Chapter 73

"Okay, okay!" Cullen said, clapping his hands. "We've accepted new members today, and you should be brought up to speed. Our group is a voluntary one, so everyone basically does what they want. But we do have some common interests. First and foremost, we're gathering information and looking for Reincarnators. I'd be very grateful if you could help us with our cause as well. To be honest, we'd all love to know the secrets of your houses, but we won't pry them. If you'd like to share them, thank you, but it won't affect anything. You'll also be able to get any information we gather as a group." Cullen said, nodding to Edgar.

Edgar silently stood up from his seat and activated the ring, putting his hand into the portal, he began to take out various things from there. First, there were two pistols, then five black metal cubes inscribed with runes and several more boxes of ammunition. Having taken all of this out, Edgar went around the circle handing out the items. Alistair and Cassandra received a pistol each, several boxes of ammunition and a cube with runes inscribed on it. Then Edgar handed the same cube to Dylan, Linella and Liam.

While everyone was looking at the gifts they had received with interest, Edgar sat back down in his place.

"This is a gift, regarding the weapon everything is clear, I believe that you will be able to figure it out. The cube inscribed with runes is the key to the storage in which we placed everything we could collect. There is various information there, a lot about our classes and skills is there. There are also books describing the secret skills of several families of the kingdom and much more." Edgar said.

Dylan, like everyone else, was skeptical. It was too good to be true, sure, he could see the point, the investment was definitely worth it. But would someone actually do it? Dylan had to wonder why this was happening.

"It's understandable that you think there's a trap in this, we've been through this many times. Let's say I truly believe in friendship and our shared potential, and that we can't survive in this world alone. So we decided to rely on each other." Cullen said, trying to convey the seriousness of his intention, looking each of them in the eye in turn.

Dylan leaned back in his chair to think about it. In the past, he would have dismissed any such intention as a bluff, or a trick to gain someone's trust and stab them in the back. But now, he could hardly say that. Looking at the old members, he could see that they actually trusted each other, there was still some doubt in them, but what would it be without it?

I can understand that it is very difficult to survive alone. Sharing secret knowledge, skills and artifacts will certainly increase the chance. But betrayal, risks, deception? Such relationships are too difficult for me to evaluate...

To hell with it, whatever will be will be.

Dylan thought, switching to the others, he began to observe their reactions. Liam and Alistair easily accepted this turn of events, not particularly worried about it. Linella and Cassandra, on the contrary, doubted it. If everything was clear from the vampire, she behaved nervously and drilled those around her with a stern look, frankly doubting what was said. That Linella sat with a slight smile. It was hard to tell from her what she was thinking and whether it really bothered her. But Dylan had a strong feeling that it still bothered her a lot.

Satisfied with their reaction, Cullen continued speaking.

"You can take any information from the vault, but please do not distribute it without warning first. The vault is located outside the academy in the capital. So if you want to go there, ask someone to give you a tour."

Dylan nodded in response, as did the others, he was actually very curious about what the reincarnators had managed to find. Thinking about it, he realized that he would have to put this off, he should read many more books and attend classes.

"What about searching for the other Reincarnators. For this, we use the followers of our houses, sending them to different regions. Their job is to monitor the situation and look for young people with great potential."

"We recently lost two [Rare] classers above level 100. Which is very bad news for us. From my brief investigation of you, I know that you won't be able to help us much. Cassandra, I'm sorry, but we don't trust vampires, so we don't want you involved in this. Linella and Alistair, you don't have much support, so we don't think you can help much. Liam and Dylan, you are the heirs of two powerful families with many members. But in reality, you have almost no subordinates. We would like your help in this, but how feasible it is up to you to decide." Cullen said to each of them in turn.

"You're right." Dylan nodded, "I don't have any subordinates at all, but I think I can talk to my father or mother about it. It's not a problem. I want to ask you something, have you all managed to hide your identity as Reincarnators from your family?"

Many winced at his question, and it brought back different, not entirely pleasant memories for everyone.

"Yes, it's a difficult topic, everyone has their own story. In fact, many of us started life not very pleasantly..." Cullen answered, his gaze became dull as if he was remembering something. "I'll tell you my story. My father, the head of the Golden Crow trading conglomerate, at first he did not know that I was a Reincarnator. He treated me like most of his children, I was born from his mistress, not his wife, so everything was not so sweet. Until I was eight, I saw my father probably only three times. My mother and numerous servants were engaged in my upbringing. Not to say that I lived badly, but the constant bullying from my older brothers and sisters did not give me peace... This was until I turned 8 years old. One day, several priests came with their holy magic and artifacts. First, they checked the servants, and then it came to the children. " Taking a deep breath, Cullen continued.

"They probably didn't expect to find anything, so they quickly lined us up and started checking. One priest was walking around with a strange glowing medallion, when he passed me, the medallion brightly glowed black and white at the same time. I didn't even have time to understand what happened when I was entangled in golden chains. While I was lying there, my father approached the priests and asked what happened. At first they didn't want to answer, but when the guards came closer, they admitted that I had an evil essence. Funny, isn't it?" Cullen said and laughed sadly.

"You could say I was lucky because my father didn't believe them and didn't give me up. In the end, they negotiated while my mother tried to calm me down... Ah, after a few hours, the priest came out and dispelled his magic. After that, my father took me to his main room, where he said he knew I was a reincarnator..."

"I'll skip the rest. My father decided to make me a weapon and an heir, investing resources in me that suited me. That's my story. The others have some better, some worse, but they all revealed themselves one way or another."

Dylan nodded, slightly regretting his question.

"Okay, Liam and I are exposed too." He said and turned his gaze to Linella.

"My family doesn't know anything, if the academy doesn't tell them, it will stay that way." Linella replied.

"I'm exposed, I couldn't explain how I know chemistry." Alistair said, throwing up his hands.

"Me too, as far as I remember. My family knew about it from the moment I was born." Cassandra replied.

Cullen nodded, regaining his composure in a short time and now looking as good as before, with a slight smile.

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"This brings us to another important topic. The gods and what they want from us." He said, taking out an object covered in runes from his pocket.

Unfolding it, mana began to flow out and create an illusory projection on the table. It depicted seven majestic statues, each standing alone in a different location.

The first statue depicted a large warrior in paladin armor, with a sword and shield. He looked like a model of confidence, not knowing fear. His eyes, which were visible through the holes in the armor, showed incredible resilience and courage.

The second statue showed a young girl in the robes of a priestess of light, her hands folded in prayer as she healed a man. Her face was full of mercy and hope, promising healing.

The third statue depicted a warrior in leather armor, holding a spear over his shoulder with one hand and a short sword with the other hand, while a short bow was hanging on his back. He stood on a prone monster, without any wounds.

The fourth statue showed a man with his hands folded behind his back, his gaze showing unwavering confidence.

The fifth statue depicted a majestic magician with a magnificent staff in his hands.

The sixth statue showed a blacksmith forging an incredible sword.

The seventh statue depicted a magician standing in front of a huge portal.

Dylan let out a low whistle as the illusion fully formed.

"Wow, they look good, almost too good. Damn, they made them look like they were real heroes." Dylan said, earning a piercing look from everyone present.

"That's right, they are truly the heroes of this world. They are the ones who fought so that the settlers would have a chance to live on. That's history and you should know it." Cullen replied slightly irritably, and then continued.

"The first is Eugene God of "Light and Justice", the second is Maria Goddess of "Healing and Mercy", the third is Kayran God of "Techniques", the fourth is David God of "Strategy and Tactics", the fifth is Zion God of "Incinerating Flame", the sixth is Barton God of "Artifacts" and the seventh is Ramiast God of "Travel"."

As Cullen began listing the names of the gods, epic music began to play in Dylan's head. He took great pleasure in imagining what these gods were worth.

"They are the ones who discovered this world and conquered it, and subsequently achieved divinity. Two of them are also angels, meaning they are holy deities that the holy church worships. All of them have personal churches that are firmly established in the holy kingdom. From what I have learned, the royal family are the descendants of Eugene the God of "Light and Justice" and Mary the Goddess of "Healing and Mercy". Also, the Traveler family and the Incinerating Flame family are respectively the descendants of Ramiast the God of "Travel" and Zion the God of "Incinerating Flame".

Dylan nodded silently, deciding that the gods were more real than he thought. No, he knew they existed, but he didn't think there were any traces of them, other than the silly religions. After thinking for a moment, he spoke.

"Okay, okay, okay. I get it, the gods are more real, and so on. But what do they want from us and why didn't they tell us anything, right?"

Cullen nodded at his question.

"Right, I want to answer that something got in their way, or give them some other convenient excuse, but I don't know. I tried to contact them through their churches, but it was useless. Now I'm sticking to the theory that they're just waiting for us to grow up and only then will they contact us, maybe it carries some risks for us, or something else."

"Okay, why did you start this?" Dylan asked.

"Because we need to learn more about them and strengthen ourselves before they decide to show up."

"Besides, we should choose a faction. It could be the holy church, the mage tower, the kingdom, and the army. It's still a very early matter, but it should be discussed already."

Dylan considered Cullen's words briefly. Did he want to become a fanatic? No. And as for the other factions, he didn't know anything beyond the obvious.

"I don't fully understand why we need this and what impact it will have," he said, to which some in the room agreed.

"I'll explain briefly, these 4 factions are the pinnacle of our kingdom and conditionally the world. The Holy Church is an organization of considerable power that has influence over the Holy Kingdom, the Republic of Beastmen and Eldamir, the country of elves. It specializes in skills tied to faith and holy mana."

"The Tower of Mages is a gathering of mages of varying strengths, in all countries, except the Kingdom of the Dwarves. The Tower of Mages is led by Archmage Ronan Incinerator Flame, along with several other Archmages. The organization has significant resources, and most importantly, rich magical knowledge."

"The Royal Faction, led by the King and supported by the majority of the nobles. This faction has the most significant amount of resources, but what it could offer us correctly besides royal power, I don't know."

"The army, formally not even a faction in itself recently, since its general unquestioningly obeys the King. But due to the war with the undead, a new commander-in-chief has appeared who is highly respected among the nobles, magicians and the church. The current Commander-in-Chief Russell Laverne has a lot of support from both the nobility and magicians. But the downside is that this faction has the least amount of resources and knowledge."

Dylan thought about it and just shrugged. He didn't see any difference between the three sides, as long as they weren't on the church's side.

"Why do we even have to choose a faction?" Dylan repeated.

"Because after graduating from the academy, we won't be able to just find the resources, spells, and skills that each of us needs. We'll have to join some faction to get them. Of course, many of our families know how to get to the top, but for most of us, this is a completely new path. But to be honest, we haven't fully understood how far we can go on our own without joining someone."

Dylan waved his hand. "The main thing is not the church! I should probably ask my dad what he wants to do."

Cullen nodded and continued to talk about the new topic. This time he touched on something that he thought was a must for every new member.

...

Dylan stretched his back and tried to stretch his arms as he left the office. Lynella, Liam and Alistair did the same, only Cassandra had it easy. Everyone's muscles ached from sitting for so long, and Dylan's brain also ached slightly from the amount of knowledge he had absorbed. As soon as Cal touched on important topics, he began to talk non-stop about the progress of the "Shards" earlier. First, he told how they met, how communication was established, how the group was born. After a while, he got the others interested in this and everyone told their own story.

There were many sad moments for most and Dylan still twitched with regret about Cullen's personal history, his relationship with his mother when she found out he was a Reincarnator and about his bastard father.

Then the topic slowly moved on to the choice of classes and why they did it, what they were aiming for and what it led to. What surprised Dylan the most was that they didn't know who was the strongest. It was Kallen, Ajax, Shin and Edgar fighting for it. Kallen was well-rounded and had a lot more stats for his level, Ajax had several [Rare] skills, most of which were lightning related, Shin had a lot of poisonous bugs and Tasteless, and Edgar had a huge arsenal of firearms.

Any battles between them either led to a stalemate, or due to the amount of resources invested, were not worth the sparring.

After telling about his classes, Dylan also had to brag, especially about his adventures in the forest. This caused more laughter than he thought, even Shin laughed at him when he told his story, especially about the moment of explosion in the pollen. Afterwards, they began to talk about various magic and tell other stories, everything dragged on so much that Dylan regretted it a little.

But it was still fun!

Wincing at the strange sensation in his lower back, Dylan straightened up and addressed the others.

"Damn, I sat there for over 12 hours, I think? Whatever you want, I'm going to bed! See you in class tomorrow!" He said, waving goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, Desire!" Liam replied.

"Don't forget that we're going for a walk tomorrow too, Desire?" Linella said.

"Good luck, Desire!" Alistair chimed in.

Dylan didn't turn around to see their faces, he could easily imagine them barely holding back their laughter.

Bastards! I'll make you regret it!

Dylan swore to himself, barely keeping a polite smile on his face.