Hills of Sunden. Silas had his quest squad move out from the academy to the target location. The target for hunting and elimination was a patrol camp of kobolds, quest difficulty rating: G-1. The hunter squad comprised of a noble-born Flare Mage: Polus Alistair, a bulwark knight apprentice: Karran Voss, and a minor healer: Rynelle. Tormac was luckier, he got a quest with the rating F-2 due to his unique but fluid casting method.
"Would I need to heal you every time you cut yourself to perform any spells?" Rynelle asked scornfully "I hope you know that every heal will cost me mana and i would rather not waste it on such trivial matters"
Silas rolled his eyes "That's not how it works. Blood coagulates, the most i can do if i am injured is seal the wound. Small things like cuts are not such a big deal, but i would still need healing for a gash or bigger"
"Don't get in the way then, you can't even fire an offensive spell" Rynelle replied.
She was annoying and getting on his nerves, but control was important to avoid clashing with the healer, whose skills he would definitely need soon. Karran and Polus were quiet. They wanted no part of this childish argument. "Quit your bickering. We need to be alert for the camp, Kobolds have a great sense of smell and will alert at the slightest hint of us" Polus said. "Agreed" Karran added.

Karran raised his balled fists, the signal to stop. Everyone else quickly glanced all around them looking for signs of the beasts. "We will hold out here. Look, prints of small beast moving in packs." Karran continued " They used this path once, they will use it again. Move to that clearing nearby, we will spring our attack from there. I hope everyone pulls their weight" he looked at Silas as he said that. Uneasiness was setting on the group as the sun set. Fighting in the dark is rarely a fruitful endeavor and a risky one at that. Chittering was finally heard around midnight, and grew louder. The Kobolds were back and were drawing closer. Polus had set up a bait of a recently lit campfire to draw their attention and signaled to wait. The kobolds had thick clubs, like they shaved off large trunks of trees. "10,12,14...I count about 22 of them, including the 12 who branched away." Rynelle conveyed through sign language. "Noted." Polus signed back "We take a few of them simultaneously, lesser to deal with later" 

Nate took out his crystal bullets and floated them, prepared. Then came Polus' count "3,2,1 ATTACK!" Rynelle fired the flash-flare spell to blind them, the kobolds ran in every direction. Karran shield bashed the one closest to him and Polus fired a minor fireball, burning the fur of some of the kobolds. All the while, Silas watched as the kobolds ran around and screeched in pain, he held off on firing to ensure none of them escape the clearing by sniping them. Karran taunted and held back the kobolds while Polus used his Flame Lash spell to slash the kobolds, while Rynelle healed them after dodging attacks and quickly relocating to flash-flare them again. The teamwork was commendable but Silas felt he was being underutilized. Kobolds began swarming to get as overwhelming as possible. A few slipped through the bulwark's guard and rushed for the healer. 
Silas moved by quick thinking, pushed through the bushes and shoved Rynelle and took the brunt force of the club onto his arms. "Watch it, Rynelle. Eyes up". Silas took out his newly made bluntly inward tipped bullet and fired off with just enough force to pierce the thick skin. The bullet left the kobold's body with a grotesque exit, splattering guts behind it. Rynelle, nauseated , pushed Silas away and yelled back "DISGUSTING. Get this filth off of me." Polus struck 3 more of the beasts and scared the rest away with a Flame Kindle spell. 

The squad gathered together again after the tussle to assess the damage and recuperate. Rynelle stomped towards Silas and grabbed him by the collar and yelled into his face "PULL THAT SHIT WITH ME AGAIN, FREAK. I DARE YOU. I WILL LEAVE YOU FOR KOBOLD CH-" Karran pulled her away and stood between them to put an end to the scene she was causing. 
"What? Why are you interfering with this matter? What's it to you?" she shot at Karran. He remained quiet and simply stared at her like a parent watching a petulant child throw a tantrum. The lack of answer only angered her more, she pushed mana into her palm and prepared a spell. Before she could complete, Polus pointed his index finger at her and prepared an Ember shot spell, while Karran pointed his spear at her.
"Try it, but you seem outnumbered" Polus warned her, fully serious about firing off his spell. Rynelle dissipated the built up mana with an expression on her face same as a child caught misbehaving. "Healers hold value to a squad, but the next time you try to threaten, attack or berate a fellow squad member, I will not hesitate to cripple you" Polus said to Rynelle before turning to Silas "I heard your proficiency was trash, what was the spell you shot off onto the kobolds from that far? And also the last one that was a gut blaster? Have you been lying about being a failure or pretending to be one?" 
Silas smiled "Here's the deal: get her to heal this arm and I'll tell you. It does hurt pretty bad."
Polus looked over to Rynelle who came without directions and set up a continuous heal on the arm. Karran moved away to stand guard first and act as a scout. Polus waited for Silas to speak up, but Silas instead just tossed one of the projectiles at him. Silas knew someone like him would understand the idea behind the spell by one look, so he wouldn't need to waste his breath on this. Polus examined the bullet carefully and said "Crude but ingenious. And the gut blaster one?"
"I made only of those, they are blunt ones with hollow-ish tips" Silas answered, getting up after the finished heal and flexing his arm.
"Why the weird design?" Polus inquired.
"The bullet isn't meant for simple piercing, it was meant to cause grievous wound. The bullet on impact, would cause it to collapse and expand outward to increase the radius. The force i shot it with caused the blast on projectile exit, in other cases it is meant to wreck the organs of targets" Silas explained. 
"And how are you able to shoot with that force? Blood catapult?"
"No, it's mana compression and pressure release behind the bullet on my index finger" Silas finished.

Polus was amused, rumors are rumors indeed. "This boy had quite the ingenuity for mageworks, and the talent for it too." Karran came back from the guard holding 3 kobold heads and said "This was the last of them. I didn't see anymore." 
"Wait, are there any Kobold corpses left that aren't burnt?" Silas said as he looked around "I still need their blood for my magecraft." 
Karran passed him a kobold corpse of the one he had slain trying to escape. Besides large stab wounds from his spear, it was decent. 
"Give me a few minutes and we can be cleared to leave" said Silas and immediately got to work. He took out his knapsack and pulled a few ampoules and collected the blood. He noticed the puzzled expression on those around him and clarified "This for research, so far i can only use mana to control my own blood, but if i am able to understand the mana resonance on wildlife and magical beasts then I can perhaps be able to use that to my advantage".
Karran smiled and said out loud "A warrior prepares" and patted Silas on the back. Polus just nodded his head and collected his affects and prepared to leave. The quest was over and it was time to report back. 3 days of tracking and half a day of continuous hunting was tiresome to newbies. The journey back to the academy would take about a day and a half.

"I didn't expect a noble-born in an academy getting down and dirty" Silas said " You could just hire an escort party for a quest and then work that way."
"I am Polus Alistair, the only surviving son of the Alistair family. The king of Velmara has secretly sacrificed most of family for proxy wars and ruined everything that my family owned. I do this so that one day i may defend myself when the time has come. The king himself isn't a tyrant and i hold no grudge over his actions, because it was an unfortunate occurrence and it was simply my family's time to prove our loyalty. I won't be here long anyways, now that i have a successful hunt, i can now apply to be an adventurer out there."
"I'm- I'm sorry to hear that. I probably shouldn't have asked." Silas said guiltily.
"No, it's ok. It wasn't inappropriate for you to try and get to know a member of your party better." Polus said flatly.
"Rylenne, you've been quiet for very long. Do you not have anything to say?" Karran pointed out.
"It's Rynelle and no, i have nothing to say. I'm just happy with the result of the hunt and would like for this journey to be over as soon as possible" Rynelle said dryly.
"What do you intend to become in your life or do with it, Silas?" Polus asked
"I- I don't know yet. I was looking to be an adventurer. I have read material on it too hoping for guidance" Silas admitted.
"How about another trade deal then? I give you information on the adventurer classification and you teach me the techniques you used to fire off projectiles. A fair deal if you ask me. This is going to be a long journey anyways" Polus offered.
"I think i will take up on that offer, but you first" 
"Alright. How much do you know about the quests, requests and adventurers?" Polus asked
"Quest classifications begin from the G class and go up to A, all with sub categorical ranking as 1,2 and 3, meaning that even within each class lies a separate classification as G-1,G-2 and G-3 and so on as f-1,f-2 till A-1 being the highest." Silas stated.
"Correct, the quest rating system works that way. The adventurer is quite similar but each rank holds a label or name. There are 12 ranks namely: Initiate, Scout, Pathfinder, Skirmisher, Striker, Hunter, Ranger, Sentinel, Warden, Marshal, Keeper and the pinnacle and veterans of adventurers: Paragons. Each rank is divided into 3 sub-categories called: Novice, Veteran and Master."
"Paragons must be powerhouses then?" Silas asked
"They are almost power incarnate and armed with spells to wipeout towns or strength to rival Mob bosses" Karran said "I've never had the chance to meet one, considering they are so rare. But I met a Novice Marshal Sword Paladin from the Bronze Sentinel Order. She was hired as an escort to a supply run for the kingdom of Carthryia from the port of Lokurmah. Their journey had Velmara Magic Academy as one of the stops, and rested for an evening"
"How strong was she?" Rynelle chimed in
"Very strong. Her skill alone was enough to evoke my battle-spirit and the confidence she exuded was enough to let physical combatants near her to recognize her as a superior foe. None dared to approach her because of that" Karran answered.

The party discussed various warriors, mages and adventurers and shared knowledge of known techniques as they travelled back to the academy and as promised Silas taught Polus the firing technique which complimented Polus' mana affinity and made a new spell called Ignition Blaze. They came back to the academy gates without any hitches on the way, all the more richer with experience.
"I'll submit the report to Myno myself, you guys can go ahead" Silas said and parted with them.
He headed straight for the staff quarters and knocked on a door with the label: Professor Myno Merloc'. Nate remembered from Silas' memory that she was a strict but fair professor and one of the few who actually cared for the well-being of the students and budding warriors. He also remembered that she had son, who is now missing due to failed magic teleportation spell that sucked him in and was never seen again. He sympathized with her plight, but there was nothing more he could offer than sympathies.
The door opened with Myno standing facing him "Silas" she said "Did you fail your quest? How are you back so early?"
"No, mage Myno, we've finished and I'm here to report it" Silas said
"That was quick, alright fill me in" Myno said, clearing a seat for him.
Silas gave a rundown of the entire quest to her, down to the details of spells used and injuries faced. Myno listened intently and occasionally asked questions for clarification. 
After reporting, Myno told him to come to her the next morning for some more questions and dismissed him. 
Silas moved to his dorms, quickly. He was excited after all. He went inside closed the door and threw his robe and pulled out the Ampoules and looked at them carefully in the lantern's light.

It was a new step for him after all, a step towards growth.