Level 1 Fallen

Chapter 177: The Mission Begins

I briefly explained what had happened to Diane, and she in turn explained how her background in the dungeon had been altered. Apparently, my conversation with the upper echelon of the camp had established Diane’s history as a hard fact. The idea that something like this could be done so easily was rather frightening, to say the least.

Okay, maybe easy would be an exaggeration, as the only way for such a change to hold is if one party already held a significant role within the dungeon’s scenario. Though, I was curious if this would allow Diane to have access to new rewards or advancement opportunities.

On the other hand, I was tempted to bring up Bella as well, but I could not figure out a suitable story for her at this time. If I just said that she had been taught the same skill, that would likely backfire, as Bella did not in fact have a draconic skill like that. Furthermore, I highly doubted that the narrative system tied to the dungeon would simply grant her a skill because I said she had one.

After a few more minutes of talking, I was dismissed from the commander’s tent. Lora accompanied me, intending to brief my recruits on the mission herself. When she saw them practicing, her eyes widened in surprise. All twenty of the students were currently in their draconic forms, making this Lora’s first time seeing the skill in action.

She waited, seeing how they rapidly fired skills at prepared targets, before smiling and approaching. As soon as she stepped into the training area, the group halted their training to stand at attention.

Without a delay, she explained the mission to the twenty recruits, along with an additional incentive. If they managed to return from this mission without any casualties, she would apply for a rank promotion for each of them within their respective units.

This seemed to increase their motivation far more than I originally would have expected from an offer like that. However, the documents that Micah provided for us didn’t mention anything about substantial benefits that came from promotions like this, aside from the rewards at the end of the dungeon. Then again, it was entirely possible that they just hadn’t had the chance to figure out what benefits dungeon inhabitants receive.

With their agreement, Lora dispatched a messenger to call for Diane, who arrived only a few minutes later. Lora looked at the halfling girl with a scrutinizing gaze. “Sir Advent has said that you are capable of assuming the same form as this group, is that correct?” she asked, gesturing towards the still-transformed recruits.

Diane wordlessly nodded her head, her features shifting as she assumed her own draconic form. Lora’s eyes lit up in glee at this discovery, clearly pleased to have a veteran with the skill at her disposal. “In that case, I would like to name you as the leader of an upcoming mission.”

After explaining the contents of the mission to Diane, she then made the same offer to put in a word with her supervisor for a special promotion. Diane merely considered it for a moment, before nodding her head in agreement. “Very well. Do you have a map of the mission site, or am I to improvise once we arrive at the location?”

Lora smiled, seeming satisfied with Diane’s question. She retrieved a rolled-up map from her inventory, and handed it over. “This should give you all of the information you need. The operation begins in four hours.”

Diane accepted the map with a calm expression, bowing her head towards Lora before moving to sit on a nearby bench to study it. With that, Lora finally turned to face me. “As for you, Sir Advent, Lord Shade has asked that you wait at the camp for the mission to be completed. If they return unharmed, he has prepared a special offer for you.”

I perked a brow, waiting for her to explain the offer, but she turned and walked away, clearly done with her explanation. It seemed that I would need to wait for the results of Diane’s mission to determine whether or not I would hear more.

I couldn’t help but glance over at Diane, who was fully engrossed in her study of the map. That left me with very little to do in the meantime, so I moved to sit at the edge of the training area, meditating and using Simulation Training to practice my skills.

A few hours later, I noticed Diane leading the others away, her eyes gleaming with confidence. When the recruits saw her transformation, they seemed to realize something, and had been treating her in a very respectful manner. As I was preparing to return to my simulated training, a new window appeared in front of me.

A Student Mission has been initiated. Do you wish to observe the mission?

Blinking in surprise, I agreed to the request, and the window changed to show a live feed of Diane leading the twenty recruits through the dimly lit forest to the east of the battlefield. I watched from above, though there were obvious controls in the corner of the screen to adjust the perspective.

“How did you and the Instructor meet?” one of the students, a female mage, asked curiously. Her eyes were practically shining as she looked at Diane.

Diane, however, shot her a quick look. “Gossip like that can wait for after we return. We’re going to be launching an attack under the noses of multiple Light grandmasters. We can’t afford any distractions. We’ll be at the site in fifteen minutes. Starting now, I need everyone to listen to my commands unconditionally. If you can follow my commands, I can guarantee that none of you will come to any serious harm. Otherwise, I can’t promise anything.”

Her words sounded needlessly arrogant, but the twenty recruits nodded their heads without the slightest hesitation. Even Diane seemed surprised by this, though it was only a flicker across her expression. “Good. Jadon, Misol, the two of you are on scouting duty, so watch our flanks. If you spot anything even remotely unusual, use a shadow skill to get my attention.”

The two named assassins gave quick salutes, their forms fading into the darkness as Diane turned to the archers. “You two, you’re watching our rear. Make sure that we have a clear path to retreat at any time. If you see suspicious movement, alert me immediately.”

The two archers quickly moved to the rear of the group as they moved between the trees. “As for the rest of you, is there anyone familiar with the high-level forces of the Light army? I want to know who I’m up against if they bring in any outside security.”

The remaining sixteen recruits looked at one another, before the same female mage as before lifted her hand. “I’ve studied the public files on dangerous opponents within the enemy camp. I should be able to recognize any of them at a glance.”

“Good. You’re with me,” Diane said, turning to face the girl. “Hold out your hand.”

The girl blinked in confusion, but extended her hand forward. Diane took a deep breath, bringing her fingers out to draw a simple rune on the back of the girl’s scaled hand. As soon as she was done, the mage seemed to fade from view. Although not fully invisible, her presence had been largely erased. “You and I are going to scout the supply line and determine the primary threats. Everyone else, wait here for our return.”

The others were too surprised by Diane’s action to immediately react, and by the time anyone could respond, Diane and the mage had already disappeared. Diane held the other woman’s hand and ran between the trees at a much faster pace, barely allowing the mage the chance to keep up with her.

The mage, for her part, was just as astonished as the others, only barely managing to keep her feet under her as she followed Diane. In just over a minute, they arrived at the edge of the treeline, and Diane whispered quietly to her temporary partner. “Keep your gaze brief. Don’t linger on any one figure. Scan the crowd just long enough to identify who you can, and don’t look at any one person twice. Once you’re done, tell me and we will retreat immediately.”

These words only confused the mage even more, but she did her best to follow the command. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before opening them and quickly sweeping her gaze over the enemy group. There were fifty individuals riding in a caravan of ten wagons. Most of the individuals were dressed in civilian clothing, not even carrying weapons. However, there were three that stood out.

Of these three, one had light blonde hair and wore a majestic robe, his expression serene. Another was clad in full armor, carrying a comically sized hammer on his back. Finally, the last one had a pair of short swords strapped to his waist, as well as a length of rope around his shoulders, almost like a harness.

As soon as the mage had finished scanning the crowd, she closed her eyes tight, nodding her head. “I’m done, there are--”

“Don’t say it here,” Diane stopped her with a whisper. She grabbed the woman’s hand, pulling her along to return to the group. “Stronger targets are more likely to have skills that can discern when they are being observed from nearby, or listen in on nearby conversations. Save any talking for when we meet up with the others.”

The mage shut her mouth, finally opening her eyes to follow behind Diane. She didn’t say a word until they returned to the group, looking for Diane silently for permission to speak. When Diane gave a nod, she let out a deep breath that she didn’t realize that she had been holding. “There are two high-tier masters and one grandmaster among the caravan.”

Diane crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. “I need anything you have on them.”

“First, the two masters. Among them, there is Adam, the Son of Light, a powerful priest known for his ability to negate dark skills. The other is Festa, the Hammer of Dawn, who wields a hammer that can grow larger as he releases certain skills.”

The mage woman took a deep breath before continuing. “Finally, the grandmaster is Tensai, the Falling Meteor. He typically fights with his short swords like a standard warrior. However, his primary weapon is the rope wrapped around his body, which is in actuality a meteor hammer. It’s been said that his meteor hammer can ensnare dragons and crush fortress walls.”

Diane furrowed her brow, but gave a nod of understanding. “Our mission is to disrupt their supply line. From what I saw, they weren’t carrying any exposed goods, meaning that the supplies are likely in the inventories of the civilians being transported.”

“That makes sense,” one of the assassins spoke up. “Civilians are known to have a much larger inventory capacity than combat personnel.”

Diane gave the man an odd look, and I couldn’t blame him. That was the first that I was hearing of this. Clearly, it was another change from the normal system. However, she quickly corrected her expression.

The mage, meanwhile, pursed her lips. “Then, our mission is to eliminate the forty-seven civilians?” she asked, but Diane shook her head to deny this.

“No. If that was all, I could probably do it myself, even with those three there. Our true mission is to be a distraction, to draw the agro of the main camp and give the other teams enough time to perform a prison break. In other words, our targets aren’t the forty-seven civilians, but the three escorts. We have to deal enough damage that they call for reinforcements, and then get out unharmed.”

“What?” one of the others asked in shock. “Unharmed, against a grandmaster like Tensai?”

Diane bit her lip lightly, before looking at the mage again. “How does Tensai rank among grandmasters?”

The mage woman’s eyes widened. “I, uh, I’m not sure? I don’t know how they’re ranked… Though, from what I can remember, his bounty was on the lower end among the grandmasters of the Light army listed in the records.”

Diane sighed in relief when she heard that. “If that’s the case, we may have a chance…”