Divine Beast Ascension

“You would let me and Lyle teach the classes but you were the only one allowed to move students up to the next class. You would let Mertin manage the property staff and finances but you kept him on a leash the whole time. It was only after Lyle’s accident that you let me and Mertin handle our parts of the family business without looking over our shoulders every other second...” Jonon unloaded his feelings verbally, still not looking Hurman in the eye.

“I’ve always trusted–”

“No, you haven’t,” corrected Jonon with the shake of his head. “You’ve only trusted us to the extent that you had to. You still wanted to be a part of every part of the process instead of trusting us to do the jobs you taught us to fulfill

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m pissed to hear of Mertin’s betrayal and what he’s done behind my back. But had you just trusted us from the get-go, do you think he would’ve done this?”

“I have trusted you!” shouted Hurman. “How could you say that I haven’t, given everything I’ve allowed you all to do?”

“You’ve only trusted us as much as was needed. You’ve never trusted us as competent adults handling our jobs professionally, or as the sons you’ve competently taught...” commented Jonon, getting to his feet. “What’s worse? Waiting to hold responsibility because you’re told you’re not ready, or accepting that responsibility and being told you’re completely trusted while all of your hard work needs to be ‘corrected’ time and time again? I think it’s pretty obvious...”

.....

Walking toward the exit, Jonon shook his head and stopped speaking. His emotions were too fiery for him to have a fluid conversation and he knew it.

“Where are you–”

“There are your trust issues coming out again...” sighed Jonon, putting his hand on the door. “I’m pissed and need time to blow off steam.”

With the swipe of his hand, Jonon deactivated the silencing formation before exiting the room and calmly closing the door behind him.

Hurman was left alone to stew deeper and deeper into his thoughts, now adding the extra opinion of his angry son. But he wasn’t necessarily angry with Jonon. Covering his face with both hands, Hurman committed Jonon’s words to memory. For now, he had to get up and visit Shadur.

*****

Upon leaving the meeting, Oli and Keldon hurried toward the guest courtyards. The first of three was now cleaned and lit from the inside. Also, a servant was waiting outside the front gate with an amicable smile.

“Welcome, Master Oliver,” greeted the servant, humbly bowing.

“Thank you, but there’s no need to worry much about me. I’ll make sure to clean after myself so I ask that no one enter my courtyard without my permission or acknowledgment,” reasoned Oli.

“Very well. But if you need me or anyone else to help, just let us know.”

With privacy guaranteed, Oli dismissed the servant and led Keldon inside. They found a small lounging area and sat down. Oli joked, “Don’t worry, I don’t have too many questions.”

“No matter. I’ll answer everything I can, given our new agreement,” chuckled Keldon.

“So, the institute is on a tetramester system. How many tetramesters does it take to graduate?”

“To count as a graduate, you’ll need to complete at least four tetramesters. But that’s the minimum. It’s common to train and learn for at least two years inside the institute.”

“What’s the housing situation inside the institute? Would I be able to live here while I attend and do they have housing available for students?”

Keldon nodded. “Sure, you’ll be able to live here but there is housing available for the most sought after students. Given your potential, you’d be able to earn free housing as a promising student the institute would want to raise. That is if you do what they want and not something crazy like Hurman did in the past...”

“How’d you know?”

“After our recent discussion, how could I not assume you’d be the crazy, adventurous type trying to do something no one dares try, like making your own cultivation technique? My guess is that you saw the opportunity and lost all interest in all other options, even if they would technically benefit you more in the short-term,” Keldon deduced with a cheeky grin.

Oli laughed, amazed to have been seen through so easily. “I guess I’m not that hard to understand. So, you think I’ll get backlash for trying the same path that Hurman took?”

“Definitely. Going that route always will for the most prominent students.” Keldon mentioned, “I’m not sure if the institute has a technique for both earth and dark essence... But I’m sure they’ve got some decent techniques that might pair decently well.”

“I’m not interested in any techniques,” stated Oli, leaving Keldon with a spurious look on his face. “I’ve already got great techniques and don’t need to unlearn my essence nature for other techniques as strong as or worse than mine.”

“Then... You’re purely after learning how to make your own technique?” Thinking out loud, Keldon sighed, “Well... Knowing you’re a beast, despite it still being hard to believe when looking at you, I get why you would take Hurman’s path and ignore warrior training for the most part. But that doesn’t mean the higher-ups in the institute will be happy with your decision.”

“Do the students not have much control over what they learn?” Oli asked.

“They students control everything, so long as they’re accepted into the course the majority of instructors want. And you joining the academy as a warrior focusing on magic and formation classes would likely leave most instructors furious, especially the warrior instructors. Keep in mind that each course department is rewarded for the accomplishments of their students at the end of each tetramester,” explained Keldon. “So, what how do you think the warrior course instructors will take it when a student with your physical prowess abandons the warrior course for the other two?”