Chapter Fifty-Three: Going Abroad

After a moment’s hesitation, Hughes decided to accept the Messenger Bracelet. He slipped it onto his right wrist and found that it fit perfectly, without impeding his movements in the slightest.

“Hughes! We’ve picked up a mission—do you want to join us?” Billy looked at Hughes eagerly.

“A mission? What kind?” Hughes was curious. Under the current circumstances, the academy shouldn’t be allowing anyone out on assignments.

“It’s to collect scales and eyes from Devil Crocodiles. Everyone in our team is going.” Billy had always wanted Hughes to join his group—a team with an apothecary was a completely different story.

“Devil Crocodiles?” Hughes knew these creatures were notoriously difficult to deal with; not only were they tough and resilient, but they also moved in packs.

“Why did you choose that kind of mission?” Hughes frowned. It sounded quite dangerous—just the thought of a pack of Devil Crocodiles was enough to give anyone a headache.

“The academy will be closing completely in half a month. We thought, before the doors shut, we should do something big. We chose carefully according to our abilities, but if you could come, it would be even better.” Billy gazed at Hughes with expectant eyes.

“All right, I’ll go!” After a moment’s thought, Hughes agreed. This would be a good chance to test his strength with Billy’s group and get a sense of his own abilities.

“Really?” Billy, standing nearby, was overjoyed at Hughes’s reply.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s meet in the mission hall tomorrow morning,” Billy confirmed, setting the time with Hughes.

“Agreed.”

After Billy left, Hughes began refining Nature Potions. He rarely brewed stamina or hemostatic potions anymore, focusing mainly on Nature Potions now.

“Beep beep beep!” The alarm from the chip woke Hughes.

“Chip, what time is it?” Hughes was still foggy with sleep.

“Beep! It’s already nine thirty!”

“Oh no, I promised Billy—I stayed up too late meditating last night.” Suddenly recalling his arrangement with Billy, Hughes hurried out of bed to get ready and head to the mission hall.

As he was washing up, Hughes noticed his bracelet flashing. He sent his mental energy into the bracelet and heard Billy’s voice.

“Hughes, when are you coming? We’re all here.” Billy’s voice transmitted crisply into Hughes’s mind through the bracelet.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Hughes quickly responded and prepared to leave.

“Billy, is your friend coming or not?” A burly man with a giant axe asked Billy in the mission hall.

“I already asked him, he said he’ll be here soon—he must have been held up by something.” Billy knew Hughes’s character well; he would never be late just to make a show of it.

“Oh, let it go, Derl. No need to fuss. Billy’s friend is a once-in-a-century genius apothecary—we’re lucky if he’s willing to let us wait for him! And Billy, you must introduce us properly later!” A woman with an alluring look and revealing clothes clung to Billy’s arm, pouting playfully.

“Hey, Hughes!” Billy, flustered by the woman’s antics, spotted Hughes and quickly extricated himself.

The woman brightened when she saw Hughes and discreetly adjusted her neckline.

“Sorry, Billy, I meditated too long last night. My apologies!” Hughes looked at Billy, regret in his voice.

“No worries at all!” Billy waved it off and drew Hughes over to introduce him to the rest of the team.

“This is Derl,” he said, nodding to the man with the giant axe.

“And this is Belle,” he continued. Belle cast Hughes a sultry glance, but his eyes quickly darted away from her outfit.

“These two are Ron and Robin, twins.” Hughes looked at the brothers; they certainly resembled each other.

“Nice to meet you, just call me Hughes. Sorry I’m late.” After Billy finished the introductions, Hughes introduced himself.

“No need for introductions—we all know you! Who hasn’t heard of the genius apothecary of the century?” Belle stretched languidly as she spoke, drawing the attention of many in the mission hall. Though Hughes’s reputation was widespread, few had actually met him. Now, hearing Belle’s words, even more people turned to look.

“Let’s talk somewhere else,” Billy said quickly, noticing the growing attention and even a few people getting up to approach. He led Hughes and the others out of the hall.

“Everyone’s clear on the mission, right? The academy needs a batch of Devil Crocodile materials—no set quantity. The more we kill, the more magic stones we earn. I hope we can all work well together,” Billy said seriously.

“Yes!” The others, who had seemed casual before, now showed their confidence in Billy as their leader.

“Then let’s head out.” Billy took the lead.

The group left the Circle of Shadows and set out for the Devil Crocodile habitat.

It was said the Devil Crocodiles’ lair had once been an ordinary pond, but after a wizard’s energy had leaked from the Circle of Shadows, the crocodiles mutated, becoming what they were now.

Only apprentices at the second level or higher were allowed to accept this mission, as Devil Crocodiles were indeed dangerous. Yet their materials were commonly used in wizard experiments, so instead of exterminating them, the academy expanded their habitat and even altered the local ecosystem to better support their growth.

It also served as an excellent trial ground for apprentices.

“Hughes, thank you again for the Nature Potions last time!” Ron and Robin came up beside Hughes, quietly expressing their gratitude.

Hughes realized at once that the two vials of Nature Potion he’d given Billy must have been used on them.

“You should thank Billy. Once I give him the potions, they’re his to use as he sees fit,” Hughes replied, walking alongside the twins.

“Billy, do you think we’ll run into other teams? There are so many Devil Crocodiles,” Hughes suddenly asked.

“We won’t, Hughes. Don’t worry. After the incident with the secret realm, the academy lost a lot of apprentices. The tasks before the lockdown are all assigned individually—there won’t be any other teams out there,” Billy replied loudly from the front.

“Beep! Billy: Strength: 1.9, Agility: 2.1, Constitution: 2.4, Mental Power: 3.9, Status: Healthy.”

Hughes checked Billy’s stats, seeing he’d only just advanced to a second-level apprentice and likely hadn’t mastered any zero-level spells yet.

He scanned the rest of the team as well and found their attributes similar (there’s no need to detail each one), except Belle’s were slightly higher than the others, though she too probably hadn’t mastered any zero-level spells.

Hughes trusted the chip’s scans; ever since his mental power had grown, the chip’s analytical abilities had increased greatly. No apprentice could escape its analysis, except for full-fledged wizards.

As for this mission, Hughes wasn’t worried. He was confident that even without spells, he could handle a pack of Devil Crocodiles.

Spring had passed swiftly, and summer crept in unnoticed. The sun blazed fiercely overhead, forcing the group to quicken their pace toward the mission site.

By midday, they finally arrived. Billy produced a yellow map and spread it on the ground.

“This map marks a few Devil Crocodile gathering spots. Since our group is fairly large, we’ll avoid the smaller packs. We’ll target here…and here…” Billy pointed out a few locations, marking them as he explained.

“Each of these sites has about a dozen Devil Crocodiles. As long as we’re careful, we shouldn’t have any problems.” He marked several areas on the map.

No one objected. After all, they were here for the mission—without a bit of risk, there would be no reward in magic stones.

“There’s one thing to be careful of. It’s rumored there’s a mutated Devil Crocodile here, much stronger than a second-level apprentice. If anything seems wrong, we withdraw immediately. Understood?” Billy folded up the map, ready to move out.