35: Chapter 35: The bell tolls, the mission begins!

After confirming that everything else was in order, Byron didn't fuss over it anymore, but instead took out that long blade and the pistol.

The long blade glinted with a cold light; it looked sharp at a glance.

Uh... aside from being sharp, this long blade didn't have any other advantages.

Although he wasn't sure if a melee weapon would be useful, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Besides, it was indeed cheap, wasn't it? It didn't cost many Magic Stones, and perhaps it might come in handy.

The most critical item was this oddly shaped revolver.

Apart from possessing complex conduction circuits, its most distinctive feature was the extremely thick barrel, which was almost the size of one-third of Byron's fist.

'Omniscience, analyze.'

[Target: Alchemy Revolver — 'Fury Type II']

[Function: Fires specialized alchemy bullets.]

[Range: 50 meters.]

Byron understood that the reason this gun had such a large barrel was entirely to fire various types of alchemy bullets.

One only needed to gently pull the trigger to fire various elemental bullets, causing elemental damage.

Therefore, as long as there were enough bullets, one hardly needed to consider the issue of Mental Energy consumption and could continuously unleash elemental spells.

Gray had also very carefully helped Byron purchase some alchemy bullets of various elements, saving Byron the trouble of going to buy them himself.

Looking at the pistol in his hand, Byron reached for his waist and drew a very ordinary pistol.

This was something Byron had specifically purchased to defend himself when he went down below previously; he hadn't expected to never have used it even once.

Looking at the previous pistol, Byron said softly: "Old fellow, from now on, you are officially retired."

As he spoke, Byron stowed that pistol and the long blade into his spatial pouch, loaded the newest alchemy revolver with bullets, and tucked it into his waist.

Fortunately, the Wizard Apprentice robe was quite loose; otherwise, Byron would have found it truly difficult to carry this revolver with him.

After finishing all of this, Byron began to place potions for rapid recovery of physical strength, recovery of Mental Energy, recovery of mana, detoxification, and healing of wounds... one by one into the spatial pouch.

Some of these potions were concocted by Byron himself, while others were purchased by Byron through the Potion Market.

Honestly, if he didn't have a spatial pouch, Byron really wouldn't know how he would carry so many potions right now.

After all, these potions couldn't withstand any bumps; if one accidentally broke during a battle, then when the time came to use them, he would truly be left speechless with grief.

Seeing the fully packed spatial pouch, the slight nervousness Byron had originally felt due to the mandatory mission dissipated into thin air.

Placing the spatial pouch against his chest, Byron began to engage in Meditation.

Sharpening the sword before battle, even if it doesn't get sharp, it will still shine.

...

Time flew by, and soon the day of the mandatory mission arrived.

Byron was eating in the public cafeteria when he suddenly heard the tolling of bells, echoing continuously throughout the academy.

The instant the bells rang, many Wizard Apprentices in the cafeteria put down their utensils in unison and forced down the food they were still chewing.

The next moment, these Wizard Apprentices rose almost simultaneously and walked out of the cafeteria.

At this moment, Byron could feel an inexplicable sense of murderous intent permeating the cafeteria.

Without delay, Byron also followed behind these Wizard Apprentices and walked outside.

He understood that this was the bell signaling the start of the mandatory mission; the bells were summoning the academy's Wizard Apprentices.

Meanwhile, in the Sophia Experimental Spire, Sophia stopped the potion she was currently brewing, not even glancing at it even though it caused the process to fail.

She turned her head to look at Eliza standing behind her and said calmly: "Eliza, it is time to go. The mandatory mission has begun. I will wait for your safe return at the academy; do not let your ancestors down."

Eliza said nothing, just nodded with a resolute expression before turning and leaving.

Before the bells rang, in the Isolde's Experimental Spire, Elena and Colin were sitting in the hall, laughing and chatting.

It was just that Elena was laughing and talking, while Colin was accompanying her with laughter on the side.

And at the moment the bells rang, the smiles on both their faces vanished simultaneously, and they stood up to walk outside.

Elena: "Colin, take good care of yourself. I hope that when I return, I will still be able to see you."

Colin: "Senior Sister, rest assured. When I was a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice and Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice, I went through so many mandatory missions and was fine. Now that I have become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, how could anything happen to me?"

Upon hearing this, Elena did not say much more, exchanged a smile with Colin, and walked out of the spire.

And neither of them saw that the moment they stepped out of the door, a figure appeared on the second floor, quietly watching them.

In the Alchemy Dept. Mentor Edgar Thorne's workshop, Gray was currently focused on working with someone to refine a component.

Ever since he became a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice, he had been transferred from the spire Laboratory to here, starting to become a member of the assembly line.

However, although it was hard work, it was at least much easier than when he was in the Experimental Spire, and he received wages, even if they weren't much.

The instant the bells rang, Gray's expression became serious, and he wanted to stop the work in his hands.

But before he could put down his tools, he heard a sharp rebuke.

"Gray, what are you trying to do? Hurry up and finish this step; if you go late, you'll be in for it!"

Gray was a bit dazed and subconsciously asked: "Are we not going to execute the mandatory mission?"

The person opposite him rolled their eyes: "Who can go if they don't finish the work in their hands? This is a rule set by the mentor; it has been like this for every previous batch."

"In the past, there were indeed bold ones who went directly and successfully returned alive, but what awaited them was an exorbitant compensation bill, and afterward, they could only work to pay off the debt."

"And if we don't hurry up, then what awaits us is the academy's punishment."

Hearing this, Gray opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the end, he swallowed his words and just blindly accelerated the movements in his hands.

And at the very moment the bells rang, such scenes were continuously playing out in every corner of the academy.

Furthermore, the bell tolls reached the Basin below, and the entire Basin echoed continuously with the heavy tolling of bells.

In Milan Dir City, many people who knew the meaning of the bell tolls looked with complex expressions at the giant meteorite in the sky that enveloped the entire Basin the moment they heard the bells ring.

Meanwhile, Wizard Apprentices everywhere in the Basin, regardless of what they were doing, were running for their lives the moment they heard the bell tolls, heading in the direction of the lift platform.

Some people, realizing they were too far from the lift platform and might not make it, even chose to directly call for the academy's transport, flying through the air to get there.

And this time, while these Wizard Apprentices were flying across, everything was peaceful and safe; no creatures attacked them.

As the bell tolls continued to ring, people continuously arrived from all parts of the academy to an empty plaza in the very center of the academy.

After entering the plaza, they began to wait quietly, without any noise.

Everyone was looking up at the several figures standing on the high platform at the end of the plaza.

Byron recognized him; the person at the lead was none other than the Vice Dean of the Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy, whom he hadn't seen since the first lesson of the school year.

According to legend, apart from the Dean, he was the most powerful Official Wizard in the academy, Vice Dean Conrad!