CHAPTER 5 (PART 1): HIS FIRST MISSION

"Heads up, bro. Show me what you've got!" Robert said, pointing a finger at Arth’s face.

It was a cold morning and they were standing on the snowy ground right beneath their tree house. Arth had worn nothing but a brown-sleeved shirt, paired with loose trousers despite the freezing morning air. His body had already grown used to the temperature, growing up, living his entire life in the north. On the other hand, Robert was on his black winter coat, reaching down unto his knees. Both of them carried an axe on one hand.

"Wait,” Arth furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the axe he was holding. “I thought we’re training?”

Robert guffawed after hearing what he had said. “What do you mean training? This …” he lifted his axe, “is part of your training, bro. You have to learn first all the chores on our guild," he tapped Arth's shoulder, "And today, you're starting with mine!"

"So you're tasked to harvest woods?"

"Cooking is my main job while the other members have their own," Robert shrugged. “But then boss came up to me and said he’s tasking me to harvest woods since only I, Robert Doran, know how to do it efficiently. We both came from Frostwood. So we should use our skills in wood harvesting!”

“So this is my training for today?”

"Kinda … you know I can’t be hard on you, brother. So consider this as your warm up,” Robert began walking, “Let’s go. We've gotta get back here before noon to cook for the team!"

Arth sighed, shaking his head before following him. The snow crunched under their boots, with thick fog lingering in the air around them.

"So your mission yesterday was-"

"An assassination," Robert answered, his voice rougher than usual. "Our target was an executive who owns a drug establishment in Casterfall City, drugging his victims and torturing them to death."

“That’s brutal.”

Robert paused, then turned his head to Arth with a serious look. “Believe me, bro. You haven’t seen anything worse than this yet.”

“But at least, you already gave those victims the justice they deserve.”

“And I did it all by myself,” Robert said, tapping his chest proudly.

"Wait... but you're a knight... not an assassin … so how …"

"I know right?!" Robert sighed, then shook his head. "That’s because Janshai was sent in to another mission yesterday … he’s our only assassin … so Lucas tasked me instead! Can you believe that?"

"And you managed to pull it off? Escape in one piece?" Arth asked, looking at him in amazement.

"It wasn't easy though. I had a bit of a hard time breaking through the security in his mansion."

‘I don't even know if I can do that. Do I also need to be versatile in this guild?’ Arth sighed, looking down while walking.

A few minutes later, they heard a growling beast ahead of them.

"That one is yours, bro," Robert said as they encountered another high-class beast. It was a wild bear of brown fur, twice the size of a human.

The beast roared, then charged forward with its hungry eyes locked at Arth.

Arth drew out his Blackwinter sword, making a stance, its endpoint aimed towards the charging bear. The bear lunged, swung its deadly claw, but Arth was swift enough to dodge. The next he slid through the snowy ground, slashing the belly with one swing of his sword.

Arth spun around, dashed, and threw a plunge through the bear's chest, not giving it any chances to strike. The beast opened its mouth, breath and blood spilling out. After pulling out the sword from its chest, it bled like a red waterfall. The enormous body fell, unable to move, dead.

"You’ve got some agility," Robert shouted, clapping his hands. "I see you know how to eliminate your target as quickly as possible … giving it no chance to attack. You can train to become an assassin, bro!"

Arth wiped the cold blood dripping on his blade. "I told you Robert. I want to become a knight, not an assassin."

Robert grinned. "You still don't get it, do you? Our guild must be seamless in assassinating our targets. Even if you have a sword, staff, bow and arrows, or any kind of weapons, you still need to be versatile and adaptive to any kind of fighting style. Even a magic staff can be used for close combat aside from casting spells. Do you get it now?"

Arth stared at him for a moment, thoughtful, then he looked down on the ground. ‘Versatility and adaptation, I still have a lot to learn!’

he thought, slowly nodding his head.

"What about knights, Robert?" Arth asked as they continued walking. "Can they become mages too?"

"Well, knights can only cast a few … limited spells. But the advantage we have is our physical strength. Mages can indeed cast a ton of powerful magical spells, but they become so vulnerable to harm when they’re in the middle of casting it. You see? Every fighting style still has strengths and weaknesses. That's why you can't just focus on one style only," Robert paused, jumped over a root lump on the ground, then continued, "Here in our guild, even though each of us has our own fighting style, we still work our best in learning the other styles to become adaptive. Remember this … our ability to adapt is essential for our survival in the battlefield."

"You really know a lot, Robert," Arth said. "You drastically changed ever since you left the village."

Robert chuckled, both hands on his hips. "Well, I've been training under Lucas for three years already … so yeah, I guess you can say that."

Arth took out the red core he’d gotten from the dead bear earlier. "Hey, Robert. What is the use of these cores?"

Robert snapped at him, his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "What? You don't know? My father didn’t tell you at all?!"

Arth shook his head innocently.

"Wait, where’s the purple core you collected from the competition?!"

"The grand mage took it."

Robert slapped his forehead, then rubbed down on his face. "Oh gods, you've just been fooled, bro!"

"I don't get it."

"You're supposed to keep it. That core was expensive," Robert sighed, "Look. Rare cores can be sold at high values. Some can be used for experiments … medicines and other stuffs. There are also cores that can somehow give birth to same type of beasts through rituals, but these cores are only found in legendary-class beasts.”

"Like dragons?"

Robert nodded. "It's for them not to go extinct."

A few minutes later, they reached the part of the forest where some trees had already been chopped down. They started harvesting woods, cutting and chopping, then tied them up using the ropes they’d brought.

When they returned to their hideout, they encountered Alice walking out of the main door. She was dressed in a white cloak with her long hair tied in a ponytail.

"I won't be here for lunch," Alice informed Robert before walking past them.

"Where's she going?" Arth asked in a hushed voice.

"Capital, I guess."

"For a mission?"

Robert shrugged. “Probably.”

They entered the door, headed to the kitchen, and placed the woods on the side.

A minute after, Janshai came in to the kitchen, carrying a dead boar. He dropped the heavy meat against the wooden counter, not even taking a glance at the two.

"Thanks, man!" Robert said while putting on his apron. Janshai did not seem to care to reply, so he just walked out of the kitchen.

"Is he always like that?" Arth asked.

Robert nodded. "That's his normal attitude."

"So he's assigned for the food supply?"

"Hunting and fishing mostly..." Robert replied, picking up the knife, then he started chopping the vegetables.

"How about Luna … and Alice?"

"Alice does the cleaning, the laundry and all. Luna scouts and watches the hideout if some intruders enters the forest.”

***

In the afternoon, Arth was chopping the logs outside when Lucas suddenly called to summon the team.

Arth rushed towards the meeting room, then realized that all of them had already been there except for Alice. Lucas was sitting on the chair at the end of the room while the members stood in front, listening. Arth went beside Robert and tried to catch up to what was being discussed.

"We received news from a villager in Whiteground Village … the bandits have been repeatedly attacking, stealing their cargo delivery supplies for weeks. Those filthy thieves have the village surrounded with their growing numbers," Lucas continued. "This is a matter we cannot let go. Luna will head to the village and see the situation."

The tall, green-eyed woman nodded in response. "What if the bandits will attack again, boss?"

"That will no longer happen, because you will raid their hideout,” Lucas replied. “The messenger had given me the details and location. It's not that far from Whiteground village. However, I’m certain that their leader will be there … so you can't go alone."

"Let Arth come with her, then!" Robert placed his arms around Arth's shoulder. "Let him take this as his first mission."