Just like what Souta expected, Alice and Eztein passed the examination. Eilish had barely passed and the four of them were considered a member of Athen's Champion. Before they left the headquarters, Igmun said that they should return tomorrow morning.
Souta knew that they would receive their emblem tomorrow and the emblem was important. They would become an official member of Athen's Champion once they got that one.
"It's harder than I thought," Eztein said with a sigh.
"It's pretty interesting that way. I quite enjoy this place, especially the dense mana in the atmosphere. The god's legion lives up to my expectations as it was full of strong people." Eilish said with a faint smile.
"Tomorrow, we'll come back and join the assembly," Souta said to them.
Alice, Eztein, and Eilish nodded.
On the next day...
Souta, Alice, Eztein, and Eilish were in standing along with dozens of people. In front of them were members of the Athen's Champion.
A two-meter tall man stepped forward and looked at the new recruits with a fierce gaze. He had short black hair and a pair of bear eyes. He also had a thick beard and mustache.
"I'm Vandal, Chief Captain of the Third Set."
The man introduced himself as a powerful aura burst out of his body.
'This guy is still the same as before.' Souta narrowed his eyes as he tried to endure the pressure boring down on his body.
He naturally knew Vandal in the game. Vandal was a person at Eight Shackles Realm yet at this moment his power level was only at Seven Shackles. It seems that he didn't improve that much.
Well, considering the time, it was already great that he broke another shackle to improve his strength.
"What the heck is this pressure?!" Eztein tried to hold himself from collapsing. The pressure coming from a person that broke Seven Shackles was fearsome.
Even Alice was having a hard time. Beads of sweat started forming on her head.
They felt that if this man wanted to kill them, then they wouldn't be able to do a thing. They were too vulnerable in front of this man named Vandal.
After a few moments, the pressure stopped. Vandal looked at them and said, "There are a total of fifty-four people that passed the examination yesterday. I'm glad that a lot of people had passed the exam unlike before that only ten or twenty people passed."
He looked around and continued, "Some of you may not know it so I will explain my position first. In Athen's Champion, there are six divisions. Each division is divided into ten sets."
Vandal was the Chief Captain of the Third Set of the Pallas Division. His position was high and ordinary people could only look up to him. After all, he was close to reaching godhood. Just three more shackles and he would be able to break through the limit of mortals.
In each Set, there were Ten Grains. Each grain was commanded by a Captain just below the Chief Captain like Vandal.
"You and you, come here. You will join the Third Grain Wisdom." Vandal pointed at Eilish and another man.
The Third Grain Wisdom was a group full of Shackled Realm Experts. They were elites and most of them were dispatched to dangerous missions.
"As for the rest of you, you can group up yourself and join the other Grains except for First, Second, and Third."
Vandal said to the rest of them. All of them needed to know that the Third to First Grain of each Set was only for people that reached the Shackled Realm.
Souta glanced at Eilish and asked, "Are you fine with this arrangement? We'll go separate ways."
"I don't think we could join the same group," Eilish replied.
"Yeah, the difference in power will be different but after completing a few missions we will gain the right to form a circle in the legion. That way, you can join our circle." Souta said.
"Okay, I'll just follow your words." Eilish nodded.
Souta grouped himself with Alice and Eztein while Eilish left to meet the members of the Third Grain Wisdom. He was familiar with Athen's Champion so he know where to start.
Vandal continued his speech and explained the rules of the Athen's Champion.
The recruits listened to his words attentively. They needed to follow it or else they would suffer consequences.
...
After the assembly, Souta, Alice, and Eztein went to join the Tenth Grain War. There were three brackets in each Grain. Grain War, Grain Wisdom, and Grain Virgin. And Souta chose to join the Tenth Grain War.
"Actually, we don't know what to do with you since you are a monster but the higher-ups just decided to treat you like normal recruits." The leader of the Tenth Grain War, Carmel, said.
"I understand, sir." Souta nodded politely.
The person in front of him will be his superior from now on. Carmel was a moon elf at Four Shackles Realm.
Souta already expected this. He glanced at the people around him and saw that they were looking at him while murmuring to each other. They must be talking about him being the sole monster in this Set.
Carmel looked at the two people beside Souta and asked, "Are these two the only member of your circle?"
"Yes, sir." Souta nodded.
Even if he tried to recruit other people, he knew that no one would join him. There's a possibility that the other people would accept him but he didn't want to join those groups. What he wanted was to create his own circle and make a name for himself. He will rise through the ranks at high speed so that Athena would notice him sooner.
Carmel didn't say anything. He turned his attention to the other recruits after a while.
"The recruits this time are not bad."
He muttered in a low voice.
"Everyone! Be ready to receive your emblem! This emblem will prove that you are officially a warrior of Athen's Champion!"
One by one, the recruits received three sets of emblems. One was the official member of Athen's Champion, the second one was for the Pallas Division, and the last one was for the Third Set.
"Congratulations everyone! You are now officially a member of the Athen's Champion! You will fight for our Goddess! And fight for our Glory!"
Carmel shouted as a powerful energy burst out of his body.
"OHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The recruits shouted along with Carmel.
"We've joined the Athen's Champion. What are we going to do now, boss?" Eztein asked?
"Take some mission and complete it as soon as possible," Souta said.
"Oh, I should've expected this." Eztein sighed.
Days had passed quickly in the blink of an eye. Souta officially named the circle that he created Astros. They took and completed missions every day. On the fifth day, the higher-ups gifted them a room for their circle in the headquarters.
The room was a reward for their fast completion rate of missions. Souta and the others weren't holding back at all, they were showing their strength to everyone by completing any missions that they took.
On the tenth day, the Astros was upgraded to a Yellow Squadron. They became one of the most active circles in the Tenth Grain War. Even the people from the other Grains had heard the name Astros. They were slowly becoming famous.
On the seventeenth day, the Astros become a Third Class Yellow Squadron. Their room in the headquarters of receive an expansion. The size of their room was doubled and they had a mission board.
It was one of the most important things here and people could personally hire them using this one.
Although their circle was already a Third Class Squadron they still only had three members and that's what surprised most of the people. The benefits that they've received from the legion were high. After all, in the entire Tenth Grain War, there were only forty-nine Third Class Squadron.
On the twenty-third day, Carmel called Souta in his office.
Carmel glanced at Souta before he looked at the file in his hands. He slowly said, "Your performance in the past few weeks is better than I imagined. I have a mission here and if you completed it, the higher-ups will promote Astros to Second Class. So I ask do you want to accept it or not?"
"Can I ask what is the mission, sir?" Souta asked.
"Hmm... It's confidential so I will not tell you about it. I will only tell you after you accept the mission. It's a gamble for your circle so choose wisely." Carmel said.
Souta stared at Carmel and his [Galaxy Eyes] told him that Carmel was telling the truth.
After a while, Souta nodded. "I understand. I will accept the mission."
"Good. I have a lot of expectations for you. Don't let me down." Carmel smiled. "As long as you complete this mission my Tenth Grain War will have another Second Class Squadron."
*Ding!*
[Quest Triggered!]
[Vampire? Or a Zombie? Or another unknown creature?]: In a dukedom called Halbun, people have been found dead under their beds with bite marks on their bodies. The only problem is that the bite marks of the victim correspond to their teeth.
Rewards: 12 skill points, 20 free attribute points, 100,000 experience points
