“So you want to volunteer for that escort mission?” A guy in his thirties asked Akira.

 

“Yes I mean why wouldn’t anyone do the same? You guys are from the same academy as mine and this opportunity is pretty hard to come by.”

 

“Hahaha he is right Ben and I love his enthusiasm, so why don’t we take him with us?” A bald guy with a thick red beard,mustache and fair skin said, his facial features would make him somewhat like an Irish back on Earth.

 

“You are right Brian and I would love to do that too but you already know that Calvin has chosen someone else for this trip right?” 

 

The same guy who talked first replied, he was a man of average build with black curly hair and average facial features but you could say that he was someone with keen senses.

 

“Ah right Calvin is the one making decisions but where the hell is he?” Brian asked while chugging down another jug of beer.

 

“Akira right?” Ben asked him.

 

“Yes Sir.” He tried to be courteous around them.

 

“Haha no need to be so formal, be relaxed and please call us by our names.” 

 

“Okay so like do I get to go along with you or is there someone else already signed up?”

 

“There is someone from the third year but I haven’t heard from them so I can’t say. Why don’t you sit down and let Calvin come around?”

 

“Sure no problem.” Akira then sat down with them and began chatting with the two of them.

 

“So Akira, how's your life in the academy?” Brian asked him.

 

“The academy is great and deserves every praise it has, the teachers are the best, the facilities it provides are unmatchable though I think the food in the cafeteria could be made better.”

 

“So true, even during my time when we were still in the academy the food was decent but it was missing something though there is someone whose dishes are awesome.” Brian replied.

 

“Miss Martha and her Red velvet cake?” Akira promptly said.

 

“Yes that’s it.. Eh?? How did you know?” Brian almost choked on his booze while Ben too was surprised.

 

“Hehe I got lucky once and tried her dishes on a whim and guess what?” 

 

“You hit the jackpot.” Ben said.

 

“Right and man it was so great, it kinda makes me think why she isn’t famous.”

 

“Hmm, did you have your first theory exams?” Ben asked.

 

“I did and I have to say that the questions were quite tough. One has to have a deeper understanding of mana theories and other things to score well.”

 

“I still remember getting 21st rank, it was highest among ourselves.” Ben said with some pride.

 

“That’s amazing, I had the 13th rank.” Akira replied, making Ben’s eyes wide open.

 

“That’s good for you.”

 

“Meh.. I never liked those theories and stuff always going over my head.” Brian exclaimed and chugged another jug.

 

“And that’s why you had to repeat those exams six times.” Ben sighed.

 

“Pftt.” Akira chuckled.

 

“Oi oi you are making me look stupid Ben.” 

 

“I can’t make you something you already are Brian.” Ben mocked him.

 

Brian’s face at that time went full red and just as he was going to retort him someone came in and stopped them.

 

“Guys don’t you think that it’s a bad idea to show all this in front of a junior?” 

 

Someone came in from behind Akira and when he turned back to look at him it was a guy most probably in his late twenties, his face had few cuts but they only added to his masculine handsomeness.

 

He had the typical blonde hair and blue eyes that was prevalent in the Origin continent and his physique looked that of a swimmer, perfectly fit. Akira had seen him in the game where he appeared only in a few cut scenes so his skills and spells were a mystery to him.

 

“Not my fault this guy is getting cheeky and I don’t mind flattening him out.” Brian said while cracking his knuckles.

 

‘Sigh’ 

 

“Well as you see friend this is what I go through everyday.” Calvin said while sitting down next to Akira who was having a hard time controlling his laugh.

 

“Nah I guess it’s good to keep the humor around in a group.” Akira said.

 

“So you are an optimistic one, nice well where are my manners? I am Calvin Burns, one and only captain of the Dark Swords.” He said and put his right hand out which Akira took with his left one.

 

“I am Akira, a first year student of Origin Academy.”

 

“Hmm your hands are that of a swordsman, your swordsmanship is somewhere around 5th or 4th tier though the learning curves on your hands are uneven meaning that you don’t have an innate skill for it.”

 

“Woah, that's amazing. How did you do it?” This was maybe the first time that Akira was truly speechless by something in this world and this was precisely what he was lacking.

 

He did have the knowledge of the game and some of the events of the future but this thing, the practical experience which can only be learnt by putting in the hard work year over year and by actually going through life and death battles.

 

“Haha look at your face.”

 

“Come on Cal, everyone has the same face when you outrightly tell them something like that.” Ben argued.

 

“And I can’t stop myself from getting amused by their reactions.” Calvin said.

 

“Well the thing is Cal here is also a swordsman and if I have to say he is one of the top five in the whole continent, his only limitation is his mithril bloodline.” Ben explained.

 

“So whenever he sees another swordsman he can instantly tell what they are up to, it’s a part of his innate skill.” 

 

“Damn that’s awesome Calvin.” Akira said what he felt.

 

“It’s nothing special, by the way guys you know about the third year student, Rory right?”

 

“The lad who is supposed to go with us right?” Brian said while eating the mana beast chicken.

 

“Yeah and I just received something from him, he is not coming for the mission. His own group is going to the Serres town Dungeon.” Calvin told the news.

 

“That dungeon is much harder than the one here in Origin city. Good luck to him, moreover it means that Akira here can go with us right?” Ben asked Calvin who nodded.

 

“Hmm and I think we should finalse it, what about you guys?” Calvin asked, the approval of the majority of members in a group was necessary to make any critical decision.

 

“It’s a yes for me, Akira is fun to talk with.” Brian said.

 

“Me too, I would like to talk about some of the mana theories with him.” Ben said.

 

“And I wouldn’t say no to an upcoming Swordsman so Akira you are in for the mission.” Calvin said, making everyone smile.

 

“Oh by the way Calvin didn’t the mission say about having at least four members? I don’t see the fourth one.” Akira asked.

 

“Oh there is a fourth one but right now he’s visiting his parents at the south block, don’t worry we will meet up with him somewhere.” Calvin told him.

 

“Great so when do we head out?” 

 

“Evening, the merchant’s request is not very usual. We will tell you about that later but right now-”

 

GROWL~

 

Calvin’s stomach told everyone that he was starving.

 

“As you can see I am famished so first comes the eating and then we head out.”

 

“Sure no problem.” 

 

Then all of them began eating and even if Akira said that he doesn't have an appetite they still forced him to eat a dish or two while happily chatting about some random things which made the entire atmosphere jovial.

Even Anna the daughter of Tavern owner joined them for some moments and had a talk about their last adventure or how famous they were, she also talked with Akira when he excused himself from the group.

 

“So you did manage to talk with them.”

 

“I did tell you that.” He smiled.

 

“Hmph! That’s just you being lucky.” 

 

“No, that wasn’t just luck, I had some things to back me up.” He retorted.

 

“So what are you going to do after this?” She asked.

 

“Not that I mind you asking all this but why are you? Do we know each other from somewhere?” Akira really had no clue about her neither from the game nor from the previous guy’s memories.

 

Since she was not a part of Richard’s harem or a supporting character only slight background info was given about her like her being working here.

 

“Oh I was just curious?” She replied cheerfully.

 

Akira used his mana sense around her which clearly showed that there was no malicious intent coming from her meaning that she was genuinely asking these things from him.

 

“I got the chance to be a part of their group for the escort mission.”

 

“Oh the one that was requested by the rich merchant dealing in herbs?”

“You know him?”

 

“No no it’s just that everyone who has came in since morning has been talking about this mission.” She told him.

 

“I just hope it is a simple mission.”

“Yo Akira let’s go.” Brian shouted from the exit of the tavern.

 

“Coming, well it was nice meeting you goodbye.”

 

“Take care and I am saying this only because you are a potential customer and nothing else.” She again became shy all of a sudden which confused him.

 

“Uhh sure it’s not like I would think anything else about a person I just met.” Akira said and dashed out of there.

 

“Hmph Idiot...” She kept looking at his back and murmured those words.

 

Akira heard that but decided to ignore it as he couldn’t really remember anything about her, he did have all the memories of the previous guy but there were certain sections like the very childhood when he was around 5 which were clouded.

 

“I do remember seeing someone like her but where?”

 

Ben saw him like that and asked,

 

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling anxious?”

 

“Not actually, I was thinking about something from the past but it’s not important so let’s go.”

“If you say so but remember in a group each member relies on the other for support and that is the basic principle of a successful group.” Ben explained.

 

“Then please take care of me in the future.” Akira said with a smile.

 

“Sure not a problem and don’t worry about this particular mission as it is just an escort one, they are the easiest to do.” Calvin said while all of them were walking to the merchant’s house.

 

The Origin’s City housing pattern was divided into different sectors, with each sector having something different within it. 

 

The sector that Akira and Lily’s families lived in were mainly inhabited by middle or slightly upper middle classes, there were also sectors built specifically for those who couldn’t afford any house.

 

Meaning that housing was not a problem among the populus hence adding certain prestige to the Von Astrom family for having their capital like this.

 

Now the upper and elite class of the city including the big merchants, the nobles of the empire, distant relatives of the royal family, and the embassies of other empires were built on the opposite side of the Market sector.

 

These districts had the best modern facilities available in the empire and their location made it that the other parts and the royal castle were very much accessible to it.

 

When Akira and others entered the elite district they were first stopped by the normal guards that were posted by the administration but upon seeing that the group was led by Calvin Burns the guards respectfully gave way.

 

The presence of the guards outside of the district itself shows how much importance the royal administration attaches to the people living there.

 

And why not? They were the richest and most influential people in the empire and also they gave the most of the taxes making them economically special.

 

Akira and the group made their way towards the merchant’s house which was situated some blocks away from the main entrance and on the way it could be seen how this district was different from others.

 

The Dark Swords members had seen many times so they weren’t surprised but they did expected some reactions from Akira who they knew has not come here but to him even these facilities paled out when compared to the luxuries he had seen back on earth.

 

The merchant’s name was Ivan Feodor and the Feodor household was a renowned name in the health potion industry,

 

His great-grandfather who had migrated from the Romanov empire due to some personal reasons started this business with a small roadside stall and today they are one the giants.

 

Coming into the mansion of Feodor’s they were welcomed by an entourage of maids and butlers who took them to the place where Robert was waiting.

 

Akira was having a hard time controlling his reactions as this was the first time he had seen real maids working for someone and it was his dream to have a group of battle maids.

 

Maids which were extremely beautiful yet highly trained in combat and assassin work but he knew that this world might give him that opportunity.

 

“Master the members of Dark Swords have arrived.” One of the maids said to Ivan.

 

Akira was expecting him to be a short and fat man but that was not so as Ivan even though was an old man appeared fitter than his counterparts of the same age.

 

“Hello Mr. Ivan.” Calvin being the head of the group went first.

 

“It’s very good to see you Mr. Captain, I was waiting for you.” Ivan’s voice was quite gentle and had a lot of care in it.

 

“I am extremely sorry for making you wait Mr. Ivan, you see me and my group mates were starving so we decided to stop at a tavern.” 

 

“Ah then you should have come straight here, I would have arranged perfect delicacies of both the Astrom and Romanov empires. My maids are excellent at that.” Ivan said while motioning them to sit down on the sofas.

 

“For sure we will do that next time.” Calvin replied.

 

Then they began talking about random things which weren't interesting to Akira who was looking around the big mansion. 

 

He wasn’t a rich guy in the previous life and neither the previous guy had seen such opulent things so it was obvious that he was going to see around.

 

Then slowly talks began to become serious and then Calvin asked,

 

“Mr. Ivan, could you tell us the exact details of this escort mission?”

 

“Yes but is this your complete team? And who is that young man? I have never seen him with you guys.” Ivan asked.

 

“One of our members is visiting his family in town but he will be meeting us outside the town and that over there is Akira, a first year student of the Origin academy. We take students from there on simpler mission to give them some actual experience.”

 

Ivan sized up Akira and after a few moments nodded.

 

“Well this really is a simple mission and given that he is from Origin academy I don’t think there should be any problem.”

 

“Okay so our mission is to bring back one herb that has been asked by one of my clients. That herb has been found by one of my workers but due to the immense value of it we couldn’t just bring it back without any security.”

 

“You do know that the menace of the cultists has been on the rise and that herb is very important for my client so I can only ask someone powerful to accompany me and bring that back.”

 

“Okay I have a few questions.” Ben asked.

“Please ask them.”

 

“What is that drug for? I mean since we are the ones involved in bringing it back then we should at least know what it is right?” Ben asked.

 

Ivan wasn’t looking so good after hearing this question but this was an important thing for the group to know before undertaking the journey. 

 

“Very well since I have decided to trust you then it is only normal to tell you everything. The herb that we are talking about is called Ambrosia.” Ivan said and shocked everyone present there.

 

“The Ambrosia?” Ben couldn’t help but ask out loud.

 

“Yes, the one and only Ambrosia.” Ivan confirmed.

 

“Why are you freaking Ben, isn’t this just another herb?” Brian asked.

 

“Not really, this Ambrosia is one of the legendary grade items and that’s because of its use. You must have heard about the Demon curse right?” Akira said, gaining the attention of everyone.

 

“Yeah the one inflicted by the Demon mana beasts. I have seen it only a couple of times but man it was disgusting, the affected people start losing their sanity and with time they become a demon.” Brian said.

 

“Exactly and this Ambrosia is the cure for it.” Akira said.

 

“Excellent young man, even some of the erudite men in this city don’t know about it.” Mr. Ivan praised him.

 

“I happened to come across it while browsing through the books in the library.” He replied.

 

“Still that’s awesome, Akira.” Calvin said.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Umm Mr. Ivan, who is the client that has asked for this thing?” Ben asked.

 

“I am sorry but in our business we can’t reveal the name of our clients, that part is non negotiable.”

 

“Fair enough.” 

 

“Since it is so important have you sent someone over there to protect it?”

 

“I have sent some of my personal guards to keep an eye on it.”

 

“Then we should move as soon as possible right?” Brian interjected.

 

“Okay so how are we going to get there?” Ben asked.

 

“I have a few teleportation scrolls but they could only get us to the outside of the city.” Calvin said.

 

“We could use my mana beasts.” Ivans said.

 

“Yes but it would take more than an hour to just go outside the city with them.” Ben argued.

 

“Don’t worry my mana beasts are the fastest in the entire world.” Ivan replied.

 

“The horse mana beasts?” Ben asked.

 

“Yes, so just give me a moment then we should depart.”

 

“Sure.” Calvin replied.

 

“Uh guys let me inform my parents that I will be late.” Akira said.

 

“Oh yeah you should inform them or there can be a problem.”

 

There was a communication device at Adam’s store so he used his watch to contact uncle Adam and told him that he was on a mission with the Dark Swords and might get late.

 

Adam congratulated him on his first official mission and promised to give him a treat on its successful completion. He also told him to go on with the mission and not worry about his parents.

 

The sun was setting fast meaning that in just a few hours the daylight would be no more and that makes the Bretton woods more dangerous as more mana beasts and rogue elements would venture in there.

 

Everyone was riding a horse mana beast which were touted as the fastest animals on the land but very few knew that there were even faster mana beasts present in the wild.  

 

With the help of agile horses it only took them half an hour to reach the outskirts of the city and one difference they all noticed was that the temperature here was a few degrees lower than in town.

 

The imperial roads that they were currently on went straight ahead to the other cities of the empire but they had to take a left turn to enter the infamous Bretton Woods.

 

Just as they were about to enter the Woods a foreign mana pattern entered the fray but besides Akira and Ivan who despite being a merchant was a sixth tier mage, the others stayed calm.

 

“Relax, that's Kazuya, our member.” Ben told them.

 

Kazuya Kobayashi was the mage of the Dark Swords, he was a renowned name in controlling the ice and water element.

 

“Damn what took you so long?” Brian asked.

 

“The girls man, it’s all their fault they weren’t leaving me.” Kazuya had black hair and black eyes and he was also more handsome than the rest of the Dark Sword members, making more famous among the ladies.

 

“Well where are we going boys?” Kazuya asked, hiding the hickies on his neck.

 

Ben explained to him the mission while they were still going inside the woods and also the day light was getting dimmer with each passing second.

 

“Mr. Ivan, how are you going to reach the place where your workers and guards are?” Calvin asked.

 

“I have the one end of this artifact and its other end is connected to the head of the guards so it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

 

And with that started this simple looking yet not so simple escort mission.