In the public dining hall Savani used a few gold coins to purchase a basic meal before finding an area in the corner to start eating. Looking around one could see the various apprentices grouped into different sitting arangements representing the various forces inside the tower. Those who were loners like Savani being the minority were either too weak for others to want or strong enough they could work on their own. Even the vast majority of fresh apprentices had starting forming small groups based on their shared interestsv over the last few weeks.

Savani however never liked these kind of groups. It was a leftover trait from his time on Earth as an extreme introvert that was only compounded by the fact that he was a soul on a plane he didn't originate from, which only added an extreme case of paranoia to the mix further isolating him. So alone he sat in a corner with his back to the wall watching the other groups eat in peace.

The largest of the two groups were clearly the Earthen Court and the Shadow League. Each faction took an entire side of the dining hall with the more core forces toward the walls and the auxilary forces branching outwards, almost like a protective barrier. In fact the forces closest to the others side would send dirty glares, almost like they wanted to start a war right there to prove their loyalty. The entire dynamic seemed so pointless to Savani. Why try so hard to impress others when the best thing to do would be to increase your own strength.

Quietly Savani continued to eat his food in the corner. At least until some familiar faces arrived. Looking at the enterance Savani saw both William and the three-eyed girl enter the dining hall. Whats more they seemed to know each other, but not in a good way. Savani saw the two look at each other and glare before William said something to the girl which seemed to make her angry. The girl retorted and Williams face scrunched up into a look that spoke quite clearly that he wanted to perform some kind of unspeakable act on her. The two argued back and forth while getting their food in a way that if Savani didn't see the initial argument, as well as the increasing bloodlust on the twos faces, he would think they were doing a sketch about those arguing couples he use to see on tv.

After all this arguing the two actually ended up going into the two biggest groups. William entered into the Earthen Court and the three-eyed girl went to the Shadow League. Though they didn't enter the deeper areas of their respective groups the two did end up farther in than half-way. This made Savani a bit surprised as this showed that both had a decent standing in either group, though from how much farther the three-eyed girl went into the Shadow League Savani could guess she held the higher position of the two.

Watching these two go to their respective camps Savani figured it was time to put the herbs he gathered up for sale. So he grabbed his tray and headed over to the drop off area. Unbeknown to Savani both William and the three-eyed girl noticed him getting up. Recognizing him as the first fresh apprentice to take a quest, and more importantly come back alive, they sent a message to the leaders of their faction. Figuring that Savani could be a useful seed for their respective factions both side sent over a representative to gauge his interest in joining their faction.

The Shadows League sent out a women roughly 20 years old and with golden colored hair while the Earthen Court sent out a man that was over 6 feet tall and looked like he was literally chisled from stone. Seeing that a representative from the other side also went out the man and women quickly walked up to Savani and managed to get to him just as he was leaving the dining hall.

"Excuse me handsome I was wondering if I could ask you something." A pleasant female voice drifted into Savani's ears from behind catching his attention. Turning around slightly Savani was startled that two different apprentices seemed to be walking towards him while glaring at each other. Startled by the strange situation he found himself in Savani quickly replied "Are you talking to me?"

With a smile the women continued, "Yes I was handsome. My name is Elizabeth and I was wondering if you would be interested in joining the Shadows League? You returned a quest to one of our members who informed us not only are you the first beginner apprentice to complete the quest, but you also seem to use Darkness magic based on the acid marks she saw on the bodies. As you know the Shadow League is the best choice for Darkness attributed apprentices."

After listening to Elizabeth's speach the stone man couldn't helpbut grunt and reply. "Don't listen to the blonde vixen, boy. Someone strong enough to go out hunting after only a week is worthy of joining out Earthen Court. The names Erik and I was told by the higher ups to extend an invitation to you to join our brotherhood. Though we may not have as many Darkness style resources we do have more ways to strengthen your body so you can earn those resources on you own. Not only that but Queen Kiana is an Alchemist that can make you various potions on request if you contribute enough to the Court."

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Elizabeth sent a glare towards Erik. Savani saw the hatred between the two groups in the dining hall but seeing it in person he was even more amazed. Clearing his throat Savani looked at both of them. "I appreciate it but right now I still want to experiment and determine my path on my own. However I will certainly keep in mind both of your offers but for now I would like to increase my strength on my own before joining any group."

Judging from the looks both sides gave him it seemed that neither thought Savani would be brave enough to reject both of them. With a grin Elizabeth leaned in a little closer and said "Are you sure you don't want to join our Shadow League. I promise it'll be very....beneficial to you." As Savani looked into her eyes the chip in his head sent out an alar.

[Warning. Low Level Spirit attack has been detected trying to influence the hosts mind. Mental defences have activated. Used 2 point of Spirit to cancel out influence.]

Hearing the warning from the chip Savani quickly stopped looking at her eyes and focused behind her. "Thank you but no. I want to at least spend a while exploring and researching the different paths I could take. Thank you though."

From the shock in her eyes it was clear that Elizabeth wasn't expecting to be rejected again. It didn't help that Erik the stone man was laughing near her from her being denied again. Now looking at Savani more seriously she thought for a bit and reached into a bag on her hip before extracting a small scroll. "Well since you have set your mind on exploring on your own at least take this small gift. Its a spell one of our apprentices managed to make after researching poisons. Its called Poison Sting and it coats your fingers with a magical poison. It should help if anything gets close to you. And I do hope you end up choosing the League."

Seeing that Elizabeth was handing him a spell to entice him Erik quickly reached into a pouch he had and took out a book, one that if Savani had been paying attention to should not have fit into the bag it was drawn from. "Hey now Elizabeth it's not good to go bribing the newbies. Here kid take this book. Its on the basics of body refinement. Use it to put some muscles on that skinny frame of yours. And when you decide to get stronger remember to join the Earthen Court.'

Recieving gifts from both sides made Savani a little apprehensive. However he couldn't figure out a way to reject the gifts after already turning down an invitation from both sides. So thanking them both Savani took the scroll and book and placed them under one arm as he fled the scene.

Walking back to the table Elizabeth was stopped by another member. "Hey Liz, why did you give the newbie a spell? From what I saw he wasn't really all that special. I'm sure we could have gotten stronger apprentices later after they've grown a bit."

Looking at the member Elizabeth responded "The boy was able to not be influenced by my Dark Fey Gaze. That shows that he has some actual talent and that his Spirit is stronger than most at this stage. If giving him a weak low grade spell can earn us some good will why not? Plus it's not like the spell was any use all it does is coat a persons finger in a mild poison. Doesn't even harden it to make it useful in battle."

After leaving the dining hall Savani quickly went to the Obsidian pillars and put the Demons Dream and the three Lullaby Dasies up for trade. What he asked for was several well preserved humanoid bodies for the Lullaby Dasies and some knowledge on the Darkness element for the Demons Dream. Savani decided to keep the Bloodweed for himself since it could restore blood if eaten.

Returning to his room Savani first opened the book that Erik gave him. "Chip initiate scanning." Opening the book Savani employed the same trick he used in the library and once more became a human copy machine. After only twenty minutes Savani closed the book and leaned back in his chair. "Chip has all information been recorded?"

[Affirmitive. Folder named Body Refinement has been created. All information used for body refinement and stimulation of the body will now be stored in this folder.]

"Good. Now begin to copy a spell module." Placing the book on a corner of his desk Savani now unrolled the spell given to him by Elizabeth. Like she said the spell only created a type of poison using Darkness elements to draw in and corrupt water in the air before binding it onto the casters finger. The spell seemed useless but Savani was interested in the corruption aspect of it and how it used Darkness particles to influence other elements. So like when he learned Acid Shot Savani injected his Spirit into the spell and began to copy it into the chips databank. However something unexpected happened when he finished the spell.

[Relevent knowledges to begin hosts strengthening plan have been catalogued. According to information on Body Refinement one way to refine a persons body is to bathe in baths filled with poisons or acid. This combined with alchemical potions the user drinks stimulates the bodys potential and causes their bodies to become stronger. Host has gained knowledge in both creating poison and acid using spells. Chip can now create an appropriate spell module using information provided.]

Staring at the newest notification Savani couldn't help but swallow. Finally he found a way to strengthen his weak body. By complete accident the Shadow League and Earthen Court gave him the keys he needed to start down his path as an apprentice. "Chip start making the spell now! How long will it take to complete?"

[Analyzing. Spell module will take 132 hours 37 minutes and 14 seconds.]

Five and a half days. In only five and a half days Savani could start training his body to a higher realm.