Naturally, Greg had questioned whether he even wanted to bother. Why not just stick with the school of life? His teacher was after all a healer herself, and from what he had seen of her, she was a powerful mage in her own right. Rather than split his efforts in two directions, going after being a healer and an earth mage, why not just take the boon of a high affinity in healing magic that had unexpectedly fallen onto his lap and run with that? As he stood by the tent opening watching the earth mages raise a whole amphitheater in a matter of hours, however, Greg had his answer. Healing was a powerful school of magic, no doubt about it. But something within him was completely enamored by the power that was on display before him. The mages serving as caravan escorts were peak second-tier mages or early third-tier mages by Greg's estimate. And yet, they were already capable of this much. How much was a fourth, fifth, or even sixth-tier mage capable of? At the seventh tier, wouldn't one be

You didn't answer my question," was Greg's simple reply to the woman's words. An annoyed sigh left the Krethna's wife as her hand rose to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I could have sent a guard to tell you that we don't want you fighting Athnas. I, however, chose to come personally hoping to show you that we don't look down on you, Roka! My husband and I are impressed with your performance so far. There is no need to throw your life away just because of your ego!" she half-argued, half-pleaded. Greg could get where they were coming from. Having him go against someone who had trained a good number of their elites must have seemed like a pointless fight. He was, in their eyes, a recent upstart with barely any experience who didn't yet know what he didn't know. Perhaps they thought he was eager to prove himself which was why she told him they approved of him. Or maybe they thought his ego was fragile enough that Athnas' taunts would get to him. But far from that, Greg's confidence did

An older man in long flowy robes walked out into the middle of the arena. With his sharp eyesight, Greg could see his lips moving, he, however, couldn't hear a thing over the din of the crowd. This shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise to Greg. In this largely medieval world, there weren't any speaker systems. Perhaps the man wasn't meant to address the crowd, but the fighters inside the arena... "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mage Etha, an air mage," Greg's brow almost floated off his forehead as the man's voice suddenly filled every corner of the large amphitheater. It only now occurred to Greg that the words he'd been muttering before were probably a spell form to enhance his voice. "A request has been made of me to oversee the fights and help adjudicate should any contentions arise. I will also be providing commentary on the fights for those not close to the action. Now, allow me to lay out the rules..." Greg unconsciously tuned out the man, already familiar with s

Krethna!" With the arrangement of the seats in the booth, the caravan head had the front seat, with his wife beside him and all the elites seated in the row behind him. Greg was nowhere near important enough, or trusted enough for that matter, to sit directly behind the man. Instead, he was seated at the very end of the row behind the Krethna, next to his teacher. With only nine elites present in the booth, the caravan head was only four people away, still, he had to be a bit loud when calling to him. Though his voice remained calm, something about the seriousness of his tone, however, must have caught the attention of everyone around as it wasn't just the caravan head that turned in his direction. The man, his wife, and a good six or seven of the elites turned in his direction. Still, Greg remained unbothered as he spoke. "How long would you say Athnas was in your service?" A mix of confusion and annoyance registered in the man's expression at the question. Whether it was over bei

After running this dungeon several times, Greg knew all too well that the merchants under a given Krethna were only loyal so long as they thought you capable of protecting them. The moment that your abilities came into question, they'd abandon ship at the very first opportunity. Perhaps Krethna Rohan wouldn't lose as many merchants as Greg had during his run. After all, unlike Greg, he wasn't a usurper and based on the lore of the dungeon, had been a caravan head for several years. A few of the merchants under him would probably still be willing to take their chances with him. Still, if those who left were a significant enough portion, the man's ability to negotiate for any rewards from this venture would be essentially crippled, if not worse. In short, whether this venture proved to be fruitful for him as Krethna or the end of his career, now rested entirely on Greg. "So, the question isn't what I want Krethna. Rather, you should be asking yourself, how much are you willing to lose