B2 - Chapter 69: Intendant Lancet

Seth drank one of Marcus' Green-Iris Potions and walked out of the Adventurer's Guild, keenly aware of the weight of the new Endless Pouch from Toren on his belt alongside his own. Professor Reat fell into step beside him. It was time to join the others from Trogan Academy and head toward the Warfare Rifts. Even if only ten squads from the hundreds participating would fight today, the entire force was marching—a parade to show their strength.

To Seth, it felt like a colossal waste of time.

The unassigned Wielders could have spent these hours training. But war, Seth was learning, was a show. It was all about intimidation—breaking the enemy's will before the fighting even started. The empire would use this standoff as a stage to flaunt its superiority once again. He could already picture them: clad in gleaming, ornate armor, chuckling amongst themselves as they prepared for the bloodbath.

They would laugh even harder once they saw the squads Kastal was sending in first: Squads 42 through 48 from Trogan Academy. All commoners, half barely having reached Rank-30 and some still in the 20s. It was painfully obvious how the higher-ups were throwing away the cannon fodder to gauge the enemy's strength.

Seth refused to let his squad be slaughtered.

He hadn't risked his life in the Desert of Misery to save Selena just to watch her die meaninglessly in this sham of a ridiculous war. The same went for Henry and Eddin.

No, I won't let that happen, Seth thought, clenching his fists.

He navigated the crowded streets with Professor Reat, reaching the assembly point outside the West Gate a few minutes later. The full contingent of Trogan Academy was already waiting—nearly a thousand students, a chaotic mix of crisp uniforms and mismatched personal armor. The air was thick with tension, faces were grim, and hands fidgeted nervously with weapon hilts.

At the head of the formation stood Director Ryehill, flanked by a half-dozen officers. Intendant Lancet was among them.

Professor Reat nodded in their direction. "Let's go greet that traitor."

Seth looked at him, surprised. "Here? Now?"

"Yeah," Reat answered. "I already briefed Ryehill. He can't execute a Noble without irrefutable proof—the crown would have his head—but we can sure as hell throw her out of the academy. No need to hide that we know. She can guess it by the fact that we are alive."

Seth followed Reat as the man cut a path toward the director. Seth felt the weight of a thousand eyes on them. To his left, he spotted Elena standing with Jenna, Devus, and Brandon. Farther back, Henry, Selena, and the rest of the squad watched in silence.

"Director," Reat said with a respectful nod as they halted before the command group.

"Reat," the Director Ryehill replied, pausing to assess him. "Reaching the Gold Tier at your age... that is a monumental achievement." His gaze shifted to Seth. "And you, young man. You seem determined to shatter every progression record in Kastal."

Seth barely acknowledged the praise. His eyes were locked on Intendant Lancet. She stared back, her polite expression barely concealing the seething anger beneath.

She broke eye contact first and shifted her focus to the Reat. "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Calvin. That is quite the feat."

"It is," Reat replied, flashing a broad, unnatural smile. "It's just a shame it ruined your plans."

"I'm not sure what you mean," the First-Year Intendant replied, feigning confusion, though her knuckles whitened at her sides.

"Let's just say," Reat replied, casually stretching his back, "the lapdogs you sent after us won't be coming home. They made the same mistake you did: they assumed the prey was weak."

"That is a bold accusation," she hissed through clenched teeth. "I hope you have proof."

"You know we don't," Reat said as his grin broadened across his face. "You're too good at covering your tracks for that. But it won't matter. Soon, Veronica, my breakthrough will be the least of your problems."

"Director!" Veronica shrieked, spinning toward Ryehill. "Are you going to stand for this disrespect? You should—"

"Veronica," Ryehill cut her off, his voice flat. "You should return to your House. I don't need 'proof' to strip you of your post, courtesy of the very laws and rules you and the king are so fond of."

Intendant Lancet froze. Her gaze darted from Ryehill's stony, impassive face to Reat's triumphant smile. She opened her mouth to argue, yet the words died in her throat. No excuse, no bold-faced lie about the ambush would work here.

"You think my House will let this slide?" she spat, a vein pulsing in her temple. "We will take this directly to the king, and you and I both know who he'll side with. Your time is over, Ryehill. This academy will finally be purged." She whipped her head toward Seth, her gaze burning with pure venom. "And you. Filth. You should never have been allowed inside these walls."

"You should act fast, then," Seth answered, eyes fixed on her. "Because if you wait too long, someone might get so strong you won't be able to stop them anymore."

"Is that a threat?" she sneered. "From you? You just signed your own death warrant, commoner."

"A threat?" Professor Reat repeated as he placed a hand on his chest in mock surprise. He turned to the director. "Director Ryehill, did you hear a threat?"

Ryehill tapped his chin theatrically. "Hmm? No. I certainly did not." He glanced at the other board members, who suddenly found the dirt on their boots or the distant horizon fascinating, clearly wanting no part of this. "I don't believe anyone heard a threat, Veronica."

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"You—!" Intendant Lancet's face contorted, a flush of purple climbing her neck. Her fists clenched, and the air around her began to crackle with erratic arcs of blue aether.

Almost instantly, a visible wave of heat shimmered around Professor Reat. His faint smile remained, but it no longer reached his eyes. "Please, Veronica," he goaded. "Try it. I'd hate to have to accidentally kill you in self-defense."

She took a half-step forward, coiled to strike, but her gaze flickered to Director Ryehill. He hadn't moved—except for his hand, which now rested lightly on the hilt of the staff strapped to his back.

Seth knew she might have a chance against Reat, who had only just ascended; that wouldn't be the case against someone like the director.

With a choked, furious sound, Veronica spun on her heel and stormed away. "You'll all pay for this," she muttered, the threat trailing behind her like smoke.

Seth watched her retreat, the adrenaline settling into a cold resolve. It was the same driving need he had felt for the past year: to get stronger. Strong enough to crush people like her until they finally understood they weren't above anyone.

"That was the first and the last time I'll tolerate you threatening nobles in my presence," Director Ryehill said, breaking the silence. "And that counts for both of you," he added, his stern gaze shifting from Seth to Reat.

"Understood, sir," Seth said with a stiff nod.

Professor Reat glanced at Seth, then gestured toward Elena, Devus, and Jenna, who had been watching them from a distance. "Go join your friends. We'll be moving soon."

Seth bowed slightly to both men before turning to leave. He'd only taken a few steps when Nightmare's smug voice rippled through his mind.

'Making humans walk away with their tails between their legs seems quite enjoyable. I should give it a try.'

'One day,' Seth answered, fighting to keep the grin off his face.

He reached his friends, and Devus, blunt as ever, spoke up immediately. "What the hell was that? Intendant Lancet looked like she was about to explode."

"She just got removed from the academy."

"What?!" The word came from Seth's roommate, but also Elena, Jenna, and Brandon nearly in unison.

"How?" Jenna asked, her eyes wide.

"Let's just say," Seth said, lowering his voice, "the moment Reat and I left the Rift, we had a... 'welcome party' waiting for us. Courtesy of my favorite House."

"Wait, you got ambushed by House Faertis?" Elena exclaimed, scandalized. "How did you get away? And why didn't you tell me last night?"

"Well... Reat dismantled them. It wasn't pretty. And it was late when I got back. I was going to tell you today."

"What, did they underestimate him and sent a few Irons and a Silver?" Devus asked with a frown.

"No," Seth said, the corner of his mouth ticking up. "There were eight Silvers."

"Eight... Then how the hell did he..." Devus' voice trailed off. His eyes went wide as the pieces clicked into place. "No... He broke through? Reat is Gold?"

Seth just smiled. "Exactly."

"And they didn't know," Devus breathed, a look of awestruck comprehension on his face. "That's incredible! He must be the youngest Gold Wielder in the whole nation!"

Jenna and Elena looked completely stunned. Who could have imagined that their perpetually tired professor was even more of a genius than they had thought?

"It's barely been a few years since he reached Silver," Jenna mumbled, shaking her head. "That speed... It's unheard of. Especially for a commoner. In which Rift were you in?"

"Can't say," Seth answered with a shrug. "But it was a nice place to train, for sure."

Devus's head suddenly snapped toward Seth, his eyes narrowing with another realization. He pointed a finger at Seth's chest. "May I?"

Seth nodded.

Devus' jaw practically hit the ground. "Rank 46! Oh, come on, man!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking. "How the hell did you manage that?" He turned to Jenna, looking defeated. "And here we were, feeling proud of our progress. He just exists to remind us that we aren't geniuses like him."

Seth tensed slightly, bracing for Jenna's usual jealousy. But to his surprise, the woman just let out a short, incredulous laugh before throwing her hands up in surrender.

"That's a fight we can't win, Dev," she said, looking at Seth with a strange sort of acceptance. "You should know that by now."

She's right, you can't, Seth thought, a pang of guilt tightening his chest.

It wasn't a fair comparison. His core and his Legacy gave him a tremendous advantage.

"So, what Rank are you guys at now?" Seth asked.

"Thirty-seven," Jenna answered.

"Thirty-eight," Devus added, his chest swelling with pride.

Seth's eyes widened. "That's fantastic," he said. And he meant it. "You both gained more than a dozen Ranks? Seems like you blew past the Rank-30 wall that held me up for weeks. How?"

"You can thank this knucklehead's sponsor," Jenna answered, jabbing a thumb at Devus. "He paid for a team from your branch—the Champions of Chaos—to take us on an expedition."

"The Champions of Chaos?" Seth repeated.

"Yeah," Jenna said. "And they brought us into a Rift and gave us these... weird Iron potions. Those potions helped us understand aether, letting us progress faster than ever before."

"Don't worry, they weren't enhancers," Devus added quickly, seeming to guess Seth's thoughts. "No backlash. It... it just helped me feel my Light affinity, you know? Like I was melting into the ground."

Seth froze. Clarity Potions.

It had to be a weakened version of what Marcus had given Orwen for protection. Seth still remembered how the Champions had reacted to the high-grade stuff; even a lower-Tier variant would be worth a fortune. Add the cost of hiring Champions and the numbers made even less sense. Devus' sponsor had haggled over silver coins for spell-scrolls. The mysterious man wouldn't—likely couldn't—drop this kind of money.

Seth turned his head, his gaze finding Professor Reat in the distance. The man, as if feeling the weight of his stare, gave him a brief, almost imperceptible nod.

Marcus, Seth realized.

The Alchemist had either asked the Champions to do this, or they'd done it as a favor to Seth. To make his friends stronger, so he wouldn't have to carry them and they wouldn't be liabilities.

Seth turned to Elena. "Did you go with them?"

"Only for two weeks," she replied with a smile.

"And you didn't tell me?" Seth said, arching an eyebrow. "See? I'm not the only one keeping secrets."

"We asked her not to!" Devus cut in as he puffed out his chest. "We wanted to surprise you—thought we could finally catch up or maybe even pass you. But no. As always, you make it impossible."

Jenna and Elena laughed as Devus feigned a sorrowful expression. Seth couldn't help but smile. Even if they hadn't caught him, this kind of progress was massive. It dramatically increased their chances of survival—especially since none of them were in the first wave of fodder squads the king was sending in, aside from him.

Seth was the only one of them stepping into the Warfare Rifts today.

Before he could say anything, Director Ryehill clapped his hands; the sound, amplified by aether, cut through the students' chatter.

"Alright, everyone! To your squads! We march for the Warfare Rifts!"

The crowd quieted as the man continued, his voice booming: "Remember who you are! From now on, you are soldiers of Kastal! Keep your chins up, show them your strength! Today, we go to war! Today, we show the empire that we are not the weak nation they think we are!"

A roar erupted from the students, Devus, Jenna, and Elena cheering with them.

Seth, however, remained silent.

He looked at the sea of faces around him. Even with his squad to protect, even with his new deal with Marshal Vancaws, he couldn't bring himself to feel an ounce of their patriotism. Not with the nation's current leader.

The mass of students began to move, and Seth gave his friends a final, solemn nod before heading toward his squad.