It was now the middle of October, nothing of note had happened for a while……

  We were all currently in class, we'd been informed yesterday that we had to arrive early today, and head straight for our classroom instead of the training hall, where our usual first session of the day, combat training, took place.

  We weren't told why, so none of us knew what we were in for.

  Instructor Tabbs soon entered the classroom, heading for the front, before turning around and scanning the class.

  "Good……it appears that everyone is present. Now, then……pay close attention students, this is very important. The Guild and Academy have discussed matters and decided that we need to start employing measures to nurture and enhance the potential and skills of our Student Adventurers as much as possible. To that end……we have come up with an idea that you all shall be trying out over the next day or so……"

  She began explaining what we were about to go through……

  oh, no……this was, uh……this was not going to be fun……

  Allow me to summarize……

  According to her, this current batch of first years was easily the strongest the Rustlands had seen in a while, maybe ever……but plenty of us were still below the level of what would be ideal, given the current unstable position this world was in after the Goldway incident.

  She then mentioned how impressed the prince and representatives had been with the first years that went on the Goldway Quest, and had given this suggestion to the Academy……

  Temporarily shuffle the four first year groups, with the four who had been on that Quest acting as group leaders……namely myself, Gela, Persia and Az.

  I do not like this one bit……it took me ages to get used to working with my current group, and now they were going to shuffle up the groups!?

  And……I'm going to have to be in charge of one of them!?

  Even if it was just temporary for a couple of days……this was going to be a fucking pain. The leaders would also have to take responsibility for the safety of the other members……are you serious? So, if someone on my shuffled team died……I'd be responsible for that?……

  shit.

  Once the four shuffled groups were formed, they would each be given an overnight Quest to take on. And by overnight, I mean spending the night outside in whichever area their Quest would take them and only returning to the country the next day.

  Everyone in the class, excluding the leaders, would write their names on pieces of paper, fold them and put them in a box, and then the four group leaders, me, Persia, Azyl and Gela, would take turns drawing out the folded names until we each had groups of five members including ourselves.

  "W-wait, I can't be a leader……," Azyl protested immediately, with an alarmed look on his face.

  "I agree……just because he was part of that Quest, doesn't change the fact that he's a weakling," Sneered Lamasa from the front.

  Oh, right……as far as everyone outside Group D and Gela were concerned, Azyl's Water Magic wasn't anything remarkable, they had never seen even a fraction of a percent of the full extent of his powers.

  "Actually, Miss Phiban……you are quite mistaken. Mr Roake here is one of the strongest Student Adventurers at the Academy……Instructor Lidui Uensh herself confirmed that his Elemental Magic abilities are undoubtedly at an S-Rank level, and by quite a significant margin at that," Corrected Instructor Tabbs.

  "N-no, that's not true……," Az began to weakly deny, before sighing in defeat with a groan.

  His worst nightmare had just come true.

  "Huh? What kind of a joke is that? There's no way that's true!" Laughed Lamasa in disbelief.

  "Oh? Are you accusing me of lying, Miss Phiban?" Inquired Instructor Tabbs, flashing her a cold smile which caused her to flinch.

  "N-no, of course not, Instructor! B-but maybe you go-got some inaccurate information or m-misunderstood something," She defended herself weakly.

  Ever since the first day when Arg Lehosa, who was still missing by the way, had gotten on the Instructor's bad side when he had complained about the Quests we'd been offered, Group A was especially fearful of her……whatever she put them through must have been pretty terrifying.

  "No, I do not believe there has been any mistake. Mr Roake……would you mind proving my point?" She requested, though the look in her eyes made it more like a command that a request.

  "Uh……y-yes, ma'am," Az replied reluctantly, before forming a pool of water above the entire classroom, just below the ceiling, before freezing it into a massive block of ice.

  He then snapped his fingers, making it disappear in an instant, before it could fall down.

  His face was wracked with regret and dismay, as the entire class, excluding Group D and Gela, stared at him in speechless shock.

  Even the instructor looked taken aback by the sheer effortlessness and scale of that.

  Heh, and that was absolutely nothing compared to the mass of water he'd used to crush the one-way barrier, not to mention the icy path he'd made for us to stay out of the Zombies' reach.

  "……wow……er, ahem! Now, then……the four team leaders, please draw out the lots to determine the shuffled groups!" She instructed, clearing her throat to regain her composure.

  The four of us stood up and headed for the front of the room, where the box with everyone else's names in it was.

  "It's too bad……since we're both group leaders, I won't be able to be in the same group as you," Gela sighed wistfully, approaching me before Persia quickly blocked her path.

  "Yeah……it's too bad, Birdbrain," She growled possessively.

  Aww, so cute……

  Persia went first, drawing out the name of one of the other groups' members.

  Next was Az.

  Then me.

  And then Gela.

  I didn't recognize the name, so I assumed it was a random member of one of the other three groups. I really hadn't payed attention to the names and faces of, well……the majority of my classmates.

  Once we had all drawn out one lot each, the cycle started again.

  And once again, no notable names were pulled out.

  In the third round, Persia drew out Key's name, letting out a sigh of relief as she got someone she knew.

  Az then pulled out Rai's name, which meant that……I had no chance of getting one of Group D's members into my shuffled group.

  I drew out……Tuck Lehosa.

  Huh, I'd sorta forgotten about him, he had kinda been flying under the radar ever since his brother disappeared shortly after the Brawl of Glory.

  It was the final round of drawing.

  After Persia and Az drew out the names of their respective groups' final members, I reached in……

  Just two names were left, I have a 50-50 shot……just please, don't let me get THAT person's name……

  As I drew out the piece of paper and unfolded it, upon seeing the name written on it……I immediately folded it back up and moved to put it back into the box.

  Before I could, Instructor Tabbs was suddenly next to me, with a tight grip on my wrist. Holy hell, she was fast.

  "Mr Black……I'm afraid once you've drawn a name, you cannot put it back. Do I make myself clear?" She inquired, that cold smile of hers sending chills down my spine.

  "Yup……crystal clear. Then……can I at least swap with one of the other groups, I don't care who I get so long as it isn't this perso-!" I began, in desperate protest.

  "I'm afraid not, that would defeat the purpose of this random shuffle. And besides, it is only temporary, you will be back with your original group once you return from the Quest you will be assigned. Now, then……please call out the name of the final member of your group."

  "……"

  "……"

  "……Lamasa Phiban," I growled in despair, holding up the piece of paper I'd drawn out.

  God……fucking……damn it!

  I'd even rather have Gela in my group than this bitch!

  "I object, this is-!" She protested immediately, before sitting back down as the instructor shot her another icy glare.

  So, the shuffled up groups were as follows……

  Az was leading a group comprised of Rai and one member from each of the other three groups.

  Persia was leading a group comprised of Key, two members of Group C, and one member of Group A.

  Gela was leading a group comprised of two As, and one each from B and C.

  And then there was me……leading a group comprised of Tuck Lehosa, two Bs, and……ugh, Lamasa Phiban.

  "Tough luck, Kuro……try to get through it without killing anyone, okay?" Persia whispered to me with a sympathetic smile.

  "You've got it rough……good luck," Added Azyl.

  "Thanks, guys……but sympathy does nothing for me right now. This suuuucks!" I sighed in irritation.

  With the group shuffle complete, Instructor Tabbs brought out four Quest scrolls, and told us to pick them at random. Also, these weren't real Quests from the Guild……we weren't collecting anything, nor would we get paid, they were just glorified training assignments disguised as Quests.

  Persia's group got a Quest in the forest area, they'd have to go past the swamp part of it, head in a bit farther, fight any monsters they run into and then camp out there, before returning the next afternoon or evening.

  Az's group had to go into the rocky area, till they reach Hobgoblin territory, camp out at night and then return the next day.

  Gela's group got a pretty rough one, they'd have to go into the maze in the Goblin cave……yeah, THAT maze. Ever since our first Quest there, Adventurers had now explored it a lot more, it was fully mapped and lit, making it much easier to navigate than before, but it was still a pretty rough place to have to spend a night in.

  As for my group, we would head into the snowy area, and like the others, have to spend the night out there.

  Of the three major areas surrounding the Rustlands, the forest to the east, the caves to the west, and the snowy plains to the north……the last one was the one I had been to the least. To the south of the Rustlands was just a vast stretch of toxic wasteland, with plenty of Death Zones and absolutely no resources, food, water, plants or animals. If you walk straight down from the south gate, after thirty or so kilometers, the air becomes so toxic that humans would die in a matter of a couple of hours. There was also a Forbidden Zone a few dozen kilometers further down, the one that contained Ghouls.

  Anyway, I'm getting off-topic……what was I talking about again……oh, right……of the three major surrounding areas, I had been to the snowy one the least.

  Mainly because I didn't much like the cold, but also because Quests in that area were relatively rare, and you have to go in quite a way before you come across any actual strong monsters.

  I had been there a couple of times and the only ones I had fought there were these weak little monsters called Snow Imps, and they made Goblins look strong in comparison.

  Well, I suppose I'll get to see a few of the more stronger monsters that inhabit the deeper parts of the snowy plains during this Quest.

  "I'll see you guys later tomorrow then……don't get yourselves killed or anything," I said to the rest of Group D.

  "Right back at you, dude!"

  "Yes, stay safe."

  "What they said……"

  "Do your best, Kuro! I know it's just a day, but I'll miss you."

  "Yeah……I'll miss you too."

  As each of the shuffled groups split up and went on their separate Quests, I sighed and approached my one.

  "Alright……go home and get all your equipment and whatnot ready. Stuff like healing and barrier Spell Scrolls, tents, food and water, etc. Use the teleportation booths to get to the north gate, we'll all meet up there and then head out," I instructed, as they agreed and split up, though Lamasa made sure to give me a condescending look.

  The next day or so was going to be a challenge……

  I headed to my apartment and put on a thick long-sleeved hoodie on top of my battle outfit. I had gotten black leather holsters for the two Spell Scrolls that activated the spell the loli had created upon my request.

  I strapped them on either side of my waist. The scroll on my left activates the first function of the spell, and the one on my right activates the second function.

  You're probably wondering what this spell actually is……well, you'll see soon enough.

  I took a backpack with me, buying some water bottles and canned food on my way to the north gate.

  I arrived there, two of my group were already there. A few minutes later, Tuck Lehosa arrived.

  Lamasa didn't get here till a whole hour later.

  "Take your time, why don't you? Bitch," I remarked sarcastically as she arrived.

  "Yeah, I don't like being kept waiting," Growled Tuck in agreement.

  "Tch, whatever……assholes. Let's go already!" She snapped irritably.

  This was off to a great start……

  We headed out the gates and walked till we got to the snowy plains, as the temperature began dropping rapidly with every step forward.

  I zipped up the hoodie to help keep in my body heat. I had cut a couple of holes in the back for my blade handles to poke out from.

  Everyone was pretty quiet as we headed in deeper, no one saying a word.

  This is the worst……

  We hadn't been walking for long, when a group of Snow Imps sprang out at us.

  "Alright, let's-," I began to delegate, trailing off with a sigh as they each shot towards one of the monsters without a second thought.

  Naturally, they all ended up getting in each other's way……

  I miss my real group.

  Lamasa nearly roasted one of the others with a fireball, before Tuck lost control of his Slide technique thanks to the thick layer of snow on the ground and crashed onto her.

  In the end, they managed to somehow take out the monsters, but……

  "That was……terrible. I mean, really……you guys all nearly ended up killing each other over Snow Imps, of all things. Literally the weakest type of monster in the entire world……," I sighed in exasperation.

  This isn't going to work at all at this rate……if this was what happened against Snow Imps, there was no way this lot could survive against whatever stronger monsters we would be running into further in.

  "Tch, big words from someone who didn't even take out a single one of them," Lamasa shot back.

  Is she being serious right now?

  "Well, yeah……I didn't want to get caught up in the unavoidable crossfire, and besides, you're the ones that this Quest is mainly for. If we keep this up, you'll all end up killing each other by accident before we can get much further. To that end……let's each of us explain what we can do. If you don't know what each of the others are capable of, you'll only continue to get in each other's way. Obviously, a group that was haphazardly and randomly put together like this isn't going to be able to work together flawlessly overnight……but at the very least, we can keep from getting in each other's way. Alright, let's keep this short and concise……start with your Elemental Magic, the extent to which you can use it, any Anima effects that you use in your fighting style, your combat abilities and preferences, and the types of weapons you use."

  Guess I'll need to pay attention to the two extras from Group B that were a part of this group……they introduced themselves first.

  The first was a tallish guy with a close-cropped crew cut, his short hair was a shade of dark red, much darker than Key's hair. His battle outfit consisted of black and red reinforced leather, and his weapon was a long, metal hammer. It had a long handle and the hammer end was round and blunt.

  "Er, I'm Tonir Raehm……I have Fire Magic, and I can use it to send out fireballs about five meters ahead of me……they're not very powerful though. My Anima is a gecko, and it has one effect……I can use my fingertips to stick onto walls and climb up, but I don't really use it when I fight. I'd say my combat abilities are average……and I've only recently started using this weapon, so I'm not very good at using it just yet……"

  Hm……not ideal, but better than nothing.

  The other Group B member went next, a short girl with short black hair that had two white stripes in the middle. She was wearing heavy dark green leather armor to combat the cold, and carried a thin sword, which looked kinda like a rapier but a bit shorter and thinner.

  "I'm Niski Torfa……I have Lightning Magic, and I can shoot out bolts about ten meters ahead of me, they're usually strong enough to take out a Goblin with a couple of hits. My Anima is a, um, skunk……and as for the effect……w-well, I don't ever use it, so it doesn't matter. I'm fairly skilled with using my sword, and I also have some decent hand-to-hand combat skills."

  A skunk, huh……given her reaction, it didn't take a genius to figure out what the effect was.

  Lamasa went next.

  She was wearing purple-dyed leather armor, to complement her purple-dyed hair which was grown a couple of inches past her shoulders, along with a long dagger strapped to her left thigh.

  "Tch, this is so stupid……I'm Lamasa Phiban, Fire Magic. I can generate enough to roast a person in one hit. Salamander Anima, no major effects. I can fight barehanded as well as with this dagger."

  Tuck went next.

  He was wearing dark brown leather armor, and wasn't carrying a weapon. His hairstyle was the same as before, just a bit shorter. The sides were shaved off, and the rest was tied back in a short ponytail. He had one hound dog ear on the right side of his head, along with a tail.

  "Uh, I'm Tuck Lehosa. I have Earth Magic, I can use Slide, although I don't think I'll be able to use it here with all this snow. I can raise columns and pillars of earth from the ground within a five meter radius of my position, and I can also use Earth Levitation, but not very stably. My Anima is a hound dog, and the effects are increased strength and agility. I do not use any weapons."

  My curiosity got the better of me……

  "Hey, if you don't mind me asking……I've been wondering this for a while, why do you only have one dog ear?" I inquired curiously.

  "……if you must know, my brother tore it off not long after it first manifested. Why, you ask? Because he thought it would be funny. Well, he sure was not laughing when I ripped off his tail. I hope that bastard stays missing-! That God damned-!……Uh, excuse me," He cleared his throat, regaining his composure after losing it while talking about his brother.

  Huh, let's see……Arg had a wolf Anima, and his mutations were pretty prominent, but……yeah, he didn't have a tail.

  "Well……I suppose I should go too. I'm Kuro Black, and I have Lightning Magic. I can use Lightning Boost, Stream, Lightning Sensory Field and I can fire out some pretty powerful bolts. My primary weapons are my two blades, and I also use needles and throwing knives. You probably already know about my Healing Factor. Other than that, I don't have any Anima effects. Uh, what else……right, I'm decent at hand-to-hand combat too. I think that covers everything……let's keep going," I suggested, as we all headed further into the snowy plains, before adding, "Oh, and the next time we run into any monsters……don't make a move till I say so, got it?"

  Yeah, I had left out a few details, particularly regarding Karma and my new spell……I just didn't see the need to tell them.

  "I don't really like the idea of staying put until I get orders……but I suppose it's unavoidable in this situation. Like you said, we'll just end up hitting each other by accident if we're not all on the same page," Tuck grudgingly admitted.

  Lamasa clicked her tongue irritably but didn't say anything.

  We headed deeper for a while, running into an Adventurer-escorted carriage on the way back to the Rustlands from Silvland. Hm, looks like the alliance talks had gotten underway……it would likely be a while before things are settled on that front though.

  They informed us that we still had a few hours to walk before we'd run into monsters besides Snow Imps. They also said that some of the monsters had been acting a bit unusually, but they couldn't quite explain exactly how.

  It was currently around 11 AM.

  According to them, the only other types of monsters we'd likely run into by the end of the day were Devilpenguins and Icemen. The former sounded kinda ridiculous……it was hard to imagine a monstrous kind of penguin. They moved quickly along the snow, and had powerful beaks. But they weren't very durable, one good hit was usually enough to kill them.

  Icemen are humanoid, faceless walking creatures who have bodies made of ice. While they were slow moving and easy to take down once you get close, they could fire off ice projectiles like needles, thus posed a threat at longer ranges.

  If we were to head all the way to Silvland, the other types of monsters we'd likely run into, from weakest to strongest, included Snow Serpents, white snakes with bites that inject a poison that, if left untreated, would slowly freeze you to death from the inside out over the course of a few hours, Lesser Cyclops, which were smaller versions of the Cyclops monsters I'd faced on the way to Goldway, Abominable Snowmen, large, powerful ape-like monsters covered in white fur, and Ice Wyverns, basically mini-dragons that could fire freezing blasts of ice breath from their mouths.

  There were plenty of wild animals around too, I'd spotted a snow leopard and a white fox as well, and I'd heard that seals, polar bears, penguins and other polar or Arctic animals could be found too, even though there wasn't any sea or ocean around, just a bunch of frozen streams and lakes.

  We soon came across one such frozen lake……

  "Are those Devilpenguins?" Niski asked nervously.

  Or maybe she was just cold? It had continued to get progressively colder the farther we walked.

  "No……those look like just regular penguins," I replied, after giving them a quick glance.

  It was the first time I was seeing penguins in real life.

  I guess they're kinda cute, but I don't quite get why people in my old world were so obsessed with them.

  It was a while before we ran into another group of Snow Imps.

  "Isn't it a bit strange that this is only the second wave of monsters we're running into?" Inquired Tuck, as the monsters began to close in on us.

  "Not really……the Adventurers we passed by probably took a bunch of them out, we didn't see any till just now because they were likely respawning," I replied, as I quickly came up with a plan.

  There were ten of them……let's see……yeah, I'll go with……

  "Alright, Niski and Tonir, take on one each, go for the two on the far right. Tuck, bitch……you guys should be able to take on two each, right? Tuck, go for the two in the mid-right. Bitch, go for the two in the middle. I'll take on the ones on the mid and far left."

  "You asshole, stop calling me a bitc-!"

  She didn't get to finish her sentence as I shot forward to my targets.

  Tonir used his Fire Magic to blast his target in the face, it stumbled back stunned but didn't die, jumping at him with a growl. He side-stepped to evade, the monster grazed his armor a bit, before he slammed his hammer onto its back, killing it as it disappeared into dust.

  It looked like he had been trying to aim the swing of the hammer down at its head……he really wasn't very good at using that weapon.

  Niski shot a couple of lightning bolts at her target, one missed completely while the other struck the monster on the shoulder. Her aim could use a lot of work.

  As the monster angrily charged at her, she reached for her sword, her shaky hands make her fumble a bit, the Imp springing forward and biting her leg as she failed to draw it out.

  She hissed as pain spread out on her expression, before drawing out her narrow-bladed sword and kicking the monster away. As it sprang at her again, she unfurled a barrage of rapid, quick thrusts at it chest, killing it. She took out a healing Spell Scroll to heal her leg.

  If nothing else, she was quite adept with that sword.

  Tuck waited for his two targets to get closer, before raising both arms in uppercut motions, raising two pillars of earth in front of him, knocking away the monsters with enough force to kill them both.

  He could raise those pillars with a bit more force now than he could during the mock tournament.

  Lamasa blew out a large fireball from her mouth, scorching one of the Imps to death, the other one survived by using its burnt corpse as a meat shield, before it disappeared into dust.

  The surviving one then ran towards her, she had a cocky look on her face as it neared her and she drew out her dagger.

  The monster then went low and flung a fistful of snow at her eyes. She was caught off-guard and stumbled back, falling down as the monster sprang onto her, standing on top of her left hand, which was holding the dagger.

  It dug its fingernails into her skin and bit her shoulder, she let out a scream of pain as she desperately struggled to get up.

  Not good……while I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over letting her die, I was in charge of this group, which meant that……I was responsible for whatever happens during this Quest.

  God……fucking……damn it……

  do I really have to save her?

  I sighed and reluctantly extracted ten percent Karma, blasting away the four Imps I'd been about to take on in an instant with a powerful black lightning bolt.

  I then activated Lightning Boost and shot towards her, killing the monster on top of her before it could kill her.

  Her shoulder was bleeding pretty profusely, as were the spots on her torso where the monster had dug it's nails into, but she had a healing Spell Scroll on her, it was nothing that the scroll couldn't fix.

  Still, what was with that Imp……it was a lot smarter than any other low level monster I'd come across. Not only had it thought to use one of its kin as a meat shield, but also to blind its human target using snow……it's true that I don't have a lot of experience against Snow Imps, but that definitely seemed unusual, to say the least……

  Those Adventurers we'd passed by did say that the monsters were acting unusual. Hm……

  As she healed herself with a grimace, I noticed that the others were staring at me. Oh, right……the black lightning. I'll just pretend like everything's normal, I'm tired of having to explain about Karma.

  "Alright, let's get going," I remarked, as Lamasa finished healing her injuries.

  "N-no way! Screw this……I'm done with this crap!" She protested in anger and fear, standing up as her breathing became ragged.

  Well, I guess that was technically a near death experience, so her reaction was understandable, but still……

  "Quit being dramatic……you just got careless, that's exactly the kind of mistakes that this Quest was made to eliminate. Besides, think about it……heh, if you leave now, no one will ever let you forget that you ran away."

  "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You Goddamned asshole! Always talking down to me, who the fuck do you think you are-!"

  This is getting annoying……I could just let her go back, but again, I'm in charge and responsible for whatever happens, so……as much as I wanted to, I couldn't let her die, at least not on my watch.

  I flicked a weak spark of lightning at her face, zapping her nose.

  "Get a grip, bitch. Suck it up and-," I was cut off as she angrily blasted a ball of flames at me from her mouth in retaliation for the spark.

  I quickly pulled the scroll on the left side of my waist out of its' holster and activated it in front of me, the flames disappearing as they reached me.

  She did not just do that……

  Alright……that's it……

  I shot forward, knocked her down and pinned her on the ground, drawing out my dagger and stabbing it through the top part of her left ear as I slammed my knee onto the base of her ribcage, before grabbing her neck with my right hand and funneling a weak but steady electric stream into her, paralyzing her.

  "Uh, I don't particularly care or anything, but……you might be being a bit too rough," Tuck remarked a bit uneasily.

  I ignored him and the worried looks from the other two, as a pained and terrified expression crossed her face.

  "I've had it with you, Lamasa……if you don't shut up and behave from here on out, I swear to God……I won't hesitate to kill you……do I make myself clear, you goddamned bitch?" I stated, in a slow, cold voice, with a icy glare.

  She bit her quivering lip with a gulp before silently nodding. That's more like it.

  I let her go and got back on my feet, putting away my dagger after wiping off her blood that had gotten on it, as she stood up and shakily used a healing Spell Scroll on her split ear.

  Maybe I had been a bit excessive there……but whatever, it worked.

  I doubt I'll have any trouble getting these people to listen to me for the rest of this Quest.

  "Let's keep moving."

  As we silently continued moving forward, I thought back to what I did again……while it was true that I had lost my patience and snapped, I had to admit……seeing her terrified expression and the pain on her face as I left that cut on her ear……felt really good.

  My hand had been itching to inflict even more pain on her, to draw out so much more of her blood……

  The urge was weak enough that I could suppress and ignore it without any issues right now, but……in the future, if I was pushed hard enough to the point where I snap beyond reason……would I be able to stop myself from going too far?

  _____________________________________________

  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism! Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.