"Let me just give you a summary of what it means to be a slave of the clan. In a single sentence, every achievement and merit you gain would decrease by eighty percent (80%)."
The entire hall went silent at the words of the Velari, and every single Initiate was stunned.
A slave?
A permanent merit and achievement reduction of 80%?
They couldn’t believe their ears because such a thing was terrifying the more one thought about it, and it was also unbelievable.
Thorgan froze, unable to believe what he was hearing, and subconsciously, he looked at Simon.
He was not the only one that looked at Simon, every other Initiate was also looking at Simon, wondering what his reaction was going to be.
Even the Velari was also looking at Simon, expecting some kind of reaction from the boy.
But to his surprise, Simon’s gaze was calm, undisturbed like a peaceful lake, and his aura was the same as ever before.
His only response after some seconds was...
"I see."
The Initiates believed that Simon was in too much shock to say anything else, but the Velari was very much impressed.
He could see Simon’s eyes clearly, and he saw that there was no sign of anger, shock, or anxiety despite the grave words he had just spoken.
"Did you know about this before?" The Velari guessed.
However, Simon shook his head. "I did not."
"Do you know the severity of what I just said?" The Velari asked again.
"I made some calculations, and I have a rough idea." Simon replied while raising his hand from the hand print and looking at the clan symbol on his palm.
A stream of information entered his mind, and Simon calmly skimmed through them.
’How many merits I have, the rules of the clan, map of the clan, facilities of the clan, and a few other things.’
Despite the gazes of his fellow Initiates and the Velari, his mind was not completely on the severity of what it meant to be a slave of the clan.
Even though the Velari had not fully explained everything to him, he could make a few guesses on how difficult it would be for him in the clan with a slave status.
’Well, I’m sure I’ll be able to survive and thrive despite my slave status.’
The Velari was immensely surprised by how calm Simon was, and he could not help but be more curious about Simon.
"What did you do to become a slave of the clan?"
Simon shifted his gaze from the clan symbol on his right hand to the Velari.
"I believe I’m not the one to tell you that. It was most likely made confidential for a reason."
"Hmm." The Velari looked down with a pondering expression.
"I guess I’ll find out myself." The Velari said softly, then he looked at Simon.
"Let me explain a few things to you, in case you don’t know."
The Velari paused, then he continued.
"As a slave of the clan, the merits and achievements you gain, would be reduced by 80%. You might not understand how severe this is right now, but you’ll understand with time."
"You also cannot reject any mission the clan personally gives to you. The rules do not favour you, and you’ll most likely have no backer."
"Getting resources would be extremely difficult for you because of your reduced merits."
"You would not gain access to the clan’s core techniques and secrets no matter how many merits you gain. Unless you’re no longer a slave of the clan."
"There are certain resources that would not be made available to you."
"You are also expendable. And there’s more which you would only realize later on."
With every statement the Velari made, the expressions of nearly every Initiate changed behind their masks.
The consequences of being a slave of the clan was absolutely horrible, and everybody could not help but wonder how Simon was going to survive in the clan with all these disadvantages.
Meanwhile, Simon’s expression was utterly calm despite these words, and the Velari saw this and was even more surprised.
"Do you now understand the severity of what it means to be a slave of the clan?"
Simon nodded. "I’ve been enlightened. Thank you."
The Velari looked at Simon for a few seconds, then he chuckled softly.
"Now, I must really know what you did for those guys to make you the slave of the clan. You have talent, and you shouldn’t be a slave of the clan but a true member of the clan. Very few members have your type of composure."
Simon bowed and smiled behind his mask. "Thank you for the compliment."
The Velari waved his hand. "It’s the truth, no need for the thanks. Anyway, because of your status as a slave, you won’t be given the rewards for getting first place in the trials."
"Eighty percent (80%) of your rewards have been deducted, and well, your position and gained merits has gone down by a lot."
"The second placed Initiate is now first placed. Third placed Initiate is now second. Fourth placed Initiate is now third, and so on."
"Rankings after the tenth position no longer matter so much. However, there’s a particular difference and this is related to your living quarters."
"You would have gotten the best living quarters for your batch of Initiates, but now you will stay in one of the low quality living quarters."
The Velari went silent, and he observed Simon, wanting to see if Simon would finally react.
However, Simon remained utterly calm, almost like the words that were just spoken did not bother him in the slightest.
However, somebody could no longer hold the rage he felt in his heart.
Bang!
"NEVER! I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THE POSITION OF FIRST PLACE!"
Simon was taken aback, and he looked at Thorgan who had punched the pillar that was at arms length to him.
There was a crack on the pillar, and the Velari’s eyes flashed with an unknown light.
"Thorgan?" Simon subconsciously said as he looked at Thorgan.
Thorgan’s head snapped in his direction, and Simon could see the fury in Thorgan’s eyes.
"WHY ARE YOU NOT ANGRY, THIRD BROTHER?! TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU NOT FURIOUS?!"