Quill explained a bit more about the dungeon map. From his words Line understood that they followed the color system of core ranks. Which means faint golden was the weakest, followed by green, blue, etc.

Looking at Floating Rain City, outside of the Treasure Storm Zone, it still had one dangerous, purple colored dungeon. Quill told the new recruit that this one belonged to the city but was regularly harvested by the Provincial Lord. The city didn’t have strong enough warriors to do so.

After getting an overview of the intelligence area, Line was being led to the other counter by Quill. Web vanished in the separate room, doing whatever.

Line looked at the room in bewilderment. It connected both counters and Web knew they were going to the mission area. Surely, they would come any second now… right?

Line was wrong. But Quill was already used to their behavior. He rapped the other counter with his knuckles until a door opened and Web appeared.

He approached them silently, waiting for Quill to speak. Line frowned, mustering Web closely. The hooded figure gave away no clue if they were the same person they just talked to.

“Web. Can you show our new recruit some missions?”

“Of course.”

Replying with the same neutral voice as earlier, Web pulled out a strange devise from below the counter. It was a small, metallic box on wheels. Web fiddled around with it for a second before a light suddenly lit up, illumination the tower’s wall.

“These are the missions available for outer string members in the Carrying Winds Worlds and those close to here.”

Everything was self-explanatory this time. Line watched the wall, where text was projected. Most missions were about the submission of various materials, which were rather standard within the Carrying Winds World.

Only a select few missions asked the members to target specific dungeons or help some organizations, similar to mercenaries. Line was relieved to see this. At least the Web didn’t demand straight up assassinations or similar crimes. The former investigator would’ve found it difficult to keep a good conscience otherwise.

Line just scrolled through the missions. It wasn’t time to accept one of them yet. He wanted to reach at least the three-circled aspirant rank before leaving the tower.

Since the new recruit wasn’t particularly interested, there wasn’t much to see in the mission area. Quill and Line soon wrapped it up. The senior member informed Line that he was allowed to advance one more floor, where he would find the first level of their library.

Line was tempted to explore, but he decided that his break had been long enough for now. It was time to continue training. Forming his three circles was the most important issue for now. Everything else could wait.

With this in mind, Line entered the training room again. He sat in meditation, calming his mid. Soon, he saw the wafting, violet light again. He began his absorption.

A long process was ongoing. For the next few weeks Line was caught up in his training. Only his mental strength limited him. Otherwise, he would even forgo sleep, training continuously.

Quill and Anvil didn’t think Line was wrong. They remembered the time they began their own journey. Back then they were just as fanatical, reveling in the feeling of gaining strength.

But they didn’t know that Tepo wasn’t growing stronger at all. The fresh warrior begged his core multiple times, but it wouldn’t budge. It just stored all the Force of Time. Line could only hope for a pleasant surprise once his core had enough. Until then he had to endure with incredible patience.

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While Line was invested in his training, Quill and Anvil left the tower multiple times. The senior members had their own missions. Only Wave stayed coiled around the tower, doing who-knows-what.

One month later Line was still locked into the training room. His eyes were red and his hair unkempt, but he kept his mind clear. He was patient, letting his core work until it was satisfied.

One month... Is this the fate of a warrior? Or am I too slow? How long would it take to reach Quill’s or Wave’s levels at this speed?

Tepo focused on the Core of Time. A continuous stream of energy was attracted by his chest. The force seemed endless, filling his core bit by bit.

After the first week Tepo had originally believed his core to be filled up. The Force of Time was everywhere, and his core even bulged slightly. The young man expected an increase in strength any second. But it didn’t come.

Instead, a mighty pressure descended and easily compressed the force. The Core of Time was close to empty again and continued its absorption as if to tease its host.

At this point Tepo almost felt like throwing up blood. How torturous was it, looking forward to something which didn’t come in the end.

But the young man gritted his teeth and continued. Now his core was filled once more. Line kept a neutral expression, ready to accept whatever might happen.

Slowly the core filled up. The Force of Time swirled within it.

Suddenly, a strong pulse went through Tepo. His body trembled as his face felt hot. An enormous flood spread from the Core of Time. Force permeated his entire chest. Multiple rings faintly lit up. They began to eagerly absorb the force of time, gradually turning from illusionary to solid.

A bright smile formed on Tepo’s face. His calm façade crumbled. Finally, his efforts bore fruits!

Two new circles formed, raising Tepo towards the rank of a three-circled aspirant immediately. A strong feedback followed.

Power shot in every cell of Tepo’s body. The young man felt the movement of his muscles. A mysterious elevation of his being ensued. He let out an excited scream.

Tepo jumped up. He punched out, boxing the air. His punches were swift as bullets and contained the power of falling boulders. The air was stirred up as his robe moved elegantly.

The young man grinned. Finally, he had some capital to defend himself. Although he was among the weakest of warriors, with the right spells he could put up a fight.

Elated, Tepo focused on his chest. There, his core was surrounded by three broad circles. Each of them was separated into four segments, which offered the necessary place for runes.

The weakest spells consisted of three runes, spread over three circles. Therefore, only from this point on could the young warrior begin to engrave some spells.

Line was still somewhat confused, however. His core had completely skipped forming bridges. Without those, how was he supposed to guide the Force of Time into fueling his spells? This was something he had to figure out still.

As he left the room, Tepo sighed lightly. Expect for Wave and the elemental spirits no one was in the tower right now. The young man began to feel a bit lonely. He couldn’t even share his advancement with someone.

Over the last month Line had a lot of time to think. On one hand he enjoyed the feeling of his strength growing, but on the other he began to miss his friends and family.

Although he could continue training, the young man surmised he would go insane at some point. What was the point of training and growing stronger if you just stayed in your room all day?

Thus, the decision wasn’t too difficult in the end. Tepo planned to make a trip back home before continuing his training. He would stay outside the city and meet his loved ones in the inn again.

With this in mind, Tepo paused his training for now. He would wait for Quill and Anvil to come back before telling them about his plan. And maybe… asking for some means of transport.

Until then Line had to kill some time. But he had the perfect place for this in mind.

With some curiosity the young man went up the stairs. The intelligence area was empty as always. Tepo entered the elevator and traveled another floor upwards.

The door to the fifth floor opened. Tepo stepped out and scanned the room. He was almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of books in this library. Just rows and rows of bookcases lining the walls, surrounding a few small tables at the center of the room.

And this was only the first level of a rather unimportant tower. Tepo breathed heavily as he realized the insane amount of knowledge the Web had gathered over the years.

The young man couldn’t even imagine where one could find enough topics to write so many books about. Curious, he studied a few titles.

“Fluorescent Water Poison Wood. Specialty of the Green Wood World”

“An in-depth analysis of Túiras”

“The most likely enemies in low-level dungeons and how to beat them.”

Reading the many different titles, Tepo was amazed. He understood that each one could assist him when traveling the worlds. The young man was just about to reach for a book as an earth spirit appeared before him.

It put its tiny arms on its hips, angrily stopping the new recruit. Line looked at the dozen spirits, which had suddenly appeared. He smiled wryly and sat back on one of the tables.

“Ok guys. I won’t take your jobs.”