Mixed Blessing System

"Then we\'ll have to do a team mission..." Lothur muttered, thinking about how inconvenient that was. "Do we even get to choose the mission?"

Annaliese then answered him. "No."

"The academy will give a mission considering the strength of the group being tested. And it cannot be changed since the academy already considers the students\' safety in any kind of mission. So the test they pass is something possible to complete following the institution\'s requirements."

"We will have to team up with people we don\'t know and complete a surprise mission without fail..." Elke muttered to him, simplifying the situation they would be in when trying to join a faction.

"Hmm, that will be tricky." He said as he understood how this faction membership worked. \'With my strength and history of enemies, the mission my group will receive will have a higher level than the academy will judge...\'

\'Considering how susceptible most people are to coinage, I don\'t doubt that my enemies will be able to set a trap mission for me.\' Lothur\'s eyes narrowed.

He was somewhat skeptical of situations like this. So he would not be the one to think that everything would turn out as expected. On the contrary, unusual problems would certainly arise in his turn, and he would have to prepare for whatever stood in his way!

"Why do you think that? On account of your enemies?" Elke asked him.

"More or less that... Sigh. In any case, let\'s guard ourselves and keep getting stronger. Once some more time passes, the enemy will be totally out of date regarding our powers." He commented that before they entered an area where the missions he wanted to do alongside these two in the near future were.

But before they could discuss some of those alternatives, their group overheard two women talking about something important.

"Soon, we will have the competition for the Secret Realm slots... Ah, I\'m looking forward to that day!" A blonde girl commented to her friend while clenching her fists in determination.

"Hmm, each sector will have a representative in the Secret Realm. So there are six spots available..." The other said, remembering that the Sector 6 slot was open. "Since Viktoria already got her spot, the competition in Sector 6 will be fierce."

"True." The blonde girl nodded. "But more importantly, the three most advanced sectors will give Soul Bones to those who get the Secret Realm spot."

Hearing this, Lothur remembered this competition that would take place at the Morning Star Academy in a few weeks. \'I have to get the Sector 6 slot.\' He clenched his fists and felt he would have to improve a lot in the remaining days until that competition.

As in the Province Conference, some artifacts were not allowed in the battles of this student competition. That was because, just as in the local noble powers tournament, this selection gave opportunities to the best.

It was impossible to do this if students had items similar to the Elemental Staff since such a thing was a purchased resource, not a test of individual strength.

So Lothur knew that he would have to earn his place in the Secret Realm without his main weapon of the moment, which would put him in a tough situation. After all, there were cultivators at the same level and even stronger than Viktoria in Sector 6.

She was considered a favorite because she could fight those stronger than her. But Lothur was not unaware of the difference in level that existed between her and other cultivators in that sector.

Thus, he was naturally worried and had in mind to prepare for this event that was not far away.

"Anna, you will have to strive for the Sector 5 spot, and you from Sector 3, Elke." He said, already considering that by the time of the competition in question, he and Elke should be in Sector 3.

As for Annaliese, this woman had already managed to advance from Sector 4 to 5 in the previous days and would compete with the people in that part of the academy for such a spot.

The two agreed, one wanting to just accompany Lothur, while the other also wanted her first Soul Bone.

With that talked over, the trio left after seeing some missions to do in the future, going to train their skills with each other.

...

Later in the afternoon, after settling his affairs at the academy, Lothur stopped by a few stores to buy items for his training and the defense of his property.

He had resources to spare at the moment and knew of the predators who would love to finish him off as soon as they got the chance.

So before he went home, he had bought several \'toys\' to entertain potential enemies who might dare to enter his property.

But not only that, Lothur knew that the Transcendent sent by his grandfather might still show up to bother him, so he was not playing it lightly.

He had been using his visual ability at all times, always staying away from paths that crossed local specialists and always prepared to teleport in case of need.

Because of his previous level increase, now, instead of being limited to two teleports using the Space Belt, he could do that five times!

At the same time, the limited space of 25 meters that he had before had been increased to 50 meters, something that could help him much more in an escape.

Because of all this, Lothur was better prepared, and unlike the day Deamon\'s man caught him. With that, today, he returned home without any problems!

Upon arriving home, this young man soon began to set up his home\'s offensive and defensive formations, as well as spread poison in certain spots.

He had spent about one million silver coins and six million bronze coins to buy these items, but he felt the expenditure had been worth it.

All the formations he bought were Bronze-grade, with almost 100% efficiency. As for the poisons, their purity was above 90%.

With a smile, he placed such items in their places while his opponents watched him from afar.

Some of them were just computing Lothur\'s unusual routine, but others were a bit more nervous due to the orders they had.

\'This fellow is setting up new protections in his house...\' A tall, strong man thought as he remembered that his patriarch had given him the order to steal Lothur\'s kart.

Several local powers already knew about the experiments Lothur had had over the past 24 hours alongside local experts. So while some were more interested in finding out what he was planning, others no longer had the patience to wait and wanted to act.

The family of that tall, strong man was one of those with no more patience to deal with Lothur, so seeing him act like that, such a person could not help but think that it was better to act now!

If Lothur finished putting those formations and poisons all over that property, he and his group would have a hard time invading this place after today!

Hence, while trying to protect himself, Lothur unwittingly stimulated an enemy attack!

...