Karen glanced back—well, it was just a glance.
Then, looking at Mavaglio with an utterly calm gaze, he gave a half-bow and said, "Me."
There was no need for modest refusal, nor any point in hypocritically calling for everyone to go through the motions of a group discussion, much less offering words of comfort or conciliation.
Based on the four criteria Mavaglio had laid out earlier, the person most qualified was himself.
Karen knew very well that his squad members' collective step backward was not because they were intimidated by his status as captain, nor because they did not want this authorization. It was simply that they had no justification whatsoever to contest it.
During the regional selection, Bart and the others had witnessed Karen's terrifying soul strength. During the final selection, everyone had seen his leadership as well as his immense spiritual power capable of suppressing a phantom beast single-handedly. Mars knew the captain possessed high attainments in array formations.
Their captain seemed to have no weaknesses in strength; he practically looked capable of handling every single role in the squad on his own.
In truth, even if it were not this authorization but some other reward, everyone would have defaulted to giving it to the captain.
Awarding it to anyone else would leave a bad taste, but giving it to the captain... made everyone feel comfortable.
Muri noticed the situation over on Karen's side. Both of them were captains, yet the difference between them was truly staggering.
Muri could only smile wryly.
He harbored no jealousy, knowing full well that because he had formed this squad relying on his connections in the Dinge Region, he was bound to forfeit the immense prestige that came from forging a squad entirely on his own merit.
No one could reap benefits in everything without paying a price.
Mavaglio nodded at Karen, a trace of praise surfacing in his eyes.
Karen caught that look of praise and mentally analyzed the mindset behind it.
The other man had said his age was about the same as theirs. He had no reason to lie about this; after all, he was an instructor, and the older an instructor was, the more it would accentuate their stature and presence.
Thus, he wasn't simply an old man who merely looked young.
Husen treated him with great deference—a deference devoid of official rank, and unlikely to stem from family background, since he claimed to have no surname.
In the end, only one possibility remained: bloodline.
Not bloodline in the sense of a mortal clan, but an inheritance derived from another realm.
In that light, it made sense why he would exhibit the "approval" typical of an elder looking down upon the younger generation.
Husen stepped to Mavaglio's side and whispered, "Karen Silva."
"Oh, I'll remember him."
Husen stepped back again. Originally, he was going to focus on this young man named Karen today because yesterday, Karen had not only knocked Liwen flat, but had also gotten Liwen to bring up the matter voluntarily.
Unless that old fellow genuinely favored the young man, he would never have gone that far.
It was just a pity that today was supposed to be Husen's own class, his home turf, where he could have interacted with this intriguing youth at leisure. Now, that opportunity was gone.
Muri's squad finished their vote, adhering to the rule that no one could vote for themselves.
In the end, Muri secured the opportunity with a majority of the votes, but when he walked over to Karen's side, his expression still carried a touch of embarrassment.
About the only thing he could hope for now was to invite everyone's parents for a meeting during the interval between the end of training and their departure for Samsara Valley, just to reaffirm their unity.
In the past, he would have thought nothing of it. Born into such a family, he was long accustomed to negotiations and compromises while keeping up the pretense of harmony.
Yet now, facing Karen, he tasted a sense of defeat that briefly made him not want to be captain anymore.
"Please extend your hands."
Karen and Muri complied with the instruction, holding out their hands.
Mavaglio placed both hands before his chest. Soon, a translucent glow emerged, and his lips began moving rapidly as he chanted a prayer.
Karen could not make out what he was saying—not merely because of his rapid speech, but because a rippling layer of soul strength was causing immense interference.
Even so, several key phrases filtered through:
"Marchettini... Wheel of Order... In the name of summoning..."
Was this Mavaglio related to Marchettini of the Twelve Knights?
Karen did not know, and it was hardly convenient to ask right now.
When the prayer concluded, two wisps of gold rippled out from the translucent ring of light in Mavaglio's hands. The golden light slowly coalesced into two runes, striking the backs of Karen's and Muri's hands respectively before fading away.
The authorization... was obtained just like that?
Nothing remarkable seemed to have occurred, nor was there any special sensation.
It felt just like a piece of pork approved for market, stamped with a purple quarantine mark that could easily be washed away.
Karen glanced at Muri and found Muri looking back at him, clearly just as bewildered.
Mavaglio opened his hands, allowing the translucent luster to disperse, and turned his head to nod at Husen.
Husen retrieved two scrolls from his pocket and said:
"Take one each. This is the summoning spell for the [Black Prison Castle], capable of enduring ten mental readings. Take this and read it together with your teammates. It would be best to divide it into sections to comprehend and learn, speeding up your mastery of the summoning spell so you can attempt to summon your own [Black Prison Castle].
"Additionally, today's class is theoretically quite long. By our estimates, it will take about one to two days for you to piece together this spell as a squad. Therefore, the class ends two days prior to our departure for Samsara Valley, as the final day must be reserved for the last lesson, where a dedicated instructor will brief you on conditions inside the Gate of Samsara and the tasks you must undertake.
"In other words, the faster you master this spell as a squad, the sooner that final class can be held, leaving you free days before heading to Samsara Valley.
"Karen, you and your teammates will then be able to enjoy yourselves in Saint Antis."
"Yes, Instructor." Karen nodded with a polite smile. He did not feel that being singled out was an insult; after all, most of Muri's squad were natives of the Dinge Region.
Mavaglio spoke up, "There is one more benefit for you: based on the quality and style of the [Black Prison Castle] you summon, we will outfit you with matching war implements."
Muri asked, "The style of the [Black Prison Castle] can vary?"
Mavaglio nodded. "Within the knight orders, there is no variation, as the military insists on a uniform style. Ah, my phrasing was not quite precise—the knight orders insist on a uniform style, but within that framework, aspects such as the castle's height, width, and number of stories do vary."
Husen added, "So make haste. The sooner you master this spell, the more time you will have to rest, and the more easily you can select war implements from the list we provide. All of these can be directly expensed—you won't see benefits like this in the future."
Karen thought to himself: It seems the mission upon entering the Gate of Samsara is exceedingly vital; otherwise, the church wouldn't pay such a steep price.
Mavaglio said, "Alright, you may now leave this castle for the open ground to study and master it. Someone will provide you with food and fresh water."
Karen noticed a faint trace of melancholy and regret in Mavaglio's gaze.
Melancholy over what? Regret over what?
Scroll in hand, Muri led his squad downward. Just as Karen was about to head down as well, he hesitated for a moment, then turned back toward Mavaglio.
"Instructor."
"Is there something else?"
"This student wishes to witness the power of the [Black Prison Castle]. I believe seeing it firsthand will grant us a more intuitive understanding and accelerate our learning."
Mavaglio looked at Husen.
Husen nodded. "This is a reasonable request from the students, and it serves the pedagogical purpose. Naturally, it is permitted."
Mavaglio smiled.
...
The two squads of trainees walked out of the castle and onto the open ground outside.
Karen waved to Muri, who came over.
"The instructor is going to demonstrate the power of the [Black Prison Castle] first."
"Alright." Muri immediately turned to instruct his squad, "Come over, all of you, and watch together."
Immediately after, Muri whispered to Karen, "Who do you think he is?"
"I don't know."
"I've guessed a little," Muri said.
"Let's hear it."
"There is a kind of person whose excellence is innate." Muri smiled. "You can't envy it."
"Could you be more specific?"
"You know that many churches have beings known as 'Holy Children,' right?"
"I've heard of them. You're saying he's... But in our Church of Order, there is only the God of Order."
"Yes, our Church of Order has only the great God of Order, with no subsidiary gods—at least, none in the traditional sense, not counting the modified mythological accounts of churches that joined later.
"Yet the beings surrounding the God of Order, even if not honored as gods, are in no way inferior in power or status to the subsidiary deities of other churches.
"Marchettini... I suspect he is Marchettini's inheritor."
"An inheritor? Why not a reincarnator?"
"He probably only inherited some of Marchettini's memories and spirituality. I don't deny the existence of pure divine reincarnators, but I don't believe they would come here to serve as instructors and teach us classes. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood. A god wouldn't possess such a mild temper, nor would they do something so tedious."
"Exactly."
...
"Had I known I could test it out once, I wouldn't have summoned this standard-type [Black Prison Castle], nor would I have paired it with standard war implements."
Hearing this, Husen hurriedly said, "Please, you must control yourself."
"Heh." Mavaglio nodded. "You know, broken fragments often flash through my mind. The most frequent image is of me commanding a [Black Prison Castle], standing at the very forefront, while behind me is..."
Husen immediately crossed his arms before his chest. "Praise the great God of Order."
"In truth, I have always known that I am not Marchettini. I was merely fortunate enough to receive a small shard of Marchettini's memories."
"That is a divine miracle. Even a small memory shard is enough to make you great."
"Yes, which is why I remain ever grateful."
Mavaglio closed his eyes and said in a deep voice:
"[Black Prison Castle], prepare for battle!"
Woooo!
...
Under the gaze of Karen and the others, the castle's black surface began to gleam with luster. When black acquired a sheen, it gave off a sense of severance, as though the castle before them had been cleanly excised from the surrounding space.
Suffocation and oppression surged like a tide. Through sheer majesty, it demonstrated the meaning of a weapon of war.
At this moment, it seemed endowed with life, waking and opening its eyes!
The Penetrating Crossbow began charging energy, releasing with a sharp buzz toward the forest ahead. In an instant, the forest looked as though a chopstick had plowed through a mound of flour, stripping the foliage clean from the trees flanking the path.
Karen found it difficult to imagine how, if he were targeted, he could escape such an arrow on short notice.
Even if one managed to evade it, a mere graze from the bolt's shockwave would inflict severe trauma; those stripped leaves could easily be one's own flesh and blood.
The Reis Spell Mirror began operating, casting down a black barrier that enveloped the castle entirely.
"A defensive array?" Muri murmured.
"No, an amplification array," Karen corrected. "It buffs itself, then channels the effect out through the magic crystal cannon."
Sure enough, the magic crystal cannon stirred, beginning to accumulate energy.
A terrifying fluctuation of energy rippled forth, plunging the surroundings into instant dead silence, as if everything around them had faded, leaving only the black vortex swirling within the barrel.
Finally,
accompanied by a piercing shriek,
a black torrent blasted forth, not striking the island, but hitting the surface of the sea.
The blackness expanded.
Boom!
A massive vortex was blasted into the ocean, and rain showered down upon the ground where Karen and the others stood, interspersed with falling fish and shrimp.
If with the crossbow bolt Karen was still considering how he might dodge, then against that shot from the magic crystal cannon, unless he predicted the discharge in advance, attempting to evade once it fired would be far too late. Its area of damage was broad enough to render most spatial shifts useless.
"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Karen asked.
Muri nodded. "Indeed it is."
"Or perhaps the effect when he uses it differs from when we, or members of the knight order, use it?"
"That's entirely possible."
Once the demonstration was complete, the [Black Prison Castle] began to disperse, along with the three war implements.
Karen began estimating the teleportation distance of the war implements. Their arrival was essentially the same as his summoning of the Sword of Arius; there had to be a teleportation node near here or in this region.
So, calculating the cost of teleporting them in and back out based on his own refrigerator, a conservative estimate of the teleportation crystals consumed would exceed twenty thousand Order coupons.
In reality, his refrigerator was famously "cheap," so the actual cost could only be higher.
This instructional expense was truly enormous...
If it were Karen himself, he would probably have had someone haul the three war machines back by transport to cut down on costs.
Yet another question presented itself: regarding the benefit of providing war implements to his and Muri's squads, how exactly would that provision be carried out?
Such teleportation would most likely require setting up a teleportation array near Samsara Valley so that after entering the Gate of Samsara, their squads could receive replenishments of war implements when using the [Black Prison Castle].
Would they construct it using the delegation's station grounds?
If so, would they be given the chance to recover them?
Earlier, Mavaglio had clearly used a teleportation array constructed inside the castle to send the three war implements back. Unless absolutely necessary, neither his nor Muri's squad would deploy them, and even if they did, they wouldn't have the luxury of spending a long time painting a reverse-teleportation array after battle to send the gear back.
Even if they wanted to, the Church of Order's encampment outside probably wouldn't maintain a receiving array just to recover their equipment.
And even if you didn't use them, the war implements wouldn't simply be given to you to keep, let alone taken away.
Thus, the so-called benefit was merely a one-time consumable. Husen had played a game of wordplay earlier.
The implements allocated by the church could only be used inside the Gate of Samsara.
Once the trial at the Gate of Samsara concluded, if he ever wished to use the [Black Prison Castle] again, he would have to save up point coupons to purchase war implements himself.
Captain had paid such a heavy price just to assemble a limousine; how much would it cost Karen to procure war implements exclusive to the knight orders?
Moreover, the cost of summoning them each time was exorbitant, and that was assuming his refrigerator underwent an upgrade, or else they wouldn't even fit inside.
In short, with his current assets, fighting a single battle with this thing would bankrupt him.
At this moment, Karen finally understood why Captain was so obsessed with point coupons.
Once you became a captain, you saw so many wonderful things, all of which shared a single drawback... they were expensive!
Captain, I will never call you stingy over that plastic ring ever again.
Karen let out a sigh. He had not even officially become a captain or formed his own squad, yet his mind was already consumed with figuring out how to rake in coupons.
...
Mavaglio and Husen walked over, and Husen spoke up: "You may begin reading the contents of the scrolls. Strive to produce some results before midnight tonight."
"Yes," Karen replied.
"Yes," Muri replied.
The two squads each formed a circle, with their respective captains reading first.
Karen unrolled the scroll and sent his spiritual consciousness into it.
He had encountered spell-rubbing scrolls like this many times—whether given by Purr and Kevin or by Richard—but those had all been single-use scrolls, readable only once after inscription. This scroll could be read ten times, which meant it was far more expensive.
Twenty minutes later, both Muri and Karen finished their readings and passed the scroll to the next teammate.
"How was it?" Passio leaned in to ask Muri.
Muri replied, "I'm trying to comprehend the first fifth. The rest of you will record the subsequent parts in batches, and then we'll each spend the afternoon digesting them. By evening, I expect we can use me as a medium to attempt our first squad-level summon.
"They should be about the same—no, they ought to be a bit slower than us, because this tests the individual strength of the entire team. I admit our cohesion isn't quite as good as theirs, but in terms of individual strength, we're definitely..."
Passio interrupted, "Captain..."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Look over there."
Muri turned his head toward Karen's squad, and his eyes instantly widened.
"How... how is that possible?!"
...
Karen handed the scroll to Mars, who passed it directly to Bart, saying:
"Captain, you digest the opening section, and I'll digest the conclusion. The beginning and end are usually the most intricate and leave no room for error, so the two of us will handle them."
"Oh, alright."
Bart asked, "Captain, how much of the beginning do you plan to digest? I'll divide the rest among the others accordingly."
"How much?"
"What fraction?" Bart said. "That way, I can discuss the portions with everyone."
"What fraction? Let me think..."
Karen opened his hands, deep in thought and recollection, his fingertips rippling continuously as though playing a piano.
At the same time,
a massive black starburst formed beneath Karen's feet, and the castle's foundation began to emerge...
Chapter 342