CHAPTER 34
Endge would have never gone eat outside if he did not have something in mind. Of course, the eleven kids from their ‘class’ knew who brought them in. They knew Mir and Oka had the ninth prince as their patron. And since those kids came from important backgrounds, they had degrees of knowledge about the inside of the school. Obviously, they knew about the Followers of the Ninth and other such groups.
Being able to join them would mean earning the favor of a prince. A member of the royalty might take interest in them and so on. It was a dreamy opportunity for many kids here. But Mir couldn’t care less and Oka was following Mir blindly anyway. The poor Endge placed a bet on the wrong horse, or did he?
He couldn’t help but laugh and answered:
“It is fine, I was planning on eating outside anyway. I won’t be wasting my points like them and regarding my status, well, it is fine too. I am not going to succeed to anyone in my clan after all. Would it be fine if I join you tomorrow to check the alliance building?
-Sure.”
They enjoyed the remaining of their meal chatting merrily about all kinds of things and laughing most of the time.
The next morning, Endge met up with Mir and Oka directly in front of the Alliance building. It was relatively crowded, probably with a space distortion to it considering the flux of people going in and out. It was relatively easy to spot the building. It was the only one made from white stones and having a giant letter “A” in blue in the front.
Endge was smiling today too. This was intriguing to Mir. The kid failed his attempt to get a free pass in the Ninth Followers Alliance yet was still happy. Leaving that thought aside, Mir greeted him with the same type of wide smile. After some idle chatting, they entered the building.
As expected, it was a lot bigger inside. There were dozens of counters and dozens of disciples awaiting in lines. Mir could not help but ask aloud:
“Just how many disciples are there in this school?...”
He wasn’t expecting an answer but earned one nonetheless. Oka was the one to give it with the pride to be of use:
“Young boss, there are more than thirty million students in the school. That is because people come here from all over the kingdom and even from outside it. Also, there is no age limits to remain a student here.
-No age limits?”
This was surprising. You could remain a student for eternity? Mir was skeptical regarding this point and strangely, while Oka knew it was possible, he did not know the specifics. That’s when Endge entered the discussion:
“Oka is right yet wrong. There is an age limit. The same as every other schools in the kingdom, it is 100 years old. But this school has many particularities. One of them is the system of points you guys learnt of yesterday. Well, in exchange for points, it is possible to add to the age limit. I don’t know how much points are required to add a year but many are doing it. Or hoping to.
-Why would they do such a thing?”
Mir was curious. This school was the best so graduating meant most likely a high-ranked position later. Why would they want to stay inside?
That’s when insiders entered the conversation. A group of four men and a woman wearing gold armor with a roman number nine (IX) etched in the front. The woman was the one to answer Mir:
“Because this school provides more resources than you could ever hope to get outside, young friend Mir.”
It didn’t take much for Mir to understand who she was. The armor itself was a giveaway… She also knew his name and appearance obviously. The prince network was accurate and quick. She saw him frown and started speaking once more:
“It is a pleasure to meet the both of you, young friend Mir, young friend Oka. I am Ma Liuya, you can call me Sister Liuya if you want. I am here to..”
Before she could finish, Mir interrupted her:
“I know. You want us to join the Ninth Followers, right?”
The look in Mir’s eyes was disdain and displeased the four followers of the woman. She looked to be around thirty but was still beautiful, her followers probably weren’t just following her for her brains. One of them at least wasn’t as he threateningly said in a deep voice:
“Don’t get too cocky, kid. Even if the prince himself wish to offer you a place within our group, it doesn’t mean we will stand by while you insult our leader”
The woman wasn’t bothered by her subordinate action, rather, she was pleased. She probably was the type to enjoy attention. Not like this was a demerit. But still, Mir did not have a good opinion of the man who spoke. At least the woman had been courteous.
Mir sighed and the woman got the clue that it was her time to speak. She coughed a few times and went back to business:
“We would really like for you two to enter our alliance. What do you say about it?”
There was tumult inside the building. Many closed-by people were starting to murmur. It seems like being invited by the Ninth Followers was a rare event.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Even more reason for Mir to sigh, he didn’t want any attention at all and was once more attracting the crowd to him. Was he born to be famous or what? He told the woman:
“May I invite sister Liuya and her followers to dinner tonight so we can discuss this matter? I am still new to all this and came here precisely to understand more about alliances before anything.
-Sure, little friend Mir. I would love that. Where would you like for us to eat, then?
-There’s this place, outside, called the roasted bear that serves astonishing plates of meat. How about there?
-T-That’s..”
Mir brought even more commotion in the building. He was inviting a lady to dinner outside. For those prideful clansmen, going outside was a taboo, a mark of the poor. And now, he was trying to bring a group of the prince’s followers to eat outside. This would likely bring them great dishonor and come back to hit the prince later on.
Ma Liuya was pondering deeply on the situation. The kid was smarter than she thought. This wasn’t as simple as recruiting a kid anymore. Her boss lied to her? No, he probably dismissed warnings about the kid’s potential.
Still, the fact remained that the prince told them that they must get him in the alliance. But to go as far as to dishonor the group itself?... This kid was dangerous is the impression she got after less than five minutes around him.
Mir was enjoying the sight. Four men puffing their chests in anger, a crowd gasping and gossiping and finally, a woman lost in thoughts. And it had only taken a single sentence for it to happen.
Why were they even so against going in and out of the tower? He would need to find that out later.
Still, first things first, he needed to deal with the group sent by the prince in an appropriate way. Since the woman understood where this was going, he didn’t have to wait for her to find the solution to his riddle and insisted:
“Well, sister Liuya, what do you say? Didn’t you say that you wanted to eat dinner with us so we could discuss your offer to have us enter your alliance?
-T-That’s…I wouldn’t want you to buy us dinner when we’re the ones trying to recruit you. That’s right! Why don’t you come to the restaurant “golden ninth senses” that we manage instead? I assure you that we have the best of meats there.
-No, no. As a man, I have a duty to be the one paying when asking a lady to dinner. I can’t afford much yet but, I can vouch for the roasted bear! Oka, tell sister Liuya, isn’t the roasted bear a lovely place to eat?”
He said that with the face of a kid who didn’t understand the situation. Using his age as a mask of ignorance. He even stretched the ‘nice’ in his sentence. As he was asked, Oka answered firmly:
“Yes, it is, young boss! The meat was delicious! What did you think Endge?”
Mir did not think Oka would drag Endge in the game. This was a mistake. If Endge decided to side with the ninth followers, then Mir would have to go eat at their place… Rather than the number of advices, the last one is the one with the biggest weight and after Endge, there was no one else to ask…
If Oka had not brought him in the exchange, he would never have entered it. After all, neither Mir or Liuya had mentioned him previously. But Mir couldn’t blame Oka. He was a real kid without a soul that had experience from a previous life. Mir could only await Endge decision.
Would he try to be on Liuya’s good side or Mir’s? Mir wasn’t hoping much and began preparing a counter when something surprising happened. Endge played the ignorant kid too.
“I loved it too! It was very juicy and the ambiance was just right!”
Mir was surprised but beyond that, relieved and glad. Endge was someone smart and it seems like he wasn’t just obsessed by status. While a smug smile appeared on Mir’s face, there was only sadness and disbelief on Liuya’s.
Why would this second kid choose the party of Mir? Was he worth that much? More than the Ninth Follower’s alliance? No way. She was beginning to question that very fact, the value of Mir…And it hit her. She had been fooled.
She laughed slightly, quite cutely with a hand over her mouth and Mir joined her. This was the sign she caught on to his plan. But it was too late for her. If she had discovered it before…But now? She could only go on with the flow. She answered Mir:
“Very well, young friend Mir. I will be seeing you tonight at the Roasted Bear, outside, as you asked. Don’t make sister wait too long, alright?
-Of course! See you tonight, Sister Liuya!”
Liuya exited the alliance laughing slightly while her four followers were glaring daggers at the kids. Kids that were laughing like mad. Mir told Oka why he did this:
“Did you not see the crowd? They reacted to us receiving an invitation from the Ninth Followers. It was something calculated by Liuya. Do you seriously think we could have ended up here both at the same time as a coincidence? No way. She waited for us to go inside. Why? Because she knew the impact her group would have here. She comes from a very famous alliance and we are in the alliance building: reactions guaranteed. Then, what did I do? I used it to my advantage. I made her invite us, I invited her outside, made sure to ask you and to say your name loud…This was publicity to our names. I was selling the fact that we were important. Important enough that the Ninth Followers would do as we requested when they were the ones inviting us. Important enough that a high-ranked alliance would want us at the price of going to eat outside, violating a taboo. I upgraded our worth. And it worked. When she caught on to my plan, it was already too late for her so she could only go with it. Fortunately, the prince probably asked them to get us at all costs. If not, it would have failed majestically. But that too would have been fine. People would have left us alone.
-But we’re alone right now, young boss?
-That’s because everyone that was here considered gossiping about us a more pressing matter than anything they were here to do… Let’s go, this counter is free.”
They went to a counter on their right and a young woman in gold robe was there to answer them. She welcomed them and waited for their questions. Mir asked:
“Is there an alliance ranking?
-There is. You can consult it here and in every town from the 5th level on.
-What is the Ninth Follower’s Rank?
-In this school, 7th. In the global ranks, 453th.
-…Global?”
This brought more questions than answers. How come there were two different rankings?! Endge saw the expression of incredulity on Mir’s face and whispered him:
“From the 7th level, the tower is connected to all the other important schools in the continent. It is the number one school because it pitches us against people from everywhere, constantly.”
This was a brand-new piece of news that changed everything. It was even more reason not to get involved with the Ninth Followers. He asked more:
“Why do we need to enter an alliance?
-You must. That’s because every missions are done inside the tower and are group-oriented. The same way, they impact on the rankings… It is for the school and the kingdom.
-Can I create my own alliance?
-Sure, you only need 1000 points to register and a constant 100 points per month. There is also a quota of one mission per month to be done by the alliance. Failure in one leading to expulsion.”
Mir made a mental note that he had to check on the missions before anything. If they were a pain or too hard, he would have to join an alliance that already existed and was functional enough that he could laze around…The ninth followers weren’t that bad in the end…Still, he asked:
“Are there conditions to join an alliance?