Chapter 119

───────────

Episode 27 - First Mission [3]

─────────────────────────────────

Well, in the end, my team got the mission related to the villains.

And shortly afterward, the leader explained a bit about Group A’s mission before finally moving on to the demonstration.

Alessia picked up a document and explained:

"The location is the city of Arlumeria, inside an abandoned museum on the outskirts of the city, a bit far from where old Arlumeria used to be."

"Your objective is one of two things: first, eliminate the villains hiding there; or second, if the villains are too strong, gather information. An extermination team will be dispatched if it turns out to be the second option."

It seemed I would return to Arlumeria once again.

In any case, it still was not inside the city itself, but rather on the outskirts.

Alessia looked especially at Zoey. A moment later, Zoey nodded and returned her gaze to her book.

The leader then turned toward us and continued:

"Oh, right. I’ll hand you some Magic Items that are important for every mission."

The leader searched through her desk and soon pulled out a couple of items.

Six plates that, according to her explanation, worked like a kind of walkie-talkie. You simply had to speak through your mind instead of using your voice.

The second object was a brooch, and its function was that of a camera.

Although there are other Magic Items used for work and things like that.

The brooch was more discreet, while the others were very flashy.

"Well, there’s one more item left."

The leader said as she stood up and walked toward the adjacent door on the left side.

"Go in one at a time, then stand inside the circle in the center."

Somewhat confused, Julian was the one who asked:

"Uh, leader, what exactly is the other item supposed to be?"

Alessia smiled and said:

"You’ll be the first. It’s better if you see it for yourself."

Julian stood up at Alessia’s insistence. Shortly afterward, he entered the mysterious room.

"Stand in the center of the circle beneath your feet and don’t move."

Julian nodded, and then the leader closed the door.

The very next second, I sensed a disturbance in the mana on the other side of that door.

"...?"

My curiosity grew as I waited for Julian to come out.

The door made a sound as Julian’s surprise reached my ears.

"Leader, this is... fascinating. What kind of magic is that?"

When Julian stepped out of the room after opening the door, there was a sort of mask on his face.

And it was not just any mask. It was made of mana, yet it also seemed solid or physical.

The mask was smooth. I did not know what colors it had, but aside from that...

It had a wide smile and cheerful eyes.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about the mask, yet it seemed to represent something.

In any case, the leader explained:

"These masks serve the purpose of concealing your identity, and the circle inside the room also has a meaning."

She paused slightly.

"In simple terms, the mask you receive represents your true self. Junior Julian’s mask represents something simple, yet something very few people possess."

At her words, Julian became even more curious, just like almost everyone else, except for Charlotte and me.

"Your mask represents salvation and kindness, but also despair. You seem more like a protagonist, Junior Julian."

"A protagonist, me? Ha, ha, I don’t think I’m anything like that, leader."

"Well, the mask means what it means. Now then, the next person, please."

The next person to enter was Rinna.

Her mask carried both a playful and melancholic expression.

According to the leader, it represented need, obsessiveness, and hope.

I was not too sure about the obsessiveness part. In any case, the next person was Diana.

Her mask was quite different. It was like a two-faced mask.

One side smiling, and the other filled with sadness.

The leader had to check some kind of record to find the meaning behind the mask.

What the mask represented was pursuit and hope, obsessive possession, and desires.

I think I know something about the meaning behind Diana’s mask. In general, it’s because of her past as a girl who lived locked underground in her own house.

But once again, I didn’t understand the meaning of obsessive possession, similar to Rinna’s.

After Diana came Charlotte.

Her mask was somewhat ambiguous, wearing an expression somewhere between sadness, longing, and joy.

It was difficult to interpret the mouth of the mask.

In any case, Charlotte’s mask represented survival, necessity, and obsession.

This time, I understood the obsession part because Charlotte is obsessed with living a long life.

Finally, the next person I was most curious about was Veronica.

The mask she received had a simple, ordinary smile, almost like a line for a mouth.

What it represented was tranquility, annoyance, and amusement.

Honestly, I didn’t completely understand those meanings.

I mean, she’s anything but tranquil, the amusement part is understandable, and the annoyance...

’Mhm, I honestly don’t know what that means. I’ve never noticed her getting annoyed by anything.’

It was certainly a little bewildering.

Veronica’s current emotion after seeing her mask was pure curiosity, but nothing beyond that.

In any case, I got up from my seat and entered the room.

I was curious about my own mask.

Will the circle beneath my feet somehow detect my true self?

I mean, not even I know who I am, much less what I was originally supposed to be like.

But then a thought crossed my mind.

’Wait, the circle will also detect my master, even though she’s only a soul attached to the sword. What happens if the circle focuses on people’s souls?’

Just to be safe, I stored my sword inside the Inventory.

Then I waited a few seconds before the circle released mana.

And out of nowhere, I felt something covering my face.

Curiously, the white lines in front of me did not disappear.

It must have been some effect of my Trait. Anyway, I opened the door and stepped outside.

I fixed my attention on the leader and asked:

"What does my mask look like, and what does it represent?"

The leader frowned as confusion and bewilderment noticeably grew within her emotions.

She checked the thick book she held in her hands. It was the record of all the supposed masks the circle possessed.

Shortly afterward, the leader finished searching through the entire book and turned to the last page.

"Mhm, this is strange. On the last page, there’s only one word... Unknown. What does this mean?"

She frowned even more as she scratched her head. Then she turned toward Zoey and said:

"What do you think, Zoey?"

Zoey stood up from her seat and looked at the book as well. She frowned too.

I started to wonder if both of them were messing with me, but their emotions didn’t seem fake.

"Is something wrong, leader?"

Julian asked from beside Alessia.

The leader replied:

"Well, on the last page, aside from that word, there’s also the design of the mask..."

She turned toward me and noticed my mask.

"Your mask is... plain and clean. It has no eyes and no mouth either. It’s white; it simply has the shape of a mold used to create a mask."

"I see."

I nodded without saying much else.

So my mask was completely blank, without any face, meaning, or representation.

’How strange. Unknown might be what I am right now... literally an unknown.’

In simple terms, I don’t know who I really am. No one, aside from the writer of my Fable and Veronica, knows who I am.

I am someone who literally represents the word unknown.

’Should I even feel worried about this?’

The truth was that I simply didn’t care much about it. I shrugged and honestly didn’t think too deeply about it.

In any case, I was a complete mystery to myself.

And that alone was already a headache I had to solve.

The leader sighed before saying:

"Aside from hiding your identity, the mask also represents that you are members of the Anti-Villain Club. I recommend keeping your masks on your waists so everyone knows which club you belong to and so the professors don’t mistake you for people who don’t belong to any club."

Now that I thought about it, the members of other clubs had some kind of badge hanging from their waists.

That meant they belonged to a club.

’So the masks are the image of this club, huh.’

Well, this club had already been pretty... different from the very beginning.

It was the only club that killed people, so to speak.

Other clubs only hunted or captured monsters, beasts, demons, and so on.

But this was the only club dedicated to assassination; of course, only of villains.

"Wow, that’s awesome, leader."

"Ha, it really is."

Alessia gave a thumbs-up in approval at Julian’s praise.

Shortly afterward, the leader returned to her chair behind the desk and said:

"Well, tomorrow gather at the Academy entrance. It’s Saturday, so there are no classes. We’ll leave at noon."

Not long after, everyone left the club and headed to their respective dorms.

The day had already come to an end, and the brief meeting regarding our first mission was over.