Chapter 14: Hawk's Return

"What should we name it?"

Having completed the test mission assigned by the Mercenary Guild, it meant they could officially establish a mercenary group. However, the first challenge that faced everyone was the name of the mercenary group.

Suggestions like "Divine Dragon Mercenaries," "Hurricane Mercenaries," and "Dominion Mercenaries" were immediately shot down as soon as they were proposed. Names like "Blue Moonlight" and "Fragrant Elegance" were deemed too feminine and were also rejected. After much discussion, the group still couldn't decide on a name.

The clerk in charge of registering mercenary groups was already fuming, silently cursing the group for coming to register without even having a name.

"In my opinion, why not just call it Class 3, Grade 1?" Seeing the group's indecision, Katusha suddenly threw out a suggestion.

"Class 3, Grade 1?" Lin Yuan and the students were taken aback. "That name... it's a bit too long, isn't it?"

On the Farinos Continent, mercenary groups usually had two-character names for the sake of being catchy and easy to remember. The four famous mercenary groups were no exception. Even those with slightly different names were simple phrases composed of three or four characters. A name like "Class 3, Grade 1" was fine on its own, but with the suffix "Mercenary Group," it felt a bit too lengthy.

"Let me introduce to everyone, this is the renowned Class 3, Grade 1 Mercenary Group..." Lin Yuan mentally rehearsed the scenario and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"I actually think it's not bad," Fasno's reaction was completely different from the others. "Our goal isn't to become a famous mercenary group on the continent, is it?" Seeing everyone nod in agreement, he continued, "Since we're not aiming for fame, the name doesn't really matter. After all, this mercenary group is just a tool to help us act together. There's no need to be too particular. The name just needs to reflect our common idea, and what is our common point? Isn't it the fact that we're all from Class 3, Grade 1?"

Lin Yuan couldn't help but nod. After Fasno's explanation, although the name itself wasn't great, it could enhance the class's cohesion, which made it a decent choice.

"Fasno has a point. Let's go with it," Lin Yuan clapped his hands and finally settled on the name. Although the students weren't entirely satisfied, they had to accept it.

The mercenary group's ranking system was similar to the individual mercenary ranking in some ways. A newly established mercenary group started at F-class and needed to complete tasks to earn points and upgrade.

The difference from mercenary ranking was simply the difficulty in earning points. For example, a mercenary completing an F-class task usually earned 1 to 3 points, while a mercenary group completing an F-class task wouldn't even get half a point. The lowest task that could provide points for a mercenary group was D-class.

When a mercenary group's rank reached B-class, they could only earn points by completing B-class or higher tasks.

Even becoming an A-class mercenary group didn't mean you could rest easy. The Mercenary Guild had a rule that every A-class mercenary group had to complete at least one A-class task per year, or they would lose their A-class certification.

"It's stricter than a teaching qualification," Lin Yuan couldn't help but stick his tongue out after glancing through the mercenary group manual handed over by the clerk.

"Hey, I didn't expect the kids from Finor to actually form a mercenary group. A group of mages? How ridiculous."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out in his ear, causing Lin Yuan's expression to darken.

"Carter, if you think you didn't learn your lesson last time, I don't mind giving you another one."

Lin Yuan turned around and, as expected, saw Carter's mountain-like, burly figure standing nearby. The hatred in his eyes towards Lin Yuan had intensified.

"Humph! Last time was just my mistake. If we do it again, I'll make sure to knock you down."

Lin Yuan chuckled, "Sure, let's do it again. We've got plenty of time to settle this."

"Crash——"

The wine glass in Carter's hand suddenly shattered, but under the cover of his dark red martial energy, his hand was unscathed.

After glaring at Lin Yuan for a while, Carter suddenly let out a cold snort and turned to leave the Mercenary Guild.

This was completely unexpected for Lin Yuan. He had planned to use Carter to test out his newly developed mixed magic and see how it would work in a real fight. He didn't expect that this guy, who seemed to have a hot temper, would actually hold back from his provocation.

"Garlot." Lin Yuan thought of the leader of the Windwalker Mercenary Group. It was clearly this man who restrained Carter; otherwise, things wouldn't have ended like this.

The Windwalker Mercenary Group truly lived up to its reputation as one of the four great mercenary groups on the continent. Just by the high prestige of their leader, one could see the quality of the group.

"Teacher, are we going to take individual tasks or team tasks today?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Now that the mercenary group has been established, you don't need to rush into team tasks. There are only a little over ten days left until the time I promised to the vice-dean. During these days, continue to take individual tasks as you did before to train yourselves. Remember, I'm not sending you to be mercenaries to make money. I want you to improve your understanding of magic through these tasks and lay a good foundation for becoming Grand Mages in the future."

"Ah——"

Hearing that there wouldn't be any exciting team tasks and that there were only a little over ten days left, the students' spirits dampened a bit.

Lin Yuan just smiled and didn't say much. As a teacher, he knew that any teaching had to be gradual and couldn't be rushed. In just one month, these students, who had previously only studied magic theory and never participated in any real combat, had already gained a lot of insights. But they were still at the beginner stage. Their magic theory was not yet proficient, and their foundation was not yet solid. Too much real combat wouldn't do them any good.

The next ten days passed quietly. The students' efficiency in completing tasks increased, and on the last day, they earned as much as 23 gold coins from their tasks alone, which made Vince, in charge of the finances, very happy.

The somewhat tense days flew by quickly, and soon it was time to return to the academy.

After the last student had turned in his task, Lin Yuan roughly calculated that the financial gains from this trip were quite evident. Starting from scratch, they had not only established a mercenary group with a 100-gold coin guarantee but also made a profit of nearly 200 gold coins. Although this amount wasn't enough to cover a student's tuition for a semester at Finor Magic Academy, it was money that the students had earned with their own hands, and its significance was undeniable.

In addition to the money, there were many intangible gains that couldn't be quantified. For example, the deeper understanding of the magic they had previously learned and the insights into the finer details of casting spells were things that couldn't be taught in the academy.

What pleased Lin Yuan the most was that the students had become much stronger physically over this month. If they were to run another 1000 meters now, most of them could probably do it without breaking a sweat.

"Alright, everyone, let's head back!"

Seeing Vince finish calculating the last task's income, Lin Yuan called everyone to prepare to return to the academy. However, as soon as they reached the door, they ran into someone.

"Hey? I remember you're a teacher at the academy too, right? Why are you here?" Lin Yuan vaguely remembered this person. When Vice-Dean Kapachi introduced him to the other teachers, this person was among them. But it was supposed to be class time at the academy; why would a teacher be here?

"Teacher Lin, Vice-Dean sent me to inform you that Dean Fernas has returned and wishes for you to bring the students of Class 3, Grade 1 back immediately. At 2 p.m. today, the Dean will be giving a speech on the academy's main field, and he hopes you won't be late."

"Ah, the Dean has returned!"

"Wow, it's the Dean!"

"That's great, we'll finally get to see the Dean!"

...

Seeing the sudden burst of excitement from the students, Lin Yuan could only wipe his brow. This kind of fanatical enthusiasm was universal across worlds.

"Alright, I was just about to head back with the students. We'll definitely be there this afternoon."

The messenger didn't say much more, just nodded and hurried off in another direction. Judging by his haste, it seemed he had more than just this group to notify.

"Come to think of it, even though I'm already an 8th-level mage and have been at Finor Magic Academy for so long, I've never actually met the Dean," Katusha sighed wistfully as she watched the messenger's retreating figure. "And yet you, Lin, you actually studied with him for two whole months. I'm really jealous."

"Staying with that old man for two months isn't anything to be jealous of," Lin Yuan replied, genuinely surprised that not only the students but even Katusha seemed so excited. It seemed the prestige of a Grand Mage was truly high among mages.

But then again, Lin Yuan owed a lot to Old Man Hawk. It was because of him that he was now a teacher at Finor Magic Academy and had mastered low-level magic. Moreover, despite his age, Hawk was quite an interesting character, and Lin Yuan had grown somewhat fond of him during their two months together. Hearing that he had returned, Lin Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

There was also the matter of the damned mixed magic. When it came to questions about magic, consulting the Grand Mage, who represented the pinnacle of magical achievement on the Farinos Continent, was far better than trying to figure things out on his own.