When Fantasy Glitches

"First, let's talk about assignments. Unlike the Apprentice-level compendium you all had access to, the Mage’s Adept Compendium is divided into two sections. The first is the library, which is organized into different categories of magic and spells, similar in structure to the Mage's Apprentice Compendium, which you’re already familiar with. The second section includes a room that leads to the assignment board, a listing of various assignments sent in from across the kingdom. Staff members personally screen each assignment to ensure legitimacy, and you can all think of them as missions," Eredim explained, snapping his fingers as a semi-transparent mana screen appeared beside him.

"This is a replica of what the assignment board will look like. Try to memorize it now while you have the chance," Eredim continued, gesturing towards the screen.

Everyone could see the board's layout on the display. At the top, five categories divided the list into separate columns: Beginner-level, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Master assignments. Although the assignments shown were just examples, they gave the students a clear idea of what to expect from each level of difficulty and what each type of mission would involve.

It sort of reminds me of a quest board, like you would see in games.

That was his first thought Magnus had as he began to read over the listing. In fact, it was strikingly similar. Certain assignments had requirements; for example, nearly half the assignments at the Intermediate-level required two or more students in order to take them on, and all Advanced-level assignments had that requirement, if not stricter ones.

Hmm, looks like Beginner-level Assignments mostly consisted of Monster Subjugation. I guess that makes sense.

With so much of the Batis Kingdom's resources and forces focused on their borders due to the war and Kryle, monsters that would usually have their populations culled by the local military were instead reproducing rapidly. Settlements unable to protect themselves were being ravaged and destroyed as a result, forcing others who could afford it to rely on hired help from Mercenary Guilds. This all ended in Monster Subjugation assignments becoming the most common tasks the academy received, with a few others being delving assignments focused on exploring potential magical locations or uncovered ruins.

Regardless, these were all missions that even a newly awakened Adept-level knight or mage could handle without much trouble.

Magnus's gaze trailed over the assignments and their details, down to the rewards listed below each one. The first and foremost reward was Arcana Credits, which could be used in the Academy Exchange Center to trade for whatever they had available. Most of the assignments offered between a hundred to a thousand credits each, with even the most difficult ones capping at around two thousand. But it was the rewards listed after that which really caught Magnus's eye, causing his face to light up.

Holy shit! Even the lowest-level assignments are worth nearly five thousand silver crowns! What is that… like fifty golden marks!? That's the equivalent of getting paid two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a single job! I guess that just shows how desperate some places are for the academy’s assistance, or maybe my value of money is all skewed. Still, just two missions like that, and I could afford a basic spell catalyst...

Of course, in truth, it wasn't that simple. As Luden had told him, money alone wasn’t enough to buy a spell catalyst; you also needed to connect with the right people. Luckily for Magnus though, he was very close to the heir of the Rilhawk Family, who dealt in all things catalyst within the entire region.

This is perfect. This way, even if the Academy Exchange Center doesn't have what I need, I'll still be able to make enough money to buy a catalyst myself if necessary. But if those are just the rewards for Beginner-level assignments, what about the higher-level missions?

Magnus shifted his focus to the next two categories: Intermediate-level and Advanced assignments.

He noticed that these mostly involved hunting down mana beasts. The reasons why there were so many of them were similar to why there were so many Monster Subjugation assignments. But it also had to do with the fact that the Ten Great Magic Academies were responsible for practically everything related to magic. Low-level mana beasts weren't a high priority since regular soldiers could handle them as long as they employed the right strategy and had enough numbers. But certain types of mana beasts, or those that reached the equivalent of Adept-level, were ones the academy had to take seriously.

An Adept-level could destroy an entire village or wipe out everything living thing in a small town if left unchecked.

Plus, since mana beasts could use their magical abilities instinctively once mutated by a strong enough concentration of mana and typically underwent physical changes due to that infusion, they were generally considered stronger than humans at their level, even compared to knights. It was for that reason that the academy often sent students to deal with them in pairs, if not in groups. Of course, there were other assignments at this level, such as escort missions, though not for merchants or anything like that. The academy only provided escorts for magic families transporting magical materials or particularly special nobles who were considered their patrons.

However, the highest-rated Advanced-level assignments, and the ones with the strictest requirements and greatest rewards, involved rogue mages. These were magic users who had defected from the academy and the kingdom, freely breaking the laws set by both. They used magic for their own gain, regardless of the consequences, and distributed it without any form of supervision—something the Royal Court and the Ten Great Magic Academies could not tolerate.

If other assignments involving mana beasts, escorting high-value materials and targets, or similar tasks only required two at the minimum, then assignments involving tracking or capturing rogue mages required a large group. Even then, most of the time, those groups would be accompanied by Master-level professors.

Hmm, since I'm considered to be at the Pseudo-Master level, I can probably take on the more dangerous Intermediate-level assignments on my own, but the Advanced-level ones don't look like they're a joke. If they require a Master-level to be present, then the difficulty spike definitely isn't small.

But with great difficulty came great reward. Even Beginner-level assignments offered rewards that would take a high-earning citizen a couple of years to earn—assuming they didn't spend any of their earnings. And any reservations Magnus had about the danger seemed to slip away as he saw the numbers. Picking up where Beginner-level left off, Intermediate-level assignments offered rewards ranging from two thousand to eight thousand Arcana Credits. Magnus couldn't quite gauge if that was good or not, considering he hadn't seen the Academy Exchange Center's trade prices yet.

But he could definitely grasp the worth of two hundred golden marks.

One million... complete just one of those assignments, and you’d be the equivalent of a millionaire back on Earth…

That was the kind of money you could use to start buying property in Arlcliff City or even land somewhere in the kingdom if you looked hard enough. Even starting a medium-sized business wasn't completely out of the question as long as you were smart about it. And that wasn't even the highest reward available. Once you broke into the Advanced-level assignments collum, the number of zeros behind the golden marks jumped from double to triple, or even quadruple.

I don't even know what you would spend that amount of money on, but if that kind of cash is being offered as a reward, the requestors must be loaded.

If Magnus had to guess, he’d say the requestors were likely noble families, City Councils from other cities, or perhaps even the Royal Court itself. From what he could tell, all Beginner-level assignments paid students in silver crowns, and the amount he mentioned earlier was worth around fifty golden marks by itself. Yet they were paid in silver crowns, not golden marks.That told Magnus that whoever put in the request did have money, but not necessarily from personal assets; otherwise, it would be more convenient to just convert it.

It’s probably tax money or something like that. Funds pooled together by a local government in hopes of getting assistance, rather than a noble’s personal wealth.

"I didn't realize you were so interested in money, Magnus. If I did, maybe I would’ve tried to bribe you a bit more when we first met." Magnus snapped out of his thoughts at Luden's words and looked over at him.

"Huh? But I'm not," Magnus responded, causing Luden to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh really? The way you were eyeing the rewards under each assignment says otherwise," Luden remarked with a sly grin.

"But- Wait, how did you know I was looking at the rewards?" Magnus asked, to which Luden casually pointed at his own eyes.

"Being able to read people's line of sight is important when you're doing business. It tells you exactly what people want, even if they don't realize it." With that, Luden turned his attention back to the replica assignment board.

"By the way, did you notice that?" Luden asked, pointing at the board. Magnus followed his finger and saw what Luden was trying to point out. There were no examples of assignments for the Expert and Master-level categories.

"Huh," Magnus murmured, looking puzzled. He hadn’t noticed that earlier, since he had gotten a bit distracted by the rewards, but both the Expert and Master-level columns were completely empty.

Curious, Magnus raised his hand, catching Eredim's attention.

"Yes, Magnus?"

"Professor, why are the Expert and Master-level columns empty? Shouldn't there be examples of those assignments as well?" Magnus inquired. A few other students seemed interested too, as they quieted down and focused on Eredim, who looked to be thinking about how to phrase his response.

"Because it’s not necessary at all for your current levels," Eredim expressed clearly, then continuing, "Expert-level assignments can only be taken on by two or more Pseudo-Master levels under the supervision of a professor. On the other hand, Master-level assignments are reserved for Master-level knights and mages only. Unlike the other assignments, these are ones put forward by the academy itself, so they won’t concern you until you reach the Master-level and join the academy staff, if that's your goal." Listening to his explanation, everyone quickly understood why Eredim had kept it blank. The number of Pseudo-Master levels at Takerth Academy could be counted on one hand.

But one thing they had in common was that they rarely interacted with others, and only two of them were in a faction—one of which was Magnus's persona, Cain. That meant unless they went out of their way to team up, there was no way for anyone to take on the Expert-level assignments. And, of course, the Master-level assignments were entirely out of the question.

"Oh, I see," Magnus muttered to himself as he lowered his hand. After his question, Eredim spent the next ten minutes answering more questions and clarifying a few things before dismissing the replica assignment board and moving forward with the class.

"Over the next few days, we’ll slowly transition into Adept-level topics during class to avoid anyone feeling overwhelmed or confused. The same goes for your lessons with your mage and knight professors. Also, just like how you’re all still in my class, the professors teaching you those other subjects won’t be changing either. So just continue learning diligently like you have been, and you'll be fine." After that, Eredim continued the lessons as usual. They had long since covered core and basic subjects, so most of their classes consisted of Eredim teaching them magical theory, the known properties of aura, and potential mutations of mana in different environments and concentrations.

After that, it was class with Lazitha, who had been spending their past few lessons going over which types of mana formations lasted longest under the suppression effect of spirits and why.

Technically, since both Magnus and Luden had Master's now, they didn't have to attend these classes.

Luden could just check in with Lazitha later during a private session, and Magnus could learn from Eveline. But neither chose to do that. While Luden's reason was a mystery, for Magnus, it was simply because he enjoyed the lessons and what he learned from them. Back on Earth, he hated studying—not only because he found it boring. If he wasn't even interested in most aspects of his own life, then how could he put effort into learning about the world? But in a new reality as intriguing as this one, he had unknowingly grown an insatiable drive to gather information. After all, with every bit of knowledge he absorbed, his abilities had the potential to grow.

When classes finally wrapped up for the day, a bunch of students, including Magnus, poured out of the academy's Central Building. Magnus stretched his arms behind his back, thinking to himself.

Alright, what's next on the schedule? I really want to visit the Academy Exchange Center now, but I told Seraline yesterday that I'd 'tell' Cain to meet up with her after class at the library. Well, I suppose the exchange center is close to the library; I can just head there after figuring out what she wants.

It didn’t take long for Magnus to head back to his dorm room, put on his mask, and head back out as Cain, drawing all sorts of attention as he made his way to the library. Seraline was already there, leaning against the wall next to the entrance as students went in and out. She almost looked like a sleeping statue, but she immediately opened her eyes and locked onto Magnus the second he came into view, causing Magnus to sigh to himself.

It must be nice having a sixth sense.

The two of them met halfway, with Seraline speaking first.

"Thank you for meeting me."

Magnus nodded before asking, "Magnus mentioned you wanted to ask me something. What is it?"

Seraline glanced around for a moment, noticing they were being watched by practically everyone heading into and out of the library, before gesturing that she wanted to move their conversation somewhere else first. The two of them began casually walking towards a more secluded corner of Takerth Academy's grounds, which mostly contained recreational buildings, like the indoor and outdoor pools.

Once there were practically no students around them, Seraline initiated the conversation.

"I'm assuming your professor told you about the assignments?" Seraline asked.

"Of course," Magnus replied.

"In that case, I won't beat around the bush. I would like you to complete an Intermediate-level assignment with me." Seraline stopped walking as she made her request, and Magnus turned to look at her. As usual, her face didn't show much emotion, but deep in her eyes, he could tell she was hoping he would say yes.

"You've reached the Adept-level?" Magnus asked. Although Seraline was strong, during her fight with Velis, he could tell she hadn't reached that level yet. But Seraline nodded, confirming she had indeed advanced to Adept-level.

"It happened after I recovered from my match with Velis. That fight pushed me to my limits and helped me break past them. By the time my will, body, and aura fully recovered, I realized I had advanced." Listening to her, Magnus couldn't help but feel disbelief behind his mask. He knew that a knight's strength and progression were tied to their willpower. Talent could help, but it was in no way necessary. Every knight had their own way of focusing and sharpening their willpower. For some, it was training their bodies, despite the fact it had no real effect since they had already reached peak human performance; for others, it was meditation, and so on.

This meant knights were, in a way, idealistic beings. Just like heroes in stories or main characters in shows, their emotions could actually make them stronger as long as those emotions were intense enough to boost their willpower. If a knight out there somehow had infinite willpower, they would be truly invincible outside of source code-level abilities. As for Seraline, who knows if she truly broke through any limits—it could’ve just been how she felt in the moment, and that feeling was the push she needed to sharpen her willpower to the point where her Aura Intensity reached the Adept-level.

The more I think about it, the more unfair it feels. Mages have to train for years, and knights can just rely on a placebo effect to get stronger.

Setting aside how broken he felt knights were, Magnus congratulated her, "Congratulations. But still, if you've just reached the Adept-level, wouldn't a Beginner-level assignment be best to help you adjust?"

"I thought that too. But… I’ve never fought like that before, in my life. Even against Tascen, I had never pushed myself so hard. Every knight has their own method of growth that suits them best, and I think this may be mine," Seraline explained.

"I see. So you want to keep taking on new challenges to improve yourself. And you've come to me because you think only the Intermediate-level assignments that require more than one participant will provide that challenge?" Magnus said, hitting the nail on the head.

"Yes, but I know that can also be dangerous. That’s why I asked you instead of another Adept-level." Basically, she wanted to use Magnus as her safety net. Since he was at the Pseudo Master-level, he could handle most Intermediate-level assignments on his own. So, if there was ever a point where Seraline was truly in danger, he would be able to rescue her. On the other hand, it would let her freely push her limits without worrying too much.

Hmm, well, I did plan on taking on an assignment as soon as possible, but I was thinking of starting with a Beginner-level one just to get a feel for it. Then again, there’s no harm in helping Seraline, considering she's a member of Luden's faction. If she gets stronger, it’s a win for all of us. Still, if we both go on the assignment, that means the reward will be split.

It was that last thought that held him up. The only reason he was taking on assignments was for the rewards. Seeing Magnus go silent, and unable to read his expression under the mask, Seraline furrowed her brows slightly and spoke up again.

"I'm willing to give you all of the Arcadia Credits we earn if you agree to help me. Like I said, I'm only doing this so I can get stronger." Magnus was a bit caught off guard by her offer; it was almost like she could tell what he was thinking.

"Hmm, alright. But I want the other rewards too, aside from the Arcadia Credits." Magnus could tell Seraline found his request strange, as her expression—normally neutral—shifted slightly. He could guess why; to most students, even the monetary rewards for Intermediate and Advanced-level assignments were just a bonus—they were nobles, and they didn’t lack money. Still, despite how odd his request seemed, Seraline agreed after only thinking for a moment.

"Alright, that's fine with me. I haven’t decided which assignment to take just yet. I’m still making preparations, so I’m planning on taking the assignment the day after the celebration Luden has planned." Magnus considered the timeline in his head and nodded in agreement; it sounded perfect. That gave him just enough time to make his own preparations.

"In that case, I'll see you in five days," Magnus said.

"Five days," Seraline echoed. With their agreement made, Seraline took her leave first. She hadn’t been sure if Magnus would agree to help her, but now that he had, there were a lot of things she needed to take care of before they left. Magnus watched as she walked away, a smile slowly forming behind his mask.

Five days, huh… How long has it been since I came to Arlcliff City?

[It’s been-]

It was a rhetorical question, Basker.

Although it hadn’t even been a year, it felt like he’d been in Arlcliff City forever. He had learned, read, and seen so much, yet it was almost all within the confines of the city's walls. Now that he was finally heading outside, he could only imagine the possibilities.

Man, this is going to be fun.