13th of Season of Water, 57th year of the 32nd cycle
Newt and his teammates were checking available missions at the Chamber of Instruction. Outer students and workers had a considerably more diverse spectrum of missions, ranging from ones as basic as cleaning to those requiring advanced skills assisting master artisans.
Inner students had monotonous, militant jobs. Harvesting resources in dangerous areas controlled by the order, helping their vassals or subordinate forces handle manabeast infestations, and finally, the one that attracted Newt the most, harvesting resources from the four wealds.
There were dozens of them, but a specific mission caught Newt's eye - gathering eldenroot at the Raptor Mountain in Summersweald. When he saw it, Newt grinned. Thanks to his now existing knowledge of geography, he knew that the airship heading for the Raptor Mountain would pass close to the Salamandra clan's clanhold, and the mountain itself was relatively close. He could take the opportunity to visit his home, and more importantly, he could visit Magmin's realm. While his realm had barely grown a layer, Newt's combat ability exploded to a whole new level.
He had refined his techniques, gained some danger sense proficiency, learned enough about spell seals to feel confident about using them in life and death combat, and his physical prowess equaled that of peak fourth realm combatants. Third realm Magmin stood no chance.
"Why are you smiling? Did you see something interesting?" Roselilly asked. Over the course of the moons since the mission, the woman had become like Newt's protective big sister. It was a strange feeling. From an only child, he had grown to have a lot of siblings.
Newt's smile grew warmer at the thought.
"Yeah. The Raptor Mountain mission, the mission itself seems annoyingly simple, but I could visit my family if we go there." Newt paused. "You guys are welcome to visit. The place has nothing compared to Explorer's Gate, but it's home, and my clan will treat you right."
The other three exchanged glances before nodding.
"We can take that one." Roselilly smiled, and Newt inclined his head in gratitude.
"It says the airship is departing the day after tomorrow, and it's scheduled to return a moon later. We will miss the New Year festival, but that's fine; it's mostly for the outer students and workers, anyway. How far is your clan from the Raptor Mountain?"
Newt closed his eyes, calling to mind the regional map of Summersweald near his home. "Around two and a half days of running, three if we take it easy, two if we push ourselves." Newt realized his request was rude, so he hurried to add, "I'll buy stamina recovery and minor healing potions for everyone. That way, we won't even notice the run."
That was a lie. The run would still waste four to six days of everyone's time, time they could have spent hunting for manabeasts in the somewhat deeper parts of the Savage Wood, but Newt would make it up to his team some other way.
Obi and Roselilly nodded while Jasmine grunted in agreement, warming Newt's heart. He had to make sure nothing happened to them while they explored the Raptor Mountain. In mere moons they had spent together, the three of them had grown closer to him than just about anyone back home. It was funny how he considered them peers of the same generation as himself, when Jasmine and Obi were closer in age to his parents than him.
Newt led the way to the main desk, where he gave his and his teammates' names, as well as their chosen mission. The outer student manning the station checked a sheet of paper before lifting her gaze back up to meet Newt's.
"You may take this mission. Your master has left a note that you must return from your mission at least three days before the elite trials, and your airship is scheduled to arrive ten whole days before the trials."
The news came as a surprise. Newt had no idea his master had planned to promote him to an elite so soon after he had arrived at the order. He thanked the receptionist and turned around to face his friends.
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"What are the elite trials?"
"For you, they would be combat trials." Roselilly said. "The three strongest inner students get to challenge the three weakest elites in one-on-one matches. There are thirty combat-oriented elites, and the rest reach the status through special skills like forging, healing, beast-taming, and such. You can also become an elite by reaching the fourth realm before turning fifty. In that case, the order treats you like a future champion and grooms you, since you've already reached the same realm as the weakest seniors of the order, the worker overseers."
Roselilly continued explaining, and Newt listened. He rarely sparred with others anymore, mostly with Lady Alabaster's wards, and his fights were with the fourth realmers. Ever since pummeling Goodair and pinning her to the ground, their master said he should avoid fighting third realmers, to avoid holding back and dulling his combat ability.
Naturally, Newt often lost. His techniques were inferior. Despite having a stronger body and mana well ahead of his realm, his control and the speed of his mind lagged a large step behind his opponents. With his body matching his opponents', Newt's advantage was his danger sense, thanks to which he snatched victories whenever he shrank the distance enough to use his glaive.
***
"How is he doing?" the gatemaster asked as soon as Alabaster caught sight of him. The man was sitting on the porch of his humble home, his eyes closed one moment, open the next without bothering to go through the motions, or possibly moving so fast that she failed to perceive it.
"Remarkably well, given that he has free rein of his education outside my and Flameax's lessons. He inquired about what it would take to find someone skilled to instruct him in the way of the spear and the glaive the other day. He also asked about the prices of different grades of teachers, which is funny. Apparently, he wants to use the Chamber of Instruction to issue a mission for our skilled weapon-users."
An amused smirk danced at the corners of the gatemaster's lips. Alabaster suppressed a similar reaction when Newt asked about weapon masters.
"It's good that he doesn't want to owe us more and that he doesn't take our or the order's help for granted. Go through the appropriate channels. I'm certain several outer members are very skilled with the spear. Tell them their student is a shoo-in elite for the next selection." The gatemaster paused. "Never mind; by the time he receives his first lesson, he'll already be an elite, and instructors will throw themselves at his feet."
The statement confused Alabaster, but she waited patiently for an explanation, which the gatemaster provided a few moments later.
"He just selected a mission in the Summersweald, a moderately lengthy one, near his hometown." The man frowned. "Strange, he didn't seem like a sentimental type to me. Especially given his history."
"He received a letter from his mother some time ago. It could be because of that?" Alabaster offered, simultaneously checking whether the gatemaster had respected her ward's privacy.
"Perhaps." He shrugged, revealing nothing before changing the subject. "The region is extremely tame, but I would like Champion Flameax to accompany the mission along with the standard team of guardians. I might be imagining it, but Newstar certainly attracts trouble and tribulation, and Summersweald is outside my direct sphere of influence."
Alabaster hesitated, but voiced her thoughts. "Protecting and pampering students spoils them. You may save their lives, but they will kill themselves eventually, wasting more resources in the process."
Gatemaster Greenthorn nodded, not showing a hint of impatience or reproach. "I'm not saying we keep him sheltered. What challenges come his way, he and his team will have to face without aid. Champion Flameax will stay far away, deeper into the Summersweald, suppressing his aura, ready for the inevitable moment when a fifth or sixth realm manabeast decides to leave the depths and take a stroll in the outer region just because Newstar is there and needs a new tribulation."
The man looked into the jungle, towards the Summersweald, as if seeing it. For all Alabaster knew, he might have actually been observing the distant jungle.
"But that's less important right now. You need to prepare your ward for the Sage's Realm tournament. We have twenty-three more years, well, twenty-two with the New Year upon us. I will open three ancestral secret realms to our elites as a means of testing their ability and as a reward for the ones working the hardest. We will nurture the third and fourth realm students who perform the best to go to the Sage's Realm tournament."
The gatemaster stood still. "Nobody outstanding in the second realm, but if anyone shines brightly, they will get a chance, but I doubt any would establish a solid enough foothold in the fourth realm to participate. Not in mere twenty years."
Alabaster wondered which secret realms their leader had in mind. The Explorer's Gate controlled around two dozen, each with its own benefits.
"The Tower of Suffering, the Soul Waterfall, and the Wander's Forest," the gatemaster answered the unasked question, and Alabaster wondered, not for the first time, whether the man could in fact read her thoughts.
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