Tarlek was merely joking, but something in the Ego’s eyes worried Percy a little. Those worries dispersed when Tarlek approached his brother to slap him in the face.

“Wake up, idiot!” Tarlek shouted as he bombarded his brother with more slaps.

That looks painful. He’s not holding back.

Percy swallowed hard as he observed the brothers. Erik regained his senses and punched Tarlek in the chest before laughing aloud. His expression twisted in pain as he laughed, and he held the side Percy had punched, but he got up and turned to Percy with a vibrant smile.

“That was painful. Let’s do it again!” Erik exclaimed while getting closer.

Percy had to lift his hand quickly to stop the towering Ego from going at it right away. “I used up my mana reserves to knock you out. There is no way I can spar with you again—at least, if you want a fair spar.”

Erik’s lips twitched, and his excitement dwindled. “How about a spar without Mana, then? We can–...”

A slap to the back of his head stopped Erik in the middle of his sentence, “Shut up, Erik. Look at Percy. He is covered in monster blood and must be exhausted. You can spar with him again tomorrow…”

He looked at Percy, “Right?”

“That’s fine with me. I don’t want to spend the next few weeks doing nothing but training with the Glacia Knights and hunting some monsters. Adding some spars with two commonbirth Egos sounds interesting,” Percy nodded, “It would be even better if you could tell me what the Imperial training is all about. I can sense the mana from the mana vein in the Wintermoon estate, but I have no idea what everyone is doing there.”

Tarlek smiled at Percy, who responded with the same expression.

I was worried there for a moment, but it looks like they like fighting. Gaining their respect was much easier than it would have been with other commonbirth Egos or nobles.

The brothers were rather simple people. They liked the strong, and defeating Erik in a spar showed them he would not be taken lightly. Erik wouldn’t fall victim to the same trap again, but that wasn’t an issue. Percy was already where he wanted to be.

“Your name was Percy, right?” Erik asked after another pained groan, “I will defeat you next time!”

Percy grinned and accepted the challenge, but Tarlek intercepted before Erik would do anything stupid, which wasn’t difficult for his younger brother. Erik was more of a brawns, no brains guy. He was kind but too obsessed with combat for his own good. If Tarlek could exchange some of Erik’s muscles for a better brain for his younger brother, he would do that without a second thought.

“You said you wanted to know about the Imperial training? Honestly, it’s nothing special. There is a large hall in the Wintermoon estate’s basement with several overlapping arrays. There are probably hundreds of runic enchantments used to gather the purest mana of the mana vein and store it in the Wintermoon estate, where the Imperial prospects train their mana control, use their Egos until they collapse, and learn everything an Imperial has to know.

Nobles don’t have to study because they know the history of Imperials, their responsibilities, and everything else an Imperial should know, which grants them more time to use their Egos and practice with the Wintermoon estate’s pure mana. Some Instructors focus on Monster Concoctions and other teachings revolving around Monster Cards, and the importance of procuring Monster Cards that amplify your Ego’s prowess, but most of it is boring.”

Erik nodded vigorously and added, “We are not even allowed to fight each other. Our spar was the first in weeks! These idiots aren’t even teaching us how to improve our foundation. They only focus on mana purity and mana control. Mana here, mana there, mana everywhere. It is so annoying!”

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Percy raised an eyebrow at Erik while Tarlek rolled his eyes before he continued.

“What my brother says is true, to a certain extent. The Imperial training focuses on everything related to mana, but he ignores a few factors. First, this is the Mana-focused portion of the Imperial training. It’s only one – and the first – of multiple parts. I don’t know how much you know about the Wintermoon estate or the Imperial training, but this mana vein is one of the few veins nobody else can access. The Wintermoon estate stores the vein’s mana for an entire cycle, purifies and compresses it, only to release everything evenly distributed over six weeks.

That way, the Imperials have six weeks to study their Ego and attain a basic mastery of it while deepening their understanding of mana. That, however, doesn’t mean we neglect our bodies. The instructors ensure we’re working out under the influence of pure mana for at least one hour every day. The workout sessions are highly effective thanks to the pure mana coursing through our sore veins.”

The new information was helpful. It was good to know how long he had left to hunt monsters in the Moonlight Forest and when the Imperial prospects would leave.

The Imperial prospects will probably leave together. Will we be forced to go with them? No. The Glacia Knights will go wherever Melissa goes, but the better question is… Will I follow them? Probably not.

The corner of his lips tugged upward. The thought of traveling to a bigger city, or maybe even the capital, was pleasant. Repaying the Glacia Knight Order and Melissa Reeze wouldn’t be an issue. He could pay the Reeze Dukedom with a letter informing the chamber of finances that his debt had been paid. That shouldn’t be a problem.

But what will I do then? I don’t think I will apply for next cycle’s Imperial training. I should be stronger than most of them by the next cycle starts. Or am I aiming too high? What else do I want to do then? How about becoming like Merchant Erdwin… maybe a little nicer than he is. Becoming a merchant doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I can still fight, but I won’t be necessary for me to jump into the Wilderness to fill my Prosperity. I can harvest many resources, and everything I own will be considered part of my Ego as long as I own a shop. It wouldn’t be weird to find Artifacts, special Monster Cards, and much more in my shop, either.

The thought of opening a shop in a big city, possibly even the capital, didn’t sound bad. It was interesting.

“Why aren’t you an Imperial prospect?” Erik asked suddenly. Tarlek’s ears perked up, and he turned to Percy.

“My brother has a point. I don’t like to brag about my brother, but he isn’t the worst fighter. Our real combat experience exceeds that of most nobles and Egos our age. Only Lady Reeze and the other prodigies might be stronger than Erik, but probably only because of their Inheritance Arts and advanced Monster Cards.”

“I guess I was too late. Lady Reeze and the Glacia Knights found me on their trip to the Wintermoon estate. They had to make a stop to hunt a Demon, and some circumstances brought us together. After our encounter with a growing Infernal Lair, we ended up traveling together,” Percy shrugged, “Unfortunately, the Instructors of the Imperial training are too stiff and inflexible. They didn’t even bother listening to me and told me to participate next year if I have what it takes to become a future Imperial. One of them said things like, ‘If you are suitable for the sacred task, you’ll have to show us how patient you are.’ That is utter nonsense in my opinion, but I accepted my fate after they made clear that I will be crippled if I keep interrupting their training.”

Erik slapped Percy’s back with a wide grin, “That means you are just like us. If they picked you up only a little while ago, you must have gathered combat experience without anyone’s help. There are only a few commonbirth Egos with powerful Egos, who are ignored and cast aside. We need to hold together and help each other!”

Tarlek didn’t say a word but regarded Percy instead.

“After I manifested my Ego, I became an Adventurer. I didn’t have any money and nearly starved to death when I ranked up. The mana shaping nearly killed me, and I was forced to hunt some monsters. I nearly died a few times, but I quickly grew stronger using my Ego,” Percy affirmed Erik’s guess.

“In that case, you are like us. Maybe not exactly like us, but our situation was similar,” Tarlek smiled sadly, but Percy listened up. Something about Tarlek’s expression had changed over the last few minutes. The massive brothers were warming up to him.

They’re genuine. This is what I’ve been wishing for with the Glacia Knights. No…this is what I felt before when I was with them. They have changed…or did I change?

“We were never Adventurers because the Guild never bothered building a Guildhall in our little village. You know, our village was too small and too far away from other towns. We rarely met Adventurers and Merchants didn’t come often to us either. Nobody was wealthy, but we came by nicely,” Tarlek sighed deeply, the sadness in his eyes growing.

“At least, until the Monster Rampages started.”