Way of the Knights

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It's finally done. 

After almost a whole day of fighting against the hoards of Imps, the battle was finally over along with the death of the Imp Overlord. The disciples could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The injured were being escorted back to the sect while some of the disciples who still have some fight left in them chased after the retreating wave of smaller Imps. They wanted to cut down their numbers first since they didn't want the Devil's Cradle to be infested by Imps as much as possible. 

As majority of the disciples retreated and went back to their bases, another group went outside of the gates. Their duty was to search for intact corpses of Imps, it's fine if it's missing a limb or two, so long as it retains majority of its body, they'll take it back with them. 

After some inquiries, the newer disciples found out that these people were doing this in order to use for experiments and such. As for what experiments it will be, they're in no position to know so they just left it like that. 

"Alright Unit-17, great work out there. Come, let's huddle for a bit." Henry clapped his hands and got their attention. 

Members of the unit stood up and went closer to him, this includes Raven who just dismounted the construct with great reluctance on his face. Once everyone was gathered, Henry then began his speech. 

"What you witnessed and experienced just now is just one of the staple events within Tartarus. You saw how hectic it is and how dangerous it could get, therefore you have to remember to make sure you're prepared."

"I also said this earlier, this even happens quite frequently. At least five times a year. Additionally, the Eruption only happened in the first floor. Remember that there's multiple floors of the pagoda here, the higher the floor is, the stronger the devils they contain. And even though I said that we are prepared for the worst case scenario, remember that your safety will be determined by your own efforts. Each battle has its own risks, and if you get careless or complacent, then you might end up as a casualty. Keep that in mind."

"Now, onto the more important topic." Henry cleared his throat before saying. "Congratulations Unit-17, compared to the rest of the units I handling, you people were the ones who gave the best performance during your initial hunt. Your rewards are already sent onto your base, make sure to check them out later once you rested enough."

"Additionally, the Merit Points you earned through killing Imps will be recorded and sent to you later. If you haven't received yours via tomorrow morning, make sure to contact me so that we can solve the problem. The same goes if you think that the Merit Points you received are less than what you were expecting. I left you guys a list of devils and their Merit Point equivalent back at the base, you guys better memorize that and monitor how much points you have."

"Now, aside from the item rewards, I'll also be bestowing you guys 5,000 Unit Merit Points. I don't need to explain what the Unit Merit Points means right?"

The junior disciples shook their head to this question. Each of them had already read the introductory books and documents of the Ancient Elysium Sect and the matter about the Unit Merit Points were written there. 

To put in simpler terms, Unit Merit Points are something that is earned by the team as a whole. They could earn it by doing Missions which specifically required multiple Unit Members to accomplish. Unit Merit Points could be used in multiple ways but the most popular way of using it is by upgrading their base. 

Additionally, items and resources that are bought by using Unit Merit Points are properties owned by the Unit as a whole. This means that everyone on the unit could use it if they got permission from their teammates to do so. 

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, you guys decide amongst yourselves on how you're going to spend them. Remember that you could always earn more Merit Points by completing a mission. Be wise on how you spend them since you can't return any items once the purchase is made."

"On to the next point." Henry cleared his throat once more and said: "It's time for us to discuss the matter of Bi-Annual Assessment."

"What's this Bi-annual assessment you ask? Then let me explain." Henry placed his hands on his back and started explaining. "Just like how it sounds, every six months your Unit as well as the others, will receive a Unique Mission from me. Depending on how you guys perform, the rewards will vary. But most importantly, if you pass the assessment, then your records will gradually accumulate."

"This Bi-annual assessment is created in order to for me to monitor your growths closely. Your results will be kept in record and trust me, these records will become incredibly crucial when the time for me to recommend what unit will receive the chance to enter the Inner Disciple Trials."

"Of course, there are also other factors that I'll personally consider. But know that should your Unit receives three failing grades consecutively, there's no way that I'll be recommending you to the Inner Disciple Trials. If you failed six times in a row, then I must apologize but I'll have you all expelled."

Hearing this words from him caused and invisible pressure to descend on Unit-17, this goes specially well for the weaker links on the team. Well, anyone who's on their shoes will feel the same. The stakes are high and if they don't work hard then it's possible for them to drag the whole team down. If the whole unit got expelled due to their fault, then forget about devils, their own teammates might be the ones who will personally kill them. 

"The best way to make sure that you guys won't be expelled is to keep getting stronger. I don't think I need to remind you of that but just in case." Henry smiled. 

"On the final note, you guys have to remember that I won't always be accompanying you and protecting you from the shadows. My status is crucial to the sect so I'm bound to be busy most of the times but I'll still be monitoring your progress. I already gave you guys my transmission sign. If you have anything important to tell me, then don't hold back."

"Remember that you all are one Unit, Unit-17. If you guys aren't going to help each other, then don't expect anyone else to help you."

"Okay, that's all for me. I know you guys are tired so go get some rest and check out your trophies later." Henry gave one final smile before he turned around and started walking away. 

Unit-17 gave him a salute and they jumped down from the cliff in order to return to their rooms. 

Raven gave the constructs one final look before jumping down and returning to his own lair. Once he entered, he released a long sigh and sat on his bed. His eyes then fell towards his kitchen which caused his stomach to grumble. 

Shaking his head, he stood up and prepared himself a simple meal. After eating, he took a quick shower, changed his clothes and lied down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a good amount of time before feeling drowsy. Raven then allowed himself to fall asleep, he wasn't incredibly exhausted but he still spent a decent amount of his energy. 

There's still at least 60% left on his Cosmic Energy tank, which he should be able to recovered in just a couple of days. 

As his consciousness gradually faded away, Raven thought about his plans for the next following days. Just like he discussed with the team during the hunt, their first task is to learn more about devils. That requires them to do some research which means that everyone in the team must participate. 

Additionally, he's also curious as to what kind of rewards they got from Henry. He could always check them later once he's properly rested. 

Finally, he wondered how many Merit Points he's able to snag during the siege. Raven had lost count on how many Imps he sniped, but he's pretty sure it was a lot. Hopefully he managed to accumulate as much Merit Points as possible, that'll get him closer to the first item that he truly wanted to buy. 

Raven highly doubted that he'll get that many Merit Points this early and he's fine with that. So long as he have the resources he needed, he'll eventually become unstoppable, but that matter can wait.

Of course, he also wanted to roam the entirety of Tartarus this time around just so that he could familiarize himself with it. He wanted to discover everything it has to offer and devise a plan that will allow him to earn as much Merit Points as possible.. All in all, he just needed time, a good plan and hard work and he'll eventually reach the place where he wanted to be.