Chapter 195: Proclimation

Jaxir’s vision cleared as the black crystal cavern disappeared. He was standing in the same stretch of forest the Gasini token had pulled him from several hours earlier.

There hadn’t been any sense of movement at all. By the time Jaxir had his bearings, the familiar shadowed figure was already waiting beneath the trees.

It seemed whoever handled these entrance tests had enough faith in their teleportation system to know exactly where he’d come back.

"You have succeeded."

Jaxir shrugged a bit, adjusting the shroud over his identity. "It wasn’t that bad."

That wasn’t technically a lie. Though, Luxy probably would’ve disagreed after nearly fainting when she heard what he’d killed.

During their conversation, she had also explained that there was a far more common Mage Slayer Title, given to people who defeated Mage-standard opponents under the right conditions. The lower-tier Gasini equipment used to verify entrance tests couldn’t tell the difference between that and Sovereign Slayer.

As far as the man in front of Jaxir could tell, he had finished the absurd test he’d been given and come back with exactly the kind of achievement they expected.

The shadow stayed quiet for so long that Jaxir started to wonder if he’d somehow managed to disappoint him anyway.

Eventually, the man gave one slow nod and reached into his cloak. He pulled out a thin black token marked with a faint silver symbol and held it out to Jaxir without any ceremony.

"This represents your relationship with this branch. Other members carrying the proper authority will be able to sense it when you enter sufficient proximity, so keep it with you if you intend to operate under our protection. You are currently recognized as a Tier One member."

Jaxir turned the token over in his fingers. Other than the faint pulse of mana hidden inside, there was nothing all that interesting about it.

"Tier One sounds impressive if you don’t know how many tiers there are."

The man’s face stayed hidden. Even so, Jaxir could practically feel how unamused he was.

"Given the difficulty of the entrance examination assigned to you, your path to Tier Three will be smooth and unhindered. There won’t be any roadblocks or checkpoints. You may also accelerate that process by accepting available missions rather than waiting for this branch to summon you."

Jaxir slipped the token into his Inventory as the shadow went on to explain that missions could show up without warning. There was no fixed schedule, and Jaxir didn’t have to stay close to Marr Town. Refusing too many assignments would slow down his standing in the branch, naturally.

For now, he was apparently supposed to keep doing whatever he’d already been doing until someone decided they needed him.

"Great." Jaxir smiled and held out one hand. "Now where’s all the stuff you promised me?"

The shadow didn’t react to the gesture.

"Access to our hideouts and the resources within them begins at Tier Three. The benefits you were promised will become available once you reach that standing."

Jaxir opened his mouth to complain. However, the man’s outline had already started thinning into darkness.

A second later, the shadow dissolved completely between the trees, leaving Jaxir staring at an empty patch of forest with his hand still held out.

He slowly lowered it and laughed.

"How cute."

The way they treated him had changed quite a bit from the careful interest they’d shown before his entrance exam. After talking with Luxy, Jaxir had a decent idea why.

Success mattered to the Gasini, but so did how efficiently someone got there. From their point of view, Jaxir had vanished for almost a day to do something an exceptional Archmage candidate should have handled much faster.

They had no way of knowing he’d been forced through three Elite sacrifices, a Mage opponent 21 Levels above him, and then a Sovereign, all before he could even leave the cavern.

That misunderstanding suited him just fine.

Luxy’s advice had made one thing clear. Drawing too much interest from the Gasini too fast came with its own problems, especially when Jaxir knew almost nothing about what they actually wanted from Naturals, or why Niri hated them.

Being inside the organization while still looking merely promising gave him access, without making him important enough for anyone powerful to start digging into every detail of his progression.

If he wanted to follow the path Luxy had suggested, Tier One was probably the best place he could have landed.

Jaxir started back toward Marr Town.

By the time he reached the outer streets, his shroud was fully active and he’d settled into a pace casual enough not to draw attention.

Maelis had already proven that being inside the city didn’t make him untouchable. So, Jaxir kept his Attune spread lightly around himself and watched the people moving between the buildings.

He expected trouble eventually. What he didn’t expect was to see his own face nailed to the first wall he passed.

Jaxir slowed down as his eyes moved over the notice.

His portrait took up most of the page. The 40,000 gold reward underneath it was so big that nobody walking by could reasonably miss it.

He stared at it for several seconds before moving on, only to find another copy farther down the street, and two more plastered across the wall of a nearby shop.

By the next intersection, he had stopped counting.

The closer he got to his neighborhood, the more often the posters showed up.

Nick’s face was next to his on several of them, along with Gavin, Malik, Mina, and Elara, each worth 20,000 gold. It made the whole thing feel like someone had declared war on everyone connected to him.

Most of the humor drained out of Jaxir’s expression as he kept walking.

Eventually, his house came into view.

Jaxir stopped across the street and looked at it for a long moment. There was nothing obviously wrong with the building itself.

He didn’t have Nick’s instincts for spotting hidden players. However, after seeing the rest of Marr Town, he didn’t need them. Anyone offering 40,000 gold for his head would have people watching the most obvious place he might come back to.

Just standing here was probably enough to make a few of them suspicious already.

A message popped up at the edge of his vision.

Nick: [What the hell are you doing? Keep walking. You’re a wanted man, idiot. The shroud doesn’t mean shit if you stand in front of YOUR OWN HOUSE.]

Jaxir read it once and dismissed it without replying. It seemed that this Maelis really thought he was a pushover.

He drew a slow breath, letting Attune sink into the mana moving through his chest, then guided a thread of silvery-blue Light Mana into his lungs and throat.

It wasn’t a comfortable feeling. Though, Jaxir had spent enough time manipulating mana outside the normal limits of Cast that making his voice carry through it wasn’t hard.

He turned to face the street, not any watcher in particular.

"Tell Maelis to meet me at the combat arena tomorrow at noon. I’ll be sure to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget."

The words left his mouth wrapped in surging silvery-blue light. Instead of fading with distance, they spread out through the air.

Jaxir’s voice rolled across the surrounding streets, then farther, spreading over rooftops and plazas until it practically blanketed all of Marr Town.

Anyone listening for him had their answer now.

Jaxir walked to his front door.

Whatever eyes had been hiding around the neighborhood didn’t matter anymore. He made no effort to hide where he was going as he crossed the last stretch.

The door opened under his hand, and Jaxir stepped inside his home without looking back.

It closed behind him.