Chapter 523 - Changing of the Guard IV (Patreon)

Night knew when he’d finished a speech strong.

“I am passing off further matters to Addolorata. While not a Sentinel herself, she is a member of my team, and speaks with my voice.” Without further ado, he sat down, and a devil stepped up to the front of the stage.

Night had four visible members of his team, and I was willing to bet there were a few more that weren’t public-facing. I’d briefly met some of them when I’d met with Night earlier, but took the chance to study them now.

First was the devil who’d stepped up.

[Artisan - 1423] her tag revealed, and her eyes suggested an Ash element as her highest level.

I wasn’t going to judge on the relatively ‘low’ level. If she was on Night’s team, there was a reason for it. A gap that she filled. At the [Artisan] tag as well, it could be harder to level than simply battling others.

Class quality could also factor into it. I punched way above my weight with two black classes under my belt, and it was possible she’d undergone numerous resets. As an Immortal - well, everyone on Night’s team had to be Immortal, including the medusa and the dwarf - she had infinite time to cycle and get something good.

[Ranger - 3584] was the elf’s tag. She must’ve known Night a long time. Tiny swirling leaves in her eyes suggested a forest element, and her impossible gracefulness suggested a stupid number of stats in dexterity at the very least. Shame she didn’t carry a bow or anything obvious, but I suppose if Iona could get a skill to simply summon her weapons at any moment, the elf could as well.

The dwarf was also strong. [Artisan - 3410], with faceted eyes speaking to the gemstone element. I could faintly sense thousands of gemstones woven into his beard and all over his body, from diamonds so tiny I couldn’t believe they could hold a skill, to a massive obsidian shield nearly as large as he was. I shuddered to imagine what type of Dark skill could be held in such a gigantic reservoir, and I failed at calculating just how much mana such a skill could hold - especially with a Gemstone Classer potentially able to magnify it in a multitude of ways.

There was a tiny chance it was a fake-out, but… eh, at Night’s level? I could believe the dwarf was hauling around a ‘delete city’ spell.

A tiny part of me wondered if the elf and the dwarf got along.

[Warrior - 3332] was the last member of Night’s merry band, a male medusa with the bone-white eyes of the Fossil element. His hair squirmed with sea kraits, the black and white rings promising a swift death to anyone who got close. A pair of scimitars were strapped to his waist, and he stared at us with folded arms and a bare chest.

Part of my attention - thank you [Luminary Mind] - had stayed on the devil as she began addressing the crowd. “Thank you. Sentinel Depths, Spark, Invincible, Unmoveable…” Addolorata continued rattling off a list of Sentinels, and I couldn’t quite see what tied them all together. “Talathil would like to speak with you all regarding mobility and deployment.”

Hmmm. Thinking about it, they were some of the less mobile Sentinels, weren’t they? Wait, no Spark was one of the fastest, that couldn’t be it. The fastest and the slowest…?

Eh… it wasn’t really my business was it?

The one ‘low level’ Sentinel was included in the list, but I wasn’t.

Addolorata rattled off two more groups of Sentinels, and included a few Ranger teams that were present, before assigning them to receive additional instructions from either Daku or Irro.

“Sentinel Dawn, please see me after the event.” She finished.

Oh boy. I wasn’t in a group - I was being singled out explicitly. That was never fun. “Now that’s out of the way, we’ve booked a feast! Appetizers are going to be held on the third floor while catering sets up a buffet here. Those of you without other assignments are free to mingle until then. Those who’ve been asked to meet with one of us - don’t worry, we’ll get you back here before everyone else finishes eating all the food!” She joked. “Alright, dismissed!”

I caught Iona’s eye burning with curiosity in the crowd. I tilted my head, letting her know she was more than welcome to come down and see what was going on. We were a team after all.

Addolorata gestured, and we followed her, the devil sashaying over to one of the smaller rooms that gladiators occasionally used to prepare themselves right before a match. She closed the door without a gesture once we were in, spinning on her heels to face us.

Definitely not a combatant.

“Dawn! First things first, no need to worry. I only singled you out because you’re the newest Sentinel, and haven’t gone through a rotation before. If there had been more Sentinels recruited, you’d all be here! I’m here to answer all your questions, and just give you a general briefing of what to expect. Now, Night mentioned your unique circumstances, but not all the details. Have you attended Sentinel daily meet-ups before?” She asked.

The question brought me back in an instant. The hours spent in an underground room with the rest of the Sentinels, sometimes listening to another report, usually bullshitting about something. Brawling had a favorite chair, and Magic kept seeing if he could get a rise out of someone by ‘appearing’ in odd locations, like walking on the ceiling. A nostalgic smile played over my face.

I missed them.

But time and grieving had done a lot to heal the wound. No longer was it a bleeding raw and open injury on my heart. There was a scar, sure, but there was no longer a hot knife ripping through me.

I kept my answer professional.

“Yes, the new system of ‘Arachne sends a message when she needs something’ is unusual to me.” I said. I could see Iona thinking hard - I bet it was about the Valkyries and their communication.

“Oh excellent, that will make this much easier. We meet at Castle Stormwatch for lunch. It gives time for early morning reports to come in, late night reports to be decided upon, and a bit of time for everyone to settle in and commute to Sanguino if needed. Talathil is handling shuffling around a few of the Sentinels, such that those deployed to a border can make it to Sanguino for the daily update. Nothing for you to worry about, I hear your mobility is fantastic, and that you’re living near Sanguino in the first place. Is this still correct?”

I nodded, and Iona verbalized my answer.

“Yes we are.” She said. Addolorata twitched a finger, like she was checking an item off a list.

“Excellent! Now, Night’s speech. You’re possibly wondering what it means for you, and what changes? What needs to be done?”

Iona and I traded looks. It was like the devil was reading my mind.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that.” I hadn’t been on a ‘war is coming, but it’s here in subtle ways’ footing ever… frankly, I hadn’t even trained for something like this. All of my training and experience revolved around ‘this person with a spear and the System is trying to end your life’, not ‘good orators are attempting to create a classist rift and spark internal issues’.

“In your case, and most Sentinel’s cases, absolutely nothing.” She confidently said. “Low level sabotage and drugs are an issue for the guards, and rarely, the Rangers to handle. The legal and financial challenges are for myself and the nation’s [Solicitors]. You might occasionally be called upon to support the Sixth Legion if a hunting party of elves comes near, but we’re not at the ‘open warfare’ stage yet. They should be avoiding you and any patrols the Legata issues, but some of the younger, dumber elves might not be so restrained. If they’re invading, they’re invading, and feel free to dispose of them.”

I didn’t let a wince show on my face at the devil’s casual disregard for life.

Right. Part of Night’s team.

“You’re almost done with your first rotation. You’ll be rotating off as normal, although I do ask that you keep us informed where you’re going to be if you go on a long trip.”

She paused, pointing a finger up for attention.

“With that said, when things do inevitably explode in violence, our ability to get messages to far-off Sentinels is practically non-existent. Do you need the ‘renewal’ speech?”

“Please, I don’t even know what the renewal speech is.” I said.

She tsked slightly. I don’t think she was annoyed at me, just at all she had to do.

“I’ll be sending you a full briefing later, it’s not something that can be properly covered in a quick chat. ‘Renewal’ is what we call the end of an era and the start of a new one. When civilization collapses, and we need to rebuild from the ashes. Preserve yourself. You are an irreplaceable asset. As long as you are alive, there’s infinite possibilities and rebuilding possible. Forget about being a Sentinel, you preserve language and culture. You’re capable of accelerating rebuilding and forging a shelter against the apocalyptic wasteland and wilderness that presses up against the shallow shred of humanity. Look at Sentinel Sta - pardon, Queen. She single-handedly rebuilt so quickly and so well that Exterreri ended up in a particularly rich and wealthy position this era. The empire will survive, and rise again from the ashes!”

Her fervor was a little off putting. Then again, nobody at the level I was operating at arrived here without strong convictions, and the drive to see them through. She clearly read my emotions, and backtracked a bit.

“Oh, but you don’t need to worry! We’re in the early, early stages. We’ve got a few more decades at least! This era’s unusually stable, we might even get two whole centuries!”

On one hand, two centuries was a mind-boggling amount of time. So much could happen. A technological breakthrough could radically change the face of the planet, and it was a full ten generations.

On the other, Immortal timeline, it felt like no time at all.

Did all Immortals live with this creeping sense of dread? This knowledge that whatever we were building was going to get demolished? That no matter what I built, it was a sandcastle that a bigger bully was going to knock over?

It was a lot to think about. At the same time… it didn’t need to happen now, by myself.

“Thank you, Addolorata. Your help is invaluable.” Iona said. I nodded, reinforcing the sentiment. She beamed.

“Excellent! Well, moving right along…”

================================

“By Ciriel, I never thought we’d get out of there.” I groaned. Iona glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Found a goddess you liked?” She asked, her tone incredibly neutral, smooth as glass.

Wait. Shit. Was she going to be mad that I liked someone more than the moon goddesses?

Well, it was what it was. I didn’t think Iona would have a problem with it, but sometimes there was no telling.

“Yes! Ciriel, Goddess of Healing!” I tried to keep my tone happy, but a little bit of worry came through.

Iona cracked a huge grin.

“Elaine, that’s great! I know a temple that does a mixed service that includes both of them! We can go together!”

Oh no.

Oh nooooooooooooooo!

It was even worse than Iona disliking it! She wanted to drag me to weekly church events! Standing still for an hour listening to other people talk was not my idea of fun! Why did I have to open my big mouth?!

I took a deep breath, and smiled.

“Sure! I’d love to spend more time with you, and get to know Ciriel better.”

We made one of our usual stops on the way back. One of the Courier Guild’s buildings was where mail heading towards me - and the Valkyrie Order - ended up. Iona grabbed three letters - two to the Order itself, one to a specific Valkyrie - and to my surprise, I had mail!

I ripped the letter from Artemis open, reading it as quickly as I could.

Healy-bug!

I’m not sorry at all for sending you this letter that’s just teasing you. We’ve got super exciting news, news that we want to personally tell you! Come visit us at the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft! It’s not urgent or anything, but I have to see the look on your face when I tell you.

See ya soon!

Artemis

PS: Julius here. We’re both safe, happy, and healthy, and no, Artemis isn’t pregnant. I-

The rest of the letter was an unreadable mess of scribbles and spilled ink, and not even [Manuscript Mastery] could decipher the intent.

“Hey, Artemis wants us to visit. Want to go once I’m on break?” I asked.

“If Auri’s back.” Iona said. “I don’t know how you’re so calm over her still being gone, without a word from her. If it was Fenrir, I’d be biting my nails off.”

“I got a bunch of level up notifications from her today.” I tried to hide my anxiety. Iona knew how I felt. “Plus, her ‘due back’ day is during my break. At sunrise, if she’s not back, I’m going to immediately leave and go find her.”

The two thoughts together clicked.

“Oh! The School’s an easy way to get to the Northern Continent, isn’t it?” I said. I knew that, but I’d never had Auri and the School in my mind at the exact same time when debating the logistics of how to go rescue Auri from the Phoenix Peaks if needed.

A timeline was starting to emerge, one that I shared with Iona.

Go on break.

Go see Night’s friend in the Bhutai Provinces. Work on my Spatial wizardry a bit, get a fancy rune made.

Go home.

Go to the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft.

If Auri was around, great! We’d have a fun little trip.

If Auri wasn’t, then we’d go to the Phoenix Peaks and pick her up.

“...I know I’m asking a lot, and it’s all centered on me.” I finished. “After all that, let’s do a few things and explorations you want to do?” It wasn’t about being fair, necessarily - I didn’t think because we spent a week doing my thing we should do a week doing Iona’s - it was more about balance and ‘yes I’m thinking of you’.

“It sounds like a good plan, but I’m unsure if I’d be any help in the Bhutai Provinces.” She said. “From what I know and understand of the culture, you’d be better served going alone, rather than bringing a bunch of people in tow. Depending on how long you’d be, I might go on another [Knight-Errant] round after classing up. That, and I’d love to see if we can smash the Pekari once and for all. Let’s have some ambition.”

“Oh, you’re ready?” I asked. Iona had been sitting on triple 768 for a while now. I wanted to discuss more about the Pekari thing, but was distracted by her classing up declaration. [Luminary Mind] letting me think about multiple things didn’t mean I could talk about three things at once.

“I think it’s time.” She said.

The two of us lovebirds chatted about Iona’s classes and the likely directions she’d take each one as we headed back home. Unless something amazing was waiting for her in her first class, she was going to take the Valkyrie upgrade. For her third class, she was naturally sticking with [Paladin], even if a black class was offered to her. It was simply too important to her, too core to her identity, to leave it behind. The middle one was up in the air. There were a number of different directions Iona could take with it, and she’d see what was offered.

“You should take the third classup first.” I suggested. Iona agreed.

“That one’s a lock, and the added stats will improve the quality on the other two.”

“Then the Valkyrie class, followed by the Archer class.” I suggested. “Gives you the widest range in the middle.”

“But see, I doubt my quality will be as good there, so I think taking the second class first would optimize my offerings on the Valkyrie class, which is more important for me…” Iona said.

We cheerfully went back and forth on the various pros and cons as we headed home.

Iona’s classing up was super exciting!! I couldn’t wait to see what she got!

We got home, found Titania had fixed us dinner - the woman was an absolute gem - and sat down to eat, still talking over her class choices.

“...there’s got to be something good about Fenrir.” I said. “Frost Wyvern, Ice as an overlapping element, I have to believe there’s going to be a strong offering relating to him. It even has skills referencing him!”

It felt like a natural extension to me.

“It feels like a massive departure from what the class currently is. I-”

I held my hand up, rudely interrupting and wordlessly asking for silence. [The World Around Me] was fantastic for detecting everything. Including sneaky ninja-trained Valkyries trying to climb over our roof and ‘surprise’ us. I grinned at Iona, planning all sorts of mischief.

“One moment.” I said. I stood up on my chair, jumped up to the ceiling of the room, then [Blinked] onto the roof, where Nina was trying to sneak in.

“Ahha!” I yelled as I grabbed her in a headlock. “I caught you!”

Nina sputtered in disbelief.

“Your skill is so unfair!” She complained. “I was trying to sneak up on Iona and surprise her! You had to ruin it!”

I ruffled her hair.

“Good to see you too kiddo.” I said. “Come on, Iona’s going to die of happiness when she sees you.”

“M’not a kiddo.”