Dale’s eyes bulged and he found himself speechless.

He didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Had he really expected his birthday to be normal?

’It seems I have forgotten my improbable track record.’ Everything that had happened to him was highly unlikely. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

He was sure that there hadn’t been a murderer in previous years... at least not one as public and gruesome as that one had been.

Even his getting the quasi-Ascended sabers and befriending the more powerful people in his year was odd.

Each of those events was very unlikely — together, they were near impossible especially for someone as unsociable and irritable as him.

’But still, an Ascended beast?!’ Killing an Awakened one wouldn’t be all too difficult especially with the aid of the Awakened trio.

Even with just the sabers, he was sure that he could at least terribly wound one.

’The military must have put the mission there knowing fully well that they’ll be unable to pick another one because of my situation.’

Others got cake while he got beasts.

His mind drifted to a passive skill he had slowly forgotten about.

[Variable]

[Variable(Passive): You are an unforeseen number. Changing fates, directions, and spreading disarray]

’It seems as though I have spread a lot of disarray recently.’ Despite his humor, he knew that it was serious.

Dale finally broke the silence, "An Ascended beast? Where do we even see one?"

"That’s for us to find out ourselves. It’s apparently a mission that we can spend up to a month on — we’ll stake out possible targets, their powers and influence before making a move."

If the mission was as they described then it seemed to serve as a practical lesson on the importance of intel and patience when dealing with a yet-to-be-known enemy.

It was actually a good lesson once he thought about it.

Yet that didn’t make it any more sane; sending Dormant and Awakened people to slay an Ascended beast was akin to suicide.

If Dale fancied throwing his life away, he could just as easily have slapped the General across the face.

’I guess such is the price of joining the military.’

No matter how much he dreaded the thought of even going out of his way to find a beast, he knew he had no choice.

"I guess we’ll have to hunt an Ascended beast and pray it doesn’t hunt us first." He sighed and the others nodded but first, he needed to get his strength back.

***

Dale stood up from the bench and turned his joints, letting them pop as he stretched out his muscles. He had spent an extra two weeks trying to regain his muscle mass.

Finally, he had succeeded.

He lifted his shirt and took note of the perfectly sculpted abs underneath.

’Maybe I should quit the military and become a model.’

His eyes scanned the gym — a section of the boot camp he had become quite familiar with over the past few months.

Unlike most times, it was empty. Most recruits were out doing their tasks, safe for those whose were extremely difficult.

Classes for the year had ended so there was no rush for them to complete their task.

Even Dale, who loved the peace slowly started to long for some kind of adventure.

The killer still hadn’t made a move and no matter how much he’d like to deny it, the murderer slowly became a secondary matter for him.

During the past two weeks, he had run into General Todd a total of six times. Each time the man was running off to somewhere — clearly not as level-headed as usual.

’The war must be progressing into its serious stages.’

The thought of it unnerved him to no end. At the very least, he hoped he was safe from being drafted. It was unlikely though.

Austin stepped into the gym and nodded at Dale, "Are you ready?"

The latter nodded and stretched again.

"I’m ready, let’s go."

The roommates walked out of the gym and headed to their room.

When they entered, Dale picked up a rucksack from his bed; it contained strictly the essentials: dried food, water, a spare change of clothes, insulation for the cold, and his sabers.

Austin also picked up his rucksack which contained whatever the redhead had put inside.

They nodded to themselves and left their room. It’ll be the last time they’ll see it in a month... or at all.

Slowly, they made their way to the very same auditorium that Dale had the pleasure, or better yet displeasure, of making the acquaintance of General Todd.

When they entered, the Awakened trio was already there, making light conversation.

For the first time, Dale could see them fully prepared with their weapons.

Trevor had on an azure crown. The beautiful metal seemed to be carved out of the very sky.

Sarah had on a necklace with a long bone hanging from it — just looking at it was enough to give anyone the vibe that it was anything but mundane.

And as for Gary, his weapon was a round shield with a razor-edge.

To Dale, Gary’s weapon was the odd one — why would he use a shield if he could generate them himself?

’Could be the enchantments.’ That was one logical reason why he would have chosen it.

The five of them were ready to leave but no matter how many items they packed, they would never be ready to face an Ascended beast.

"A little reminder of our task: Find an Ascended beast within the forests of the Utra nation. Slay and bring its corpse back for processing. Naturally, payments will be made." Trevor spoke.

Dale had reason to believe that the second year would require them to have money for themselves.

It seemed the task was just a means for them to earn the money that they would use at the very start of the next year.

Naturally, he kept the thought to himself. ’It’s not like it would suddenly make the beast weaker.’

Space suddenly seemed to fold on itself and a familiar figure stepped out of the bent fabric of reality.

Lord Byron scanned all of them and his gaze landed on Dale for a second longer.

"I believe you’re ready." He spoke calmly and they nodded.

The Hall Master pondered for a moment, "It wasn’t a question." and space suddenly collapsed on itself, sending them barreling through a dark void.