Chapter 447:Assignments.

Chapter 447: 447:Assignments.

Silver opened the shop.

[Advanced Shop Access.]

Categories expanded.

• Weapons.

• Equipment.

• Medicine.

• Beast resources.

• Skill resources.

• Training resources.

• Consumables.

• Utility.

• Special.

Silver ignored weapons first.

He needed a sword, that was obvious, but the academy provided training weapons, and buying some absurdly powerful system sword simply because he had AP felt wasteful.

He opened skill resources and several items appeared.

[Advanced Skill Proficiency Fragment - 1,200 AP]

[Skill Insight Crystal - 2,000 AP]

[Spatial Comprehension Shard - 3,500 AP]

Silver’s gaze stopped at the Spatial Comprehension Shard.

He opened it.

[Spatial Comprehension Shard]

[Assists the user in understanding an existing spatial ability at a deeper conceptual level.]

[Does not directly increase skill level.]

[Effectiveness depends on existing spatial affinity and comprehension.]ℯ

[Price: 3,500 AP.]

Silver’s eyes narrowed as he stared at it for a few seconds longer than necessary. It was very useful but expensive. He added it to a mental list and continued.

Training resources.

[Accelerated Recovery Solution - 400 AP]

[Advanced Physical Conditioning Capsule - 1,100 AP]

[Mental Processing Enhancement - 1,800 AP]

[Combat Simulation Token - 750 AP]

Silver frowned.

The academy already provided excellent training. Buying things that merely duplicated what he could receive here wasn’t efficient.

He moved to utility, then stopped again.

[Portable Spatial Anchor - 2,800 AP]

He opened it.

[Creates a temporary spatial reference point recognizable through spatial perception.]

[May assist spatial navigation, Short-Step accuracy and return positioning within effective range.]

His interest increased immediately. That could be extremely useful, especially in an urban environment, but he didn’t know whether academy regulations would allow system equipment during the assessment; probably not if it wasn’t registered.

Silver closed it.

"Later."

He moved to special items only to find the prices to be more ridiculous.

Eight thousand.

Twelve thousand.

Twenty-five thousand.

Silver closed that section immediately.

"I’m rich, not stupid."

The Happiness System offered no opinion.

He leaned back on his bed as he looked up at the ceiling. He didn’t need to spend AP simply because he had it... that was the trap.

He’d survived Death Row Valley partly because he’d had resources available when things went wrong.

The upcoming assessment was simulated.

He didn’t need to burn thousands of points trying to dominate it, but he did need to start thinking longer-term.

Short-Step Lv3 was excellent.

Spatial Distortion & Barriers Lv2 had become practical.

Space Slash was still Lv2.

Advanced Swordsmanship Lv2 still lagged behind his firearm proficiency.

Insight Lv2 and Field Analysis Lv2 had become increasingly useful.

His body was stronger and his perception had increased dramatically.

What he lacked wasn’t raw power, it was refinement, efficiency and options.

He opened the Spatial Comprehension Shard again.

[Price: 3,500 AP.]

He stared, more like glared at it, then closed it.

Not yet.

Another prompt appeared.

[Quest Function Updated.]

Silver sat straighter.

That hadn’t happened in a while, he’d almost forgotten the system had this function within it. Maybe it was just temperamental and came when ut was least expected.

The interface expanded.

[New Development Quest Available.]

[Quest: First Major Assessment]

[Objective: Participate in Alpha Three Academy’s First-Year Graded Field Assessment.]

[Primary Condition: Complete assigned mission objectives.]

[Secondary Conditions will be generated according to mission circumstances.]

[Performance-based rewards available.]

[Reward quality influenced by mission performance, decision-making and Target development.]

He read the final line again.

Target development.

It seems Ravenna gad also been inevitably been pulled into the quest.

Then another notification appeared.

[Optional Objective: Demonstrate measurable improvement in spatial efficiency.]

[Optional Objective: Complete assessment without excessive reliance on Short-Step.]

Silver read through it then laughed quietly.

"It seems that even you noticed."

The system remained silent.

Silver leaned back against the wall. He wasn’t buying the Spatial Comprehension Shard yet, not before the assessment.

If the system itself wanted him to demonstrate improvement, then he wanted to see how far academy training could push him without purchasing an answer.

Afterward?

That was a different question.

He closed the shop.

[Current Affection Points: 16,214.]

They were plenty, for now.

The door opened and Dillian entered.

He saw Silver sitting on the bed.

"You’re here early."

"Thinking."

"About the assessment?"

"Mostly."

He placed his bag down.

"Class One received ours today too."

Silver looked over.

"Same mission?" He curiously asked.

Dillian shook his head.

"Search and extraction. That’s all they’ll tell us."

That was both interesting and concerning all that once. Different classes might be running similar assessments, possibly the same environment, possibly not.

Silver didn’t ask further.

Dillian sat down while facing him.

"People are already trying to predict squads," he said.

"Pointless."

"Agreed."

Silver smiled.

Dillian looked toward him.

"Do you want command?"

He thought about it. Three weeks ago, he might have answered yes automatically.

Now?

"I want to see whether I’m good at it."

Dillian nodded.

"Different answer."

"What about you?"

Dillian considered.

"If they give it to me, I’ll do it."

"And if they don’t?"

"I’ll follow whoever they choose."

Silver smiled.

Peter would approve of him so fast.

The door opened again and Antony entered dramatically.

"I have terrible news," he loudly declared.

Silver looked over.

"What?" He asked.

"Rebecca thinks she should be squad leader."

Dillian looked completely uninterested as he spoke.

"And?"

Antony closed the door.

"She’s probably right."

Silver laughed out loud at that.

"Good one."

---

The following morning, Class Four was louder than usual.

Everyone knew why.

Squad assignments.

Peter entered exactly on time and activated the display without greeting anyone.

Five squad designations appeared.

Silver sat straighter, his gaze on the board. Ravenna stopped tapping her pen. Helena looked forward. Shirley folded her arms.

Peter looked across the class.

"Before I show you the assignments, understand something."

The room quieted.

"These squads were not created to make you comfortable."

Nobody seemed surprised.

"They were not created to maximize raw combat power."

Silver expected that too.

"They were created to give the academy information." Peter continued. "Some of you will be placed with people whose abilities complement yours." He paused. "Some won’t."

Several students shifted.

"Some of you will receive leadership roles." His gaze moved through the room. "Some of you who expect leadership won’t."

Silver smiled faintly, he felt as though he was one of the targets for that sentence.

Peter turned toward the display.

"Your preparation begins when these names appear."

The screen changed and the rows began filling with names. Students leaned forward, curiosity and anxiety fully taking over.

Silver saw names appearing: Caleb, Mina, Elias, Helena, Shirley, then his own. Before he could read the entire squad, Peter switched the screen off.

The class erupted in protests.

"Sir!"

He turned to towards them while fiddling with the remote.

Silver laughed, even Ravenna stared at him in disbelief.

Peter’s expression didn’t change through it all.

"One final lesson before you start preparing."

The class gradually settled.

He walked toward the center of the room.

"You’ve spent the last three weeks learning how to fight."

He looked toward Ravenna.

"How to control your abilities."

Helena.

"How to protect people."

Shirley.

"How to gather information."

Silver.

"How to make decisions."

Then to the entire class.

"In four days, we’re going to take away your certainty."

The room became silent.

"The map you’re given may be accurate." Peter paused. "Until it isn’t... The personnel you’re searching for may be where intelligence suggests." Another pause. "Until they aren’t... The extraction route may remain open."

He let that one hang since nobody needed the rest, they all understood the undertone.

Peter looked across the thirty-one first-years.

"Do not spend the next four days preparing for the mission to go according to plan."

Silver remembered their first tactical lesson. The patrol that survived because it stopped obeying a dead plan.

Peter’s voice became quieter.

"Prepare for what you’re going to do when it inevitably goes wrong."

The display turned on again, squad assignments appeared, and this time, Peter left them there.