Return to the Ivory Tower

[Name – Arthur Landragon

Class – Level 7 [Beginner Rank] Acolyte (0 / 3 500 EXP)

HP – 50 / 50 | Mana: 60 / 60

→ Experience Stored: 980

Attributes:

Strength – 9 | Agility – 3 | Vitality – 5 | Magic Power – 7

Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship (58), Magical Knowledge (33), Archery (41), Ice Magical Knowledge (25), Deceiving (20), Spell Reading (18), Acting (16), Cartography (16), Scroll Copying (15), Eloquence (14), Charming (12), Poetry (10), Trading (8), Information gathering (6)

Knight Technique: Heavy Vertical Strike (23), Power Thrust (12), Killing Intent (10)

Spell: Freezing Touch [Low Grade – Rank 0] (20)

Items: Celeste (Medium-grade Enchanted Weapon), Ring of Courage (Low-grade Enchanted Item), Amulet of Healing (Low-grade Enchanted Item), Orc General Flag (Low-grade Enchanted Item), Wolf Skin Helmet (Low-grade Enchanted Item)]

The Orc Chieftain wore a low-grade enchanted item.

[Wolf Skin Helmet - Low-grade Enchanted Item

An armour made of Jade Wolf's skin, refined by an orc shaman.

Effect: Jade Wolf Skin has the unique property of absorbing elemental particles, reducing part of a spell upon contact. It is also incredibly sturdy, making it very unlikely for a warrior to cut or pierce through it]

Looting the village proved to be quite the lucrative activity.

There were a few more ice perls, which Arthur quickly consumed.

As for his subordinates, they found valuable treasures as well. Some of these treasures included sculptures and orcish trinkets that could be sold for a few hundred gold coins. For some nobles, the fact that creatures other than humans could create pieces of art was enough to become curious. Curious enough to spend hundreds of gold coins for one sculpture.

Although it would be difficult to find a buyer in the Ivory Tower, there were plenty of itinerary merchants who could buy this trinket and make the trip to the Porfield Kingdom for the sake of earning a commission.

To Arthur, gold coins held little value in comparison to the ice perls, so he was satisfied with the repartition of the loot. Of course, he would take his share of gold coins since he was the leader of the expedition. This was the privilege of the strong.

As for Evangeline, she kept a few totems for research purpose. Acolytes were known to be curious after all. And curiosity sometimes led to inspiration. Perhaps she would manage to grow her understanding of orcs through the totems she found.

--- Ivory Tower, two days later ---

"Look! It's the Law Enforcement Faction Acolytes! They must have returned from their orc subjugation mission!", a probationary acolyte exclaimed.

It was no secret that the Law Enforcement Faction possessed less than 15 acolytes. Due to their small numbers, Dorian had turned Arthur and his group as 'Acolyte Hunters'. If they died in the mission, the Law Enforcement Faction would lose credibility, but if they returned victorious, then the fame of the Law Enforcement Faction would skyrocket within the tower.

After all, only the Arcane Faction and the advanced acolyte Raven Master had managed to destroy an orc settlement. It was an unprecedented feat for beginner acolytes.

The probationary acolyte's tutor, a beginner acolyte from the Arcane Faction going by the name of Theo, squinted: "I only see four of them. I heard that the old Karl Yale took a difficult mission under the leadership of a newcomer. Did he finally die?"

The probationary acolyte was surprised: "Isn't a fellow acolyte dying a bad thing?"

Theo smirked: "Not really. The weaker the other factions become, the more influential the Arcane Faction becomes. As soon as you become a beginner acolyte, you will become one of ours. Anything that benefits the Arcane Faction will benefit you. Monopoly over resources, unique commissions...These are privileges that come with our supremacy within the tower"

Arthur moved towards the Mission Elder, an advanced-rank acolyte who was said to be the disciple of the Ivory Tower Master.

"We were tasked with subjugating an orc general in the dwarven mountains. We lost a companion. He died in the battle. Here is the head of the orc general as proof", Arthur said

The Mission Elder looked at Arthur and his subordinates. As if he acknowledged them, he seemed to smile for a while: "I am sorry for your loss. You will receive the reward you were promised. Wait a second"

The Mission Elder returned with 30 magic crystals. Arthur took 15 of them, and gave 5 to each one of his subordinates.

"Since I made the greatest contributions, I will take Karl's share", Arthur said.

The others nodded.

'So this is the privileges of the strong, huh...', Arthur analysed.

For three years, he was stuck with doing patrolling missions. Although he grew, it was a long and harsh path towards strength. The tower was a place where the strong became increasingly stronger, while the weak were abused and exploited.

Now that Arthur had reached Level 7, there were very few beginner acolytes who could rival his strength. As for intermediate acolytes, there were very few in the Ivory Tower to begin with. This mission had been incredibly rewarding.