Next up, Olivia vs Gou, the fight went by pretty quick, it seems Chen Gou never received any training. Olivia rushed him and kicked him out of the ring in the first two seconds of the fight.
The rest of the fights were all very lackluster except for the fight with William Fey against Hisole Triss. It was the only fight where both participants got four points and for good reason.
Both parties seem incredibly talented with good boons to support them. William used light beams, which I assume is his boon by how quick his rapid activation was. Hisole used darkness but I don't think that was her boon, I think it had something to do with the mind. I think that because Willaim zoned out a few times during the fight and seems to struggle to concentrate.
…
"Alright, I will announce the results. Engres Jun, with nine points, Hisole Triss, Olivia Helder, Tang Ling, and Percy Gate, you five are the only ones to reach the inner court level. The rest of you are outer court disciples as of now. Congratulations, not a single one of you will be heading to the servant's quarters."
From his ring, Elder Uli pulls out a stack of papers and quills, "This paper has a list of all specialties taught in the cult; you will each select your main school to be taught in and two secondaries. If you wish to learn more you need to show enough promise to earn permission from an elder. Engres, you can choose up to two main and four secondaries."
My brows furrow as I don't know anything about the cult's training process, "Elder Uli, what does an additional main and secondaries do for me?"
The elder nods in understanding, "I forgot you were not here for the entrance exams and ceremony. A main school allows you to attend classes personally taught by elders of your court. Secondaries allow you to visit the library for books for their school and make inquiries to elders of that school."
I bow my head, "Thank you."
Without responding he tosses the papers in the air and they gently float in front of each of us along with an ink dripping quill. At the top of the paper is my name and below is a list of schools to learn from with two checkboxes next to them.
'Armament Knight'
'Enhancement Knight'
'Projection Puglist'
'Fist Puglist'
'Battle Mage'
'Rounded Mage'
'Body Sorcerer'
'Soul Sorcerer'
'Cabalist'
'Warlock' Requires Madow's Blessing
'Priest'
'Paladin' Requires Joor's, Drite's, or Alov's Blessing
Without hesitation, I mark Armament Knight and Battle Mage as my main schools. I have always wanted to be a mage since I was little and my father was an Armament knight so I can follow in his footsteps.
For my secondary schools, I mark Paladin, Projection Pugilist, Body Sorcerer, and Rounded Mage. After marking them all I am the first to step up to Elder Uli and hand my paper to him. He looks over giving it a scrupulous look before looking back up at me.
"Taking after your father and not your family I see," he says with a small smile.
"My father is my family."
He seems unfazed by my dry response, "True, I am the teacher for Paladin's, feel free to speak to me for advice whenever you wish."
I nod, "Thank you, elder."
Again he smiles, "After the rest are done I will have a student show you around the inner court. You don't need lodging right?"
"I am staying with Elder Ferran."
"Good, that will save you quite a bit of hassle. We purposefully placed the inner and outer dorms far away to build character."
With a nod, I step back to where I was and wait for the rest to fill out their forms. It doesn't take long for everyone to finish their forms and give them back to Elder Uli.
"He, Ning, come here," the elder says to seemingly no one as he speaks to the air behind him.
Responding to his quiet words I see two men in their mid-twenties rushing towards us. They are traveling in waves of light so I can't entirely see their bodies since they seem to be incorporeal. In a flash of golden light, they land next to Elder Uli on a knee with clasped hands.
"Master," they say in unison.
"These are my direct disciples, they will be the ones to show you around. He, show them around the inner court. Ning, show them around the outer court."
"Yes, master," they again say in unison.
Now that I'm paying attention to them I realize they are twins, both with black hair, blue eyes, crimson inner court robes, and narrow faces. They both stand up and turn to us.
"Inner court disciples follow me," He says with a kind smile.
"Outer court disciples follow me," Ning says with a rather bland tone.
Following orders, we split into two groups, the outer court head towards the outer court's main hall while we head for the main path leading deeper into the sect.
"I am Yi He, I am currently ranked seventh in the inner court. If you need anything just ask for me, I am typically busy but I am good at finding time. First I will show you the main hall, you will be spending a lot of time there so it's best to get to know it."
The path lined by shrubs becomes a bit more wide and open as we enter the inner court area. Directly in front of us along the path is a similar wooden castle-style building as the one in the outer court. Just like in the outer court there is a stone path along the outside that leads to different areas.
On the east is a ten-story pagoda with a sign that reads 'Hall of Knowledge'. I assume that is a library of some type. On the west is a courtyard with large stone tiles separating it into segments. In the segments are wooden golems where some disciples are practicing against them. I say practicing but it seems like they are all losing their spars against the golems.
As we reach the steps of the castle a woman in white robes steps out, "Ah, Young Master He, showing some new disciples around I see."
Senior He bows to the young woman, "Yes, it is nice to see you again Miss Flowers."
She gives him a small nod before looking at the five of us, "It is nice to meet you all. I am the lead secretary of the Inner Hall, you will need to go through me for many things. I am in charge of grading your battle prowess, adjusting your rank inside the inner court, mediating between you and elders, and most importantly handing out missions to you all."
Senior He turns to face us, "It would be wise of you all to treat Miss Flowers with the utmost respect if you wish to have an easy life within the Cult. Come I will show you the mission boards and the request forms."
"Good day, Miss Flowers," he bows to her but she only gives him a small smile.
The inner hall is five stories tall each level with an open center letting you see to the top. Each floor has door offshoots on each side, some more than others. On the first floor is a large counter that spans half of the north and west walls with a few girls in similar robes as Miss Flowers. On the east side is a large board with forty or so posters pinned up.
I quickly read through all of them, most of them are rated for rank one and two disciples. There are a few near the top for rank three and four as well but none for five or higher.
"This is the mission board, missions are not required for the first year you are in the cult. Once you have stayed longer than a year you are required to do three a year, it doesn't matter what difficulty. Any questions?"
"Can missions be taken together and can you take any you want?" Tang Ling asks glancing at Olivia as she does
"The answer to both of your questions is, it depends. All quests are given at the discretion of the secretaries, though the general rule is two to three people on a single quest. As for taking a mission above your rank, it is rare but if you are rank two and capable of killing a rank three, they will give you the mission."
"How will they know your real strength?" Percy asks.
"Each secretary is rank four, they will personally test your strength in the training ground below the hall." Everyone seems surprised at his words which causes him to smile.
Seeing that no more questions are coming he walks over to the desk and picks up a form, "This is a rank adjustment form, you use it to request a duel with someone higher rank than you. The secretaries handle all the busy work between."
Picking up a different paper on the same desk he continues, "This is an ascendance form, if one of you is lucky enough to reach the top ten in the ranks like me you can request for an ascendance trial. If it is accepted you will earn the opportunity to receive the chance to become a direct disciple of the Devil Monarch himself."
I see Olivia get excited and tug on Tang Ling's sleeve, the only other boy Percy also tightens his fists with a determined look. Being the only non-noble here I can understand why he wants to prove himself so badly.