CLEAVER OF SIN - Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Team
As Asher stepped out of the classroom, he didn’t bother looking in any other direction; he simply walked toward the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall, the same place where Thalric and Stephanie, the rank one and rank two students of the second-year class, had once taken them.

His steps echoed faintly through the corridor as he made his way along the familiar path. The air outside was filled with a subtle buzz of excitement and desperation alike. Along the road, he encountered other students, most of them heading toward the same destination. It was easy to tell what was on their minds.

Everyone was practically broke at the moment, and the urge to take on missions was almost universal. A month had passed since their admission, and no one knew when the Academy would spring another unexpected test upon them. The pressure to earn points and maintain progress was heavy on everyone’s shoulders.

When Asher arrived before the imposing structure of the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall, he did not hesitate for even a second. With measured confidence, he stepped inside. The atmosphere was lively yet composed; upperclassmen moved briskly within the hall, checking over their gear and equipment one last time before departing for their respective missions. The metallic clink of weapons being adjusted and the rustle of parchment filled the air.

As Asher and his classmates entered, several gazes turned in their direction. The looks were brief, evaluative, uninterested, almost dismissive. The upperclassmen clearly saw them as newcomers with much to prove.

At the various counters around the hall, Asher’s classmates were already engaging the facilitators, requesting lists of available missions. The hum of conversation filled the space as students negotiated their options, discussed strategies, and signed off on their selections. Asher turned his head, scanning the room until his eyes landed on an unoccupied counter. Without wasting any more time, he walked toward it.

“Good afternoon,” he said calmly, his tone direct. “I’m here for a mission.”

The man behind the counter, a middle-aged facilitator dressed in a neat black uniform, looked up from his paperwork with a detached expression. “First year, correct?” he asked in a tone that carried neither warmth nor hostility, only routine.

“Yes,” Asher replied instantly.

The facilitator leaned back slightly in his chair, his movements slow and unhurried. “Since this is your first time taking up a mission,” he began, “there are a few rules I’ll have to explain. Be sure to listen carefully, because I will not repeat myself twice.” His words came out flat and practiced, as though he had spoken the same lines countless times before.

Asher nodded silently. He knew nothing about the mission system, it hadn’t been explained anywhere in the Star Academy’s rulebook that was distributed to students.

“Every mission,” the facilitator began, “is assigned a specific duration. Some last a few hours, others several days, weeks, or even months. This duration represents the time you have to complete the mission and return to the Separate Dimension. However,” he continued, his tone growing slightly firmer, “since missions can be unpredictable and circumstances may get out of hand, the Academy grants a one-day grace period. For instance, if your mission has a five-day duration, you actually have six days in total. After that sixth day, your mission is automatically marked as a failure, and a group of instructors will be dispatched to locate you.”

He paused briefly, his dark eyes locking with Asher’s, ensuring his words sank in. The facilitator could tell from Asher’s refined demeanor and composure that he was of noble origin, though it didn’t seem to matter to him in the slightest.

“If you finish your mission before the deadline,” the man continued, “say within two days instead of six, then you may do whatever you wish with your remaining time. However, you must still return within the official time frame assigned to your mission.”

Asher nodded again, remaining silent. The explanation was clear enough; the rules were simple and straightforward, fail to return in time, and face the consequences.

“The points you receive after completing a mission,” the facilitator went on, “represent the Academy’s form of compensation. Whatever reward is given by the mission client, be it coins, a rare artifact, a pill, a herb, or any other valuable item, the Star Academy collects it and converts it into an equivalent number of Academy points. These points are then credited to you.”

The man’s tone turned colder as he added, “However, some students have attempted to manipulate this system.” He stopped speaking for a moment, staring directly at Asher as though issuing a personal warning.

“They complete their missions legitimately, return to their family estates, and then conspire with their families to create fake missions promising rich rewards. Afterward, they return to the Academy, accept those fabricated missions, and falsify their completion reports to gain easy points. The punishment for such deceit,” he concluded sharply, “is immediate expulsion.”

‘Understandable,’ Asher thought quietly. He wasn’t one to judge. If someone could manipulate the system effectively, they were only taking advantage of opportunity, and if the Academy failed to prevent it, that was on them. Still, he had no intention of risking expulsion over something so trivial.

“Since this is your first mission,” the facilitator continued, leaning forward slightly, “you will be required to operate in a team of three. This rule applies to your first three missions as a first-year student. You and your teammates will share the mission rewards, divided however your team decides. After the third mission, you can choose whether to continue working in a team or proceed solo.”

His tone grew almost bored by the end, as though he had long lost interest in the process.

Asher nodded once more, his silence serving as acknowledgment.

‘It seems they want students to adapt first,’ he mused internally, ‘to understand how missions work before letting them operate alone.’

Personally, Asher preferred to work solo. The idea of sharing points did not sit well with him. He needed as many points as possible to access the training chambers within the Training Facility building, where he could accelerate his progress through focused training.

‘At least we can decide how we split the points,’ he thought, though his expression remained impassive.

Asher considered doing the same, forming a team of weaklings, taking control of the mission, and collecting most of the points afterward. The thought lingered for a moment, but he dismissed it almost immediately. Babysitting weak teammates would only slow him down. He couldn’t afford to waste time saving them every now and then or dragging them through dangerous terrain while they struggled to keep up with him.

It was far better to form a team with competent individuals, preferably those he already knew and could rely on. That way, they could complete three missions within two or three days, depending on their difficulty, and then part ways afterward. Once he had fulfilled the Academy’s requirement, he would move solo, unhindered.

Of course, he could technically fill his team with weaker students, book them an inn to rest safely while he completed the mission on his own, and return to share the points afterward. But even that seemed like an unnecessary hassle. He wasn’t interested in playing caretaker or pretending to be generous.