In the aftermath of the fight, Josef told Duncan, “Bente and Ingrid are fine – nothing reached them to attack the wards. They will stay inside the wards until the cleanup is complete and we can allocate a dedicated guard for Bente.” The priest seemed quite busy, so Duncan just nodded his thanks.

Duncan took a seat tucked away from the activity, near a shrine of some sort, and began to meditate. He’d found meditation helped replenish his mana a little faster than normal, and he was absolutely convinced that meditating on his fights helped him learn from them and advance his Techniques faster. So he focused on moving what little mana he had left through the whirls and loops that he could sense in his body and pondered his takeaways from the fight.

I spent too much mana early against the spectral assassins – I don’t know if the wounds they inflicted had a property that made them more expensive to heal, but I started the fight against the Liches far too low on mana. Baiting the Lich was extremely helpful – being able to eliminate the first Lich so early in the fight completely changed the balance of power. It was strange that the final Lich lasted so long – it really looked like most of the attackers couldn’t hurt it, even the ones at a higher level than me. Josef is a lower level than me, and he was the most effective of all.

By the time the bodies were cleared away and the Duke’s representative had left with his report for the Duke, Duncan’s mana had fully recovered. A tired-seeming Josef approached him and said, “Are you ready to discuss Bente’s future?” Duncan nodded and followed Josef back to the priest’s office.

When they were seated, Josef said, “It is rare for someone with a divine affinity to appear outside the confines of the Church. I’m told you are from a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. Do you know anything of the Church at all?”

Duncan shook his head. “Alright, then,” said Josef. “I’ll give a very brief overview and then move on to what this means for Bente.” At Duncan’s nod, he continued, “Medim’s a relatively old world, but has a low ambient mana level compared to many others. As such, our gods are unable to intervene directly here. There are few great powers in the world – most of those who ascend to the level of demi-gods depart for mana-rich worlds. And the great powers who remain – the dragons, for example – tend to spend most of the time sleeping in the most mana-rich corners of the world. This is why the dungeons exist – to keep Medim safe for normal mortals by keeping the ambient mana low.”

“So, for the most part, the mortal races of the world are left to fend for themselves. We know the gods watch over us, but we understand they cannot apply direct influence. The Church is comprised of people who seek to uphold the work of the gods in their absence.” Josef smiled. “That sounds ripe for abuse, doesn’t it? And so, the gods provided the Divine Affinity, so that they could communicate with the mortal races, and the Holy Affinity so that Church warriors could fight the enemies of the world – the undead, eldritch horrors, and otherworldly invaders.”

“The gods choose their representatives wisely, but mortals are only mortal, and can be corrupted. The gods can revoke their gifts, preventing the use of Techniques that have Divine or Holy affinities. There’s still room for corruption in the Church, of course – not every member of the Church has either of those Affinities or Techniques associated with them – most of our members serve in an administrative role. So at least once a year, everyone sworn to the Church must enter a dungeon, where the gods can exert their influence far more actively.”

“A small dungeon has formed under nearly every large Church temple in the world. They are generally empty, until someone enters who has become corrupted or who has betrayed the gods, in which case, there’s a monster waiting. It’s proven surprisingly effective at keeping the Church on-track morally.”

“Which brings us back to Bente. You see, most people who receive a Divine or Holy affinity do so by receiving an Affinity Stone in a temple dungeon. To see someone outside the Church with an Outstanding Divine Affinity is unprecedented. For it to be a mere child, doubly so. Her other affinities make her even more special.”

“We could keep her safe here in the Temple, but we’d have to essentially confine her in a warded guest room. And if the undead are able to further increase their forces here to try to capture her, I’m not sure the rest of the Temple or the city would be safe. Having one Lich in Lanport was difficult. Having three may be unmanageable. If they come with more than that, and other greater undead, it could be devastating.”

“So,” he continued, “I would like to send Bente to Tavoli, in the Villanovan Confederation, to the East. The Church has a school there for the children of members with strong affinities. The whole facility has protective wards and formations, and there are warded safe rooms in every building in case something breeches the perimeter defenses. It’s the safest place I can think of for her, and it will give her the best future she can hope for. The Church will pay all her expenses, and they have staff there who can help with her divine affinity and precognition.”

Duncan replied, “I will speak with Bente about it, and if she doesn’t object, neither will I. But how will you send her there? It seems like the Liches can track her somehow – I told no one we were coming here, and indeed, I only decided to do so a few minutes before we arrived. I don’t want her ambushed in transit.”

Josef nodded. “I will escort her myself. We will take the teleportation gate to Harrish, then on to Mero, in the Villanovan Confederacy, and a third to Tavoli. It will be expensive, but I believe Bente to be important.”

“Alright,” said Duncan. “If she agrees to go, I will accompany you. At my own expense,” he added, as Joseph was going to speak. “Your protective sphere is very good, but you don’t seem to be able to do anything whilst you’re in it. You’ll need someone to take care of whatever causes you to use it.”

“Very well,” Joseph agreed. “Let us go and speak with Bente, and get her into one of the warded guest rooms rather than the safe room she and Ingrid are still in.” He led Duncan down to the safe room, where two guards flanked the door.

Josef knocked on the door, then pulled it open, revealing the wards within. He deactivated the wards and Duncan saw Bente and Ingrid sitting on the floor, playing a game of some sort involving cards. “Thank the gods you’re here,” said Ingrid. “She’s won every hand. Every single one.” Bente grinned impishly.

“We’re moving her to the secure guest suite,” said Josef. “We killed all the attackers, but the threat isn’t over.” Ingrid swept the cards into her storage device and equipped her full armor and weapons. Bente climbed to her feet and took Josef’s hand. The entire group, including the guards, followed Josef to a gorgeous suite on the second floor with a view of the Keep.

The two guards took position outside the door, and Josef ushered the rest of them inside. Once they were all in, Josef activated the wards and motioned them towards chairs. “Bente, you’ll be our guest here for a couple of days if that’s ok with you.” She nodded solemnly. “Then, if you like, we’ll take you to a place where you can be safe, with other children and nice teachers.”

Bente beamed at him. “I’m going to be friends with Halle and Mirko,” she said. Duncan and Josef looked at each other. Well, that was easy. I hope her precognition helps her navigate school.

Once Bente was settled and sleeping, with her own attendant close at hand, Duncan accompanied Josef back to his office. “So,” said Josef, “Let’s talk about you a little bit.”

“My favorite subject,” Duncan replied with a grimace.

Josef laughed. “Let me tell you what I know, and what I have deducted, and you can tell me anything else you think I should know. You clearly came to your strength young – you look to be under twenty. It feels like you are almost as young as you appear. You are naïve – your headmaster says you’re from some remote village with no contact with the outside world and arrived in the empire via a teleportation accident. But you have exquisite gear – better than any I’ve seen on someone of our level. Gear that would take decades to assemble under normal circumstances.”

“You act fearlessly. The way you fought the undead earlier appeared reckless but wasn’t. As soon as you ran low on mana, you changed to a much more conservative approach, suggesting you were fighting within your limits when you were more aggressive earlier. You have a well-developed sense for the fight, which again suggests long years of experience. And you have absolutely no respect for authority. You treat everyone the same way. Eric told me you were chatting amiably with him after you sparred with him at the Academy. You treat me like we’re both adventurers sitting in a tavern after we’ve cleared a dungeon. It’s refreshing. But not normal.”

Duncan shrugged. “There’s a lot to unpack there. I’m eighteen years old. I grew up in a little valley in the mountains somewhere. We were self-sufficient – there were three dungeons in the valley, and it was sheltered from the outside world. We didn’t have nobles or soulgems. People were judged on what they did and how well they did it. I guess I still judge people that way, and expect to be judged that way, although I admit I’ve fallen into a bad habit of using someone’s level as a gauge of their power since I’ve gotten used to a soulgem.”

“I attribute my strength to two factors: first, I had extremely good training back home, and good equipment when I arrived in the empire. At level twelve, I had gear that wouldn’t shame a level fifty adventurer here. Second, I have good Affinities and good Techniques to go with them. I didn’t have all my Techniques when I arrived, but I knew what I wanted, and I had enough knowledge and experience to choose wisely when it came to adding new Techniques. Because of my Techniques and gear, I was able to delve dungeons rated far above my level on my own. With greater risk comes greater reward. My Techniques advance faster than typical adventurers, and I’ve been fortunate in the loot I’ve found in dungeons.”

Josef shook his head. “Eighteen. Remarkable. And nothing you’ve said has been a lie. It sounds like your valley must have been a great place to live. Are you sorry you left?”

“Not really, no. I miss some of the people there, but I’ve had a lot of interesting and exciting adventures in the empire. I’ve met some people I like and delved some great dungeons. It feels like I’ve got so much room to grow in the outside world,” Duncan answered. “Actually, while we’re discussing my treatment of people, can you explain how the whole nobility thing is supposed to work? Why do so many level sixty weaklings think I should kowtow to them because of their social standing?”

“Hah!” Josef snorted. “Drink?” He pulled a couple of glasses and a bottle of something out of a cabinet. “Well, originally, the nobles were just strong people who could protect the people around them. In return for their protection, they demanded tribute from the people they protected. The money they earned that way made them stronger, and their heirs stronger. Eventually, it developed into something more formal. The strongest families levied taxes on the lands they controlled and hired soldiers to protect and police it. Governments evolved. Alliances and conflicts between families led to the formation of kingdoms and empires, each ruled by the strongest family. Over the years, the patterns became entrenched, and those same families are in charge because their ancestors were. If anyone were to try to upset the apple cart, so to speak, all the other nobles in the same situation would help put down the troublemakers, lest the same thing happen to them.”

“And how does that entitle some weak idiot from a noble family to treat me like an inferior? It sounds like it started out as might makes right, then devolved into bullies grouping up to put down challengers to their authority. What stops someone stronger than any of them from wiping them out?” said Duncan.

“Sounds like it’s personal to you,” Josef noted. “In reality, actual power does. Those bullies really are the strongest folks around, collectively. Every once in a while, one of them will usurp power and take over a kingdom or an empire or a duchy or something and hold it by force. But it’s always one of them. If a non-noble tried such a thing, they’d all unite to stomp their challenger into the mud.”

“As to how they can get away with treating someone stronger than them poorly, they fall back on the strength of their family and on people’s acceptance of rank. What happened to make you so disdainful of the nobility? I know you’ve met the Duke and he’s a good man.”

Duncan sighed. “When I arrived at the Academy, the headmaster had to tell all the instructors to warn their students not to pick on me lest I squash them like bugs and thereby cause problems for the Academy with their parents. And to be fair, it worked – none of the Academy students messed with me. I thought the whole show was silly – the students should know just by looking at me they’d be ill-advised to pick a fight. But not long ago, some idiot in one of the mixed classes tried to provoke me. The instructor intervened, perhaps a little too emphatically, and probably because of the headmaster’s instructions. The student called his level eighty guards into the room and told them to take the instructor to his father. I stopped them, of course, and now I’m worried he’ll go after the instructor, or he’ll go after me, and I’ll have to put him down.”

“How did you stop them? I’m sure I’d have heard of bloodshed on campus.”

“I stopped suppressing my aura. I think the guards got the idea right away, but the kid (I say kid, but he is older than me) screamed that I was attacking his mind and told his guards to kill me. I spiritually oppressed them, and the kid passed out, so I told the guards to take him out of there, and they were happy for the excuse,” Duncan shrugged. “Who has level eighty guards sitting in the hallway outside a classroom?”

“I shouldn’t laugh,” Josef grinned. “But that’s funny.”

“Yeah, well it reinforces all the references I’ve heard to noble kids being idiots,” Duncan grumbled. “I don’t understand the thought process that lead to him provoking someone four times his level in the first place.”

“That’s arrogance and stupidity, I’ll admit,” said Josef. “He probably thought you’d equipped a full set of disciplines and they were all low rank and useless.”

Duncan smirked, “I mean, that’s not entirely wrong. My build is complete and most of the Techniques are still low rank. They’re not useless, but they’re low rank. It’s why I run into mana problems in long fights. But my main Techniques are effective enough.”

“Yes, I saw that. You were able to harm the Liches through their damage resistance – most of our forces couldn’t do that,” said Josef.

“You could, though,” Duncan noted. “It felt like your beam and barrier are rank ten.”

“Some of the other guards have rank nine and ten Techniques, and their attacks weren’t as successful as yours,” Josef pointed out.

“That could come down to equipment,” Duncan said. “My Necrobane sword doubles the damage I do to undead, and my spirit sword ignores armor. Both are very high-quality items. And my Techniques synergize well, and I know what I’m doing with a sword.”

“Would you stop suppressing your aura for a moment? A number of the Church Elders are quite, um, elderly, and they share your disdain for levels as an indication of strength. They may ask you to unveil, and what they mean by that is to stop suppressing your aura.”

Duncan shrugged. “Are there guards in the hall you should warn in advance? I don’t want to cause an incident.”

Josef raised an eyebrow. “There should be no one within range. Go ahead.”

Duncan released his aura and Josef’s eyes widened. “Just your aura,” he said. “Don’t try to oppress me.”

“This is just my aura,” Duncan said, relaxing back in his chair.

The priest whistled, “The gods must truly have given you some tests to have aura like that at eighteen. The menace is palpable.”

“I’ve faced more scary monsters than most,” Duncan agreed, as he suppressed his aura again. “I’d demonstrate the oppression, but I don’t think I can do it without feeling legitimately hostile.”

“Practice on dungeon monsters,” suggested Josef. Oh, good point.