Grand Ascension

What I am about to tell you does not leave this car. Makun repeated what Orel had just told him.

He stayed quiet waiting for Orel to continue.

"I need you for a mission." Orel said still staring at the passing trees. "What do you think?"

Makun internally shook his head, if Orel wanted him to decide, should he not give some more information? Let alone the fact that he did not know what the mission was about, the fact that this information could not leave the car meant one of two things.

Either it was a top secret mission that the MIO had for him and him only, or it was Orel doing things on his own while keeping the MIO in the dark.

It could not be the first, why? Because Makun was a rookie, he had just been brought by Yime to MIO and because of his status as rookie, she even gave them a Grade E mission, meant for him to adapt and learn the ways of mystic crime investigation.

Even though the mission had been a success, he still had no knowledge on how crime investigation, mostly in terms of mysticism properly worked.

That only left option two, it was Orel’s own decision. But if it was his decision...

Does it mean Doc is in on it?

Makun shot a glance at Doc who quietly drove as if none of this concerned him.

"I need more details." Makun said.

He could not outright refuse, first of all Orel was not in the best of mood, secondly he had used his rank against Danielle earlier, he could do the same here. So if he had to refuse, he should give logical reasons to his refusal after hearing the details.

Deep down, Makun knew that was not why he needed details, the main reason he needed details was because he was interested.

What is the mission about, what would he discover and most importantly what could he gain.

Orel took a phone, the same brand MIO had given Makun upon his arrival, and he tinkered with it.

PING!

"Look at your phone" Orel said.

Makun directly obliged, and pulled his phone out. He looked at Deeplink thinking the message came from there, but nothing.

As expected, it is not an official mission.

He went to his messages and saw one new message from an unknown number.

[Message received via encrypted civilian app]

[Sender: Unknown Number]

MISSION BRIEFING

Classification: Unofficial / Off-Record

Assigned Agent: Makun

Handler: O.

Makun nodded his earlier deductions had been right and his interest was there, but should he accept an off-record mission, did that not mean his rank and missions accomplished stayed the same?

He scrolled down.

OBJECTIVE:

Locate and protect asset designated ROOK-0.25. If asset is deceased, confirm death and return immediately.

Protect an asset. Simple enough. He kept reading.

ASSET DETAILS:

Name: Andres Suro

Last Known Location: Ashenvale (Commercial Veilhub)

Status: Unknown (missed three scheduled check-ins)

Role: Information broker, long-term operative

Makun knew from the fact that Andres missed three check-ins meant something happened to him.

Interesting.

He scrolled again.

LOCATION:

Ashenvale – Permanent commercial Veilhub owned by the Aegis Consortium. Unlike Night Markets, this hub maintains a direct breach connection to the Deep. The town operates continuously but entry is restricted to nightfall hours only.

Makun paused.

He had learned about Veilhubs today, now he saw permanent commercial Veilhub, permanent could only mean that different from the Night Market which closed at 4 AM, this was a full town connected to different servers operating with the sole goal of commerce.

So it was a place where mystics lived, and not just traded.

This interested him, it might open his horizons to the wider world.

He continued scrolling.

ENTRY POINT:

Austin, Texas – The Chapel of St. Elmo, located beneath the Old Warehouse District. Present entry pass at gate.

SEARCH LOCATIONS:

The Brass Lantern Inn – Asset’s known lodging

The Ledger House – Information broker guild hall

If asset is not found at either location, assume compromised or deceased. Do not investigate further. Return immediately.

RESOURCES PROVIDED:

Entry pass

50 solaras (Ashe gold coins)

Lodging reservation at The Waning Moon

Entry pass? Solaras? Waning Moon? Ledger House? The more Makun read this the more confused he was, he had no idea what all of those were.

He turned to Orel "The resources, what are they?"

"You should know that for mystics, money, the material bills you have has no real value, we value energy, information and Ashe, as such in mystic towns, dollars are not used, it is either vital energy, memories, resources or Ashe charged materials, gold, silver..."

That made sense, Zuri had said something similar when he had first approached her, but she had never mentioned anything about Ashe charged coins, or maybe she did not know.

Rogue cultivators were limited, that he knew of.

"As for the entry pass, it is an entry pass." Orel continued "You will stay at the Waning Moon, the place has already been reserved."

Makun nodded, it was not much of an explanation, but the fact it came from Orel, and that he was not trying to brag about his strategy working meant a lot.

"Here are the things you have to keep in mind. Maintain low profile at all times, minimise Ashe usage and particularly your berserk manifestation, avoid confrontation with local enforcers, the Golden Masks, do not identify yourself as MIO and trust no one."

Golden Masks, I guess they are similar to the silver mask guards I saw at the Night Market. As for trusting no one...

That was who he was, he did not trust, and he was sure Orel was just like him in that regard, so for him to mention that meant something.

And about my berserk nature, why can I not use it? The questions kept piling up.

All in all, the mission was not difficult, nor was it risky, he had to search for someone, locate them and protect them if alive, and confirm their death if they were dead.

Not only would he get to discover the broader world, he could use the Ledger House to get more information about his situation, not only that with the coins he had, he could get some useful resources and at the same time learn more about the world.

All in all it was not a bad deal, but no one worked for free.

"What do I gain upon successful completion?" Makun asked.