Adion found himself outside of the old chapel just as night had arrived. The old chapel wasn’t as abandoned-looking as he had imagined. The building itself was in good condition, and the small lawn in front looked well taken care of.

Adion had actually opted to leave his pills behind for the first time. He weighed the risks of both options and concluded that the possibility of someone entering his room while he was away was much lower than the possibility that someone would take them from him in this place.

He had still taken care to hide them well, of course.

He saw a few other people hesitantly approaching the building and entering. Adion did the same and found himself in the main chamber of the old chapel. There were around 30 other people already there, sitting quietly, facing the same direction. Adion took a seat, too.

In the next 30 minutes, ten more people showed up. Adion noticed that it was mostly people between the ages of 12 to 20. Only a few were older.

Finally, after waiting for almost 40 minutes, a beautiful lady in her late twenties showed herself. She was dressed as a typical Outskirter, and Adion could feel that she was a middle Silver mage. She faced the crowd sitting before her and addressed everyone.

“Welcome, everyone,” She said with a smile, “My name is Clara, and I’m so glad to have you all here. I’m sure you’ve heard that there is a group working to make a real difference, a group that feels the imminent threat that the beasts, and in particular the Fire Phoenix, is something we have to do something about. And now.”

Adion could see that the eyes of some of the young men and women around him were practically glowing at her words.

“This meeting is just to talk with you all a bit about what our group's goals are and, should you choose to join us, what your part could be in making those goals a reality,” The lady, Clara, continued, “First of all some of you might wonder what our relationship is with the Hellemi Church. Well, we are not part of the Church. We simply have a lot of members that are also part of the Church. As we share many beliefs with the Church, this is not so surprising. But we are two different entities.

“Our organization is widespread across Shiora, and we are growing in strength every day. Our leaders are among the strongest mages on the continent; this is no small group, and there is plenty of room for growth. Opportunities will be plenty for all our members.”

This is so vague. Did they choose her to talk because she looks good? Maybe they’re really short on people. They seem to be recruiting like crazy, after all.

“Now, what will you be fighting for in our group?” Clara continued, “You will fight for the Everlasting Age.”

Clara paused and looked out over the gathering of youths with a confident smile.

“We sapi build the world up, we create beautiful cities, we cherish our loved ones, we take care of each other. We create, and the beasts destroy. This is a vicious cycle that did not start with the Age of Darkness. Throughout all of history, this has been repeating, and our goal is to stop the beasts once and for all.

“A final Age. That is our goal. An Age that will never end, but simply continue forever. Where sapi can explore and grow to new heights. An Age where we can live in peace and see just how far magic can take us, where we can explore the limits of runes and artifacts.

“It all sounds good, right? But how can we accomplish this? Simple. Overwhelming power. We will work to unite the sapi and focus on making every one of us stronger. So we can reach a level where we can take to the Endless Forest in a final war.

“We will talk more in detail about these things tomorrow. I will give you some time to absorb the information you’ve been given, but I hope to see you all back here tomorrow.” She ended her speech with a smile and left without taking questions.

That’s it? It's just been a few minutes. Well, I have to admit it was a convincing speech. Especially for young and ambitious mages. But why the need for secrecy? This kind of organization should be able to operate in the open, no? I guess they’re not telling us about everything yet, only the good stuff to hook everyone in.

That’s probably why she asked us to come back tomorrow, to weed out the less ambitious ones without spilling too much information. She got everyone riled up for the moment, and the next meeting will probably cover a different topic. Or perhaps they will continue like this for a few meetings to make sure that the only people remaining are devoted to the cause.

A few people were talking quietly in excited voices with each other. But most people, Adion among them, simply left without speaking to anyone.

It might also be to get us used to following orders. After asking us to return the following day ten days in a row, it won’t be a question on the eleventh day, but an order.

Or maybe I’m just paranoid. This could actually be an organization born from the goodness of people’s hearts. But I doubt it.

When he got back to the inn, he spotted Benji, Rufus, and Sahra having drinks together at their usual table. Adion took a seat next to Rufus.

“How was the meeting?” Rufus asked.

Adion had explained that he had been approached by an old priest at the Hellemi Church and would be heading to a meeting to see what he would be able to find out.

After discussing it a bit, they had all agreed that it would be best to act as if he was an ordinary Outskirter who was looking for a greater purpose. They didn’t know if Adion would be followed and spied on after leaving the meeting. Adion thought it was unlikely, but it was always good to be safe. Hence, Rufus didn’t lower his voice when asking about it, but acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. If Adion really had something important to say, he could tell them later, after making sure they were alone.

“It was fascinating,” Adion said, “It sounds like a good organization. They have big goals, perhaps too big. But at least they're doing something exciting.”

Damn, I actually hope someone is listening, or I would feel silly talking like this.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Haha,” Sahra laughed, “It’s unusual for you to talk so highly of something, Adion.”

“Well, I haven’t learned much about them yet. I’ll go there tomorrow and decide if it’s something I want to be a part of,” Adion said. He had released his space mana through the bar to see if he could notice anyone listening, but there was nothing suspicious.

The group left the topic and started talking about other less serious stuff for a while. After a few hours, they all headed up to bed for the night.

Adion spent the entire next day meditating and training, only leaving his room for meals. Not until nightfall approached did he leave the inn and head to the old chapel for the next meeting.

Unfortunately, a similar scene to the night before played out, except this time, a middle-aged man was doing the talking. There was really nothing new being said, a lot more of the same grand words of a final stand against the beasts.

The man, who called himself Frent, also mentioned that they were in need of manpower at the moment, especially Silvers and stronger mages who would be able to fill up higher positions in their organization—greatly enticing the mostly young Bronze mages that were attending the meeting.

Frent ended the meeting by saying that everyone would get one more day to decide whether they wanted to join or not.

“Those who choose to join our cause are welcome to come here tomorrow at the same time as today. I hope to see you all there. I look forward to getting to know my new brothers and sisters!” Frent said with a great smile, and there was even a round of applause from the almost twenty people gathered.

Adion left without talking to anyone.

Hmm, should I join? It might not lead to anything and simply waste my time. It could also be a dangerous thing to get tangled up in. Not to mention that we might be required to swear some kind of Oath. I wouldn’t be able to do that since I’m not planning on actually joining.

The logical choice would be to forget all this and focus on getting stronger.

Adion sighed. He felt he was on the verge of discovering something important. But it was only a gut feeling. It could very well just be that he was excited to find out more.

It’s probably just my curiosity getting the better of me. I’ll sleep on it. And maybe ask the others what they think.

When he got back to the inn, Adion didn’t see his group at their table, so he headed straight to Benji and Sahra's room. He almost released some space mana to see if they were inside, but stopped himself when he remembered the last time he had done that.

I should remember to give my friends privacy, for theirs and my sake. Thankfully, I can’t feel the outline of people clearly enough that I have to feel too guilty about it.

But my sphere of space mana will be extremely dangerous in the future. I can imagine being able to see every expression people are making, perhaps sense the subtle impression of ink on paper, and read secret documents. I will have to continue practicing. There are plenty of strangers around volunteering to have their privacy intruded.

“Adion?” Benji said as he opened his door, “Why are you just standing there?”

“Are you trying to take a peek?” Sahra smiled teasingly, “I guess you’re at that age after all, but you should remember-”

“Okay, stop,” Adion put up his hand and interrupted Sahra, “I was just lost in thought. Do you have time to talk?”

“Sure, come in,” Benji said, ignoring Sahra’s remarks.

Adion took a seat on a chair by a small table in the middle of the room. He increased his sphere of space mana to the maximum of 300 feet and tried to see if anyone was close by who was not supposed to be. Fortunately, he didn’t find anything suspicious.

“So the meeting tonight was basically the same as yesterday. The only problem is that tomorrow we will be officially recruited,” Adion explained, “It’s not like there is sure to be anything suspicious going on. Even if there is, it’s none of my business.

“But it might lead me to find out about those white masks, even if the chance is small. This is still the closest I’ve been to finding anything about them. And if I don’t take this chance, it might take years for another opportunity, and it's dangerous to not have enough information too…”

“I see,” Benji said and took a seat, “Well, it’s up to you. I think you should sleep on it, but in the end, you have to think about what your goals are, and about what choices will give you the highest chance of reaching those goals. But that’s not the only thing to keep in mind. I might sound a little like Lomin, but you should also think about your journey toward those goals. How do you want to reach your goals? How do you want to spend your life?”

“That’s a lot to ask of a 15-year-old,” Adion commented.

“Well, it’s a tough world,” Benji said and chuckled.

“I have a trick that works for me when I don’t know what to pick between two choices,” Sahra said.

“Oh, what?” Adion asked.

“Decide not to attend the next meeting and forget about this whole thing. Don’t carry both possibilities in your head. Decide not to go through with it. Throw away the other option entirely. Can you do it?” Sahra asked.

“Hm,” Adion closed his eyes and made up his mind that he should leave the situation alone.

“How does it feel?” Sahra asked.

“I guess I’m a little disappointed? And a little at a loss of what to do, kind of bored actually,” Adion said.

“Then change your mind!” Sahra said with a smile, “Decide to go to the meeting tomorrow and infiltrate this strange organization.”

Adion did as Sahra said and immediately felt a lot better, almost relieved. And at the same time, excited.

I almost feel proud? Maybe a part of me doesn’t like running away from things concerning those masked people. Or maybe I’m just too into danger. That could be it. Oh well, looks like I’m decided.

“Thanks,” Adion said, “It actually worked.”

“Mm,” Sahra nodded, “Sometimes it gets you nowhere thinking about difficult choices. But once you’ve decided, it becomes obvious immediately.

“It’s a neat trick,” Adion agreed.

“That’s actually how I decided to pursue a relationship with Benji,” Sahra said.

“What?” Benji asked.

“I was focused on training and didn’t have time for romance, but you were so persistent that I was at a loss of what to do,” Sahra explained, “So I decided I would just throw away the possibility of a relationship and focus on my studies. I got so sad afterward that it’s almost funny. When I realized I could just change my mind, I was so elated that I immediately ran to you and accepted to go on a date.”

Sahra smiled fondly at the memory, and Benji got up and kissed her on the lips. Adion had already seen more than he would have liked of what followed, so he got up to leave.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave. Thanks for the help. See you for breakfast,” Adion said and left the lovebirds alone.

He entered his room and sat down on his bed to do some training before going to sleep. He focused on his Authority over space and took control over a part of space on the other side of the room as well as the space surrounding him. He infused his Will into the space mana on the opposite side of the room as much as possible.

A moment later, Adion successfully teleported to the other side of the room.

Three seconds. Adion thought with a smile.

That’s a new record. Let’s see if I can manage to do it six times in one sitting and break that record, too.