Path to Transcendence

He and Marcus went their separate ways. Marcus still had to take care of some things, but he made sure to remind Julius that they were leaving the next day.

When he got back to the living quarters where he and Reinera had been living, he sensed the girl in question immediately.

She was pacing back and forth in front of the entryway, fiddling with her fingers like she always did when she was nervous.

He took a deep breath before he finally grasped the doorknob and opened the door.

Reinera immediately swiveled to where he walked in and strolled toward him with an aggressive pace. At first, he thought she was going to hit him in or at least give him a good wack. He had already closed his eyes, accepting his fate. But he was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

She continued to hold onto him for a while before she finally spoke up. "Aren't you going to hug me back?" She asked offendedly.

He grinned and proceeded to wrap his own arms around her.

"How was your mission, huh?" He asked.

"Surprisingly, not awful. That boy they wanted me to spy on didn't really pan out. He tried to hit on me and tried to get me alone several times, but he wasn't that bad. Just a little too arrogant and cocky but then again what noble boy isn't? Sadly, I didn't catch him saying anything about his father's operations or if they were the traitors. It seemed like the son had nothing to do with it and was merely a spoiled teen," she explained to him.

"How about you? Nobody has told me anything yet. Did everything go to plan?" She asked.

"It went about as I expected. We got some vital information and even captured a number of their stronger members, so hopefully, they have some things that might help House Easten," he said truthfully.

She must have been skeptical though because she pulled away from him so that she could stare him in the face.

"So you weren't in danger or anything?" She asked, looking directly into his eyes.

Seeing that he was being scrutinized, he ended up telling her most of the details. Even the ones pertaining to the Tier 5 he fought briefly. As well as Marcus and Stella showing up to save him at the last moment.

When he was finally done retelling the events, he found himself getting smacked on top of the head.

"What did I say before you left?"

He closed his eyes and made an honest attempt at trying to remember what she had said to him. To be fair, there were a lot of things to review and he couldn't remember everything. But when he failed to answer her, he had to take another smack to the head.

"I had you promise me that if you were in any danger, you would prioritize your life over everyone else's. That includes not taking on a Tier 5! What were you thinking?"

He put his hands up placatingly. "I promise you, it's not like I had a choice. I promise I tried to run. He just ambushed me before I could even try. Plus, there wasn't supposed to be anyone that strong going. It's something that Marquis Easten and the others are going to figure out though."

"They better! They could have gotten you killed."

"I know," he said with a solemn nod. He knew better than anyone just how close he was to death once again. While he liked to pretend it wasn't that dangerous, the fact remained that he got lucky once again.

"There is something more important that I wanted to tell you," he said to her before she could continue berating him.

"What? What could be more important?" She asked sarcastically.

"They know," he said simply, knowing that she would understand what he meant by that.

Her eyes pinched together. "What do you mean they know?"

"I don't know how, but it seemed like they had realized it a while ago," he said softly.

She grabbed her hair and pulled on it. "So they know that I am not Grace but Reinera?"

He nodded hesitantly at her, not knowing how she might react.

She stalked around the room angrily and kept on muttering to herself, but after a few minutes, she calmed down.

"I had a feeling they knew," she finally admitted with a frown.

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"Really? Why's that?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"Because they prevented me from going on that mission with you. The one they had me assigned to didn't even seem like it was a real mission. It was more like I was just supposed to dress up and mingle with the other noble children. Looking back on it, it was probably just an excuse for them to not risk my life on that mission," she said, shaking her head.

"Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way before."

"Yeah, which is also why I think that they knew how dangerous it could potentially be and that makes me mad because they still decided to send you anyway," she grumbled angrily.

"That's not the whole reason," he tried to calm her down. "I insisted on going to. I wanted to find out some answers for myself and I did."

"Yes, but are you really that surprised? House Greyson sounds like it's full of greedy nobles. If a noble House like House Townsen is a part of them, then it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that other influential Houses are connected too."

"No, it wasn't exactly a surprise, but it was nice to confirm some of my feelings as well as get some more information for House Easten," he pointed out.

"Yes, and for that they better reward you properly. I will ensure that they follow up with it as well and since my identity is already known, that just makes it easier for me to do so."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Marcus promised he would make sure that they kept their word. Plus, House Easten doesn't seem to be that kind of House so far," he said to her.

"Speaking of that. I am shocked that Lily and Derek sent Marcus Avery and Stella Quincy after you," she said with a shake of her head.

"Why's that? You're not the only one who seemed to think highly of them."

"Because they are quite renowned throughout the Empire. Even my family doesn't have many people with their skills. I believe that my father has made multiple offers to both of them to work for the Royal Family. But they both are loyal to their Houses. Something that is rare amongst nobles. The fact that Lily and Derek sent both of them just to find you must mean they value you very highly, way more than simple friends."

"Are they really that impressive?" Julius got the sense that both of them were strong. But honestly, they acted very normal and nothing like he would expect from the people she was describing.

She nodded her head firmly. "Very much so. Stella is a ridiculously talented mage who is skilled in both time and spatial magic. Two very different and complex fields, making her one of the most sought-after individuals on the Continent. Whereas Marcus is an absolute demon on the battlefield. There have been reports of the man taking down Tier 6s and even clearing Tier 6 rifts all by himself. I can say with confidence that the two of them are some of the most extraordinary Tier 5s in the Empire."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so bash those thoughts you are having right now."

"What thoughts?"

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"The ones I know you are thinking about," she said with a stern look.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he insisted but failed to convince her of his honesty.

"Whatever ideas that involve you trying to run and escape them, throw them away in the trash. You will only just piss them off. I for one have no plan to piss them off and now that they know who I am, it makes things much more difficult," she said with a meaningful look at him.

Okay, how did she know what he was thinking? Was he that predictable?

He had been thinking about ways to avoid going back to Heston right away. He still had more things he wanted to explore, and to be honest he wasn't looking forward to the scolding he was undoubtedly going to get from all of them. Mainly Lily.

With that being said, he realized that he was just being a coward. He could avoid them forever. He would have to see them again one day and it honestly might be better to just rip the bandaid off before it got any worse.

"Okay, okay. I won't try to run," he promised her, which made Reinera sag her shoulders in relief.

"But are you okay with going back to Heston too? I thought you wanted some freedom?"

"I have had more freedom in the past couple of months than I have ever experienced. I have been able to go to places without people hovering over my shoulder and try new food without someone tasting it for poison. However, I have also realized that I miss some things. People like Amelia and things that I once took for granted," she said with a sad frown.

Julius didn't reply right away and simply stared at her with a soft dip of his head, acknowledging her point.

"So back to Heston?" He finally asked.

She smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess it's back to Heston."

He chuckled. "I guess our vacation is over now. I was getting used to the freedom."

"Me too, but I think it might be good for us. Who knows, maybe we will be back in time for the end-of-year tournament," she said with a smirk.

"I'm not joining any tournament," he said with a scoff.

"Why not? You would probably win and get a bunch of nice stuff for it," she said with a confused glance toward him.

"First off, I am only a first year which means that I won't be able to join the upperclassmen tournament. Secondly, I doubt the school is going to allow me to join the underclassmen tournament either since I am a Tier 3 now," he explained.

She gave him a look of exasperation. "You do know that it's only called the upperclassmen tournament because most people who join are upperclassmen, right?"

"Well, yeah. I kind of figured that from the name."

"It's mainly upperclassmen because they are the only ones who are Tier 3. The real requirement is the tier one is at, not the year or how old you are. That includes the Inter-School Tournament with the other schools in the Empire. As long as you are still in Tier 3, you can join."

"Wait that's how it works?" He didn't know that. He had believed that only third or fourth years were able to participate.

"Yeah, I can't believe you didn't know that."

"I just hadn't paid attention, I guess."

He wasn't planning to participate either way so it didn't matter to him.

Reinera gave him a small look and turned to walk away. "I know you don't care, but I did hear that one of the rewards might be something that helps one transition their Emblem into an Authority," she said casually.

He knew what she was doing, but she was smart enough to believe that even if he knew what she was doing, she would interest him regardless.

And she was right because he looked at her disappearing back with a piqued smile on his lips.