The examiners for the sect entrance exams waved participant after participant through the scanning formation before taking them to the testing formation, recording the results and marking them with a specialized tool that used participant's energy to create a unique identifier that confirmed the results were theirs. The scanning formation only took a few seconds to find the age of the participants' cores and the highest tier of each type of Rune they'd Assimilated, and the testing formation took maybe half a minute at most, so the process was fairly quick. It was also incredibly boring, as the examiners played a very minor role in the entire process, only there to make sure things continued smoothly, and to make sure no one cheated.
Paul yawned as he waved the most recent participant into the scanning formation, glancing bitterly at the other examiners taking a break off to the side, but he couldn't afford to do the same. Some spoiled brat from the Champions of Battle had run away and was trying to use the sect entrance exams to hide in one of the other sects, so now every member of the Champions of Battle had to be on guard for any suspicious individuals. “Like the Elder's daughter is going to come through my examination center.” Paul grumbled.
“There's absolutely no way a hundred crows could defeat a bear!” D growled as they entered the examination center with Greg, catching Paul's attention.
“Are you kidding me? A hundred crows could tear a bear apart like a swarm of piranhas!” Greg retorted.
D paused. “What's a piranha?”
“Uh… it's a fish that travels in a big swarm. They're really aggressive and they'll tear anything apart in a matter of minutes.” Greg explained. “My point is, the crows are fast enough to avoid the bear and wear it down by repeatedly taking piece after piece out of it.”
D shook their head. “No matter how many crows there are, if they can't get through the bear's hide, it's pointless!”
“Sure, but a crow could absolutely get through a bear's hide.” Greg retorted.
“No it couldn't!” D countered.
“Yes it could!” Greg shot back.
“Ahem.” Paul coughed.
Greg blinked, finally noticing that they were next. “Holy shit, where'd the line go?” He didn't even remember walking in the building!
“Please step into the scanning formation.” Paul gestured to D, eyeing them suspiciously. This was precisely the type of person he was supposed to be looking out for.
D nodded, stepping into the scanning formation. The formation flashed briefly and three orbs appeared above it, lit up a bright yellow. Two had the number one on them, while the other had a two. All the examiners immediately jolted, turning to stare at D wide eyed. A man and woman immediately stepped forward, speaking in unison.
“Wisdom's Curse-”
“The Hidden Blades-”
“Would you please remove your face covering?” Paul cut them off, stepping between them and D, looking at D intently.
“No.” D immediately refused, moving to get around him.
Paul stopped them with a hand on their chest. “I'm afraid I must insist.”
“Paul, what are you-” The woman from Wisdom's Curse began curiously.
“This is an internal matter of the Champions of Battle.” Paul interjected, keeping his focus on D. “Please, remove your face covering, or I'll be forced to remove it myself.”
“If you think we're going to let you steal a tri-core out from under us-” The man from the Hidden Blades began with a growl.
“As long as they remove their face covering, and confirm that they aren't who I suspect they might be, I won't fight you for them.” Paul replied.
The woman from Wisdom's Curse raised an eyebrow. “And if they are who you think they are?”
“Then they already belong to the Champions of Battle.” Paul explained simply.
The man from the Hidden Blades rolled his eyes. “You could claim anyone is the person you're looking for.”
Paul pulled a scroll from his pocket and tossed it to him. “That's who I'm looking for. Confirm it for yourself.”
The woman from Wisdom's Curse glanced at the parchment, before turning to D. “You might as well remove your face covering. I'm not fighting Paul if you're really who he's looking for.” The man from the Hidden Blades grunted in agreement.
D glared at Paul defiantly, before letting out a frustrated grunt, and slowly pulling down their face covering as Paul watched intently. “Yeesh. I get why you covered that up.” Greg commented as a man with a grotesque scar covering half their face was revealed.
Paul coughed awkwardly, stepping back. “I apologize.”
D looked confused as Greg stepped up next to them. “Let's get that covered back up, eh?” He winked as he helped get the face covering back in place. “Now go do your test, we're holding up the line!” Greg added, pushing them towards the testing formation.
“That won't be necessary.” The woman from Wisdom's Curse interjected. “Wisdom's Curse would happily accept you right now, no test necessary.”
“As would the Hidden Blades.” The man from the Hidden Blades added. “We would also be willing to offer you a monthly stipend of three stage appropriate cores.”
“Wisdom's Curse would offer you cores and a weekly spot in the sect's training formation.” The woman countered.
“We'll give you a weekly spot and guaranteed access to the sects Secret Realms when they open.” The man upped his offer, glancing at Greg. “We'll even take your friend here, no matter his result.”
“Deal.” D immediately agreed.
“Ha!” Greg let out a short laugh, before devolving into a fit of giggles as the ridiculousness of that offer really sunk in. “Oh, damn, that's rich.” Greg gasped for air, wiping at his eyes as everyone stared at him weirdly.
“What's so funny?” The man asked, frowning at him.
“Allow me to show you.” Greg snickered, stepping into the scanning formation. “Bupbadabah!” Greg waved as the formation flashed and three green balls appeared over his head, all with a stark number two emblazoned on them. He grinned at the stunned man from the Hidden Blades. “Now, doesn't your offer just seem ridiculous?”
“How- how is that possible?” The woman from Wisdom's Curse muttered incredulously.
“Because I'm awesome.” Greg chuckled, stepping out of the formation. “So, whatcha got for me?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at them.
The man gulped. “Everything we offered him.”
“Plbt.” Greg blew a raspberry. “Come on! I got D beat by like… I dunno, twice? Four times? You can't bump that shit up at least a little?”
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The man's expression twisted. “That's all I'm authorized to offer.”
“Then let's talk to someone with more authority, eh?” Greg shrugged. “I like to maximize my benefits.”
“I would need to contact an Elder…” The man muttered.
“Elder Holice will be here shortly.” The woman from Wisdom's Curse announced, dropping her communication slip.
“As will Elder Constantine.” Paul added, earning himself a look from the other two. “What? I said I wouldn't compete for him. He's fair game.” D stiffened at the mention of Elder Constantine, shifting closer to the man from the Hidden Blades as he quickly contacted his own Elder.
The examination center ground to a halt as they waited for the arrival of the Elders, Greg turning to D. “So… if you had four arms, would you rather have them be stacked, or rotated?”
“What?” D asked, confused.
“Like, one set on top of the other, so the extra set would be coming out of your side like here, or would you rather have it so that one came out your chest and the other came out your back?” Greg explained. “Or maybe just slightly offset, like one here, one here, but twisted so it worked backwards?” Greg muttered, pointing at the front and then the back of his shoulder.
“I think I would rather not have four arms.” D replied, rolling their eyes.
“Sure, but if you did have them, where would you want them?” Greg insisted.
D huffed, considering it for a moment. “The waist?” They finally answered. “Too close to the original set and they'd get in the way, and it'd be easier to just turn than have a set of arms shifted. The waist allows both sets to act freely, but still in concert, maximizing the benefits.”
Greg nodded. “Makes sense. I think I'd put them on my legs, so I can kick and punch at the same time. Like at the knee. It'd be great for stability too!”
D shook their head. “You're ridiculous.”
“Aren't I?” Greg chuckled.
“Such a mind would do well in Wisdom's Curse.” The woman from Wisdom's Curse commented.
The man from the Hidden Blades snorted. “He's too ambitious for your dusty libraries.”
“If he's talking about kicking and punching someone at the same time, he's obviously Champion material.” Paul pointed out.
“I'm sure I'd do well in any of your sects.” Greg grinned. “The question is who's going to make it worth my while.”
“I'm sure the Hidden Blades could make it more than worth your while.” Jocelyn purred as she arrived, eyeing Greg intently. A fresh Cultivator with Runes more advanced than they should be instantly made her think of Victoria, so she'd rushed over the moment she'd heard about him. The fact that he was male didn't even phase her, as she already knew Victoria could change genders.
Greg's eyes flashed as Jocelyn arrived, unable to suppress his grin. Since the beginning it'd been their plan to get her attention focused on him. He was simply incapable of suppressing himself, so they just decided to have him not. Instead, he would draw the attention of the Hidden Blades and get them to focus on him so the others could slip in under the radar as ‘regular’ geniuses like D, with cores over a year old, rather than his ridiculous under six month level cores with second-tier Runes, something that should only be possible with the system. As long as the Hidden Blades were focused on him, they wouldn't even consider the others.
“The Hidden Blades aren't the only sect that can provide benefits.” Another woman snapped, arriving at almost the same time as Jocelyn. “Wisdom's Curse can provide everything you can and more!”
“So can the Champions of Battle!” A man called out in a loud voice as he arrived as well. “Where is this genius?” He looked around, briefly pausing as he saw D.
“That'd be him.” Paul pointed to Greg, shaking his head slightly when Elder Constantine shot him a questioning look.
Constantine grimaced slightly, before refocusing on Greg. “Young man, the Champions of Battle will offer you two slots a week in the sect training formation, a monthly stipend of five stage appropriate cores, access to all our Secret Realms, two specialized Energy Tools, and weekly instruction from any Elder.”
“Wisdom's Curse will provide two slots a week in the sect training formation, a monthly stipend of five stage appropriate cores, access to all our Secret Realms, weekly instruction from any Elder, a Circulatory Realm attack formation, a Circulatory Realm defense formation, and full access to the sect library.” Elder Holice offered.
“The Hidden Blades will offer four slots a week in the sect training formation, a monthly stipend of ten peak Core Strengthening cores, access to all our Secret Realms, daily instruction from any Elder, a personal workshop with materials provided upon request, a pet Rune Beast, and a dozen personal attendants of your choosing.” Jocelyn declared.
Constantine choked at Jocelyn's offer. “Why not just hand him the whole sect while you're at it?!?”
“That does seem like a rather excessive offer.” Holice commented.
“I simply feel I must make an offer that is impossible to refuse.” Jocelyn smiled, giving Greg a significant look.
“Well, an offer like that certainly hits the mark.” Greg grinned back.
Jocelyn frowned slightly. This wasn't how she'd expect Victoria to react… She shook her head. She was probably just trying to throw her off. It was impossible to reach this level of attainment in less than six months without the system, and even with the system you'd require months to reach that level. Victoria was the only person who'd had the system for that long, which meant this person had to be her. Had she used the system to adjust her personality? No matter. As long as she got her back to the sect, it would be impossible for her to escape her control.
With the matter of which sect Greg would join settled, Jocelyn took him and D back to the Hidden Blades headquarters in Callowa, setting the two of them up in a room together. “What, no single rooms for your geniuses?” Greg asked skeptically.
“It's important to bond with your sect mates.” Jocelyn replied with a smirk. “Unless there's some reason why you two shouldn't share a room?”
Greg glanced at D, before shrugging. “If they're okay with it, I have no problem.”
“Then it's settled.” Jocelyn clapped her hands, not even looking at D before she left.
“She didn't even give you a chance.” Greg clicked his tongue, turning to D who had removed their face covering, examining their face in a mirror on the wall.
“Did- did you do this?” D asked in a distinctly feminine voice.
“No, your face just changed on its own, for no reason.” Greg rolled his eyes, pulling the smoke off her face and putting it away.
“How- it felt so real!” D muttered incredulously.
“It pretty much was real.” Greg shrugged.
“But how?” D asked, turning to him.
“Hey, you gotta leave a guy a few secrets.” Greg chuckled.
D frowned at him. “I feel you have too many secrets. A four month old tri-core with three tier two Runes! That's- I've never even heard of something like that!”
“Yeah, I'm pretty great, aren't I?” Greg smirked.
D grimaced. “Are you incapable of taking anything seriously?!?”
Greg cocked his head. “Pretty much?”
D glared at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “Thank you. Without your help… I knew escaping would be difficult, but- this was my only chance. If not for you, I never would have made it.”
“Why were you escaping in the first place?” Greg asked.
“Because I want the freedom to choose my own path in life!” D declared fiercely. “If I remained with the Champions of Battle, my father would control everything, from my training to my friends! My only chance to determine my own fate is to join the Hidden Blades. To learn how to hide, so I can avoid my father until I'm strong enough to resist him.”
Greg blinked. “So you want to join the Hidden Blades… to escape being controlled… oof.”
D rolled her eyes. “Yes, the Hidden Blades have a certain reputation, but do you really think any of the sects lack methods to control their disciples?”
Greg paused. “Well, that's fair. So why join a sect at all? Why not just run and be a rogue Cultivator or something?”
“Because only a sect can provide the resources necessary to truly thrive as a Cultivator.” D replied. “But you should know that, right? You're joining a sect yourself.”
“Sure, but I don't mind being controlled as long as they give me enough benefits.” Greg shrugged. “If being free truly mattered to me, I wouldn't join any sect. After all, I have enough going for me that I can settle down in some random country and carve myself out a nice little criminal empire or something. Sure, I wouldn't have the advantages of a sect, but I'd have enough that I could live a long, happy life doing whatever the fuck I wanted.”
D frowned. “But your cultivation would be limited.”
“So? I don't need to be powerful to be happy. I don't need to be free to be happy. I just need to be entertained.” Greg chuckled.
D gave him a strange look. “I can't fathom how you've accomplished what you have with an attitude like that.”
Greg grinned. “I keep telling you, it's because I'm awesome.”