"A black hair is taking the orc mission?" A noble says. 

"What is he doing?" Another commoner cadet says. 

"Does he not care for the face of the nobles?" 

When I step in front of the fifth box, I can feel the glares of the instructors breathing down my neck. 

"Are you sure you know what you are getting into?" Kaine asks me.

"Thank you for the concern, sir, but I understand my limits."

Kaine gazes into my eyes and nods. I grab one metal plate and return to my seat. Aiden stares at me astonished. 

...

He lets a long sigh and slaps his face lightly. "I must be fucking crazy to even think about it but..."

He looks at me and I smile pleasantly back. 

"Ugh! Fine, let's both dig our graves!" Aiden confidently proclaims and walks to the fifth box, trying to hide his trembling legs. 

Without even hearing the comments of the instructors, nobles, and normal cadets, he swiftly grabs one plate and runs back to me. 

"Fuck fuck I'm dead." Aiden mumbles. 

"Why did you do that?" I ask. 

"Don't ask me that! I'm not letting you die there!" 

...

"Thanks."

"Yeah, you better be." Aiden blurts. 

"Don't worry, we won't die."

"Maybe not from the orcs but from the nobles, high chance."

The both of us basically spat on the food prepared for royalties. Orcs are dangerous yet fairly easy when attacked in a group. All commoner cadets in this room can kill an orc with four other people and the missions did not specify any restrictions. Thus the difference in intensity of the missions is to raise the nobles' prestige and send a clear message to people in the room. "Don't mess with the nobles."

"Damn it...I'm worried for my parents." Aiden scratches his hair.

I place my grip on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I know how to deal with them."

The war has taught me many things. How nobles behave. How nobles fall. And how to kill nobles. 

Aiden tries to wrap his head around the mysterious conviction in my voice. Somehow, my reassuring words calm him down. 

================================ 

3 days later...

================================ 

Cadets were given their respective mission locations and dispatched themselves. Since Aiden and I do not have transport, we had to rent some horses with our savings. Our basic weapons and gears do not help.

The good news? Our journey is smooth with zero interruptions. 

"Huff...Bloody hell. Why is our location so far?" Aiden tears a bite of the bland beef jerky as he feeds the horses water. 

"No one expected commoners to take on the fifth mission. Each noble has their express horses or carriages." I reply. 

"Right...remind me why you chose this mission again?" Aiden asks.

"Because I'm crazy."

"Fuck, you really are crazy! And so am I for following you!"

"Haha..."

Basked in the dappled shade of lush canopies, a campfire crackled curling smoke through the branches. The warm sunlight and gentle breeze cast a tranquil moment before our arrival at Piear City. 

The murmuring melody of a river nearby occasionally disrupts the atmosphere. 

I flip the twig through a fish resting on thin logs at the campfire and pass one to Aiden. 

At our location, we can see the peak of a towering lighthouse. Piear City is a city positioned beside the ocean and regular trade by ships arrives at the port. 

"...Hey, Loi."

"Yeah?"

"..."

...

"Bastard, spit it out," I say to Aiden.

Aiden gazes at me with a concerned look. 

"Although you try to hide it, something feels off about you. What happened during the break?" says Aiden. 

The second person...

Well, I expected close people to recognise something off. My habits cannot be fixed. "I'm sorry. I experienced something during the break and do not wish to talk about it."

"I see. Alright." Aiden stops digging without hesitation. He gulps the entire fish with the bones, emitting crunching sounds that send an uncomfortable sensation to my skin. I'm still not used to his bizarre teeth. 

He throws the stick and claps his hands. "Alright, let's move. We are close to Piear."

Rooted beside the expansive azure expanse of the ocean, it stood as the main hub of activity for foreign travellers where cobbled streets slither across stone walls weathered by centuries of salty sea air. The city's lighthouse tower perched upon a rocky promontory oversees both the bustling hub and ocean. 

At the rendezvous beside the city lord's mansion, Kaine with several instructors and all present groups of aristocracy waits impatiently. 

"Sir Kaine, may we commence the mission?" Julius Linux asks on behalf of all nobility.

"No, we still have to wait for one group. They have ten minutes left."

"I doubt they can make it. We-"

"With all due respect, Prince Julius, rules are rules with no exceptions."

Julius clicks his tongue and backs off. He is leading the nobles in the mission and feels a dent in his pride when mingling with commoners in this mission. 

Yet everyone was proven wrong by the distant galloping.

"The black hairs actually showed up?" a noble exclaims. 

The noble quickly shuts himself when he notices the gaze of Kaine. Kaine has sharp black hair and eyes. 

As we approach the group, Aiden says "I can feel their stabbing glares from this far." 

"That's the only thing they can do for now," I reply. 

We stop behind the large group and jump down the horses. 

"Good! Everyone is present! The change in season triggered monster migrations in the territory nearby. As Aquiltur moves south, Orcs have moved their activity into human territory. Your mission is to eliminate as many orcs as possible within two weeks east of Piear city. Understand?" Kaine says.

"Yes sir!" cadets present answer in unison. 

"Set off! Return here by dawn two weeks later!"

An Aquiltur...

Aquiltur are turtle-like carnivore reptiles that feed on everything they pass by. Winter is coming and Aquiltur hates the cold so they start moving south to avoid it. 

"Ah...that pondering face! Are you thinking of something absurd again like hunting the Aquiltur?" Aiden says. 

"Maybe." 

He jumps back. "What the fuck? You-"

"I'm joking. My arrogance has limits, dumbass." 

Aquiltur is the size of a tower and has incredibly hard iridescent scales on the skin and carapace. It's death if we are to meet one. 

Aiden heave a sigh of relief. "I...don't know anymore. You've become unpredictable."

I jump back on our horses. "Get used to it. More will be on the way." 

"Wait, why not rest in the city for the day? There's quite a lot to sightsee and taste."

"I don't expect two frugal people to efficiently enjoy ourselves in this expensive city. You just want to slack, don't you?"

...

"Fair point." Aiden gives up and hops on the horse.