After we had fun on our free day, we went to attend the award ceremony. It was held in the city’s largest arena, which served as an auditorium for the event. Tens of thousands of citizens attended, having been promised explanations for the chaos of the earlier week.
The man in the center of the event was Councillor Gebal, who did most of the talking and told our story, subtly embellishing his own role in the matter. The five of us were offered a ‘Hero of Tyr’ medal, the highest honor the nation could bestow upon any individual, as well as a sum of 5000 platinum shekels each.
The nation of trade and seafaring was happy to prove that it wasn’t cheap.
With Jezibel in particular seemingly excited at the monetary reward, the awards did not end there. Nico, Nisos, and Ati were offered citizenship and knighthood, while Jezibel was only granted a knighthood since she was already a citizen. I wasn’t offered either since I was a dragon, and an attempt to do that would have opened a can of worms they did not even want to come close to. Besides the money and the medal, there wasn’t anything else that a human nation could offer a dragon, so I ended up getting nothing beyond that.
Nisos refused his second reward, since accepting a citizenship or a peerage, and a foreign one to Ionia at that, would disqualify him from being chosen as Syressa’s champion. Ati and Nico also refused to be granted a Tyrian peerage or citizenship due to Tamery’s policy of aggressively monopolizing both for its own people – not to mention that Nico was already a noble herself. Had Ati accepted their offer, he would have been stripped of his Tameryian citizenship and forbidden from re-entering the country, which was a consequence he could not tolerate due to his remaining ties to it. As the chosen champion of the goddess responsible for that policy, it was obvious why Nico refused the reward as well.
In the end, the ceremony ended without incident, and we all took our awarded money straight to the bank. From there, we boarded a ship to the Serpent’s Throat to pick up our leftover luggage, and more importantly, the maiden. During the trip, we began discussing the evolution and advancement options we got, with Nico and I having decided to hold off on them until we could get opinions from Lady Mett and my mother, respectively.
Ati evolved into a mythic rank C [Supersonic Thunderclap], shooting up two rarities and doubling down even further on speed, making him by far the fastest member of the party. He chose the legendary rarity [Sonic Bombardier] class for his level 100 advancement, trading the arrow barrages he had been using for area-of-effect attacks. On top of moving into the sound branch of wind magic, the class will also grant him defense-piercing attacks and a few skills associated with the powerful support spells associated with sound magic.
Nisos, meanwhile, evolved into the mythic rank C [Polymorphic Enhancer]. This evolution grants him racial traits that transfer, enhance, or weaken attributes belonging to himself, friends, and foes. He could also copy a few racial traits to keep at a time, until he wished to replace or dismiss them. This evolution revolved around the blood branch of the water attribute, particularly around body enhancement magic. The change Nisos was happiest with was that he could copy Ati’s new wings, finally earning his ability to fly – and with a significant portion of the boy’s speed as well.
His level 100 class advancement was the legendary rarity [Indomitable Aegis], which let him forcefully grab his enemy’s attention and redirect their attacks, vastly improves on his defensive capabilities, and lets him counterattack with force based on how much damage he’s blocked.
Jezibel evolved into the mythic rank [Chimera Human], which grants her the ability to merge with multiple tamed monsters at the same time, mixing and matching inherited attributes and racial traits as she wished.
Simple, but incredibly powerful.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Her level 100 class advancement was the legendary rarity [Weaver of Contracts], which expands on the contracts binding Jezibel and her beasts, as well as pushing their power to new heights, to the point where they might be able to fight a monster of a superior rank on their own. It also grants her the ability to forge new contracts with people, with the ability to soul bind consequences for breaching the contract and compulsions to obey it.
It seems frightening to me, but I suppose that kind of class suits her personality and purposes.
In any case, we arrived at the Serpent’s Throat and went to the adventurer’s guild in The Town, where we picked up my other pile of clothes and the maiden, then we used it to fly back to the academy.
***
“To be honest, I am not sure what I expected, but the five of you have gone far beyond what I’d asked of you.” Instructor Adelphius said as he held the bridge of his nose.
“While I must praise your courage and selflessness in saving an entire city, I also cannot approve of your dangerous attempt to handle things rashly. Since you are all minors, I will be writing letters to your legal guardians about this. Hopefully, you’ll prize your own lives a little more after a thorough scolding, though I doubt it’ll get through to the kind of people who'd pull off a stunt like that anyway.”
I groaned at that, and Nisos began to sweat buckets, but the other three seemed unperturbed.
“In any case, you’ve completed the assignment that you were given. The five of you have passed the second term and have graduated from the House of Aspirants. Party #12 is hereby disbanded.” He declared, stamping five documents and handing them out to each of us.
***
After leaving the instructor’s office, we sat down at a table.
“Well, what are you guys going to do now?” I asked.
The others looked to each other before they answered.
“I am going to try and enter the Hall of the Elites. I still think I would benefit from the advanced classes they offer, and I should be able to handle anything they throw at me in the exam. I still have a long way to go if I want to be the champion of Syressa.” Nisos said.
Nico spoke up after him.
“I am going back to Tamery. Being revived from the dead has crippled me, with my status showing that I’ll recover from the revival fully in a year. In the meantime, I’ll be going home so that I can finish the training necessary to take on the duties my family has prepared for me. I am first and foremost a noble, and attending the academy was always a mere stepping stone for me. I may come back to attend a few classes at the Hall of the Elites, in the future, but it won’t be any time soon.” she commented.
Ati went after her.
“I am leaving the academy. I can always come back for the Hall of the Elites if they offer something I particularly need, but there are things that I must get to doing. After spending time with you, I’ve learned how to quickly advance in power. That should aid me in my endeavors without the academy’s help.”
Last was Jezibel.
“The past few weeks were more than enough excitement for me. I am going to follow Nicotris to Tamery to meet with my family, settle down, and enjoy the newfound wealth I found myself in. After some time, I might pick up adventuring again or attend the Hall of the Elites, but that’s a problem for future me. But what about you, Kiara?”
“Well, I already passed the exam for the Hall of the Elites, so I’ll be taking advantage of it now that the headmaster’s restrictions for me are going to be lifted. I also need to go and see mom, since she’ll probably want me to report the past events to her. I’ll also start learning how to use magic properly, instead of using two basic spells. I’ve let my universal magic aptitude go unexploited for far too long.” I lamented.
“Wait a minute, what do you mean you already passed the Hall of the Elites exam?! We just barely came back!” Jezibel asked incredulously.
***
This time, the rest of the group was left exasperated.
“I know you’ve been more powerful than the rest of the class, but to think you coming here was because of the headmaster’s meaningless whims…” Jezibel said.
“I think what she did had merit. I am sure Kiara learned a lot, and so have we.” Nisos said in defense of the sadistic woman.
Oh, if only you knew who you were defending, Nisos.
“As much as I hate to say it, I am glad she did that. Getting to know you guys was definitely worth it, and that wouldn’t have happened without her intervention.” I said.
“In any case, while we might be splitting up, make sure to stay in touch you guys. I am never going to forget any of you, no matter how far apart we may be!” Nisos said with a smile, though Jezibel cringed.
“How can you say things like that with a straight face?”
We laughed then exchanged hugs, before we each went our separate ways.