Upon hearing my pledge, a victorious smile crosses Sagaryn’s face—pride in his successful recruitment of another talent evident. He acknowledges my bow with a small nod and reaches into his desk, pulling out a medium-sized crystal orb, deep purple in color with silver threads of mana flowing through it.

  Holding the orb out, Sagaryn beams with pride. “This is the registry for our sect. Once you tap your Status Card against it, you will be registered as a direct disciple and receive your first stipend of merit points. For the rest of your benefits, we will need to wait for you to be cleared for practice again. How long did Doctor Trevi tell you to recover for?”

  I pull out my Status Card and quickly tap it against the orb; the contact registers with a quick flash of the silver threads. A purple dot with a single silver thread appears in the corner of my card. I am about to tell Sagaryn how long Trevi told me to rest for, but my attention is drawn to one of my skills. I figured my fight with the minotaur would have helped me progress a little, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was seeing on my card. Where Meditation was before under my skills, now stood Petal Dance, sitting at the first level. During my battle with the minotaur, I fell into a meditative combat state, which is a prerequisite for unlocking the skill, but I wasn’t expecting to level Meditation three times through that single instance. I scour the rest of my card to see if I can spot any other changes since the battle, and I drop my Status Card in a state of shock. My class progression… I jumped up to Mid Tier One during that battle. Based on Sagaryn’s projection, it should have taken me almost three months to reach that stage with all of The School’s resources.

  NAME: CAMDEN DARJEAN

  AGE: 20

  CLASS: TEA SAGE’S APPRENTICE

  PROGRESSION: MID TIER ONE

  AFFINITIES:

  MAJOR-WATER

  MINOR-EARTH AND WIND

  INHERITANCES: BREATH OF THE PETAL

  SKILLS:

  TEA SERVICE LEVEL 1

  TEA CONNOISSEUR LEVEL 3

  PETAL DANCE LEVEL 1

  SAGE’S APPRENTICE LEVEL 1

  I pick up my card and shakily hand it over to Mallorc to look at. He takes the card hesitantly and studies it for a moment before he breaks into a loud guffaw. The joy in his laugh cuts the tension that has been building ever since the Devils Incursion. Between his laughter-induced body shakes, he tosses the Status Card over to Sagaryn, who has been watching the scene with confusion. After a moment, Sagaryn also lets out a deep laugh.

  “Well, I already thought I was getting an elite new disciple, but I didn’t realize you would progress so quickly. I will make a quick addendum to our original agreement, with the change being in your favor. If you are able to reach High Tier One within the three months originally projected for you to reach Mid Tier One, then I will raise your monthly spirit herb allowance to two. Mallorc will attest to how useful these herbs are… especially for your class.”

  I nod my head, seeing no reason to argue with better benefits at no extra cost to me. “Alright. Doctor Trevi told me I need to rest for forty-eight hours before I begin practicing or using my mana at all. Do I get access to sleeping quarters, or do I need to rent a space?”

  Sagaryn shakes his head. “You will get used to the amount of benefits this sect offers. You will, of course, get sleeping quarters and a private pavilion for training, since you are a direct disciple. I will call someone to lead you to the ninth pavilion. Please rest for the next few days, and I will have someone pick you up on the third day of your recovery to start your training.”

  He picks up a small talisman, which glows red for a second. Not even a minute later, a young man wearing pure white robes knocks and opens the door without awaiting a response. He bows to all of us before waiting with his arms folded behind his back, awaiting orders.

  Sagaryn tosses a small token to him. “Dross, please take our newest disciple to the ninth pavilion. Assist him if he needs anything. You will be his direct assistant for the time being.”

  Dross bows again before turning his attention to me. “Young Master, if you would please follow me. I will guide you to your residence.”

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  Without waiting for a response, he bows to Sagaryn and Mallorc and leaves the room in a hurry. I bow quickly to my masters, new and old, before following Dross out of the labyrinth of books. We walk for a few minutes in absolute silence before I break it.

  “Dross, thank you for leading me to the pavilion. Going forward, please feel free to refer to me as Camden or Cam, since we are both disciples of the sect.”

  Dross says nothing for a few seconds, continuing his pace as if he didn’t hear me. Just before I can ask if he heard me, he clears his throat. “While I appreciate the sentiment, I am not a disciple of The School. I was saved from monsters while some disciples were on a mission. Everyone in my family and my village was killed during a monster wave, and I asked to be brought back to serve the sect as thanks.” He pauses for a second before continuing. “If it is okay with you, I will refer to you as Camden while in the residence, and Young Master as we move around the town or in the presence of other sect members.”

  I nod thoughtfully. We continue the rest of our journey in silence and arrive a few minutes later at a plain rock face with an elaborate nine carved into its surface. Dross hands me the token Sagaryn tossed to him. “Camden, this is your key to the pavilion. Just tap it against the carving and the door will open to your space. Only you and the elders have tokens that can open this pavilion, so you won’t be disturbed if you are in crucial periods of seclusion or training.”

  I approach the wall, token in hand—all of this still feels surreal, coming from my previous life as a tea shop attendant. Now, I am a direct disciple in an apparently powerful and reclusive sect, being left by the only master I’ve ever known so he can go off and fight a deadly war against devils. The guilt of leaving him causes my resolve to waver for just a second. I need to get stronger so I can join him on the battlefield as soon as possible. I need to remember to ask Dross to bring Mallorc by the pavilion before he leaves the sect.

  I reach out and touch the token to the beautiful carving in the wall; the moment it touches, the wall slides away, revealing a wide opening in the cavern. The surrounding rock has been cut away and smoothed with deliberate restraint to preserve the cavern’s natural character. From the entrance, the space seems austere and serious—but the feeling it evokes in me is a quiet luxury hidden behind its rocky face.

  A granite walkway extends from the main entrance. Subtle runes are etched into the stone, glimmering faintly as we walk along the path. Inside, the pavilion opens into a spacious central courtyard with an empty garden on one side of the walkway and a simple, unadorned pond on the other. The garden will go mostly unused; I have no true intention of facilitating the growth of herbs, but the pond holds promise in the further development of my class. Once my tour is finished, I should talk to Dross about planting some lotuses in the pond. I still don’t know why, but the plant is so closely tied to the cultivation of my path.

  On the other side of the courtyard, the path leads into a spacious central hall with empty bookshelves lining the walls, slow-drifting motes of mana filling the room with light. The living quarters branch off to one side, the room sparse in decoration. A low stone platform serves as the bed, layered with fabrics woven from special fibers retaining mana in the material. Another branch of the central hall leads to a small alcove with a meditation dais crafted from a softly glowing crystal. The alcove glows with rich light radiating from a vein of mana-rich minerals. The air of the hall carries the cool scent of damp stone.

  The deepest part of the central hall leads to a large reinforced chamber. The walls are lined with training dummies, weights, and dulled weapons. The walls are layered in complex runes, and the mana in this room feels heavy—clearly meant for training resilience and stamina. I know I will spend a lot of time in this room, forging Breath of the Petal to be the Inheritance I know it can be.

  My new pavilion is a testament to the resources The School is willing to invest in me and my training. To reside here is to be acknowledged as someone whose path might one day change the world.

  I come to a stop in the middle of the central hall—the tour has come to a clear end. I take in my surroundings, amazed at the space that will be my home for the next stage of my life. I slowly become aware that Dross is no longer next to me; he must have walked off at some point during the tour. I walk toward the pond, with the plan to meditate by the water throughout my mandatory resting period. I will follow Doctor Trevi’s advice not to use my mana at all, but I want to consolidate my gains and reflect on the sudden growth earned through my deadly battle.

  Before I exit the hall into the courtyard, Dross’s voice calls from the living quarters. He extends a set of white robes with purple trim. “Young Ma—” He stops, catching himself in the mistake. “Camden, please put on the sect robes. These are a clear indication of your status in The School and will prevent any unfortunate misunderstandings with other disciples.”

  I chuckle internally, thinking back on the interaction with Virelle a few days ago. Now that I think about it, these robes match hers, meaning she must also be a direct disciple. I wonder why she was working at a skewer stall, then. I thank Dross and inform him not to bother me during my meditation until dinnertime. I sit by the water, watching it gently lap against the cold rock surface, and reflect on how much my life has changed over the last few days.

  Hours pass, and I shake myself from my meditation when Dross comes out with a plate of simple cuts of meat and vegetables. He also comes bearing a very fragrant teapot, matching the quality of some of Mallorc’s best mana blends. Compared to the minotaur trial, I quite like this side of the sect. My experience so far tells me that great challenges and risks go hand in hand with greater rewards.

  It feels wrong in some ways, though—how easy the peace comes after blood.