Rebirth of the Phoenix God

Chapter 115: Higher plane

"So, what do you need?"

Finding the room that Nadia spoke about proved to not be challenging at all. Just by following the main routes within the campus and later the main corridor of the office building, Fen quickly found his way towards the right office, asking around for directions just a single time. 

"Given how I don't really know what I might face in this quest, I thought about a short spear and a sturdy knife. I know a sword is the most universal, but I never had the chance to train with it properly, so I think going with the simpler weapons is a better choice in my situation."

Everything was basing on this single meeting. If Fen could make a good impression of himself, there was a chance that the academy might lend him this simple equipment free of charge, while the failure to do so would most likely result with a price-tag placed on the equipment.

But this entire situation was actually a bit deeper than what it otherwise appeared as. If Fen could succeed in obtaining academy direct help today, then any further request for resources or other sponsorship for his following endeavours would be way simpler. Once a single help would be offered, Fen could tell that obtaining everything else would turn far simpler than it would if he were to fail today. That's why, instead of going for some fancy requests, just those two simple, cheap weapons would perfectly fit the current objective of the young man.

"And what would be that quest of yours? After all, there is no point in investing in someone incapable of setting his own limits."

While it was only a first step, Fen managed to force the official behind the desk out of his daily routine, making him at least remotely interested in the matter he brought.

"I don't know the details as the client is quite secretive about them, but it appears I will be tasked with plucking the petals of some kind of fire plant, that makes it impossible for non-arcanist to approach it. While I know this task sounds easy, given how much value a single petal of this flower holds to my employer, I don't want to assume everything will just smoothly and hope for the best. After all, if it was so easy to obtain it, someone would have done so already!"

Finishing his words, the young man simply stood in his place, waiting for any form or response from the official behind the desk. For a few moments, the man only pushed the papers from one place to another on the wooden furniture in front of him, before suddenly lightly slamming his fist into the desk.

"I will approve of your request. You will go with this paper"

Taking a moment to scribble some words on top of a random piece of paper that just happened to be near his hand, the official pushed the small note towards Fen.

"... and take it to the quartermaster's office. He will get you what you need."

Waving his hand away, the official behind the desk dismissed the young man. As Fen walked out of the doors of the office with this priceless note in his hand, he couldn't help but see a bit to the future Where he would turn to a rather frequent quest of this office!

Following the directions that some random people gave him upon enquiry, the young man quickly managed to find the right location and arm himself with the two weapons that he requested. Despite his initial worry about the quartermaster looking to cause him some problems in picking up the equipment that the academy decided to provide him with, as it turned out, once the man saw the note, he didn't even bother to ask what was the purpose of the mission!

"I wonder how does it work once someone joins a mercenary group"

At this point, Fen already knew what his future would look like. This was one of the absolute advantages of the Gauna academy that he was fully committed to taking advantage off. In any other place, he would be the only one striving to improve himself, with everyone around him only willing to take advantage of his hard work and training for the smallest price possible.

He would have no directions, no help, no sponsorship, not lessons or lectures. He would be all on his own, forced to find something he wanted to do in his life just like mentioned - all on his own.

On the other hand, this academy proved today that as long as he was willing to improve, then the people behind the entire organisation would make sure that said person would receive a number of resources fitting for their talent, efforts and potential to grow. While some might advocate against the partial loss of freedom once one would have to repay the debt to the academy, it actually didn't infringe on one's personal freedom all that much.

From what Fen derived from the talks he had with the people around this place, the only way in which the students would contribute back to the Gauna academy and city was by doing their own respective jobs. Just like the taxes would be used to cover their early expenses, the taxes placed automatically on every quest they would take to earn the money for themselves would quickly pay back all the costs that the academy could ever incur.

After all, it was all because of the natural power creep in any society. The pricing on the resources that one would require to grow would always hinge on the line of being pricey and unaffordable. Only in this way would the merchants that traded with it, mercenaries that obtained it and all the people that were somehow included in the procurement of any product would have enough money to keep doing so. 

But this kind of scheme leads to the creation of a pretty simple and annoying feature. Only by advancing beyond a certain point, would one be able to easily obtain materials that said person required to advance in the first place! 

That's why this entire academy by itself was the most likely element that was responsible for how rich this entire place was. By acting like a middle-man who shouldered most of the costs during the growth stage of the young arcanists, they allowed the people with the potential to quickly grow to the point where a single quest or two would be enough to pay back all the costs they incurred during their training!

This kind of solution was bound to ultimately produce more and more capable arcanist, forcing the price of the products they could obtain down as a result, and turning the grooming phase for its next batch of candidates to be even cheaper than before. 

This mechanism was the main reason why Fen was so keen to enter the flow of the money within the academy, even if only with an insignificant sponsorship like that. Once he returned victorious from his quest with manifolds the earnings when compared to the cost of the help he received, the amount of social credit that this academy would give him should be enough to let him be unhindered during his growing phase!

With everything now prepared, Fen didn't linger any longer in the academy either. With all the walking and searching for the house owner he did today, the young man had absolutely no power left in him to practice either his flames or intent, making returning to the house the only viable choice.

Some might think that willfully wasting two to three hours that Fen could spend to further hone his skills was a sign of how immature he was, but the years he spent in the forest made the young man realise one vital aspect of any quests.

Be it hunting a wild beast or looking to pluck some petals of the flower, one had to not only prepare his equipment properly but also his very own body. If Fen were to overexert himself in the training today, the chances of facing off anything that would surely come his way during the quest tomorrow might prove to be simply too hard on his strained body.

That's why having a proper rest was just as important as managing his weapons or preparing the rations for both the way in and the way back from the quest site!

"I'm home."

Thanks to the huge amount of time passing ever since the entire mess with the mercenary recruitment, no one seemed to follow the young man back. Even if his position and possible earnings would soon allow Fen to move out to a better place, located somewhere closer to the academy grounds, that didn't mean he was willing to compromise on the privacy and comfort he had in his current lodging.

"Welcome back."

Greeting him dressed with nothing but a long, thin tunic thrown on top of her slim body, Arla instantly moved to the doors, helping Fen take off the spare elements of his clothing.

"I just finished making dinner. What would you like first, to eat? Or maybe to take a bath? Or"

For a moment, Fen's face tensed. It felt as if this sentence Had way deeper meaning than the obvious sexual intent that was hidden under the unspoken part of it. For a single moment, the young man felt as if this single sentence somehow managed to connect him to a greater plane of existence, where worlds like his were nothing more than randomly floating specks of dust in the face of the true size of the infinite universe!

But this feeling lasted only for the slightest of the moments. 

'Strange'

Thinking to himself, Fen shook his head to regain mental stability before reaching forward for Arla's waist.

"Do you really need an answer to that question?"