Mentors in the Association were a sort of sponsor for individuals. They were specifically licensed by the Association to shadow, assist, and assess Adventurers of their choosing who were at least two ranks below them. If they deemed the person to be of exceeding talent, they would refer them to the Association, giving them a chance to lose the tax on monster materials for a time, encouraging the young adventurers to push their limits and grow.

Mentors usually didn't do this for free, however. Some did, but those were often independent and only sought to further the growth of their juniors. For the rest, they did it at either the behest or for the benefit of guilds or the Association itself. Lithra Rose wasn't any different. She had come to Tay with an offer fueled by a guild's ambition. Why, Tay wasn't sure.

Mentors didn't choose people for no reason. Those they chose were in another realm of talent compared to him. He hadn't shown anything of interest, and in fact, he hadn't shown his powers at all.

No.

That wasn't right. Alexander. He must have been involved with the Red Cross guild. There was also the possibility that this was happening because of Obry, his familiar, but it wasn't that rare, was it?

Tay thought back for a moment, to when he first summoned the flaming spirit. He wasn't able to completely understand the creature and was still unable to fully grasp its true self.

He wished more than ever to be able to communicate with it with more than simple one-word thoughts. He needed to get back into the tower and fight. He wouldn't reach any of his goals sleeping or chatting with nice old ladies.

“Mr. Mallor?” Ms. Lithra asked. She had been explaining the basics of what a mentor-ship would entail, and what was expected of him should she choose to give a referral to the Association. If it went well, he could not only keep all the monster material he harvested but also have a one-way ticket to the Red Cross guild. There wasn't much that could top that.

Even if he didn't think that he was ready, he wouldn't—or couldn't throw away the chance at the future they could provide. Although, he couldn't avoid the fact that he would be shedding one life debt, in the form of the Damned Fey, for another. it wasn't unheard of for guilds to pay off any past interests such as Tays, which he hoped might happen. He wasn't looking forward to the years it would take him otherwise.

“Do you accept this offer?” She asked. She was a dignified woman with well-kept greying hair that reached her upper back and just noticeable wrinkles around her eyes. She wore fine white combat robes that flowed naturally down here, just right for swinging a weapon. Tay chewed his lip as he folded the idea over and over in his mind. He straightened his back and nodded firmly.

“I do.”

—----

Lithra Ross was the best spotter in her Guild. She had scouted many of the best of their members. She knew her worth, and when the captain had asked her to mentor a boy whom she had no knowledge of, and who had no discernable adventurer pedigree, she had been rather insulted. She respected the Captain, of course, but to give her such a mundane task as this? One of the newer spotters could certainly have dealt with it adequately.

However, much to her dismay, she was at a loss. She read the boy's file, obviously, and found it suspicious, or even lazy. The claim had been that this boy was somehow at or near the level of potential of one of the great continental powers. It should have been a laughable statement, but she could no more lie about its truth now than she could of her own capabilities.

The boy, Tay Mallor; an orphan since 8 years old. Nothing much was known of his parents except that their deaths were of questionable circumstances. He was soon after unofficially adopted by Frigun Harow—a well-known crime lord. Since then he hadn't done much of note. His time in the Damned Fey gang is mostly mysterious but was unimportant.

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More research would need to be done on his parents, as such potential is hard to come by from simple luck.

His familiar was more interesting to her. a young fire spirit with the possibility to grow into something terrifying. Spirits were highly sought-after assets, regardless of their summoner. Lithra had heard stories of high-level spirits, all having manifested in a numerous amount of ways. But they were all known to be almost as bad as the monsters they fought.

Some of the tales told about them were clearly exaggerated, but one thing was certain: a spirit whose power was fully realized was unlike anything else. They turned landscapes into their own comfortable realms, their powers directly affecting the world around them. The destruction they bring can be of a biblical scale.

With that in mind, Tay Mallor's position was a certainty. The day she needed to spend with the boy was more formality than necessity.

—

The gateway of the tower surged with light, its rocky jagged frame glinting with a blue glow. Several groups of adventurers toiled at the entrance. They rummaged in their bags, making sure they were properly equipped. They checked their weapons, testing their sharpness and durability. They pulled straps and strings on their armor so it wouldn't hinder them in the tower. Most of the adventurers were young and weak, only level 1's and 2's.

The tower was meant for them. It served to grow the new generations of adventurers, to challenge Them, and make them ready for the real challenges they would face outside the city, tower or not.

For Alexander Bouma, the tower was a brisk morning warmup. He was at the upper end of level 3, and only really found difficulty at the Highest floors. And even then, it was a small margin of difference for him.

He had just returned from ascending the tower, his spacial bag was full of material he doubted to be of use to him. His heavy longsword rested comfortably In its sheath on his back.

he turned in what he looted, as usual opting to only take the hulvs Instead of splitting what he received between money and exchanged items. There was nothing the guild's brokers could get from such weak magical loot.

After his business at the Association building was finished, he was then forced to make a decision. He could either go back to old man Finick's mansion and deal with the many bothersome protocols and procedures—that's not to mention the old man himself who he absolutely fed up with. The maids and servants would constantly pester him about meaningless things like his clothes and comfort, which he found to be unbearable and pointless.

that wasn't an option. However, his other choices didn't do much to catch his interest either. He could, of course, scale the tower for what felt like the hundredth time this week, or perhaps he could walk the streets that he had memorized down to their every stone.

Alexander sighed, annoyed at everything, and yet nothing, all at once. Alexander wouldn't exactly admit it, but he was hopelessly bored. Admitting he was bored to anyone but himself would be something less than complete support for his team's sergeant, and anything less than that was unacceptable for him and his team. So he settled for constant inward bickering and occasional outward outbursts.

A poor boy had been the subject of one of such rarities.

Nonetheless, he was still bored. He desperately wanted something to do that wasn't something he had done enough to dream about. In detail.

He walked along Second Street, which was at any given time The busiest of the three main streets. Late morning, as it was, was no different. Adventurers walked with weapons shining in the sunlight, and merchants and salesmen vied for the attention of possible customers, trying to convince them of their superior offers and prices.

Alexander was tired of this city. He wished the old man would just let the leader off her parental leash. It was absurd how skilled she was, and it was no secret that she would soon surpass him, yet he insisted on coddling her like a mother to her newborn child.

That actually reminded Alexander. The boy he had helped the day before was quite something himself. Killing a level 2 Fey as he did was impressive, even if he almost died a half dozen times before.

The significance of the new adventurer didn't elude him, either. The simple fact of his having a spirit meant a bright future. And his skills were what any guild would be looking for. He was a blank slate with barely any real training.

Indoctrinating him would be a relatively easy task for those who saw his potential. He actually envied any who would train him. He got the feeling that he was rather like a sponge.

He could clearly imagine it; an instructor yelling day in and day out as his power grew. Watching as your own experience and knowledge shape someone's Future.

He stopped suddenly, the people around him giving curious glances.

He had just gotten a wonderful Idea.