Silence erupted within the headmaster's office. Levina's brows furrowed as she slightly tilted her head.
"What change? May I know?" she questioned. Her facial expression shows how confused she is.
Headmaster William sighed. He rummaged through the cabinet of his desk, pulling a folder. "I told you last night that your mission would be a C-rank one right? Unfortunately, I needed to put you into a B-rank one and this is a very important one."
"Why? What happened?"
"I assigned the C-rank mission to Hestia and Thomas, so I needed you for this even though I was still a bit reluctant. The mission just happened today and you need to save the children from Sunrise Orphanage. Unfortunately, we don't have sufficient data about the syndicate that kidnapped them. However, I guess that it has something to do with Black Void, knowing that they had kidnapping issues before, but we still don't know. It could be another syndicate," Headmaster William explained, opening the folder and showing Levina the children from the orphanage who were kidnapped.
Levina, upon hearing the possible perpetrator of the crime, got easily agitated. The organization that was the reason their clan disappeared is the same reason why the children from the orphanage were kidnapped.
"They're starting again," she muttered, clenching her fist.
"The client said there's a woman who's about your age who was kidnapped along with the children." He rummaged through the files. "This is the woman she was talking about."
Levina stared at the brunette-haired woman in the picture. She's the only teenage girl who was standing along with the children and an old woman. The granny was probably the client and the owner of the orphanage.
"Honestly, I don't want to put you into this mission, knowing the danger that you might encounter. However, as of now, we don't have any C-rank missions that are suitable for S-rank students. I know that you need an alternative mission to succeed to remain in your rank, so I'll put Professor Xavier Evans along with you in this mission," Headmaster William explained, making Levina shift her gaze to him.
Levina nodded. "I understand."
B-rank missions and up to S-rank ones are only done by graduated sorcerers, which is why she understood that she needed an expert for this mission. Meanwhile, C-rank missions down to E-rank ones are done by students depending on their ranks. S-rank students do C-ranks, A-rank students do D-ranks, B-rank students do E-ranks, and C-rank to E-rank students are not yet obligated to do any missions. They needed to climb up to their rank first to do any mission.
"Also, I'll be sending some back-up if it's needed, so just notify."
"May I know where we'll save them?" Levina ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I got that they were kidnapped. But where are they now? What are the possible places they'd be?"
Headmaster William nodded. "I understand your confusion. Based on the security of our town, there haven't been any traces of other sorcerers who left our town for—"
"Fuck that!" She slammed the desk and rose. "We couldn't trust the town's security if, in the first place, they couldn't track the people who barge into our town!"
"Calm down, Levi! I understand your frustration. I was mad, too, when I found out that there's a syndicate that managed to enter our town... and kidnapped those children. But worry not, after that report, the security in our town tightened and all of the gates are surrounded by them. They had already cast a detection magic to detect any sorcerers who would exit and enter. It's to know if they're registered citizens from our town."
Levina snorted. "If this accident didn't happen, they wouldn't tighten the security in the first place."
"So to answer your question, according to the client, the children were kidnapped when the bus they were using was ambushed on the road connecting the western and central parts of our town. Since our town is the largest one in our country and it only happened earlier this morning, there's a possibility that they're still in the western part. The security tightened their defense immediately after we knew that incident to rescue them, so they may still be there. Also, you can now meet with Professor Evans and start the mission today. As soon as possible."
"The western part is too big, we need a lot of backup to save them." She wanted to ask a few questions, but she decided not to. "I'll be taking my leave and I'll discuss further about this mission with Professor Evans." She took the folder from the desk and left the office.
Headmaster William sighed, just like Levina, he was also frustrated with the town's security. How could they let a group of syndicate enter their town successfully? They weren't doing their jobs correctly to ensure the safety of the townspeople.
Levina met with Professor Evans and discussed the mission. The professor told her that the syndicate might be taking a temporary refuge in some abandoned houses in the western part, so they need to check that.
After discussing their mission, they decided to meet at 2 p.m. at the academy's gate. Levina went to her dorm on the third floor and prepared the things she needed for the mission. Since she has some time left before their meet-up, she sat on her study table and researched Sunrise Orphanage on her laptop.
She always heard that name and she knew that the orphanage was a great help to their town, knowing that they're the ones who help orphans and provide them with sufficient support and care.
Levina scrolled through the official website of the Sunrise Orphanage, seeing the pictures of the children and the facilities.
"They have complete facilities, but why do they have inadequate security to protect the children?" she whispered, clicking through every information she needed.
She saw a picture from the website that made her eyes widen. She clicked the photo and stared at it. She saw Hestia in the picture. She was standing with the brunette-haired woman whom Headmaster William had shown her earlier.
"Why is she here?" She looked at the other pictures, but that's the only picture where Hestia is included.
She grabbed her phone and was about to contact her, but she remembered that she was still on her mission.
"Is she from an orphanage? But as far as I know, she's from a wealthy and powerful family." She exited the official website of the orphanage and browsed Hestia's profile, seeing some of her pictures with her family.
"Is she adopted?"
Levina stopped stalking Hestia when she realized she had been prying into her private life. She turned off her laptop and proceeded to prepare the clothes she would wear and her katana.
—
Levina arrived at the main gate of Mysthic Academy, seeing Professor Evans waiting for her. The man was clad in a navy blue long-sleeved shirt with a dark brown fitted waistcoat with gold buttons and a black vest underneath the waistcoat. It was paired with slim black trousers and knee-high leather boots. A bowgun was attached behind his back, the handle protruding from above.
"I'm sorry for making you wait for too long, Professor." Levina bowed.
"No, I just arrived." Professor Evans chuckled, waving his hands dismissively.
Levina nodded and followed him to proceed with their mission. She was clad in a leather tactical combat suit with a high-collar zip-up jacket mixed in black, dark gray, and blue colors, her sleeves reaching her wrists, and slim-fit black pants with knee panel protection and dark boots. Her katana is also attached behind her, the handle protruding from her right shoulder, ready to grab it if a fight suddenly breaks out.
The two didn't use any public transportation. Instead, they used their speed and the tree branches to get into the western part. This way the opponents wouldn't predict that they're coming.
"We need to search any abandoned houses to check if the syndicate is using any of those as their hiding place," Professor Evans prompted, jumping through the branches.
Levina nodded, who was matching his speed beside him. "I understand."
"This is the first time that I'll do a mission with you, Levina. I hope we can succeed with this." He smiled. Levina just darted a glance at him and didn't say anything in return.
As soon as they entered the western part of their town, the atmosphere changed. The two felt it. It's as if something heavy fell on their shoulders.
The two stopped and stood on the branches. Levina roamed her eyes around, checking for any opponent. The forest is eerily quiet. Even the sounds of insects aren't present at the moment.
"Someone's watching us," Professor Evans prompted, notifying his student.
Levina nodded. She felt it too. But it's not just one. She felt a few eyes staring at them from a distance. However, she couldn't easily determine their specific locations.
A battalion of weapons started to pour into their position from above, making them jump out of the branches and create some distance from each other.
While in midair, Levina felt a massive presence behind her.
"Hunting time!"
***