Chapter 43: Karthen[1]

"Your task is to wipe them all out."

The professor’s cold voice echoed through the area.

Everyone reacted differently to his words. There were those who opposed it, like that blonde girl... Talia.

She spoke, her voice clearly trembling."Aren’t we supposed to just put them in prison? ... Killing them... that’s too much."Well, her reaction was understandable. After all, she had probably only recently turned seventeen, having grown up under her parents’ care.

The professor looked at her calmly."What benefit is there in putting a group of scum into prison? That would merely be a waste of labor and resources. The Empire has already sentenced them to death."

His eyes swept over us as he continued."You may choose to refuse the mission, but that will affect your evaluation at the end of the semester."

Then there was the second type of reaction—those who showed neither acceptance nor refusal, remaining silent. Among them were Elliot, Leona, Izel, even the princess, and several others.

But there were also those who seemed pleased with the mission, like Garon. He smiled like a devil and looked at Talia, who instinctively shrank back under his gaze."If you’re scared, you can stay in your warm bed like a coward."

Beside me, I heard Kyle mutter,"It’s been a while since I last went hunting... This will be a good chance to sharpen my skills."

There were also those who remained indifferent, like me, and Ivan, who had his hands in his pockets and seemed to be waiting impatiently for the professor to finish speaking.

And he did.

"Alright, that’s all from me. You may leave, stay and plan together, or do whatever you want. You’re excused from classes for today."

With those words, he turned around and left, leaving us standing there, staring at one another.

In the next moment, Ellen stepped forward and stood before the group like an iron princess."Since this mission is dangerous and the probability of death is high... I propose that we all cooperate to complete it."

Honestly, it was a smart decision. Choosing to work alone on such a mission would be insane... but not everyone was as smart as the princess.

Garon laughed."Sorry, Your Highness, but I disagree with your proposal, so I’ll be leaving. Good luck trying to make them cooperate."With those words, he left, waving his hand.

Then another person raised his hand—Kyle."I also prefer to work alone."After those simple words, he began walking away from the group.

That left twelve people, including me... or maybe eleven—who knows when Ivan slipped away.

I felt Ellen’s gaze land on me."And you, Caius? What will you do?"

I smiled, my hands in my pockets."The smartest choice is to work as a group."Signs of satisfaction appeared on Ellen’s face.

"But in the end, I’m not smart."

With those words, I turned around and started walking away.

"Go on... and please make sure you never come back."I heard a sarcastic remark from a certain girl behind me.

Without turning around, I waved at Izel."Sorry, but I will come back."

I planned to go train, since I had the entire day free, but a message arrived on my phone that immediately changed my plans.

[Come to my office now.]

I sighed and changed my direction toward the administration building.

I entered the office that had become familiar over the past few days.

"I’m here. What do I have to do today? Dust cleaning? Organizing documents? Writing reports?"I asked while looking at Alicia, who blinked calmly at me.

She looked at me strangely before speaking."I didn’t call you here to work today."

I was slightly confused."Then why?"

She pointed to something placed on the front of the desk."To give you this."

I stepped closer and picked up what she was pointing at. It was a card... a bank card.

"This is your salary for this month, paid in advance."She answered the question forming in my mind.

Salary?

I didn’t know I was going to receive a salary.

For a moment, I was so moved that I felt tears forming at the corners of my eyes."So you weren’t using me as a slave after all..." I muttered.

But I realized my voice had been audible.

I looked away from the card and at Alicia, who raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly."What did you just say?"

I smiled awkwardly as I slipped the card into my pocket."Please pretend you didn’t hear anything."

She sighed."Fine. You can go prepare for your mission."

Good thing she didn’t get angry... otherwise she might have turned me into dust on the spot.

"Thank you."I thanked her and left the office.

It was 5:40 a.m. as I walked toward the Axis gate, leaving those towering walls for the first time in twenty days.

In front of the gate, several people had already gathered, each wearing different clothes this time.

I walked up to them and waved."Good morning."

The first to respond was Elliot, smiling."Good morning."Well, after spending several days tearing each other apart, we’d started to grow closer in some way.

It didn’t matter.

I looked at the group."Looks like everyone’s here already."

Elliot nodded."Yeah. You’re the last one."

Ellen looked at all of us."Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s go board the train."

Somehow, she had positioned herself as the leader of the group... I didn’t really care, as it didn’t hinder me.

I rested my cheek on my hand as I watched the scenery constantly changing outside the train window.

Then, slowly, the train began to slow down until it came to a complete stop.

[We have arrived at the next station: Karthen. All passengers, please disembark.]

I stood up from my seat, as did the people around me.

I exited the train with the crowd, and once outside, regrouped with the others. It’s worth noting that out of the fourteen students in our class, only twelve had come—two had refused the mission.

I looked at the princess, whose eyes were scanning the crowd in search of someone."So, where’s the officer who’s supposed to receive us?" I asked.

She replied without looking at me."How should I know?"

Aren’t you the leader here?

The problem was that we were wearing clothes that concealed our features, making it difficult for the officer to recognize us from afar.

I also doubted he’d be wearing a security uniform, given that this mission was somewhat secretive.

My thoughts were interrupted when someone approached us.

Wearing a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat, he walked toward us calmly, then stopped and removed his hat, revealing a face that looked to be in its fifties, with a large scar on his cheek.

He placed the hat against his chest and bowed slightly."Welcome to Karthen, students of the Axis."

"My name is Duan, the officer in charge of receiving you."