The next three days passed by in a blur. Christopher lightened his schedule, giving himself a chance to recover from the brutal pace from the last few weeks. He tried some meditation, which helped with calming his mind.

The meeting with Sunchal had put some things in perspective. Christopher decided that he might have put too much responsibility on himself. From the automatic response system, he had learned that around twenty-thousand summoned would be in the same boat as him. Surely the fate of this world and Lumen did not only rest on his shoulders.

He also did not think that his [Bookmark] was as powerful as he had first believed. Limitations kept popping up, and who was to say that there were not more that he was unaware of.

It had honestly felt good to be able to talk with someone else about what had transpired, even if he did not dare to talk about [Bookmark]. There would need to be complete trust before he would speak of it with another summoned, and he did not think that Sunchal would soon qualify.

He was not quite sure how to proceed with Sunchal, but he would have some time to think it over. He could probably use his help if he ever needed to start questioning other people. He felt that Sunchal’s ability might help him determine whether someone was trying to deceive him. The man’s special ability would surely be useful in detecting any devious thoughts and emotions in others.

Christopher was starting to realize that only increasing his own strength would set him on the road to failure. He needed to dedicate more of his time to managing other people and resources. The problem was that absolutely nobody had any reason of listening to him. He would just need to make it impossible for people to ignore him, and for that he needed power. But power came in many forms, not only in physical ability. Earning some money from the Arena might be a good start.

Christopher spent some time during those resting days gathering information on the Blight. He was looking into the Turned and how they might be gathering intel on the Lumen Forces. His search on this front was not bearing much result. Many recommended the Library in the Lumen Academy since they would surely have a wealth of information related to both Soul Force and the Blight. He could only pray that he would have the money for admission soon.

He had also pondered on how he should proceed with finding any more summoned. There might very well be others roaming the city. Finding summoned outside of Lumen seemed kind of impossible, so he only focused on people that had made it into Lumen

He did have some things to go on in his search. The summoned would likely have no or little money available at the start, which meant that they might sleep out in the open, or squat in abandoned buildings. They might also run into some trouble with the Lumen Watch. Either by receiving some difficult questions when getting their permit or by being stopped in the city without one. It was this reasoning that had got him a promising lead after some investigation.

He had caught wind of an alarming rumor. Apparently, there was a confused woman that was arrested and moved into the Lumen Dungeon not that long ago. It had been difficult to track someone down that had actually seen the arrest, but he had eventually managed it. The bystander had described the woman as having a strange black and bluish hair color, and she was estimated to be in her high thirties. She had been described as beautiful by the witness. The witness even mentioned that the woman used strange terms in her speech, something that both he and Sunchal had also been accused of. All of it just seemed to fit a summoned perfectly.

Apparently, she had been arrested for the simple reason of not having an entry permit while roaming through Lumen. If she was really a summoned then she would not really be able to answer any questions that were directed towards her. He himself certainly had also not known what to do in those first days, he had been lucky. Christopher had tried to form a plan for a rescue, but it seemed impossible to get her out without putting himself at serious risk. The good news was that she had been arrested while he was already in the city, which might give him an opportunity on his next loop. He did feel slightly guilty about letting this woman sit locked up while he trained and studied, but he had no workable low-risk plan. He put it out of his mind for now, any help that he could provide would likely have to wait until the next loop.

*

Christopher had not wasted any of his Soul Force, and he had finally decided to practice a new Soul Effect. This time he settled on the one that was most visible across the city.

He had chosen the Soul Effect that lit up such a large part of Lumen. It had partially been the Light Bombs developed by Tamas and her family that had led him to want to prioritize this specific effect. He had not been able to use it before, but being able to blind his enemies whenever he pleased seemed very useful to him. It would be useful against both people and the Blight. It was also a great way to make a quick escape after stunning multiple enemies. It would also give him and his allies the ability to see in the dark if necessary. There were plenty of applications that he could think of.

Christopher figured that he had a decent understanding of the scientific concept of Light, and he hoped that it would allow him to learn the effect quickly. As Christopher tried to recall everything that he knew, he was having more difficulty than he had expected. To put it simply, light was electromagnetic radiation that could be detected by the human eye. Light was photons traveling with wavelike properties at the speed of light, the fastest speed that could be realized to the best of Earth’s knowledge. Any faster and it was theorized that you would be traveling back in time.

Christopher somewhat knew the definition, and how it worked, but he had a difficult time putting it all in a mental image that would allow him to produce a strong Soul Light effect. He imagined multiple photons rushing forth out of the metal at the speed of light. The result was pretty disappointing. He had started his practice during the day and could hardly even noticed the glow that was produced from the metal, even with the only very small piece of jagged metal that he was still using for practice. Even during the day, he should have noticed more illumination. It was disappointing that he was starting with such a crappy output.

The one time that he tried the example that had been in the book he had slightly more success, but it was still weak. He had imagined a simple lantern illuminating dark spaces in the night. Christopher was frustrated. ‘Dammit, I should be able to think up something better.’ He wanted to keep practicing but was always quickly forced to wait due to his spent Soul Force. It was strange, he should know more about light than any other. Christopher wondered why this effect was so difficult. The people of this world did fine without any scientific understanding. He was determined to solve this problem.

Part of him wanted to experiment with all the different effects, but the Soul Force Manual had strongly recommended against it. Starting multiple effects at once was considered very detrimental if you wanted to achieve mastery. It had something to do with imprinting the channeling of the effect in your mind, making the transfer much better, and making the casting faster as well. By starting multiple at once, you ran the risk of tainting those mental constructs by some of those feelings bleeding into each other, which the book had admonished as almost impossible to unlearn. He would have to reach some level of proficiency with Soul Light before starting the next one.

*

Christopher set out towards the Noble district. He was excited to study wielding the quarterstaff under the tutorage of Netello Brave. He was both curious and nervous about the training.

After the training he would have to head straight for the Arena. He was nervous for the matches this time, he could not afford to lose all his money after all.

The Noble district was situated in the middle of the city, the farthest from the walls that you could get. It contained the Earl’s keep and most of the wealthy and powerful of Lumen made their home here. The entire district was encircled by a modest three-meter wooden wall that looked sturdy enough to at least keep the weaker monsters from crashing through.

Christopher managed to get into the noble district without too much of a hassle. A single guard flanked the path to the main street but did not react to him entering. He looked around and it was clear that this area was much wealthier than the rest of the city. Impressive-looking estates lined the streets, and public areas here were actually well tended to. The streets were clean and made out of stone and diverse flora was placed all across the district. The estates only became larger as he moved closer to the center.

The Noble district made more use of stone in its architecture in tandem with the usual Sternel wood, the stone here was the color of sand. And just like in the rest of the city, the architecture shunned sharp edges, instead choosing to follow nature’s design.

He could already see the Earl’s keep rising high from the center of the district. The keep looked well-fortified, with a high Sternel wall, and a good defensible position. It was no surprise that it had been chosen as one of the strongholds in the city.

He followed the directions to Netello Brave’s abode. He was surprised when he reached a large and luxurious estate. Two arching iron gates barred entry to the compound. Christopher was not alone, someone else was also looking around with unsure eyes. She was a head shorter than him, had brown hair, and a stout frame. He judged her to be around eighteen years old. She wore shabby clothing; he could spot a hole in one of the sleeves of her brown shirt.

“Good morning, are you also here for the training session”

“Yes, my instructor is named Netello Brave, is this the right place?”

“Not sure, but I think so. Let’s just wait for a bit, we are a little early.”

She nodded. Christopher figured that more trainees should arrive soon.

They exchanged some polite conversation. The girl’s name was Vila, and she had grown up in one of the poorer parts of Lumen. She sounded excited about what was to come.

“Do you have any experience with the quarterstaff or any other weapon?” Christopher asked.

“No, this is my first training, but I always wanted to fight like Anara. I have practiced with a staff on my own, but that is probably not worth much.”

Christopher observed the estate through the gates, which was quite opulent. Rich gardens with strange plants could be seen, carefully cultivated. Small waterways winded their way through the garden. The estate itself was mostly built out of the prevalent sand-colored stone and looked quite luxurious. Christopher thought this would be a nice spot for training, very different from the weedy field in which he had trained under Sin.

More people joined them, although the number was still modest. They were all surprisingly around his own age, he was only a bit older than the average. He could not see a single person that looked over twenty-five. One young man with angular features and half-long black hair in luxurious clothing had confirmed that this was the correct location. He introduced himself as Beteb. Most of the people here looked pretty wealthy, he and the stocky brown-haired girl were the odd ones out. Christopher, Vila, and surprisingly Beteb were the only ones that did not currently wield a quarterstaff. The others all had a staff made out of varying expensive metals. He hoped that bringing one had not been expected. Otherwise, he would have to depend on his bets coming to fruition later in the day.

Finally, a middle-aged man in a grayish uniform came walking towards the gate. Could this be Netello Brave? Some kind of pulley caused the gate to slowly swing open with a small screech.

“Please follow me to the training yard.” The man spoke softly.

He got a better view of the estate like this. He had not expected such a luxurious setting. He admired all the never-before-seen flora. Some large orange bird creatures that somewhat resembled an ostrich were penned up in a luxurious enclosure. They had strange large eyes that followed them with interest.

Christopher followed the man along the gravelly path to the other side of the estate. He now expected the man to merely be an attendant since he saw that a woman that was working with the bird creatures in the same uniform. As they rounded the corner, a neat, but spacious training yard came into view. There was a small pond to the side with ropes and floating wooden islands. the ground was covered in some kind of pinkish moss. Several training implements were erected around the grounds. Archery dummy targets were placed against a wall. The training yard was surrounded by greenery and multicolored flowers, which gave the entire area a tranquil feel. The training implements looked well cared for and expensive. He certainly would not mind training in this place.

The training yard was not unoccupied, a truly ancient man was standing next to the pond, supporting himself with a large wooden cane. He threw something in, after which the water started thrashing violently. Probably just some innocent fish, or so Christopher hoped.

The likely attendant stopped just outside of the moss ring.

“Please take off your shoes and your boots, and seat yourself on the Karra matt.”

They all complied, Christopher gladly rested himself on the soft and springy pinkish moss.

He looked at the eleven other people around him. He was used to the over thirty trainees in his class under Sin, so this gathering felt much more private. He felt somewhat like an intruder among the other students with their luxurious clothing and neatly cut hair. A few of them had precious metal rings tied in their hair and on their fingers, which looked quite distinguishing. He and Vila just did not look like they belonged with these people and in this impeccably maintained estate. At least they were not looked at with indignation and hostility.

The old man moved away from the pond and towards the Karra matt. The Cane making a clicking noise on the wooden path. The man had liver spots covering his face and his skin was severely wrinkled in age. No hair stood out on his body, only two thin strips for eyebrows remained. Christopher thought that he must also be a part of the Brave family.

The old man addressed them with a hoarse and somewhat cold voice.

“You must be the young students that are here for the training session. You have chosen wisely in choosing this weapon.”

Many of the others respectfully bowed to the old man, Christopher imitated the gesture.

“Then let’s get started shall we, I would like to know what all of you can do.”

‘Uh, what?’

“Yes master”, echoed some of the other trainees.

Christopher could only stare at the old man, wondering if he had somehow misheard.