Chapter 48. The Secret Squad

Each secret disciple was developed his own special program under the careful guidance of his mentor. Conventionally, they were divided into two categories: double disciples and secret disciples.

Yee Rhys fell into the category of double disciples. They had the status of official disciples in the sect, but they were not brilliant. Usually they were geniuses who had a special talent, like mentalists. Or they had made enemies, and they were officially "de-anointed" to get them out of harm's way.

The secret disciples lived and trained in remote places with little contact with the regular disciples. Often of the entire sect they knew only the mentor and a dozen other people.

Resources for the secret disciples were supplied in parallel to the official ones. They were distributed according to a special system based on each disciples' needs and merits. There were no tournaments or other competitions. Even contact between the secret disciples was rare. Instead of a ranking of official disciples, there was a merit ranking. However, this did not reflect the actual usefulness and potential of the disciples.

The amount and type of resources secret disciples received were controlled by their mentors. There was a sort of prime rate in Qi stones, which each mentor translated into the appropriate resources. Free money? Only with the mentor's permission. In particular, Yee Rhys learned that his funding was frozen. That is, somewhere out there the amount is accrued and replenished, but there is no way to get a single stone in his hands. Although it must be admitted that even the minimum rate in the Secret Squad looked much better than the standards of the Outer Sect.

That's to be expected, though. In his case, the Outer Sect was one big testing ground, and he wouldn't be given a single extra Qi stone so as not to spoil the legend of an ordinary disciple.

Yes, that legend had been cracking and almost breaking ever since Inner Sect Elder Ho Ho Loc had been tied up for interfering in the Discipline Department.

Another plus was the ability to visit a number of areas closed to regular disciples, and a set of training grounds, duplicating the publicly available. A personalized experience, so to speak. Most of the restricted areas were of a very specific nature, and one shouldn't even go there without the permission of one's mentor. But some of them were open to all secret disciples. He was especially glad that this Squad had its own Library. His gut was telling him that he could gain more out of it than what was available to the normal disciples.

Having put the useful information in his memory, Yee Rhys continued studying the slip.

All this fascination was accompanied by a corresponding set of duties. The first item was unconditional obedience to the mentor. Then it was reported that a secret disciple could not refuse the mission given to him. Um, normal disciples have problems with refusing compulsory missions, too.

A separate clause stated that a secret disciple was required to conceal his identity. Either change their appearance or wear a mask. Only the mentor and confidants have the right to know their true identity. The circle of confidants is also determined by the mentor. Outsiders are to be eliminated immediately to prevent information leakage.

Mm-hmm, looks like the Patriarch had it all figured out before he gave away the mask.

The Secret Squad itself consisted of five Elders besides the disciples and mentors: the Head of the Secret Squad (the Grand Elder) and four of his assistants. They were in charge of missions, resource allocation, array support, and everything else necessary for such a structure to function. The Secret Elders were on a separate list and were not part of the Secret Squad, except when acting as mentors.

Now, more about the nameplate. All the names of the Secret Disciples were fake. It's pretty clear here. The only question is, who came up with the name Yee Kar?

The level of access reflected access to classified information and depended on merit to the sect and the degree of trust in the disciple. Yeah, someone had to do the dirty work.

Specialization. Also understandable. Who's a murderer, who's a thief, who's a spy. Each profession has its own code name. Bellman means mentalist. And there aren't many of them in the sect. Consequently, they're valued higher than ordinary specializations.

The Resources column reflected the resources available to the disciple. The only other resources listed there were Eyes, a code for mentalist resources.

Who came up with all those codes?

As he perused the available resources, Yee Rhys felt discouraged. First of all, there were only four types of resources available to him. Second, they were expensive. The cheapest was the common mental stone (sometimes called sapphires for their bluish color), and it cost as much as a thousand common Qi stones. Next in line were herbal resources, the lowest level of which was two thousand Qi stones per leaf. The rest of the herbs required points to purchase.

Points were the currency of the Secret Squad and were awarded for successful missions. Yee Rhys had no points because the first and last mission counted as an entrance test.

And at the end there was a note that it was better for him not to dwell on the possibilities of the Secret Squad, but to get down to business. And in general, do not contact with the secret ones without need.

I see. He seemed to have a pair of one-on-one missions on his hands.

The young man stowed the slips in his sack. Something had to be done about the abundance of secret objects. No one had ever done away with theft in the sect. And during events like hunting, it's a holy thing.

Checking his mind, Yee Rhys discovered that the current was only halfway restored. Creating another Qi capsule, he accelerated the current again, and from the collected energy he concocted two more listening seals. After admiring the five openwork beauties on the wall, he drifted off to sleep.

***

He awoke just after dawn. After stretching, Yee Rhys jumped to his feet and did a few exercises to get the blood flowing. Good.

There was still some heaviness in his head, but otherwise his brain was quite functional. The current in his mind was still thin, having recovered less than halfway. That was enough for now, though.

The young man shook his head and walked over to the wall, taking the listening seals from it. Temporarily placing them on his clothes, Yee Rhys walked out of the house.

Stopping on the threshold, he breathed in the fresh morning air and stretched once more. Lowering his arms, the young man touched the doorjamb as if unintentionally, placing an listening seal there. One never knew who was going to visit unannounced.

At the gate, Yee Rhys performed another act of gymnastics, bypassing the signal threads. And placed a second seal on the outside of the courtyard gate. That is where the attackers prefer to hold their last meeting.

The young man made his way leisurely to the central square and the first thing he did was visit the logistics center, where he got two new sets of uniforms and a number of household necessities.

The next destination was the canteen, where Yee Rhys had a delicious breakfast, and at the same time placed the last three listening seals. The lectures were over, so visiting this place would now be free and it would become almost impossible to catch a crowd here.

Though he was too hasty with that last conclusion. It was clear from overheard conversations that specialized lectures regarding artifacts, alchemy, talismans, and arrays had begun in the central square after the tournament. A combined version of general education and searching for candidates for the Union of Production Divisions.

The Union of Production Divisions consisted of the Divisions of Alchemy, Artifacts, Arrays, Talismans, Tamers, Healers, and several other lesser-known divisions. In inter-faction struggles they maintained strict neutrality. And those who offended were blacklisted, whose representatives were denied goods and services of the entire Union.

In a sense, the Discipline Department was the Patriarch's right hand. And the Secret Squad was the left, operating from the shadows. The Union, on the other hand, was the productive backbone of the whole sect. Therefore, in terms of importance, it ranked right after the first two structures.

And while the Discipline Department and the Secret Squad were power organizations and recruited the strongest and most talented disciples first, in the Union of Production Divisions, professional talent and loyalty came first.