A few hours later, we were packing up our camp for the last time. Cara and Emer had arrived after finishing the clean-up, which meant that it was time to return to Reito. Cerion and I would then head straight for the capital so that we would make it on time to sign up for the tournament.
As I leaned down to roll up my bedroll, I spoke to Cerion.
"So what are we going to do to reach level 50? We still need a couple of levels, and we only have about a week to spare."
Our quest had taken a week to finish, while we had estimated it would take two weeks. That meant that we would be able to take a week-long break from traveling at any point to do another quest or hunt some monsters. The issue was that I couldn't think of any way to get eight levels within that amount of time. Experience had taught us that thanks to our above-average strength, in the right circumstances we could level incredibly quickly. The issue was that finding such circumstances where we could power level was difficult.
Cerion turned to me with a smile.
"I've been thinking about that for a while, and I think I have an idea that'll get us there. In the capital, there are several dungeons managed by the royal family, which they use to level up their troops and members. My dad told me they're pretty dangerous for their tier, but also reward a lot of experience. Since we're both a part of the royal faction thanks to our connections, we could probably ask for entry into a tier 3 one. Even the normal monsters in one of those dungeons should be enough to get us to level 50, as long as we continue delving diligently for the entire week we're there."
I hummed.
"That does sound like a godsend. So the plan is to travel to the capital immediately so that we arrive there a week before the tournament starts its sign-up period."
This was actually a rather good idea. It would give me the time to order a new sword to be made at the headquarters of the witch hunters' guild, and if these dungeons were really so good we could get the last few levels just in time.
"Are you sure we'll be allowed entry, though? It seems like these dungeons are pretty exclusive..."
"I'm confident. We might have to contact your uncle to make sure, though. Do you mind sending a letter ahead through the Reito branch of the guild? I'll contact my father, too. With two sources asking for entry, we'll be able to skip a lot of the paperwork and wait time involved. We don't have much time to wait for stuff to be approved, after all."
Crap. Of course, I would need my uncle's help. He had expected me in the capital months ago after my awakening, because I had promised to join the royal guard. Now, I was going to have to explain what happened and reveal my alignment, and I wasn't sure how he would react to my story.
Even worse, I owed him for the affinity stone, even if it had mixed results. Asking for a favour without giving anything back seemed... disingenuous. Still, it wasn't like I had much choice. I had set my mind on level 50, and my entire being was screaming for me to achieve my goal on time. Beyond that, it was also just an assurance of our victory at the tournament. If there were any monsters like me and Cerion who had a level advantage over us, then the chances of them winning, even by a fluke, increased. I was too prideful to be at a disadvantage in front of my peers. I might not have been born into a noble family, but I refused to be weaker than those that had relied on handouts.
That meant... that I would have to rely on a handout from my uncle. Damn it.
With grit teeth, I nodded.
"I'll... write a letter. I should warn you though, I haven't seen him since I was like five. I don't know how he'll react to the news of my awakening, and the fact that I changed my mind when it came to the royal guard. The fact that he hasn't contacted me might mean he'll refuse to help us."
Cerion shook his head.
"Don't be so sure, Arthur. People like your uncle typically won't interact much with their families, for their safety. If the royal faction's political opponents found out your uncle had family living in a small town, who knows what could happen. Whether he's willing to help out or not, he wouldn't contact you himself either way. Now that you're joining the wider world, it's likely that he had already sent some people to protect your parents."
I shivered. I hadn't thought of the repercussions my family could face if I became stronger and more notable to the wider world. I had always just assumed that people would leave family out of my fights, but people like the necromancer and the bandits would almost certainly have used them against me, as they had no honour to speak of.
"Anyway, to summarise the plan: we contact your father and my uncle and get entry to one of the royal dungeons for at least a week, we sign up for the tournament and win, hopefully after facing each other in the finals."
"Correct. Well, I want to participate in the double battles as well, if that's fine with you, but the rest I agree with."
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"What's a double battle?" I asked, frowning.
Cerion chuckled.
"You know, a duel between two teams of two? We could sign up as a team and beat the competition handily. Are you up for it?"
"Hell yeah, I'm up for it! That sounds awesome!" I shouted.
It did sound awesome, because that meant that Cerion and I would both be able to win at least one competition.
From further down the cave, we heard Cara call out to us.
"Are you two nearly done packing? We are leaving in a moment!"
"Got it! We're finishing up now!" Cerion replied.
We shared a grin of excitement, and joined the rest.
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"Why don't you two wait outside while I debrief Cara and Emer? The situation is still mostly classified above your tier, after all," guild master Andross asked us.
We had returned to Reito, our return journey taking about a week as we had expected. In the day since we had arrived, I had gotten my armour repaired and restocked all of our supplies, which ranged from food pills to clothes and potions.
We had given our mission report to the guild master verbally, and were now down to the evidence Cara had collected.
Damar had been detained and was being held in the prison below the guild. I felt a little bad about leaving him to the guards down there, but as a bandit, he really didn't deserve better treatment.
Because the situation was getting a little complicated, Cerion and I were being shooed out, despite the fact that we had been the ones to bring the smuggling of the tsuchigumo to the guild master's attention.
"Are we really not allowed to find out who hired those bandits? We helped every step of the way, for Helios' sake!", I complained to Cerion, as we walked through the guild's hallways.
He smiled back at me.
"I don't think it's that simple, Arthur. Didn't you hear that a noble was involved?"
"Yeah, so? We can't let anyone get away with killing thousands indirectly, not even nobles!", I countered.
He sighed.
"Don't you think I know that, Arthur? I agree with you, it's just not that simple. Now that a noble is involved, this case is about to get political. As a politically neutral organisation, the guild had the authority to continue investigating. That is not the case for us, however. We're both rather obviously part of the royal faction. On top of that, we don't have the time to keep investigating and stay on top of this case, because we're about to join the Royal tournament. Guild master Andross is taking this opportunity to clear up our involvement and keep us out of this case. Besides, I thought you didn't want to get involved in politics as much as possible?", he explained.
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly.
"Yeah... I get what you're trying to say. Let's stay out of this case for now, then. We can ask about the state of affairs of this case after the tournament is over.", I replied.
Cerion just smiled back at me in response.
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"I'm done studying, Arthur! The teachers said I'm ready for the academy's tests!"
I smiled proudly.
"That's good, Michael. I knew you could do it! We're leaving Reito in a few hours, to get to the capital as soon as possible. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course! I'm ready to leave at any time!", he replied jovially.
Chuckling, I rubbed his head.
"Cerion, watch over Michael for a moment, alright? I need to go talk to the teachers at the orphanage."
He nodded, signalling that I could leave.
A few minutes later, I was sitting in a classroom with three of Michael's teachers.
I was faced with a young man with long, green hair, an older woman, and a bald middle-aged burly man.
"I believe young Michael is ready for whatever the capital can throw at him, Mr. Arthur. His academic scores are perfect, and his knowledge of fire magic supersedes my own.", the woman said.
"His physical scores are also near the top of his age group. If it wasn't for his wish to become a mage, he could probably aim for a physical class instead.", the bald man said, lifting his chin.
"Don't try to convince him, Mark! Michael's stats clearly lean towards magic! His intelligence is already at 15!", the woman protested.
"All I'm saying is that he could pursue a more similar path to his idol here.", the man said, waving away her argument.
"Calm down, you two. The choice ultimately remains Michael's. That being said, Mr. Arthur, I do have some concerns. While Michael's academic achievements are certainly impressive, and we're all hopeful about his future, his friend group has remained rather 'stagnant' for the past few weeks. He doesn't really interact with other kids his age and focuses on his studies. It's my hope he'll fit in better in the capital and make some friends."
It didn't surprise me that Michael was making the same mistake I had and ignoring the people around him, apart from me and Cerion. He seemed like such an excitable kid when you talked to him, but when he was on his own he would just study. The worst part was that this probably wasn't even due to his affinity, like it had been in my case. Michael was undoubtedly of the fire affinity, like his father. The reason why he worked so hard was that he wanted to make me proud and walk in his father's footsteps. That was too much pressure for any one kid to take. I would have to take my time talking to him on our way to the capital. Hopefully, I would be able to make him open up a little more.
With a bow, I bid goodbye to Michael's teachers and re-joined my companions on the streets of Reito. We were done packing, and now it was time to take off again.
A few hours later, we had bid all of our friends in the city goodbye. Apparently, Garrett's party was joining the tournament as well, though they would be participating in the third-tier bracket. They intended to leave a little later, because the inns in the capital were apparently ridiculously expensive, especially during the tournament. Regardless, we would meet them there, which was a meeting I was looking forward to.
When I had met up with Doran, he had some good news to tell us.
"I will be travelling to the capital with you three."
"Are you participating too?", I had asked excitedly.
"No, I will be joining you as your coach and informant. I have many connections in the capital. Since your participation in the tournament this time has implications for the relationship between the Duke and the guild, the guild master felt it was best if I watched over you two for the duration of said tournament."
Wordlessly, he turned around and started walking to the city gates. Cerion, Michael and I hurriedly followed him.
When we had passed through the gates, we found a secluded spot and summoned Revan and Alia. Doran called his griffin, Mirna, who flew over the treeline to join us. We equipped their saddles, and I put Michael on top of Revan. He was a little scared of Revan still, but he calmed down after a while.
Like that, we set off into the night.