At night, inside the military camp near Watch Fort, Kavel was conducting a pop quiz for several new Demon Hunters, including Reg, inside the tent.
Reg had never imagined that the first step to becoming a Demon Hunter would be attending classes; he thought it would be an intense and thrilling demon battle…
Kavel stated that, as a Demon Hunter, recognizing the various types of demons and knowing how to deal with them was of utmost importance, so it was essential to establish a solid foundation of basic knowledge before any real combat!
And for someone like Reg, who had been favored by the Goddess, these fundamentals shouldn’t be an issue after just a day of learning, right?
Yet Reg scored thirty points—failed, and had to stay after class.
“Looks like you still have a lot of room for improvement.” Kavel set Reg’s test paper down and commented.
“Honestly, you don’t have to be so polite, just scold me however you like, I can handle a little pressure.”
Reg replied a bit sheepishly; he never expected to do so poorly, not even managing a passing grade.
Go ahead and scold me, after all, no pressure means no motivation, and since he’d been nagged by his mother since childhood, he was already used to it—harsh words are good advice.
So Kavel, seeing no need for courtesy, changed his tone at once:
“Useless. Just what kind of empty-headed fool are you for the Goddess to take notice of? I really want to crack open your skull to see how much crap is stuffed inside—Rachel is smarter than you!”
“Uh… Maybe keep it a bit more polite…” Reg thought to himself, How is this even nastier than my mom? Maybe harsh words can wait for another time…
“Work hard. One day, your future self will thank you for your diligence today.”
Kavel gave Reg a thumbs-up, leaving him a little flustered. Just as he was about to say something, the back of Reg’s left hand suddenly grew hot!
[Tomorrow morning, bring three teammates around first rank strength to venture into the Mist.]
Truth had assigned Reg a mission.
That big, dark mage had given him instructions again!
After Truth’s words surfaced in his mind, Reg hurried to act as if nothing had happened, but his nervous expression couldn’t escape Kavel’s sharp eyes:
“The Goddess has given you a mission?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“Then prioritize the Goddess’s mission. I won’t pry—if you need help, let me know. By the way, why do you cover the mark given by the Goddess with bandages, and why cover both hands?”
“Well… I’m afraid it’ll attract too much attention.”
“I see.”
No wonder he’s from the Vanguard Family—even the Holy Maiden’s mark, he chooses not to use.
Kavel thought to himself, knowing that in many places, just showing that mark would let you go anywhere unimpeded, but Reg was actively hiding it—truly promising material.
If only his brain worked better.
Afterwards, Reg borrowed three rookie Demon Hunters from Kavel, each around level nine or ten.
True to his word, Kavel didn’t ask further, instead sending Reg and the three off in a carriage, watching them leave the camp and head toward Deya City…
Deya City, Deya Magic Academy.
Inside Tia’s office, the dragon egg that Truth had casually tossed to her lay quietly atop a delicate cushion, while Tia sat at her wooden desk handling all sorts of proposals from Nobles focused on Mist-centered development.
With Truth’s authorization and the Nobles’ fear, she was now more or less the City Lord of Deya City.
Tia originally wanted to work out of the Lord’s Office in the city center, but the place was far too busy—nothing like the peace and quiet of the Academy, so she simply couldn’t get used to it.
Just then, a strange power pulled Tia’s consciousness into a world of Mist.
Before she could react, a gigantic Hidden One avatar—cat-like but not quite a cat—smacked her on the head with its paw!
“Eh?!”
Tia reflexively shook her head in defense, but the paw made of Mist dispersed as soon as it touched her.
Immediately after, a system prompt appeared in Tia’s mind:
[You have received the Blessing of the Herald, and learned the exclusive skill of Mist followers: ‘Mist Healing Art’.]
With the expansion of the Blessing function, Truth discovered she could now grant her own exclusive Skill Tree to her followers, so she immediately tried it out on Tia.
Then she realized, for now, the only skill she could bestow was Mist Healing Art—perhaps related to her current Authority fusion progress.
“Mist Healing Art? Is this the same skill that little Truth has? It’s amazing—I can cast it instantly, without even needing to study!”
Once she realized it was the Hidden One blessing her, Tia’s panic turned to excitement.
In her hand appeared a mass of chilly Mist, entirely gray with a hint of green threads running through it.
It was a blessing… She had actually received the Hidden One’s blessing!
“Eh heh heh…” Tia couldn’t help but giggle foolishly.
Even though the Hidden One’s style was rather rough and hasty, she would remember this moment for a lifetime!
Great, just keep working hard like this. Maybe someday she’d receive the same treatment as Truth—let the Hidden One possess her, and get to interact with the Hidden One up close, heheh…
Or perhaps someday she could rise to the same status as Truth—maybe become the Mist Saintess, or even surpass Truth entirely, and have the Hidden One favor her alone, guheheheh…
“I have a task for you.” The next moment, the Hidden One’s hoarse voice interrupted Tia’s daydream.
“Ah… I’m listening!” Tia instantly straightened up.
“Spread the news. Make sure every first-rank adventurer in Deya City knows the Mist has shifted again.”
“Understood! I’ll complete the mission!”…
After passing on the task, Truth said no more and withdrew from Tia’s consciousness.
She was just letting Tia warm up her new plan—if the plan succeeded, the Mist’s future development would be bright!
Truth had named this plan—”Soul of the Mist”!
For now, she had constructed the first newbie-exclusive sub-dungeon in the Mist Southwest Sector, awaiting alpha testers to check its difficulty.
To prevent high-level adventurers from upsetting the balance, Truth had also thoughtfully prepared an anti-smurfing mechanism for newbies:
She handed Ariel an ordinary Magic Staff, posted her at the dungeon entrance in the shadows, and told her to whack any adventurer over level fifteen.
Even if some slipped past her, as long as Truth detected any abnormal DPS, Divine Punishment would descend upon the Mist!
……
The next morning, Reg’s carriage stopped near the Mist’s entrance.
Following Truth’s instructions, Reg led the three rookie Demon Hunters directly into the Mist.
Although the rookies had many doubts, Kavel’s order was that whatever Reg told them to do, they should do without question.
Soon, the four of them arrived at a decrepit, eerie-looking house. Reg slowly pushed open its battered door.
Amid the creaking sounds, a prompt appeared before their eyes:
[Soundseeker King’s Hideout (Alpha Test)]
“What’s going on? I suddenly see a string of strange text in front of me!”
“I see it too—it looks like the name of this place. Something-something Hideout?”
“What does that ‘Alpha Test’ mean at the end?”
The three rookie adventurers were all confused, but since they couldn’t ask Reg because of Kavel’s orders, this lessened Reg’s pressure a bit.
After all, he didn’t know anything either, much less what Truth wanted him to do.
Gathering their courage, the four entered the instance.
They found that aside from a pile of junk, the only thing in the empty space was a conspicuous bonfire, with a dark corridor ahead and heavy iron doors on either side.
“If there’s a bonfire, that means there won’t be monsters here. Let’s split up and check things out.”
Reg gave instructions, then approached the nearest iron door to see if it would open, wondering if this was some kind of test from Truth.
The instant he touched the iron door, a prompt appeared before him:
[Cannot be opened from this side.]