Chapter 0049: The Squad

When Grim and the others, led by Blackhand Kevin, stepped into a modest stone chamber on the first floor of the wizard tower, they finally met the rest of their mission companions.

Among the ten apprentices assigned to explore the shadowy subterranean caverns, three were candidate wizards: Leo from the Mushroom Woods of Lofenher, Sabrina (female) of the Tracy family from Woodrow, and Marcus from the Black Forest Academy in Sidney. Leo was the young candidate wizard who had provoked and been injured.

Six senior apprentices were present: Sheila (female), Matthew, Leander, Mary (female), Isaac, and Bruce—four men and two women, each originating from different regions and families, each pursuing divergent schools of magic, yet all united here for a single purpose.

As the sole junior apprentice, Grim was instantly ostracized, excluded from their greetings and conversation, as if he were invisible. His participation in the ten-person task force was a blemish on their collective strength, so it was no wonder their attitudes toward Grim were less than friendly.

Grim had no way to explain his presence or the reasons behind it. He could only listen in silence, quietly activating his chip to clandestinely collect basic information about the others.

The ten apprentices had arrived on three flying ships, with the earliest group landing two days prior. Having lingered in the wizard tower for several days, they were now considerably familiar with the place. Thus, it fell to them to brief the newcomers on the specifics of the mission locale.

As they exchanged information, a middle-aged male wizard, clad in a white robe and wearing a pointed hat, hurried into the chamber.

"It seems you're all here. Good, that saves me from repeating myself. Hmm? How did a junior apprentice sneak in here? Well, well, that's surely another blunder by those old fools at the association. Hehehe... Since you’re here, accept your fate! The clawed horrors of the underworld will be delighted to feast upon you..."

He finished with a chilling, cackling laugh, but no one dared refute his mad words.

"Well, well, it appears you’re all rather dull, not a single troublemaker among you. But that’s just as well; pride and arrogance will only get you killed in the dark depths below. The mission will last six months. You ten form a squad; every fifteen days, you must patrol the underground. Each round involves five mandatory inspection points, scattered throughout different locations beneath the earth."

"If you wish to avoid mishaps, it’s best to stick together, following the designated route to check these five sites in order. If you move quickly, you can finish a round in about five days, leaving five days to rest. Of course, you may divide and act separately—then, if you’re efficient, you can finish in two days. But should you encounter those black spawn below, you’ll have only your luck to rely on. Hehehe..."

His words made the group’s expressions sour, and only then did the middle-aged wizard introduce himself.

"My name is Angus. For task handovers, you can find me at my residence. Remember: if you encounter any danger underground, you must rely on yourselves. No one will come to rescue you. Should you be fortunate enough to slay those blind black spawn, bring their heads to me for a reward!"

...

Faced with the silent apprentices, Angus had no interest in further explanation and swiftly turned to leave.

With no outsiders present, the ten apprentices, forcibly bound together by the mission, sat down to discuss how to best accomplish their task.

Sabrina, who had arrived two days ahead, became their main source of information, providing a more detailed briefing.

She was a female apprentice wizard with waist-length black hair, her left face concealed beneath a silver mask. From her exposed right side, she appeared quite beautiful. Yet, unsettlingly, her left eye and left hand, revealed beneath the mask, had been replaced with mechanical organs, which emitted the distinct metallic sounds characteristic of biomechanical constructs as she moved.

The wizard tower had assigned five inspection points, all located in the shallow layers of the shadowy caverns, the deepest barely ten miles beneath the surface. On the surface, the candidate wizards could cover such distance in less than a quarter of an hour. But underground, it was a daunting journey.

From the entrance to the final inspection point, the straight distance was ten miles, but the way was riddled with rugged mines, tunnels, ravines, and fissures. Apart from a few routes deemed barely safe after prior exploration, the underground world teemed with winding, treacherous passages. Following the mapped routes would greatly reduce encounters with subterranean creatures. Straying off course risked disastrous consequences.

"In three days, it will be our squad’s turn for the first underground patrol. So today, we must devise a concrete plan so everyone can prepare accordingly," Sabrina concluded, furrowing the brows of all present.

Three days? That was a tight schedule!

"Don’t forget, our team has some dead weight," Isaac, the male apprentice, cast a dissatisfied glance at Grim, clearly resentful that Grim weakened the squad’s overall strength.

"He is with me; I will ensure his safety," Mary’s emerald eyes flashed, glaring at Isaac, her tone icy and hard.

"Then I suggest we split up. Let this lovely lady take her knight down one path. That way, we can be more efficient and free up more time for study and rest," Isaac sneered.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Sabrina shook her head. "Don’t think that will rid you of the burden. As a squad, we must coordinate as a whole. Each patrol involves five inspection sites; fail two and the mission rewards are halved; fail three and there are no rewards. If two people handle a site, time will indeed be quicker. But if a group is too weak, they may never return."

"What, you feel sorry for the rookie?" Isaac was determined to play the villain to the end.

"Of course not. But that means, next round, eight people will have to do the work of ten. Then six for ten, and so on. Gradually, even the strongest among you will end up wasting all your time scurrying underground," Sabrina retorted coldly.

Clearly, she had deeply studied the mission in the past two days, analyzing its hidden traps in detail.

It was a dilemma.

If the whole team acted together, the five sites’ scattered locations would mean unnecessary backtracking and wasted time. But with greater numbers, dangers would be less likely. Dividing into groups inevitably diluted the squad’s collective strength; if luck failed and one or two groups perished, the remainder of the months would be hard to endure.

For a moment, everyone fell into deep contemplation, even Isaac, who had maintained a hostile front, fell silent.

A simple mission required balancing time efficiency and the distribution of strength. No matter how capable a candidate wizard might believe themselves, after betraying their companions, they would struggle to complete such a complex task alone.

After all, this was the underground. No matter how strong one was, it was impossible to endure seven or eight days without rest. Traveling alone, one could never match the vigilance and ease of a group. The wizard association had designed the mission to test both teamwork and individual prowess.

"Let’s split into teams. We’re all here to hone and improve ourselves, not to spend the mission period in comfort. Mary and I can take a site ourselves. I’m confident we can manage," Grim calmly voiced what everyone wished to say.

As he spoke, many secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the dark, treacherous depths, dragging along a liability—even the three candidate wizards would find it troublesome.

"All right, let’s settle it. Use these two days to rest well and prepare what you need for the journey. We’ll reconvene here in three days," Sabrina, evidently aspiring to lead the group, decisively sealed the plan, her gaze sweeping over Grim several times, confirming his status as a junior apprentice.

The others nodded in silence and dispersed.

When only Grim and Mary remained in the chamber, Mary asked with a sly smile, "Are you so sure I want to team up with you?"

"Heh, you want blood, I want crystal cores; other materials can be negotiated. No conflict, mutual benefit—good for us both," Grim extended his right hand.

"Hmph, I get first pick of the spoils," Mary’s soft hand briefly grasped Grim’s, then she turned and left the chamber with a proud flourish.

With only three days to prepare, she needed to ready herself as well. It was her first time leaving the magical marsh since becoming an apprentice, and she intended to explore thoroughly.

Once the chamber was completely quiet, Grim feigned closing his eyes in silent contemplation, while in reality, he was rapidly communicating with his chip.

"Chip, did you collect data on those people just now?"

"Beep. Data collection complete. Here’s the list..."

A series of static noises accompanied a stream of data flowing into his mind.

Wizard Angus: data (none)...
Sabrina: female, candidate wizard, arcane wizard path (estimated), physical data (none)...
Leo: male, candidate wizard, rules wizard path (estimated), physical data: strength 7, agility 6, constitution 7, spirit 20...
Marcus: male, candidate wizard, data (none)...
...
...

The subsequent list showed basic data as unavailable for all others.

Grim sighed silently. It seemed he would need to witness them in combat before he could truly gauge the strength of his teammates.