Ajax could still make out the hushed whispers that the rest of his team were trying to slip by him as they headed towards the exit of the dungeon, his performance at the end seemed to have convinced at least one of the two healers that his house would be a good one to join, especially if they could get in before it grew. This would be the shortest delve Ajax had ever been on, lasting only a day and a half in total to clear out the first floor of the dungeon before leaving.

With a simple nod after exiting Ajax let the guards know that they cleared the floor and there was nothing expecting to come out the arch. A closer look at the battlements that surrounded the dungeon brought back one of the final lessons he had been given in his first year at the academy.

“Champion and hero always somehow end up dying in battle.” Professor Silvertongue had said. “This would normally convince the strongest to hide their strength out of a desire to live longer but that is not the case.”

Ajax remembered the confusion he had felt back then as he took in the layout that was officially there to keep anything from coming out of the dungeon and into the capital.

“The absolute strongest teams in the kingdom will always be left at the capital.” Professor Silvertongue had said. “Their post will be to safeguard the dungeon entrances. Because one of the worst things that can happen is a level one hundred and sixty enemy fighter getting inside and unleashing a whole floor of level one hundred and forties or fifties in the heart of the capital.”

The idea hadn’t even entered Ajax's mind until that lesson but it made perfect sense. Any country on the edge of ruing could attempt to simply ruin the capital of their opponent by unleashing a full floor of high leveled creatures and all it would take is one man.

“The whole reason why the Republic managed to establish a peace contract with all four of its neighbors in under a decade of the first treaty being signed is that their top talent revealed themselves to be a level one hundred and ninety stealth specialist.” The professor had explained.

That’s what Ajax wanted for himself. One person that had enough personal power that it could make a whole kingdom wary of them. And best of all it seemed like the royal family was planning for the same as it actively looked for ways to help him push himself further faster.

“Thank you all for coming.” Ajax said once they cleared the dungeon defensive surrounding. “My brother and Kate will be getting in touch with most of you in the next few days. It was a pleasure to meet you all.”

Ajax was careful not to indicate to any of them except Theron who was already accepted that he was leaning towards accepting them. After a quick goodbye he headed towards the small outpost the school had outside the dungeon for the delving examinations.

“Anyone made it out yet?” Ajax asked his instructor Gatecrasher who he saw waiting outside the dungeon battlements.

“Not just yet. It’s only been a day.” Instructor Gatecrasher responded. “I’m surprised you got out so quickly.”

“Today was as much about drawing them in as it was about testing them.” Ajax explained. “I cleaned up a good portion of the floor by activating the obelisk.”

With a quick goodbye Ajax headed straight back home. When he got there he was surprised by the small surprise party that had been prepared for him. Besides his family both Luna and Hatched were also in attendance, as well as Theron who had somehow gotten there not only faster than him but also without him noticing. Despite him graduating the first year at the academy, as well as any other year to be fair, being a foregone conclusion at this point it still felt nice to celebrate.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Any of them catch your eye?” his brother had asked him after the party had run its course and they were the last ones awake in the middle of the night.

“The scout…” Ajax slurred out having had a bit too much to drink and trusting his [Poison Resistance] a bit too much. “Ogre.”

“He is a crafty one, that's for sure.” Tom said as he nodded. “We’re lucky to be getting him even if he is a bit old for his level.”

“How are we getting him anyway?” Ajax asked. “There has to be others that want someone with his experience if nothing else.” Finding someone with that much city scouting experience was valuable even if they were close to past their prime and low level.

“Same way we are getting anyone besides Theron interested.” Tom answered as he swayed a little himself. “We are still a small enough house that we offer family inclusion to all. Ogre was a bit of a playboy for most of his life. Only got tied down a year ago and he’s got a kid on the way. We’re the best chance he can give that kid.”

Having a noble house promise that your family will be taken care of even should something happen to you was something only very talented people usually got and it was the promise that paved the way for new houses to gather any retainers at all.

“How many of them are joining us after all?” Ajax asked.

“Five.” Tom said. “Possibly seven if the healers decide to tag along.”

“One of them seemed sure they were going to as we were leaving the dungeon. The other could go either way.” Ajax said.

“That’s not a bad start.” Tom said with a nod. “I’ll have my work cut out for me turning them from guards into retainers, especially since I have no experience of what that entails.”

“Any news about the Collectors?” Ajax prodded.

“I haven’t approached them yet. They’re still getting their feet under them in the capital.” Tom said.

“Is it taking them that long?” Ajax was surprised. “I know they are more adaptable than that.

“They haven’t been in the capital as long as you have.” Tom said. “A month after they arrived they took off again with a contingent from House Goldmancer. Everyone is saying they did a round to all the dungeons inside the kingdom and got boosted for some extra stat points. But that long a journey took them months. They’ve only been back for four months now.”

“That makes sense, I should look into doing a round like that as well sometime, maybe next summer break.” Ajax pondered aloud as he took another gulp of his drink.

It was close to sunrise by the time Ajax and Tom had dragged themselves to bed. This was the first time since Ajax had come to the capital that he finally relaxed and simply enjoyed himself without worrying about the future for a while.

It was past noon by the time Ajax woke up later that day. He had a pounding headache as he washed himself and grabbed a small lunch before he headed off to the dungeon. He had planned to show up early in the morning and wait with instructor Gatecrasher for his classmates to finish the exam for the next few days, but last night's surprise party had gotten in the way of that.

“Still haven’t had anyone finish?” Ajax asked surprised as he got there.

“Not yet, we usually have a team that drops out by this point and they come out early but maybe everyone will pass this year.” instructor Gatecrasher said.

The dungeon delve exam was the only one of the three exams that a student could fail without having them be kicked out of the academy. The tournament was too luck dependent to count losing a round as a failure and most people could put up enough of a fight that almost nobody ever failed that exam. The written exam was given in such a way that a low level of common knowledge was required to gain a passing mark with the higher grades requiring exponentially more. All who failed the delve exam still passed the year but if they failed two years in a row they would be kicked out all the same.

It was close to dusk by the time the first team came out of the dungeon. Unlike their pristine and clean gear when they went in Ajax could see the scratches and teeth marks that the rats and ferrets had left of them. Most telling of all however Ajax could see that three out of four sported multiple twin holes in key areas of the body.

“First group to be eliminated.” the examiner said as he brought up the rear. “They all pass though.”

That last remark made the frowns all of them were sporting vanish in an instant as they started congratulating each other.

“Any key remarks?” the instructor asked.

“Yeah, they need to be exposed to more monster variety.” They got so used to the defensive fighting of the wolves, stags and griffins as well as the humanoid style of the kobolds that all four of them were poisoned in the first two hours by the hidden ambush style of the snakes.”

The words were like a bucket of cold water dropped on their heads, though that did little more than internalize their joy at passing the exam.

“They solidly dealt with pushing forward after getting poisoned and managed it well but even the antivenom wasn’t enough as they kept getting bit.” the examiner continued. “They were smart and realized that much on their own and retreated before their combat ability was too compromised.”

That was the only team to come out of the dungeon today and Ajax returned home and got to bed at a reasonable hour determined to show up in the morning the next day.