Chapter 49 - Making Friends

The five of them got into the elevator and began to descend. There was an awkward silence between them, and Lucas was feeling uneasy. He felt that they were at least at the level of acquaintances. He went ahead and broke the ice. "Hello. My name is Lucas Smith", he said with slight hesitation.

The man with burly muscles talked next. "My name is Tobias. Tobias Brown", he said with a gentle smile. "Emilia. Emilia Burnheart", said Emilia. "Michelle. Michelle Cooper", said the girl with the twin tails. The man with the katana was silent as he looked around. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. "Robert. Robert Van Hueston", he introduced himself.

"The Van Huestons?", thought Lucas. After they exited the lift, and when they were about to disperse, Michelle spoke. "How about everyone gets a cup of coffee to celebrate our placement tests? And maybe, towards our futures?", she said. Everyone turned their heads back to look at her. "Well, that was a good one", thought Lucas as he waked up to her. "Sure. A cup would suffice", he said and soon, everyone followed suit.

Everyone walked out of the building, and after they walked past a few buildings from the Adventurer's Guild, they saw a coffee shop. Everyone went inside and sat at a table. A waiter came to them to take their order. "Three cappuccinos, two espressos. And some of your finest cake would suffice", said Lucas in a flow.

Everyone was shocked at the way he ordered. It was like he was used to ordering things and eating in places like these. "This place is quite good, isn't it?", smiled Lucas. "Oh, about that. My master used to take me to a place like this, and I'm used to ordering for both me and my master", he chuckled nervously.

Everyone looked at him. "Well, I'll go again. I'm Lucas Smith. I do not know where I am from, as I do not remember the place I grew up. I was brought up by The Master of The Iron Forge, and I learned Blacksmithing from him. I picked up the Art of the Blade from a Wandering Master, who was unwilling to share his name. That's all I have to say about myself", said Lucas.

Emilia smiled. "I'm Emilia Burnheart. I'm from the North of the Kingdom. I'm from a family of Mages, and Gunslinging is something I picked up co-incidentally. There isn't much I can say about myself", she said.

Tobias was smiling cheekily. "A friendly bonding moment!", he thought. "My name is Tobias Brown. I'm from the North-Western part of the Kingdom. I'm an Inner Disciple at the School of Lightning, and working towards becoming a core disciple", he finished as he looked around.

Michelle went next. "I'm Michelle Cooper. You must pretty much know about my family as we are one of the nobles amongst the Kingdom. The only one to study the Art of Scythe which is said to be lost", she said. "Correction. Which was said to be lost. If I remember correctly, the current Master of The Cooper Family is a wielder of the double-edged Scythe", corrected Robert.

Lucas knew the fact and he was about to call out, but Robert beat him to it. "Well, maintaining a low-key would be best for now", he thought. Robert cleared his throat and continued. "I am Robert Van Hueston. Our family is well known for being the people who teach the Art of the Blade. We run our own Martial Arts School, The Muramasa School. Other than that, I have nothing to say. For fate will reveal if we are meant to be together, or if this is a one-time thing", he said as the coffee and cakes arrived.

Lucas looked at the cakes and he was reminded of his Grandma. He took a deep breath as he sipped at the coffee, and began to eat his cake. Right as they were finishing their coffee, they heard a bell sound and the door opened, revealing a party that entered inside.

"What kind of a mission is that? They label it Rank E, but it's hard for even a Rank B like us to complete. In the end, all we did was cash in some crystals, and the mission was a failure", someone complained amongst the party. Everyone groaned as they sat down and began to sip the coffee. Lucas was intrigued when he heard the mission. He went towards them and tapped on the table lightly.

"May I know what the name of the mission was?", asked Lucas. The people seated there looked at him like a fool. "Don't worry mate. Just ask for the UCDM and you will know which one it is", said the guy who had complained. "UCDM?", asked Lucas. "Yeah. UCDM, which also stands for Uncleared Decade Missions. And in that, you will find the mission we are talking about. It is the last of the list", said another woman in the group.

"Thank you", said Lucas and went back to the table. He sat on his chair, and he began to think. "UCDM? I wonder how challenging they can be?", he thought. "What'd they say?", asked Robert elegantly. "It seems like they attempted to clear the UCDM. And it was the last on the list. If the last is that tough, I wonder how the top-ranked missions would be", he replied as he placed his hands on his chin.

Robert spit out his coffee as soon as he heard Lucas's words. "The UCDM? You're going to attempt it?", he asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. Lucas nodded his head. He always liked a challenge. "Yes. It seems challenging", he replied. Robert shook his head sideways and began to explain.

"The UCDM. Which is called the Uncleared Decade Missions, which are missions that are different than normal missions. The reason is that the main objective stays uncleared. It is rumored that a mysterious person is behind this list, and the mission rankings on that list are different than our rankings. The reason this list was made, was because any mission that hasn't been cleared for the next ten years, gets added to the list", he said and it piqued everyone's interest.

"I wish it was one of those hidden masters who are leaving behind their legacy and trying to ensure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Ah, how I wish I could become that inheritor. Let's go and attempt this mission", said Tobias with a smile. "This isn't any Eastern Fantasy novel for you to find something like that. And even if you did find one, good luck on deciphering that, you muscle head", retorted Robert.

Tobias got mad. He wanted to kick Robert and knock him a few pegs down his high horse. Just as he was about to fight, he felt a hand on his face. and Robert felt the same. "Well, now we should calm down as we are outside. How about we have this fight somewhere more, private?", suggested Lucas as he held their faces in both of his palms.

Robert and Tobias both winced in pain as they nodded their heads and sat down. "What the hell does this guy eat? And where are his muscles?", thought the both of them. Lucas got up and walked out of the shop. "I am going to attempt it, and anyone willing can join me on the journey", he said as he walked out.

He went towards the Adventurer's Guild and went up to the counter. "I would like to look at the UCDM list please", he said. The receptionist looked at him from the head to his toe. "Another one of those over-confident bastards", he scoffed as he pulled up the list. Lucas didn't pay this any mind, but as soon as they saw other people behind him, the attitude changed.

"Welcome, Miss Cooper and Mister Van Hueston. What should we do for you?', he asked as he began his bootlicking, hoping that they would help him in getting his promotion. "Did you just disrespect my friend here?", asked Robert. The man gulped as he heard the words from Robert.

"I'm finished. This is the end of my career", he thought as he was about to fall to his knees. "Show kindness and compassion, to those who have done no harm", came Ben's voice to Lucas's mind. He turned around and stopped the person, and smiled at Robert. "Just let him go. He must be stressed, or maybe depressed about something", said Lucas as he waved his hands.

The receptionist quickly went back to his best attitude and didn't disturb them as they browsed the list. "Let's try the last one so that we can familiarise ourselves with each other", thought Lucas as he selected the same mission the party before had selected.

The receptionist then began to enter their names one by one, and he was stunned to see their ranks. "The Growth Zone?", he thought as he registered them, and updated their list.. Lucas and everyone left the lobby, and they headed towards their first mission as adventurers.