As Alex entered the mission hall along with his roommates, he found a number of wooden chairs put in the mission hall for all the first years. A dais was erected on the right side of the mission booths. There were a few large boards on top of the booths indicating the leaders in completing various missions. There were boards for both teacher and students. There were a few students near the booths as they were requesting for missions to complete
Alex and his roommate Gray decided to explore the booth before they sat down on the chairs that were clearly put there for them. They wanted to check if there were any missions that were available for them to pursue. On giving his information, he was given a small tablet by the lady behind the counter.
"Just inject some mana into the device and you can use it to browse the various missions and resources available to be exchanged. You only need to come to the booth to provide proof of completion of missions and return the items or if you want to exchange points for resources," explained the lady before sending him off.
Apparently, all newcomers would be issued such a device which they need to maintain and give back before leaving the academy. Any damage would be compensated by the student and if they failed to use it for more than three month, a notification would be sent to the staff indicating the location of the device.
Alex was a bit surprised on learning that. He didn't expect that each student would be given a device just for the sake of convenience. He found it a bit extravagant and on exploring he realized that this device could also be used for browsing special books that were available in library which would require points. He checked and found out that he had been given 50 points by default, but he was disappointed as most of the stuff was locked for him.
As Alex and Gray came back with a couple of tablets, the rest of his roommates also made way towards the booths to get their devices. As he browsed through the device, he tried to take a mission but was prevented access to mission details and soon realized that his roommates were facings the same problem. But they continued to check the mission title and the various resources that were available to them in exchange for points.
As more first years joined they began to talk among each other about the various classes they had and how the academy differed from their expectations. For some it was better and for some it was worse. Being kids they didn't have a good understanding of actual magic and their thoughts about the academy were only based on the fantasies that they have concocted in their minds.
By 5.30 p.m. all the prefects of the first-year classes were near the dais and were waiting for a few professors to start the introduction. As it was time, three magicians glided into the hall. The three of them wore similar uniforms which were black and had a sword and a scepter on either sides of the emblem of the academy. This was the symbol of the mission hall of the academy. As they came up the dais, the prefects assembled on either sides of the them.
The one in the centre looked like a normal magician wearing a silver hat, with a silver cloak over his back. He had about 7 feet tall and had a scepter in his hand that was about 8 feet long. He had a dark colored skin with a chiseled face, hawk like eyes and a moustache on top a chiseled body that gave him a fearsome appearance. The one on his right was something entirely unexpected as he was a beastman. He had the face of a wolf and the rest of his body was covered except for his tail. The other one was actually similar to the one at the centre but a bit shorter and with thicker arms.
"Hello everyone, I am the head of the mission hall, Jordan Mihawk. The ones to my side are Dunstan Mihawk and Samar Wolgen. There are the vice-heads of the mission hall. To the first years of the Nature Palace academy of magical sciences, I welcome you on behalf of the headmaster," said the man with courteous bow.
"Today you are all brought into the mission hall so that you get acquainted to the long-lasting culture of the academy which allowed all its students to grow into powerful magicians," he continued. "The mission hall is a place that would provide you options to improve all varieties of skills. This is the best way to practice all the different kind of skills. I hope you will be actively pursuing whatever mission you want to."
"From today, you will be given access to mission to pursue a few things and gain relevant experience in various fields. We have not yet given permission for you to take missions which I will release by the end of today, but I request that you keep a few things in mind while you pursue them," said Jordan. "You need to inform the prefect of your class of any mission that you want to take. They will inform you the guidelines that we recommend for the first years."
As he moved back and let the prefects take position, a boy with pale white hair and albino skin came forward. "My name is Sunny," said the boy. "I will inform you of the five guidelines suggested to you by the academy."
"First, I would like to tell you that most of the items and elixirs are beneficial to you and would help you progress faster, but they also have their disadvantages. I want you all to consult a teacher before you use or buy any using your points."
"Secondly, most of you have already checked the missions available and realized that almost all missions which provide more points would be the ones which require you to fight monsters. But these are dangerous and hard to finish if they involve going outside the academy. I would suggest you to not take such requests."
"Third. If you want some resource which is not available in the rewards provided by the school, you can setup a mission and exchange points for that resource. Our team at the mission hall will provide you with information if you want to set up missions."
"Fourth. No person can force you to take a mission. If you are being forced there will be an option on the top of the mission right beside the accept section. It will be in the shape of a skull. Selecting it will cause one of the personnel to come to your aid and the aggressor will be punished. Be careful to not randomly. You will only have three chances per year."
"Last. As we have suggested that the first years not exit the campus, we also had to provide missions for you within the academy. So, there will be mission which require you to help professors in various fields. These will all be low danger items like handling apothecary supplies, helping to create elixirs, initial preparation for making weapons, sales of finished products and the like. These will give you a basic idea of various professions and their importance in the society. So, I suggest that all first years would take such missions only. Such missions will be marked specially as apprentice level. The academy will waive responsibility for deaths or injuries incurred by students outside the academy if you don't follow our suggestions."
"Excuse me, Sir. Will there be deaths or injuries during these missions?" asked a first year.
"Many missions outside the campus will be dangerous and can cause death or even worse situations to the students. So, you need to be careful. Safety is guaranteed only inside the campus," said Sunny.
"Isn't that dangerous? Why do you put on such missions?"
"The occupation of a magician is dangerous," said the beastman, Samar who had been sitting quietly till now. As expected from his appearance, he had sharp voice that almost sounded like a bark. "You need to face danger some time or other. Most magician jobs involve danger and you need to learn to cope with the stress that comes along with it."
"Nothing good can be found without danger and no one would give you good things for free. Due to social concerns, the academy is made safe, but you need to learn to fight dangers and that is the main aim of setting up the mission hall. Even the missions in the campus are not unlimited and you have to go through a small test held by the person issue the mission before you can take it. Anyone who is expecting to get points without risking anything can stick to try and get points from teachers, but that will also not be possible without more points. The system of the academy doesn't allow growth and passing tests without practical experience," snarled Samar as he sat back down.
"Any other questions?" asked Sunny. He always thought the Samar was easily excited and his outburst proved that. The beastman were a race who lived along with humans in the continent but always had a much straight forward and easily excitable personalities. They were also born warriors and most looked down on humans most of whom had weaker physiques. He wouldn't have ever trusted Samar if they all hadn't known that Samar was actually contractually obligated to serve Jordan. As expected, the first-years were all calm for some time before a girl asked a question.
"If the number of missions are low for all the first years, wouldn't we be forced to accept missions outside the academy. How can you suggest to not take missions outside the academy while indirectly forcing us to do so?"
"Haha, good question. The answer is actually simple. There is one mission which is always available. It gives low amount of points though and can be taken by many students. It is to tend to the herbology gardens inside the academy. Apart from that, you can see that the academy is surrounded by forests. There are some collection quests nearby where the monsters are much weaker in which you would be accompanied by your seniors, but you need to get them to cooperate and help keep guard for you," said Sunny.
"You can learn a few skills in this manner, but it is not necessary. Finally, unless you create a mana pool within you and become a basic mage, you don't need much resources. For all magic apprentices, you have no need for points, but it is treated more as an experience building activity," said Sunny as he signaled Jordan.
"Experience is the main reason that most students check the objectives of the mission hall. It is a source of information and a hub that will allow you to pursue you interests. As a part of this, there are clubs for various professions and sub-professions. I have invited representatives for these clubs to introduce them to you. I hope that all the new students find interests in one or the other and pursue your field of interest. Clubs are meant for discussion and promotion of a certain field. There will be no restrictions on any if one feels that he would be better suited to another club and decides to change," explained Jordan as he glided out along with the other two teachers leaving the prefects in charge.
"Ok. For club, we have quite a few in various fields like different kinds of magic, potioneering, smithing, enchanting, engineering, etc." said Sunny as a few prefects started to set up stalls for different clubs which popped out of the storage equipment they had. A few other senior students also came into the mission hall and started to help them.
"There is no necessity for you to join a club, but it is recommended," said Sunny. "I myself am one of the top members of the lightning force club which pursues practice of lightning spells and even conducts small exhibitions so that other students realize the usefulness and the power of the spells. Some training sessions are also conducted even for second- and third-year students. All are welcome to spectate the event," said Sunny as another voice cut across him from the side.
"Stop the propaganda and finish it," yelled Arven rolling his eyes. A couple more of the senior students at the stalls started to comment in a similar fashion.
"OK. All clubs have similar events and training sessions which everyone can check them out. All the stalls that are being set up by various clubs will clarify any doubts you have about their clubs. Apart from the usual the clubs have their own way to exchange points and train you guys. All notices of events will be put on the noticeboard near your rooms. Apart from that inclusion in any club will allow you to check their events on the pads given to you by the mission hall. Lastly, you can only be in one club at a time, except for special cases," said Sunny. "Thank you. You can all get to the stalls now."
The first years were already looking at the different stalls being set up by their seniors while Sunny was talking. So, as soon as they heard the words 'thank you', they started to clap and started to move towards the stalls.
All stalls had a few things in common. The club name was in bold letter on the top and it usually informed the students about the field they pursued. Apart from that they had small enchanted screens on and pictures on which there were videos of past club activities for the new students to better understand them.
This was necessary as most students didn't see actual magic and quite a few of them were confusing. The seniors by the stalls tried to explain to the best of their abilities, but some of their explanations still went over their heads. Still, the first years' enthusiasm didn't wane, and they moved from one stall to other.
Even the seniors of the stalls suggested them to explore all the stalls and take an informed decision. Clubs in the academy were groups of students formed of similar interests and skill sets. The seniors usually tried to teach and provided missions to the junior members of the club where they juniors were given points in exchange for helping them. During this missions, the seniors generally give tips and put in some effort so that the junior learn properly and can help them effectively. So, they also didn't want any students who misunderstood about the clubs and lose interest in their activities later. For example, forging and enchanting go hand in hand, but most novices think them to be the same thing though they are considered different fields and have different clubs.