Artis reread the contents of the mission and looked at the Professor who gave him a nod of approval.
"So, for my first mission...I have to fight whoever is...stealing their money?" asked Artis realizing the absurdity of his first mission.
For his first mission to learn about being an Adventurer, the Professor tells him to straight-up fight a guy?
"You will only learn the details once you ask who issued the mission. But judging from the tone of this mission, yeah, it seems you will have to fight whoever this person tells you to."
Artis was in disbelief but quickly calmed down and looked at Professor with a straight face as he stood up to leave.
"Alright Professor, I understand."
Artis could tell easily why Professor chose this mission as his first objective. This was a test for him. A test, to prove himself if he could handle things on his own and a test to prove himself if he is ready to be an Adventurer. This test could prove 2 things for Artis, first that he is prepared to go out in the world and live and survive on his own. Second, he can regain his confidence and gain strength faster by accepting more missions to fulfill his goal of saving his sister.
'But one thing Professor doesn't know is that I am used to dealing with fights and circumstances under pressure. All I need is some information and some tricks to prepare myself for the upcoming fight. After all...A magician never performs unprepared.'
...
Artis came downstairs to the main hall looking for the person who might have issued the mission. He went to the first counter and asked for help with this mission.
Maya checked the mission and said smiling, "This isn't bad for your first mission. And let me check for a minute," she said while checking her computer, "Aha! Found it. This mission was issued 2 weeks ago and it seems multiple Adventurers had accepted it but weren't able to clear it. Around 10 Adventurers accepted this mission and failed. Do you still want to accept it?"
"What in the-? 10 people failed!" replied Artis astonished thinking about the information he received but thinking with a clear head.
'So even before me some Adventurers accepted this mission and failed it. This tells me that the guy is strong. Strong enough to handle a few Adventurers. This tells me, that he is either a Journeymen or about to ascend to the Proficient Tier. Dammit, this mission just got even harder than before!'
"Well, I believe in you, Artis!" cheered Maya, "If you want more information, look for a little girl who's around the age of 6-8. She's the one who issued this mission."
'Hm? Are little children even allowed to issue missions? Is there no age limit to issue a mission? Can I issue a mission myself?'
"Yes. They are allowed to issue missions," said Maya simply making Artis look at her in shock.
'Did she just-'
"Yes. That is one of my skills."
Artis looked at her for a moment before nodding and moving away from the counter.
...
He looked around the entire hall for a little girl and saw around the lounge area where multiple people were sitting and chatting.
On his way, his sight went to a small girl sitting on a sofa as she looked down at her smartphone with a sad expression visible on her face. She had black hair with twin tails, a fair round face with big eyes but the most notable part of her outfit was a white headband with a blue butterfly attached on it.
Artis approached her slowly believing her to be the girl who issued the mission.
He leaned down and asked slowly, "Hello? Are you the girl who issued the E-rank mission?"
The girl was startled a bit as she looked behind in a hurry to be greeted by a handsome and kind voice which made her look away after making eye contact.
"Ye-Yes. Are y-you he-here to accept the mission?" The girl's voice was stuttering in fear as she asked the question with a hint of sadness but hope visible in her voice.
Artis, hearing her couldn't help but be saddened by the voice but let out a huge smile as he leaned his hand against her ear which caused her to turn around her head in surprise.
In front of her, was a blue rose that widened her eyes in surprise as she grabbed the flower and looked up to Artis's smiling face which calmed down her a little.
Artis, noticing her calmness asked her again, "So, are you the one who issued the mission of fighting a bad guy somewhere?"
The girl looked down and nodded. Artis leaned down to her level and asked slowly, "Well, can you tell me the details of the mission and what bad things that person has done?"
The girl stood up and started walking outside glancing at Artis. "I'll tell you outside. Please, follow me."
Artis stood up and listened to the girl's story, "I think it started 2 weeks ago. My brother and I were going towards Central Library after returning from Spirity Forest. But then, suddenly a big man came out of nowhere and threatened us that if we wanted to pass through there, we would have to pay him money. My brother didn't agree to his demands and beat him up..."
Artis continued to listen without interrupting her, "He-He was hospitalized after the might. Many of my neighbors fought him but he beat them up. He came out of nowhere and nobody has been able to do anything about it. We even put up the mission here but still nobody has been able to do anything. Please help up!"
Artis listened to her worry without saying anything and did not respond to her for a few moments. The girl looked at Artis and had a sad expression as she started walking away from him.
"Where do you think you are going?" Artis called the little girl who turned her head to look at him.
He let out a small smile, "I never said I wasn't going to help. After all, I accepted this mission to complete it and earn some money in the process. Besides...I don't like how people flaunt their strength to bully weak people and think they are better than the rest. Oh, I hate it so much...and for these reasons, I'm going to help you."
The girl's face immediately brightened up upon hearing that Artis was going to help them, "Really?"
Artis nodded, "Sure. Well, little girl, what's your name?"
The girl thought for a while before responding, "Evan. Evan Parker."
"Well Evan," Artis let out his right hand, "I am Artis Janes. Hoping to have a good partnership with you."
...
Artis did say that he was going to help her, but he had no idea how. It would be the best-case scenario for him if he managed to talk to the big guy with just a little talk. But it was only wishful thinking on his part as Evan kept repeating how the big guy brutalized all her friends and neighbors without breaking a sweat which worried him a bit.
Artis absolutely had no information on that guy and going straight ahead to fight without any information was a suicide dive and he hoped to avoid it.
"Sigh."
He sighed a bit as he thought, 'If only having information was as easy as it sounded. All I know is that the guy is a big guy full of muscles and that his punches are like a rock which tells me nothing. Hmm, maybe I can gather some information from the neighbors around and see what I can do about it...But before that, I'll talk to Maya and gather the skill if I think what that skill is. It's going to be super handy in the future..."
Artis let out a sly smile as he crafted his plan which made Evan shake a little in worry as his eyes emitted an orange halo on his blue iris.