“I don’t know,” I admit.
“Hasn’t your family said anything?”
I shake my head.
“They should have,” he replies. “It’s their responsibility to teach you these things. Consuming souls to stabilize your own is fundamental knowledge for a young Tartarian immortal.”
“My parents died when I was little,” I say quietly. “I mostly raised myself.”
He exhales. “That explains a lot. No one was there to teach you.”
“Yes,” I answer, only half-truthfully.
I haven’t had anyone to teach me—but I’ve also been forbidden from learning. He doesn’t need to know that. No one does.
For every exam, every form, I used a different surname. Anything to avoid being tied to the Jubal family—the renowned House of Jubal, famed for its powerful warriors.
Not only because I’m not worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence, but also to keep my identity a secret in case my mother finds me; in case anyone finds out about the circumstances of my birth…
“Here,” Elysand says after a moment. He materializes a small vial out of nowhere and hands it to me. “This should help with your injuries and your cold. But be careful from now on.”
“I—Thank you, thank you,” I mumble sincerely, accepting the gift.
With a nod, he allows me to get back to my work station.
The moment I drink the potion, everything changes. My breathing gets easier and my cough disappears. The bruises too, they’re instantly gone—I note as I catch my reflection in a mirror.
Wow… So that’s what it means to have powers in this world.
Then my small bubble of joy bursts as I return to reality—I’ll never have those capabilities.
Back to my fully functioning capacity, I return to my work station for a few hours before being summoned for the bi-weekly conference.
Gathering all of my files, I go to the conference room and take a seat.
Since this is my first time participating in this kind of conference, I pay close attention to the etiquette surrounding it. Elysand, as chief, speaks first. He goes over the general developments and offers a brief introduction for the rookies in the department. Everyone nods in our direction, after which wetake turns discussing our assigned Houses and anything we’ve observed over the past two weeks.
When my turn comes, I try not to stumble over my words. It’s difficult, with so many eyes on me and so little experience speaking before an audience, but I proceed slowly and methodically. I go through every warrior in the House of Memnon assigned to me, explaining everything I’ve noticed.
When I finish, I let out a quiet breath and sit down. I sneak a glance at Elysand. He nods at me, and I can’t help but smile. That means I did well… right?
The next person to speak is another rookie. His name is Abram. He’s the only one I haven’t really interacted with—though that isn’t saying much since all of them ignore me more or less, especially after finding out I’m a rare levelzero.
Abram begins his report, and he’s the first to raise an alarm about one of the warriors under his supervision. As he details the situation, I find myself frowning. He projects a map showing the power indicators assigned to each warrior in his House and points out a flicker correlated with one individual.
“There’s an irregularity,” he says. “I believe it’s an indication of advancement.”
Elysand immediately frowns. He asks why Abram didn’t report this earlier. The rules are clear: while the course of action is determined during the conference, any irregularity must be announced the moment it’s noticed. Naturally, Elysand wants to know why this is the first he’s hearing of it.
Abram straightens, visibly flustered. He explains that he hasn’t detected the abnormality for very long. I can’t help wondering why he didn’t go directly to Elysand instead of waiting for the conference—but then another thought crosses my mind. Maybe he wanted the attention. The praise of presenting something significant in front of everyone.
I shake my head. Surely he wouldn’t risk protocol for that.
Elysand looks annoyed, but he tells Abram to continue. Abram lists the warrior’s stats, repeatedly pointing at a dot on the map that’s flickering slightly redder than the others.
I lean forward to get a better look, and before I can stop myself, I speak.
“May I see that more closely?”
