Chapter 34: The Conversation Before the Mission

Around 3 p.m. on the second day at the Storm Isles, Leon trudged step by step through the dust storm towards the designated coordinates.

After completing the morning's daily tasks, Leon had developed an understanding of the external sandstorm. Although the sand outside Aurelia Pinehold made it impossible to see one’s hand in front of them, and the wind speed remained constant year-round, most of the sand was high in the sky. For someone around 1.8 meters tall, as long as they lowered their head, visibility could still reach about five meters.

Moreover, keeping a low center of gravity could prevent one from being blown away by the sudden gusts of wind, or at least from being blown too far.

Though this slowed his pace a bit, once he got used to it, it didn’t waste much time. And by lowering his body, he could notice many things he usually overlooked, which sped up his mission completion.

By about 2 p.m. today, Leon had completed 19 daily tasks. The only remaining task was to perform a summoning ritual at a specified location.

Actually, last night, Leon had reviewed the entire situation and figured that he and Victor Liu had been called in precisely for this task.

It was just that Lynn and Lady Ember had kept the main mission a secret, buried deep within their hearts. Even peripheral members like Victor Liu probably didn’t know much, let alone Leon.

All he could do now was handle his own tasks and see if he could gain any advantage from this map.

As for the rest, Leon didn’t think too much about it. After all, Lady Ember had already given him what she promised. Even if he died in this map, he wouldn’t lose out.

Thinking about this, Leon continued walking forward. Since he could only see five or six steps ahead, he repositioned himself every so often to check the coordinates.

At about 3:10 p.m., Leon arrived at the designated location, which was behind a wall that hadn’t been destroyed by the sandstorm yet. However, someone was already standing there.

Seeing the person, Leon was taken aback. He recognized him as Lynn's junior, a young man named Quinn Ashford

Quinn Ashford was from the same department as Lynn, specializing in mechanical and magical combat. Actually, this field was a sub-branch of the metallic attribute, and there weren’t many people in it. Compared to the dark attribute, it was even more obscure. Over the years, only Lynn and Quinn Ashford had emerged as dual-wielding magicians and warriors. So even though their paths were different, Lynn took good care of Quinn Ashford.

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It could be said that in this team, besides Lady Ember and Lynn, only Quinn Ashford had some influence.

Leon, however, didn’t understand why Quinn Ashford was here, as this was supposed to be his mission location.

Glancing at the time, Leon saw that there were still about twenty minutes left before the sandstorm would pause. He smiled and greeted Quinn Ashford, then stepped aside.

From Leon’s actions, Quinn Ashford could tell that Leon was trying to give him space, perhaps to complete a mission or handle some personal matter.

But Quinn Ashford wasn’t here for a mission; he was here for Leon. Before Leon could step too far away, Quinn Ashford spoke up, “Leon, there’s no need to avoid me. I’m here for you.”

“For me?” Leon looked at Quinn Ashford with some confusion.

Quinn Ashford laughed and casually took out something resembling a music box from his pocket, winding it up and placing it on the ground.

As pleasant sounds emerged, the wind and sand within a three-meter radius of the music box seemed to completely vanish.

Quinn Ashford sat down and pulled out a lunchbox from his pocket, setting it in front of him. The lunchbox had a mechanical design, with gears forming the box and a handle made of a pipe.

Opening it revealed some machine oil and food-shaped metal pieces or small gears.

“Sorry about this. A while back, I converted my stomach into an engine room. For the next three months, I can only eat these.”

Quinn Ashford spoke as he popped a small gear into his mouth, his manner suggesting he was eating a biscuit.

Leon was at a loss for words at this. Quinn Ashford, if you want to eat, go ahead. No need to show off like that. This is clearly looking down on someone like me, who has no powerful backing, Leon thought.

But Quinn Ashford paid no mind. He took a sip of machine oil before speaking slowly, “Leon, I came to see you because of your next mission. Your mission requires you to perform a summoning ritual here, right?”

“That’s correct,” Leon confirmed with a nod. “There are about twenty minutes left. I’ll start once the sandstorm stops.”

“And the spirit you summon, will it be under your control?”

Leon didn’t know why Quinn Ashford was asking this but still answered confidently, “More or less. However, with my current abilities, the summoned spirit can only be used within the Storm Isles map. And it won’t necessarily display all of its former combat prowess.”

“As long as it’s under control, that’s fine. If you can control it, you can transfer control. Can you transfer control of the spirit to me once you summon it?” Quinn Ashford asked.

Leon was surprised by this request. He didn’t know what Quinn Ashford was up to, but he did know one thing: Quinn Ashford was very familiar with Lady Ember’s objective this time and had his own ambitions.

Faced with this situation, Leon was silent for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head, “This is my mission. I don’t know what the next step will require, but the spirit I summon will definitely still need to be under my control. Unless the mission later requires me to hand it over.”

Hearing this, Quinn Ashford smiled, a look in his eyes suggesting he had expected this response.

Then, he spoke slowly and firmly, “Aren’t you worried that you won’t be able to control the spirit you summon?”

“What does it matter?” Leon said dismissively. “My mission today is just to perform the summoning ritual. Whether I can summon something is another story. If the spirit isn’t under my control, what difference does it make?”

Quinn Ashford clapped his hands and said, “Isn’t that contradictory? On one hand, you won’t transfer control to me, but on the other, you don’t care if you can control the spirit. So what exactly do you want to do?”

“Complete the mission,” Leon replied, not wanting to continue the conversation with Quinn Ashford. “I’m here because I was paid for this. I do as much as I’m paid for and work for whoever pays me. I may have only been at school for less than four years, but my reputation is solid. No one can say I take money and don’t work.”

After speaking, Leon checked the time and looked up at the sky. He noticed that the sand in the air seemed to have lessened. He could now see a massive object tumbling through the sandstorm above, seemingly heading toward them, and it would land the moment the sandstorm stopped.