There were quite a few different training facilities inside the buildings, but they were all just a few. Most Factions would have several tens of each piece of equipment, but there wasn't much point in acquiring that many for the Floating Blades. With their Familiar Rule, they would always have a low number of members.
Linfel didn't mind any of that. If anything, he was more interested in training equipment for Familiars. It was called Soul Core Enhancing. For Familiars, the strength of their Soul was everything. They didn't have a body to train, after all. That equipment allowed the Familiar to train the soul itself through a stress-related method.
That type of training wouldn't increase a Familiar's Level regarding Magic Energy, but it would definitely make it easier to control, store, and release it. Linfel was basically a Core and a Soul, even if he wasn't a Familiar, so it probably had good benefits for him as well. As for the rest of the equipment, they were mostly Magus-focused.
Alvin couldn't help but get a little excited as well. Most of the equipment they had here was free for use. And none of them required Academy Credits. The ones he had to spend something were the equipment that required Magic Stones to work, so he had to fork the Magic Stones himself. Nonetheless, it was definitely a great deal.
Milia then brought them to a recreation area. "That's pretty much all of it. I just need to add your ID to the Faction's System, and you are now free to come and make use of everything."
Alvin, Linfel, and Felia nodded. Let's not forget Alvin's condition to join was to accept Felia as well. Felia could definitely make good use of them as she is truly Alvin's Familiar, not Linfel. There was even equipment that helped with the strengthening of Master Familiar Connection.
At that moment, two other people entered the room. A man who seemed to be around Natalie's age, around his twenties, and a very young girl, definitely someone who had just joined the academy this year.
"Well, well, well! So this is our new friend, uh?" The man smiled as he spoke. "I'm Pamil, the Floating Blades Faction Leader. Just call me Pamil, though. I hate formalities. Besides, this thing about a leader is only on paper. I won't go around ordering you like a boss or anything."
Pamil then patted the young girl's head. "And this is Rin, our second newest member. She is my cousin, so get along well with her, please."
"Master, you can't ignore me!" A familiar with the same brown color as Natalie's Familiar suddenly came from Pamil's back. "You can call me Qanda, independent. I'm the one who truly keeps everything in order in this Faction. If my Master causes you trouble, just tell me."
Pamil shrugged. "See? I told you I'm only the leader on paper."
"H-Hi..." Rin finally spoke, although she seemed quite shy to interact with the others.
Milia showed a rare smile as she looked at Rin, too.
"Last but most important, you have me!" It was then that a hairpin on Rin's head changed shape, becoming another Familiar with a horned humanoid shape. It's just that this one was Yellow, showing it was also a Level One Familiar. However, it was already possible to see a few tinges of Red on his body. He definitely wasn't too far from becoming a Level Two Familiar. "I'm Sasoli, Rin's Familiar, also independent. If you cause trouble to my Rin, I'll have your heads. Be advised."
Pamil ignored Rin's Familiar. "Alvin, Linfel, and also Felia. We are few, but we are definitely a united Faction. We will have your backs as long as you have ours. So... PLEASE DON'T ABANDON US AND SELECT ANOTHER FACTION BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY RESOURCES OR AS GOOD EQUIPMENT!"
Linfel's group was taken aback. Shouldn't this kind of thing be left unsaid at first and be slowly revealed to not scare your new members?
"Sigh..." Qanda shook his head. "And now you know why I'm the one in charge of everything. Truly, I'm almost having Rin take the leader seat instead of you. Just the fact she keeps quiet would already be a great improvement."
Rin looked terrified about the idea, though.
"Errr... Ahem!" Alvin finally decided to talk. "It's okay. I joined because you didn't mind my other Familiar. That is enough to show you care about your Familiars."
Linfel took the chance to ask. "By the way, why the rule about independent Familiars?"
Indeed. Alvin, Connor, and the others were curious about that too.
"Why not is the question you really want to ask," Qanda spoke. "Why should we accept Maguses who don't trust their Familiars enough to set them free? You are connected by the soul, for fucks sake!"
Milia and Rin nodded. They also agreed with that principle.
It was then that Connor raised his hand. "Excuse me. If I set my Familiar Free, would I be able to join as well?"
"No," Qanda shook his head. "We are, after all, a Faction of Maguses and Familiars. Unless you have something that sets you apart from the rest, what's the point in spending resources on you? In Alvin's case, he has a great Master Familiar Connection, and such a connection is sure to help the Faction. That's why we invited him."
Linfel looked at Tratil. "Can you even pass the independent Familiar test?" He didn't see much difference between Felia and Tratil. That's why he asked.
Tratil didn't hide that fact either. "Master. I'm also sure I can't pass it." He looked at the others right after. "But just so everyone knows, Master had asked me before if I wanted to go independent once I got strong enough for the test. He is a good Master."
Pamil looked at his Familiar with pledging eyes. "Look how good they are. Can't we make a little exception?"
Qanda's mouth twitched. His Master was too soft. "We are already struggling for resources, and you want to make an exception? Absolutely not! End of discussion."
"Tch..." Pamil could only give up.
Alvin didn't know what to expect from this Faction, but at least he was close to Milia, so he just decided to go for it. "I thank you all for receiving me. By the way, what exactly are my duties as a Faction member? I've never been in a Faction before, so I don't know what you would expect me to do in here. It's not like I can just use everything truly for free, right?"
Qanda nodded. "Exactly."