It's been a week since I got a second Gift, and as I stared at my class in front of me, I couldn't help but chuckle.
They were all wearing some tight uniforms, when in reality, it was just a formality.
We were the scouting unit.
We wouldn't actually see the ambassador.
That's why I was in some casual loose clothes.
Though I did have a scarf.
Clementine got me a nice little blue scarf.
Seeing that their murmurs were wrapping up, I turned my gaze over to our instructor, Trivet.
"Class, I've already briefed you all on your positions. Amon Everness, you and I will be at the head of the unit, since you are much stronger than the rest of your class. As for the others, split into three groups of six people and scout out the areas I had briefed you on. Understood?"
"Yes, instructor!"
He turned toward me.
"Amon?"
I nodded after a brief pause.
That was enough.
My class immediately headed out of the class and began making their way to where their posts would be.
I glanced at Isabelle's departing back, and I couldn't help but sigh.
She was strangely quiet this past week.
Kevin, Melina and the others I had gone on the mission with were too.
Even Natasha.
Did something happen that I wasn't aware of?
I'll have to ask later.
I stood up and walked over to Trivet.
"Instructor, the ambassador has almost arrived. Don't you think we should head out as well?"
Trivet shook his head.
"The Special Class can handle the minor stuff. If anything, I doubt we'll have to do a thing. We're only there because we wanted to flash our academy's crest."
Yeah, that makes sense.
Sadly for us though, the ambassador's life was in serious danger.
"Say, Amon. I noticed that during training you haven't used your Gift much. Why is that?"
What a weird question.
"Why should I use it? It's physical training. If I use my Gift to fill in my shortcomings, those shortcomings will exist forever."
"Your Gift will also exist forever, but I understand. You're wise for thinking so."
An even weirder response.
Even so, he finished scribbling something on the paper, and eventually, he stood up as well.
Gesturing for me to follow, he began rushing out of the classroom.
He was surprisingly fast for an instructor.
Though he was a lot stronger than the other instructors.
He was around Grade 20 in power at this time.
I could still catch up though since I channeled lightning into my feet.
I also realized that the crackling was just cosmetic. If I imagined it not being there, it wouldn't be there, and I wouldn't give myself away.
So just like that, the two of us soon left the academy and jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
Eventually, we arrived at a bell tower that overlooked the northern gate of Aldraazan.
It was almost like a parade was going on.
There were tens of massive blue banners parading the streets, and five carriages, all of which seemed to be enhanced somehow.
Trivet chuckled.
"Pretty fancy for a corrupt ambassador."
That's probably why they want him dead.
"Corrupt or not, we have to protect him."
"You're sadly right... Do you see your classmates?"
Tilting my head at his question, I glanced around.
I spotted Isabelle's group near the slums, Kevin's group in the merchant district, and then Melina's group was patrolling the direct path the ambassador was taking.
Her job was to use her Gift to make the assassins reveal themselves. If they were revealed, she could just tell them to die, and they would.
I really wished I had her Gift.
Aside from that, I answered him.
"I see them all."
But if I wanted everything to go smoothly, I had to point something out.
"Don't you think there are too few people from our side guarding the ambassador?"
"Looks fine to me."
Then you're blind.
"Do six armed soldiers seem like enough?"
"..."
Hmm?
Hold on just a second.
He was a kind person and someone who wasn't a coward.
He helped quite a lot in the mid game before eventually dying.
But... could this kind person really be in on it?
I never considered that possibility.
Though I was never this close to him before.
Is that why he separated me?
"Instructor, may I do a little bit of scouting on my end?"
He turned toward me with a blank smile.
"Amon, we don't need to act. Just remain here, and if on the off chance your classmates are having trouble, you may step in."
As I was about to retort his words, a set of pop-ups appeared in front of me, making me nearly lose my composure.
[Ding!]
[You have triggered an emergency quest!]
[Objective: Protect the ambassador.]
[Reward: +25 Free Stat Points]
[Additional Reward if you discover all the Jaded Empire's spies: Staff of Jordan]
So there was much more to this quest than what I had seen in the game.
I thought that might be the case, but it was never important enough for me to look deeper.
Although I had no clue what kind of item Staff of Jordan was, if all I needed to do was find the enemy nation's spies, then it must be worth my time.
And at least it wasn't a shit quest like asking me to kill Clementine.
Still...
Trivet's a spy, isn't he?
Is the quest not going to trigger?
I suppose not...
I guess deep down, I kind of knew I had to kill him if I wanted to complete the quest.
Hesitation came from my good memories of him.
But what if he wasn't actually a good person?
What if all the times he had made himself out to be a good person... he actually orchestrated all of that.
Then that also reminded me of one more thing.
What if instead of dying, he faked his death back then?
It seemed like a shot in the dark at first, until I recalled just how his death was portrayed.
After Trivet's fight against one of the demons, Kevin never found a body.
Only a few scraps of clothing.
It felt like all of the pieces were starting to finally click together.
And as I stared at Trivet's back, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of regret.
He had helped Kevin against a few demons, and as a Grade 20, he was useful to humanity.
...But if my hunch was correct, he was not only a traitor, but he was also somehow connected to the demons.
And since that was the case...
He's someone I must kill.