17 It's That Easy

Devotion sat alone in the Summoner's Guild tent for quite some time, waiting for the examiner to return. Suddenly, the stout man instantly reappeared in the tent.

"So, while your first two aptitudes were garbage, your conjuration aptitude is the highest we've ever recorded. I just consulted with my boss, we're willing to offer you a position in the Summoner's Guild right away. I suggest you keep this aptitude of yours a secret. The wrong people could try to use you as a chess piece, if they knew what it was."

Devotion's eyes shone, hearing that he was being offered a position. He hadn't known that a high aptitude was really that important. With Ghostwhisper's training, and now the Summoner's Guild, Devotion knew his rise would be even faster than he dreamed.

"Just sign here, and you'll be all set up as a member of the Summoner's Guild! My name is Horatio, and I will not only personally escort you to your new quarters and campus, but will be one of your professors as well." The stout examiner, Horatio, explained. "Oh, and you'll need these as well."

Horatio, seemingly out of nowhere, produced a set of violet purple robes and a badge. The badge contained an emblem depicting a man riding a dragon. Looking at the emblem, Devotion felt an instinctual feeling of reverence for both the man and the dragon.

Sensing the wonder from Devotion, Horatio explained: "That depicts our founder, Lord Ambrose, riding his great dragon, Warwing. They were once a force to be reckoned with, but mysteriously vanished years ago. They left their inheritance and teachings to this sect, which we will pass along to you. That badge represents your membership into this sect, and the robes are a symbol of your rank. The plain violet purple is an outer sect disciple. As you gain more experience, complete missions, and Rank up in cultivation, you can be promoted to an inner sect disciple."

Horatio explained all this as he walked. Devotion found himself walking onto an immense campus. Immediately, he saw countless disciples wearing violet robes, some with summons following them, all walking in different directions. They were currently standing in an immense courtyard, with a fountain in the middle. The fountain had a statue of the same emblem on Devotion's badge, Lord Ambrose riding his Dragon, Warwing.

"This is the main courtyard of campus. It's a common gathering place for large events, or simply to relax. I imagine you'll spend quite some time here. Next, I'll show you key buildings, as well as your quarters..." Horatio proceeded to take Devotion on a full tour of the campus. He showed multiple buildings for classes, the headquarters for disciples to take missions, and finally, the dorm building that Devotion would be staying in.

"Here is your room, Number Six-Hundred Eighteen. That's also your disciple ID number, so remember it well. You'll need it when signing up for things. I'll see you at my lecture tomorrow. Take this time to get acquainted with your quarters." Horatio was about to turn and leave when he remembered something. "Heavens, how rude of me! I was so excited about your aptitude, I never asked your name."

"Devotion, sir." Devotion responded.

"Please, call me Horatio. I despise formalities. It was nice to meet you, Devotion." Saying the name out loud, Horatio seemed to have thought about something, and was about to ask, when he stopped. "See you tomorrow." He said, turning and leaving. Devotion wondered what that was about, but pushed it out of his mind. He supposed he should take a survey of his new quarters.

It was not the largest or most spacious room in the world, but definitely better than nothing. It had a simple bed, a dresser for clothing, a desk, and a bathroom. Additionally, there was a window carrying a view of the central courtyard. While it wasn't the nicest place, it was still leaps and bounds above the quality of rooms Devotion had been staying in previously.

Laying down, Devotion realized how tired he was, and drifted to sleep.

During this tour, a certain man was frantically searching the Court of Sects. This man was the taller man from the mechanism sect, the one who had heard about Devotion's talent. He would have unleashed his spiritual strength to quickly search the entire courtyard, but that was forbidden to do within the city. Instead, he had to painstakingly walk over to each person in the courtyard, close enough to sense their aura, and see if it matched what he knew.

Unfortunately for this tall man, Devotion was already long gone, having accepted a position into the Summoner's Guild.

The taller man searched for several hours, until the Court of Sects was completely empty, before giving up. He had been too late.

"No matter. Muriel!" He shouted, running back to his own sect's tent. The old woman poked her head out.

"Yes?" She replied.

"Tell me everything about this boy. His appearance, what he had on him, everything. Anything out of the ordinary for me to keep an eye on. He can't be far, he most likely joined another sect. With his aptitude, the only place that would take him is the Summoner's Guild. I'll start with them. I'll send some men, I say, to infiltrate, figure out where he is, and then, yes, I'll pay him a visit." The tall man was thinking out loud.

"Ah, that boy, yes, yes, he had a strange purple fox on his shoulders. I've never seen a summon, yes, yes, a summon, quite like it before. It didn't even have an aura that I could detect, yes, yes, an aura." The old woman, Muriel, recalled.

"A strange purple fox without an aura? How strange. I'll have my men keep an eye out for that. Muriel!" The tall man shouted.

"Yes, yes, I'm right here." The old woman fussed.

"Send out an order to the entire sect. I say, whoever can locate the boy with the purple fox and infiltrate the Summoner's Guild will instantly be promoted to inner sect disciple! Send that order at once! I say, at once!" He shouted once more.

"But sir, you're the only one who can send sect-wide orders." Muriel explained.

"Oh, right. I shall send the order at once!" He pointed at the sky, storming out to his own sect's court. He would find his prodigy, somehow!