Unexpectedly, Erik chased me. He seemed to be in a hurry from his face. Both Stephanie and I are confused by his sudden appearance. Most importantly, his uniform was a mess. He didn't even bother to close the buttons of his uniform.

"Thank god, I caught up to you."

"What's the problem?"

"Where's the perverted faction group that approached you, earlier?"

"What?"

"The perverts!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"The people who stopped you here! The perverts!"

"Those people who tried to invite me?"

"Yeah! I clearly remember their faces—Bueeh...!" Erik fell to his knees, vomiting on the ground.

"You good?!"

"I'm good..." Erik stopped me from approaching.

Perverted people? What does he mean by that? I don't see any problem when I saw them earlier. They all seem to be normal in my eyes. They haven't done anything particularly disturbing to me when they met me earlier, so it's hard to believe Erik now—but it's Erik. Now, remembering those people from earlier, did I see them wearing a collar around their neck? Or am I just hallucinating? I swear, I saw that seem to look like dog collars... Weird...

"I think it's better for you to rest."

"Yeah... I should've not run." As he turn his heel the other way, Stephanie called him out. "Ah, wait!"

"Yes?" Erik stopped.

Stephanie softly pulls my ear. "Let's go, we don't have time, and invite your friend."

"Seriously? Look at his condition, do you have any idea how shit he feels right now?"

"Hey, here, drink this." Stephanie tossed a bottle to him.

"What's this?" Erik asked.

"It should get rid of your nausea. Come and join us, we're entering a dungeon."

Erik drank it without any hesitation. No person will drink what was given by a stranger without hesitation. Literally, no one. Yet, he drank it casually. Definitely, a weird guy. After drinking it, Erik examined his body before jumping a few times in place. "Wow, it worked!" Erik exclaimed in exhilaration.

"Wait... Why are you asking him that?" I asked Stephanie.

"Okay," Erik said without any hesitation.

"What? Just like that?" I'm confused by Erik's response.

"I saw you the other day registering yourself in a dungeon, but the old man didn't allow you because you don't have a party. That's you, yeah? You had permission to enter, right?" Stephanie directly asked Erik.

"Yeah," Erik replied.

"Wait, really?"

"I didn't expect him to be your friend, if I knew, I would've helped him back then. He looked so lost and embarrassed when he tried to register himself back then." Stephanie whispered.

"Wait, how did you... Did Instructor Sienna give it to you?" I asked Erik.

"Yeah, I asked Instructor Sienna. And then, she asked the headmaster to give me permission to enter dungeons, but with a set of boundaries, so I can't freely enter one by myself. Like, what she said, I went to register my name, but I'm unable to do so. I had been itching to enter one, but the restriction screwed me. No one wanted me in their party."

"Ohh... Um, that's unfortunate."

"Uhh... I think it depends on the party group? That's how I got screwed." Erik mentioned.

"For some instance, if the group consists of D-Class students and the dungeon's power is relatively weaker than the group itself then he can join one," Stephanie interjected.

"Yeah, that's the one." Erik agreed.

"That applies to every Class in this academy. There are special limits that are placed on every Class even the S-Class. However, above everyone else, the S-Class has the least restriction when it comes to dungeons. They can even solo a dungeon if they wanted. Basically, the S-Class students can reign over every student below them since they're always in charge." Stephanie scoffed in disdain.

"Sounds complicated..." I muttered.

Inside the artificial dungeons, we will be all on our own which means we will be taking of ourselves. There's also class exemption depending on the difficulty because some dungeons usually take days or even weeks, or sometimes even months.

Then I heard her muttering in a soft voice. "Yeah, it sucks. They made it complicated and difficult for the students."

"Is that so... "

"And also, you two will be accompanying me to register our names, but as for Adelle, she'll do it tomorrow. In addition, don't question me about Lily since you already know the answer yourself. It's prohibited to have two S-class students in one group. So, adding one, wouldn't be bad for us."

I was slightly surprised because I was about to ask that exact question to her. "I see... Then I don't have any problem."

"Good, now you two follow me, quick," Stephanie ordered both Erik and me.

The three of us walked together, Stephanie and I are walking side-by-side with the only exception of Erik following us from behind. As usual, Stephanie garnered attention and was the center of the male gazes. She might not be considered a hot type like Lily. Her attractiveness stems from her petite figure and round eyes, along with the fact that she inherited her face from her gorgeous mother.

"We're in dire need of members too. Plus, isn't he a friend of yours? So, I thought you will recruit him." Stephanie's face draw closer to my ears and whispered.

"Well, I was about to invite Lars and Erik to join us. But I'm not sure whether they will accept it because of Prince Lykos' faction. Erik was a noble from the Maiveil kingdom and Lars was a huge fan of that guy."

"Well... The nobles of the kingdom who doesn't join their kingdom's faction would certainly have a hard time since it's also a way to make connections with other nobles and great people in the kingdom. It's also a way to garner support from other nobles."

Then she continues. "He doesn't look like a person with bad intentions. Our number is still relatively low than any faction, so the more the merrier."

"So should I try?"

"It's your decision since Princess Arya entrusted it to you. But if I were to decide, I will not hesitate since factions are also a way of protection for your friend. Most importantly, the likeliness of them getting recruited by the Antiola Faction is terribly thin. They need to magically get the attention of the likes of Prince Lykos for them to enter. Like what happened to you."

"Antiola?"

"That's the faction of the Maiveil kingdom. You didn't know?"

"No? I assumed it would be Maiveil. And in what world would someone name it differently when the entire point of their factions is entirely related to the Maiveil kingdom? That sounds absurd."

It's the truth. The chances of Lars and Erik joining the Antiola Faction, the main faction of the Maiveil kingdom are low, but never zero. That low percentage is what they're clinging to, right now. Furthermore, I seem to forget that Arya likes to test people, so she can give her final judgment on whether they're worthy or not.

Most importantly, why would they name it Antiola?

"You understand that Maiveil kingdom is not the only kingdom in it, right?"

"... Really?"

Stephanie rolls her eyes. "Of course."

"Oh... I didn't know about that..."

"To clarify what I said, it seems that right now, the Antiola Faction and His Highness, Prince Lykos had complete control over everything. Like how usually the world function, the strong one will have the right to rule. That's why, right now, the Maiveil Kingdom is technically leading the Antiola faction. And why are you asking these questions? The answer is obvious. Antiola is formed because of the alliance with other neighboring kingdoms, or had close relationships with our kingdom." Stephanie said, slightly raising her voice.

"No need to get angry. I'm just asking questions, no need to raise your voice... Can I not have chat with you? I'm just trying to—"

"You wanted to chat, huh? Let's talk about yesterday. I thought you were only sending Albert to the medical building because of his condition? Huh, tell me?"

From the looks of it, I may have entered dangerous territory. Stephanie was smiling, but behind it, I'm aware of what lies behind that smile of hers—the terrifying reality of the outcome of my choices that day. At this point, everything felt slower than usual, as my mind is processing the appropriate response to Stephanie's questions. There will always be two outcomes in life; good and bad outcomes. So now, I need to be careful with my words.

Then I think of the perfect and hideous answer that I could muster—Be honest. Knowing Stephanie's personality, she wouldn't mind if I spend time with Adelle; however, at the same time, it would incite her jealousy which will also be troubling for me. Any choice will be a pain in the ass to deal with.

Among all of them, Stephanie was the only person who voiced her disapproval of sharing me with others—this was the early times when I just returned with Adelle from our mission. She's powerless against Clara and Master Irene. However, as time passes by, she gradually tried to accept that part of our life and did her best to understand and get to know Adelle more—only Adelle because no matter how hard she tried to understand Clara, it was impossible for her.

"Oi, you're lost in your own thoughts. I'm just messing around with you. Oi! Claude? Hello? Adelle already told me beforehand, so rest assured." Stephanie giggled heartily. "Oiii! Wake up!" She aggressively shook my arm.

"Hm?" I snapped out of my deep thoughts.

"Wake up, I said I'm just messing with you."

"Eh...? Okay...?" I had mixed emotions about her so-called 'messing with you'. I don't know what to feel about it...

"I feel like watching my parents in broad daylight." Erik behind us remarked.

Stephanie giggled upon hearing Erik's remarks about the two of us. She tugs the hem of my shirt. "Wait, it occurred to me. How did you manage to get permission this early on?" She looked at Erik.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Erik is a special type. How do I say this..."

"I'm spiritless. Because of some unfortunate events, my contractual spirit died. However, at the same time, I'm fortunate that I'm able to surpass expectations of myself because strength relies upon one's self. Which makes my fruitful training be a lot sweeter." Erik answered it for me.

"Yeah... What he said. Furthermore, our instructor held him with high regard for his potential."

The words of Erik were reminiscent of what Arya once told me before. Arya's views of spirit are interesting because she views them as a liability. To summarize what she said, she's not fond of spirits because it makes an individual weaker, relying too much on their power makes our potential weaker. Once a child was born into this world that child's life will be played in a game of luck because his potential will be dictated by the ranking of the child's spirit once the child reaches the age of 15. Obviously, mana plays an important role that's why at an early age, the child will undergo extensive mana training.

But from what I've witnessed, Arya showed me the possibilities of what mana can achieve. Various types of magic can be achieved without the use of spirits. For example, the space inventory magic that Arya used to store her treasures. It's not that simple because I haven't seen anyone use them other than me or Arya, so in other words, it's a rare magic. And based on the reaction of Albert's father from last time, it's rare.

Humans and other beings can also do it, but to a minimal extent whereas with the help of spirits that amplifies two or three times. To facilitate their weakness and keep up with other races, they relied on spirits, the other races that I'm talking about are the likes of Dragons, Demonic beings, etc. But even with the help of spirits, they're still beyond their reach.

That's the reason why throughout history, people became reliant on the power of the spirits. Why do we need to make our life hard when the easiest solution is right in front of us and it makes us stronger? That's the reasoning of everyone. The concept of mana for everyone is just to feed it to the spirit, in exchange for power, an equal exchange. That's where the world revolves around now.

"Wow, really? That's amazing. Not because of the spiritless part, but the confidence." Stephanie was perplexed.

"Ah, thank you. Many people always find it odd, so I really appreciate it. Not having a spirit is not the end of the world from what people seem to portray it to be. Most importantly, fighting is not all about who has the strongest spirit, but rather who wins the fight in the most decisive way."

"Is that from Instructor Sienna?" I asked.

"No, it's from my father. My father and Instructor Sienna are quite similar actually. That's why I admire Instructor Sienna for her views. My master always says, be decisive, always strike first before the enemy strikes you. Don't give the opponent time to think. Make them admit their defeat." Erik was having a time when mentioning his master. "What about your master?"

"Um... Always play with her cun— I mean, always be in control— when it comes to bed—No matter what, always have time for her— Se— Wait... I'm mixing things up, sorry. It's too many, you see... Always be aware of your surroundings. No matter what, always care for yourself before others. Oh, god, that's a lot, honestly... She's teaching me a lot." Beads of sweat are dripping down my face.

Stephanie next to me was staring blankly at my face.

"Oh, that's good. Always put your guard up, so the enemy wouldn't be able to catch you off-guard. And most importantly, always prioritize your life above others. That's great."

A while later, we reach the town and as usual, the town was packed with people.

Xeoz

I recently just learned that there was some mixed stuff between the characters in the previous chapters which I'm completely oblivious about. I corrected all of it(Still not entirely sure, I'll proceed to check all of it tomorrow.) I haven't been active for the past months on anything like my discord or here because of my scheduling which led to me not able to read all of your comments. But if there are some mistakes feel free to DM me. If things got sorted out, I'll be back to my normal scheduling and also continue my other series. Huge Thanks to YahnI 5503 for notifying me. But then again, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for reading. :)