Records of Artemisia 2: My 1st Mission

Author's Note: You must have definitely come here from the chapter I just released earlier about Alex so, here it is, another journal entry by our titular main character of this mini-series. This will be the last chapter that will be released today and the next time we meet will be next week on Monday so, I hope you can last until then. Enjoy!

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- 56th Day -> 70th Day -

• Yes, welcome back to reading this notebook, though you must have just moved to the next page, right? So, you technically weren't waiting at all and, if you were, you were probably just analyzing all of the information I presented in the last page. Also, ignore the parts where I accidentally write things that should be classified information but, for some reason, weren't called out to be. Well, that is probably because of the fact that you will be reading this a LONG TIME after I'm done writing this. Maybe.

• And so, we move onto the main topic. As said in my earlier entries, I was able to complete my training and was able to get used to using Crimson Lotus and Azure Lily. I was even able to learn how to use them in rapid succession and, I have to say that I am confident in my abilities. Though I say that, the people I hate the most overbearing pricks who think they are the best even though that has yet to be proven.

• That is why, instead of asking for a mission like some of the other recruits, I just kept quiet and trained. But, because of that, the people at my home are starting to give me weird looks when I go out to the yard to practice some of the movements we were taught to practice, like how to get up quickly after falling down.

• I may be hiding my new job but, it is hard to meld such a secret life with a life filled with other people. I have so many friends and people who worry about me so, it is hard to conceal every last piece of evidence. Especially my best friend as she is not stupid in the slightest. I would like to say that she is smarter than me but, I have to give myself credit as she was always odd since we met.

• Anyway, she started asking me what I've been doing for some time now and when I tried to deny that I was doing anything, she instantly gave the exact dates when I've been going to training. I knew that trying to hide it would be fruitless so, I said that I was just helping my parent out with some chores. It was a lie but, to tell a good lie, you must add in a bit of truth.

• She let me go afterwards and, before I left, I saw her chanting spells in the courtyard while reading a book. Well, she is quite the multitasker after all and, she also has a dream she wants, though she doesn't show it a lot. When I was finally able to get back to where the other recruits were, I saw that they were all in formation and I instantly knew that a mission was about to be assigned.

• I lined up with the others and, because of my short stature compared to the others, it almost looked like there was no one present but, I didn't care as duty calls and I couldn't afford to be thinking about such trivial thoughts. My superior came up to our batch of recruits and said that we will all be going on our first mission. He detailed that there was a large band of thieves which have been plundering trade wagons outside and near our city.

• The Knights have been doing patrols lately but, they weren't able to find their base of operations yet so, the King has issued an order to us that we must track down their hideout and take back the products and money carried by those wagons. There was also an optional objective of killing off all of those who weren't cooperative or didn't know anything too important.

• Well, I imagine that if these plunders have been happening all over the Kingdom then, they must be widespread or are working together with other large groups of thieves. We were tasked with finding a specific group called the Highlanders. They were the ones who were attributed with actually doing most of these plunders and were thought to provide the manpower behind their operations.

• The other batch superiors were obviously asking my superior the reason why I am here and it looked like they were reluctant about letting me go but, my superior was able to convince them that I was good enough and, I felt glad that someone has given me some recognition. And so, we were all issued the things we will be wearing for the mission, which included black clothing made from Onyx Chimera skin to make sure that we won't be found and to protect us.

• We were also given disguise rings to change our appearances in case our clothing came off. When I wore mine, I saw in the reflection of my mirror that I now had brown hair with golden-orange eyes. I thought that I looked very different from my usual look so, there was no way they will every know my identity. Our last pieces of equipment were small beads that was made with magitech that is undisclosed to the public which allowed us to contact each other from far distances, like the Casting Artifacts used in the Proving.

• I made sure to grab put Azure Lily on my back and Crimson Lotus on my shoulder as I exited the rooms where we changed and I looked at other recruits. Though some were obviously scared, most of us looked confident, which was good as we should be after a long period of training. If we were still panicking after all of that, we wouldn't be worth anything to this group.

• And so, as quickly as we exited the rooms, we were dismissed by our superiors and were wished luck by them as we left the area. We walked to an area filled with what we were told to be teleportation crystals and our superior gave the one in our group code named Amaterasu a small bead which showcased all of our locations and delegated the task of being the Watcher in our group.

• The Watcher is the one in each group which kept the group together and would give commands to everyone else and would also be the one to call for help during emergencies so, they are effectively the leaders of each batch until we were able to graduate and become official members.

• I walked into the area filled with teleportation crystals and took one more deep breath as I closed my eyes before I teleported. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the beautiful scenery of large plains with very tall grass. So, this is what the outside of my home city looks like? I admired the view for a few seconds before I heard the voice of Amaterasu from my beads.

• I was ordered by him to proceed south-west until I reached a large tree in the shape of a Y and meet up with the others in my batch. And from there, I started my first ever mission as a part of the Unknowable Shadows, the protectors of peace from the darkness.