Chapter 6: Magic Power Increase
"Wait! Ren, you're a newbie, you have no idea what an S-Class mission is! You don't know how dangerous they are! And we aren't S-Class Mages, we aren't qualified to take it! This job should be for an S-Class Mage."
Elfman quickly pulled Ren aside, whispering in a voice only they could hear, trying to stop him. He couldn't bear to lose another comrade on an S-Class mission.
"But we already accepted the mission. And today is the third day. Are we just going to stand by and watch the client get killed?"
"That..."
He couldn't say it in front of the client. But Ren was right. S-Class missions were, by definition, incredibly dangerous. One wrong move could get you killed. Even S-Class Mages didn't accept them lightly.
And they were completely out of time. Even if an S-Class Mage accepted the job right now, it would probably be all over by the time they arrived.
Ren continued to work on Elfman. "Elfman, this is an S-Class mission. Don't you want to see if you can handle it?"
Elfman was tempted. It was true. If he waited until he could take S-Class missions, it might be years. And before that, he'd still have to pass the S-Class trial.
"This is a rare opportunity. If we miss it, who knows when we'll get another."
"Don't you want to see the view from the second floor? If we complete this and the Master recognizes our strength, we might even get to go up there early."
"Besides, aren't you a real man, Elfman? Are you just going to watch a client get murdered by bad guys?"
Elfman's face flushed, goaded by Ren's words. "A REAL MAN!!"
The moment Ren heard him shout "A real man," he knew he had him.
"Mayor Kos, we'll take this mission."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The mayor was emotional. He had been terrified every day since receiving the letter. Even with the Rune Knights protecting him, he didn't feel safe, which is why he had re-posted the request.
Ren looked at the mayor. "Mayor Kos, since they're planning an attack, we don't need to go hunting for them. We'll just sit tight and wait for them to come to us."
Elfman was puzzled. "But will they really come?" This place was surrounded by Rune Knights. It was heavily guarded, layered with traps. They wouldn't be stupid enough to walk right in, would they?
"They probably will. After all, they already made the threat. If they don't show, they'll be a laughingstock for the rest of their lives. The fact that they sent a warning instead of just attacking means they're completely confident in their own strength."
"Mayor Kos, during this time, you cannot leave our sight. If you do, I can't guarantee your safety. I'd hate to get rid of all the enemies just to find there's no one left to pay us."
Ren's tone was calm, but it was full of pressure, making even the mayor feel stressed.
"R... Right!"
"Good. Elfman, you'll be the mayor's personal bodyguard."
"What about you, Ren?"
"Me? I'll be in charge of eliminating all enemies who show up," Ren said with a small smile.
"Wait! Ren, that's the infamous King of Assassins we're talking about!" Elfman was incredulous. Ren actually intended to fight the King of Assassins.
"So what?"
Just those two words left Elfman speechless.
"Mayor Kos, please have some food prepared. We probably have a big fight ahead of us. It would be bad to run out of energy at a critical moment."
"Yes, yes! Right away!" Seeing Ren so calm, the mayor's confidence in him grew. He immediately arranged for the kitchen to prepare a meal.
Soon, delicious, fragrant food was brought to the table. Ren began to eat heartily, but Elfman had no appetite.
"Hm? Elfman, you're a big guy. Why are you eating so little?"
"Ren, this is an S-Class..."
Ren smiled. "I know. That's what makes it more exciting, right?"
"..."
He saw it clearly now. Ren might look like a normal person, but deep down, he was a complete and utter lunatic.
After eating his fill, Ren sat on the sofa and looked at his system panel.
[S-Class Mission: Eliminate the Phantom Marauders. Mission Reward: One 10-Pull.]
The system panel had updated the mission. This was the main reason Ren wanted to do it.
Ren tapped the screen, selecting everyone except Ulquiorra, and chose "Recycle."
[Confirm recycling all selected characters?]
"Confirm!"
[Ding! Recycle successful! Host's Magic Power increased by ☆!]
This was a built-in function of the system. Extra characters could be recycled for magic power. This meant all the trash pulls could be converted into strength.
"A half-star? System, aren't you being a little cheap? I even threw in a blue-rarity elite. That was my very first pull, it was sentimental!"
[All calculations are automated. If Host wishes to gain more magic power, please recycle higher-quality characters.]
"Forget it. I guess I'm just a generous guy."
Recycle higher-quality characters? What a joke. All he had was Ulquiorra. If he recycled him, who would he use?
A gold character... it took 100 pulls for one guaranteed pity.
A quick calculation: one S-Class mission gave 10 pulls. 100 pulls meant ten S-Class missions for a single guaranteed gold.
It just showed how precious gold characters were.
Of course, a gold character was worth that high price.
[Host: Ren]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Magical Power: ★☆]
[Magic: Take Over]
[Character Card: Ulquiorra Cifer]
"One and a half stars of magic power... I should be able to use about one-tenth of Little Ul's strength for three minutes."