Chapter 57: Great motivation.

Chapter 57: Great motivation.

I looked at Rashid questioningly.

How did they find out so fast? I only intended to reveal my affinity for the tournament itself!

It was inevitable, wasnt it? You started traveling with young Cerion not too long ago. Of course, they would be interested in you. The guild stalled their movements for as long as possible, but the nature of investigative classes makes it so that there are no true secrets among those of the lower tier. I recommend tiering up and getting some skills to intervene with information gathering eventually, most tier 5s and 6s have one or two of those on their status page.

I sighed. This wasnt how I had expected things to go. Losing control over the narrative was a disadvantage, though not an unsalvageable one.

How are the reactions to this reveal?

Reactions? Well, Im not sure. Its not like the other factions will share their thoughts with us.

No, I mean like the church. Dont they hate people with my affinity even more than our guild?

Dont worry about them, I cleared up your situation when you first joined. By now, most of those old bastards have recovered from their aneurysm.

I sputtered.

I, uh dont believe its a good idea to address them like that, elder.

Hah! Ill address them how I like! Now, onto more pleasant matters. I heard you broke your sword on a quest recently?

Yes, I did, though Im not sure why you would describe that as a pleasant matter I was going to order a new one from the guilds own blacksmiths after this meeting., I said snarkily.

Elder Rashid stood up excitedly and started waving his hands around like the salespeople I was used to seeing in Reito.

Because I have just the solution for you! For the small price of indentured servitude to the guild, I will provide you with this!, he said, pulling out a small wooden stick, the length of my palm.

I sighed and decided to humor him, thinking I could get this over with more quickly if I went along with his eccentricities.

What is it, Elder?, I said, tiredly.nove(l)bi(n.)com

A sharpened pencil! Not the item I was going to offer you, however. Hold on, I should have it laying around here somewhere.

He turned back to his chest from earlier and chucked the pencil inside, kneeling to rummage through it again. He pulled out item after item and threw them behind him. A dagger, a candle, a book, an oven mitt and even the pencil he had chucked in just a moment earlier.

Eventually, he ducked down and started to pull something out of the small chest, which I was now convinced was a spatial item. There was simply no way to store a dinner table in a 30 by 40-centimeter chest. He slowly pulled his hand out of the chest, revealing the pommel of a sword handle. As he pulled out the rest of the item, the sword attached to the handle became fully visible. It was a greatsword.

It was larger and longer than my previous sword, though not as long as a zweihander, for example. It was completely black, with an ornate handle and 3 black gems studded on the extremities of the pommel and guard.

He presented it to me with both hands, giving me a view of the sword in its full glory.

Rashid gave me a shit-eating grin. He knew I wouldnt be able to resist a weapon like this.

So about that indentured servitude how long were you thinking?

The elder burst out laughing and pushed the sword in my hand.

That was just a joke! Im lending you this weapon. If you do well and reach the finals in the singles tournament, you can keep it.

But this is a dark-aligned sword! You cant use it anyway!, I protested.

It went well. Here, Rashid gave me this list with a short description of all the seeded participants.

Thanks, but I dont need it. My fathers attendant already gave me one when we were in Reito.

I stared at him enviously.

And you didnt think to share it with me?, I asked him in an accusatory tone.

I was pretty sure the guild would give you one anyway, not to mention that you would have just worried to much about the addition of your own name., he said, as he played a 10, the highest card in the card-game maniles, which he had kept hidden until the end of the hand.

I looked at Doran angrily, who had only lost a 7 to Cerions play.

Youre counting cards, arent you?, I accused him.

Hypothetically, if I was counting cards, it would not be an infraction on the rules of maniles. Hypothetically, of course., he countered. Cerion laughed at his response, while Michael laughed along, not really knowing what was so funny.

I scoffed and put the cards down in frustration.

You guys have fun, I still need to read something. Elder Rashid gave me a letter earlier. Its probably from my uncle.

I walked over to one of the doors that separated the bedrooms from the living room of our little apartment.

Let me know if we got the dungeon, yeah? I havent heard back from my dad., Cerion shouted after me.

Sure thing!, I replied.

This was the big reveal. Hopefully, we got a proper leveling spot.

Slightly nervous, I sat on the bed and opened the envelope, pulling out the letter.

Dear Arthur

It is good to finally hear from you. When you didnt contact me after your awakening, I figured you had received a class that wasnt much use in battle and decided to take over your parents bakery, which would have been an honorable occupation regardless.

I am happy to hear that your wish for a powerful class was fulfilled, albeit with some complications. Had you contacted me and shared your troubles, I probably could have used my connections to get you admitted to the Royal academy anyway, but I must admit that your recent political manoeuvres have made your position in the kingdom much more stable. The difference between one and three separate tier 6 class holders as backing is large, after all, especially in a country that only has eleven tier 6s in the first place.

Despite this, I feel like I disappointed you. I should have told you of my position within the Royal faction earlier. Your parents didnt want me to involve you in politics without your consent, which was why you had to hear about it from outside sources. I am sorry. I failed in my duties as your uncle. I hope we can meet in the future to clear up matters between us.

On another matter, both Duke Rass and Elder Rashid of the witch hunters guild have contacted me about gaining access to a tier 3 dungeon for you and Cerion, to get a few more levels. I have brought this matter to the kings attention, who has agreed as a measure to strengthen the budding alliance between our different factions. He has deigned to grant you access to the tier 3 [City of tears] dungeon, located on the outskirts of the capital, near the military base.

Tomorrow morning, some of my subordinates will come to pick you and Cerion Rass up and escort you to the dungeon. To reach level 50, I believe it is within your best interest to pack camping gear and to stay in the dungeon for the duration of one week, until the tournament starts. I hope to meet you after your dungeon run.

Best regards,

Captain of the Royal Guard, Royal Savior, your uncle,

Robart

I jumped upright in excitement and called out to Cerion.

We got it! We got the dungeon!