Chapter 86: The Noble’s Request I

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Noble’s Request I

After ensuring Moon was comfortably settled within her climate-controlled habitat with an ample saucer of pulverized mana dust, Eric locked the reinforced doors of Room 508 and headed back toward Dormitory Building 17.

Stepping off the humming brass lift onto the fourth floor, he anticipated the usual tranquil, echoing silence of the residential corridor. Instead, a striking figure stood motionless directly before the door of Room 401.

Dressed in her tailored charcoal-gray overcoat with obsidian-black hair cascading in silken waves over her shoulders, Alena Blackthorn stood with her slender arms lightly folded, quietly examining his brass nameplate.

"Good morning, Alena," Eric called out, stepping forward with an easy, disarming smile. "Can I help you with something?"

Alena turned, a brief flicker of genuine surprise parting her lips before her porcelain features smoothed back into their customary aristocratic composure.

"Eric. A very good morning to you as well. I was actually looking for you."

"Yeah, here in the flesh," Eric quipped, offering an exaggerated, theatrical half-bow with a playful smirk. "How may this humble scholar be of service, milady?"

A soft, musical chuckle escaped her lips, momentarily shattering her aloof noble reserve. "Can we speak inside your quarters?"

Eric froze for a split second, his cognitive gears grinding to a halt at the sudden prospect of hosting the institution’s most prominent noble prodigy inside his private bedroom. But catching himself before the hesitation became glaringly obvious, he realized that leaving a guest standing in an open hallway was terribly crude.

"Yeah, of course," Eric said, tapping his silver student identification card against the runic latch. "Please, come in."

The heavy oak door unsealed with a soft click.

Eric ushered her inside. Room 401 was neat and spartan, smelling faintly of fragrant cedarwood and clean linen. Alena stepped in with graceful, soundless strides, taking a seat on the modest plush sofa positioned beneath the sunlit bay window. Eric pulled over the wooden desk chair, seating himself opposite her while maintaining a polite, respectful distance.

"Eric, I require your assistance," Alena began, her liquid ruby eyes locking squarely onto his with unblinking seriousness. "I understand you originally hail from the frontier township of Riverdale. Do you know the surrounding perimeter terrain and outlying frontier settlements well?"

Eric tilted his head, mildly puzzled by the abrupt geographical inquiry.

"Yeah, I do. Born and raised there. I know the outskirts, the valley gorges, the abandoned logging tracks, and the trade roads like the back of my hand. Why do you ask?"

"I was recently assigned a mission stationed there."

Eric frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "A field mission? Wait, didn’t the Professors explain during our foundational lecture that external field commissions and subjugation tasks are strictly restricted until our fifth academic year?"

"Yes and no," Alena explained smoothly, her tone measured and matter-of-fact. "The five-year field restriction applies strictly to the standard student body. A formal regulatory exception exists: a scholar is permitted to accept sanctioned institutional mandates early provided they have achieved breakthrough to the Captain rank."

The casual statement landed inside the room like a thunderclap.

Eric sat paralyzed, his jaw slightly slack as his mind raced. "Wait... Meaning..."

Without conscious hesitation, his ocular talent flared to life behind his dark irises.

*Appraisal.*

│ Race: Human

│ Stage: Captain

│ Level: 1

│ Talent: Rank S

The swirling gray static that had previously masked Principal Rupert Vale’s unfathomable cultivation did not trigger this time. Her biological parameters were laid completely bare before him: Captain Stage, Level 1.

And beneath it rested that terrifying golden glyph: *Rank-S Talent*.

Eric felt a single bead of cold sweat trace the back of his collar. "You’ve... already reached Captain rank?!"

"Yes, Eric," Alena answered calmly, entirely unfazed by his stunned reaction. "And the external subjugation objective assigned to me is to eradicate an entrenched underground syndicate operating across the Riverdale perimeter: the *Iron-tooth Syndicate*."

"WHAT?!"

Eric nearly vaulted straight out of his wooden chair, staring at her in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.

The Iron-tooth Syndicate was a notorious blight across the southern frontier. Back when Eric was scraping by as an impoverished orphan in Riverdale, every merchant caravan master and frontier hunter spoke of them in hushed, terrified whispers. They were merciless cutthroats who preyed on resource convoys, raided frontier outposts, and captured stranded travelers.

"Alena, they aren’t common wilderness bandits!" Eric warned, his voice sharpening with raw, urgent intensity. "Their syndicate boss is a verified Captain-rank, and he commands a vicious inner ring of seasoned Soldier-rank thugs beneath him! It is a bloodthirsty den of killers!"

"I am well aware of their operational strength," Alena replied without flinching. Her ruby eyes remained cool, unwavering, and chillingly resolute. "That is precisely why the institutional task board assigned the eradication contract to me."

Eric fell silent, sinking back into his chair as the mathematical reality settled in.

*Right... That actually tracks,* Eric realized inwardly, feeling a dry swallow catch in his throat. *She is an authentic Rank-S monster backed by a sovereign noble house. Her personal combat threshold and tactical arts probably exceed standard commoner Captains by a mile.*

He rubbed the back of his neck, exhaling a long, measured breath.

"Alright, suppose your blade can dismantle their boss. How do I fit into this equation? I’m just a Soldier-rank tamer. In a high-impact clash against hardened Captain-rank veterans, I’d barely register as a distraction."

"The mission charter permits the lead operative to requisition one auxiliary scout or tactical assistant, also we don’t know their base’s location" Alena said. "Given that you grew up in Riverdale, your intimate knowledge of the terrain, local caverns, and escape choke-points would be invaluable to ensure we find their base soon and during fights their remnants do not scatter into the border forests."

Eric narrowed his eyes slightly, a curious, knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

"And how exactly did you find out I was from Riverdale in the first place? I don’t recall broadcasting my hometown across the dormitory quad."

Alena blinked, a faint, uncharacteristic trace of pink dusting her porcelain cheeks. "I... reviewed your institutional admissions dossier."

Eric didn’t even bother to feign shock. He gave a dry, amused chuckle. "Of course you pulled my file. Noble privileges at their absolute finest."

Alena’s icy composure cracked for a brief, vulnerable second.

Her shoulders dropped slightly, and she lowered her head, her gaze drifting toward her neatly clasped hands resting in her lap.

"There is... another reason," she murmured, her voice noticeably softer, almost hesitant. "The truth is, I do not know anyone else in this academy. From the day orientation commenced, the only peer who has ever actually spoken to me like an ordinary person... is you."

Eric sat completely still.

The quiet suite fell into a heavy, lingering silence.

Looking at her now, the untouchable, ice-cold noble prodigy seemed stripped of her aristocratic armor. For all her terrifying Rank-S talent and early Captain-rank cultivation, she was simply an isolated young woman dropped into an elite institution where everyone either feared her family name or coveted her bloodline influence.

Eric scratched his cheek, an easygoing, confident grin gradually breaking across his face.

The mission carried genuine lethality, but the strategic advantages were enormous. A sanctioned field deployment meant stepping outside the campus walls without waiting years for institutional permits.

It was an unprecedented opportunity to test his Seven Star starlight mana in a life-or-death combat, return to Riverdale to check on Sunshine Home and Emily, and secure a massive haul of institutional mission merits alongside an exceptionally powerful ally.

"Alright," Eric said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I’ll back you up. Tell me when we move out."