The excitement of being registered with the Adventurers' Association died down within the first few days, as students realised that the more challenging and interesting quests were only offered to higher-ranked adventurers. This meant that they had to slowly work their way up, doing mostly mundane quests of searching for lost items or gathering resources. There were very few hunting quests at the lowest rank of E after all.

Fortunately, it was easy to promote from E to D which Kai and most of his peers achieved within 2 weeks. A single promotion may not mean much to outsiders, but for true blue adventurers, even 1 rank can open up to a greater array of tantalising prospects.

Presently, Kai and Adeline were together with Julian and the rest of the gang to pick out an Extermination request. Julian waved the quest sheet proudly as he exclaimed, "Thank god we're D Class adventurers now, those earlier quests were boring me. Luckily all of us were cleared by the school to take on combat requests, so we can all go together for this one. This means we can practise our synergy and combat tactics now! To prove that we're the strongest among the 1st years!"

Shen performed a face palm as he muttered, "Julian, you're getting drowned in excitement. Did you even read the details of the quest you just accepted for all of us?" Julian's face flushed red with embarrassment as he stammered, "O-Of course I d-did! Let's see, our task is to take out the group of Moghounds and goblins that have been disturbing the nearby village. An easy D Class quest! Hahaha!"

Moghounds were small, dog-like enemies with only 2 legs. Despite being common, there were actually several subspecies of Moghounds, ranging from the regular brown ones to the furry white ones and some were even armoured! Nonetheless, Moghounds were considered the weakest among monsters and goblins were the next weakest after them. At least the common goblins were weak, but those proficient in magic or ranged weapons could be a little more troublesome.

Shen asked, "Are there further details on the targets? Like their head count and specific types? Especially the goblins, if we're dealing with magic wielders we've got to be a bit more careful." Julian patted Shen's shoulder and said, "Don't be a worrywart! I know you want to be certain of everything as a tactical commander wannabe, but the quest only states that common Moghounds and goblins are sighted. Shouldn't be too difficult for us, especially with you and Jean backing us up as part of our backline."

Kai knew that Jean was a good healer from their support magic classes together, but he wasn't familiar with Shen's combat capabilities, for he didn't have much personal interaction with him due to their differences in curriculum in Zion Academy. All he knew from his limited interactions and talks with Julian was that Shen, despite his lack of magic, was an astute tactical genius who aspires to be a general in the Nirvanian Army one day.

Though Shen wasn't proficient in close combat nor melee weapons, he made a very good marksman with both the crossbow and the newly introduced rifle. Combined with his tactical knowledge, this made Shen a fearsome backline support who could focus on coordinating the team's movement and taking out key targets from safety concurrently.

Shen shook his head and sighed, "Ah, whatever. I just hope that everyone's prepared. It may be an easy mission, but underestimating the enemy would only lead to unwanted compromises to our safety. I just want everyone to stay safe, alright?"

Everyone nodded as they started to make individual preparations for their upcoming mission. This included the packing of necessities such as the first aid kit and rations as well as weaponry. Most junior adventurers neglect this step as they get overwhelmed by the excitement of getting into the heat of matters.

Fortunately, Shen's level-headedness ensured that everyone brought the requisite essentials for the mission. Kai noted that Shen was wielding a rifle of the latest model, stripping it apart before assembling it together again to ensure it was functional. Once everyone was ready, they headed for their destination: Prairie Village.

This village was located on the outskirts of the capital Nirvana, surrounded by luscious plains that favoured agriculture. At the village, Shen and Julian liaised with the point of contact for the quest, gathering more information on the targets. For instance, this included the areas which they often show up. Upon completion of the intelligence gathering, Shen gathered all 6 members of the team and shared whatever he had learnt, allocating roles for each and every one of them.

Kai was impressed by the considerations Shen had taken with the given information, for he never knew that you could think so far ahead even for a simple mission like this. Shen was indeed a valuable asset to the team after all despite being the only non-magic user. From the tactical brief, the 6 of them were split into 3 pairs, Julian with Julia as the Forward Engagement group, Kai with Adeline as the Ambush Taskforce and Shen with Jean as the Backline Support group.

Shen had carefully considered each of their strengths before assigning the pairs. He and Jean as the backline was obvious, but the remaining 4 were all Spell Knights, which made it a tad tricky. Eventually, he placed Julian together with Julia as the Forward Engagement group as both favoured direct, overpowering style of combat and the fact that they were siblings improved their synergy.

Similarly, Kai was placed with Adeline as the Ambush Taskforce because both were much more nimble compared to the twins. Moreover, it was imperative that as the Ambush Taskforce, they were self-sufficient for they received the least support from the Backline Support. Adeline's proficiency at healing magic coupled with Kai's greatly recognised combat ability had fitted this profile to a tee. The 6 of them then moved out to the engagement area after their final preparations were made.

The team was surrounded by tall grass which grew especially taller near the stream. This made ambushing easy as the tall grass provided good concealment. Shen quickly ran through the plan once again and they split up into 2 key groups, with Kai and Adeline in one group and the rest in the other.

After arriving at their designated points, the team simply waited for the enemy's arrival. The villagers offered to prepare the bait to lure the goblins out, which came in the form of an empty horse-drawn carriage. Soon enough, the carriage was assaulted by a flurry of small figures, which Shen could make out to contain at least 20 individuals. To his dismay, he noticed that 2 goblin slingers and a single goblin shaman was among them.

Shen cursed silently, "Damn, so the big guys are only showing themselves now, huh? Luckily, we came prepared. Julian and Julia, you 2 are to engage the enemy now, prioritising the goblin slingers and shaman. Leave the rest to me. Jean, I need you to connect me telepathically to Kai and Adeline."

Jean nodded as she activated her telepathic magic. Shen quickly relayed his observations to Kai and Adeline, telling them to only engage with the reinforcements to the goblins if they spotted any. Kai signalled his acknowledgement as he started to watch the battle unfold.

Julian and Julia slowly crept towards their enemies and when they got into reasonable distance, they drew their swords and performed their respective magic on their blades. While Julian's blade erupted in flames, Julia's was surrounded by a thin yet sharp layer of wind. The twins swung their swords together in the same direction, shouting, "Take this! [Combination Magic - Firestorm]!"

A huge wave of fire fuelled by the winds swept across the goblins and Moghounds, incinerating them instantly. However, the goblin slingers and shaman appeared unharmed as they prepared to counterattack. The goblin slingers started shooting sharp stones at the twins as the goblin shaman prepared a few offensive spells as seen by the symbols on the ground below it.

The twins deftly parried the stones aimed at them, expertly blocking those they couldn't avoid while advancing rapidly on the 3 goblins. They swiftly decapitated the goblin slingers when they got in range, but the goblin shaman started pelting several bolts of lightning onto them. The twins instinctively blocked the lightning bolts above their head with their element infused swords, but as they were busy fending off the lightning bolts, the shaman pointed his staff towards them and readied another spell.

Julian muttered, "Shit…" Just as the spell was about to activate, it was interrupted suddenly by a loud bang. The shaman dropped to the ground, dead with a hole through its forehead. The lightning bolts stopped the moment the shaman was killed. Julian heaved a sigh of relief as he looked towards Shen's direction. Shen's rifle had a trace of smoke emerging from its barrel as Shen gave a thumbs up sign.

Julian was about to reciprocate the gesture when a sudden rustling sound caught him by surprise. The magnitude of the sound warned of something big approaching and true enough, a large green blur shot out from the grass. Julian instinctively used his sword to block the incoming attack.

CLANG! The sound of metal clashing reverberated throughout the plains as Julian expressed horror at his new adversary. It was a Hobgoblin! A mutated goblin, these guys with their strength and speed made them dangerous to even C Class adventurers. The hobgoblin, who was apparently consumed in a frenzy, started raining heavy blows on Julian. Julia tried to intervene, but she soon found herself engaging another hobgoblin.

Shen cried, "Shucks!" as he took aim with his rifle. To his horror, 2 more hobgoblins showed up and despite his attempts to slay them, his bullets only grazed their tough hides. The hobgoblins were alerted to Shen's presence and began dashing towards Jean and him. Shen quickly realised that escape was futile given their speed as he steeled himself for the incoming threat.

Kai and Adeline could only watch in horror as the hobgoblins threatened to tear their friends apart. Julian had already suffered a gash on his left thigh from the hobgoblin's relentless assault, while Julia was barely managing against her enemy. On the other hand, the 2 hobgoblins threatened to break down the barrier erected by Jean before Shen could even hurt them properly, his bullets still ineffective.

Kai shouted, "Adeline! Now's the time to get into action. Let's go!" Adeline quickly nodded as they headed towards Shen's direction first, seeing that they needed more help since they couldn't deal much damage against their opponents. To their surprise, a red blur suddenly emerged in front of them and Kai instinctively shielded Adeline while focusing his mana to protect his back.

Both Kai and Adeline were blown back by a large steel hammer which smashed Kai's back, sending them flying into the nearby river. The last thing Kai heard was a roar as he fell unconscious while plunging into the stream with Adeline.