PftA Book 5 - Chapter 17 - Sect Plans

A/N: Okay. I'm not married to this part. I like the idea and only plan to dedicate a few chapters at most to exploring it, but if a lot of you dislike it or feel like it just doesn't fit, then I'm okay cutting the chapter out. Feedback would be appreciated.

“Would you be amenable to resuming classes in a couple of months?” Patriarch Fora asked after our discussion of the potential new sect branch tapered off. “I suspect most of our deployed disciples will have returned by then.”

I let out a short huff. “I don’t mind teaching, but I still feel like an imposter most of the time.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

I lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Probably because I never really experienced what it was like to be a part of the sect,” I told him. “I played around a bit with the simulation back before Earth was reintegrated, but aside from that…”

The Patriarch nodded knowingly. “That makes sense. You never got to experience what it was like to be a normal disciple since you essentially went straight into the dungeon after joining.” He tapped his chin a few times. “Perhaps we can change that. You have the ability to disguise yourself, after all.”

Understanding his implication, I couldn’t help but giggle. The thought of pretending to be a new disciple at this stage in my life was truly humorous.

“I’m not saying you have to pretend to be a complete newbie,” he clarified, misunderstanding my humor. “Perhaps you could pose as a transfer from another branch. We have two others, aside from our headquarters here on Aegeas and the branch you’re used to on Hadier.

“With your ability to easily teleport between locations, perhaps it would be best for you to play your role in one of the other branch locations. That way, there would be little chance of anyone seeing through the subterfuge.”

I continued to quietly laugh for a few more moments as my imagination played the scenario out. It wasn’t a bad idea by any means; and I truly didn’t mind developing a stronger sense of belonging with the sect I’d sworn myself to.

“Do you think doing something like that would be worthwhile?” I asked curiously.

“Well, let me ask you this,” he countered. “How familiar are you with Alliance culture? What kind of education have you had thus far? Do you feel you’ve learned everything a normal disciple would know?”

I probably knew more than he expected, given my experience in the other timeline. But, I had to admit, there was still a lot that I didn’t know.

“I took a lot of classes virtually through Atlas Online, and Master Kairos taught me some things – both before I entered the dungeon and afterward via the inheritance. But most of it was affinity-specific or related to Alchemy.”

“Then you should be quite good at Alchemy as well, considering he is a Master Alchemist,” the Patriarch said, causing me to bow my head in embarrassment.

“Not as good as I could be,” I admitted. “I didn’t spend a lot of time on those lessons since I mostly use Alchemy for crafting reagents.”

Patriarch Fora nodded at my answer as if it was good news.

“So, you’re probably on par with low-to-mid-tier disciples who have focused on Alchemy as one of their professions,” he surmised.

I wanted to deny his statement, but he wasn’t technically wrong. I’d come close to breaking through to the advanced rank in Alchemy, though I really did focus primarily on the one type of product. But just because I didn’t often craft potions or pills didn’t mean that I couldn’t.

“Probably,” I conceded. “Is that what you’d rather I do instead of teaching?”

“My initial impulse was to ask, ‘Why not do both?’ But honestly, there is no great need for another instructor for Enchanting at the moment. Why don’t you take some time to experience life as a disciple for now, then you can resume teaching at a later date? How long do you have until you return to the dungeon?”

“A little under six years,” I answered.

**NOTE: During my revisions to Book 4, I decided to have her get taken right after Amie’s awakening ceremony. So, for everyone who wished she got to see it, you’ll be getting your wish. I still haven’t finished writing it all out, but the plan is already there, so I’m writing with that in mind.**

Though less than half of my break had technically passed, it felt like barely any time remained before I had to go back. With that in mind, I really wasn’t sure pretending to be a normal disciple was worth what little time I had.

Then again, it wasn’t like I planned to spend every moment with my family. That would get old for everyone. The last thing I wanted was for them to look forward to me leaving because I’d worn out my welcome.

“Well, if it’s something you’re interested in, I can set things up for you. Now that the war’s over, I already planned to use the opportunity to shift some people among the various locations,” Patriarch Fora said. “Adding one more person to the mix won’t draw any attention.”

Strangely enough, I found that I was interested in developing a stronger connection to the sect I owed so much to. Logically, I understood that I really didn’t owe the sect anything since the funds they’d earned off the MealMaker alone would probably compensate them for all of the support I’d been given, but that didn’t change how I felt about the matter.

“Won’t there be issues with spars and duels?” I asked, thinking back to my limited experience investigating the sect through the game.

I knew that reality was nothing like cultivation novels, but that didn’t mean that sparring and dueling wasn’t a thing. I could easily see someone testing the ‘new kid’ to see what they were made of.

“I doubt it. While spars and duels are common enough, they almost never result in a death. We have some amazing enchantments on all of our training grounds to prevent such things from happening. They are much like your escape talismans with automatic healing. As long as the fights happen on training grounds, it’s nearly impossible for someone to die.

“Even so, accidents happen. As long as there is no intent to kill, the Accords won’t fault you if something goes wrong. I’d just ask that you be careful. In fact,” Patriarch Fora continued, “this might be an excellent opportunity to learn control.”

He wasn’t wrong. And as much as I didn’t like the idea of dueling or fighting other people, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to learn how to do it better. Though I’d be spending most of my time fighting beasts, I knew that eventually, I’d be forced to fight another sapient.

Furthermore, the dungeon had already started presenting monstrous humanoid opponents. I needed to be prepared in case the humanoid monsters I’d already faced were just a preview of things to come.

“Is there a way to do it part-time?” I asked. “I’d rather not have a bunch of assignments or responsibilities if I can help it.”

“That’s easy enough to manage,” the Patriarch assured me. “What branch would you like to be assigned to? Aside from Aegeas and Hadier, there are branches on Atlantis and Celtor. I recommend Celtor since it’s a Tier Eight world and that’s probably going to be the most comfortable for you.”

“Will it be odd that someone presumably below Tier Five will be reassigned there?” I asked.

The Patriarch shook his head. “Not at all. Many of our strongest disciples come from high-tier worlds. We tend to keep them assigned to branches of a similar mana density whenever we can.

“Hadier tends to get most of the disciples from weaker worlds since it’s the lowest tier planet we have a branch on, but the rest usually stay within a tier or two of their home world. Claiming you’re from Aegeas would be more than enough to justify your ability to comfortably exist on a Tier Eight world.”

“And I won’t have to stay in group dorms or be expected to show up for regular meetings or anything, right?”

“No. I’ll list you as an Inner Disciple. They are always granted private rooms. They also get a lot more freedoms than an Outer Disciple. It’ll be fine. I’ll talk to the Branch Leader so they’ll know what’s going on. They’ll be the only one, mind you, but it’s probably better that way.”

“Will I have any issues leaving to visit family or disappearing for days at a time?” I asked, thinking about how little time I had left before I had to return to the dungeon.

While experiencing sect life sounded interesting, if the demands were going to be too much, it simply wouldn’t be worth it. Though I didn’t want to spend so much time with my family that they looked forward to me leaving, I also didn’t want to stay so busy that I felt like I needed to carve out time to see them.

“You shouldn’t have any issues like that. The sect doesn’t monitor and control our disciples like that. Disciples are expected to contribute more than they take, and we use Contribution Points to manage that.

“Housing and food cost points. Training costs points. Basically everything you’d want costs points. Disciples earn those points by taking commissions from the Crafting Hall or accepting missions from the Mission Hall.

“Those can be anything from collecting herbs to clearing rifts and submitting the resources gathered from within. We do not deal with any aspects of governing, so we won’t ever post a mission for locating bandits or anything like that. There are some sects that do work like that, but Epikairos isn’t one of them.”

That wasn’t too different from what I remembered from the game. I’d only spent a little time getting a feel for the sect when I was deciding whether or not to accept Master Kairos’s offer, but nothing he was saying contradicted what I’d seen in Atlas Online.

“I’m willing to try it,” I said after thinking things over for a bit. “I don’t want to spend all of my time playing disciple since I don’t have much of it left, but since I can easily teleport wherever I want to go, I don’t see a problem trying it out.”

The new Patriarch beamed at my response. He seemed strangely excited about my decision, which felt a little weird since I was already a member of the sect.

Sure, it felt a little bit like getting an honorary degree from a university I’d never attended, but I guessed that was what he was trying to change. He probably wanted me to have a deeper attachment to the sect than I currently held, which was fine by me.

As long as it didn’t consume too much of my time.

= = =

After leaving Patriarch Fora to handle the details of my new identity, I dropped by my dad’s place to see how the kids were settling into their temporary home. I planned to continue my search of the unnamed Tier Nine planet afterward, and had warned the Patriarch that I’d probably be unavailable to ‘transfer’ for at least a couple of weeks.

As expected, my youngest set of siblings were doing just fine. Aside from the change in residence, they probably didn’t even notice things had changed.

Interacting with the kids was bittersweet since I knew they’d likely grow distant once I returned to the dungeon. Even if I moved in with my dad and Caesi and spent every moment with them until I left, my best estimates put me at spending at least forty years ‘standard time’ inside the dungeon (and more than two hundred subjectively).

I had no misconceptions that our relationship would stay strong during the absence. Quite frankly, I’d be lucky if I remained close to anyone after being away for that long.

They entire dynamic made it hard for me to build and maintain relationships. I knew it was an unhealthy mentality to have, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

As I watched the oldest two toddlers playing on a small, indoor playset, I realized that I really did want more out of life than just existing on the outskirts. I didn’t want to be limited to just popping in for a bit and then disappearing for long stretches of time.

Though I couldn’t do anything about my time in the dungeon, I promised myself I’d put more effort into spending time with family and friends during what remained of my break, even with my recent agreement.

I wouldn’t let myself get too distracted with the sect, mana wells, or crafting. I’d figure out how to manage my time like a normal person.

And it wasn’t like I wouldn’t have time to do all of those things and still spend quality time with the people who mattered. I was a Time Mage for goodness sakes!

I might not be able to set up time-dilation within the Time well since the well itself would interfere with it, but I would be able to use one in the Arcane well.

At least, I’d been able to in the Arcane well on Pylos. It should be the same, even if the one I was hoping to find was significantly stronger.

Come to think of it, I wondered if I’d get the same effect in my demesne if I opened a large portal into the mana well.

If so, perhaps I could use my demesne to bypass the weird Time fluctuations inside the Time well to improve my affinities while also reducing the amount of time I spent on the endeavor.

I could craft and improve my affinities at the same time!

My lips pulled into a grin as I thought of how many people would metaphorically spit blood if they could read my mind right now.

As much as I might silently complain about my life, I was well aware of how immensely blessed I was to have such strong and powerful affinities.

Though I wanted to test my theory immediately, I recognized that I still needed to find the Arcane mana well Anya told me about. Maybe it was somehow connected to the strange crystal growths I’d found. That was something else I really wanted to explore.