Richard slowly thought about his conversation with Gregory.
It allowed him to put his own thoughts in order so he was greatful.
Suddenly, a ringing sound caught his attention.
His eyes scanned the rest area before they settled on his phone.
With a frown, he reached down and picked it up.
"Richard?"
He immediately recognized Leon's voice.
He raised a brow,
"How did you get my number?"
"I don't believe that is important. In any case, I need you to come down to the association as soon as possible."
Richard frowned, "Why?"
Leon chuckled, "I have a mission for you."
***
Stopping in front of the building, Richard had a blank expression on his face.
This was absolutely not how he wanted to spend his day.
'I knew it. I knew I would be worked like a mule.'
He sighed with trepidation.
Standing in front of the sliding doors was none other than Leon.
Much to Richard's surprise, he was wearing normal clothing this time.
A pair of black slacks and a loosely fitted white shirt as well as a cross pendant hanging on his neck made the serious faced Leon look like a handsome thug with looks that could make any woman spasm in ecstacy
Noticing Richard, Leon smiled and waved a hand, beckoning him over.
With a sigh, Richard walked forward.
"I thought you wouldn't show up." Leon said with a snicker.
Richard's expression didn't change,
"I'd you hadn't threatened me, why would I be here?"
Leon shrugged, "That was not a threat. I merely... encouraged you. Either way, it doesn't matter now, does it? Why not enjoy the moment?"
Richard rolled his eyes then sighed,
"So? Where are we headed?"
Leon grinned,
"Well..."
Then he tilted his head slightly to stare behind Richard.
He whistled, "Your ride is real pretty. How about taking me for a spin?"
Richard frowned,
"Instructor Leon, I hope you didn't just call me out here to give you a ride. You are aware suck behavior is unbecoming of someone of your status."
Leon waved his hand as he walked over to Richard's car,
"Get over here quickly. It's getting cold out here."
Richard raised a brow and looked up.
Sure enough, the skies were already darkened despite it being midday.
The weather in South Lepton was rather bleak and gloomy all year long.
'No wonder abyssal nightmares seem to live this place.'
He sighed then walked towards the car.
Getting into the drivers seat, he reluctantly opened up the passenger's side.
Leon jumped in without any hesitation, his eyes admiring the decor.
Sensing Richard's growing impatience, he finally relented,
"We are headed to the old housing district."
Richard raised a brow as he turned the car's ignition,
"Hm? You mean the slums?"
Leon nodded,
"There's been reports of wraiths appearing there. Yesterday, a dozen female corpses were found at the entrance to an alleyway. All the corpses appeared to have been violated before their deaths. Not only that, but they all appear led to have a few internal organs missing and internal bleeding despite no signs of external injury."
Richard clicked his tongue,
"That indeed does sound like a wraith. A ghoul or Pretaes, maybe?"
Driving down a relatively street, Richard suddenly slammed down on the acceleration. The engine rumbled as the car sped down before turning into the main roads.
Leon nodded affirmatively,
"Not a Pretaes but a ghoul. Or it could be more than one. Our job is to find their lair and take care of them if it's more than one."
Richard continued driving silently while Leon briefed him,
"This job could be said to be your squad's first official mission. The others are already headed there."
Richard raised a brow,
"Will you be participating in the clean up?"
Leon shook his head, paused for a moment before replying,
"It depends. Things might go south, and because the area we are headed is rather populous, it would be in all our best interests if there was someone to oversee the mission. We can't be having casualties in broad daylight."
Richard nodded, "I see. Wraiths, huh..."
Wraiths were a type of abyssal creature in the undead category.
They were often depicted as souls of that damned that managed to escape from hell, invading the mortal realm.
Not only were they troublesome to deal with especially with their undead aspect, they also came in various forms and variants.
Ghouls were one of the many types of wraiths that could take on human form after existing in the mortal world for a while, either by creating one through blood rituals, or simply possessing a human's body.
Both were equally terrible.
Usually, the existence of more than one ghoul in an area indicated that there was a chance of a much more powerful abyssal entity controlling the hive.
'This is definitely not just a simple mission. Ghouls are far too dangerous for newbies to take on.'
He already suspected foul play.
And the chances he was the cause of this was rather high.
The Bane family's hierarchy within the Circle of Magi was at the very top.
That meant with their resources, they could very well be trying to make his life more difficult.
Richard frowned. He was suddenly overcome with a deep feeling of annoyance.
Leon glanced at him then chuckled,
"It doesn't seem like you would be afraid of ghouls, so why the long face?"
Richard raised a brow then shook his head,
"No, it's nothing. I was just reminded of something."
He relaxed his clenched fingers around the steering.
A strange relaxation floated above his mind and his heart became frigid.
A smile slowly crept up his face,
"Hey, cut that out. You look terrifying."
Richard chuckled, "Is that so..."
Very soon, they drove into the downtown area of the city where the slums were located.
Calling it the slums was in fact rather exaggerated.
The living conditions weren't that terrible at all.
However, it was true that most fo the buildings in the old housing district here had become abandoned. Richard had no idea why, but he did know what it meant.
The area was destined to become a center for crime and unscrupulous activities.
Brothels, casinos, drug houses were what had become of numerous old abandoned houses.
Staring out the window, Richard calmly observed the foot traffic.
If they weren't obviously a shady character, the people who lived here seemed to just go about their day as usual.
The place was busy despite the light drizzle and there didn't seem to be anything unusual going on.
If anything, a car as glossy and expensive as his was the only oddity around.
Leon quickly gave him the directions.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a building that was in a state of semi-disrepair.
A few people stood in front of the building. He immediately recognized them.
The seductively beautiful, yet enigmatic blood mage, Umbra, the bookish Gregory, the Stuart tattoo-covered Vagabond, and the stunningly glowing, eyes like a frozen lake, hair like a soft winter morning Celine...
Once they had parked, he and Leon got down and walked over.
"You are late." Celine was the first to speak, her words cold and biting.
Richard shrugged, "There was a bit of traffic. I hope the princess doesn't mind..."
Celine's face turned red a bit.
Before she could say anything else, Leon cleared his throat,
"Alright. Now that we are all here, how about I give you all a briefing?"
Vagabond spoke calmly,
"You mentioned we will be facing wraiths. Ghouls specifically. I assume if there is more than one ghoul, then there should be a herd leader as well."
Leon nodded, a serious expression on his face,
"Yes, there most likely is. My job is to go hunt this leader down. Since none of you will be able to survive such a creature, I will be doing this alone. Your job is to eradicate the remaining ghouls and make sure there are no casualties."
Gregory suddenly spoke up,
"Ghouls don't usually show up in the morning. It won't be easy to track them down."
Leon smiled,
"You are right. This is where you come in, Gregory."
Gregory's eyes widened as he pointed at himself,
"M-me?"
Leon nodded, 'You know some divination magic, so your job is to help the group track then down."
Gregory frowned, "But we have no idea what affiliations these ghouls are tied to. What if—"
Leon cut him off,
"The life of a sorcerer is frought with danger and terror. If you fear death or madness so much, then you might as well resign from this line of work right now."
Gregory fell silent.
Then he nodded his head.
Richard couldn't help but glance at him. The corners of his lips twitched a bit.
Leon flapped his hands together,
"In that case, I will leave you all to it. Try your best not to get killed."
With that, Leon waved and bid them goodbye as he walked away.
Richard stared at the Fourth Rank sorcerer gradually walk away until he was out of sight. He sighed.
Then he turned around to face the others.
His expression had turned serious, maybe a little dark too,
"Here's how this is going to go down..."