The showers in the Seminary Academy never seemed to run out of hot water, a fact that Karl was immensely thankful for as he scrubbed away the grime of an extended field mission with the coarse pumice soap that they provided.
The gentle and inoffensive smell made him feel properly clean again, and reminded Thor of the waters in his pond, whose bottom was lined with Holy Stones. It was a good feeling, and they even had fresh clothes ready for him, as Karl hadn't had time to do laundry.
It was what they referred to as a visitor's robe, a simple white robe without any of the markings of the church, and a rope tie around the waist. The hassock reminded Karl a bit of wandering around in his housecoat, which was a bit strange, but it was fortable.
The rest of the team came out wearing the same outfit, except for Doug, who obviously had his own room and clothing here.
The Green Dragon Cleric smiled at their plain white hassocks and gestured toward the dining hall. "Let's take our seats and see where we ended up. Most of the time they will put the visitors together if they're in a group, but they might split us up today, since three of you are here for the mander Rank tests, and the manders will want to meet with their potential peers."
Doug's guess was right, and all of them, except the twins, were seated at separate tables, with Doug getting a spot of honour, right up at the front with the High Priests. Karl found his table in the back corner, seated between Alice and Sergeant Rita, with the rest of the table filled with Priestesses.
"What are you smiling about today?" Rita asked as Karl took his seat.
"It's the same setup as the first meal I had here. Just myself in the corner at a table full of lovely young ladies." He replied with a wink.
That made Alice laugh and most of the Priestesses blush.
"He's been taking lessons in charm from Thor, I'm certain of it." The Bureau agent laughed as Rita gave Karl a concerned look.
The room fell silent as the Matron walked in, and the students began to deliver the trays.
Everything in their room was delivered smoothly, but Karl heard the crash as someone tripped in the other room, and the apologies as they ran off to get cleaning supplies and another tray.
Rita and Alice seemed confused as to what they were waiting for, though they understood the rules. The Priestesses just seemed to accept it as part of life here. If she wanted to wait, she waited.
Karl heard the last tray being delivered, and looked up to the front, to see the Academy's Matron smiling back at him. It was obvious that she knew he could hear the motion in the other room as well, but she didn't say anything, and just silently began her meal once the last tray was delivered.
The priestess across from Karl smirked as he moved to pick up his fork just as the Matron took her first bite.
"You really do know what the timing is. I heard from some of the younger students that you told them how to pass the homework assignment, but I didn't believe it." She whispered.
Karl smiled back and whispered. "They were telling the truth. Ask them about it later, and I'm sure they can explain how the system works."
Then he gave a meaningful look toward the front of the room, to remind them that she could hear every conversation in the dining hall.
"Is it true that you managed to kill a mander Rank Hill Giant?" One of the others asked quietly.
"With my group, yes. We got more than one, and quite a few Ascended Rank Giants and Ogres as well. It was a very productive trip." Karl agreed.
"Wow, then the others on your team really might all make mander Rank this time?" She replied.
Karl nodded. "I am not the best at telling relative power, but in bat, I can say that they should all meet the standard."
They finished breakfast, and Karl followed Rita and the clerics from his table out of the room and into a classroom.
"We have a few things to go over. The Bureau wants you to stay out and gather experience, but your previous team looks like they're going to be promoted, so they will be getting a new member, as you're still officially Awakened.
So, we have chosen a selection of potential team members to go with you back into the field. Did you have any particular requirements? Or can we get started with the introductions." Rita asked.
"I think that if you vetted them, then they've likely got all the qualifications that we need. I will admit that being with a Green Dragon Priest who can make all sorts of food did spoil us a little bit, but that's hardly a requirement for a mission." Karl joked.
The Clerics laughed at that. It was definitely a game changer when you had a nature god's priest or priestess with you on an extended mission.
"Alright, that is an option. There are tradeoffs, as Nature Priests aren't as good at healing as some of the others, and they don't have the group buff abilities of the war clerics. Some, like the wisdom and education gods, rarely go on missions, so there aren't any in the room with us, but you should be able to find someone you can work with." Rita explained.
"What is the rest of the group? What sort of other Elites do we have with us? Normally, it's one cleric to a group, so the position matters a lot. Bob, the warrior from the group I was in, specialized in front-line tanking, holding the enemies back while the mages cast their spells.
If we don't have that, we will have to adjust expectations.
If it's going to be random, then the most versatile of options would be best." Karl suggested, not wanting to single anyone out or cause any hard feelings within the group.
They were all likely great options for a mission team, and he wouldn't want to mess up any future encounters.
"Then we will start with introductions from left to right. We have Jenny, a healing specialist from the God of Life. Tessa, a War Cleric of the Red Dragon. Kira, a battle cleric from the Church Guard, Andrea, a Holy Cleric specialized in group enhancement spells, and finally Lotus, a Priestess of the God of Nature."
The responses of each cleric were different, but somehow in line with their deity. Jenny gave a polite nod, Tessa went with a smirk that said she was looking forward to seeing bat again, Kira nodded in recognition with her hand on the mace at her side, while Andrea gave Rita and Alice curious looks, as if wondering if they were also group members.
Lotus was the outlier, and the tiny cleric poked Karl in the side with a pleading look.
"Can we see Thor again?" She asked.
Rita laughed, but motioned for Karl not to do anything.
"Thor has gotten larger, there isn't enough room for him in here. We can let you two visit later." She reprimanded the cleric, who stuck her tongue out at the warrior in return.
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