The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

After Irene returned to identifying her belongings, I found myself sitting in silence, pondering the nature of life. I must ask Aurora... Or I should have asked Irene before she left. After all, she was in charge of healthcare in Avalon. Anyway, I had to know how many people were stuck inside the walls of the Middle Castle, unable to function properly due to trauma or crippling fear. That could wait for now. I noticed Idna had left a sheet of paper on the table and I picked it up as I left the Guild Hall. I started laughing as soon as I saw the words on it.

It was a list of classes she wanted those twenty promised people to have.

The next day was as busy as the previous one and I was playing with the idea of adding a new spawner. My wives had a meeting with their courts, but I was confident they would deal with any internal affairs before it became a problem. After breakfast, I teleported to the War Room where Sebastian was already waiting for me with his protegee, Tulir. The young Wood Elf was now looking much better than the time he was, let's just say, recruited, after all that mess caused by Jensen. Tulir's eyes were shining with an eagerness to test his new skills, but I still was a bit reluctant to send him into the wilderness. I still couldn't agree with Sebastian's opinion that Tulir should work in the field because I thought he would be more valuable as an instructor in Luna's academy. Choices, choices... Sebastian, as always, looked stoic, with an unreadable facial expression, but even his Poker Face couldn't hide his thoughts before me. He simply was proud of the progress made by his student and he also wanted to test Tulir's skills. Sooner or later I would have to send him on a mission, so I could do it today as well.

Thor and Arani were sitting near the fireplace, enjoying the warmth of flames after spending the last few days on regular patrols in the surrounding area. Galahad was reviewing his notes, and he was stacking some documents. He was the only Scion, except for Aurora, who preferred writing down his notes personally instead of using the instant write-down skills he possessed. I think it was due to the fact that Irene was the one who taught him to read and write.

"Hello everyone. I would like to hear the reports." I took my place and waited for Arani and Thor to take theirs.

"Lord Sebastian ordered me to present to you the reports we have gathered, your Highness." Tulir bowed to me with respect and took his seat.

"Very well." I waved my hand, allowing him to continue as he smiled happily.

"Our investigation of the Cridian Army is not conclusive, my Lord. Most of the army has terrible morale, but the majority will probably still follow Josla's orders. There are, however, some notable exceptions, namely the Royal Guard Regiment, and five additional Battalions. Roughly ten to fifteen thousand soldiers would be fighting till the bitter end. So far no one has discovered that you took control over Fort Crissna and razed Girsion, my King. Eliminating the forces of Girsion and Crissna, as you anticipated my King, is going to deal a serious blow to the battle readiness of the Cridians. Their logistics are going to be woefully unprepared to supply the army. This is going to allow us to conduct a few raids, but we must be wary of King-General Korkas. We know that King Korkas has done everything to rally as many soldiers as possible in order to destroy you, your Highness."

"Isn't that strange? How could he have known I posed any threat?" I started over the window towards the general direction where the capital city of Cridia lay.

"We learnt he is aware of who God Eriar is, my King," Sebastian interjected.

"Hold on." I held my breath for a moment. "How is that even possible? So far, no one heard about Eriar prior to visiting Avalon, and even so, only those worthy of staying in my Kingdom learnt about him." In a brief moment, I reviewed all my battle plans and rendered them obsolete. "We must learn more about Korkas. Who does he truly serve? Who is his patron?"

"With all due respect, what does it change, my Lord? The King-General knows about your patron deity, but... So what?" Tulir asked, confused, while keeping his tone as respectful as possible.

"You are not aware of everything that happened before you were... Enlisted. Since you are not a field agent, you will be briefed into many things, Tulir, but it requires time. However, we had reasons to suspect that this world and its inhabitants are purposefully kept in a state of constant suffering. Keeping the people low level is also part of something bigger we can only speculate about. Anyway, I want you to designate someone to keep watch on Korkas. I don't like how much he has already figured out."

"I will send one of my highest-level spies, my King." Sebastian nodded his head.

I looked at the Elf, but he simply nodded, having nothing much more to say. The issue with Korkas was troubling, but it could be just coincidence. The problem with coincidences was that I don't believe in them. However, there is nothing I could do about it right now, and an assassination attempt was simply out of the question. Without any other insights on the subject, I moved forward.

"Arani?" I looked at my large scion. I'm pretty sure he is still growing.

"As you ordered, we have checked all traces we had about the main camp of the slavers. I think we found something. On the southeast lies a dungeon and within its limits, live hundreds of slavers. However, the dungeon itself is not right. I had your memories of the Castle of Blood Dungeon, and I participated in the assault on the Goblin Dungeon. That place is strange as I couldn't feel any strong will in it… it was like looking at condensed hatred. There was nothing over it... I am sorry, my Lord. I can't properly describe it, besides the fact that it's a very dangerous place." Arani looked at Sebastian. "I couldn't even recommend sending our denizens inside as I fear they could be captured by that twisted dungeon and used against us."

"Could one of the legions destroy that place?" I asked after a while. Troublesome news indeed...

"I don't think so, my Lord. They are entrenched, and they are using that dungeon to aid their efforts. They built a citadel and a tall wall. It's not made of enchanted stones, but it's inlaid with an unknown metal, forming crude but very effective runes. I hesitate to admit it, but I'm afraid it's too much for a Legion alone."

"Thank you, Arani. At least I know I can't deal any serious blows to them now. I must focus on the Cridians." The tactical situation had started to complicate itself even more. With a sigh, I turned my gaze at my Fenrir Scion. "Thor?"

"The winter monsters gave up on attacking Avalon and the lands under our formal control. We feel their hatred and wrath, but wherever they see us or our scouts stumble upon their parties, they retreat without a fight. I couldn't think of any reason why they do that. They tried to recover the bodies from Girsion, but the Shadow Wolves and Fenrirs stationed there drove them away." Thor snarled angrily. "It makes no sense. Their attack patterns changed rapidly after their crushing defeats earlier. We made sure there were no survivors and scoured the area for observers, but we never found one. The only explanation would be a telepathic bond between the chaos spawn."

"That's great..." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Continue to observe them and don't let them settle anywhere or attack the Cridians. Galahad?"

"The conclusions of reports I received from Sebastian, Ban and Drake make no sense. Your assumption, my King, that all people have low levels, was clearly wrong. We could point to three or even four castes that made the entire hierarchical society of the Cridian Kingdom. The common folk are the vast majority of the kingdom, and all our previous observations about them would still be correct. They are kept poor with barely living conditions and with low levels. The soldiers are the next caste, averaging on level 35, but that is very misleading. Their levels are heavily faked, but we safely can assume that their real combat-ready regiments average around level 80. The system is built in a way that only washouts or really low-level soldiers could retire." Galahad flipped through his notes and continued. "According to Bam, his orders clearly stated that he couldn't personally allow anyone to retire. He should send them to the capital where they would be discharged with all honours, but Ban never bought that crap. His veterans simply stayed with his forces and they helped local farmers."

I nodded slowly, realising the war that was going to break in the spring was not going to be a walk in the park after all. However, knowledge is power. In the meantime, Galahad continued his report.

"The third caste would be Nobles and Queen Josla herself. Their levels are a mystery and we can't rule out the possibility they managed to multi-class. They would be a wild card if not for the last caste in this society. The adventurers are in a class of their own. Sebastian's investigation revealed a multitude of different guilds, but we can differentiate between them as ones in favour of Queen Josla and ones that work as a cover-up. We will focus only on the guilds in favour of the rulers of Cridia. Their levels, combat power, and capabilities are quite mysterious, but we can safely assume they are near level 80, maybe 90."

"Hmmm... The people simply can't rebel against such power differences." I quietly stated and nodded my head.

"My Lord, if I may..." Tulir looked troubled.

"Yes."

"I have a feeling that looking at levels alone won't give us the full picture of our current situation. What I want to say is, during my mandatory dungeon delving, I fight various monsters and the difficulty heavily varies depending on the monster level. I noticed that monsters below my level rarely pose any threat, while monsters over my level often pose significant challenges. However, the situation changes if I face more than a single opponent, my King. I believe that there are more combat mechanics that come into play that change the tides of battle. What I also want to underline is the fact that I, a mortal, can fight and win against a monster of the same level." Despite his twisted explanation, an alarm bell rang inside my head.

"So you want to say that monsters are usually weaker than the people of this world, even when they are at the same level?" I looked at him inquisitively.

"Basically yes, my Lord." Tulir nodded his head. "It never occurred to me before, when I was weak, since every monster was always on a much higher level than I was. But now, thanks to Your Highness, I am much stronger and I now realise this dependency."

"Hmmm... That is a very important observation. Tuilr, you are free to assemble a team..." I stopped when I sensed Galahad's thoughts. "Galahad?"

"I want to test the 1st company of the 2nd division, under Captain Thiule, and extend the Flower Girls Party. I was thinking about adding Idna, and maybe even Gloria. Tulir, Re'kari, Hilvar, Venarion, and Auburn would work as their support. If Tulir is right, then we must heavily adhere to unit tactics." Galahad was already preparing the cohort.

"Agree. I want to see the outcome. But, Galahad, why Thiule?" I was surprised at some of his choices.

"I expect his company to finish their quests today. They are also one of the most high-level Guardsmen we have. Fortunately, their basic Warrior classes are going to be upgraded, so their levels will not reset." Galahad straightened himself in the chair. "There is also the fact that Captain Thiule and his men have been power leveling like crazy since the day they met you, my King. I think they are aiming to become Praetorians."