When Arthur sat down, he began, "This region of Ethera has five sects. There are five sects, not six or seven, because this region of the world can only sustain five sects and not more. If a new sect is to arise, an old sect must give way."
"There is something that sects have that other organizations don't have that makes them sects. That thing is access to the Ethera tree, the tree of life. This access is the foundation of a sect. There are five accesses to the roots of the Ethera tree in this region, so there can only be five sects."
"This lesson is not about the foundation of a sect. It is about the five sects and what sect you choose."
After saying so, Patriarch Calcetti stood up and began pacing around the room. As he moved back and forth, the lighting of the room changed with him.
He was the source of light in the room, so as he moved, some areas became dark when he moved far away, while some areas brightened. He was like a walking, talking lamp.
"This decision is very important because it will determine a lot about your future from now on. Once you join a sect, it is very difficult to leave it, and it is nearly impossible to betray it. So this is an information that you make and live with its consequences for almost the rest of your life."
"A sect can be considered an alliance of people. They are a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. A sect can also be considered a business company. It is a business company with the goal of making profit."
"Young people like you are accepted and trained in the company in a period of internship. When you mature, you then work for the sect and help it make profit."
He stopped to look at them straight on and said, "Do not think that sects accept people because of generosity. They accept people to replenish their lifeblood, grow stronger, and get richer. You need to understand this and ditch your self-importance and pride."
"I am not saying that you are not important to sects. You are important, or they wouldn't have gone to so much effort and spent so many resources to run the sect examination. But you have to understand that if you don't show value or help your sect to make profits, you will be abandoned quickly."
"A sect is not a family. You won't get support because of your birthright. You have to work hard and show your value to get that support. The result of the sect examination is just the initial evaluation of your worth. If you show more value, you will receive more investment. If you don't live up to the value that you've been assigned, you will receive less investment."
"The valuation system of sects is merit-based. It is this kind of system that makes it possible for a menial servant to become a fourth mortal coil elder of a sect. So anything is possible. If you think your valuation is wrong, then show them how wrong they are about it."
Then he asked them, "Do you understand me?"
They called out in unison, "Yes, patriarch."
He nodded in satisfaction. "You better understand it now, or it might be too late for you when you understand it later."
"A sect is not a family. They are not bound by blood. They are bound by a common goal, an oath to the sect, and similar techniques. The goals and oaths of the five sects are basically the same. What sets them apart is their power and the techniques that they train with."
"The strongest sect is the Blood Skull Sect. They own every Beast Hunting Center in the five kingdoms. If you know the Beast Hunting Center, you will know that they are tyrannical."
"The Beast Hunting Center demands that no one else participate in the market of buying and selling beasts. They set the price of beast carcasses in the market and will destroy anyone who competes with them. Only establishments backed by the other four sects can interfere in the beast carcass market."
"The Blood Skull Sect is like that except that they don't limit their hunting to beasts. They also hunt humans. They are killers. They are predators. If not for the fact that they have no need to gain the access to the other four roots of the Ethera tree, they would have annexed the four sects, and there would only be one sect in the region, not four."
The other children of the family were calm when they heard this, but this was news to Arthur, so he was surprised. His surprise showed on his face. And even though his face was wrapped in the white second skin, Calcetti could tell.
Calcetti chuckled when he noticed his surprise and said, "You might find it unbelievable, but it is true. The Blood Skull sect is the undisputed strongest sect. They are not the oldest, and they are not the youngest sect. But they are the strongest."
"Of course, being the strongest sect doesn't make it the most suitable sect for you to join. You have to consider the techniques of the sects too."
"The techniques of the Blood Skull sect revolve around killing. They mostly use beast carcasses to enhance their power. Their techniques are better than those of the other four sects, which is one of the reasons why they are the strongest."
"I can't tell you more about the techniques of the Blood Skull Sect because information about that is guarded jealously. Not even a member of their sect can tell you because of the oath they swore. You can only learn more if you join the Blood Skull sect. But you can trust me when I say that their techniques are the strongest."
"Apart from the advantage of techniques, they also have the advantage of resources. They have the largest country under their control and have the highest number of members among the five sects. But competition is also the fiercest in the Blood Skull sect."