Assimilate All Talents

Leaving the ancient city, the exploration team split back into their respective forces. The handoff of the Life Condenser happened without issue, and the orcs mobilized to immediately transport it back to their clan, planning to use it as soon as possible.

Sol and the squad, along with the humans of the exploration team, made their way back to Fort Chill Haven, where they gave their final goodbyes. Some would stay behind to continue exploring the city or await reassignment.

When they teleported back to Crestal City, Sol looked at the squad and said, “Good work, everyone. Go and get some rest. I still have to report to Commander Zaman, so go on ahead without me.”

“Aight, Cap! When you get back, we should go out for some drinks!” Aron said, ready to celebrate another successful mission.

“I just want to go and sleep…” Rex said, still feeling some aftereffects of the Bliss Spider’s hallucinogen, causing severe drowsiness.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun. Who’s with me? Anyone?”

Surprisingly, the first to agree was Duncan. “I could use a drink.”

It had been a long day, and while he didn’t fight, it was stressful nonetheless, and a drink was very appealing.

“I’m down. What about you, sis?” Lazuli said while nudging her sister.

“Sure.”

“I’ll come along, but I don’t plan on drinking.” Nataly said, not wanting to miss out.

“See? Everyone’s down to go. C’mon, Rex!”

“Fine… just don’t leave me at the tavern if I pass out.” While he wanted to sleep, Aron’s efforts eventually swayed him.

“No worries! I’ll carry you back if I have to! What about you, Cap?” Aron asked Sol.

“Sure, but go on ahead. I’ll meet you all there. Not sure how long this will take.”

Sol parted ways with them and made his way to Commander Zaman’s office.

“Welcome back, Sol. You came back sooner than expected. Am I correct to assume it went well?”

“Well… for the most part…”

Zaman hadn’t heard of what occurred in the ancient city. Even though a lot happened, it had only been half a day since they last saw each other, and only under two hours since they first encountered the Bliss Spider. Word was still getting around, and it was only a matter of time before it reached him, but with Sol here, he could get the news straight from the source.

“Orna intervened and killed it then… To think he was unaware an entire city was built under its tail. How big is it for him to not notice such a thing…” Zaman found it difficult to comprehend how this could be possible. Though he had yet to have an audience with the dragon, he knew its sheer size must be bigger than the very mountains he rested beneath.

He sighed. This was beyond the comprehension of man and not something mortals like him should dwell on, but given that it was his job to worry about potential threats, he had to. He could only hope Orna never directed his wrath at their kingdom.

“I’m glad you came back unharmed. It's a shame to hear what happened to one of our own, but given the circumstances, we can only be thankful that only one died at its hands.”

Sol agreed. If the Bliss Spider had gone on a rampage instead of stalking them silently, it could have been much worse.

“And with this, hopefully the Frostaxe Clan can pay the debt they owe and not have to invade us anymore.” Sol added. After all, this was the whole purpose of the mission in the first place.

“If that machine works, then we won’t have to worry in the near future. But that doesn’t mean another reason for war won’t appear. We have to continue working to make sure it doesn’t lead to that. Ah, but speaking of the future, there’s someone who wants to talk to you.”

“Huh? Who?”

“The Saintess.”

Upon hearing it was the Saintess, Sol almost jumped from his seat. The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived. If this went well, he could finally get a lead on where his parents were. He calmed his rapidly beating heart to avoid appearing suspicious and asked, “W-why does she want to speak to me?”

‘Is he an admirer of hers?’ Zaman noticed Sol’s reaction was a little odd. He hadn’t taken him as the type, but given how praised she was in the kingdom, it wasn’t hard to believe. He fought the urge to tease him about it, as it was rather inappropriate, and instead answered his question.

“She didn’t say why specifically, just that she needs to meet with you. I know it’s vague, but once you deal with her long enough, you get used to it. Something about the less one knows, the easier it is to predict fate.”

‘Could it be she knows why I’m here?’

A fear that had been lingering at the back of his mind for a while was that she may have already foreseen his future and knew what he wanted. She could use that information to set a trap, which wouldn’t be hard to do if she just informed Zaman and the Grand Knights to capture him. Though he was now an A-Ranker and was confident he could defeat any other A-Ranker, he wasn’t sure he could hold his own against multiple, more experienced A-Rankers at once.

But after thinking about it more, he realized this likely wasn’t the case.

‘If she knew and wanted to stand against me, she wouldn’t need to ask to meet with me. So either she knows and wants to help, or she doesn’t know and is calling me for a different reason.’

He hoped it was the former, as it would be easy to get what he wanted, but he should come up with a story in case it was the latter, to convince her to find his parents.

‘But won’t she find out about my relationship with them? If I get caught in a lie when she checks fate… Gods, this isn’t going to be easy to pull off.’

He knew he would have to think of a few plans depending on how the initial interaction went. He also had to make plans for leaving the Royal Knights and tie up loose ends. To do all this, he needed some time.

“Does she want to meet now?” Sol asked.

Zaman shook his head. “No, I don’t think she knew you would return so soon, as she is rather busy these next few days. She asked to see you in a weeks' time.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I won’t take any missions that require me to leave the city, then.”

Internally, Sol sighed in relief that he had some time before their meeting.