The next morning quickly arrived, the sun pouring into Asher’s room. His eyes fluttered open, then he stretched on his bed with a yawn, after which he simply stepped into his bathroom as he prepared for the day; his destination, the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall.

After a while, Asher was done. He changed into a fresh set of combat clothes, put on his breastplate, vambraces, and greaves. He sheathed Virelass at his side, holstered his three daggers, then put on a black fingerless hand glove, ensuring every piece of equipment sat perfectly in place as though it were an extension of himself.

With that, Asher walked towards the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall. As his combat prowess was now on the high side... well, according to student standards of course, he planned on taking even more dangerous missions, but that didn’t mean he had become blind to danger or anything of the sort; he was simply raising the stakes in relation to his strength, adjusting his challenges in accordance with his ever-growing capabilities.

Within a couple of minutes, he arrived at the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall. His purple eyes danced around as he spotted a few of his classmates; he even saw the Prince and Princess talking to a Facilitator, as it seemed they were about to take a mission together, possibly to also consult their father, the Emperor, after a week of delay for reasons known only to them.

Asher tore his gaze away as he walked to his usual Facilitator. Since he had built some sort of rapport with the man, there was no need to meet with another, no matter how busy the Facilitator was or how free other Facilitators were, as familiarity often yielded efficiency and unspoken understanding.

’He is spending more time with every student than normal this time,’ Asher thought as he joined the queue, waiting for his turn. After a few minutes, it was his turn, and he was the last person in line.

"Back again? I thought you already took a mission yesterday with your friends," the Facilitator asked as he met Asher’s gaze, as Asher seemed to be the only person he was ever bothered to converse with outside of his official Facilitator duties, his tone carrying a faint trace of curiosity.

Asher shook his head as he spoke. "I only went on a mission with my friends to cool my head," his tone low, yet composed, as though such matters required no further elaboration.

The Facilitator nodded as he knew the mission Asher took with his friends wasn’t on his level; he was just asking to know if Asher was done going on higher-grade solo missions after experiencing them once. If Asher was, he wouldn’t judge, after all, Asher was just a first-year student in his eyes, even if he was a Wargrave.

"I will be needing harder missions this time, so I need to look at the top five hardest and most rewarding ones you have," Asher continued as he went straight to business.

The Facilitator nodded and immediately tapped his table, making a series of changes and bringing up exactly Asher’s request. Asher’s eyes scanned through them, then settled on one that paid forty thousand academy points. The Facilitator went through the normal process, handing Asher the mission permit scroll and also two teleportation scrolls, but before Asher could turn and leave, the Facilitator spoke again.

"There has been a development," the Facilitator’s words halted Asher in his tracks, "the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall will stop handing missions to the first-year students seven months from now, and also, in the first week seven months from now, the Training Facilities Building will also be closed," his tone low and somewhat indifferent.

Asher’s eyes narrowed as he wondered why the Star Academy was going to halt missions, and specifically for the first years at that, why not the upperclassmen too? His thoughts couldn’t help but snap to what William and Finch had said about their parents telling them to work harder, as something would happen in a few months.

’Is it related to that?’ Asher thought to himself as his mind flickered, but he stopped overthinking and decided to ask the Facilitator directly, preferring clarity over speculation.

"Do you know why?" Asher asked.

"I do," the Facilitator stated as he met Asher’s purple gaze calmly with his black ones.

Asher stared at the Facilitator as though saying: spill the reason, then.

But the Facilitator simply shook his head and replied, "I’m not in a place to say. You will receive the information exactly seven months from now; all I can tell you is to look forward to it, you are going to love what happens," a soft smile touching his lips, hinting at anticipation rather than concern.

Of course, the Facilitator knew that the announcement about the Inter-Empire competition was going to happen at the stipulated time; he had been here for over twenty years, so he knew how things went. Besides, he was personally happy and looked forward to it, after all, they had a Wargrave on their side this time around, a factor that significantly increased their chances.

And he knew that if they won, the Sovereign, the Principal, Cindralis, would give everyone huge salary bonuses, which was why he was also personally looking forward to it and had subtly encouraged Asher to train more, even if he did not say it outright.

Asher stayed silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it the Principal or Vice Principal that will be telling us what is going on, or maybe an Instructor?" he asked, probing for even the slightest detail.

"Who knows? You just wait till then," the Facilitator shrugged with the same smile on his lips, offering nothing further.

Asher shook his head, then turned away as he spoke, "Thank you for the information, then."

"It was simply my duty," the Facilitator replied, his voice returning to its neutral professionalism.

Asher focused his senses on the other Facilitators and could see that they were telling the same thing to other first years, while giving some similar but not exactly the same information to the upperclassmen.

’I wonder what is going on,’ Asher thought to himself for a moment, then shook his head. It didn’t matter to the current him; all that mattered was to get strong enough to face whatever was going to happen in seven months, regardless of its nature or scale.

’I hope I don’t meet another mad person like Debro on this mission,’ Asher mused as his scrolls vanished into his space ring, leaving one of the two teleportation scrolls in hand, which he tore immediately, his figure disappearing as he vanished from the Separate Dimension, stepping once again into uncertainty.

_____

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Webnovel has started an event where every single Golden Ticket you give is now doubled. Meaning, one Golden Ticket is now two, and ten Golden Tickets are now twenty.

This is our chance to sneak into the top ten. Remember, if we ever make it to the top 10, I will be doing a 60-Chapter mass release.

Also, we’ve been falling out of the top 20 ranking for months now, this is our chance to get back in there even if we don’t get the top 10.

I WILL NEEDING YOUR SUPPORT GUYS, LET’S GET TO THE TOP.

This author is on his knees.