The Rise of the Black Plain

The day after the group joined the guild, the eight new members of Armhands followed the recommendations of their superior.

They would have to adjust to the guild and begin their activities to develop their skills, just as Minos and Ruth had been guided centuries ago, with him developing his clairvoyant skills and her, her medical skills.

In addition, they would need to start solving mandatory individual and collective quests, as well as thinking about optional quests that could generate merit points for them.

Understanding the guild's rules and opportunities was also among the activities they needed to focus on. Despite the advice and stories the group's six Junior Officers had shared with them over the past few years, there were certain things they would only learn by focusing on them in the guild.

Meanwhile, Minos and his five fellow Junior Officers headed to the Mission Hall at the start of this new day to learn about their mandatory punishment missions as well as the more routine ones.

Junior Officers, like all members of the guild, had to complete several missions each year to maintain their status in the regular organization.

Unlike external members of the guild, who couldn't reschedule these responsibilities, internal members could reschedule or move up mandatory missions if they requested it in advance.

Minos and his companions owed between 70 and 90 years' worth of missions, considering the advanced missions they had completed before leaving the guild.

When they entered the Mission Hall this morning, they found out exactly what they had to do for the next few years!

...

"How many mandatory missions do you have to do? I have 98 missions on my record," Minos said with a bitter smile on his face as he took his score.

Even though his and his companions' previous records had been erased, the guild had set the missions they had to complete for the period between their departure and the destruction of their previous records.

Even with a clean record, and one that should have no such obligation, each of them received the missions due, a sign that someone was already acting against them.

"I got 102."

"I was worse. 106," Otis said, looking at his five human companions.

"I got 96 missions." Ruth said, being the one with the fewest responsibilities among them.

While they were gathered in the hall where the optional missions of the indoor area were displayed, the six of them gathered in one of the corners of the area to talk about these duties.

Of their duties, 20 were ridiculously more difficult than the others, while the rest were simple things for people of their rank.

"I guess we've all done missions outside of the curve for the punishments the Commander gave us, right? What's the hardest mission for each of you? And how long do you have to solve it?" Minos asked the most important question.

"I have two years to solve them all. As for the most complicated, I think it would be a mission where I have to travel to the Magma Barrens. I have to collect a fire essence in that area." Ruth said in a worried tone.

The Magma Barrens was a famous place in the central region of Oqia, where there were opportunities for high-ranking Sovereigns to become Supremes!

"My time limit for solving these 20 missions is similar. Two years, and the most complicated one is also in the Magma Barrens. But instead of collecting a fire essence, I have to hunt down a fugitive from the guild." Otis replied.

"Looks like we both have missions in that region." Minos frowned as he looked at the other three.

"Yes, I have a mission in that area as well."

"So do I."

"Not for me. My most complicated mission is to help with Gallell's experiments." Said the last of them, the only one who hadn't been chosen to go to the Magma Barrens.

"Gallell? Intermediate Officer Gallell?" Ruth looked at the man as she recognized the name.

"That's the one." The level 107 man said with a bitter smile on his face.

Gallell is an alchemist and doctor of the guild, a scholar so to speak. He was constantly experimenting in search of new creations, which is why he was known to some of the guild members.

It wasn't uncommon for his experiments to go wrong, so everyone understood why this man considered this to be his most difficult mission.

Helping a level 110 scholar with experiments was as dangerous as fighting creatures more powerful than Gallell himself!

"We will try to help you become stronger and leave this mission for you to solve last. In the meantime, concentrate on solving the easier missions." Minos told him.

After he said that, they would talk about the other 19 punishment missions for each of them, which were mostly different from each other.

But there were missions where one or the other of them would have to do similar things, near to each other. Minos realized this was probably Jembei's doing, an attempt by the enemy to unite them on various occasions outside of the guild in order to eliminate them.

Fortunately, the enemy didn't know what they were capable of right now!

"The Magma Barrens mission should be the place where our enemies want to eliminate us. The other missions are to try to eliminate us, with several chances for the enemy group to hurt us, but if they fail, the Magma Barrens is the enemy's last move." Minos' eyes lit up as he spoke. "In that case, let's prepare for this damn mission first. We can travel there together and help each other. We'll use that to our advantage to deal with them in one fell swoop.

If I'm right, we'll be able to eliminate the enemies in a single mission, and then do the 19 punishment missions without running into the dangers we'd run into if we followed a different plan."

Rather than keep giving his enemies opportunities, Minos preferred a single confrontation to settle his differences with Jembei in one fell swoop!

His companions understood Minos' point and agreed that it would be much more difficult to survive if they followed another plan.

"So, when do we leave? We don't have much time for each of these missions." Ruth asked him.

"We will give our companions a month to adjust to the guild and prepare the ground for them to grow in our absence. We'll leave for the Magma Barrens in a month!"