Jun laced a diamond studded bracelet around his wrist.

“Like this?”

His forearm rotated back and forth while the girls ogled the jewelry.

“I knew it! Doesn’t it look perfect on her?”

Shireen passionately inspected Jun’s wrist, who remained stock still like a mannequin.

“Don’t mind me… wouldn’t it look better on Lulu?”

Jun deftly unbound the bracelet, allowing it to find a new home attached to Lulu.

“Oh my.”

Lulu’s fluttered her eyelids in mock embarrassment while the precious gems reflected in her pupils. She was sold.

It turned out, the group’s excitement for the crafting district was purely for jewelry. Like mosquitos drawn to a myriad of lights, the maidens couldn’t help but lose themselves in the various wares for sale.

“I hope the next shop has something for me!”

“Me too!”

Tiana and Shireen paced ahead, careening toward the next shop.

“Wait.”

Jun called out to them, causing the group to pause in their tracks.

“Did the sky just darken?”

Lulu and the others glanced around, before looking toward the burning orb that hung above the city.

“Oh, crap! We have to hurry to the defense district!”

Reminded of their purpose, the girls frantically sprinted toward the other end of the city.

“But why is the sky going dark?”

Jun matched their pace, trailing slightly behind.

“The volcano’s core will change colors for their day and night cycles. It’s gradual, but the core will eventually burn a dark shade of purple. I heard it’s a most beautiful sight!”

Lulu yelled over her shoulder as she ran.

So it’s like that.

Jun glanced at the darkening orb. He could see it’s reddish orange tint fading away like a fire being injected with a murky coolant.

The orange core is their daytime, while the purple core is their nighttime.

Racing through the pathways, they finally arrived before a massive keep. Both the building and the walls that surrounded it were comprised of massive, soot-black stone blocks. Searing orange sigils were etched into the stone, each of them interconnected as if it were giving the construction a pulse.

The double-doored gate was wide open with volcanic imps hastily entering and exiting. The tension of battle was ripe within the air.

Interesting, they’re using a defense formation to fortify the keep walls, which also allows the building the retain its…unique design.

His eyes roamed to the pair of spiraling towers that jutted out from the backside like two bent and gnarled branches. Their existence gave the entire keep an unbalanced appearance, despite the sharp attention to detail elsewhere.

Pointed arches and stained-glass windows decorated the keep, meticulous designs that spoke of the builder’s skill and achievement. Jun became increasingly impressed as he passed through an expansive passageway, which gave the illusion of openness.

“We’re almost at the council room.”

Lulu spoke as the group slowed down to a brisk walk.

“Lulu, how is that you know so much about the mission?”

Jun was able to converse more freely now that the rush of panic and urgency had passed.

“This is a well-known mission that occurs weekly. Every week, there’s a bid to secure the mission assignment, and this time Sela was able to secure it for us.”

Lulu explained as they entered a spacious hall. Imps were clustered together in various groups; some practiced spellcasting, while others simply chatted amongst each other.

“Huh? There’s a bid to enter this mission?”

Jun gave her a strange look. Why would anyone bid for a mission?

“Of course, silly, do you know how rare a mission that increases your attributes is? Add in the fact that it only shows up once a week, and you end up with this type of situation where it goes to the highest bidder.”

Lulu chided Jun, who was still in a daze.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I think I’m not understanding something…”

Isn’t the point of missions to get rewarded? Even if it’s a rare mission, why pay?

Tiana jumped into the conversation next.

“Think of it this way, there’s an elixir that exists in the tutorial shop. It’s called the Sapphire Sinew Elixir, and it increases your strength by a grade. So if your strength is F grade, then this elixir will make it E grade. It also only works if you’re below C grade strength.”

“Okay?”

“How much do you think that elixir costs?”

The girls raised their eyebrows, awaiting Jun’s response.

“Um… let’s see. F to E grade, but you could also go from D to C grade perhaps.”

I’m currently C rank with 630 tutorial points, maybe…half my total points?

Jun briefly performed a quick calculation.

“I’m not sure because I’ve never visited the tutorial shop, but maybe…315 points?”

“Pfft!”

“Oh Xin, you’re so silly.”

“Try another zero…”

The girls burst into giggles upon hearing his estimate. Realizing how far off the mark he was, Jun’s cheeks flushed red.

“T-then how much?”

Lulu came to the rescue.

“It costs 2200 tutorial points.”

Jun’s eyes widened at the astronomical amount.

“Only those who make it to A rank have a chance to buy it, but even then, most will choose to spend their points on something else—something more important.”

Lulu gave him a knowing smile.

“Something more important? The soul protection elixir?”

“That’s right!”

Shireen exclaimed as she pushed a weathered door open.

“You guys are here.”

A sultry voice enticed them inward.

“Miss Nema!”

“Shhh, come stand by me.”

Nema ushered them closer, and they took their spot beside her. At the head of the room was an opulent table, its base made of black rock while its countertop was a shimmering pearl slate. Scattered across the top were a plethora of diagrams and battle plans.

Standing behind the table, with her hands rested on her hips, was an elderly woman with a taut face and piercing eyes. A jagged scar etched down from her left cheek to her jaw, giving her an almost menacing appearance.

“Our guests have arrived, just in time. I’m War Elder Lucera. Ladies, glad to have you here with us, you’ll be taking tunnel four. Next, the weakest tunnel will be commanded by Lady Anasha.”

Jun glanced around the room, spying four other groups of women spaced evenly.

So, she’s here too, Lady Anasha.

His eyes lingered on the mysterious imp donned in the same flowing robe from before. Oblivious to her surroundings, or perhaps uncaring, Lady Anasha’s dull eyes remained zoned out on the war table before her.

Lulu raised her hand in an awkward fashion, managing to capture Lucera’s attention.

“Speak, be quick.”

“My group is to take tunnel four, is tunnel four more difficult or easier than the other tunnels?”

Lucera gestured toward the diagram on the table. Five arrows pointed towards a stronghold, all coming from deep within the mountain.

“The longer arrows are further from the main army. Tunnel one is the closest one, and it gets hit the hardest. Residual beasts will trickle into the other tunnels, with the least and weakest ones arriving in the fifth tunnel.”

“According to that, tunnel four is the second weakest?”

Lulu almost seemed annoyed as she asked her questions.

“Yes, is that a problem?”

“It might be. I’m not trying to be rude, but merits are based on achievements. If we’re in the second to weakest one, how are we supposed to prove ourselves?”

Jun gave Lulu a strange look.

Was she always so adamant about these things?

Fortunately, his curiosity was sated shortly after.

“You must be referring to the different grade of hot springs.”

Lucera chuckled; a hint of ridicule flitted across her face. Lulu and the other girls pouted their lips with determination.

“I understand these things quite well, but there are two reasons why we place your team at one of the weaker tunnels. First, not all teams are able to defend their tunnel properly, resulting in an extra burden on our city guard.”

Lucera motioned toward Nema, who gave a dainty smile and waved back.

“Secondly, I never said you couldn’t help defend the other tunnels. After clearing your enemies in the fourth tunnel, feel free to assist the other tunnels under siege. You are correct, merits are based on achievements. I hope you earn what it is that you desire.”

After hearing that the girls could help other tunnels, their former resistance quickly evaporated, replaced by a burning desire to eradicate the upcoming foe.

“Five nights, five waves of enemies. Alright, that’s everything! Get to your positions, the first wave is coming.”

Lucera knocked on the table after giving the command. It was like a spark that ignited the air itself.

“Come on Xin! Let’s get to tunnel four!”

Shireen grabbed at Jun’s hand, pulling him along with the bustling crowd.

Between the sea of bobbing heads and bodies, Jun briefly caught a glimpse of Anasha. Her impassive expression combined with her dark and shapely eyebrows created a picturesque view of a cold beauty.

Curious to her thoughts, Jun focused his attention on Lady Anasha’s soul, but there wasn’t a single fluctuation. It was as if the burning coals of life had long lost their flame.

Huh, I suppose the tutorial can’t create perfect representations of people. How could someone be so devoid of emotion?

From past experiences, Jun had found out that souls would continue to fluctuate even if he couldn’t interpret them correctly. He assumed this was because the person was thinking positive thoughts, which he had never been able to interpret before.

All his life, he had only been subjected to pure negatively until recently. With his Soul Sensing going from F rank to D rank, he could now interpret neutral thoughts as well, which only made Lady Anasha’s lack of fluctuation even more suspicious.

Either the tutorial forgot to give the imp a personality, or she wasn’t expressing a single emotion.

“Past this gate is where you guys will be stationed. You’ll have about 30 minutes of preparation time before the wave comes.”

Nema, who had been leading the group, stood beside a towering portcullis.

“Since I belong to the city guard, I’ll have to leave you guys here. Despite your lack of numbers, I hope to hear great things!”

With a farewell, Nema left the group alone to the task. The metal gate creaked and moaned as its teeth broke free from the floor and rose into the air.

“Okay listen up, here’s the plan.”

The group fearlessly walked through the gate and entered a wide-open tunnel. A small army could fit within the space, but with just five bodies it looked quite empty.

“Xin in the back left, Nelath will take the back right. Pick off any stragglers that the formations don’t catch. Tiana and Shireen will defend the attack formation’s focus point.”

Lulu took out her wand and immediately set to work drawing a grand magic circle on the ground.

Time crept forward and as Jun watched Lulu finished her task. Just as she finished, he could feel subtle tremors below his feet.

“Hmm?”

He glanced at the floor, where he could see dust and rocks shifting back and forth at a constant rhythm. The girls beside him also noticed the strange phenomenon, each of them tensing for battle.

“Woow! Look at that!”

Shireen formed circles around her eyes with her fingers like substitute goggles.

In the distance, a stampeding horde of red and black spiders crashed amongst each other and against the walls. A sea of red marble-like eyes sparkled within the shadows of the wide tunnel, while their slender legs were like naturally formed black swords.

Jun shivered as a chill spread throughout his body.

“Did it have to be spiders? I hate spiders.”

He muttered as he drew his long bow.