Mission Impossible!

"Hello, everyone. I am your chief instructor for this Field Expedition — Zhankong. You should consider yourselves fortunate, because you are the first cohort of expedition students I have taken on since being posted here."

The students stood at rigid attention, not a single one daring to speak.

They were used to dealing with teachers — people whose knowledge was vast but who, in the end, imparted nothing but knowledge. Military mages were different. These were men and women hardened by actual combat against Demon-Beasts, and the aura that clung to them was something else entirely. It left this group of students, who had never seen the harsher side of the world, completely in check — even though Zhankong himself looked perfectly approachable.

"Don't worry. Since you are the first cohort I'm personally taking through a Field Expedition, I want all of you to pass the assessment tied to your university prospects — so I'm going to extend you a special consideration!" Zhankong called out.

Failing the Field Expedition assessment, or scoring poorly on it, could devastate a student's standing — possibly altering the entire trajectory of their life based on a single evaluation.

"I know you are all the finest young mages Bo City has to offer, and I believe you have what it takes to handle this assessment... which is why this Field Expedition's task is going to be very, very simple." Chief Instructor Zhankong smiled — the kind of harmless, guileless smile that made you want to trust him.

Behind him, Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun exchanged an uneasy glance, brows furrowing simultaneously. Every time their superior wore that particular smile, nothing good followed.

"I just received a new bounty posting — the lowest-difficulty listing currently on our board. There are exactly one hundred of you student mages, correct? Here's how it works: if any single team or individual among those hundred completes this bounty, then every one of you passes the Field Expedition assessment with an A grade." Zhankong said.

The moment he finished speaking, the entire compound erupted.

The first to be thrown into uproar were the hundred students themselves.

They had heard plenty from their seniors about what Field Expeditions were actually like. The universal verdict was that as long as you put in your time at the waystation and didn't antagonize the instructors, passing was practically guaranteed. Stand out a little and a B was easy; an A was well within reach.

But no one had ever said a word about completing a bounty.

Weren't bounties those special assignments that full-grown Mage teams only took on for serious pay? Weren't those strictly for adults?

Outside the plaza, the veteran hunters who frequented the waystation found it no easier to stay composed.

*What the hell is going on?*

Making *students* complete a bounty?

That was insane. Some of these bounties gave *their* seasoned hunter teams real trouble — the idea that these wet-behind-the-ears kids could pull one off was laughable.

"And if none of us can complete the bounty?" Xu Zhaoting asked from near the front of the crowd.

"Then you all fail." Zhankong replied, perfectly calm.

Every student and teacher in the plaza went rigid.

"Chief Instructor, why not just fail us all right now and save everyone the trouble!" Zhou Min, class president of the Elite Class, finally stepped forward, unable to hold herself back any longer.

"Exactly — how is this any different from marking us all unqualified on the spot?!"

Zhang Jianguo, Xue Musheng, Tang Yue, Chen Weiliang, and the rest of the teachers couldn't hide their dismay.

*What on earth is happening? Weren't the arrangements already taken care of? Why is this chief instructor throwing the rulebook out entirely?*

A bounty mission. Was this genuinely something students could be asked to handle?

"If you have a grievance, take it up with your School Board Director Deng Kai. Bottom line: a high score from me doesn't come for free. Tianlan Magic High School bills itself as the top public school in Bo City — so it shouldn't be dragging a pack of deadweight out here for training. If all you want is to coast through the days, you'd be better off back at school reading magic textbooks and lobbing spells at practice dummies. There's no reason to set foot in a waystation this dangerous!" Zhankong's tone shifted abruptly. The easy smile from moments before vanished, replaced by something cold and unforgiving.

*A pack of deadweight?*

The words hit every student like a slap across the face.

"Chief Instructor, this assessment is beyond unreasonable. As far as I know, any bounty typically requires a seasoned team with three to five years of field experience to complete successfully..." Teacher Zhang Jianguo said, his voice conspicuously lacking conviction.

"You have a hundred people. If not a single one of them can complete one bounty, then all that tells me is that a hundred useless students produced by a bunch of mediocre teachers is a serious disappointment. Elite Class? Really?" Chief Instructor Zhankong was utterly merciless.

Zhang Jianguo's face cycled through shades of green and white.

*This chief instructor has lost his mind. Not only has he set a task no one can possibly complete — he's managed to insult every teacher and every student from Tianlan Magic High School in the same breath.*

"Of course," Zhankong raised his voice and continued, "the team or individual who completes the bounty will receive a personal reward from me — one piece of defensive Enchanted Gear."

The mention of defensive Enchanted Gear sent every veteran hunter lingering around the plaza into an uproar.

"Holy — a piece of defensive Enchanted Gear as the prize?!"

"Boss Zhankong, don't — give us a shot instead! We'll wrap that mission up clean, we promise."

"That's right, we've been needing a piece of defensive Enchanted Gear for ages — that's a life-saver, we absolutely can't pass it up."

"Let us compete with the students on fair terms! Boss Zhankong, we want the Enchanted Gear too!"

In an instant, every hunter team hovering around the plaza's perimeter was shouting at once.

Enchanted Gear!

Enchanted Gear was a type of equipment soul-bonded to its user. By channeling Mental Intent, one could rapidly materialize a physical object to aid in battle.

Take the boot Enchanted Gear the bald vendor had been hawking earlier — once equipped and activated, it would dramatically boost the wearer's movement speed. Against a Demon-Beast you simply couldn't overpower, those boots could be the difference between walking away and not.

And in active combat, a meaningful speed advantage translated directly into a major boost in fighting effectiveness.

Defensive Enchanted Gear was something else again — it could materialize into shields, armor, and similar protective equipment on command, intercepting magical attacks and Demon-Beast strikes at critical moments. An equally indispensable piece of life insurance.

Although Enchanted Gear didn't carry quite the same value as a Stardust Artifact, for hunters who regularly put their lives on the line out in the wilds, it was nothing short of a lifesaver. And what was worth more than your own life?

"Damn, that's a serious offer. From what I know, even the most basic piece of defensive Enchanted Gear goes for several hundred thousand yuan at minimum."

"No wonder the hunters lost their minds — and he's just handing something that valuable to a bunch of kids who've never roughed it a day in their lives."

"The question is, can those students actually get their hands on it?"

"Fair point. Bounties are brutal — sometimes even veteran hunter-mages end up in mortal danger."

Mo Fan was still somewhat unfamiliar with Enchanted Gear as a concept — but the moment you converted its value into cold hard cash, he understood perfectly.

*Several hundred thousand yuan for the most basic piece? Damn — I've never laid eyes on that kind of money in my entire life.*