Chapter 26: Completing the Hidden Quest

"Cadet Sikong Xu has completed the hidden mission [Leader of All]."
"Mission difficulty: Three-star."
"Mission objective: Lead the trainees of the 104th Training Corps in successfully capturing the supply room, while keeping the death toll under 50%."
"Mission reward: 200 credits, Blast Talisman x1."

The cold, unexpected voice echoed in his mind, causing Sikong Xu to freeze for a moment. Then, a deep joy welled up in his eyes. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon and complete a three-star hidden mission! Sikong Xu nearly burst out laughing.

In the fantasy world, missions available to cadets are generally divided into main, side, and hidden quests. Except for the main missions designated by the academy, the other two types must be found by the cadets themselves. When a side mission is discovered, the imprint will notify the cadet, but for hidden missions, the imprint only reveals the task once it is completed.

Difficulty in the fantasy world ranges from one to nine stars, and training missions follow this scale. Typically, in a two-star world like "Attack on Titan," the academy's three main quests are only two-star difficulty, but the hidden mission [Leader of All] is a level higher.

A mission with higher difficulty means its rewards are also greater. The substantial credit reward aside, the Blast Talisman alone made Sikong Xu feel it was worth it.

He raised his imprint and looked at the projected screen.

...

Blast Talisman
Type: Single-use consumable
Grade: Black Iron
Description: This item packs a punch comparable to a standard high-explosive grenade. It detonates instantly at the user's mental command.

...

Sikong Xu could hardly contain his grin. Though there was only one Blast Talisman, its power was considerable. If placed on a Titan and detonated, even the Colossal Titan’s head might be blown open. The "Black Iron" grade in the equipment description proved its worth. In the Dimensional Academy, all equipment and items are classified into six levels: Plain, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond.

The Blast Talisman ranked only second from the bottom, "Black Iron," but its value was evident. Even modern heavy machine guns or sniper rifles only received a "Black Iron" rating.

“What’s wrong, Xu? You’ve been spacing out since earlier.” Mikasa, seeing Sikong Xu suddenly freeze as if struck, muttering strange noises, asked in confusion.

“Ah? It’s nothing, nothing. Let’s head out.”
Sikong Xu quickly composed himself, banishing his foolish expression, and pulled Mikasa onto the lift to return to the first floor of the supply room.

...

On the first floor, the heavy silence lingered. No one spoke; numb eyes and vacant faces made the trainees resemble lifeless plants.

Finally, someone could no longer endure the eerie calm and quietly broke the silence.

“They’ve been gone so long… could it be…”

“Don’t say that! Mikasa and Sikong Xu are so strong, surely…” The speaker’s confidence faltered, and even he seemed to have lost hope in the two who hadn’t returned.

“So what are we supposed to do? Just sit here and wait to die…”

“If this goes on, the Titans will eat us.”

“Isn’t there still that strange Titan outside, the one attacking the others?”

“What if it finishes off the other Titans and comes for us?”

“Rather than being eaten, maybe it’s better to take our own lives… at least we’d leave a whole corpse…”

The trainees stared blankly ahead, lost in thought, not even looking at each other as they spoke.

Despair had reached its peak; perhaps, if things continued, someone might succumb to suicide.

“Don’t lose hope. Mikasa and Sikong Xu will definitely come back.”
The speaker was a petite girl with beautiful long hair and brilliant blue eyes. Her skin was pale, but not sickly so—a healthy blush tinged her delicate complexion.

This lovely girl was Christa Lance, known as the goddess of the 104th class, and ranked tenth among graduates.

“Please, everyone, pray for them.” Lance clasped her small hands tightly, her sincere expression lending her a saintly air.

The atmosphere seemed to ease, buoyed by Lance’s charm and grace. Her exquisite features could rival only Mikasa, but her innate nobility and tranquility were qualities Mikasa lacked.

“But… those of us who didn’t even have the courage to fight alongside them, do we really have the right to pray for them…”

The speaker was Armin, and his words caused the mood to pause.

Indeed, without the courage to fight beside them, how could they claim the right to pray?

Armin’s words made everyone realize: from the moment Sikong Xu and Mikasa entered the basement, the battle was no longer theirs. When they abandoned the two out of fear, leaving them to fight alone, they ceased to be protectors and became the protected.

As former comrades, these “deserters” had no right to pray for those still fighting.

“Maybe… we should go down and check…” Lance bit her lip, her little hands twisting nervously.

“Go down and check…”

Though her words were few, once spoken, the burden on everyone’s hearts seemed heavier.

“But what can we even do if we go down…” Armin squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears.

Eren had died because of his own cowardice, and now, did he want to endanger Sikong Xu and Mikasa too?

“Ah—enough!” Connie finally erupted. “They’re our friends, right? How can we abandon them? Whether I can help or not, I’m going down!”

“Connie, you…” Armin hesitated, then bit his lip. “Me too… I’ll go down!”

“Everyone… I’ve decided, I’m going too.”

“We can’t just stand by and ignore them.”

In that moment, those closest to Sikong Xu and Mikasa resolved to act.

But just as they were about to pull the lift down and head to the basement, the lift began to rise slowly.

“I didn’t expect you all to make such a decision—it’s touching. Unfortunately, the Titans… I’ve dealt with them all.”

A lazy voice drifted from the lift.

On it, the figures of Sikong Xu and Mikasa appeared.