The next morning, after a reminder from Chris, Victoria talked to Obanonos about different ways to get energy for their cultivation. Basically, if they didn't want to hunt Rune Beasts, their only option was to look for Secret Realms, which were energy dense areas that naturally created cultivation resources. Unfortunately, there was a reason they were called secret. It wasn't the type of thing you'd find anywhere in Farova. The major sects definitely had access to a few, but they were absolutely protected, usually by formations that sealed the area off so the resources would have time to grow, which wouldn't be an issue for most of them. The problem was that the one they actually needed to get in there was the one who would have issues. So they needed to find a way to break in, or somehow discover their own Secret Realms.
“If the barrier is thin enough, I can just pop through it.” Chris commented.
“You aren't the only one with spatial abilities in this World. I doubt they're going to fail to account for them when protecting their main source of resources.” Victoria sighed.
“The Elves didn't.” Chris countered. “Or at least, they didn't account for my spatial abilities. There's no guarantee the sects would either.”
“True… okay, we can give it a try, but I wouldn't pin our hopes on it.” Victoria agreed.
“We'd need to figure out where these Secret Realms are first.” Andrew added.
“I'm not even sure where the main sect of the Hidden Blades is.” Greg frowned. “Jocelyn communicates with them using some kind of pendant, and as far as I can tell no one has gone back there yet.”
“We could try joining one of the other sects? See if we can get access that way?” Andrew offered.
“That could work.” Chris nodded. “All we need to do is get something I own inside, and they're ours. We could pick a few of our more talented members and send them to the entrance exams.”
“Alternatively we could create some equipment and start selling it to the sects in the hope that they'll bring it into the Secret Realms.” Victoria commented.
“We don't have the skills to create anything that great at the moment, do we?” Andrew pointed out, frowning slightly.
“We don't need to create something powerful, we just need to make something useful.” Victoria retorted. “We could sell rings connected to Chris's world that give the wearer access to an infinite storage space. The only issue would be how they would activate the portal… maybe you could give the rings a core and bind them to people so you can read their mind?”
“Victoria, I am not binding myself to random people!” Andrew protested.
“Plus communicating with Andrew doesn't make much sense, since they'd need to talk to me for the portal.” Chris added, before pausing. “If you're giving the ring a core, could you give it an ability as well?”
Andrew blinked. “I suppose? But why?”
“Well, all the ring needs to do is move things from one place to another.” Chris explained. “Bind it to a totem in my world, so they can move items between each other… tie each one to a planet and give the totem authority over the place… or just have the totem record the items. That's probably easier. We just need to find a core with the ability to transfer items between two points.”
“It also needs telepathy, so people can tell it what to do.” Victoria commented.
Andrew grimaced. “You guys realize the core would still be me right? I'd be the one doing all this shit.”
“So?” Chris cocked his head. “I manage portals all the time.”
“I'm not a freaking robot!” Andrew snapped. “I can't keep track of a thousand different people vying for my attention!”
“Hm.” Chris grunted. “Well, that probably wouldn't work then.”
“We could potentially do something like Gaia or the Naga Queen, but that would be kinda fucked up…” Victoria muttered, before shaking her head. “Okay, let's focus on getting our people into the sects first. We should probably wait until we actually have access to the sects before trying to sell them anything anyway.”
“So all we need to do is go to the next sect entrance exam and show off?” Greg asked. “How does the exam even work?”
Victoria shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. All I know is that you need to at least have two cores and a second tier Rune to have the best chance. No one ever actually explained what I'd actually have to do… particularly not since I was guaranteed to get into the Hidden Blades. Though the fact that we have three cores is huge, so that might get us in all on its own.”
Greg chuckled. “Yeah, let's show up with a dozen tri-cores and watch them all flip the fuck out.”
“We should probably talk to Tiffany. See what our best option would be.” Chris commented. “Since, you know, she's actually been in a sect.”
“And there Chris goes bringing logic into this.” Greg rolled his eyes, before letting out a small chuckle. “Yeah, we should talk to her. Where is she? Should we bring her here or go to her?”
“She's with the recruiters, so…” Chris snapped his fingers and Tiffany appeared with a yelp.
“Don't do that!” Tiffany growled, glaring at Chris.
“You weren't busy and we need to talk to you.” Chris shrugged. “We're going to try to infiltrate the sects to gain access to their Secret Realms and steal all their energy. What's the best way to do that?”
Tiffany blinked. “You- want to infiltrate the sects?”
Chris nodded. “Yes. How should we?”
Tiffany frowned. “The sect entrance exams are definitely your best bet… are you trying to remain low profile?”
“I'm not sure we're capable of remaining low profile.” Andrew sighed.
“Plus, if we come off as geniuses, the sects are more likely to send us to Secret Realms to train.” Greg added, turning to Tiffany. “Right?”
“Yes, but they'll also watch you more closely.” Tiffany explained. “If you give any indication that you're hiding something, there's no way they'll allow you anywhere near their Secret Realms.”
“But that'd be the case anyway, right?” Andrew pointed out. “If they're going to take us to the Secret Realm, they're going to watch us to make sure they can trust us. As geniuses, they'll at least be motivated to support us and maybe let a few things slide.”
“True, but a regular member only needs to be watched to the point of making sure they have no contacts outside the sect. A dual-core will never be a threat to them. However, if a genius tri-core turns on them, it could mean their deaths or even the destruction of the entire sect! It's happened before. If there's any indication that you could become a problem for them, they won't hesitate to destroy you. Not that you would particularly mind, but it would prevent you from getting to the Secret Realms.” Tiffany replied.
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“Why not just do both?” Chris asked. “Send in a bunch of dual-cores to be regular members and a few tri-cores to be geniuses.”
Tiffany paused. “Okay, but you need to choose who you send carefully. The geniuses aren't a problem, as they're expected to cultivate quickly, but the regular members need to have been cultivating for at least a year, or they'll be categorized as geniuses themselves.”
“Can't they just lie?” Greg asked.
Tiffany shook her head. “There are examiners with the ability to sense lies and there's a formation that tests the age of your core. Even after your core has formed, it takes time to fully settle, about two years. The formation can test the progress of your core to determine how long you've been cultivating it.”
“So all we need to do is give them cores that are at the appropriate level and make them believe they've been cultivating for the right amount of time.” Chris shrugged. He knew the process Tiffany was talking about so he could adjust the cores of anyone he owned to the appropriate level, then Victoria could mess with their memories to make them believe they've been cultivating for the right amount of time. “Seems easy enough to me.”
Tiffany blinked. “You can- of course you can do that.” Tiffany sighed. “If you can pass the core test and not trip any of the examiners lie detection, then it should be fairly simple to get into any of the sects.”
“Okay, but how does it actually work?” Victoria asked. “No one ever explained it to me.”
“Once your Runes and core have been tested, you'll enter the practical exams. Every participant will go through a combat exam and then they can take as many elective exams as they wish to show off their skills. All these exams are taken within formations that compress time, so the exams can be completed almost instantaneously. Once you have your results, you can apply to any of the sects, or if your results are good enough, the recruiters will seek you out and even offer incentives to join their sect.”
“So like college, got it.” Victoria nodded. “Where exactly are the exams?”
Tiffany gave her a weird look. “Callowa, where else?”
“Callowa?” Greg asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The old capital of the Callowan Empire.” Victoria explained. “Seems obvious they'd hold it there in retrospect. All the kingdom capitals have transfer circles to it, and it has the infrastructure to handle the massive influx of people. Plus, that way the sects don't have to hold their recruitment in every nation.”
“Precisely.” Tiffany nodded.
“How long do we have until the exams start?” Andrew asked.
Tiffany cocked her head, calculating the time. “A week? And then it will last for two. Though the earlier you get there the better, since each sect has a quota, so their standards rise as the exams go on.”
“So I should be heading to the capital now then.” Chris commented.
“Might be better if Greg goes and just carries something you own with him.” Andrew replied. “Your travel methods are a bit flashy.”
“Yeah, the sound of your sniper rifle going off every few seconds will probably ruin any chance we have at stealth.” Greg chuckled. “It shouldn't take me that long to get there anyway.”
Chris shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“I suppose that just leaves the question of who we're sending.” Victoria muttered. “Obviously I'll be one of the geniuses, with an altered appearance. Chris and Andrew can probably be geniuses as well.”
“Hey! What about me?” Greg protested.
“Greg, the last time you tried to infiltrate someplace, we had to disappear a town.” Victoria retorted.
“That was because of Chris!” Greg countered. “I didn't give away shit!”
“Only because I stopped you!” Andrew shot back. “Twice!”
“That's because we were supposed to be pretending to be weak.” Greg waved dismissively. “I can totally play a genius, no problem!”
“Even if he gets caught, it isn't like they can interrogate him to find the rest of us.” Chris pointed out. “Why not let him go for it?”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. Who else? We should probably aim for at least two geniuses per sect, so we'll need at least two more.”
“Jade, Foratuna, Beatrice, Calvin, Ursa, and Tiffany are all candidates.” Chris listed off. “Calvin is a bit young, so probably not him, but the rest should be fine, and that gives us three per sect, which is a bit better.”
“Wait, me?!?” Tiffany asked incredulously.
Chris nodded. “You have all three Rune types now, and you're one of our most experienced cultivators. I'll have to reduce your cultivation to a reasonable level, and we'll have to change your appearance, but otherwise you're perfect.”
Tiffany grimaced. “I guess… but I'm not going to the Hidden Blades. And Ursa is going with me.”
Chris shrugged. “Fine by me.”
“So who is going to the Hidden Blades?” Victoria frowned.
“I'm down.” Greg offered. “I can't imagine Jade or Beatrice doing well there, so that pretty much leaves the four of us and Foratuna to go. You probably want to go with Beatrice, and Andrew isn't exactly Hidden Blade material, so that just leaves me, Chris, and Foratuna.”
Chris shook his head. “I would prefer to go with Jade.”
“You- would?” Greg blinked. “Since when?”
“Yesterday.” Chris replied.
“Is that why you had me help her out?” Andrew asked.
Chris nodded. “She's a little too invested in me at the moment, but once she has more to occupy her, I think we could do well together.”
“That messes up our math though.” Victoria frowned. “If we have three pairs, then each pair needs to go to a different sect. Tiffany and Ursa aren't going to the Hidden Blades, and I'm definitely not dragging Beatrice to them either, so would you take Jade to the Hidden Blades?”
Chris cocked his head, considering the idea for a moment. “Maybe. I'd have to ask her to make sure she's comfortable with it.”
“Okay, then since we should probably have at least one of us in each sect, that leaves Andrew with Tiffany and Ursa, and Foratuna with Victoria and Beatrice.” Greg muttered.
Victoria coughed. “You could switch with Foratuna.”
Greg blinked. “But- I wanna Hidden Blade…”
“Greg…” Victoria pleaded slightly.
“Actually… I think it would be best if Foratuna didn't go to the Hidden Blades.” Tiffany interjected. “She would be incredibly susceptible to their manipulations, and if they get to her she could give away everything.”
Victoria grimaced, remembering how Jocelyn acted when they talked, basically trying to seduce her into going along with whatever she wanted. “Fuck.”
“So… I Hidden Blade?” Greg asked.
Victoria sighed. “Yeah, you Hidden Blade. I'll deal with Foratuna. Who will also need an appearance change… and a name change.”
“We should probably just do that for everyone.” Chris agreed. “Just to be safe.”
Tiffany nodded. “You never know how much the Hidden Blades know.”
Greg groaned. “Damn it, I hate learning new names.”
“Just use your name backwards.” Chris commented. “Gerg. Or Yrogerg. I'll be Sirhc. Jade will be Edaj. Hm, no. Just Eda. More feminine. Not so hard to remember, right?”
“You want to name me yogurt?” Greg raised an eyebrow, before pausing. “Actually, you know what, I'm down. I could own Yogurt.” Greg snickered, imagining all the people who'd struggle to take him seriously with that name. Particularly if we beat them. Or if they had to serve him. Making everyone call him Sir Yogurt. Boss Yogurt. Master Yogurt!
“Okay… so who are we getting to be the regular members then?” Victoria asked, shaking her head as she moved on.
Greg snorted. “Fucking anyone.”
Chris shrugged. “He's not wrong. We have plenty of dual-core with second-tier Runes. Particularly the Cultivators who've joined us. Maurice. Your parents. Anyone.”
“So just look for volunteers?” Andrew suggested. “How many should we shoot for?”
“Nine per sect? So twenty-seven?” Greg offered. “We can hold tryouts so we send the more skilled ones. Our skills don't particularly matter since the fact that we're tri-cores makes us valuable enough for the sects to want us, but they'll need skills to get in.”
“I'll set it up for four days from now, to give them time to prepare.” Chris agreed.
Victoria nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”