Level 1 Fallen

Chapter 176: The Next Mission

It didn’t take long for the group to get the three basic skills that I had assigned them. However, it could take at least a day or two for those skills to evolve and fuse together. That was even with me speeding things up by helping them recover and increasing their experience gains.

Still, they seemed extremely excited to master these skills, pushing their training to the limit. As they trained, a voice spoke up behind me. “Sir Advent, I presume?” Turning my head to look back, I saw a dusky-skinned man in full black armor, wearing a red circlet.

I immediately recognized this man as one of the commanding officers of the training camp, according to the reports that we were given. “Commander Howley, how may I help you?” I asked in a respectful tone.

Brent Howley glanced past me to look at the recruits, seeing their eager training. “I was hoping for an update on the progress of your training. When do you believe your recruits will be ready for battle?”

I pursed my lips, unsure how to immediately answer. The dungeon had only been active for a few hours, so it was entirely unreasonable for any form of practical training to be completed. “If they maintain this pace, it might be mid-day tomorrow. I am having them train a very special technique, one which could potentially turn the tide in the long run.”

Brent arched his brow at that, seeming interested. “Would you be able to share this technique with more of the army?”

“In small batches, perhaps? However, it would need to be few enough people that it would not affect the situation on the field. After all, this technique won’t reach its maximum potential right away. Pulling too many people out of the fight to learn it might have negative consequences,” I explained patiently. I had no problem sharing the technique with more of the dungeon troops, but it would be counterproductive if I did so at the expense of the entire dungeon’s progress.

“I see. If that is the case, I suppose it cannot be helped. I have a mission for your trainees tomorrow, then. Find me in my tent when they are ready for battle.” After saying this, Brent turned around and left, sending one last look at the recruits training behind me.

I let out a low sigh of relief when he left, glad that I was given enough time to show results. There might have been a higher reward if I allowed them to go immediately, but it would all be for nothing if they got killed in their first battle.

Speaking of which, how does this dungeon handle deaths? I thought inwardly, opening the system to review the documents again. I had to scroll through the system files for my answer, which was more of a footnote than a proper explanation.

Apparently, all members of the battlefield were given an item similar to the spawn point resetters of the league. However, these items, typically in the form of pendants, were all connected to a single holding area. In this holding area, skills were disabled, preventing even high-level targets from simply breaking out to rejoin the fight.

According to the reports, there were typically three chances to break a target out of this holding area, as rescue missions were launched every two days. Given the timing, it was possible that the mission Brent was talking about would be that very rescue operation. Or, at the very least, a distraction to let them undertake it.

How are things going on your end, Drake? I saw a message appear in the corner of my vision, Bella having messaged me.

I’m fine. I was given the role of Instructor, so I’m training some recruits. How’s your Archer work?

Going well! Thankfully, they’re letting me use my guns, so I’m not worried anymore. Instructor, though? That’s a new one. You’ll need to let us know if you get any special rewards or missions during the dungeon!

After saying that, Bella stopped messaging me for a few minutes, before suddenly sending another one. Sorry, gotta go. There’s an attack on the way, so I’ve got to hold the line.

Good luck, I responded, before closing the window. Almost immediately, I could hear the battle breaking out from beyond the edge of the camp. Part of me wanted to go and join the fight, but I knew that was not part of my job. More importantly, if I did leave for that, I wouldn’t be able to continue helping this group with their training.

Thus, with a sigh, I returned to the training field, watching the group work and pointing out any shortcomings that I saw with their progress. In the meantime, I helped them learn the individual master-level skills that I had prepared for them, letting them complete those missions as they finished their normal training.

The next day, I was finally able to see the results of their effort. Starting with one of the mages, Haley, they began to fuse their skills one by one. Their bodies shifted, becoming scaled with horns and tails. The warriors had large, bulkier builds, while the others leaned towards leaner, more flexible forms, and the mages had noticeably larger horns.

By now, they had all learned their new skills, so I created several floating dummies out of my projected energy to use as a test. Each one stepped forward to try it out, going into their new draconic forms. Their attacks were launched with surprising precision, most of my target dummies getting destroyed one after another.

Watching this, I pursed my lips in confusion. Sure, their skills were being held back somewhat by the limits of their low-level transformation, but… they seemed considerably more powerful than I had expected. Take the Shadow Arrow Mastery skill. To showcase that one, I had created a number of hardened spheres within each training dummy to serve as internal targets.

However, rather than simply destroying a few of the spheres, the entire dummy was blasted apart after only one or two arrows. Even if I wasn’t specifically reinforcing these to the best of my ability, this wasn’t something that a newly gained skill like that should be able to do.

Maybe… since there is only a one-week timer, there is a boost in the effectiveness of skills learned from an Instructor? That would give my role actual utility in this war scenario.

Regardless, the power that they showed was more than enough for them to undertake a mission as a group. Thus, I ordered everyone to remain in the training area as I left for Commander Howley’s tent.

It didn’t take long for me to find the tent, as all of the commanding officers were positioned near each other. “Commander Howley, it is Sir Advent. You asked to see me?” I called out as soon as I was standing outside the tent, able to sense several figures inside.

“Yes, come in,” Brent’s voice echoed out from within. I parted the flap of the tent to step inside, finding several familiar faces standing around a large table, where the situation on the battlefield was clearly displayed. Each of these figures were high-ranking members of the Dark faction recorded in the documents that Diane’s friend had provided. “Are your students ready, Sir Advent?”

I nodded my head in confirmation, standing with my hands behind my back. “I believe that they would be able to take on whatever mission you may have for them.”

Hearing my confident tone, a woman in a black robe smirked. “That’s a bold claim. What sort of skills could you have shared with them, I wonder?”

Rather than directly answering, I looked at Dylon Shade, the prince of the Shade kingdom and leader of this camp. When he gave a nod, I began to explain the effects of each skill I had created for them. I started with the skills for the individual roles, then moved onto the Utter Darkness Aura, and finally the Shadow Dragon Embodiment.

At first, the mage woman didn’t seem too impressed, though her expression shifted as the skills continued to grow. When I reached the last one, her eyes narrowed slightly. “A skill that completely removes the mana burden for our darkness skills? Surely, you’re joking. There’s no way that a skill like that could exist.”

“I assure you, it does. I found this skill combination by accident myself. While its effects are as I said, there are two downsides. First, there is the increase in cost for non-darkness skills, though that is largely irrelevant here. Secondly, the output of dark skills is limited by the level of the draconic transformation. At high enough levels, a grandmaster could chain together numerous skills without any strain.”

I was extremely confident when I said this, having seen Erebus do that very thing only recently. The mage woman, hearing this, fell silent. It was Brent that spoke up next. “If that’s the case, I can understand why you spoke so highly of this skill. However, you don’t seem to use it yourself, do you? There must be some reason for this.”

“There is,” I answered readily. “I was not alone when I came across this combination. While I pursued one path of skill evolution, it was my comrade at the time that took the path that led to the Shadow Dragon Embodiment. My own path led to a skill known as Dragon Shifter. With this skill, I can use any of my skills as a medium to take on a fully draconic form, amplifying the power of related skills. As for mana burden, that has never been a concern of mine.”

Dylon nodded his head in understanding. “Yes, I’m aware of your special trait. There is no need to elaborate on that here. In your opinion, how much power can they produce at their current level?”

I thought about that for a moment, considering how to describe it. In the end, I used Martial King to create a reinforced sphere of projected energy. Seeing this, those around the table grew wary, but I floated the sphere over towards Brent. “In our earlier training, each of them was able to unleash a damage output capable of shattering a construct this strong. As for the exact level that implies, I will leave that to your understanding.”

Brent took the sphere in his hand, and I could feel him squeezing it to test its durability. Then, a dark aura enveloped his hand, and the ball gradually began to crack. With one final squeeze, the projection shattered and disappeared. Seeming satisfied, Brent looked at Dylon and the others. “If his assessment is correct, they are able to unleash power at the middle level of the master rank, and they can do so continuously.”

Now, the mage woman looked suitably impressed. “A master who doesn’t need to worry about running out of energy is a terrifying existence. They won’t be enough to stand against the grandmasters on the enemy side, but as newly trained recruits, this is more than enough.”

After saying that, she turned to look at me. “Sir Advent, I am Lora Belladonna, leader of the Mage Unit on this battlefield. The mission Commander Howley told you about before comes from me.”

“For your mission, I would like your recruits to act as a distraction for a rescue mission this afternoon. Originally, I was prepared to trade twenty fresh recruits for hundreds of hardened soldiers, thinking that it would be more than a worthy trade. However, I no longer believe that your recruits will so easily perish. In order for this to work, they will need to target the enemy’s supply lines, attacking and retreating before the grandmasters on the other side can get involved.”

Listening to her briefing, I thought about it for a moment. “If at all possible, I would like to add one extra person to this mission.”

Lora perked a brow, an amused smile on her face. “You wish to join the mission yourself?”

“No,” I shook my head decisively. “My role is to educate new recruits. However, the comrade that I mentioned before, the one that originally mastered Shadow Dragon Embodiment, is currently on this battlefield. I believe that she will be of great assistance in this mission.”

Immediately, the officers in the room looked over in surprise. “And who might that be?” Dylon asked in interest.

“Diane Kagemura. I believe that she is currently a member of the assassin squad. If it’s her, she’d be able to get in and out, even if a grandmaster locked onto her.”

The other officers seemed intrigued by this claim. As they were considering it, I received a sudden message from Diane. Drake, I don’t suppose you have any idea why I just got a message saying that my role’s background had been updated?