"Hmm…"
It had been ten minutes since Hal began searching for an appropriate quest to take on, but he was torn between choosing a gathering mission or a hunting one.
Of course, all the missions in front of him were merely F-ranked, but that didn't mean he could afford to be careless, as even F-ranked monsters were dangerous to ordinary people, especially since most of them lived in groups of three to five.
Gathering tasks were relatively safer but the rewards were meager.
Extermination missions, on the other hand, were more dangerous for student wizards like him, but the compensation was two to three times the gathering ones.
After careful contemplation, Hal decided to risk it.
He would go for a hunting or extermination request.
His starting line was already far behind those from the cities and towns, so he couldn't afford to play it too safe.
'But what monster or beast should I go for?'
Disregarding all the gathering missions, Hal rechecked each of the hunting and extermination ones, ultimately settling on one that required him to hunt Mischievous Housesprites causing trouble in a half-abandoned town two hours away from the City of Aeloria, where he and the Grand Magic Academy were located.
This way, his lack of proper tracking and hunting knowledge wouldn't get him into unexpected trouble.
It was a good starter mission that offered both decent rewards and combat experience.
Pulling the mission paper off the board, Hal went to one of the free counters to register the mission under his name, pleased that, aside from himself, there weren't many students on the first floor.
The young female employee manning the desk asked for his student ID and froze upon checking his information on the Manatech Computer.
"H-Hal Fennec, correct? It says here that you're a one-star freshman…" the staff member began. "If I may be so presumptuous, please reconsider taking on a gathering mission instead. Hunting missions are very dangerous, and you could lose your life…"
At just a week and a half into the Grand Magic Academy's classes, a one-star freshman student should be no different than a mundane person.
Perhaps even a fully grown, manaless man would be stronger than them in terms of combat, so Hal taking on a Mischievous Housesprite extermination request would not only endanger his life, but he would possibly only be causing trouble for the hopeful inhabitants of the half-abandoned town.
They wished for nothing more than to drive the pesky troublemakers away as soon as possible and resume their peaceful lives, after all.
"Thanks for the advice, but I'm sure I can handle this mission. Please proceed with the registration process," Hal responded with a slight bow.
He knew his current credentials couldn't be farther from the word reassuring, so he couldn't really blame the Mission Hall employee.
The young lady was torn.
They had the right to refuse registration, and she was almost sure that this was one of those cases where she had to.
In the end, however, she decided to ask for guidance from her superior:
"Please wait a moment, I shall talk to my manager about this…"
The desk employee then left and entered the office at the back, not returning for a few minutes.
When she did, a gentleman in a suit with a stern look came out with her, staring at Hal in a rather unfriendly manner.
"Hal Fennec, I'm afraid we can't let you take on this hunting mission without proof that you can at least cast an offensive spell." the manager said, dealing with the matter in the most efficient way possible.
He didn't believe that a one-star student like Hal, especially with his one percent mana affinity, could cast a half-decent spell.
This would give them a valid reason to reject the student.
Even if Hal filed a complaint to the academy and they were investigated, the manager could be certain that the academy would side with them.
But to the gentleman's surprise…
"I understand. Then please lead me to the testing room. However, since I'll be proving myself today, please document this and add it to my student information. It would be a bit annoying to do this every time I register for a new mission," Hal responded as respectfully as he could.
It didn't personally matter much to him, even if he constantly had to prove himself.
It was just that his spell charges were limited.
He couldn't afford to waste them on mere capability tests that other students didn't even have to go through.
The manager didn't appreciate Hal's tone, however, thinking he was a bit too arrogant for his own good, even though all he had done was set efficiency boundaries.
Nonetheless, the man was a professional through and through.
"Follow me."
A few moments of walking later, the three arrived at a vast underground testing hall, its walls covered in various tough and resistant metals.
The manager then pulled out a recording orb, intending to use it as proof that Hal's spell mastery wasn't enough for him to take on an extermination request.
"Please." the man urged.
Despite his unwillingness, Hal pointed his index finger forward, causing a vermillion magic circle to appear at the tip.
A roaring sphere of flames shot out a moment later, devouring the wooden target a few meters away.
The young female employee and the stern manager trembled at the unexpected power of Hal's fireball.
Only eleven days had passed since the start of classes, and yet this one-star student could already cast such a more-than-decent fireball?
How the hell did he accomplish this with one percent mana affinity?!
Dumbfounded, the two Mission Hall employees could only stare at the burning mess, brought back as words rang out beside them.
"So… did I pass?"