exhaustion.
"But how did you know what I needed to do?" Nox asked.
"No idea, I just knew somehow."
"That light's rune is really scary."
Eight silent hours passed, and the small hills gradually turned into bigger rock formations.
Nox wouldn't have to utilize any mana as long as he maintained his current skill and the few monsters on the way were quickly taken care of by the others.
"How are there even monsters here? Don't they just spawn at places with a high mana concentration, like dungeons?"
"Mana usually sinks down, so monsters can still appear in caves and valleys and then live in a forest. Or a dungeon breaks and monster pour out," Lina replied, her voice full of pride.
"You know a lot," Nox said, smiling brightly.
"Of course."
They came by a big rock massif, mountains towering in the distance.
"Let's rest here. We will continue tomorrow morning at eight," the leader shouted.
Some set up tents while others slept in a carriage.
"You packed our tents, right?" Regea asked.
"I only have two, so you'll have to share one with Beatrice," Lina replied, smiling innocently.
A short silence lingered as the two glanced at each other.
"Alright," they said synchronically, marching away with their tent.
"They're finally not that shy anymore," Nox realized, reading the instruction manual.
"Tell me about it. They were acting like children before," Lina replied, rolling her eyes.
"Guys! As thanks for participating with you, Amon and I will guard tonight," Alma shouted, coming over.
Lina and Nox glanced at each other, thinking the same thing.
"Thanks, but don't do anything else!"
"A little bit of sex doesn't count, right?"
"That definitely counts," Lina said, as if she'd already expected that reply.
"Yeah, yeah, you're just jealous," Alma countered.
"N- No, I would never be…"
"You should try getting closer to him too," she whispered, turning back to the caravan.
"What did she say?" Nox asked, building their tent. The screws wouldn't fit, so he just attached them with tiny ice crystals.
"N- Nothing. I'll go get some water," Lina replied, rushing away.
While she poured liquid from a large container into her bottle, her gaze turned thoughtful.
"She's right. I should probably get closer to him," she thought, a deep sigh escaping her.
Her thoughts tangled between desire and hesitation, leaving her momentarily frozen.
"No, I shouldn't have gotten that physically close to him in the first place. Now he probably doesn't even look at me as a potential lover, but just a weird girl."
Her face froze in realization. The water had long filled up the bottle, now dripping onto the dark grass.
"Maybe I'm not lovely enough? Or too tall? Or too old?"
Dozens of insecurities suddenly flowed through her. A small tear appeared in her eyes, before she immediately wiped it away.
"Are you okay? I just felt something weird," Nox shouted, the dark blocking his view.
Her hesitation vanished as she heard his voice.
"Yes, I'm fine!" she replied.
"From now on I'm gonna restrain myself as good as possible…" she murmured, sprinting back to him with a stressed smile.