"That reminds me of something else I wanted to say," Shang said.
"What is it?" the dean asked with a neutral voice.
"You asked when I wanted to undergo the procedure, right?" Shang asked.
The dean nodded.
"Is it already fully developed?" he asked.
The dean nodded again.
"So, you wouldn't need any additional time to ready the procedure, right?" Shang asked.
"A day at most, maybe. It depends on what beast I choose," he said with annoyance. "Why are you asking such a pointless question?"
Shang nodded. "Then, it's not that," he said. "It's like this. My first of my available questions for the God has been about what I should do when I arrive here."
The dean's eyes shone a bit.
None of them had brought up the questions yet. After all, these questions could be valuable intel, and it was impossible to verify the information. Both of them could just lie.
"And he said what?" the dean asked. Obviously, Shang wanted to share the answer.
"He said that I should remain in the wilderness for two years before joining society again," Shang said.
The dean nodded. "That's the best course of action for you, and you will learn why when you join your class. This is especially important for you."
"Especially important for me? Why?" Shang asked.
"You have received your answers, and you have received your weapon. However, you have not yet come into contact with your second gift. I presume the God has given you the same thing as me," the dean said.
"What is the second gift?" Shang asked.
"It has two uses. The first use is storage. It's basically a superior Space Ring without the limitations," the dean explained. "The other use is inheritance."
"Inheritance? In what sense?" Shang asked.
"As you have heard, the golden age of the warriors is so far in the past that no one even knows that it has existed in the first place. No ruins from that era have survived until this day, as far as I am aware."
"This means that it is impossible to gain more advanced knowledge for the path of a warrior than I have access to unless you manage to create it yourself. So, for all intents and purposes, I essentially count as the strongest warrior that has ever existed."
"If it were back then, I would have probably only counted as a child or trash, but there is no evidence left from that time, and it essentially doesn't exist anymore. The Mages also don't have any evidence from that time, as far as I know."
"That's why the God gave you a way to inherit knowledge from the long-forgotten era," the dean explained. "However, as you might have guessed, the God doesn't like being bored."
"Because of that, he made the inheritance a contest. You will fight more and more powerful enemies on your level until you eventually die. After that, you will be resurrected, and you will receive an inheritance based on how well you did."
Shang frowned when he heard that. Yes, that sounded exactly like something the God would do.
"The inheritance you get is the most important thing contributing to your future success. If you manage to get a good one when you reach the General Stage, your Battle-Strength will be even more powerful for the next test in the Commander Stage. That allows you to get a better score and get an even better inheritance."
"Battle-Strength?" Shang asked.
"It's how powerful you are compared to others at the same level," the dean added before continuing with his explanation.
"In essence, the cycle can't be broken. If it does, you will lose all your momentum."
"Who knows, if you do well enough, you might actually go all the way. After all, an amazing inheritance probably even shows you the way to the next Realm."
The dean took a deep breath, but his expression didn't change. "In a way, I envy you. You will receive the power of my procedure, which will allow you to get better inheritances. You will have an advantage I've never had."
Shang wasn't sure how he should react right now.
So, he decided not to react at all and simply continued the conversation.
"Thank you for your teachings," Shang said to quickly finish the topic. "However, this is not what I was referring to."
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "What were you referring to?" the dean asked with a bit of annoyance.
"Well, the God said I should stay in the wilderness for two years," Shang repeated. "But what if my Battle-Strength isn't the only reason?"
The dean's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at his table. "Your Affinity?" he asked.
Shang nodded. "Right. The God said I would be able to use my Affinity if I'm lucky. That means that unlocking my Affinity is probably very hard. Maybe it's something that can only happen at a certain time?"
"As you might already know, I have only been in the wilderness for a bit more than half a year, which is far less than two years."
"Is it possible that something will happen in the next one and a half years that could unlock my Affinity? Something like a rare or strange beast appearing? Maybe some kind of event?" Shang asked.
Suddenly, the dean's eyes widened.
Then, he looked at Shang with an evaluating expression.
Shang saw that the dean had realized something. "Did you think of something?" he asked.
"There is a possibility," the dean said slowly as he scratched his chin in thought. "It would also make sense to a certain degree. If I hadn't seen your current Affinity in action before, I wouldn't have connected it to that event."
"Could you be more specific?" Shang asked.
"No," the dean answered. "This involves one of the top secrets of the world. Technically, I am not even allowed to know of it, and the only reason I know is that I am very close to Duke Whirlwind."
"If it only involved my life, I wouldn't be afraid of telling you. After all, in the worst case, I can just flee and live in the wilderness. That doesn't bother me."
"However, I don't want to endanger my friend. Because of that, I can't tell you."
When Shang heard that, he became quite frustrated, but he also realized something.
'Earlier, the dean has talked about using everyone for his own power, but now, he is suddenly protecting his friend,' Shang thought. 'Has he lied previously?'
'I don't think so. He looked pretty convincing earlier, but he also looks pretty convincing now.'
'Maybe it's difficult to become close with him, but when you manage to become friends, he might be very loyal.'
'However, I can't just assume his entire personality based on only this conversation. It's very possible that he also lied in one of those two moments.'
'In the end, I should still keep my distance to some degree.'
"It's fine if you can't tell me, but can you at least tell me when it's about to happen?" Shang asked.
The dean nodded. "There is a certain event that takes place every couple of years. It involves some fighting and cleaning up of some rare and very troublesome beasts. No one in the world will realize that this has taken place since the ones that know it keep it a secret."
"The event should take place in a bit less than two years. I never cared about the corpses of these beasts, but if I put my money together, I can get one."
Then, the dean looked into Shang's eyes. "If there is a beast that has the same Affinity as the warrior undergoing the procedure, the procedure has a higher chance of success and will show greater results."
"Everything lines up pretty well. Your Affinity will probably be unlocked by the corpse since it will act similarly to a Mana Source, and you will receive something very compatible with you."
"We only have to wait for the right time."
Then, the dean nodded as he made his decision.
"We've talked enough for now," the dean said. "I now know how we should proceed."
Shang listened to the dean.
"First of all, you aren't allowed to reach the General Stage in the next two years. For the procedure, you have to remain in the Soldier Stage."
"Second, you need to use the next two years to increase your Battle-Strength."
"You will join the Caterpillar Class. That will take care of both of these things."
"Caterpillar Class?" Shang asked in confusion.
"Soran will inform you," the dean said. "I have to plan accordingly, and I need to earn a lot of money over the next two years to make your procedure possible. You won't see me much in the next two years. While I am away, listen to what the teachers tell you. I will inform them accordingly."
"Okay," Shang said. He felt like the conversation was ending a bit abruptly. However, he also realized that the conversation had also been very long.
The dean probably had things to do.
"I'll call you when necessary," the dean said.
Creak!
The door creaked open on its own, and Shang felt Mana flow into the room again.
The dean had deactivated the Magic Circle, which had isolated them for the past half hour or so.
"Go," the dean ordered as he looked at some new papers he had just summoned. "Your questions have wasted enough of my time. The only reason why I've taken my time to answer all of them is that you have a lot of potential."
For a second, Shang was confused why the dean said that. He had asked just as many questions.
However, Shang realized why the dean had said that when he saw Soran waiting near the opened door.
The dean was putting on a show.
"Thank you, dean," Shang said as he stood up to leave.
The dean acted like he didn't pay any attention, but deep inside, he paid attention.
'So young and naïve,' the dean thought. 'He doesn't realize that I am on the friendlier side when compared to others on my level.'
'My openness towards the truth of the world frightens him and puts him off, but he doesn't know it.'
'He's afraid because he is looking at what he will most likely become.'