Cultivation Through Artifacts

"Missions?" asked Khal with surprise upon hearing that and after seeing his teacher's nod as a reply, he started to ponder.

He clearly understood what missions were and that is why he was startled to hear that they will start accepting missions in Moon Academy.

Missions were in fact, quite similar to the quests and tasks that the Cultivator's Organization put out for people to complete in Moon City.

However, there was a slight difference between Missions that were accepted from Moon Academy and Quests received from the Cultivator's Organization. As it was common knowledge, people could only accept tasks if their Rank was on or above the quest they wanted to accept. Anyone with a Rank that was below the specific quest they wanted was prohibited from accepting it or needed to find a party or partner that had a rank above the quest's rank. Naturally, the rewards they get then will be split equally among the members, which sometimes was worth it, but sometimes not.

But in Moon Academy, this was not the case. No matter if your Rank was above or below the accepted Mission's level, once you receive it you can complete it. It was 100% your responsibility which mission you choose and the Academy won't forbid anyone from accepting any of the missions.

Why? Because just like in real life, no one knows what the future holds. Once you take a step forward, maybe you will find yourself in tons of gold, but there was also the possibility that you will die during a fight. There won't be others telling you what you should or should not do and this is how Moon Academy exactly works. Every step you take, you need to learn how to bear the consequences of your actions no matter what.

In Khal's point of view, this system was a bit harsh, but at the same time to most logical, especially in this world where every action came with aftermaths. If not like this, how will those cultivators that always stay behind the Academy's safe walls learn what it means to 'take responsibility for your own actions'?

The answer was easy. Nohow.

Also, there is another reason why it was a good choice to take missions. While the Cultivator's Organization only gave herbs, crystals, Secret Arts, and other valuable items as rewards, Moon Academy's mission gave money to cultivators too. Naturally, the harder the mission you accept was, the more money you could get.

"And what I need right now is exactly money... I am completely broke right now..." thought Khal with a helpless sigh and glanced at Logan.

Since the very moment he entered Moon Academy with Liza, he had not a single coin that would let him buy food or drinks, let alone stuff that he would need or wanted in the future.

He already thought about a way to find money, and decided he will find a side job too, but first, taking on a mission was not a bad choice at all. Especially not that the one helping him was a powerful expert from Moon Academy!

"So, what kind of mission do you want me to accept?" asked Khal with aroused interest.

However, Logan didn't answer to Khal's question, but simply grinned and turned around.

"Just follow me and you will see it."

***

"This is completely unforgivable! Principal Jas, please think about it once again! That boy is unqualified to keep the Moon Robe!" a man in a black suit was standing in a huge room, his hand hardly pressed against the desk's surface before him. It was quite visible that the man was one of Moon Academy's teachers, yet, for some reason, looked exceptionally mad.

Jas, who sat behind the desk with his eyes closed and his complexion as peaceful as the stars at twilight, opened his mouth slowly and said quietly, "Connor, please calm down. There is no reason to be this heated over something like that."

"WHAT?! There is no reason?! We... No, that man just gave Moon Academy's future right into the very hands of a boy who failed to obtain a Talent in the Ceremony! How could I act calm after learning this? Do you truly believe that man did the right choice?! If you don't do something about this matter in an instant, then I can promise I will!"

The man called Connor clenched both sides of the desk with such power that it caused his huge fingers to turn pale, while on his neck, thick veins started to pop out one by one.

Jas, who sat still until now in one place like a calm Buddhist Monk, suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the man before him in silence. His eyes showed an intense amount of composure, but at the very same time annoyance too. If his eyes would have had the ability to talk, right now, they would say 'one more word and I will kill you'.

"!?"

Connor who was just about to explode like a volcano because of his raucous anger, suddenly noticed Jas's dagger-like stares, and like someone just threw him into ice-cold water, he calmed down and backed away in an instant.

"I... am truly sorry for my behavior. I stepped over a line that I never should had. Please forgive my foolishness! I will take any punishment, even if it means to be expelled from this Academy!"

Jas after watching as Connor bowed before him sincerely, acknowledging the foolish mistake he just did, sighed and just waved his hand.

"If you know your mistake then it's good. But I don't want to see nor hear something like this ever again in the future let it be about this matter or something else. I won't tolerate such begner before me and there won't be a next time, understood?" asked Jas quietly, but in Connor's ear, that voice was as loud as thunder, making his body tremble unconsciously.

"Understood! I promise that there won't be next time!" bowed Connor politely once again and was ready to leave, but suddenly the room's door burst wide open and a man ran inside hurriedly.

"Big news! Big news! That boy, Khal Nevio... He won his first match against Angor Fernax!"

When Jas and Connor heard this, both of their faces turned confused, not understanding why this was such big news.

In Moon Academy there were hundreds of cases daily where cultivators challenged each other in the hope to get stronger, so hearing that Khal won a challenge, which was in fact was for the key's right, was not such a big deal at all.

For them, right now it seemed like someone shouted that he won the lottery, but turns out he only just won 10$. It was not even a feat that was worth mentioning.

Or rather, they thought like this until the very moment the man didn't continue with his next sentence, causing the two to fell into complete silence under a single second.

"He succeeded to injure Angor's teacher, Raffin Cote!"

***

Somewhere in Moon Academy, inside a spacious and cozy building, Khal and Logan were standing before a huge hologram screen, looking at missions one after another.

On the enormous screen, that was almost as big a room's wall, thousands of missions could be seen next to each other, waiting for people to accept them for great rewards.

"Boring... Boring... Pfft, too easy... What the hell is this? Haha! Is this a joke?... Boring..."

Khal on the side watched Logan with an expressionless face as he swiped through dozens of missions, saying 'boring' or it was 'an easy mission'.

"This is pathetic... There are really not a single good missions today that we could accept or what?" scratched Logan his head with a kind of troubled expression and swiped to the next mission.

/Mission: Find medical herb 'Green Snake' in Shadow Woods./

"Why all of these missions are so... Simple? There is not a single hard one. Even if there are, those are hard only for First Stage Cultivators." sighed Logan helplessly.

So far, he swiped through around two hundred of missions under 15 minutes, but for some reason, each of them were an easy one. Some asked to collect herbs, some were about to help others in cultivation and there were even some that asked to find lost items! It was simply outrageous!

"I can't believe there is not a single one I want!" said Logan with a deep frown and swiped to the next mission.

However, instantly as he did, his eyes brightened up like lanterns under the night sky, and laughed up happily like a little kid who found his lost toy.

"Haha! This one! This will be just perfect! Haha! I knew I will find one!"

Khal who almost fell asleep because of pure boredom suddenly woke up and looked at the screen before him.

"What is it? Something good?" asked Khal curiously and stepped closer, but the instant he did, his expression froze up.

/Mission: Kill 5 Gold Hawks on Moon Mountain./