Two days has passed since Quin came home, but he did not see any signs of his father. He finally gathered his courage and asked his mother about it, and she told him that his father had to travel to another city due to his work.

Although Quin found it a bit strange, as his father never had to leave the city previously, it was what his mother told him, so he naturally did not doubt it.

It was on the fourth day after he left the hospital that Gorman came to visit them. Something like this was an extremely rare case, and and only happened to people who did a great merit to the Duchy.

He arrived alone, without any kind of escort, as he did not need one. Throughout the continent there were only a handful people stronger than him, and if they wanted to kill him, no amount of bodyguards would be able to help him.

“Greetings,” he said with a nod.

Quin’s mother -- who was the one to open the door -- stood there shocked for a moment, before coming back to her senses.

“Good day sir, may I ask you sir, how can I be of your help?”

“I have come to talk with your son, Quin, regarding his Coming of Age Ceremony,” he answered.

“Please, come inside and take a seat, I will call him right away,” she said, leading him to their living room, where he sat down on one of the armchairs. “May I get you something to drink?”

“Thank you for your kindness, but I have to refuse,” Gorman said lightly shaking his head.

She quickly walked up to the upper floor and told Quin about their visitor. It was then, when he remembered that he had not told her mother about the Crystal Medal of Ade Lai. He did not have time to waste though, so after changing into his ceremonial dress -- he would not receive the city governor in his simple clothes --, he made his way downstairs right away.

“Good Day, sir,!” he greeted Gorman with a slight bow.

Crap! Did I greet him right? We’ve been taught of this in school, but why does nothing comes to my mind? He was so nervous about this encounter, that his mind was in a complete jumble.

“...”

And now I wasn’t paying attention and I don’t even know what he said! Think! Think! Oh right, he just probably greeted me as well. Alright Quin, calm down! Sit down and take a deep breath!

He sat down on another armchair and tried to look as composed as he could. Meanwhile his mother made her way out of the living room, as from Quin’s earlier reaction -- when she told him about who their visitor was -- she suspected he had already knew of it and there was nothing to worry about.

“First of all, I want to thank you in the name of our Duchy for all those things you did for your friends, and for our country,” Gorman said. “I have heard about the unfortunate consequences you had to suffer for your sacrifice, and although it fills me with great sadness, moments like that are when someone’s true character shows. With such a brave heart, you fought fiercely against those damnable Shriekers and even facing death you did not back down. Although that day made clear that it was not only your strength that was admirable, but your personality as well, it was still one of the most tragic ones in our history, as we lost a peerless talent.

“With your ability you could have fled the battlefield quite easily, but you did not. You could have also left your friends to die there when things went south, and no one would have known about that, but you did not do that either. You stayed there to fight to the very end and truthfully, even with these kind of consequences I have to say that you did the right thing. I am aware of the fact that your potential completely overshadowed your friends’, and in time you might have become our most valuable asset. However what you should not forget is that it is not only strength we need, but the setting of a good example. One, to which each and every person can look up to and say, that it is worth fighting for.

“These are the times, when we especially have to look out for our values and morals. By giving up on them, maybe we would have an easier time against our enemies, but in the end we would lose ourselves -- who we are -- and just degenerate into wild animals.

“I perfectly know that these thing are just simple words, and may not provide any kind of consolation, however I do mean what I said. That is why I decided to award you with the Crystal Medal of Ade Lai.”

“Thank you sir for your kindness,” Quin said with a nod. He finally remembered some of the things they learnt and formulated the most polite answer he could. “I-,” he tried to say something he wanted to, but did not know how he should begin.

“Do not worry, and feel free to speak of your mind. You do not have to be so afraid about it,” seeing that the kid was a bit reserved around him, Gorman said encouragingly.

“Well, If I may say so, nothing that won’t restore my cultivation can give me much consolation, however I greatly appreciate your words,” Quin told him.

What Quin said was indeed true: hearing Gorman’s word, who was one of the most powerful man in their country made him feel a bit less miserable and could truly feel that what he did was the right thing to do.

“However I wanted to talk about something else,” Quin said and Gorman simply nodded. “It’s about what had happened. I’ve heard how the others had told the events, but they are missing out on important details.” He paused for a moment, but after seeing that Gorman’s full attention was on him, continued. “It wasn’t the Shriekers who kidnapped us, but humans dressed in our city’s uniform. They were part of some kind of secret cult, which worship the Shriekers as their messiah and they are bringing people to them for harvesting their souls.”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?” Gorman interjected, and the expression on his face changed as well: no longer was it the serious but friendly, which had been before.

“Sir, I have experienced it with my very own eyes and it was only thanks to, uhm, a friend of mine who infiltrated this sect that we got out alive,” Quin explained. He did not tell Gorman Mang’s name, just to be on the safe side. “I was captured as well, not long after our group split up in the Danger Zone. Fortunately this group included that friend of mine and he told me about a plan to escape, as well as about the cult itself. When we arrived to the Shrieker’s Nest, after the majority of the enemy group left, we created some distraction and I fought my way to the others where I woke them up. Thanks to my friend we only had to fight the Shriekers, but there was also something strange regarding them.

“The adult Shriekers were only supposed to compare in strength to someone who has just entered the Qi Culmination sub-stage, however two of them were clearly stronger. Although the others did not notice it, that was because they’ve never fought something so strong and didn't have any idea about the strength difference between the early and the late stages of the first level of Qi Culmination. That--”

“Enough of this!” Gorman interrupted him. “There is no secret cult in my city, neither are adult Shriekers who surpass the early stage of the first level of Qi Culmination!”

“But Sir, it’s true. I’ve personally experienced all of this and I wouldn’t just make something like this up!”

“Stop it I said!” Although Gorman did not raise up his voice even a bit, his entirety exuded an overbearing, domineering aura, which terrified Quin to the very bones and his facial expression turned to an even uglier one. “You are playing with Crystal Medal here! Are you really craving for attention that much?”

Crystal Medal? Really? It’d give me a lot of respect and face in front of the others, but does it give me anything that really matters? Sadly, it doesn’t.

“It’s not for attention, sir! Please, listen to me, why would I want to make a fool out of myself? I’m not saying this for a selfish reason but for the safety of our nation! If we aren’t prepared--“

“Alright, that’s it. I am sorry to say it but I cannot give the Crystal Medal to someone like you. That medal gives its owner recognition and influence, which I cannot give to someone spreading frightening rumors. In peaceful times it would not be that much of a concern, however now when we are facing such a dangerous threat, I simply cannot allow anyone to do something which can cause a mass panic!

“This does not change what I have said before, and to show my respect for your actions, take this emblem,” he said, and as he stood up, he took out a bronze emblem -- the size of one’s palm --, which he gave to Quin. “This is your reward. With this you will not have to face many hardships in the rest of your life, as you can use this as an unlimited amount of currency and thus buy anything you will need, be it a house or just a small thing, like bread. It does not however, represent me, the city or our Duchy!” Finishing his talk, Gorman left the house, without even saying his goodbyes and leaving Quin confused and angry.

Only a handful of people had this bronze badge, but it was something that the majority of people had knowledge of. Although it presented infinite wealth in theory, in truth it was not that simple. First of all, although it was something rare, a social taboo has been present since it was handed out the first time in history against using it exceedingly in the Duchy of Ade Lai. Their owners could use it to live a luxurious life, however anything more was looked at with great contempt. Besides the government of the Duchy would not just watch and do nothing when they saw that someone with this badge was using it to destroy their country’s economy.