Vale had a lot to think about at the end of the session, but it wasn't really about the history Kren had told him. What occupied his thoughts was why he hadn't been taught any of this while in the Athrimir Clan.
Maybe I really shouldn't blame the clan, he thought, because even I was never interested in actual history. What I cared about were the heroic deeds of the Emperor and how to swing a sword.
At the end of the session, Kren had told him the operation would happen in three weeks and that he should start preparing. The information made Vale stiffen as he remembered the Forbidden Order Mark said to be on the ruin.
The Forbidden Mark was named so for a reason. Everyone who had tried to walk the Knighthood path under the mark had failed horribly. They either became twisted monsters or lost control and slaughtered those around them. The power itself seemed inherently corruptive.
Vale had once believed the Knight Assembly on this matter. Of course, he had even blamed the poor soul who received the mark. But now… he smiled bitterly at the memory. I really was naive then. Thought I was some golden shit.
To be honest, Vale didn't care much about losing control, but he knew he had to understand the power of the Forbidden Mark first. He didn't even know what type of power it would grant him. But to really know if I'll lose control, I have to first advance to official Knight. Better if I can do that before the operation.
He promised himself he would bring the matter up to Kren during the last session, and in the meantime, he would continue his routine: sleep, eat, break rocks, and then venture deeper into the tunnels to train with the imps—kill the imps. He had gotten used to his Squire rank powers quickly enough that he began to suspect he was just skilled at killing imps. After all, imps were one of the weakest monsters, and their only advantage was their numbers and their ability to phase through objects.
Vale simply had to predict that and overpower them with raw power.
At the end of that week, a day before his lesson session, he didn't go deeper into the tunnel as usual. Instead, he went in search of Kade.
He found the man in his tent, cuddling with a woman who immediately left upon seeing Vale. Must be nice to be the leader of a gang, Vale thought.
Kade smirked, pulling on a shirt. He didn't seem too offended that his fun had been interrupted. "You don't know half of it. So what is it? I know you're not here just to see my handsome face."
Vale steeled himself. Kade reminded him of how he had been years ago, and… he couldn't believe how cringe it had been to behave like an arrogant 'young master.' He explained his problem to Kade, who nodded slowly.
"I can see what to do. The Nyxori usually retain some teams to look for specific monsters for them. Wait here. I'll see if they haven't left yet and if you can join them."
Vale stood alone in the tent, bigger than his own, with a large bed. Clothes were scattered everywhere, most of them apparently not belonging to a man. He grimaced at the smell but didn't have to wait long before Kade returned.
"Lucky you. They haven't left for the hunt yet, and Arvas permitted you to tag along. They didn't want to take an unfamiliar person, but they know me."
Kade led Vale out of the tent after putting on black leather armor with a longsword on his back. He shrugged when Vale raised a brow. "Arvas only allowed you after I said I'd tag along. You might be powerful, but I assume this is the first time you'll be hunting in the Borderland. I'll show you how it's done here."
They soon left the camp behind and entered the layer proper, passing ruins on their way to the occupied ruin the Nyxori used as their base. In front of the building stood a team of three men and a woman wearing black and red Steelclaw leather armor, carrying weapons.
They were older than Vale and Kade, and as they approached, Vale heard one of them mutter, "So we are going to be babysitting some brats today?"
Snorting laughter followed.
Vale twitched but resisted a sigh. He wasn't in the mood to watch people 'put him in his place.' He was here simply to learn how to fight things that weren't imps.
Kade smiled and threw his arms wide. "First layer, team 98 of the Steelclaw Alliance. This is Vale, and we'll be joining your hunt for today."
Frank, flat stares turned to Vale, and he looked them over in turn. They didn't impress him. They looked… ordinary. Maybe that was normal for a team 98. Vale had learned that each layer's teams were ranked by strength for each Flagbearer.
The Steelclaw Alliance teams in the first layer numbered 107, so team 98 wasn't that impressive. They must have thought the same of him because they grunted in response.
The obvious team leader crossed his muscled arms. "I'm Garran, the team leader, and you listen to my every word. I don't have time to baby a br… newbie, so just stay back and watch."
He turned to Kade, lips curling. "I'd rather the two of you not follow me, but this was directly from the Captain. Just don't fuck this up, or I'll fuck you up."
"Let's go. We have monsters to hunt. I won't be waiting for anyone," Vale noted, following the group.