Chapter 110: The Ashcroft Family’s First Real Test

[Mission Details Unlocked.]

Reinhard looked at the screen while the others gathered around the Association terminal.

[Mission: Abyssal Ruin Survey.]

[Location: Northern Elyndor Frontier.]

[Difficulty: C-Rank+.]

[Recommended Team Rank: Top 100.]

[Minimum Recommended Experience: 10 Missions.]

[Estimated Completion Time: 2–4 Hours.]

[Primary Objective: Retrieve the Ancient Mana Core.]

[Secondary Objective: Recover Surviving Personnel.]

Lily’s eyes widened. "That looks much harder than yesterday."

"It is," the coordinator said, glancing at their record. "Your team has completed two missions. This one is normally given to teams with considerably more experience."

Maki studied the details. "What makes it C-Rank+?"

"The ruins themselves," the coordinator explained. "The Mana inside changes constantly, detection becomes unreliable, and some passages shift without warning. There have also been reports of mutated monsters and hostile Awakeners using the ruins as a base."

Yuna looked toward Emily. "So this is less about killing everything and more about controlling the situation."

"Exactly."

Reinhard noticed the reward listed beneath the objectives. It was several times higher than what they had received from their previous missions.

Higher-ranked missions weren’t only about stronger enemies. They also offered resources that could accelerate a team’s growth.

Maki noticed it as well. "The rewards increase this much once you reach higher difficulty?"

The coordinator nodded. "That’s why experienced teams eventually stop taking low-level missions. Once they can handle greater risks, the resources become far more valuable."

He hesitated before continuing. "However, there’s another problem."

He pulled up the team rankings.

The Ashcroft Family was sitting at #104.

"Your ranking is rising much faster than your experience," he said. "Most teams around your position have completed dozens of missions. Some have been active for years."

Maki looked at the board. "So our ranking doesn’t mean we’re actually as experienced as the teams around us."

"No. Ranking measures performance, contribution, reputation, and mission results. It doesn’t erase the experience gap."

Emily nodded. "Then we’ll have to close that gap."

The coordinator looked surprised.

Emily didn’t hesitate. "Let’s take it."

Reinhard smiled. "Then let’s see where we stand."

Before they left, the coordinator opened the upper section of the ranking board.

The difference was immediate.

#5 — Silver Dawn.

#4 — Black Fang.

#3 — Eternal Spear.

#2 — Crimson Saint.

#1 — Radiant Dominion.

"These teams have been operating in Elyndor for years," the coordinator said. "The higher you go, the less you can rely on raw strength. They know the frontier, understand different mission environments, and have formations that have been tested hundreds of times."

Maki looked at their own record.

Two missions.

Lily stared at the same number. "We’re doomed."

"We’re not doomed," Maki said.

She paused. "We’re just extremely inexperienced."

Lily looked at Reinhard. "That’s worse."

Reinhard laughed quietly as they headed toward the vehicle.

Several hours later, the northern frontier came into view.

The ruins were scattered across a barren stretch of black earth, with broken towers and ancient walls rising from the ground. Thin streams of Mana drifted between them, moving in directions that didn’t match the surrounding terrain.

The moment they entered, Maki stopped.

"The Mana is wrong."

Yuna looked at her. "Wrong how?"

"It isn’t random."

Maki closed her eyes and focused. The Enlightenment Grapes had changed the way she perceived Mana. Instead of trying to calculate every possibility, she could now see the larger flow surrounding her.

The Mana wasn’t simply shifting.

It was avoiding certain areas.

She opened her eyes. "The left passage is safer."

Lily looked down the empty corridor. "How do you know?"

"The Mana is moving away from it."

Yuna didn’t question her. "We’ll take the left."

A minute later, three mutated abominations burst through the corridor they had avoided.

Lily looked back at them. "Okay. I officially trust Maki."

"Good," Maki said. "Try not to make me regret it."

They continued deeper into the ruins, and Maki began calling out changes in the Mana before anyone else could sense danger. Yuna adjusted their formation each time, allowing the group to avoid several ambushes without wasting time.

It was different from yesterday.

Maki wasn’t trying to predict everything anymore.

She was reading the battlefield as it changed.

Then a C-Rank abomination suddenly lunged from the ruins.

Lily instinctively moved forward, then stopped herself.

Yesterday, she would have charged without thinking.

This time, she waited.

The abomination swung its claws. Lily raised her sword, reinforced her body with Mana, and redirected the blow instead of meeting it directly. She stepped aside, released a burst of Mana pressure, and used the opening to cut across its exposed side.

The abominations collapsed.

Emily watched her for a moment. "Better."

Lily turned around. "That’s it?"

Emily smiled. "You want a medal?"

"Yes."

"Maybe after we finish the mission."

Lily grinned and followed the others.

They eventually reached the central chamber, where the missing supply convoy had been found.

Several crates were scattered across the floor, but the survivors were nowhere in sight.

Yuna raised her hand. "Stop."

Everyone froze.

Footsteps echoed from the surrounding passages.

Awakeners emerged from the ruins, carrying weapons made from scavenged materials.

The enemies spread out immediately.

Yuna’s expression became focused. "Maki, left side. Lily, stay with her. Emily, hold the center."

The formation moved.

Maki used the Mana currents to read where the enemies were trying to cut them off, while Lily stayed close instead of chasing targets. Emily fought with Aeon without activating her Gnosis, relying on her swordsmanship, physical movement, and basic Mana reinforcement.

For the first few moments, everything went according to plan.

Then the enemy formation changed.

A powerful Mana signature erupted from the rear.

Yuna’s eyes widened.

A man stepped from the ruins with a weapon resting across his shoulder.

His Mana pressure spread through the chamber.

"B-Rank," Emily said quietly.

The enemy smiled. "You shouldn’t have come here."

He raised his weapon and attacked.

The strike tore through the air toward Lily.

Yuna reacted immediately. "Reinhard, now!"

Reinhard stepped forward and raised one hand.

The attack stopped.

The B-Rank Awakener’s expression changed.

He pushed harder, but the weapon didn’t move another inch.

Reinhard looked at him calmly. "You’re making this harder than it needs to be."

He released a fraction of his physical strength.

The ground beneath his feet cracked.

The enemy’s weapon shattered, and the shock threw him backward.

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Lily stared. "That was just a punch."

Reinhard glanced at her. "Technically, yes."

Yuna looked at him. "Can you disable him?"

"Of course."

Reinhard moved once.

The B-Rank Awakener hit the ground and didn’t get back up.

The remaining enemies immediately lost their will to fight.

Yuna quickly regained control. "Secure the survivors. Maki, check the eastern passage. Lily, stay with her. Emily, search the central chamber."

The family moved.

Reinhard stayed behind.

Emily passed him and briefly glanced at his hand. "Your body adapted."

Reinhard looked at her.

She smiled. "I noticed."

He didn’t answer.

Emily didn’t ask again.

The rest of the mission went smoothly. Maki located the survivors by following the Mana flow through a collapsed passage. Lily helped clear the debris instead of rushing ahead, and Yuna coordinated everyone without waiting for Reinhard to tell her what to do.

Emily eventually reached the deepest chamber. She stopped. An enormous crystal structure stood in the center, surrounded by layers of ancient stone. Mana flowed through it so densely that even Emily could feel the pressure from several meters away.

"This is the Mana Core," she said.

Reinhard approached and studied it. The coordinator had called it an ancient Mana Core. That description was technically correct, but the object was far more valuable than they had been told. Even damaged, it contained an enormous amount of refined Mana.

Maki looked at it and understood immediately. "This isn’t just a mission objective."

The coordinator had warned them that higher-ranked missions offered better resources. This was one of those resources. If properly processed, the core could provide enough Mana for an entire team’s long-term training.

Emily carefully secured it. "We’re taking this home."

...

When they return back, the Association recorded the mission as complete.

[Mission Completed.]

[Abyssal Ruin Survey — Completed.]

[Completion Time: 31 Minutes.]

[Credits Awarded: 75,000.]

[Contribution Points Awarded: 480.]

[High-Difficulty Mission Cleared.]

[Special Performance Bonus Granted.]

[Contribution Ranking: #8.]

[Fame Increased!]

[70, 235 —> —> 80,456]

[Current Fame: 80,456 / 1,000,000]

[Description: Screen shots of Emily being in the top 10 contribution is already spreading through the city. Now even families and friends of fans are starting to think more about Emily Ashcroft]

The coordinator stared at the results.

"Thirty-one minutes?"

He checked the record again. The recommended completion time had been two to four hours. Then another notification appeared.

[Ancient Mana Core Recovered.]

[Mission Performance: Exceptional.]

[Additional Team Reputation Awarded.]

The coordinator’s expression changed. "This isn’t just an ordinary clear."

Maki looked at him. "What happened?"

"The mission’s final evaluation was upgraded."

He looked at the screen again before continuing. "You received the maximum contribution score available for this mission."

The family exchanged glances. They had entered expecting a difficult C-Rank+ mission. Instead, they had completed it in thirty-one minutes, defeated a hidden B-Rank threat, rescued the survivors, and recovered the core with an exceptional performance rating.

Then the Association’s main ranking board updated.

[Team Ranking Updated.]

[The Ashcroft Family.]

[#104 → #47.]

Lily jumped. "We’re forty-seven!"

Maki stared at the number for several seconds before smiling. Yuna looked toward Emily and Emily simply nodded.

Another board changed.

[Rising Teams.]

[#31 → #6.]

People nearby had started whispering. "Isn’t that Emily Ashcroft?"

"The Young Devil King?"

"That’s the Ashcroft Family."

"They’ve only been registered for a short time."

"Who is their leader?"

"Reinhard Ashcroft."

A message appeared on the coordinator’s terminal.

Then another.

Then a third.

His expression became increasingly strange.

Emily noticed. "What happened?"

"One of the Top Ten teams requested your mission records."

Lily’s eyes widened. "Already?"

The coordinator swallowed. "Then another team requested information about your leader."

Maki looked toward Reinhard.

The coordinator opened the request.

The first question was simple.

Who is Reinhard Ashcroft?

The coordinator entered his name.

The reply came almost immediately.

Rank?

The coordinator hesitated.

He checked the Association database.

Combat Classification: Pending Evaluation.

He entered:

"Unclassified."

A second message appeared.

Combat Record?

The coordinator stared at the empty file.

There was almost nothing.

The family had only completed two missions before today, and Reinhard had never undergone a formal combat evaluation.

The coordinator slowly looked toward the man standing with the Ashcroft Family.

For the first time, the attention wasn’t centered on Emily.

People were starting to wonder who Reinhard Ashcroft was.

Later that evening, the family returned home and gathered around the ranking display.

#47.

They had started at #187.

In only three missions, they had entered the top fifty.

Lily pointed at the screen. "We’re going to make the Top Ten."

Maki shook her head. "There are still forty-six teams above us."

"Then we’ll beat them."

Yuna smiled. "She’s right."

Emily looked at the ranking board for several seconds.

"How long until the next ranking evaluation?"

"One month," Maki answered.

Emily looked at everyone. "Then let’s see how high we can climb in one month."

Reinhard smiled before a familiar notification appeared before him.

[Investment Opportunity Detected.]