Chapter 918: First Task (2)

"What is taking them so long?" Asher muttered. "The reward is good. Accept it, send people, done."

Liam did not look at him. "If only the two of us were given the task, would we finish faster than three separate weaker groups?"

Asher turned his head. "What?"

Liam kept his gaze on the task screen. "Simple question."

"That is random."

"No. Answer it."

Asher’s eyes narrowed, suspicion warring with ego. "Three anchor zones. Outside the perimeter. Realm-Touched activity confirmed."

"Yes."

"With me there, and no weaklings aside from you to drag around, we would finish faster than most groups could find their boots."

Liam’s mouth shifted faintly.

Asher caught it too late. "Why did that look like satisfaction?"

"Because you answered correctly."

"That sounds wrong."

"You are more capable than most of the others, aren’t you?"

Asher’s suspicion faltered under the direct touch to his pride. "Obviously."

"And I am not useless."

"Debatable, but fine."

"Then come."

Liam began walking toward Sheila and Edith.

Asher stared after him. "Come where?"

"To make our thoughts known to the leaders."

"That sounds disgusting."

"We are volunteering to take the task."

Asher took two steps after him, then stopped. "When did I volunteer?"

"When you said we would finish faster than most groups."

"That was a statement of superiority, not consent."

"Are you scared to say it in front of Sheila and Edith?"

Asher’s eyes flashed. "Do not try that."

"Then stop walking so slowly."

The insult landed exactly where Liam intended. Asher followed, irritated enough to forget he had been guided into motion. The students nearby noticed them almost immediately. Murmurs rose in their wake as Liam and Asher crossed the courtyard toward Sheila’s side discussion. No one knew what they meant to say, but the sight of both of them moving together during a timed decision was enough to sharpen attention.

Chris noticed too.

His gaze locked onto them from near the exterior-watch group, his expression tightening with immediate dislike. He had been thinking. Of course he had. The task offered chances: a chance to argue for boldness, a chance to propose a team, a chance to claim a role outside Sheila’s structure. Liam reaching Sheila first with Asher beside him cut into whatever angle Chris had been forming before he could shape it publicly.

Sheila and Edith looked up before Liam reached them. Edith’s eyes narrowed with quick assessment. Sheila’s expression stayed controlled, though her gaze moved from Liam to Asher and back to Liam with immediate suspicion.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Liam stopped a few paces away. "We want to take the task."

"No," Sheila said.

Asher scowled. "That was fast."

"It was also my first instinct," Edith said.

Liam looked at Sheila. "Listen first. Then decide."

Sheila stared at him.

He could see it in her face. She already knew this would be irritating. If Liam had walked over simply because he wanted to leave the settlement, he would not have brought Asher this way with the courtyard watching. He had an argument. Probably one with enough logic to make refusal less convenient than she wanted.

The countdown continued on her smaller screen.

Fifteen minutes.

Sheila’s jaw tightened slightly. "Speak quickly."

Liam did.

"Declining the task is a loss. The reward is too useful. A twenty-four-hour map with threat-flow and structural hazard indicators affects everything we do after today."

"We know that," Edith said.

"Yes." Liam did not soften the answer. "You also know accepting creates a manpower problem. Three teams cover the zones faster, but they pull capable students away from the central structure and spread strength across three dangerous fronts. Sending weaker groups risks delays, injuries, and rescue demands. Ignoring the task preserves the restoration plan but wastes a major advantage."

Sheila said nothing.

Liam continued, "If you want both—the central structure restored and the task completed—the cleanest option is sending us."

Asher folded his arms beside him, already committed now that the statement existed in public. "Obviously."

Liam ignored him. "Asher and I have limited value in the technical restoration work compared to Ariana, Dylan, Maxwell, Quenivarius, Felix, Edith, the Alchemy students, and the Forgemastery students. Our strengths are movement, combat, field response, and handling threats before they become everyone else’s problem. Sending us outside preserves the people who need to remain inside."

Edith’s eyes moved briefly toward Asher. "Two students for three anchor zones."

"Two fast students," Liam said. "And not the only adjustment."

Sheila’s gaze sharpened. "The settlement loses both of you at once."

"It does not become defenseless." Liam’s voice remained level. "You still have yourself. Edith. Chris. Logan. Lucien. Charlotte. Kara and the archers. Chris is arrogant, not weak. Logan’s water magic is useful for perimeter control. Lucien’s earth magic helps with walls, roads, and containment. Charlotte can scout short-range. The Southern District has structure now. If something happens, you have enough to respond."

Chris’s name drew a few nearby glances, but Liam did not look his way.

Sheila studied him. "You are including Chris because it is true or because it makes your plan harder to reject?"

"Yes."

Edith’s mouth twitched faintly. "That is an answer and not an answer."

"It is efficient."

"It is manipulative."

"It is still accurate."

Asher looked between them. "Are we volunteering or attending a manners lesson?"

"Quiet," Liam said.

"You do not command me."

"No. I am improving the air."

Asher glared but stayed silent.

Sheila’s eyes returned to the task screen. "If two are not enough?"

"Add Celia Roanne."

That name shifted the air differently. Not loudly, but enough. Sheila turned back. Edith did too.

Liam continued before either asked the obvious. "Her Myst resonance is deep. She can help locate the anchors faster and handle activation complications. She is a decent fighter and a good healer. Useful without slowing the group."

Asher frowned. "Will she slow us down?"

"No."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I know it."

Asher stared at him. "That is not an explanation."

"It was not for you."

Sheila held Liam’s gaze for a moment, clearly filing that away. "And the hunting party?"

"The western forest line is closest to the first anchor zone," Liam said. "The volunteers from earlier can come with us only for that section. There are decent deer in that area. We combine the first anchor with hunting. Once the western anchor is recovered and activated, Asher, Celia, and I continue to the remaining zones."

Edith asked, "If the hunters have not gathered enough by then?"

"They stay within agreed limits and continue. I leave Smoke with them."

Asher’s eyes flicked to Liam. "The wolf?"

"Yes."

Liam kept his attention on Sheila. "Smoke can track game, carry what they collect, guide them back, and handle lesser threats. The hunters return under his protection. If anything beyond that appears, they retreat immediately."

Sheila’s expression remained composed, but he could see the irritation beneath it now. Not because the plan was weak. Because it was strong in exactly the way she did not want it to be strong.

He added, "It is your decision. If you see a cleaner option, use it."

Edith gave him a long look. "You present suggestions like traps."

"I present options."

"With walls."

"They keep the stupidity out."

Asher snorted.

Sheila looked at the countdown.

Five minutes remained.

The courtyard had grown quiet enough that even students too far to hear every word understood something important was being decided. Chris watched with a controlled expression that did not hide the fact that he disliked being outside the center of this conversation. Dylan, Ariana, and Maxwell had all turned toward the group. Charlotte looked amused and curious, which was rarely comforting.

Sheila’s eyes moved back to the task, then to the central road, then to the gathered year.

Liam had not said they should accept because he wanted out. He had not needed to. Sheila understood that motive existed beneath the practical layer. But the motive did not damage the logic. He was offering a way to keep the restoration team intact, complete the task, fold the hunting issue into the first route, and preserve command structure inside the settlement. Risk remained. Plenty of it. But every option had risk. This one simply used the right kind of risk in the right place.

Sheila exhaled once through her nose.

"We accept," she said.

Edith looked toward her. "Under conditions."

"Under strict conditions," Sheila agreed. Her gaze settled on Liam first, then Asher. "You and Asher take the main task route. Celia Roanne goes with you as support. The hunting volunteers accompany you only to the western forest line. After the western anchor is handled, the hunting party separates under Smoke’s protection and returns within the agreed limit. You continue to the northern collapsed road and eastern ravine path."

Asher rolled his shoulders, already pleased now that the decision involved movement and danger. "Finally."

Liam said nothing.

Sheila’s eyes narrowed slightly. "The central structure restoration continues while you are gone. You do not chase unnecessary fights. You do not extend the route because something looks interesting. You activate the anchors and return."

Liam looked at her. "Reasonable."

"That was not a negotiation."

"It sounded like one."

"It was not."

He gave the smallest nod. "Understood, Commander."

There was that title again, dry at the edge and almost respectful if one ignored the irritation.

Sheila turned toward the smaller screen. The countdown had dropped below four minutes.

Edith stepped close enough for Felix to record. "Decision: accept Bastion Task One under restricted deployment. Main external team: Liam Hunter, Asher Hawthorne, Celia Roanne. Hunting team attached only to western forest line, then separated under shadow escort. Central structure restoration remains priority inside Veyrhold."

Felix wrote quickly.

Sheila lifted her hand toward the commander’s screen.

The courtyard held its breath.

"We are accepting the task," she said.

As her finger moved toward the option, Liam watched the pieces settle exactly where he had wanted them.

’Easy,’ he thought.

She pressed ACCEPT