Colt's friends are here but Colt isn't, and I'm even more uncomfortable by this than I probably would have been if Colt and Thomas were here. I know them well enough that the situation is fine. Aaron, Cyrus, and Nicholas are all still curious about me because I've not really interacted with them much other than the first day.

After that, they mostly did stuff with Colt, as they usually show up after I went into the forest to hunt. Much like Colt, they have family obligations they must attend to before they can do other things. They also need to return to the city before I return. Yesterday was an exception, not the norm, as was the festival.

"What about duck?" Aaron asks.

Right now, he's going through some mental list he has of different foods, trying to see what I've had and have not had. Telling him that unless it's berries, potatoes, bread, apples, or stolen, I probably haven't had it didn't deter him. Well, I have had more than that, especially these last few weeks.

I haven't heard of nearly everything he's listed so far. He's seemed shocked and confused as to how I haven't had or even heard of these. Cyrus and Nicholas do, too, I think, but they don't show their emotions as much as Aaron does.

He's like Colt in that respect. Though they can school their expression when they need to, I've been suspecting the last few days that Colt doesn't do that with me. No, Colt seems to wear his emotions on his face rather than school them.

If I'm right about Aaron, I think he's crushing on the prince. At least he's in a better position for that than me. I'm not crushing on Colt, anyway, I just think he's cute. I can appreciate the taste of candy without actually wanting it.

Well, I do actually want candy. Now I'm craving candy. This conversation isn't helping, either.

"No, I have not had duck," I tell Aaron.

"Really?" He asks. "Not even a little?"

"Is there a difference between a little duck and a big duck?" I ask.

"That's not what I meant," Aaron says. "I meant a small amount of duck."

"Oh."

"Max," Nicholas says. "I heard you talking after you left the guild last night, to that girl with the scar on her eye."

"Hailey."

"Her," he nods. "I could barely understand a word of what you said, and you talked a lot faster then than you do now. The way you spoke was rather different Mind if I ask what that's about?"

"I's speaking more slowly and carefully," I say. "When talking with nobles and princes. It makes me understood better, but it's difficult. That's why I speak more slowly. It helps me with making sure I'm doing it better. How I's talk normally ain't much similar to this. We ain't learn how to talk properly in the slums."

But I'm trying to do better. It's just easier to slip back into the way I've spoken my entire life.

"Sorry I'm late," Colt says, and I turn to see him approaching with Thomas, both wearing packs.

We're all wearing packs, but I'm surprised to see Colt wearing one because Thomas usually carries his things. Both of their packs have bedrolls and stuff strapped onto them, too. So does mine, and so do the packs worn by Colt's friends.

A really nice worker at the shop helped me know what I need to bring for a camping trip. I don't know how honest he was, but I know he did at least cover some basics.

"You're almost an hour late," Aaron says. "That's unusual, Colt. Did something happen?"

"Father wanted to cancel this," Colt says. "He's concerned about my safety after someone broke into the castle last night."

I look at Thomas, confused. Shouldn't the castle be the most secure place in the kingdom due to it being the primary home of the royals?

"They don't know who broke into the castle," he says. "Or how they got in. All they know is that someone broke into the castle last night. There's concern it was an assassination attempt on a member of the royal family, and His Majesty wanted to keep Colton inside until things had settled down."

"As compromise for allowing me to continue to go on this," Colt tells me, looking a little apologetic. "I had to agree to allow others to come as well. If you wish to cancel this trip, then I will accept that."

"Others?" I ask.

"Additional power," Colt nods. "Regardless of if you agree or not, I will still be going out. Officially, it's a hunting trip for me to gain a few more Levels further into the Great Northern Forest, as well as to get some additional training in. That way, suspicions won't be raised about additional guards going with me, including who is attending this. It will get me out of the city for a small while, and since it was already known I was going on a camping trip, it will be stated that we simply didn't know who the additional detail would be as we didn't know who would or wouldn't be in town."

So whether or not I go, Colt will be going. I'm allowed to back out now. How badly will that affect things though? It's more people I don't know, and I'm already nervous enough as it is with just Colt, Thomas, and Colt's friends. Now there's going to be even more people, none of whom I know.

"Hello, Max," a familiar voice says, and I look over to find Lady Elise there.

Her and her entire group of bodyguards, along with Lord Peter and his party, and a third man I don't recognize. He has the same brown hair and green eyes as Colt and Lady Elise, though, and is currently dressed in black pants, a dark green tunic, a dark blue leather vest, and black leather boots and belt. He also has his own party, and all of these people have have packs of their own.

If I'm right, then this man is Prince Benjamin, the eldest child of our king. He's twenty-one if my memory is correct, and a very famous hunter. Just a couple of days ago, I heard a rumor that he'd reached Level 50.

All three royals are coming? Where are his bodyguards?

I'm not being given a choice, am I? Colt is phrasing it like this is a choice, but with this much power here for the question… it's definitely not a choice.

"O-okay," I nod. "We can do that."

"Alright!" Colt exclaims. "Everyone's here, so let's go!"

We leave the city and set off for the Great Northern Forest. The camping trip today is a bit further into the forest than I normally go, and as soon as we're in the forest, Thomas has us all begin to run. Rather than running at our fastest pace, however, he has us at the pace Colt's friends can manage.

Unfortunately, we have to take multiple breaks because of me and my lacking stamina. Here I thought I was doing better now, too, but I can only manage to run for about forty minutes before I have to stop. When I travel through the forest on my own to look for hunting spots and goblins, I go faster than this, but only manage about fifteen minutes before I need a break.

It was four minutes when I started, so I really did think I was doing well.

For lunch, we stop by a small stream and eat sandwiches that some of them prepared. They eat sandwiches that some of them prepared – I eat jerky, bread, and an apple that I brought with me. Our journey continues after that, taking us further into the forest than I've ever gone before.

Finally, a few hours before sundown, we arrive at our destination. The undergrowth isn't too thick here, and there's a small lake nearby. Rather than camping on the lake, we're camping a little downstream of it. The area here is really hilly, too, but Thomas led us to a spot that has a lot of flat spaces.

Before we can set up our tents, we have to clear undergrowth and make sure there aren't any sticks, stones, or other things that will be under the tents. While they focus on clearing out the spaces for their tents, I just work on clearing out the general area. Colt wants us younger guys to all tent close to each other, and I want to make sure that I can put my tent where I want it, away from others.

Because Colt tries to wait as long as possible, more than an hour passes before I can finally set up my tent. I set it up on the opposite side of the camp from him, a little further away from the central space than the rest of the tents. Part of that is because being too close to the others makes me nervous, part of it is because it wasn't easy finding a flat spot over here without roots. That might be why the others placed their tents over there, actually.

"Alright," Thomas says after our tents are set up and he starts setting up a fire. "We have around three hours until the sun sets, so there are two things that we can do. First, the next hour is going to be spent in lessons. After that, you can do your own thing, but some rules are going to be established first. First, do not stray too far from the camp without letting us know where you are going, and do not leave here without at least two others. Three others preferred. The nearby lake is safe for use, but do not go more than half a mile east of it without some of us guards or member of Benjamin's party. There are some stronger monsters a bit past that and we don't want to risk you getting into their territory by accident and without sufficient strength to back it up."

That last part was directed to Colt and his friends, probably because I'm a fair bit stronger than them. Colt seems to be excited at the idea of getting to hunt a lot more, though. Have they really been holding back his hunting that much just because they're worried about his safety?

Where did Prince Benjamin and his party go? I saw them say something to Thomas and leave after setting up their tents, but that was over half an hour ago.

"Do we all understand this?" Thomas asks, and Colt and his friends give nods. "Alright-"

"How come you didn't ask him?" Aaron indicates me. "He didn't respond."

"Because I don't need to ask that he understands it," Thomas sits in a spot a little away from the tent area. "Now, let's begin the lesson. We're not going to be doing combat training just yet. Instead, we're going to start with a more educational lesson, so have a seat."

I wait until everyone else has seated, then tentatively sit down in a spot a little distant from the others. Is it okay for me to sit in on this? Thomas seemed to be waiting for me, but maybe he was waiting for me to leave so that he can teach Colt? The cover for the trip is a training trip for Colt, so it's natural that they'd at least have a few lessons for him. Whatever this lesson is, it's not covered by the arrangement between Thomas and me.

"This lesson is for everyone, Max," Thomas tells me. "His Majesty has asked me to treat this camping trip as a training camping trip sponsored by the kingdom."

Colt looks confused, but I don't say anything.

"Let's do a review," Thomas says. "Of what you all know about System-granted Titles. Colton, why don't you go first?"

"System-granted Titles," Colt says. "Are awarded for certain types of feats. Some are for being talented enough with an element so as to be considered a master of it, some are for killing certain types of monsters, such a dragon. I've heard of ancient trials that awarded a Title for completing as well, though I don't know if that's true or not."

"They are," Thomas says. "We are, in fact, near a trial location right now, and your father has earned the Title awarded from it. They're quite difficult, as power alone isn't enough – the trials scale with you. Each and every known trial is a test of one's skill rather than a test of their power.

"You are correct," Thomas says. "About Titles. Do you know anything else about them?"

"No," Colt shakes his head.

"What about you?" Thomas asks Aaron.

"The same as Colton," Aaron answers. "And that there are a lot of different Titles, and that they can be earned by multiple people."

Cyrus and Nicholas both confirm the same thing. Thomas says it's not surprising, as they all had the same classes.

"Do you know anything about Titles?" Thomas asks me.

"No," I answer. "I's not even know there were Titles that people could have. I thought only monsters could, 'cause of the explanation for Ak'Narul's stupid name."

Now I feel stupid, this seems to be basic information that I should have learned already. I don't like this feeling.

"Not surprising," Thomas nods. "It's usually something only nobility or hunters who have been around for a little while know."

Oh. It's not because I'm stupid and ignorant.

"There are more to Titles than just that," Thomas says. "Any kind of great feat can earn one. Killing a King Monster, for example, will award one. That's much like what Colt said, for killing certain types of monsters. However, you can also improve it by doing the feat again. So if you kill two Goblin Kings, the Title becomes stronger. For the Titles earned by killing certain types of powerful monsters, you will earn a new Title once you've done that three times. So if you kill three Goblin Kings, you will earn [Goblin King Hunter]. If you kill three King Monsters in general, you will gain [Monster King Hunter] – and you can gain both at the same time."

So killing three Goblin Kings awards one Title and improves it twice, as well as awards two other Titles.

"They can also be," Thomas says. "For other types of feats. Obliterating a kingdom, for example, can earn a Title. There are Titles regarding being heretics, though I do not remember off the top of my head the requirements for those."

I hope I never earn one of those. I'm devout to the gods, even if I only know the name of one of them.

"Do any of you know what makes having even one Title so special?" Thomas asks, and all four of the other boys raise their hands. "Cyrus?"

"Titles grant bonuses," Cyrus answers. "Though I'm not sure what."

Thomas asks the others, and it's Colt who has the answer.

"The bonuses vary," Colt says. "And not all Titles have one, so I'm not sure of why the gods made those ones. But the bonuses can be things like instilling fear in a type of monster, or improving your healing rate when in certain conditions."

"A few of them even improve your Attributes," Thomas says. "And you are correct, but that is not what makes Titles truly special. As you said, Colton, some Titles lack bonuses. What makes a Title special is what happens at Level 100."

"What happens at Level 100?" Colt asks.

"Rank-Up," Lord Peter answers, and we all look over to see him whittling at a branch he's cut down. "At Level 100, your Experience gains halt. You have to touch a root of the World Tree and activate a special Trial. Once you complete it, you can gain Experience again – and you're granted rewards based on your Titles."

"Correct," Thomas answers as I wonder what the World Tree is. "The rewards are items. When it comes to crafting items, the more bonuses and the bigger those bonuses are, the harder the item is to craft. It's rare to find someone who can craft something higher than Grade 3. The highest possible is Grade 6 – at least, for man-made items. A Grade 7 item is an item granted by the gods, and their bonuses go far above any a smith could ever hope to create. The items from a Rank-Up Trial, however, are Grade 8."

Grade 6 is the highest that mankind can make? Then I've found items that are nearing the peak of humanity's skills, and some of the people I'm with right now have items nearing that. Thomas's sword actually is Grade 6, too.

Wait. Grade 8 items come from a Trial at Level 100, and are superior to even items created by the gods? My amulet is Grade 9, though, yet doesn't really list any bonuses. Well, I did notice that it seems to go unnoticed by people unless I want them to see it, too.

A weird effect, but one I'm quite happy for. It also doesn't seem to work all the time, but it still avoids being scanned for information. An example of that would be when Lord Peter's group found me – they knew about the amulet, but only that I had it.

"This," Thomas says. "Is the true purpose of Titles. And the reason His Majesty wants me to make sure you all know this is because of Colton and Maxwell here."

"Me?" I ask.

"Yes," Thomas nods. "Aaron, Cyrus, and Nicholas, you three are included as well, but to a lesser degree. Why? Because the more affinities you have, the easier it is for you to gain Titles. A general rule of thumb is half your affinity count in Titles by Level 50, and half as much more by Level 100. Max, don't hurt your brain trying to do the math. It's three or four by Level 50 and ten or eleven by Level 100 for you."

Was it that obvious I was trying to do the math?

"So we're going to have that many?" I ask.

"You might," Thomas says. "It's not a guarantee. But considering the wide array of Titles there are, they become more easy to earn when you're more powerful. You can even earn a Title without it being a feat, directly. Simply deciding something has earned a Title before."

And being more powerful means going out and doing more, facing more. The odds of being in a situation that can award a Title increases with that. Now I understand what he's saying.

"Okay," I say.

"Are there any other questions?" Thomas asks, then looks at me. "Yes, Max?"

Was it that obvious that I had one?

"What's the World Tree?" I ask.

"You've mentioned before," Thomas says. "That the story that piqued your interest in journeying to look at wonders and in being an adventurer was a tale of a tree so great, its branches stretched above the clouds. It is very much real, and that is the World Tree. It pumps Mana throughout the entire world through its roots, and it is the very core of all life in the world. I'll show you one of its roots when we're back to the fields outside the city. There are some around there."

The tree is real? I don't doubt Thomas on this even though I probably should. I do, however, doubt him about the roots. I haven't seen any roots like that and I doubt they're that easy to just expose if they're buried underground.

"Okay," I say.

"Now," Thomas says. "If there are no further questions, let's do some magic training."