Prisiche quickly directed Vicente to the missions' wing for Outer Disciples, an area of over 300 square meters where holographic walls, small pyramids with screens on their sides, showed different activities.
"Master, there are at least 3,000 missions available for Outer Disciples. Outer Disciples are usually magicians of up to the 6th stage, so there are plenty of activities for them, since most Light Cay beings are limited by that stage," Prisiche said to him.
As much as there were 7th, 8th and even 9th stage beings known in this grandiose world, Magus level experts on their own were already as rare as Sovereigns in Polaris Realm. There were certainly many Magus in Anicane, but they were a small fraction of the community.
If there were 10,000 Magus in Light Cay, then the current generation on the 'island' was probably one of the best in history.
The numbers of experts above this level were even smaller, as were the numbers of Paragons and Archmages in Polaris Realm.
Naturally, the sect's Outer Disciples were the ones who had the most activities to themselves, as they didn't have at their disposal services that reached most of the magical beings on this 'island.'
But that put a doubt in Vicente's mind. "Does the sect only accept magicians from the 6th stage upwards into its ranks? What about newcomers on the magical path? Don't you nurture your own geniuses?"
"We certainly do, master." Prisiche smiled at him. "If you pay attention, there are missions here for Archmages, Paragons and even Sovereigns. But below that, one can't do missions and must focus on the Academy."
Stonewall had a complex system behind its operation. Vicente didn't have to worry about most of it, as he was already an Archmage. But if he had been a local who managed to enter Stonewall at the beginning of his magical journey, he would have had to go through the Academy, one of the sect's Centers responsible for training juniors.
The Academy, however, was in another part of the city, outside this area protected by formations, where newbies from lower planes had to stay for a period.
Prisiche added, "If you must know, to enter the sect one must have a minimum cultivation of Mage or receive an invitation from at least one Outer Elder. But honestly, below the 3rd stage, hardly anyone can join our force."
"So that's it... Truly different." Vicente understood a little more about the system of the force he was now part of.
"For someone with your characteristics, master, I recommend the missions for medium and high level Archmages." She pointed toward the more complicated missions for Outer Disciples.
Stonewall classified missions according to the minimum level required to complete them. If a mission depended on at least a 1-Star Archmage, then the mission rating was 1-Star Archmage, simple as that.
Prisiche stopped next to a screen 10 meters long by 3 meters high and pointed to it. "Here are some missions I think you'll find interesting. I recommend choosing 2 to 4 of them and not coming back here until you've completed at least half of them."
Vicente looked at the over 50 missions available on that large screen, missions ranging from 4-Star and even 9-Star of the 6th stage.
He quickly identified a few that caught his eye because they were either interesting to him or strange, the kind he didn't expect to find there.
{Supply Mission}
{Activity: acquire or negotiate essential supplies for the sect.}
{Requirement: reach level one of the Diplomacy Center.}
{Rank: 5-Star Archmage.}
{Prize: 70,000 stone coins and a fraction of the profit from the deal (if successful and if it exceeds the mission creator's expectations).}
...
{Magical Ritual Mission}
{Activity: attend and learn a magical ritual important to the sect (for more details, accept the mission).}
{Requirement: none.}
{Rank: 6-Star Archmage.}
{Reward: 50,000 stone coins.}
...
{Artifact Recovery Mission}
{Activity: recover the Elemental Command Scepter lost during an external activity from an Inner Disciple of the sect (for more details, accept the mission).}
{Requirement: permission to leave the sect's core area.}
{Rank: 7-Star Archmage.}
{Reward: 100,000 stone coins.}
All the available missions had extremely interesting payoffs for someone who only had their 100,000 stone coins.
"Why would a lower-ranking mission pay more than a high-ranking one?" Vicente asked Prisiche.
"The payment is according to the difficulty of the mission, master. Its classification only shows the minimum level required. But, for example, a 6-Star Archmage can take the magical ritual quest and the supply quest, but it may take him longer to complete the supply quest.
Its requirement increases the difficulty of the quest and, even if you've already completed this requirement, you may not have the individual at your disposal that you must negotiate with.
The ritual mission, on the other hand, can probably be completed immediately, as long as you have the minimum power required to succeed in it."
He nodded, showing that he understood that point while he looked at other missions.
She took advantage of his silence to continue advising him. "I suggest you take on missions with requirements, like the supply mission, master. This will help you learn new skills, force you to take part in more of the sect's activities and, in the end, will pay you more.
As much as this means you'll have to dedicate more of your time to these missions, most of them can only be completed by disciples who can leave the area we're in or have skills confirmed by one of the sect's Centers. You don't have much in your favor at the moment, so accepting missions you'll be able to do in a few months or after a year is best."
Vicente nodded at her as he read out another interesting mission.
{Training Mission}
{Activity: train with the Outer Disciple *** in the core area of the city (for more details, accept the mission)}.
{Requirement: sign a contract accepting the consequences of the training, relinquishing a later quest for revenge for training injuries.}
{Rank: 6-Star Archmage.}
{Prize: 55,000 stone coins}.
"Do Outer Disciples launch quests too?" He asked her.
"No. Normally, only Elders can do that. So this disciple probably has a master within the sect, who has at least the function of Outer Elder. This mission must be to help this disciple temper himself better. Missions like this are quite common, master."
She paused for a moment and looked him in the eye. "By the way, you should accept this mission. It doesn't seem too difficult for you, and it will help you understand your current powers better."
"Don't missions like this have some kind of deadline? Isn't it better if I carry on with my obligatory activities for a few weeks and only then look at it?" He asked.
"They do, but usually disciples have up to three weeks to start a mission like this once they accept it. That's more than enough time for you to learn what's necessary before fighting this disciple."
Vicente pondered for a moment, feeling that he would also improve his cultivation over the next few weeks, probably reaching 4-Star. Besides, he was really curious to test his powers on Anicane. He had improved a lot since leaving Polaris Realm, and had also significantly evolved the abilities of his pentagrams.
So he quickly accepted three missions, the {Training Mission}, {Magical Ritual Mission} and {Supply Mission}.
With these three missions and his compulsory activities, he should be busy for the next year.
Prisiche guided him to the self-service machines in the area, quickly showing him how to add missions to his ID.
The moment he did, he could access the hidden details of the missions, learning the names of the individuals he would have to meet to complete each of them. They were all very detailed, with the names of magicians, the places where one could find them, the process for completing the requirements, and even the rules for redeeming the prizes.
For the moment, Vicente just kept in the back of his mind that he should start solving the requirements of these missions soon, but he wasn't in a hurry to start today.
Before that, he intended to start his mandatory activities, the most important ones for him to kick-start his journey inside Stonewall.
But he wouldn't do that until tomorrow. After hours of walking around the central area of Ravengarde, he needed to follow Prisiche's advice to eat and rest.
As soon as he left the Registration Center, he headed for a restaurant that Prisiche had helped him choose, where he would soon sit at an individual table and wait for his first meal in Anicane.
As most of the beings in Light Cay looked very human, he imagined their preferences wouldn't be so different from his own, which could mean tasty food for him.
But regardless of the taste, he was prepared to eat anything to help his body adapt more quickly to this place!