This turned out to be the reason why the headmaster had not been seen for the past week. And from the looks of it, the preparations were about to be completed.
Upon hearing this news, Emery was about to ask the most important question, but the headmaster answered it before he could even speak a word.
"Don't worry, the intel said they were safe at the time, at least most of them." Headmaster Delbrand said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Emery. "But we don't know for how long, therefore we need to take action as soon as possible."
Still, this was definitely good progress for Emery, as he could feel some of his worries being dispelled by the news about his friends. But then, he quickly found it odd why this group of veteran magus and grand magus needed him, a mere acolytes for the mission.
Headmaster Delbrand immediately gave an explanation as soon as he saw Emery's expression.
"They are kept in a highly secure and dangerous place beyond the border of elven territory. The best plan we have for rescuing them in such a short time is to use the same strategy that brought them away, by using the same recall spell, hence this task can only be done by an acolyte like you who managed to escape the recall spell."
He pointed his finger at the symbol on Emery's palm while saying, "The plan is to use the structure of the recall formation that they have put in place and sneak you in under the radar where you will scout the location and then open a gate for us, the main force, to carry out the rescue operation."
Looking through the collected images and data, Emery immediately realized it was a very dangerous plan.
He would be sent behind enemy lines, thrown into a situation where he would be surrounded by massive threats without any reinforcement until the job was done.
It was certainly a desperate plan made in a rush. Hence the reason why Headmaster Delbrand was reluctant to share this information before.
However, the more desperate the plan, the more Emery realized how much in danger his friends were currently at.
The headmaster continued speaking, this time in such a weight on his voice.
"I would rather not send more acolytes into danger for this mission, therefore, I want to be absolutely certain that you understand and are willing to take the risks to join this mission."
The Headmaster however did not let Emery answer yet.
"You must also know that due its urgency and secret, this mission is only known by a few people in the Magus Alliance. This means I have limited authority to grant you an extended stay after graduation, for you to join the mission you must decide not to return home and accept to be in service to the alliance."
The headmaster once again repeated and made sure Emery understood that, as he came from the lower realm, accepting this mission would put a heavy weight on him, he however promised to help him receive shorter service time after they completed the mission.
"Unfortunately we don't have much time, I need your decision as soon as possible."
Emery remained completely silent, his mind busy absorbing and processing all the information he had just heard. At the same time, he could gradually feel his doubts being dispelled.
Now that he knew he could be involved in saving his friends it became much easier for Emery to reach his final decision. Despite how dangerous the mission might be, he was still determined and firm in his resolve.
"Yes, headmaster. I'm willing to stay and take part in the mission."
His decision somehow didn't bring joy to the headmaster's face. The same thing couldn't be said to the white-haired girl standing next to him, who was trying her best to hide her growing smile.
"Fine. If you've made up your mind, let's meet the other five members who will be participating in this mission."
Saying those words, Headmaster Delbrand brought them to another room. Once again, Emery was surprised to find more familiar faces in this place. Everyone in the room that the headmaster brought them to were famous acolytes of the Magus Academy.
His eyes in particular caught two strongest acolytes he had ever fought. Olivier the Sword Saint and Eeshoo the Nephilim Genius, both of them were unexpectedly present in this place.
There were also his reliable teammate, Atlas the half-machine acolyte, and an acolyte with a mask that covered half of their face, Anzi the Inhuman.
Everyone present was a survivor of the recall spell and everyone possessed strength comparable to a magus figure. With them joining the mission, Emery felt much more relieved.
While most of the people only stared in Emery's direction, Atlas approached him saying, "Took you long enough to join."
Atlas welcomed him with open hands, on the contrary, hate was clearly shown on Anzi the inhuman.
While he smiled at those words, Emery inwardly searched for the last member. He counted four and couldn't help but wonder who the fifth member was. When he asked this matter, to his surprise, the other was apparently held in confinement at the moment and just arrived today as well.
"In confinement? Who could it possibly be? He's got to be one of us acolytes right?"
When he finally saw who it was, Emery couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, because the fifth member turned out to be the Divine Monk, Mahinder. The others showed the same reaction as Emery, having issues with the latter in the team. However, the headmaster had his reason.
With Emery joining the mission, plus Silva, a total of seven acolytes would be sent for this classified mission.
Now that everything was clear, Headmaster Delbrand looked at the group and said, "We will be leaving in 24 hours. Sort all of your matters in order and come back here in time."
One of those matters was to tell his decision to the alliance and the people of Terra palace.
When he left the place, Silva came rushing and followed him closely.
"I will make sure you are not stupid enough to miss the timeline, so I will accompany you till then."
—----
Author Note
The 2x Golden Ticket is finally here. The event goes from 20th December to 10 January, please support the novel to reach 2000 GT and top 10 rank on the event. When the target achieved, there will be 2x 5 chapters mass released on January. Plus there will be an art commission of the top acolytes. Special art for top 3 and top 10 GT contributors.
Thank you all.
Special thanks for Eessho for the Generous Gift.