Chapter 33: Daily Tasks

Entering Aurelia Pinehold, Leon looked around at the situation. The base didn't seem large. Other than the central clearing, less than 500 meters wide, the surroundings were filled with various tents. Some were even makeshift homes made from large oil drums or concrete pipes laid on their sides.

In front of each tent, one or two spears or other weapons were planted. From these weapons, it was clear that the people here weren’t lacking in metal supplies.

Looking up, there was a defensive net woven from golden pine branches, looking like a giant lid covering the entire valley, with only two pathways for passage—one at the front and one at the back.

Occasionally, strong winds blew outside the defensive net, and some dust would seep through its gaps. Although this was much better than the blinding sandstorms outside, it still left people looking dusty and disheveled.

Thus, most people in this base wrapped themselves tightly in burlap, covering every part of their body. Even during conversations or meals, they wouldn’t expose their skin.

As Leon and the group moved to the center of the base, Lady Ember took out a fist-sized piece of metal from her bag. The metal looked untreated, but it immediately caught the attention of a few people in the clearing.

One of them, a slow-moving elderly man, walked up to Lady Ember, took the metal, and examined it for a moment before asking, “What’s your relation to Adrian Solis?”

“Ancestor,” Lady Ember replied simply, “Back then, my ancestor made an agreement with you. As long as someone from the Solis family met the conditions of flame fusion, you would take me to retrieve that item.”

“We did agree to that, but your family should’ve told you that the item was lost,” the old man said directly. “It was lost along with our sacred land.”

“I don’t believe you have no plans to restart the sacred land. You must have left many things behind when you fled. I’m not afraid to tell you, this world is almost done for. Coming here is the last chance to reach your sacred land,” Lady Ember said seriously.

The old man fell silent after hearing this, bowing his head in thought for a long time before reluctantly saying, “You’re too late. Even the path to the sacred land has been cut off. We can’t go there anymore.”

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Lady Ember, however, remained confident, “Do you think we haven’t considered that? The people I brought are all capable. As long as you’re willing, we have a chance.”

The old man looked at Lady Ember for a long time before finally saying, “Follow me.”

With that, he turned and headed to the other end of the valley. Without hesitation, Lady Ember followed him. Lynn wanted to follow as well, but she was stopped by a few others.

Everything Lady Ember did was observed by Leon. He whispered to Victor, “Senior, this mission isn’t simple.”

“I knew that long ago. Why do you think Lady Ember offered us so many rewards?” Victor replied nonchalantly, “Let’s just do our job and stop asking questions. We’re getting paid to solve problems. Once our reputation grows, more missions will come our way.”

Leon nodded and stayed silent. However, he noticed that the others who came with them had also split into groups, discussing the situation.

This time, including Leon, there were ten players in total. Lynn had brought a junior, who, like her, had an affinity for both metal mechanics and magic.

Lady Ember brought two juniors, both with dual affinities for fire magic and combat power. Along with Leon and Victor, there were three others with dual affinities: one with wind, one with poison, and one with earth.

These three had a similar relationship with Lady Ember and Lynn as Victor had with the two—acquaintances within the same circle, but not particularly close.

In Sun City Academy's circle of dual-affinity players, those with both combat and magic affinities were relatively common.

When Lady Ember selected people for this mission, she probably considered both their relationship and the requirements of the task.

Before long, Lady Ember returned with the old man from the back of the base. She walked over to Lynn and whispered a few words before clapping her hands and addressing the group of players, “Everyone, gather around. We’ll rest here for today. Tomorrow, the mission will officially begin. We’ll be carrying out daily tasks here for the next ten days. Each person will have assigned tasks. I’ll hand out the task plans individually later.

“I hope everyone can help out and finish the daily tasks on time.”

As she spoke, Lady Ember called one of her juniors aside and whispered something to him.

Leon noticed that Lady Ember handed some items and a piece of paper to her junior.

Soon after, Victor was called aside for a discussion. Judging by his expression, it was clear that Lady Ember had given him quite a few tasks, but none beyond his abilities.

After Victor, Leon was called over. When Lady Ember spoke to him privately, her first sentence left Leon speechless.

“Bringing you along wasn’t by choice. I needed two players with an affinity for dark magic, but among those who practice both magic and combat, there’s only you and Victor. I had no other options but to trust in your abilities. I hope you can prove yourself, at the very least, don’t let Victor down.”

After speaking, Lady Ember handed a piece of paper to Leon and said seriously, “Here are twenty daily tasks you need to complete each day. After finishing them, you’re free to move around. Of course, if you have time, you can take on some missions at the base. If you build up enough rapport, you might find some good things for sale.”

Lady Ember then waved over another player and stopped paying attention to Leon.

Leon took the task list and moved to the side to review it. He quickly noticed that most of the tasks were simple but tedious.

They included things like killing a certain number of small creatures, gathering a specific amount of materials, and patrolling along a set route.

A small portion involved the use of dark magic, such as processing certain materials or channeling dark energy in specific areas.

The only surprising task was that each day, during the brief hour when the sandstorm subsided, Leon had to go to a nearby hill and use the Necromancer’s summoning spell continuously on a particular spot until the storm resumed.

Upon seeing this task, Leon immediately understood that this was the real reason he was brought along on this mission.