Heather walked into the common room from the hallway with a smile on her face. It was so out of character, both Jerry and Mike looked at her like they didn’t recognize her.
“We’ve got the score of a lifetime coming to us,” she said and took a seat on one of the couches. Throwing her feet up on the coffee table, she pulled out a flask and started drinking.
Mike set down the sword he was polishing and said, “Well? Details please. You said you heard there was a wilds contract we might be interested in. Some noble that needs to be lost while making it look legit. What did you find out?”
Jerry closed the book he was reading and leaned forward.
“Alright, so here’s what I know,” she said and set her feet down leaning forward with excitement. “The target joined an elite hunter training program,” she said. Hearing that, Jerry reopened his book, and Mike just snorted and picked his sword back up.
Holding out her hands like she was trying to calm down a horse, she said, “Listen to the rest of it. The training program is legit, but the noble isn’t. In fact, the noble is only level 8 or something. He’s a really fast leveler, so he’s only 14. He’s a commoner who got lucky during the noble war we just had. You can see his arena fight on the link. He thinks he’s a mage,” she laughed as she saw Mike and Jerry start paying attention again.
She said, “It gets better. I heard that the only reason he’s in the training program is because he realized he has no idea how to fight. Lord Cosgrave agreed to let him attend, but demanded that he adhere to the training program if he wants to learn how to fight. My friend knows one of the guards at the training facility, and he found out the best part.”
Mike and Jerry were leaning forward again, they were hanging on Heather’s every word.
After taking a sip from her flask, she said, “The kid’s only got 2 minders. One of them is his bodyguard. Get this, she’s a den-mother from the Center dorm he was staying at. The other is his advisor. The guy is some second son of a noble, trying to start his own house. My friend said the guy works in Research or something.” She started laughing again.
Both Mike and Jerry shared a look along with some smiles.
Trying to stop her laughter, she said, “I’m sorry. It’s just too much. If all of that isn’t enough, listen to what I just heard. A bunch of the nobles were worried about the kid out in the wilds with just some soldiers who wouldn’t give a shit about him, so they placed a bunch of guards into his training program. The kid thought they were all spies, and he demanded that they be replaced with real soldiers. He actually ASKED to be left alone. The schedule has them out in the wilds after only a week of training. In ten days, they’ll be outside the walls.”
Mike and Jerry were stunned. Mike tried to wrangle his enthusiasm, this was too good to be true. “How sure are you about this? This seems way too easy for the payout?”
Heather’s face turned serious, and she said, “We’re getting a million common valens to make sure that little shit doesn’t return from the wilds. If you don’t want in, I’ll do it myself. This is too good to pass up. People are only nervous because he’s a new noble. But out in the wilds, he’s only a 14 year old kid with his Center appointed guardians. Put on your big-boy pants and let’s get this done.”
Jerry said, “I’m in. Even if Mike passes, this is too good to pass up. As long as we get their route through the wilds, a few illusions is all it will take.”
Mike nodded, and made a decision. “All right, let’s take two days to get our gear together. Then I want to be in the wilds waiting for them. Thanks for this, Heather. We owe you one.”
Heather’s smile was wide and happy as she said, “Feel free to increase my share.”
-----
Nero trudged toward the dining hall alone. Nick had been nice enough to give him some space. The reprieve from the old man’s jokes was more than welcome. Nero wasn’t in the mood to hear any more jabs at his misplaced pride.
Since there weren’t any other recruits anymore, Nero didn’t have to wait in line. After getting his meal, he saw that the only people at the tables were Rose and Cathleen. Nero walked over and listened to their conversation. Part of him was happy that they were getting along, a very small part. Taking his seat, Nero poured himself some water from one of the table’s pitchers.
Cathleen looked at Nero and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Had some trouble at the combat-casting class?”
Nero shot her a dirty look, and said, “It seems I was misunderstanding some things. I wasn’t aware that the only reason I’m still alive is because of two separate technicalities. I’ve had two wins, and both of them deserve an asterisk.” Nero stabbed his steak with his fork like he was making sure it was dead.
Rose chuckled, but didn’t say anything.
However, Cathleen pressed on the wound and asked, “What does that mean? What happened specifically.”
Nero chewed on his steak and sighed. Swallowing, he took a drink of water, and said, “When I fought those mercenaries, I thought I made a bomb out of essence. It turns out that I did, but the bomb didn’t really kill them. It just forced a shock-wave into the air. It was the air that killed them. Then with the assassin, the only reason my laser idea worked, was because he was so low-leveled. Anyone over level 15 wouldn’t even notice the spell I cast. So anyone with a decent leveling speed could be immune to that spell by the age of 20.”
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Rose spoke up, “Hey! I’m 18 and only level 9. And my leveling speed is just fine.” Realizing that she just shouted at Nero, she paled.
Her reaction was just what Nero needed. Cracking a smile, Nero couldn’t contain it. He burst into laughter. Rose didn’t understand, and thought she was in some serious trouble. Her eyes started looking for exits.
Nero forced himself to stop laughing and said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Like Nick said, speak your mind. I’m not some stuck up noble with his privilege surgically implanted up his ass. And I’m sorry, you’re absolutely right. I don’t understand the leveling system at all. So just ignore me.”
Cathleen was eating with a smile on her face, enjoying the happy dynamic.
Nick appeared, and took his seat. “Hey everyone. How was archery training? If your trainer was anything like ours, I bet you were just as impressed as we were. You know they got an actual war-mage to train us? I think there are only like 10 in Dorchester at the moment. Hopefully we get our full compliment before the beast wave hits. They could be the difference between holding the walls or abandoning the city,” he said while slicing up his steak and mashed potatoes.
Nero said, “On that cheery note, let’s hear about archery.”
Rose’s mood was restored, and her smile brightened the dining hall. She said, “Our instructor, Sergeant Peyton, is an actual hunter. He’s fought in the wilds for like 20 years or something. You wouldn’t believe what he can do with an arrow. He emptied an entire quiver into a target 1000 ft away like it was no problem at all. His pillar is ‘accuracy’, so I guess it makes sense. But his speed was amazing! And he really pushed us too. We had a medic come over to heal our hands. I don’t know how many arrows I shot, but it was more than I could count. By the end of training, I was done. But don’t you worry, I’ll be back for more tomorrow!” Her bubbly personality made everyone at the table smile.
Nero thought back to her face in the conference room at the arena, and remembered her stern expression. Comparing it to what he was seeing now, and also that submissive school-girl routine she had done to Nick, Nero wondered what she was like under all the acting.
Putting the issue aside for the moment, Nero focused on something more important. As he was probably going to level tonight, he’d need his questions about pillars answered now.
Speaking up, Nero said, “You mentioned pillars. I have a few questions about those. I read that you are offered a choice at level ten, and then at level fifty, right?”
Everyone nodded as they ate. Nick pointed his fork across the table at Nero and said, “You’re going to be hitting level 10 soon, huh? I guess you have some questions. This is a big moment for you, and you haven’t had a lot of time to study the subject.”
Nero offered a blank look at Nick and said, “You’re right. So maybe as my advisor you can stop restating the problem, and start addressing it. What the hell am I going to have to deal with?”
Rose and Cathleen chuckled. Nick just chewed on his steak and started talking while his mouth was full. “When you level to 10, your mind will be pulled into your soul. You’ll be presented with some options based on how you’ve lived your life. If you focused on paperwork, you’ll get some options having to do with writing, or information, or something along those lines. Don’t worry, you’ll get around 10 options. Some people get more, some people get less. Either way, the pillar itself just represents an aspect of yourself that you are choosing to build your growth around,” he said then paused to take a drink of water.
Cathleen picked up the slack, and said, “My favorite analogy is that you are like a vine growing up around your pillar. As time goes on, you grow higher, but never stray from your pillar. As you grow to level 50, another pillar is added, and your foundation is strengthened. If you ever reach level 100, your pillars will form a pyramid with you standing at the top, taking your place among the heavens. The image of a pyramid covered in fresh growth with me at the top, staring at the sky, always appealed to me.”
Nero smiled, he liked that too. He forced himself back into the conversation, as he didn’t want to be distracted. “So pillars are kind of limiting then?” he asked.
Nick shook his head. “Not really. They are essentially concepts. They can be applied in many ways. For example, the pillar I took at level 10 was ‘insight’. That could have sent me down many different paths. But I used my stars to increase my ability to parse data. My memory has been drastically increased, and I have an ability you’ve seen. Remember when I made the map of Dorchester. I was taking data that I had saved in my link and used my ability to create a model which I projected as a hologram using magic. Neat huh?”
Nero nodded in thought. Before he could ask another questions, Rose asked, “So your pillar doesn’t really have a lot of abilities? It’s mostly focused on supplementing your mind?”
Cathleen chimed in, “No pillar has more abilities than another. You just have to choose to put a star toward creating one. Then more stars to grow it into something useful. Some pillars are easier to apply to abilities, but no pillar is without the option for them. Think of Sergeant Peyton, instead of focusing on his archery, he could have focused his ‘accuracy’ pillar on spell work. Or he could have been a very ‘accurate’ map-maker.” She then chuckled at her own pun as Nero winced.
Nero said, “OK, so pillars are super important. But it’s more about how you see them that matters. You could get a ‘space’ pillar and only be good at organizing closets if you spend your stars in order to excel at organization.”
Everyone laughed, and Nick said, “You got it. Just choose what appeals to you. It’s an important decision, but it’s only one step on your path.”
The conversation continued until Captain Angelton appeared in the dining hall. His presence was immediately noticed, and their little group watched him approach.
The captain looked around, and seemed unhappy at all the empty seats. Standing at the head of their table, he said, “Alright, so let me give you some updates. As you suspected, every recruit had an ulterior motive for joining this program. As per my orders, I offered them two choices. Either be transferred to another elite training program, or quit and go back to whatever house ordered them to come here. I was surprised that 9 of them actually went back to their houses. Only 7 people had the strength of character to follow through with their training.”
Looking over at Nero he continued, “The general was not happy about the way it worked out, but he told me to tell you, ‘At least their cowardice gives me ammunition against the pansies in the mansions’. Personally, I want to thank you. I was never comfortable with the situation. I’m looking forward to getting some real warriors around here. They’ll be here in the morning, it shouldn’t affect your training schedule.”
In a cold voice Cathleen asked, “Real warriors, huh? I’m looking forward to seeing what you consider a ‘warrior’.”
To his credit, the captain realized his mistake instantly. Instead of apologizing, he just said, “Please try not to be too hard on them. I don’t want to keep bringing in new people. Losing 16 recruits on the first day of training is bad enough, even if there is an explanation in the file. It still looks bad.”
Chuckling, Nero asked, “So what happens after dinner? I’m ready to get back to it. It’s only 19:30, plenty of time for some more pain.”
Missing the joke, the captain said, “You’ve got one hour of light running, followed by two hours of physical training. Then typically, you have free time. Training fields will be available for you to choose where you spend your free time. However, I received a personal message from Arch-mage Jennings about you. He told me that you would probably be studying, and he advised me not to interfere with your plans. That was advice I plan to follow. But in the meantime, clean up and meet me outside, we’ve got work to do.”
Nero’s group nodded and stood up in unison. After dropping off their dishes, they filed out to enjoy a light after-dinner run.
For the next hour, Nero felt a slap on the back of his head every time Cathleen passed him. Unfortunately, it didn’t help him run any faster.