I was coughing when I stood up after being blasted away further from the explosion. "Sound out!" I called out to my team members.

"Melanie, copy!"

"Joran, you guys good over there?"

"Captain, it looks like a direct hit."

"Victor here, just a few scratches."

Relieved, I congratulated them. "Nice teamwork but does anyone have visual on the magic beast?"

Nobody can see it amidst the thick smoke though, but there was a bright light in the center of the smoke.

"Victor! Use direction sensing to feel if its still alive!" I called out to him since I was already tired from the trek and the fight just now. Truly my one flaw as desk-job worker.

"Got it!" He replied and I assumed he would be channeling it now.

I sank down to the ground on my knees, catching up my breath and steadying my breathing rhythm.

"I feel it there but it doesn't look like it's moving anymore!" I heard Victor call out.

Though I was fatigued, that doesn't mean I can't think strategize anymore, "Melanie!" I turned towards her direction, "Try finding it!"

Even if I didn't hear her vocal reply, I heard her signature bullet combustion fire off in the distance.

Mentally counting the periodic sound off at around five, and that there was no response, I called out again, "I think it's down!" I stood up unsteadily, "Cameron can you check? I think you're the one that isn't spent yet from the fight."

All I got was "Roger!" and I went back to focusing on Direction Sensing to get a feel of my surroundings. I felt a figure cautiously approaching, while the rest were holding their positions. Time felt like it was crawling on milliseconds as I stretched what was left of my strength to Direction Sensing and waiting for Cameron's checks.

"It's on its death's door!" I heard someone call out.

"Finish it!" I yelled back.

I detected a burst of light from the center before it was quickly extinguished. Trusting that Cameron had finished the monster off, I made my approach to the center.

The smoke was slowly lifting up and visibility gradually returned. Cameron was crouching behind the magic beast. I called out to him,

"Don't tell me we're also eating that monster." He snorted,

"Not even I would voluntary eat one, but we need to extract the magic core that crystalized inside magic beasts as both evidence of the kill and to prevent it gathering much more mana in the area." I sighed, that was one topic that just glossed over in the academy.

Not long after, Victor waltzed in, and in a few seconds after him Melanie and Joran joined us.

"There was a civilian group earlier right?" I asked Victor,

"Yeah, yeah. They were a pretty big group of six or seven I think."

"Then can you go check on them? Hopefully they aren't that badly injured so we can all help each other out to get out of this forest." He saluted and dashed back towards where the magic bear came from.

I sank down and laid flat looking up. Heaving tired breaths in and out.

"That was too much for my first hunt." I jokingly exclaimed.

Joran cracked a grin, "Nobody would actually just casually fight with a magic beast Captain." He went up to the corpse and examined its tough hide, "One would casually escape as quickly as possible and inform the nearest garrison. It's not something an average person will consider to just fight." He then helped out by harvesting whatever part of the magic beast that could be used for profit.

Melanie still had her artifact charged with mana, since most of the team was busy, though I admit I don't think I'm busy right now, she took it upon herself to remain on high alert and be our eyes while we wait for Victor to return.

The clear blue sky was partly visible above, considering that we were still deep in the forest, but it was enough for a reprieve for me to catch my breath. I wonder what would my Senior from the academy would say of me if she saw me right now. I bet she'll make fun of my limited stamina and endurance. At least this proved that I didn't really plan to be field deployed.

When Victor finally returned, he was back with around three other people with him.

"They had three injured with them, but the wounds weren't that bad. They still decided they should rest back at the trail while the others would follow me back here." He pointed to the three people behind him.

One was a grizzled middle-aged man with eyes like a hawk. He had light clothes on him but a quiver was peaking from his back. The other two though looked drastically younger than him and wore visible light armor on their clothes and had their scabbards in display.

"Thank ye for getting that magic bear from us." The middle-aged man said, "I'm one of the hunters in my village 'round here. I was guiding their party through the forest for a quest they were doing." He pointed at them with this thumb.

There where two of them and the brown-haired man walked up first, "Thank you for saving our party." He bowed, "My name is Gran, and we're a D-Rank adventuring party here on a routine survey quest for any anomalies and we unfortunately encountered the magic bear." He glanced at the corpse, now stripped with some of its valuables. "It's not much but we'll gladly compensate you with the quest reward."

The other man beside him had black-hair spoke up, "I'm Allen, the party's scout." He made a full ninety-degree bow, "It's because of my inexperience that I failed notice the magic beast. I'm truly grateful for your presence here." He voice was shaky as he maintained his bow.

"Tch." The hunter clicked his tongue, "No sense to apologize now laddie, and I'm a failure of a hunter for missing that magic bear." He said a bit dejected.

Cameron glanced at me for a response but I just shook my head.

"In that case then can you help us haul out our wild boar we caught until we reach out campsite outside of the forest?" He looked towards the corpse of the magic beast, "Of course our compensation for your assistance would be to allow you to harvest what we left here on this magic beast since adventurers are more knowledgeable on which parts are useful correct?"

Gran stood there astonished, "Of course! We'll gladly help." He nudged Allen since he was still bowing, "Go get Boris and Teri!" Allen glanced hesitantly between Gran and Cameron, prompting Gran to shout next to him, "Just get them already! We can't waste any more of their time!" Allen nodded furiously before turning around and dashing off.

Allen turned to face us, "Sorry about that, he's kind of blaming all on himself."

Cameron shook his head, "It's good that he knows his flaws, but self-reflection comes once everyone is in a safe position. Since you're still inside the forest, it's better to prioritize leaving and getting to safety." He held out his hand before Gran could apologize again. "Come here and examine the corpse now."

Gran shook his head, "I'm not the best harvester in our party. That's what I asked Allen to call for them." Cameron nodded, "Very well, then follow me and help with the wild boar." He nodded and they both backtracked to where they dropped the boar during the start of the fight.

From their footsteps, I can hear them going back to where we came from. I think they didn't notice me laying down on the ground huh? Guess I don't look the part of a superior officer. I sighed dejectedly.

Joran, who had now his pockets bulging walked up to me. "What Captain? Sad that those adventurers didn't notice you?" He grinned.

I sat up and saw that not only was his pockets bulging, but there was other parts of the magic bear strapped to his thighs and shoulders that obviously wouldn't fit in any pocket. "That's quite a haul you got there."

He chuckled, "It's not just for me Captain." Raising his index finger at me, "This goes to the personal funds of the squad, which is separate from the budget we would get on assigned with." I turned to confirm it with Melanie, who nodded,

"Joran is correct. Any amount that would remain from the allotted budget would be returned and our salary would be adjusted accordingly. Any subjugations during the missions such as this is pocket change one would say."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The hunter came closer as he saw they were talking to me. "My apologies for not seeing you missy," He bowed his head. I waved him off.

"It's alright, I'm not as athletic as the others so I was catching my breath."

He bobbled his head up and down, "I see. Well I'll thank you too I suppose."

Joran smirked "She's our commanding officer. Captain Viola Tessanya from the Imperial Bureau!" he said with a flourish to the side.

The hunter paled, "M-m-my apologies!" He knelt with his head bowed as well, "I didn't realize you were an Imperial Bureau Officer. Please forgive me for indiscretion."

I shook my head, "No need to stand on ceremonies mister?"

"Graham, milady." That made my skin crawl for a moment.

"Do not call me as such." I gave it with a low tone.

Sensing the change in my demeanor he trembly slightly, "But-"

I cut off him. "Refer to me by Captain or Secretary. Never a lady." He wanted to protest more but I glared at him fiercely. Thankfully he conceded.

Turning my glare onto Joran, he froze up too. "H-h-hey Captain?! W-w-what's with that look no your face?" He said falteringly,

"I may be laid-back but that doesn't mean I can't fight back. You should know already back at the duel." He nodded vigorously,

"Never again Captain!" I nodded at his quick decision.

After that short little scuffle, Cameron and Gran returned, with Gran carrying the pole from behind.

"Is everybody ready to head out Captain?"

I shook my head, "The adventurers haven't returned yet." But when I said that we could hear multiple footsteps. "Ah well, it looks like they're here." I stood up to properly introduce myself this time since Gran looked puzzled when Cameron addressed me.

There were three people, all who looked like in the same age group that approached. In the lead was Allen, followed by a taller bulkier man with thin blonde hair and the other was a young woman who looked as tall as Rona.

"Sorry we're late!" Allen said. "I brough them with me." The taller man nodded,

"I'm Boris and I'm the party's tank." He brought up a battered shield, "But with the ambush earlier I'm more on just muscles for the mean time." Now that I gave some time to look at him, he had scratches and bruises visible on his clothes.

"And I'm Teri." The short black-haired girl with a bun. "I'm the party's other vanguard and I use a shortsword." She then turned her attention to the magic beast. "So you really did kill it." She murmured.

I nodded, "Of course." I walked up to get closer to them. "Otherwise it would lead to trouble further down the line." I straightened my back. "My name is Viola Tessanya, Captain of this unit." With my introduction with a military rank they also stood up straight. "As you've heard from your party member Allen, we would like your help to both get out of this forest and bring the wild boar we caught back to our camp at the entrance of the forest." I turned my profile to the side and pointed to the beast, "In exchange, we'll allow you to harvest whatever parts we left from the bear."

Teri's eyes sparkled, "Really?!" She leaned in but was back by Boris.

"Yes, but of course you can't take too much time. We can't stay inside the forest once its dark."

"Then allow us to begin." She said as she bowed her head." I gave them the go ahead and Teri dashed to the corpse and began examining it from all angles. She would mutter words like "I see." or "So they took it huh.", among other things while Boris was there to lend her a hand.

For the meantime I made my way to a tree close by and leaned on it. The atmosphere felt awkward after that exchange and was the reason I chose to find a corner to pass the time. Instead of looking around and observing everyone, I turned my attention to the much bigger picture at hand. We might be exposing these innocent folks to the assassin.

"We're done!" accompanied by an enthusiastic voice. I stood away from the tree I was leaning on and approach the source of the voice.

"Excellent, now let's be on our way."

The group, now doubled in size, made our way towards to where the rest of their party were resting and eventually we'll lead head back out to the entrance where we initially left Ian and Rona.

It took us around fifteen minutes to reach the trail. There were two other people sitting down, facing our direction. One was a longhaired brunette with a braid on one side, while the the other was a black-haired young man with a bandage on his shoulders. They were both about to stand up to greet us but I raised my hand to stop them.

"No need for formalities." I glanced at the young man's injured shoulder, "Especially if one's injured. Let's cut it short. I'm Viola Tessanya." The two remaining adventurers nodded,

"I'm Alexa. An archer." She brought up her bow, "Or was an archer." The bow she showed was, to put it bluntly, broken.

"Sorry about this but I'm Danus. I was party's tank so I got pretty banged up bad." I smiled at him.

"Then you did your duty as the party's shield. You should be proud." Looks like the guy was able to decide to still do his role despite the overwhelming difference against the magic beast. I extended my hand to him, "Come on, let's go out of this forest." He accepted my hand and stood up.

The group, now totaling of twelve, with about three injured. "That reminds me. What are your group's injuries?"

Allen, who was from behind me answered, "Danus got his shoulder hit pretty bad. Boris got some bruises, and Teri's got Alexa's got a few broken fingers."

Alarmed, I turned to look at Alexa, who was standing next to me. "How many did you lose?!"

She casually brought up her right hand, "Just around two. I thought it was already obvious since I won't be able to draw my arrows for a while." The realization only dawned on me after she explained it. She might not be able to find any regular adventuring work and would have to rely on her party members or if they aren't that close, she might have to find creative ways to make a living.

"Won't that make things difficult for you?"

She frowned, "It will, but I'll manage. After all, there isn't much average commoners like us can do."

I nodded and asked Gran, "What about you party leader." I glanced at him, "Do you think your party could support her until she recovers?"

He hesitated before answering, "Ideally we could, but it might be pretty tight since even though you would pay us for assisting you, we still need to pay for new equipment and to treat the team's injuries." Well, at least it was a realistic answer.

"So if given the choice, would you rather continue adventuring or find a stable job?"

Gran appeared to be mulling it over so I broached the same question to Alexa.

"Well, who wouldn't prefer a safe and stable job?" She said wistfully as she looked upwards, "But the thrill of adventuring is also a part of my decision." Great, sometime who romanticizes uncertainty but I guess my senior was also like that back at the academy.

I groaned, "Fine then." If only I could offer then some actual jobs but alas I don't really know any businesses that close nor am I still in close contact with many of my other noble classmates. The only thing that I can help them further would be to dip into my own savings to pay them later on.

It took us until the horizon crested into an orange hue that we saw the familiar wagons at the edge of the forest. "We've finally made it." I never knew who said that almost every had a sigh of relief. Our pace increased dramatically to reach the finish line.

Rona greeted us, "It looks like it went a bit more complicated than what we planned."

I nodded, "I'll brief later." I turned to Joran, "Can you start prepping dinner? And if you can take into account all of us here." All the others who joined us gasped,

"But we can't inconvenience you too much!" Allen shouted.

Shaking my head, I told them, "Not to worry. It's just tonight. Tomorrow we part ways and I hope to meet you again in the future."

The dinner that night was a merry one, especially since the rampaging magic beast could've dealt much more damage to the surrounding villages if we weren't hunting around these woods at this time. Though I think Cameron and Joran would be reprimanding me tomorrow for using a lot of more provisions that we initially planned to stretched out for days.

Those were my thoughts as I lay down and covered myself with a thin blanket inside the wagon. Rona and I were the only ones who usually use this wagon to sleep in but since there were two other female adventures, we unloaded some of the inventory inside to make room for all four of us. Gran and Allen volunteered for the first night shift, alongside Ian they would be the ones to stay up late and watch our backs.

I would be in the second rotation along with Rona and Teri. Then we would wake up Victor, Cameron, and Milio, the hunter for the last watch. At the blink of an eye, I was being shook gently.

"Shift change Captain." the voice said. I stirred a bit before blinking my eyes open. It was still dark and there was only a faint illumination coming from one side, "Come on Rona, you too." Rona mumbled a bit but was able to bring herself to sit up and groggily stand up. I guess I have to do the same too then.

I nodded at Ian, "Good job." He passed the torch to me and I looked back towards the wagon, "Hey Teri, it's time for our night watch." She immediately sat up which startled me that I almost dropped the torch.

"Alright then Ms Tessanya." She gathered up her gear and jumped out of the wagon with us. Once I got all three of us ready we head towards the center of the camp which had a bonfire still going at this time.

"Time to retire you guys!" Teri chirped at them while waving. Gran and Allen broke a smile and stood up.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow." They both bid us farewell and went to find a spot to sleep on, since the other wagon was being used to host the injured male ones while the rest were sleeping outside it.

We spent the time idly, chatting some gossips and stories about our hometowns, there were also some about our particular past job experiences. Teri was surprised when I told her I worked at the Research and Development Bureau. She thought I was a genius but I just told her I just work as the secretary there and handled all the paperwork for documentation.

Eventually the moon was high up in the sky, shining so brilliantly. While I was focused on it, I heard the crunch of branches and made a stance. My sudden change prompted Rona and Teri to follow.

"What's wrong." Teri asked nervously.

I didn't answer right away, instead focusing on Direction Sensing to get a sense of the disturbance. it was a near the female wagon, and it felt like it was alone. I relayed it to them as such. "Get ready for anything. Rona, be prepared to wake the others up in an instant."

We cautiously approached it, with Teri slightly behind me with her shortsword drawn. When we got closer, we could see a figure in the shadows, leaning onto the trees heavily.

"Who are you." I said in a low voice but it looked like it didn't respond. I felt it stop for a moment before it continued forward.

"Last warning. Identity yourself." I readied my artifact and aimed it at the shadow. When the moonlight shined on it though, I stopped.

"Commander Blue!"