13 Mink Street

Teygan Region’s Church Affairs District was enormous. Located in St. Andis, a tropical port city, it consisted of seven high-rises standing in a separate compound.

In many works of art and literature, most beautiful love stories were set in St. Andis. Meanwhile, the settings for stories such as murder mysteries, espionage, and palace dramas were mostly in Veyn. Although both regions bordered the sea, their climatic conditions were completely opposite.

If he did not know clearly that this trip was for training, Karon really would have liked to find a hotel right away, lie down on a beach lounge chair in the hotel area, look at the sea, and sun himself.

However, just as they walked out of the Church Affairs Building, a group of staff members in Order robes came over from ahead. “Hello, I’m from the reception office. These are my work credentials. Please hand over your IDs for registration, and I’ll arrange your accommodation at the training base.”

Karon and the others handed over their documents. After verification, everyone climbed into the luxury car waiting for them.

Karon did not take off his mask. He had not removed it because he had forgotten, as wearing a mask had long since become habitual for him.

Seeing that their captain did not take his off, Karon’s teammates naturally would not remove theirs. This only made the reception staff feel even more pressure. Naturally, they would not assume that a squad capable of passing the final selection was merely indulging in some pointless performance art.

The training base looked like a hotel. To the south was the sea, while to the east was mountain forest.

The luxury car drove to the hotel and pulled right up to the reception entrance. After Karon and the others got out, the office staff very quickly guided them through their check-in.

The six of them took an elevator up to the twenty-third floor. Three room cards were in Karon’s hand. He assigned Bart and Mars to one room, Ashley and Blanche to one room, and Vintral was to share a room with Karon.

“Everyone rest for now. I think a gathering will soon be announced. If there isn’t, then we’ll rest until morning.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Karon opened the door to his room, and Vintral pulled both his and Karon’s suitcases inside.

The suite was very large. Despite being a standard room, it was actually a two-floor suite, with one bedroom and bathroom upstairs and the other downstairs.

“Captain, where will you sleep?”

“I’ll sleep downstairs.”

“All right.” Vintral carried his suitcase upstairs. When he came back down, he saw Karon sitting on the sofa, examining the hotel’s alcohol and food supply list.

Hmm, the catalog doesn’t list any prices... This meant it was a room only used by those traveling on public funds, so there was a quota.

Karon picked up the phone, dialed the front desk, and asked them to send up cigarettes, alcohol, and snacks. After doing this, Karon felt that he had finally completed all of the basic tasks involved in checking into a hotel. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked out at the blue sea opposite, and stretched.

The hotel was very efficient, and the items were delivered immediately. A dining cart was filled with alcohol and food, and half of the food provided could only be purchased with credits.

In addition, there were four cartons of cigarettes with black packaging and no price marked. Karon opened a carton, took out a pack, opened it, and held a cigarette to his nose to smell.

Mhmm. He could confirm that it was also made with special tobacco leaves.

It was inconvenient to store food, but things like cigarettes and alcohol could be taken directly to the black market and sold.

“Captain, how many credits would all this cost?”

“It’s free if you stay in this hotel. You can get it every day.”

“Free?” A smile appeared on Vintral’s face.

“Eat.”

“All right, Captain. Hehe, I saw so many delicious things at the celebration banquet last time, but didn’t get the chance to eat much.”

“You didn’t order food when you stayed at Ankara Hotel?”

“No. Can you order food for free there too?”

“Mhmm, but it’s more limited there than here. Here, they gave us four cartons of cigarettes. As expected, the district that’s home to the Central Church is more generous.”

Of course, that might not necessarily be the real reason. The specifics depended on the “treatment specifications.”

Previously, Karon had stayed at Ankara Hotel as part of a security detail, so his treatment and what he was entitled to had not been particularly high. This time, he was himself a guest, so his treatment and status were definitely higher.

“Captain, what would you like to drink?”

“Ice water.”

“All right.” Vintral poured Karon a glass of ice water, then picked up a plate and went to the dining cart to select some food.

Seeing his excited appearance, Karon could not help finding it a little amusing. This fellow had actually endured hunger in his Ankara Hotel room last time after coming out of the final selection, holding out all the way until the evening banquet, but as one of the main figures at that banquet, when would he have had any chance to eat and drink to his heart’s content?

“So after that banquet ended, you went home hungry?”

“Mhmm. After I got home, Grandma cooked macaroni. Grandpa and Grandma didn’t eat their fill either. They couldn’t relax at that banquet, but we were all very happy that night. Hehe.”

Karon took a sip of ice water and nodded.

“Oh, right, Captain. Should I go tell them that they can order free food and drinks?”

“They know. They also don’t care whether it’s free or not.”

Hearing this, Vintral scratched his head. “Right, that’s true.”

Ashley came from a family that worked at a research institute, while Bart, Blanche, and Mars came from Knight Regiment families that had considerable standing. None of them lacked these sorts of things, and they might not even bother taking such petty advantages.

Just like Richard. If he had asked a few of his family members, his pocket money could easily exceed ten thousand.

Vintral was different. His grandparents had always been low-level church personnel. Although they were both Divine Servants, a Divine Servant’s monthly allowance was only a hundred Order credits, and not even work subsidies would increase that by much.

A conservative estimate for the carton of cigarettes in Karon’s hand was more than five hundred Order credits, which meant that the four cartons were roughly equal to the combined yearly allowance of Vintral’s grandparents.

However, Vintral never seemed to feel inferior with regards to his family background. Even when he interacted with his teammates, he did not avoid such subjects, nor did he show any envy or desire to ingratiate himself with the others.

Karon felt too embarrassed to say that Vintral was a great deal like himself, because Karon could not really count as someone with an ordinary family background.

“Go notify them anyway. Order food, cigarettes, and alcohol. The cigarettes and alcohol can be used personally, and any surplus can be collected at the end to be sold on the black market. We’ll use that as our squad’s common fund.”

“All right, Captain.” Vintral immediately put down the food and went out to knock on doors.

Before long, he returned. “Captain, they’re all ordering food.”

“Mhmm, keep eating.”

“Captain, you’re not eating?”

“I’m not hungry yet. I’m going to lie down for a while. Call me if something comes up.”

“All right, Captain. Go rest.”

Karon walked into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began resting.

After resting for about two hours, he heard the doorbell outside. A short while later, Vintral knocked on the bedroom door. “Captain, someone is looking for you. It’s the captain of the other squad.”

“Show him in.”

“All right, Captain.”

Karon got off the bed and went to the washroom to wash his face. He saw a row of bottles and jars by the sink, picked one up, and glanced at it. It was mouthwash, so he used it while he was there.

Then he paused. Why do the things on the vanity look rather expensive too? Does the hotel staff replenish them every day? But would packing all these up and taking them away be going too far?

Karon lightly tapped his own forehead. After becoming a captain, why was he becoming more and more “captain”-like?

When he walked out of the bedroom and into the small hall, Karon saw Murray standing there. Then, Karon froze.

Because he saw twelve cartons of cigarettes and nine bottles of alcohol piled on the coffee table!

The people in the other two rooms had misunderstood his intentions. He had not been asking them to send everything to him right away, and who had stacked them like that? Were they treating these things as spoils of war?

Murray looked at the coffee table and asked, “Karon, do you really like smoking and drinking?”

Karon shook his head and answered, “I’m gathering them to exchange for credits at the black market after training ends.”

Vintral looked at his captain with great admiration. He might not avoid such things, but his captain faced them frankly and openly. His captain was on a much higher level than Vintral.

Murray smiled. “Hehe, why didn’t I think of that way to earn some pocket money? No, I need to call them right now and have them do the same.”

As he spoke, Murray really did pick up the phone and call his team members’ rooms. After giving some instructions, Murray hung up and told Karon why he had come. “I’m inviting you to a meal; just the two of us. We’re each the captains of our own squads, and I think we should communicate privately first.”

“All right, I agree, but there’s still food here. Let’s talk here, so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“Oh, that works too.”

Vintral stood up and first tidied the coffee table. He then took several plates and filled them with some food from the dining cart that still tasted fine when cold. He also poured two glasses of ice water and set them on the coffee table.

“Captain, I’ll go find Bart and the others.”

“Mhmm.”

Once Vintral was gone, Karon and Murray sat on the sofas, facing each other.

Karon picked up a fork and began eating. It was almost lunchtime, and he was indeed hungry.

Murray also picked up a fork and said, “This training won’t last too long. Tonight will be the first class, and over the next three days, there will be three classes. The specific course arrangements haven’t been released yet, because the instructors are all rather busy and need to coordinate the class times among themselves.

“However, things overall can be divided into four major categories: arrays, close combat, group combat, and the last is to cover specific arrangements for the Reincarnation Gate.

“The timetable will be shared with us a little later on. I simply learned about it early.”

“What do the first three categories mean?” Karon asked.

“They’re training. Do you feel that the first three kinds of training don’t really match the purpose of our trip this time?”

“Mm, a little.”

“This actually shows that the higher-ups place great importance on us. Our task won’t be as simple as going into the Reincarnation Gate. From this point forward, all of us will be treated as key people to be groomed, and since they’re grooming us, they naturally won’t be chasing quick results.”

“Mhmm, yes.” Karon nodded and picked up his glass to sip some water. “Will we be attending the classes together?”

“Yes. One very important reason I came to find you this time is that since the final selection put us into groups of six, when we enter the Reincarnation Gate, we should still be divided into two teams, each with our own objectives. The specific objectives and process should be explained during the final day’s class. We cannot know that yet.

“But there is great danger inside the Reincarnation Gate. Every time the Reincarnation Gate opens, the Church of Reincarnation itself loses quite a few people inside, so my suggestion is that from now on, we should do our best to strengthen our two teams’ understanding of each other and build a better relationship. After we enter the Reincarnation Gate, within what danger our own squads can tolerate, we will assist the other squad. What do you think?”

“That works. I agree.”

“Good. Now that we’re agreed on that, the rest are minor details.”

“You didn’t need to make a special trip for this, especially in such a formal way. We are already on the same side. After entering the Reincarnation Gate, it’s not like we could join forces with the Church of Reincarnation or people from other churches.”

“I didn’t think you would refuse, but I still needed to come over and show my sincerity.”

“Mhmm, I understand.”

The two began eating.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Karon and Murray stood up at the same time. Karon smiled at Murray and gestured for him to remain seated. Karon then walked to the door and opened it. Standing at the doorway was a young man with slightly long, flowing hair. “Hello, my name is Pasquio.”

“Hello.”

“Captain!” Pasquio raised his wineglass and waved at Murray.

“I’m discussing matters with Captain Karon.”

“Oh, I understand.” Pasquio simply walked away again.

Karon closed the door and returned to sit down in front of the sofa.

Murray said helplessly, “My team members aren’t that easy to manage.”

“You’ll get there after slowly getting along.”

Murray shook his head and said, “Our problem is that we’ve gotten along for too long.”

“Mm, that can also be a problem.”

After they finished the simple meal, Murray stood up and said, “I won’t disturb your rest. See you in class tonight.”

“All right, goodbye.”

***

Dinner was also left for the teams to handle within their rooms. Clearly, their hosts had no intention of holding any welcome ceremony or formal start-of-training event. To begin with, the instructors were all very busy. Second, almost half of the twelve people were from Teygan Region itself.

After learning that there would be a class that night, everyone rested properly in their rooms. They were all young people of exceptional physical and mental quality, and no one had any trouble adjusting after the long-distance teleportation.

The first class would be held in the hotel’s third-floor conference hall. As the captains of their respective squads, Karon and Murray were told to collect the course schedule first and sign off on it.

After the two collected the schedule, they took the elevator to the third floor together. At the entrance of the conference hall, the members of Murray’s squad were all lazily standing against the wall, while across from them, the five members of Karon’s squad stood straight in a row. The contrast between the two was very obvious.

Karon noticed the corner of Murray’s mouth twitch.

They entered the conference hall. The lectern was vacant. Their instructor had not arrived yet.

Karon and Murray sat in the same row, and the others sat behind them.

After a while, a white-bearded old man walked into the conference hall and came to the lectern. He first touched the microphone on the lectern with his hand, then spoke into it, “Hello, hello!”

In an instant, a terrifying sound wave directly surged toward them.

Karon closed his eyes, the muscles of his body instantly tensing. Beside him, Murray reacted in the same manner. Quite a few of the people sitting behind them let out cries, mainly because it had been too sudden.

“Hehe, apologies, apologies.” The white-bearded old man smiled. “I am your array teacher. You may address me directly by my name, Pierro.”

Everyone seated below stood up one after another, preparing to salute this instructor.

Pierro clapped his hands. Clap! Clap!

The next moment, everyone who had been sitting in a conference hall suddenly appeared on the beach. As a wave rolled over, all of them were soaked.

“Ahem, apologies. I misjudged the distance slightly. I didn’t mean to get your clothes wet.” Pierro himself was soaked as well. He grabbed his white beard and squeezed water out of it. “Our class only lasts through the first half of the night. You’ll need to go back and rest for the second half, since you still have class tomorrow.

“I don’t plan to start with the basics of arrays, because I know some of you must be quite proficient in arrays. Teaching the basics would be meaningless for them, and as for those who are not proficient, even understanding the basics would not be of much practical use. If your opponent is only an ordinary array master, I believe you can deal with him by other means.

“So, I have decided that tonight, I will take you to look at the scenery.

“Does anyone know when I set down the array?”

Karon thought, When you said hello.

Pasquio, Degart, and Mars all raised their hands.

“You answer.” Pierro pointed at Pasquio.

“Teacher, you set the array using sound waves.”

“Correct. When truly top-tier array masters use arrays, they can turn complex arrays into the simplest wind and rain. Before you can even notice anything, they will have already placed you under their control.”

Pierro spread his hands, and a bubble appeared beside him. Seeing this, Karon immediately raised his hand and shouted, “Gather around me!”

Murray also immediately shouted, “Gather around me!”

All members of the two squads moved toward their own captains.

A Cage of Order immediately appeared beneath Karon’s feet, enveloping both him and his teammates.

Murray pulled out a scroll. It released black light that formed a curtain of light which wrapped around everyone.

The next moment, the environment around them changed again, and everyone appeared in the sea.

Pierro smiled. “Looks like your reactions are very quick. Hello, hello.”

The two “hellos” transformed into waves that slammed directly against the barriers of the two squads.

Karon immediately applied a second, third, and fourth Cage of Order to reinforce the defense.

Beside him, Murray continued pouring spirituality into the scroll to strengthen it.

Pierro spread his hands and pulled downward.

Buzz! The seawater beneath everyone quickly froze, forming a massive solid column. In an instant, the impact of cold energy shattered Karon’s Cage of Order, and also broke through the defensive array from Murray’s scroll.

Twelve young people fell onto the surface of the column. It rose up continuously, reaching higher and higher. It broke through the surface of the sea, and continued upward.

When it finally stopped, Karon saw the hotel some distance away, below them and looking especially tiny.

Mars said in shock, “Just casually setting down elementary arrays like distance shortening, water manipulation, and freezing condensation can produce such a powerful effect. Is this the power of a true grand array master?”

“Yes, but also no.” Pierro looked at everyone with a smile. “Let me ask you, what do you think is the essence of arrays?”

Mars replied, “Transformation!”

Pasquio said, “Borrowing!”

Degart said, “Circulation!”

Karon thought, Perspective.

That came from Hoffen’s Array Notes.

Pierro stroked his white beard. “Perspective.

“I once had a close yet distant friend who wrote a letter to advise me. He said that I had always been doing addition, and that it was time I learned to do subtraction.

“I asked him, what is subtraction? He gave an example. He said that subtraction is when a mountain is placed before you, and when you look up at it, you cannot see its full appearance. But when you step back farther and farther, the mountain before you will appear more and more complete.

“He also said that with my realm being so high, and relying on my understanding of arrays that surpassed ordinary people, I was forcibly amplifying arrays. No matter how remarkable the effect, this did not count for much. He said that I had treated arrays as a warrior’s physique, a smith’s hammer, a swordsman’s greatsword, and a knight’s hawk. It seemed correct, but I had already walked farther and farther astray on the correct path.

“A true array is not about allowing a bishop to successfully seal a monstrous beast, it is about allowing a Divine Servant to seal a god!”