Chương 48: Chapter 46: Champions of Chaos

"Who's your teacher this afternoon?" Professor Reat asked, slinging his leather bag over his shoulder.

"Captain Michaelson," Seth answered, still thrown by the professor's words. Were the rewards from the Rising Stars Tournament really that valuable? It wasn't just the Seralp House they were talking about but also the Crestors and Faertis—one of them was among the Twenty Great Houses, and the other had held that status until a year ago. Professor Reat nodded, seemingly in thought.

"I'll let him know you'll miss his class because of me. We've got more important things to do. Let's get moving." Seth hurried after the professor, following him out of the classroom and down the hall. As they strode through the academy's main building and made their way outside, Seth's mind was nothing more than a chaotic whirl.

Sure, the professor wasn't the most likable or reliable person, but the man had still stood up for him against Lucius many times, saved Renwal with that instant spell-scroll, and even lent him an expensive artifact like the Vanishing Pocket Watch. I should trust him, at least a little.' You mad at me for killing him?' Nightmare asked from within the necklace.' Not at all,'Seth answered.' They tried to kill me first. That's on them.'' Damn, right!

'the direwolf exclaimed.' And now, people won't bother you anymore!'' It's kinda the opposite. We're literally trying to figure out how to prepare for them.' Nightmare huffed loudly inside the beast-holder.' Details.' They were halfway across the academy's sprawling garden when Seth decided to jog up and fall in step with Professor Reat, rather than simply trail behind.

"Professor… where exactly are we going?" Professor Reat glanced at him and raised two fingers.

"To keep you safe, we need two things. First, you being strong enough that other students think twice before ambushing you, and second, those Houses need to understand that if they get involved, they could find themselves in serious trouble." Seth frowned. The man was making him skip a single class, not an entire month. How could he get that much stronger in a single afternoon? Then it hit him: Nightmare's breakthrough. The direwolf's tail immediately started wagging in the teardrop necklace.'

I take back everything bad I ever said about him. He's a great guy!' Seth rolled his eyes and followed Professor Reat in silence, leaving the academy grounds and heading into Trogan's central market. For a moment, Seth thought they were going to the Adventurers Guild' outpost, but instead they stopped in front of the two-story building next to it. Above the door was an emblem: a sun and two moons over a towering green mountain on a black background.

"Be polite in there," Professor Reat said, turning to Seth.

"Your life depends on it."

"Understood." Seth trailed behind the professor and stepped inside. A blend of oiled leather and aged wood almost instantly filled his nostrils as he let his gaze dart around. The interior was smaller and more intimate than the outpost, more resembling a sophisticated, well-organized workshop, but still carried the same warm, welcoming aura.

The space was divided into several areas, each tailored for specific tasks: a forge with an anvil surrounded with shelves of weapons and armors in the far corner, a leather worker's bench adorned with tools and dark pieces of hides on the left, and what seemed like enchanting altar on the right side, surrounded by scrolls and numerous tiny crystals covered with runes on them.

Seth saw five people inside: a broad, sturdy woman who seemed to be in her forties hammering a glowing sword at the anvil, an old man with a long white beard working at the altar, and two middle-aged men and a young woman sitting at the table in the back. Each of them had the emblem of the sun and two moons somewhere on their clothes or armors. The professor cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Seth. He's one of my students." The black-haired woman at the anvil plunged her blade into a nearby tank of water, and steam erupted in the air as she greeted them.

"I'm Yline, the branch's Blacksmith. Nice to meet you, young man."

"Likewise, ma'am," Seth said, giving her a polite nod. The Adventurers Guild's branches were known for hunting in groups, and given Nightmare's existence, joining one had never been part of Seth's plan. Carrying an emblem or a respected name could be great for specific contracts—like the Training Masters branch, renowned for escorting low-Rank Wielders through the wild—but that wasn't useful to Seth. He only took contracts to earn extra coins while hunting, nothing more.

Building a reputation had never been important to him. Now, though, things were different. The old man at the enchanting altar barely glanced up, his thick-lensed glasses magnifying his gaze as it briefly landed on Seth before immediately moving back to the crystals on the table. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"That's Haldrik, the branch's Enchanter," Professor Reat said before moving deeper into the room. At the back table, the closest man, sporting graying brown hair and short beard, chuckled.

"Don't mind him, he's not much of a talker," he said before standing up and extending his hand to Seth.

"I'm Toren, the best Artificer in the city." Seth shook his hand with a polite smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." The woman in front of the man rose as well, moving with surprising grace for someone dressed in well-worn leather armor dotted with dozens of deep fissures and cuts. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her piercing blue eyes gave Seth a quick once-over. He could tell she had Identified him, but like with Sericar, he hadn't felt a thing.

"I'm Lyria," she said, grabbing Seth's hand.

"Pleasure to meet—oh, you have beautiful eyes!"

"Thank you, ma'am, and it's a pleasure too," Seth answered before glancing at the last person at the table. The bald, middle-aged man sat there with his large arms crossed, eyeing Seth with thinly veiled contempt. His broad, imposing frame was only covered with a blank white buttoned shirt, but next to him rested what seemed to be his equipment: plate armor with shimmering runes, a gigantic shield marred with thousands of scratches, and an one-handed hammer with a green jewel embedded in its hilt.

"Stop wasting everyone's time, Calvin, and tell us why'd you bring him here," the man said, his voice gravelly as stones scraping against one another. Professor Reat rubbed his neck.

"He got himself into a bit of a mess… by killing a noble who ambushed him. And now he needs the branch's backing if he doesn't want to get slaughtered by some Houses." The bald man frowned, his arms still crossed.

"And why should we take him in? He doesn't meet the requirements."

"I believe in his potential, Drack," Professor Reat answered, glancing at Seth.

"He'll reach High-Silver. It's just a matter of time."

"Not a chance. He's a Primalist. He'll get himself killed before he gets there." Professor Reat turned to Seth.

"Show them." Seth hesitated for a moment, but then shook off his doubt and summoned Nightmare out. The direwolf materialized, and almost instantly, the dark fur along his back raised.' They're all extremely powerful,'he said, Danger Sense igniting in his body.' Especially that bald man.' Reactions across the room were also almost immediate. Yline's eyes widened, while grins spread on Toren's and Lyria's faces.

Haldrik paused his work at the altar to look up with a deep frown, and Drack's stern expression softened, his gaze shifting a few times between Seth and Nightmare.

"A contracted beast while only being Copper," Lyria said, examining the direwolf from head to toe.

"How'd you do it?"

"I saved him as a pup," Seth answered, moving Nightmare back into the necklace, "and pushed the contract toward him while he was injured." Drack grumbled behind the woman.

"What's the contract's length?"

"Ten years," Seth lied right away, having already looked up the regular lengths. The longest possible contract was twenty years and the shortest one day—hopefully, the middle wouldn't raise suspicion. Drack glared at Seth before turning to Professor Reat.

"He's only Rank 17 despite having a Tenebrous Direwolf. That's not… unimpressive. Lyria was already Rank 19 when she started at the academy."

"Lyria had been a Wielder for nearly a year," Professor Reat answered, glancing at the blond woman before pointing to Seth.

"He's only been awakened for six months. By nine, he'll be Iron." Drack's eyebrows went up a notch, but his skepticism remained.

"Fine. But it still doesn't prove that he'll fit in here. None of us want to babysit him while he's hunting Copper or Iron beasts. You talked to Orwen about this?" Professor Reat nodded.

"I sent him a message last night, after I was informed about the noble's death. He said it was your call, since he wouldn't be back for a few weeks." Drack bit his inner lip, his gaze lingering on Seth for long seconds as if weighting the pros and cons.

"Do you truly believe in him, Calvin?" the man eventually asked. Professor Reat nodded again.

"I do. He's got the potential, the drive, the guts. Yes, he's immature, and sometimes can't seem to shut his mouth when he should, but he'll be good for the branch—through Oskon's Rising Star Tournament's rewards but also in terms of contracts and reputation. Celine's already impressed, and he's only been around for three months." A heavy silence settled over the room as Drack's eyes bored into Seth's. All the others waited, watching them—except Haldrik, who had resumed his work.'

He'd be dumb to refuse,'Nightmare said from within the black teardrop.' With me by your side, you will obviously become stronger than each of them.'' If you say so,' Seth answered, waiting for Drack's answer. Finally, the bald man uncrossed his arms and let out a sigh.

"Alright, we'll give him a shot. But if he's not Iron in three months like you said, he's out." Professor Reat's usual carefree look broke into a relieved smile, and he clapped Seth's shoulder.

"Don't worry, he'll be Iron way before that." Toren walked over to Seth and reached into a drawer next to him. From it, he pulled out a metal insignia bearing the sun and two moons above the mountain.

"Welcome to the Champions of Chaos, kid." Seth's boots pounded the ground as he sprinted behind Professor Reat through the dense forest, the freshly pinned Champions of Chaos' crest on his leather jacket catching glimmers of sunlight filtering through the thick foliage above. He still couldn't believe it. He'd never imagined the branch was the Champions of Chaos—the strongest adventurers' branch of Kastal.

Everything he'd heard from Warsis, the Wandering Merchants and the outpost's chatters had made them sound almost mythical. Their members were said to be either Gold or Peak-Silver, and the branch as a whole was powerful enough to rival nearly any of the Twenty Great Houses. As they reached a clearing, Professor Reat suddenly halted, raising his hand. In front of them, lay a shadowy cave entrance, half-hidden by overgrown vines.

"Wait here," the man said before stepping inside. Almost immediately, ear-splitting screeches erupted from the inside, followed by a blast of aether that sent Seth's hair swirling. He could feel the dense affinities within the powerful surge. Fire and Wind. The seconds dragged on like hours while he stood still, his mind racing. Professor Reat hadn't told them his plan, but it wasn't hard to guess. Why would they have gone back to pick up Seth's weapons and changed clothes if it wasn't to fight a beast?

"Done," the professor said, walking out of the cave without even a scratch on its clothes.

"I left one beast alive. Go inside with your direwolf and kill it. Without dying, preferably." As Seth took a deep breath, Nightmare sprang out of his necklace, his black ears perked up. There was not a single ounce of fear in the direwolf's crimson eyes—only pure excitement.

"Well, let's do this, Nightmare."