"Team 1: Marcus Shelby, Sherly Carlton, Andrea..."
Each of the people called by Darius stood up, before sitting themselves at the same table. No one protested who they were teamed with; they accepted the team they were assigned to gladly.
"Team 2: Joseph Landrow, Rupert, Curzon..."
Unlike the previous team, only five people stood up. This was because Darius was in this team, and he still had to lead the meeting before joining his team; unquestionably his position as the leader in this team was guaranteed.
"Team 3: Eugene, Elaine Spring, Rose Summer..."
Like any other team, this team were consisted of six people. This time however, no one moved to a new table before Eugene moved; when he did, the others followed him. The leader of the team wasn't decided yet, but Eugene had become the defacto leader.
"Team 4: Iliana, Whitney, Cray, Jocelyn Everton, Robert Tempest, Alexandra Shelton, and Basil Pacifer."
Since they were the last team, the other three students were the ones who had to stand up, and moved themselves to the table where Basil, Whitney, and Cray were sitting at. Like Darius, Iliana didn't join the team until the meeting was finished.
"Very well." Darius nodded his head in satisfaction at the mannerism of his fellow students. "Now that you have gotten your team, I will announce the spot where you and your team will be stationed at."
Turning his gaze to the map, he was about to point a certain spot, when someone suddenly raised his hand. He was the same student who had questioned about Basil's participation in the Subjugation.
"Pardon me for my impudence, President. Can you tell us who is the leader of our team?" Each of the students, except for a few, looked at each other in anticipation upon hearing this question.
Darius frowned lightly, before saying, "You are an adult. Discuss the matter amongst you; let your teammates decide."
"Thank you for the answer, President." The student who had asked Darius bowed his head politely.
Darius waved his hand lightly, and said, "I hope there will be none of you interrupts me again after this." The students slightly flinched at Darius' rather harsh tone.
Returning his gaze to the map, he pointed the northern part of Raneil Barony. "This is the place that we passed to enter the Barony—the Gate. While we have seen a glimpse of the situation there, we haven't explored it thoroughly yet."
Pointing to one of the occupied tables, Darius continued, "Therefore, I will assign Team 1 to investigate the area." Looking at the team questionably, he nodded his head when they nodded up their head in confirmation.
"This part," pointing to the southwestern part of Raneil Barony, "is where the late Baron Kreiss Raneil lived. I heard that there is a group of Paladins stationed there, and as the closest person to the Church, Eugene and Team 3 will build a cooperation with them."
Looking at the face of the student in said team one by one, Darius couldn't notice a single dissatisfaction. Still, he opted to ask. "Any of you feel unwilling to be assigned there?"
"No, Sire!"
"Very well." Darius nodded his head. As he had expected, Eugene had instantly become the leader the moment he had been assigned to the team—just like usual.
"As for my team—Team 2—we will investigate the East part of Raneil Barony." Team 2 who was led by Darius merely nodded their head as a response.
"As for Iliana's team—Team 4 ... You will take the South part." Darius was a little bit hesitant since it was close to the area where Eugene was assigned to; he was afraid an unwanted conflict would occur between Basil and Eugene.
Iliana noticed his hesitation, and exclaimed lowly. "None of the brats will be able to defy me—don't worry." Darius' mind calmed down a little bit as Iliana was essentially saying, 'Leave it to me.'
Of course, "Hit them ONLY if it is NECESSARY," he couldn't just trust Iliana for the job. He needed to warn her to not damage the two students instead. "Don't make them into your personal punching bag. Understood?"
Instead of answering, Iliana smirked to herself. Darius was about to sigh helplessly, but upon recalling who Basil was—her boyfriend—he could reassure himself nothing bad would happen ... To Basil.
'Should I change the area they are assigned to? I'm afraid this couple will bury Eugene alive.' Of course, Darius was aware he was just entertaining a funny thought; nothing bad would happen to Eugene as long as he had the Paladins on his side.
'Besides, Basil won't be that bold to fight a group of Paladins ... Maybe.' Upon having that thought, Darius quickly shook his head to clear it off his mind.
"Huuh... I need to stop overthinking..." He muttered.
Looking at Iliana briefly, Darius turned his gaze to Team 4 in the next moment. "The area you are assigned to is close to Oster forest, which is the border between Raneil Barony and Beddington Viscountcy ... You have to be careful in your movement."
None of the students asked what Darius meant; all of them had gotten what Darius was talking about: since Beddington Viscountcy was very close to Raneil Barony—a Demon infested area—it was on high alert. Meanings, the defense was tighter than usual.
Therefore if they didn't announce their presence clearly or being too secretive in their movement, there was a high chance that they would be thought as a part of the Demons, and thus would be killed indiscriminately.
"Alright, now that everything is settled, I will remind you of your task—investigation. You only need to make a report of the estimated number of the Monsters you encounter, and their grade. Never engage in battle, unless it is necessary."
"Understood!"
Deactivating his Projection Talisman, Darius stored it in his Spatial Bracelet. "The official report about the death of the eight Legion Commanders is already out..." Biting his lower lip softly, he gazed the students in hesitance.
"Although I have no right to read the report, our Headmistress, Mrs. Jacinda, informed me about something that I think you should know." Darius' eyes turned stern. "There is a new type of humanoid Monster with prowess that far exceeds any High Grade Monster."
At this point, some of the students already had an inkling that they would definitely not like what they heard next.
"The only differences this type of Monster has are the horns on its forehead, and its bluish skin. Other than that, it looks like just a human."
The students knew Darius still had something to say, and they were anticipating his next word. Even Iliana was quirking her eyebrow in curiosity.
"Up till now, there has been only one Monster of this type is spotted, but it is highly plausible there are many who haven't showed themselves yet. One of them is spotted in Ruttenhale Barony ... It is the one who killed the eight Legion Commanders by itself."
The room descended into a pin drop silence the moment the students heard Darius' last sentence. Even though they knew the room was very quiet, they still gulped audibly to show how flustered they were with what they had heard.
"My point is, you have to run as fast as you can, the moment you spot this type of Monster; none of you will be able to survive fighting it. Even if it resembles just a tiny bit of the description I mentioned, you better avoid it at all cost. You can't take risk."
Instead of answering Darius verbally, the students merely nodded their head silently. They were still a little bit shaken by the unexpected information.
Darius gazed at the students briefly, before nodding his head. "I hereby end the meeting. Dismiss!"
None of the students moved from their seat, until Iliana stood up, walked toward Basil, and dragged him outside the banquet room. Of course, the other five members in Iliana's team were the first people who followed them.
...
After getting out of their flustered state, the students that were already in their assigned team set to the area they were stationed to. The first time to set on their journey was, of course, Darius' team—Team 2.
Followed by that was, surprisingly, Eugene's team—Team 3. The students that were aware of the conflict between Basil and Eugene had thought Eugene would set together with Iliana's team just to rub the fact that he was a team leader in Basil's face.
Although they knew Eugene was normally an easy-going and kind guy, they had expected he would act childishly in this matter, since it was concerning his love story. Therefore, they were a little bit surprised when he acted maturely by not doing it.
Needless to say, none of them except for two people knew what the real Eugene was.
"Hello, my name is Alexandra Shelton. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Basil looked at the red haired young woman in front of him with a slightly quirked eyebrow. Although he knew they were in the same team, he was slightly puzzled by her friendly attitude; that was rare amongst Mages.
Grasping the offered hand, Basil shook it briefly. "I am Basil Pacifer." Then, he let go of Alexandra's hand in the next moment.
"Good day, Mr. Pacifer. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Robert Tempest. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Basil turned his gaze to the right, and met the face of the well mannered, handsome, silver haired young man. Grasping the extended hand, Basil shook it briefly. "I am Basil Pacifer." When he let go of the hand, Robert smiled politely.
"Hi, Basil! I've heard many things about you." At the cheery voice, Basil turned his head to the left side of Alexandra. There was a bright looking, dainty, brown haired young woman standing there. "Oh! My name is Jocelyn Everton. Nice to meet you!"
Instead of extending her hand, Jocelyn directly grabbed Basil's hand, and shook it vigorously. Although he wasn't surprised—he had seen it coming—Basil was still a little bit bewildered. Turning his head to Iliana, he gazed at her questioningly.
Using [Wavelingo], Iliana said with a shrug, 'What do you expect? You're a newcomer.' Basil frowned lightly, before taking his hand off Jocelyn's grasp. Looking at Cray and Jocelyn alternatingly, he could easily see how rowdy the team would become.
"Now that you have known each other, let us go!" Iliana exclaimed. They had been standing in the hotel's lobby for more than five minutes, and she was getting impatient. "Oh, Basil will lead the way. I hope you don't mind."
While Basil was once again looking at her questioningly, the others merely nodded their head.
They were already familiar with Iliana's personality: Iliana would never accept a task that someone other than her could accomplish!