The Team

The rewards of the quest only fueled Jules's resolve to survive.

They also brought a wave of memories from the novel's plot.

Before his transmigration, Jules had read every available chapter of the story. Unfortunately, it had been left incomplete when the releases stopped abruptly.

Still, it had covered enough for him to know one crucial thing: the original Jules's story… and the eventual destruction of the clan.

The backstory of Jules Evanava was briefly mentioned, revealed through the words of a survivor of the clan's fall.

According to the novel, Jules did survive this mission. But that survival came at a steep price.

He was scapegoated, entangled in the schemes of a hidden traitor, and eventually cast aside—his fate pitiful as he watched everything crumble from the sidelines.

This particular mission was vaguely explained in the novel.

All Jules knew now was that the original had survived it and obtained an artifact—only to fall into a living hell afterward.

"If the original wimpy Jules survived the mission without preparing, I want to believe I can have a chance too."

Jules's eyes gleamed with determination.

"And since the artifact's location is going to be revealed after the mission, I'll obtain it and escape this cursed clan! This is my best chance at living a good life here!"

With this in mind, Jules identified his prowess.

He was currently at the first sub-stage of the third mana core stage, Dark Orange.

The mana core stages were Black, Red, Orange, Yellow, Silver and White with the middle four being the only ones with sub-stages.

It was decent for someone who'd avoided combat until two years ago. 

'Well, after curling up in his room all day, it's understandable. His core size is still poor for an heir, but it's still sufficient.'

Still, his body was lean, and his strength lagged behind others at his level.

Jules sighed, pushing the negative side away.

'I'll practice spell casting with the original's memories and notes, then I'll get ready for the mission.

'Hmm, I have less than 3 hours, the team is to depart at 10 a.m.'

Jules glanced at the briefcase and opened it revealing the contents like a shortsword, a new leather armor, potions and pills.

'Jules's mother is really helpful. I won't need to collect as much from the armory now.'

Massaging his forehead, Jules went along with his prep.

- - -

Few minutes to departing time, Jules waited at the clan's training grounds.

Donning new leather armor his mother had gotten him, he stood, resting his back against a wall at a corner.

He was waiting for his teammates while reflecting on his practice with mana.

'I think it's because of my transmigration. My general perception and control of mana is better, and it was already above average before it was improved.'

Jules looked around. 

Traces of mana of five different colors were flowing in the atmosphere. 

The blue mana, in particular, was attracted to Jules because of his affinity with it.

Pulling mana from his core, Jules turned it to a small blob of water that floated above his palm.

His lips curled as he watched it happen. This was fun!

'Too bad I don't have time to enjoy it.'

"Hey there, young master!" A voice suddenly appeared near Jules, startling him. "How are you? Are you ready for today's mission?"

A young man with brown hair and black eyes, two years older than Jules at nineteen, stared at the blob of water in Jules's palm.

Curiously, he pointed at the bag near Jules's leg and asked, "Young master, what's that?"

'Ryan!' Jules recognized this young man as one of his teammates and a thorn of the mission. 

Why was he a thorn? He was just too cheerful for Jules!

Looking at him intensely, Jules thought, 'I need to be careful around him... He's the closest thing to a friend Jules has had in a long time.'

That means this person was familiar with the original's actions and personality!

Seeing Jules stay silent, Ryan frowned. "Is there anything wrong?"

'Of course there is. You are a suspect for betrayal!' Jules thought upon Joel's question.

Letting the blob of water break down into water energy, Jules stood upright as he raised his leather bag up.

"There's nothing wrong," Jules smiled nervously, trying to imitate the original. "I just prepared extra for today."

Ryan's frown eased. "Oh, oh! I see! So what's in there?"

Scratching his head, Jules replied, "Hum… Potions, bombs, and some other extra rations…"

With a slight chuckle, Ryan's eyes pointed at the shortsword strapped to Jules's belt.

"It's good to see that the young master is becoming more enthusiastic with the mission. You even got a new sword!"

"It's all thanks to you, Ryan. The weight of the mission is less when I'm in your company."

Jules responded based on how he believed the original had acted in his mission.

He didn't know whether Ryan was just dumb or his acting was good because Ryan didn't seem to notice anything.

Ryan smiled widely. "I'm glad you think that! Just doing my job as a warrior of our clan!"

Jules nodded, adjusted his new leather armor, and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Where are the others?" He asked.

"The seniors are at the clan's outer walls. They are waiting for the Captain. We are meeting them there today, remember?"

With his memories and mental state all over the place, Jules missed that fact. 

"Ah, I did forget."

"Young master…" Ryan sighed in subtle disappointment.

If there was one thing Jules was happy with, he could freely ask this guy questions. 

The relationship between Jules and Ryan after the past few missions gave him this leeway.

"Shall we go meet them?" Jules said, walking towards the entrance.

"Eh?" Ryan wore a look of surprise. "You're actually going to meet them on your own?"

'What does it look like I'm doing?' Jules forced a nod as he moved.

Soon, Jules got to where his teammates, Mark and Joel, were standing in silence.

Dressed in leather armor like Jules, Mark had black hair and blue eyes, a long sword fixed to his back.

Seeing Jules, Mark nodded curtly and greeted, "Greetings, young master."

Jules acted shy as he replied, "Ah…hello."

Joel chimed in, nearing Jules, "Oh, young master. How are you doing? Pumped for today I see!"

Creating distance from the black-haired, green-eyed man with a trimmed beard, Jules said, "You could say that."

Joel laughed as he saw Jules' new sword.

"Ha! Was the young master frightened by the beasts we fought yesterday? You seem unusually prepared."

Ryan chuckled while Jules gave a tense smile at his words.

"Man, I don't blame you. That beast almost got us cornered if not for the Captain," Joel recalled the string of events as though the others didn't witness it themselves.

Meanwhile, Jules was scrutinizing his teammates inwardly.

'Joel is a Wind mage at Solid Orange, Mark is a swordsman at Light Orange, and Ryan is a swordsman at Light Red.

'Joel and Ryan were from the same squad before they were assigned to the mission, while Mark is from another.

'The Captain, who leads the team, is at Dark Yellow and is a spearman who has battled against beasts along with the squads at the Edge.'

Jules made a mental note of each of them.

'This mission's meant to kill me, and I can't trust any of them. There could be other possibilities, but internal betrayal seems the most likely.'

Jules sighed, the risk of it dawning on him again.

'I've done all the preparations I can do. Hopefully, it all goes well.'

"The Captain is here."

Pulling Jules out of his thoughts was Joel acknowledging the Captain's arrival.