BXBX NOVEL Chapter 255 Mission Briefing
[Transferring the following rewards to the user...]
FWANG!
[The following rewards have been added: 5 BSAP (Base Stat Allocation Points), 1000 PPP, 500 BP, 250 QP]
"I don\'t understand. Didn\'t I lose?"
[You did. But that wasn\'t the completion requirement of the quest! :D]
"Oh... I see" So I didn\'t have to win. I was more worried about what Valencia would do if she won than what the system actually wanted. Maybe I could\'ve avoided all of this if I\'d declined the request, but this was fine.
I could use these base stat points to upgrade some stats...
DING!
[The following stats have been upgraded...]
[>Strength: 116 >>> 118 (02.00+) -]
[>Speed: 79 >>> 82 (03.00+) -]
Perfect. Now that this was over, I could head home and prepare for tomorrow and the next part of the story.
The In Plain Sight Arc...
**
[Italy, Milan - Mercenary Base: 1#]
[7:45 AM, Saturday]
It was a cold morning, but the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue. I was supposed to meet with my group, The Histories Breakfast Club, to check into a hotel, but first, I had this meeting to attend. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Welcome. Can I see your mercenary ID?"
The atmosphere in this mercenary base was different from the main HQ. I definitely preferred the HQ.
"Here you go."
I handed the receptionist my ID. She looked surprised as she examined it.
"Oh, sorry for holding you up, Mr. Axel. The room you\'re supposed to be in is on the top floor, room 302."
I nodded and took back my ID. I wasn\'t sure why she was so surprised, but I guessed it was a perk of being in the special squad assigned by Jaxon Cain himself.
I took the elevator to the top floor, encountering mercenaries heading out for morning missions. Some looked miserable, but I didn\'t pay much attention. They all got paid well, regardless of their mood.
DING!
[You Have Arrived On Floor 3...]
I arrived at the meeting quickly. As soon as I went through the automatic doors, I saw Vanessa and Christian sitting in front of a holographic screen.
"As you can see, information has been getting leaked across the Montclair household—"
The presenter to the right of the screen wasn\'t Jaxon Cain, but someone else. My entrance interrupted the briefing, and all eyes turned to me.
"Oh, it\'s you, Axel!"
"Hello, Axel."
Christian looked at me like he was about to die of boredom, but Vanessa was calm. She waved, and I waved back. At least the atmosphere was better than last time.
"Sorry, I\'m late." I bowed in apology.
The person in all black chuckled. Though I couldn\'t see her face, her mask gave her away.
She was our squad leader.
"No worries. Not everyone\'s a morning person, and these two definitely weren\'t happy about being dragged to Italy early," she said, gesturing towards Vanessa and Christian.
"Formalities aside, I already know who you are and what you\'re capable of. It\'s nice to meet you, Axel. I\'m Yang Vienna, your squad leader and the mentor of these two."
She walked towards me and extended her hand.
"My pleasure. I\'m Axel. I\'ll be in your care."
Yang Vienna
She was one of Jaxon\'s closest friends and had been trained under him to become a powerful mercenary.
In the original novel, she died trying to save Jaxon in an all-out war against Quadra, but in the current plot, she was our leader.
"Now that introductions are out of the way, I\'ll quickly recap what you missed."
She gestured for me to take a seat between Vanessa and Christian. As I sat down, I felt a faint tap on my shoulder.
"Also, what happened to your mask? Did you lose it?" Vanessa whispered in my ear.
"I broke it."
"Oh..."
I knew one of them would ask, but I couldn\'t tell them that Jan broke it.
Thankfully, Jaxon gave me a replacement—a high-grade artifact this time.
He did mention he\'d murder me if I broke this one since the previous mask was only a Grade 3.
FWANG!
[Item: Beethoven\'s Death Mask [Grade 1] - [Condition: Great] - [Enchantments: Vision III, Face Concealment V,] - [Special Effects: Upon wearing this mask, you can change and alter your voice at will, and your facial features will undergo specific alterations to change the structure and appearance of your face.]
...
...
... "Okay, that concludes the briefing for the next two days." Vienna clapped her hands, looking over the three of us.
"Axel, Jaxon notified me of some specific details regarding the mission. I\'ll discuss that with you later, but the general overview remains the same for everyone. Understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. You\'re all dismissed."
The meeting concluded, and we all got up.
Vanessa and Christian would be playing their roles as servants in the Montclair household.
Once they located the traitor, they\'d capture him immediately.
My role, however, was a secret from Christian and Vanessa.
I had informed Jaxon earlier that we would be staying at the mansion, and he\'d mentioned assigning me a different role, asking if I was okay with my identity being kept hidden from them.
Honestly, I didn\'t mind Yang Vienna knowing who I was, but Christian and Vanessa shouldn\'t find out under any circumstances.
That was something I was firm on. Axel and Rel cannot live the same two lives in one.
I exited into the hallway and headed towards the elevator to meet up with Jan and the others.
"Axel, you\'re not heading to the changing rooms?" Christian called out.
I turned and shook my head. "You go on ahead. We have different schedules for the mission, so don\'t worry about it."
"Ah, man... I wanted to hang out with him today..." Christian muttered.
BZZZZT!...BZZZZT!...BZZZZT!
My wrist vibrated, and I glanced at the incoming mission details.
_________
**Mission**: Operation: [M-Retake]
Objective: You are newly hired servants of the Montclair household and must fulfil your duties until you locate and identify the traitor within the family. Avoid fighting as much as possible, but if tensions escalate, do what you must.
Location: Montclair\'s Estate Mansion
Intel: Security systems are state-of-the-art, with multiple layers of physical and magical defenses. Family members are known to possess unique abilities. The suspected leak occurs during weekly family gatherings in the Grand Hall. Guards from different organizations are rumored to have different rotations on the hour.
Timeline: The mission must be completed before the next family gathering scheduled for Sunday evening.
Complications: Presence of unknown magical artifacts within the mansion. Possible involvement of external forces. Authorization: Lethal force authorized. Full discretion is granted within mission parameters.
_________
This explained the need for a private execution.
The mercenary intervention was just a safety net for Jan\'s group once they entered the Aspect Orb of Phantasmal.
Inside, it was another world containing the special soul forger who would give Jan\'s sword a true soul.
It was a long way off, but I had already memorized the operation details.
I knew exactly who the informant was, and what information had been leaked.
It was only a matter of time before they made an appearance.
But for now, I could relax within the confines of this double life.