"Right now?" he asked, frowning. "I haven't even had my first class on how to be a Beastmaster or anything yet..."
She smiled. "It's okay, there's not really much they're going to teach you right now. They prepare you very well in the first three years, and now there are only months and years of constant strengthening at the academy facilities and on missions, with very little theory. So you can try it. Going alone benefits you more in terms of academic scores."
Edward nodded thoughtfully.
Cleaning a dungeon or a cursed land was impossible for him right now, but this first test she mentioned wasn't a real "cleaning"; it was a mission issued by the academy and mandatory for every student, where they had to find something or kill someone inside a Dungeon or Cursed Land.
It can be done alone or in a group, and the difficulty of the mission will increase depending on the number of group members. Only people who have not done it before can do it.
Generally, people wait until the end of the first year, the deadline, to try to complete this mission. This gives them fewer points, but they have a better chance of completing it.
This is because it is usually a difficult mission. If you are unlucky, you may even have to hunt the dungeon boss or dozens of Cursed Earth creatures.
"If I'm telling you this, it's because I can advise you on which one to choose," said Aurora.
"Do you think there's one I can complete?" he asked.
"You can. I was close to completing it at the time, and even though I failed, because I made enough progress, I got a lot of points for trying it in my first week at the academy."
He stared at her. "You mean because..."
"Yes. You're naturally good with a sword, so you can do it. Not many people in your group would dare to do it, maybe only Robert, so you'd have an advantage over your group."
Edward nodded.
Edward wasn't just a softie; he was actually very talented with the sword, and he first discovered this three years ago in a friendly, playful duel with Aurora.
It was the first time he had ever touched a sword, and his movements were excellent. Since then, he had been practicing footwork to become a swordsman, in case he could awaken. And now was a good time to take advantage of it.
He learns sword tactics quickly. While he is not strong, with just his tactics and the four caterpillars, he should be able to defeat certain beasts.
'I can level up my beasts too,' he thought. Suddenly, Aurora's proposal became tempting.
"What dungeon is it?" he asked.
"Try the Defective Cursed Land of the Fire Undead, that's the one I tried," she said.
'A cursed land...' He frowned.
Although a Cursed Land and a Dungeon sound like similar concepts, they are different things.
A dungeon is usually a large cave, with labyrinthine corridors and beasts around every corner, whose only danger is the beasts and their powers. They are usually formed naturally, for some unknown reason.
Meanwhile, a Cursed Land arrives through a portal and is the Cursed Beasts' attempt to spread throughout the world. They often come with an established plan of attack and beasts with extraordinary powers, including magicians, warriors, and more.
Furthermore, spending too much time exposed to a Cursed Land is dangerous, as it has a cursed energy that can corrode even your bones.
The Defective Cursed Land of the fire undead appeared in the academy a long time ago. It had powerful undead of all kinds, but they made the mistake of appearing within the most heavily guarded territory in the province and ended up dying.
Strangely, the portal did not disappear, which led it to become a "Defective" type Cursed Land. It no longer has powerful beasts; it now has only low-level undead.
They retain certain powers of the powerful undead, but in a significantly weakened version, and they regenerate from time to time. The Academy has similar ones that it uses for matters related to new students.
For this reason, all Cursed Lands categorized as "Defective" can only be cleansed by people who have been at the Central Academy for between 1 and 365 days.
In other words, only new star students.
Edward said a few more things and left shortly after.
Just then, someone appeared behind Aurora.
"Would you like me to investigate those people, miss?" he asked.
He was the butler of the Ashford household, a trusted man. He had been listening to everything, as he had to protect Aurora.
She shook her head. "Not for now. What I'd like to know is, where did Uncle Abraham go?"
"I'll look into it, miss," replied the butler. "By the way, the master is looking for you. He just returned to the city."
"Father?" She frowned but nodded. "I'll go see him. I'm leaving that to you, and don't bother Ed."
"I understand, miss." The butler bowed respectfully until she disappeared behind the door.
Finally, he sighed and looked in the direction Edward had disappeared.
'A lucky guy, but without talent. That luck could kill you, kid,' he thought before disappearing.
---
At the academy, in the same area where they had seen Edward leave, excited about his awakening, the same person who had seen him off and handed him the card stood stunned, staring at him when he returned.
"Did you forget something?" he asked.
"I'm going back to the academy," Edward replied, further stunning the professor.
His guard duty hadn't even ended yet, which meant that not even a day had passed, but he was already returning?
'Maybe he misunderstood about his vacation?' the professor thought.
"Young man, the vacation lasts a week, so..."
"I know, professor." Edward nodded. "I decided to come back. I'm not talented enough to take a vacation."
He was being sincere. On his way back to the academy, that was what was on his mind. He wasn't talented, so he needed to work hard.
Perhaps he had a powerful system that would allow him to reach the top, but without effort, there is no glory. Life had taught him that many times, so he couldn't be lazy.
The professor looked at him in shock.
'What a good student! What discipline!' His mind was filled with praise for him, although he didn't reveal it in his gaze.
He was amazed to have met a student with such a good mindset. Even if he wasn't talented and might not go very far, this made him see him in a different light.
The professor smiled at him and gave him a free pass. "Go ahead, student. I hope your discipline bears fruit and that your talent allows you to reach the heights you long for."