Zayne didn't expect to hear about the Empire, much less the Dark Lands. Solomon still had something to tell him about the tournament, but he was in no hurry.
Solomon had seen the complicated expressions on Zayne and Rea's faces, so he decided to give them time to come to their senses.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm "Khm. I think we should continue." Solomon coughed, getting their attention.
"Yeah, I agree." Rea nodded, however, Zayne still didn't answer anything. His gaze was blank as if mentally he was somewhere else.
'Dark Lands...' Zayne internally muttered with a deep gaze, 'I wonder if the members of the Shattered Moon Order are there? Maybe I should go there in the future?
"Zayne!" Solomon said sternly, causing him to flinch.
"Yes!" Zayne came to his senses abruptly, then he sighed, "Sorry, I was just thinking."
Solomon nodded, "That's okay. Just pay attention since this concerns you."
"Hmm?" Zayne gave him a curious look.
"Because you disappeared for a few days you missed an important event. Erel Uri has come to our academy." Solomon spoke with a serious expression.
Zayne raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Apparently it's someone important, but I've never heard that name before." Zayne muttered.
"Yeah, it is." Solomon nodded, "However, he's heard yours. You may not realize it yet, but the rumors of you defeating Apostle spread with great speed. They even reached Tergaron, the capital."
"And... Erel Uri came from the capital?" Zayne tilted his head, trying to understand the situation.
Solomon nodded, "That's right."
"Oh... Is he an army commander or something!" Zayne asked with a curious expression.
Before this conversation, he had never even considered whether there was a kingdom or empire in this world, much less an army. However, if he wanted to go to the Dark Lands one day, an army commander could help him, not now, but in the long run it was important.
Solomon made a strange face as he raised an eyebrow, ''Why are you asking that? Well... Despite your curiosity, it isn't. Erel Uri is not in the army, however, he has another interesting position."
Solomon smirked, "Erel Uri is in the Order and holds a rather high position. To make it clearer to you... You know who the Fate Knights are, right?"
Zayne shook his head. He had seen it mentioned several times in reports, especially during his fight with Selania, but no one had told him about it in detail yet.
"Hmm... Zayne you could use a visit to the library. Sometimes you need to take time for knowledge and information rather than training and fighting." Solomon said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Zayne didn't answer anything, he just frowned slightly. Maybe Solomon was right, but for now, he didn't need the library, but the combat experience had already come in handy many times.
"Agh... Well, I'm exactly here to tell you as much as I can about this world, aren't I?" Solomon sighed, "Fate Knights are Knights that have undergone special training in Order. However, in order for you to have a shot, Fate has to spot you and empower you. I think you know that happens quite rarely."
Zayne nodded. He knew the only two people that Fate noticed, it was him and Roland. Roland had to engage in mortal combat to get it, so Zayne realized how significant an achievement it was for anyone.
Solomon continued, "After training, the Knights will face trials. If their performance is satisfactory, Order will make them Fate Knights. It's an indicator of strength and status."
"I see... So Erel Uri is a Fate Knight?" Zayne asked with a curious expression.
"No." Solomon smirked, "Order is a huge organization that literally controls all Oracle Academies, so there are people whose status is higher than Fate Knights. They're called Crusaders, and Erel Uri is one of them."
Zayne's eyes went wide. He wasn't surprised to learn that Erel Uri was a Crusader, since he had just found out about it, however, he immediately thought of Selania.
'Her status was constantly hidden from me... Moreover, before our battle, she offered me to become the Fate Knight, so... If she had that opportunity, then her status was higher, right?' Zayne pondered, with a slight frown.
"Anyway, you've already realized that Erel Uri is an important person, and several of his disciples will be participating in the tournament." Solomon calmly said.
"Hm? I and the other participants will have to fight against Fate Knights?" Zayne was surprised, it seemed to him that it wasn't fair at all.
Solomon shook his head, "No, they are only candidates. That means they've already gone through the training, but they're not ready for the trials yet. However, they're still strong, every time someone from the Fate Knights candidates end up in the Top-3 of the tournament."
Zayne nodded as fire appeared in his eyes. Strong opponents were something he was interested in, he wanted to fight the Fate Knights candidates and win.
"Father... Erel Uri wants something from Zayne?" Rea asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, I've already communicated with him since he's been at the academy for like two days now. His intentions are very clear to me, he wants to see how you perform in the tournament, then he will decide whether to invite you to Order or not." Solomon calmly explained.
Zayne sighed, "And... Do you think I should accept?"
Solomon smirked, "Hah, you seem to have gotten a lot more confident lately, haven't you? Well, there's nothing wrong with that."
Zayne raised an eyebrow.
"Zayne, I don't doubt your abilities, however, Erel isn't sure about you yet. It's possible you'll fail at the tournament. I'm not saying I hope so, but you need to be prepared for anything. Moreover, you should realize that this is an important decision for Erel."
"Why?"
Solomon sighed, "He's a Crusader, so it's in his power to immediately make you a Fate Knight if he decides you're worthy of it. If I were you, I'd welcome the chance. Thousands of young men throughout the empire dream of being noticed by someone of such importance."
Zayne nodded deeply, saying nothing.
Though Solomon assumed that in the ruins Zayne had gone through an important battle for him, he didn't know the details. Solomon had no idea that if Zayne had wanted to, he would have become a Fate Knight by now, all he had to do was agree to Selania's offer.
However, although almost every knight in the empire wanted it, Zayne was skeptical.
Selania was definitely not a person he wanted to follow or learn from. She was a Crusader, but her actions were just as brutal as the Apostles, perhaps even worse.
"Well, that's it for now. The tournament starts in two days. I advise you to prepare properly and most importantly rest. You should try to go as far as possible!" Solomon said confidently, patted Zayne on the shoulder, and headed for the exit.
Zayne nodded silently.
Rea and Solomon left the room, leaving Zayne alone. He put one foot on the other, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes, sinking into his thoughts.
'Karin... I need to find her again and ask the same questions of her or Gael if I can find him of course. If this world is becoming my second home, then I need to think hard about what I should do. Zayne pondered, with a frown.
For most, it was simple. The inhabitants of this world, the Players who started playing Fallen Fate Online, all of them definitely wanted to become a part of the Order. However, Zayne had other options since he was already technically one of the Shattered Moon Order.
"Damn... I completely forgot to ask about who's in charge of Chaos... If Order is the main organization acting on behalf of Fate, then something like that should be Chaos Right?" Zayne muttered with a thoughtful look, "Apostle and Crusader, they surely have equal status. But... What about the Fate Knights...? Who is their equal?"
Zayne pondered for a while, then he shook his head.
'Perhaps Solomon is right, and I should visit the library at least once.' Zayne sighed.
He looked out the window at the starry sky, then his eyes sparkled, and he opened his status. He hadn't checked it in quite some time, as there was a lot going on that was taking up all his time.
There shouldn't have been many changes to his status, but he just wanted to remember what he had already accomplished. The status was important as it was an indication of his strength, which he gained by going through challenges.
"Agh... What is it?" Zayne muttered as his eyes went wide.
[ ???
???
???
???
???]
Instead of Status, a window appeared in front of him in which all the information was hidden. There was nothing he could do about it.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
When Zayne tried to close Status, the window shuddered as its edges flared in a crimson flame, then a chill ran down Zayne's back.
"What the hell...!"
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