The speech was over, and the students were all getting up to leave.

Lin Ying led the members of the Hunt God Team over to Gao Neng’s group. He glanced at Gao Neng, hesitated for a moment, then said, "See you on the battlefield."

Gao Neng was speechless.

’This plot is all wrong!’

’They’re rushing things!’

’If even he understood this, how could the Military Department not?’

"Gao Neng, you and your friends did well today." Gui Zian seemed to have noticed their arrival and commented casually as he passed by.

"Teacher, was that a list of names for those going to the battlefield?"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"What are you thinking, kid? That was a list for a battlefield observation group. An instructor will be taking you. You didn’t actually think the Military Department’s reform was just sending you to your deaths, did you?" Gui Zian glanced at Gao Neng, a strange look on his face.

’So the kid isn’t completely fearless after all.’

’At least he’s afraid of dying...’

...

Gao Neng didn’t care if it was for observation or just a drill.

As long as he was on a battlefield, there would be danger. An instructor was supposed to make it safe, but was that really the case? Was there no danger at all just because an instructor was present?

To put it bluntly, even instructors died on the battlefield.

Gao Neng hadn’t spent the entire past half-month just blindly training with Gui Zian. He’d also taken a lot of time to read books in the library.

Now that he knew the direction the reforms were taking...

...learning about the battlefield ahead of time was essential.

Otherwise, he could end up on the battlefield one day and not even know what killed him.

’I really have to go to the battlefield. What am I going to do?’ Back in his dorm, Gao Neng subconsciously mimicked Fang Tangtang’s habit of rolling back and forth on the bed.

’What if something goes wrong?’

’What if the instructor gets killed?’

’What if the Demon Race or the Barbarian Race suddenly launches a large-scale attack?’

’There were too many ’what-ifs’.’

Gao Neng didn’t dare to think about it any further.

His first mission had actually been completed the moment he walked out of the training room. Now, he was what you might call a minor tycoon.

He had over a thousand Energy Pills on him.

According to his original plan, those thousand-plus Energy Pills would have been enough to last him three months. During that time, he was going to cultivate in seclusion until he reached the Tier Three Late Stage... no, until he reached Tier Four!

’Externalizing Magnetic Core Energy!’

’A whole new realm!’

But now, his plans had been forcibly changed.

’Maybe I can ask Bald Shark to let me withdraw?’ The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. ’That would be so humiliating. Even Fang Tangtang and the others are brave enough to go. Why should I be the one to chicken out?’

’Then again, speaking of Fang Tangtang...’

’She has that form-fitting Soft Armor for protection!’

’With that thing, of course she dares to go. At the very least, her safety is much more assured.’

’Unless...’

’Should I go and strip that Soft Armor right off her?’

’It probably... wouldn’t fit me anyway.’

’If only I had some Soft Armor to protect my body. I could wear my Energy Armor on the outside and the Soft Armor underneath... Add the defense boost from my Life Form Transformation... Perfect!’ Gao Neng had instantly zeroed in on the solution. But where could he get a set of form-fitting Soft Armor like that?

’Fang Tangtang is rich!’

’She wears that Soft Armor all the time, so it can’t be cheap.’

’Wait.’

’Wait a minute, don’t I have a system?’

’What if I issue a quest to get some super-defensive Soft Armor?’

Gao Neng had a pretty good idea of how this stupid system worked after its upgrade. He could issue his own quests and even set the rewards.

The stupid system would then set the objectives based on the quest he created.

’It’s just a piece of form-fitting Soft Armor. It’s still a mundane item, not comparable to a skill from the lucky prize wheel, right? The quest for it can’t possibly be more dangerous than going to the battlefield... can it? Probably not... right?’ Gao Neng carefully weighed his options. Deep down, he was a little hesitant.

’Should I do it or not?’

’With Soft Armor, I’d be much safer on the battlefield.’

’But to get the Soft Armor...’

’...I’d have to take another risk. Like getting screwed over by this stupid system.’

’What should I do?’

Gao Neng continued to roll around on his bed. For his second-stage magnetization, he hadn’t actually chosen his torso; he’d chosen his legs. The main reason at the time was that it would make him faster.

’As for my torso...’

’I figured that with Life Form Transformation, it would be more than enough for sparring matches in the training rooms.’

’But now I’m suddenly being sent to a battlefield.’

’Protecting my torso is crucial!’ 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

’You can survive a broken leg, but how do you survive getting your torso run through?’

’Soft Armor, Soft Armor... If only I had some Soft Armor!’

The thought took root in his mind and began to sprout.

「Half an hour later.」

Gao Neng got up from the bed.

He opened the system’s Attribute Panel.

Vitality: 689/745

Stamina: 350/382

Energy: 1350/1480

These were his new Vitality, Stamina, and Energy values after reaching Tier Two. Each had increased by about 100 points.

But right now, Gao Neng’s gaze wasn’t on these numbers.

Instead, it was fixed on the "Issue Quest" button.

He tapped it.

’What should I name the quest? The name determines the quest’s general direction, so I need to be extremely careful... And there’s another question. Should I aim for the materials, or for the finished Soft Armor?’ Gao Neng weighed his options.

He did have crafting abilities.

What he was missing was a schematic for super-quality Soft Armor. If he got the schematic, the only thing left would be the workmanship.

’It’s Soft Armor, so if the workmanship is a little shoddy, no one will see it anyway, right?’

He had a 100% success rate.

He definitely wouldn’t waste any materials; failure wasn’t a possibility.

’But would that be too much of a hassle?’

’If I just get the Soft Armor directly...’

’...that would be pretty convenient.’

’But if I set the reward as a complete set of super-defensive Soft Armor, the stupid system will probably increase the difficulty, making it even more dangerous.’

’Which path should I choose?’

*(A 5,000-word Chapter! Please subscribe!)*