This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Surprisingly, both Kain and Serena were exempted from the first field assessment of the year—and it wasn't because the school had found out about Gabriel.

Rather, it was because, upon going over the debriefing reports provided to the college about their rescue of Cherry and the other children from the laboratory, some undisclosed high-up individual took notice of their abilities—specifically, Bea's ability to control the mind, and extract information directly from memories.

For Serena, they took notice of Balens' ability to deal with any and all manner of situations using the equivalent exchange skill.

And so, for the second time, Kain was assigned a Black Mission, but this time Serena would be his partner.

However, neither Kain nor Serena raised any objection or expressed any disagreement with taking the mission, even after knowing that it may take them away from their classes and Gabriel for an unknown amount of time.

This was because, based on the vague information provided to them before they formally accepted the mission, they were able to confirm that it was actually to take down another hidden laboratory in a different city—more specifically, they suspected it to be the laboratory of researchers from the city neighbouring Brightstar that had fled previously.

Meaning that Kain and Serena may get the opportunity to rescue the kids who had been taken away by them, and it will also give Kain an opportunity to obtain more research notes—and maybe something new will be in them that will help Gabriel.

After accepting the mission, they were both called to a secure, soundproofed briefing room to be informed on more details about the case—of course, they couldn't actually remove any of the files to risk information leaks.

The debriefing room was cold, sterile, and lit by a harsh white light that reflected off the polished metal surfaces.

Kain sat at one end of the table, fingers steepled as he scanned the papers inside of the mission folder. Beside him, Serena flipped through her own file.

Once they had both finished memorizing the information, they did as instructed and set fire to the leaks as a security measure.

"Fallingstar City…" Kain murmured, his voice low but steady. "It makes sense. The remnants of the lab from Morningstar City had to go somewhere, and it was the nearest viable option after Brightstar, which just had one of their laboratories destroyed."

The new lead in their mission wasn't just the remnants of the lab, though. Roman Silverhart's name was prominently displayed in their brief, along with a detailed profile.

Roman Silverhart

Age: 23

Status: Eldest grandson of the Silverhart family

Affinity: None (Failed to awaken)

Current Position: Former heir, disinherited

Thinking back to the profile he'd memorized, Kain summarized "Like Heather, he's a legacy that was unable to awaken and affinity. So, he's desperate to regain his position as heir."

Serena nodded, "But despite being ambitious, he isn't very smart, otherwise the college wouldn't so easily be able to flag him as a person of interest."

Kain couldn't help agreeing, "The Silverhart's are filthy rich. And the Silverhart family is probably among the wealthiest legacy families with a 7-star beast-tamer. Even with his status stripped as an heir, he shouldn't need to resort to these lengths for money. His remaining inheritance alone could sustain him luxuriously for decades."

Kain thought back to the papers outlining the former heir's various illegal activities to raise funds rivalling Kain's beer business.

It's one thing if, using his family's connections and money, he set up his own business to preoccupy his time like Kain did.

But drugs? Facilitating sex work?

He should have no reason to do that…unless he desperately needed a ton of money quickly.

But why would that be?

He's burned through a significant amount of money recently. His expenditures are erratic, bordering on reckless, and much of it is untraceable.

That's the first red flag that the investigators affiliated with the college noticed, and also the first area they want them to dig into.

"Classic signs of funding something off the books," Kain remarked, his voice dry. "And that's where we come in. Find out if Roman's tied to the lab and, if so, bring it down."

Their mission targets were clear: enter the Southern Region, investigate Roman Silverhart's connections, locate the remnants of the lab, and dismantle the operation.

The files also noted the inclusion of a third participant in this operation, a student from Starfire College, but their identity hadn't yet been disclosed, they would meet at a discrete location once they arrived at Fallingstar City.

Kain and Serena, quickly finalized their arrangement to leave.

However, the time required for the Black Mission would far exceed the days they had initially planned to be away for the field assessment.

"I've confirmed with Bridge," Kain said as he closed the storage container. "Once his assessment's done, he'll check in on Gabriel regularly. I don't trust leaving him entirely alone, even with the Vespid watching."

After confirming with Bridge that he'd watch out for Gabriel once he's finished his own field assessment, leaving a Vespid guard infected with Bea's split to keep tabs on Gabriel, and enough food to last him for over a month, Serena and Kain left Dark Moon college and teleported to Fallingstar City.

When they teleported into Fallingstar City, Kain stumbled slightly, catching himself before he could lose his balance. He straightened, brushing off imaginary dust and shaking his head with a faint smirk.

"Finally getting used to this," he muttered. "I didn't even feel like throwing up this time."

"Congratulations," Serena replied dryly, already moving to the edge of the temporary teleportation circle, without any signs of discomfort.

She didn't wait for Kain, expecting him to follow, and he did, falling in step beside her as they navigated the sparsely populated city streets.

Fallingstar City was a larger city that Brightstar City, but still didn't have a permanent teleportation center like the first-tier Starfire City. Therefore, it seems as though a temporary teleportation circle was set up in a relatively unpopulated area of the city, in a back alley away from prying eyes.

And not far from their target destination—an isolated house on the city's outskirts that would serve as their base of operations for this mission. And also where their new teammate will be waiting for them.