Chapter 202

Upon closer inspection, the building was in quite good shape. The stone wasn’t brand new, but there weren’t any large signs of damage and the glass windows were quite clean. Even the hedges were maintained properly.

However, as they walked toward the front door they were intercepted by two unknown assailants.

“Hey, Elder Han, who’s the kid?” A brat with red hair and dirt all over his face asked.

“Shut up, Landon. Ever since you turned ten you have been calling everyone kid, as if you aren’t a kid yourself,” another kid that was following behind who was similarly covered in dirt but had black hair.

“Yeah, so what?”

“Then stop calling people older than you ‘kid’, it’s weird,” the black-haired boy told Landon.

“You’re weird!”

“Yeah, but you’re more weird!”

An argument quickly started and the old man, who was supposedly named Elder Han just sighed and massaged his forehead.

“Landon, Abel, stop yelling at each other. You guys better go get cleaned up before Sister Cathy gets mad at you two for being late.”

That seemed to scare the boys into compliance. The moment the name Cathy came out, the two of them stopped immediately and ran off to get cleaned. As they were sprinting, the red-haired boy tripped the other boy and ran away with a giggle.

Julius observed Elder Han smile as the old man watched the two boys run away.

“Kids will be kids,” the old man finally said.

Julius just grunted in agreement as the two of them calmly walked toward the building.

“Who are you really?” Julius asked curiously.

Unlike the last time, the old man actually gave him a serious glance. “Just an old man trying to find some purpose in these old bones before I kick the bucket.”

“And before that?”

The old man shook his head. “Not important anymore.”

Julius was about to press more but withheld his curiosity. The man obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and Julius could respect that.

“Do you run this orphanage?” Julius asked, changing the subject.

Elder Han nodded. “Partly. I have plenty of help and each one is as vital to the upkeep of the orphanage as I am.”

They paused as a group of small little girls ran by in a hurry. Probably scared of Sister Cathy like those two boys were. 

Once they were out of earshot, he asked the old, “How did you know about the guards?”

“In a town like this, it’s more difficult not to notice anything out of the ordinary,” the old man said cryptically.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that you don’t often see two Tier 2 kids exuding the aura you and your friend do in a town this size. Most of the kids who even come close either end up going to an academy to study or end up joining a sect.”

“Sects?” He asked.

“You never heard of sects?” The old man asked surprised.

“No, I do, but information was pretty limited about them,” he explained.

It was true. Even with the extensive library, he hadn’t really found much about sects. Then again, he wasn’t that interested in them and hadn’t looked that hard. He was more interested in fun stories and interesting historical accounts that might give him some inspiration for his skills.

As far as he understood it, sects were like private communities. Those who were a part of them rarely interacted with the outside world. 

There was supposedly a pretty large sect near Heston. It was called the Stormbreaker Sect and from what Julius had heard about it, its members were quite powerful fighters. However, from what Julius had heard they stayed out of the Empire’s politics and focused on fighting monsters.

“Well, there are a few local sects around here that every so often have an exam to scout out talent. Most of the children who have it, end up going with them or choose to go to an academy.”

“Is there a large difference between academies and sects?” Julius asked, taking advantage of an opportunity to learn more about this world.

“Of course.”

“Like what?” He asked.

“Well, some people choose academies because there is less of a commitment. Whereas, if you joined a sect, it is kind of a lifetime commitment. You can’t share what you learn from them with others and you owe your allegiance to them,” the old man explained as he opened the door for Julius.

Julius had to wait to enter as one last group of children ran past him, eager to get some food.

“So why would people even consider a sect?”

“Power,” Elder Han explained simply. “Because of your commitment, you are able to learn much more powerful skills and techniques.”

“You make it sound like academies don’t provide that.”

The two of them were walking down a long hallway that was warmly lit. It felt distinctly homey and cozy.

Elder Han turned to look at him with a meaningful look. “Do they? You should know better than anyone else.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s pretty obvious. If you were from a sect you would know more about them and from the way your defending academies make it seem like you go to one,” Elder Han stated, but then sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to say that academies are useless. But there is a reason why most students are nobles. They already have backing from their families, they have skills and legacies with long histories. Not every commoner has that.”

“There are commoners at the academy I go to,” he pointed out to the old man.

“Those are the outliers. Most commoners, especially the ones out here choose to enter a sect or some sort of association. Not only will they get access to more help with their skills but also they gain the backing of an established power. The allegiance goes both ways. Just as you have to be loyal to your sect, your sect will have your back when you need it.”

Julius paused as he thought about that. 

It made sense. Most of the students he met at Goldencrest already had an idea of what kind of skillset they were pursuing. Their families most likely picked many of them out for them when they were young. 

He couldn’t expect that all commoners were like himself and were able to acquire powerful skills on their own. Some would need some guidance to do so, and he hasn’t seen that from Goldencrest. Even Gabriel was limited in what he could show Julius, the big baldy said so himself.

But if you were to swear a magical oath to keep how one learned a skill a secret and to swear loyalty, then it wouldn’t be unfair to say that someone would be more willing to teach a person said skills.

Goldencrest didn’t have anything like that in place. They had opportunities to get stronger, but it was very much a find-your-own-way type of school. However, you also didn’t tie yourself to a single power.

Regardless, for a commoner with nothing to support them except for their families, he could see how the sects were a superior offer. 

Elder Han waved his hand. “I don’t know how I ended up lecturing you on my dated opinions, but I apologize. You are free to make your own opinion later in your life. But for the moment let’s just go eat. Sister Cathy doesn’t like it when anybody is late, that goes for me as well,” he chuckled.

***

Reinera POV

She had no idea where Julius had run off to. She spent several minutes knocking on the door to his room, but there was no response, which likely meant that he was out.

She had wanted to take the time to have a sit-down and real talk with Julius now that everything had calmed down.

There wasn’t exactly a lot of time, nor it was the right place to have a heart-to-heart in a labyrinth. But now that they had reached a town, it was different.

Where could he have gone? Did he go out and get some more food? She thought to herself wonderingly.

She would be the first one to admit it, but she loved food more than most people would find healthy. However, Julius might have been an even larger fanatic when it came to food.

Although they had been stuck in a Tier 3 rift, Julius had no end of delicious and delectable treats. It was like the boy had his very own personal buffet stored in his storage ring. It wasn’t like she was complaining though. It had made the frightening experience much more bearable. It was amazing what a few good meals could do for the soul and morale.

Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to go and look for him. While she was at it, she could observe the town for herself. 

As a princess who was always guarded by Amelia or others, she rarely had the opportunity to explore on her own. However, now that she did have that chance, she wanted to take it.

It was this same feeling of freedom that prevented her from letting her family’s retainers from knowing where she was. 

She hadn’t told Julius, but she had an item that would activate as a distress beacon. The moment it was activated, a team led by a space mage would appear in a matter of minutes.

However, she hadn’t activated it after they left the rift and she still wasn’t activating it now. She knew it was selfish and Julius might have been angry if he found out, but she wanted to experience this just for a little. Her entire life she had been caged up and coddled, and she just wanted to see how it felt to be someone normal. 

Someone who wasn’t burdened with royal responsibilities.

As she left the noisy inn, she started to walk down the street aimlessly. She had no direction and really didn’t have the intention of finding Julius. It was just a pretense for her to leave her room and explore.

The sun was falling over the horizon and she noticed how quiet the town seemed. 

It was so different than what she was used to. Heston and the Capital were always busy, it didn’t matter what time of day it was. It could be two in the morning and there would be many people out and about.

Stonewall was different. There was this distinct sense of peace as she walked down the streets. There was the occasional laughter and noises coming from homes and restaurants, but it was peaceful and she was enjoying it.

The crisp night air felt great against her skin.

It felt so great that she found a bench near a fountain and sat there for a while, just taking it all in. She didn’t know the next time she would be able to do something like this. She didn’t know the next time she would be completely alone. So she savored every second of it.

It was just too bad she wasn’t allowed to.

She felt the impact before she sensed the mana. Something cracked the back of her head with a surprising amount of force. 

The blow completely caught her off guard and she instinctively threw out a bunch of mana at random. 

She had been so focused on enjoying the moment that she let her guard down. It was so stupid of her, she had been reminded of not doing it so many times, yet here she was.

Still, whoever was attacking her wouldn’t get an easy fight. She tried to steel her hazy mind, still disorientated from the ambush, and sent a barrage of smaller spears of light at the attackers.

There were half a dozen masked attackers and all Tier 3s, but her quick response had surprised them. They probably weren’t expecting such a violent reaction from a Tier 2 girl. 

It took one of them by so much surprise that he allowed himself to get pummeled by the spears of light. One of them, stabbing quite deep in his stomach. 

However, to their credit, they didn’t take it lying down. The rest of them threw out blasts of mana and those who didn’t have a ranged attack rushed her down.

She tried her best, she really did. She used everything, including her improved physical enhancement skill, but half a dozen Tier 3s were too much for her. The attacks smashed through her defenses and there were too many of them for her to deal any damage.

She clawed and scratched her way, making sure that she didn’t give up. That was one thing she learned from Julius. It was to not accept defeat so easily. However, she didn't have his overpowered skills to back her up.

Regardless, she gave it her all. Every ounce of mana was spent fighting back. Even when she was tossed off of her feet and clobbered in the face, she didn’t let up. 

Unfortunately, she wasn’t like Julius, who could beat down an entire group of Tier 3s with ease and eventually fell under the barrage.

However, as she did, she got a good look at the people who attacked her and couldn’t help but smile when she saw them worn out and bloodied from their fight.

“Grab the girl quickly. We made way too much noise. People are going to come to investigate,” a voice called out.

“Can we just kill the bitch?”

“No! She is way more valuable alive. Anyone who is wearing clothes made out of Void Panther materials is definitely the daughter of some rich noble.”

The one time I just wanted to get some fresh air, she sighed to herself as the darkness came for her.