Path to Transcendence

Chapter 551: Sentinel Guild

Erik POV

Erik trudged into his room, shoulders slumped. He didn’t know why he felt so upset. He knew the odds of his victory were slim at best, but he knew that he had just faced one of the best talents in the Empire. A person he suspected would win the entire thing.

No, he realized that he was so upset at how easily he had lost.

He clenched his fists and bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. While he knew victory was unlikely, he truly believed he would force the other boy to work for it. But that wasn’t the case.

He had barely forced the other boy to use any of his true strength. The spectators might have thought differently. From their perspective, it had been a long, drawn-out battle.

But Erik knew the truth. He had seen Julius’s other skills. What he had shown Erik was simply a small fraction of his complete skill set. He hadn’t even bothered to attack him with his constructs, going at Erik with his fists.

Julius had been taking it easy on Erik, and that was what upset him the most.

He was lying in bed, brooding over his loss, when he heard someone knock on his door.

He didn’t move to open it; he stayed where he was.

“Open up, Erik,” his father’s voice rang out through the door.

Erik still didn’t move, despite knowing that he was being childish at the moment.

However, it would seem his father wasn’t going to be denied, and Erik felt an intense pressure from behind the door blast outward. His heart raced instinctively, and he immediately sat up. He was going to head toward the door to open it, but his father had other plans.

The door was ripped from its hinges, and the enchantments that protected the door were similarly ripped apart. Standing in front of Erik was his father, holding the door open with a blank expression as if he hadn’t just torn the door out of its frame.

Horace Grimes was a hulking man. Erik was already quite large, but compared to his father, he still felt tiny. The man had been semi-retired from adventuring for the better part of two decades, but he still struck a terrifying figure.

His aura hadn’t dwindled in the slightest and was probably stronger now than it had been when his father had still been adventuring with his team.

Even as Tier 5s, his father and his friends had been one of the more elite teams out there. Unfortunately, a tragedy befell them at the tail end of the last monster wave, and they had lost Tavlen, their group’s scout and Erik’s godfather.

Erik didn’t know the whole story, but apparently, his father’s team had been stuck between two particularly strong hordes of monsters. Tavlen had taken it upon himself to sacrifice his life to create an opening for his friends to escape.

His father and his team hadn’t quite recovered from that loss, and they all quickly went their own ways. Creating families of their own and settling down. As far as Erik knew, only Uncle Torrance was still out there adventuring, but that man would likely never settle down. Always on the move, wanting to explore new and dangerous regions.

For a mage, Uncle Torrance certainly liked tiptoeing on death’s doorstep. Erik knew his father was envious of this, and that was why he sometimes snuck off with Uncle Torrance for a bit of fun, despite his motherʼs disapproval.

Thinking about Tavlen’s death and his father’s own struggles actually put his own issues into perspective. It made him realize that this loss wasn’t that big of a deal in the big picture. Sure, it sucked, but it wasn’t the end of the world. He needed to remind himself of that.

While all of these emotions and thoughts raged in his head, his father stood there impassively, watching Erik.

“Are you good now?” His father finally asked when he saw Erik calm down.

Erik nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that. I got more upset than I should have,” he admitted.

His father placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “No, it is fine being upset after such a loss. But I am proud that you are already getting past it. Don’t let it weigh you down, use it as motivation to get stronger.”

“I know, but it’s hard not to wish I could have done more. Force him to put a little more effort,” Erik grumbled.

“Did you try the best you could? Did you use every ounce of mana and stamina?”

Erik nodded.

“Then you did all you could,” his father said, shaking him with his hand. “Now come on, I didn’t just come here to rescue you from your pity party.”

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“I was not having a pity party,” he argued weakly.

His father looked at the crumpled bedsheets where Erik had been lying. “Sure you weren’t.

Erik got up before he could get any more embarrassed. “What did you need me for?”

Thankfully, his father didn’t see a need to tease him any further. “The Sentinels Guild sent a message to you. They want you to head over to their headquarters and discuss some stuff.”

An uneasiness settled into his stomach. “Did they mention what they wanted to talk about?”

“No, just that they want to speak to you.”

Erik didn’t know what they wanted from him, but he only hoped that they weren’t upset at his performance and weren’t reconsidering his spot in the guild.

***

Erik couldn’t get his leg to stop shaking. The reason for this was because of the man he was standing in front of. When he had been asked to head over to the headquarters, he had been expecting to talk to Janet or someone he was familiar with.

However, for some reason, Vice-Guildmaster Oliver was the one who greeted him. This wasn’t like some typical vice-guildmaster coming out, either. This was the Vice-Guildmaster of the Sentinels Guild—one of the strongest guilds on the continent.

What made the Sentinel Guild so powerful wasn’t the connections or money like other guilds had. No, what made them so dangerous and was a big reason why Erik wanted to join them was their code of honor and, more importantly, their immense combat power.

Some guilds, including the more powerful ones, only had one or two Tier 6s. However, the Sentinel Guild was an exception. They had a total of five Tier 6s among their ranks.

Five.

Five Tier 6s.

An inconceivable number. And a deterrent to anyone who dared to start trouble with them. Not to mention the guild constantly had at least two of them active almost all the time. Erik heard that one of them was handling some kind of disaster out east.

He also heard rumors that another one was guarding a city from a dimensional threat and had to remain there at all times.

There were probably only a few organizations or sects that had this many Tier 6s. The Adventurers Guild was definitely one of them. They likely had an absurd number, but it was also an organization without much unity. A lot of people joined, but they also belonged to and had responsibilities to other powers, so they barely counted.

Even noble houses that have been established for generations had only one or two publicly announced Tier 6s. Of course, Erik was sure there were some hidden old monsters in some of those families, but it was hard to say.

Regardless, the fact that he was in front of the Vice-Guildmaster of the guild meant he had done something right, or had done something very wrong.

“You don’t need to be so nervous,” Oliver Silvertone said to Erik with a calm and gentle expression on his face.

Erik bowed deeply. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

The man sighed, and Erik couldn’t help but feel nervous about whether or not he had already messed up.

“I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done. Your results in the tournament were commendable.”

Erik stood there, star-struck. Him? Commendable? He couldn’t believe that Oliver Silvertone gave him a compliment.

Erik swallowed the saliva in his mouth. “Thank you. But I lost,” he said slowly.

“Yes, but despite not winning the tournament, I saw your fights throughout the stages. You did a good job given your situation. Your strengths lie in other areas. I didnʼt even make it past the second stage, if that makes you feel any better,” Oliver noted, shocking Erik upon hearing the revelation.

Oliver Silverstone hadnʼt even made it to the final stage of the tournament?

”Still, our guild has gained another valuable member. I see that Janet was wise in recruiting you.”

Erik couldn’t form sentences at the moment and barely creaked out a thank you.

“The reason why I asked you here is that I received an interesting offer concerning you,” Oliver said to him.

Erik was puzzled. An offer for him? What could they want from him? He swallowed before addressing the Vice Guildmaster.

“Umm… who is the one offering?”

“An old friend,” the man said simply.

Erik didn’t see how that helped him understand the situation. Thankfully, the powerful Tier 6 must have seen the confusion in his aura or on his face.

“He is from the Northern Regions, here for the tournament. In fact, you have already met his disciple,” he elaborated.

“Really? Are they participating in the tournament?”

“Yes, in fact, you fought him today.”

Erik froze. “His disciple is Julius?”

What were the odds? And this begged the question: what kind of master would train someone like Julius in the first place? Just who was this person, if Vice Guildmaster Oliver considered them a friend? They were clearly powerful. There was no doubt in Erik’s mind that they were at least Tier 5, probably Tier 6.

“What did he want?” What could someone that powerful want with Erik?

“He came to ask some questions. But he also wanted to find some training partners for his disciple. Apparently, he needs people who are sturdy and have a lot of stamina, so naturally, he looked for people who were in our guild. So he came to me after the match and asked if you and some of your other guildmates would be willing to join these sessions. He promised to teach you guys some interesting things during your time.

Erik’s eyes widened. Honestly, just that offer alone was more than enough for him to accept. The personal teachings of a potential Tier 6, at the bare minimum Tier 5? That was invaluable. He would gladly accept.

“I see that you have already decided,” the vice guildmaster said with a grin. “I will arrange everything for you. Just be ready.”

Erik nodded. While he had an early exit from the third stage, it would appear that he stumbled across some good luck. Hopefully, this brief training session will help him get a better grasp of his new concept.

He also couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at the prospect of fighting Julius once more. He wanted a rematch and suddenly decided on a new goal.

It was a simple goal, really.

He wanted to force the other boy to take him seriously at least once.