Ace looked at Stellis who was sitting across from him at his dining table.

She had arrived early in the morning to bring news. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing any armor. Instead, she wore a gray gambeson, black linen pants, and stylish boots. Both of her swords were hanging from a double looped belt she was wearing.

She had brought a small book with her.

"Just as I predicted... My Mother is very interested in your development. So here is her offer... We will educate you in the ways of the city and train you to become an official member of House Steel. You will join the next group of people hoping to become knights."

"Sounds good" Ace said. "What's the catch?"

Stellis continued.

"If you accept this offer then you must do something for her. A favor."

Ace raised his eyebrow.

"A favor?"

Stellis waved a hand.

"Yes... But you have another option as well. You can leave and live freely in the city. My mother said you are free to do so, but if you join another House or form relationships with any of their members, she will see to it that you are taken care of... personally."

Ace laughed nervously.

"Wow... okay then. You aren't really giving me much of a choice here... Could you tell me more about that favor?"

Stellis bit her lip.

"I can't tell you unless you formally accept our help... my mother says this is about trust... trust that it wouldn't be something to your detriment."

Annoyance took hold of Ace as he grumbled out a reply.

"I save your life and you can't even tell me what kind of deal I'll be accepting?! How is that about trust? That's crazy! Just tell me now! It's not like yo-!"

Cutting him off she held a paper up to his face. It only had two words on it.

-----------------

She's listening.

-----------------

Ace's blood ran cold.

Stifling his nerves, he nodded his head slowly and considered his options.

'I don't know a damn thing about this place. The only money I have is my merits, but those wont last long... It's not like I have anywhere else to go either. But that favor... it sounds like bad news. What could someone so strong want me to do? Their dirty work?'

Exasperated, he sighed deeply before giving Stellis his answer.

"Fine... I formally accept your offer. Now tell me what this favor is."

Looking relieved, Stellis opened her book.

"She wants you to participate in this year's Selection Tournament. You would do it under the banner of House Steel of course."

Ace narrowed his eyes.

"Selection Tournament?"

He already didn't like where this was going. It felt strange accepting help from people he used to hate, but now he had to work for one?

"Its a tournament of single combat." Stellis said. "It runs for two days. The winner of the tournament gives their House control over certain production areas of the city and extra authority in regard to how The Wall and the slums are handled. All Houses have agreed to these terms."

Ace raised his hand, making her pause.

"Okay let me get this straight. Your mom, who is super strong, lets children fight for her so that she can have more political power? And all the Houses agreed to this? Something isn't making sense."

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Stellis nodded her head.

"I know, which is why your first lesson in city know-how is going to be a history lesson... beginning now. Get comfortable because this may take a while."

Pausing briefly, she turned to the front of the book.

"I'll start at the beginning. Do you know how Sever Energy was introduced to this world?"

"Of course." Ace said. "My sister told me that there were spores that released it in large explosions. If you were caught in the radius your either became Notched or died. If you die from Sever Energy exposure then you basically turn into a spore and explode, keeping the chain going."

Stellis nodded her head.

"Yes. But you've missed something important. Do you know how many people there were on Earth before the Interlopers came? Not including the colonies of course."

Ace shook his head so Stellis turned a page and continued.

"There were approximately twelve billion. And you know how many GQCs there are? Twelve...

Fifteen years ago when the first spores were introduced, there were approximately 1 billion people per installation. We can't confirm this because we aren't able to communicate with other GQCs but it's generally accepted. Now what percentage of people do you think survived the initial spores?"

Ace shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know maybe fifty percent? It seemed pretty random from what people in the slums were saying."

Stellis shook her head. "No... it was closer to thirty... Over 700 million people died in both the city and the slums. And this was after millions had already been killed when everyone teleported here and began to fight for dominance."

She paused, filling her voice with disdain before continuing.

"All this to say that while the city technically could have supported a billion people, it only supports around 250 million now, with the other 50 million residing in the slums. This is important because of the remaining 250 million people in the walls, every single one of them is Notched."

She turned a page again.

"And before you ask, the same doesn't hold true for the slums because the open space allowed a great deal of people to escape the blast radius. Now, back to the city.

The majority of people within The Wall are terrible fighters. As a result, millions used their increased strength and durability to pursue artisanal and labor based jobs. However, there was a small percentage of people who used their newfound strength in... other ways. "

Now curious, Ace asked a question.

"And what does this mean in relation to the tournament?"

Stellis responded with a dry voice.

"Well, the tournament is only 10 years old. In the five years before its inception, what do you think the aggressive and power hungry Notched did?"

Ace shrugged his shoulders, prompting Stellis to continue.

"They fought, taking over district by district and creating rival factions. Because of how resilient Notched are, they fought brutally and trained vigorously, developing unique ways to use their Sever Energy to the fullest. Thankfully, some of the stronger groups still elected to set up a ration supply chain for the slums... otherwise things would be even worse than they are now."

Laughing wryly, she continued.

"In the end, the city itself is what suffered the most. Buildings and important infrastructure were brought down by strong Bruisers fighting. When the first groups of Bruisers ascended to Lawless, things became even worse and the progression of destruction rapidly increased.

Then... there were the Grade 3s or the Savants. There are four in the city. My mother is one of them. When they fought, entire districts were wiped off the face of the map... along with their occupants.

It didn't take long for the four of them to realize the city wouldn't last. They quickly and violently ended all other conflicts and established the Houses. In essence, they are militant groups that compete for control of the city and its resources. The four Savants keep each other in check... not to say that there aren't small skirmishes here and there."

She closed her book with a snap.

"That is why it is children that fight and not the adults. They are not as strong and it is a way for Houses to show their power to competitors."

Ace sat still in contemplation.

"That... unfortunately makes sense... And you said there are four houses for the four Grade 3s right? How does one even ascend to Savant anyway?"

Stellis shook her head.

"No one really knows, they did it well before the Wardens appeared so it's hard to quantify how it's done. All I know is that my mother changed greatly after she ascended. Everything was different... her strength, her Notch, even her presence.

As for the Houses... they are House Steel, House Lightning, House Beast, and House Mind. The names of the Houses correlate to what abilities people think their leaders have. I'll let you think about what that means they're capable of."

"And what about me?" Ace asked. "Why does she want me to participate?"

"It's because you are Lawless and are the same age as me." Stellis explained.

"Of the dozens of Lawless warriors within the Wall, only five including you are younger than 16, which is the age cap for the tournament. I have participated since I was six. Every year aside from the first year, House Lightning has won. Because... they have him."

Ace tilted his head. "Him?"

"The sole Son of House Lightning. I lose to him every year." Stellis said.

"It's never really close either." She added.

"Really?" Ace questioned.

He had seen first hand what Stellis could do. To imagine her losing, especially easily, was something he was having a hard time with.

"Yes. No one knows what his ability is or even what he looks like. We just know he is strong... really strong. My mother is hoping that you have a better matchup into his Notch ability than I do."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ace accepted the information he was hearing. He had already made the deal so it was better to prepare himself than complain.

"Alright... I have three questions. When is the tournament? When does knight indoctrination start? And how do I make real food?"

Stellis responded instantly.

"In two months. In three days. And...Huh?"