*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*
Bells tolled across the academy, their clear chime rolling through the stone corridors like a call to arms rather than to class. The echoes mingled with the murmur of students, boots scuffing marble floors polished smooth by centuries of footsteps.
Orric and Aris walked side by side, their uniforms still faintly marked with the stains of dungeon soot and healing salve. The corridors smelled faintly of incense and iron — a mix of prayer and battle.
"Aris, why are humans also looking at you like fae do?" Orric asked.
"I kind of broke up with them."
"Not wise. You can't make two factions your enemy."
"I know, I know. I am not an idiot but they started it."
They sat in the class. The lecture hall was half-empty, benches scattered with students who bore the marks of their recent trials. Some looked happy, faces flushed with pride and relief. Others were injured, bandages wrapped around arms and heads, poultices pressed to bruised ribs. Two students weren't present. Their seats remained empty, a silent testament to failure or worse.
Teacher Maezana Silvermeadow congratulated the passers of dungeon two. She stood at the front of the hall, her halfling frame small but commanding, robes of silver and white catching the light from high windows. She explained this year's students were now down to ninety-two.
Then she started explaining the next three months would be both evaluation and preparation for the third dungeon.
"The evaluation will be conducted by placing you into rankings. As you know, you now have to divide whether you take the priest route or the templar route. Those who wish to be scribes have to take priest classes. Those who wish to be inquisitors have to take templar classes. Diverging into edge professions will be tied to your work."
She paused, letting the information sink in.
"As for power ranking, regardless of your choosing, you will all face each other in duels and get points based on your victories. The first thirty students have a chance of picking anyone below first thirty. That way the strong cannot form strong parties."
Murmurs rippled through the class. Some students exchanged worried glances. Others leaned forward with interest.
"The third dungeon requires three people and you can use potions along with your weapons," Maezana continued.
Halfling Nevyre raised her hand. "Priest Silvermeadow, if we are down to ninety-two, one party will be two then?"
She waved it off. "Don't worry about that. Just study and work hard. You will be in good parties."
Priest Maezana showed which classes would now provide templar training and which would be for priests. The list appeared on a chalkboard behind her, names of instructors and course schedules written in neat script.
Aris was in deep thought. Orric was strong enough to get in the top thirty. But if he worked hard and entered the top thirty, that meant separating and entering an unknown party. But giving up the top thirty was out of the question.
"I guess we'll be in different classes tomorrow. I gave my word not to kick your ass hard when we face each other," Orric said with a teasing grin.
Aris was in deep thought. He didn't give an answer to the teasing.
"Hey, don't worry man. You'll be alright," Orric said, more seriously.
"No, not that. I think I'll take Templar Classes. And later become an Inquisitor."
Orric's eyes widened. "You know what they do, right? I don't mean to offend but you don't have the stomach to become an Inquisitor."
"We'll see." Aris didn't want to serve Chalice as an Inquisitor but their spell variations intrigued him. And he wanted to learn as much as possible before his eventual escape from this cult of a school.
"You're always surprising, man."
Maezana spoke again. "Before you go, consider that with the sheer amount of matches, every other day you'll face nearly four opponents. Stock up on recovery potions, both healing and stamina."
"I don't have money for that," Orric muttered.
"Same," Aris agreed.
Aris made a plan. After the classes he went to the woods behind the academy, hoping to find creatures to gather XP. Since he now had ways of transferring XP to the stone and receiving it back even for a day, that meant he didn't have time to slack off. Every quiet day was eating levels from the future.
Fox was walking beside him but at last protested. "What the heck are we looking for?"
Aris spotted a rat and sent light missiles to hit but missed the running creature.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Fox asked.
"I am looking for creatures nearby to get XP."
"From rats?"
"I am looking for other things but these woods are pretty sterile."
"Yeah, no shit. It's almost inside the city."
"Then how am I gonna get XP? Should I leave the academy? But then where am I gonna capture echoes?"
"Kid, didn't you make potions with Master Nebu?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I mean those should give XP, right?"
"Do they? I mean I already have the title. I could try."
That afternoon Aris gathered every herb he remembered working with Master Nebu. The woods behind the academy, though sparse of monsters, held a surprising variety of plants. He knelt in the dirt, fingers working through soil and roots, plucking stems and leaves with care.
"These are for minor healing, this and this can cure disease. These can make poison. This is for minor explosives," he muttered to himself, sorting them into piles.
"Stat potion," Aris said suddenly.
"What?" Fox asked.
"Remember at the initiation ceremony Lyra gave me a stat potion? I wonder, can I make that?"
Fox tilted his head, ears perked forward. "That would be something. But aren't those rare? I mean, if you could just brew stat potions, everyone would do it."
"Yeah, but maybe there's a recipe somewhere. Or maybe Nebu knows." Aris stood, brushing dirt from his knees. His pack was heavy with gathered herbs, stems poking out at odd angles. "I'll ask Lyra when she's not being watched."
They headed back toward the academy as the false sun began to dip toward the horizon, painting the sky in artificial oranges and reds. Aris's mind churned with possibilities. Duels, potions, XP grinding, the witness stone, spell combinations. So many paths forward, so many ways to grow stronger.
But first, he needed to survive the ranking battles. And for that, he needed every advantage he could scrape together.