Way of the Knights

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"Are you willing to join the Eternal Horizon Clan?"

Raven blanked out as soon as he heard Victor ask this question.

He for one didn't expect to have any contact with this organization, not in this way either. Come to think of it, Raven didn't have much knowledge about the Eternal Horizon Clan anyway.

"I'm pretty sure that you are very confused about many things right now. There's no rush, I'll slowly explain things to you as nothing much is known about our organization anyway."

"But before I tell you anything, I'd like you to ensure me that everything that we will talk about would be kept as a secret. There's a strict confidentiality that we have to follow, and if you cannot promise me that, then we'll just treat this conversation as if it never happened." Victor warned solemnly as he spoke.

Raven of course knew the gravity of the situation and understood it's purpose so he nodded his head and said: "I understand teacher, unless I am permitted, I will never leak the secrets of our conversation to outsiders."

He was truly intrigued and wanted to know more about the purpose of this organization, he didn't had this chance during his past life so he had to take advantage of this chance now.

"Very well." Victor nodded, "Eternal Horizon Clan doesn't really work as mysterious as people think."

"The only reason why we appear mysterious is because we make sure that our identities are somewhat hidden. The missions that we carry is also somewhat discreet and usually...messy." There was a trace of hesitation when he said the last word of his claim.

"Pardon me for interrupting Teacher but..." Raven hesitated for a bit before asking: "Are you guys working as assassins?"

"Partly yes." Victor did not deny and confirmed it with a nod. Raven didn't show any changes in his expressions which made Victor heave a sigh of relief. "But we do not kill indiscriminately, after all we are under the direct orders of the Crown Prince."

"Huh?" This is Raven's reaction when he heard Victor's revelation.

"You heard me right." Victor nodded to Raven's reaction, "Our Chief Director is Crown Prince Balmung Lightshield. It is under his judgments that we kill, but we will only do the killing once we gathered more than enough evidence."

Raven listened closely as in his eyes, the value of this organization shot through the roof.

"Our job is to monitor the hidden currents of the Kingdom. We mostly go under disguises to gather Intel, infiltrate facilities and gather enough evidences. On the off chance that they could still slip away from judgment, then we strike. That's basically what we do."

"So you guys are more like the hidden forces of the Royal Army."

"Correct." Victor nodded and confirmed Raven's logic.

Raven went silent, he then tried hard to recall any clues during his past life that might be tied to the Eternal Horizon Clan. He managed to secure some but he's not entirely sure if he was correct, he knew that if he wanted to know more, then he had to join them.

"I am a part of the Sacred Leaf Tavern, will that be a problem?"

Astonishment flashed by Victor's eyes as he heard Raven say this, at the same time he also found this difficult to believe.

When he looked at Raven, specially after displaying his potential, he sees a valiant warrior who charges at the battlefield, not someone who prefer to study and concoct pills.

"None whatsoever." Victor replied, jubilant to hear this wonderful news. "That's even better if that's the case. Just make sure to inform the higher ups in order to make sure that there are no complications."

"Will the organization place many restrictions on me if I join?"

"Confidentiality is this only thing that you have to worry about, so long as you keep everything as a secret then there's no need to worry about anything else." Victor replied.

"Alright, I'm in." Raven replied, "How do I join?"

"Usually, we will have you take a series of probationary missions first. But the results of your Monthly Task plus showing them the recording of the spectacle earlier should qualify you enough to join our ranks." Victor shoved his hand on his sleeves and took out a badge.

He then passed this badge to Raven. The badge has a smooth surface and a glossy finish. In the middle of the badge, there are a carving of blue clouds that had dark edges and some streaks of red. This should be the symbol that the Eternal Horizon Clan uses.

"This badge works the same way as your student's badge. Meetings and other important events will be communicated through this so make sure to keep an eye on it. Also, don't lose that. We hid our identities by disguises so to avoid further confusion, the badge is built with a tracking inscription. This makes sure that we don't accidentally endanger our own."

"Understood." Raven said as he clutched the badge and kept it on his uniform.

"Remember, be careful in revealing your identity. Make sure that you could completely trust someone first before even considering to reveal your connection with us. I'm reminding you this for your own safety, are we clear?"

"Yes, Teacher. I would be very careful."

"Great." Victor nodded in satisfaction, "You may go now."

***

"Eternal Horizon Clan huh?" Raven mused.

"It's not hard to tell that teacher was lying. It was obvious that he was hesitating a lot and fidgety, something that an Elder won't feel when talking to a Junior. Compared to his actions, his gaze is the most intriguing part. I could tell that he was conveying something. He didn't tell me the entire truth behind the Eternal Horizon Clan at all."

"Why is that so? What's the reason why he needed to hide things from me and his subordinates who are hiding in the shadows?" Raven asked to despite himself, "If the Eternal Horizon Clan is under the direct orders of the Crown Prince, then what's with all the secrecy? What are they hiding?"

"Asking these questions to myself won't yield any answers. It would be better for me to have a look myself and see what this Eternal Horizon Clan really is hiding."

"If what teacher said was true, that the it's truly is the Crown Prince who's directing them, then I can't imagine them being enemies. But if they're not..."

Raven's eyes flashed with coldness as soon as his thoughts arrived at this point.

Thankfully he's back to his cave abode right now, or else from the look that he's showing, people might think that he's plotting murder.

"Anyway, I'll just wait for that day to arrive. For now, I'll continue training."

Raven sat down on the cold ground and focused his mind, he knew that there's no point on thinking too much about this matter since he'll eventually find out anyway. What matter's the most right now is to raise his strength as soon as he could. Only with strength would he be able to ensure his safety as well as the important people in his life.

He once again arrived at the familiar sight of the majestic palace inside the Crown Space.

He took a sniff of the pure air inside and felt his whole body tighten in anticipation. Raven stretched for sometime before taking a step inside the Palace Grounds.

The vast and majestic suppression pressed onto every single pore in his body. The pressure in the first few steps actually felt nicer now that he's so used to it, compared to the first time that he arrived here, the difference is just too great.

So far, pushing his body to the absolute limits everytime, allowed him to arrive in the 49th step. Nevertheless, this distance is merely a drop in the ocean considering the vastness of this space.

Today, he had one goal. And that is to step onto the 50th stage. A very simple goal but incredibly challenging to do. He had lost count on how many times he attempted to take that step but he just fails every single time. The pressure on the 50th step was stronger, almost twice as the current pressure in the 49th step, which is why he failed to conquer it multiple times.

He had high hopes today so he started making his way towards the 50th step.

It didn't take long before he eventually arrived at the 49th step. Raven was already sweating hard and his breathing was a little uneven, nevertheless the light in his eyes never diminished but went stronger instead.

He lifted his foot and took the step, the crushing force in the 50th step immediately made his knees creak. Raven felt a sharp pain but he gritted his teeth and firmly planted his feet there.

With another grunt, he lifted his other foot and transitioned over to the 50th step. The crushing pressure made his bones creak, Raven almost lost consciousness due to how heavy he feels right now but he bit his lips and persevered.

1 second...2 seconds....3 seconds...

Eventually he managed to stay awake for a solid minute, which he took as a win on his book. He chuckled weakly before planning to take a step back.

But it seems that the Crown Space had another idea instead.