Chapter 208: Teachers stop by for a Visit

Joshua slammed his scale blade into the ground to where it was stuck in deep before he fell back onto the lush grass breathing heavily. It was the day after the party in which Joshua spent most of the night either dancing away on the dance floor awkwardly with different partners and friends or relaxing with a drink in his hand while mingle with different people from the alliance. The party had been fun and exciting although he was still a bit annoyed by the knowing look that Adrian kept sending his way through the night whenever he was dragged to the dance floor by Madalyn, Natalie, or one of his other friends of the female persuasion.

Now that he had taken basically two days to take a break Joshua now found himself back in his old training ground getting accustomed to his new strength. He made sure to push himself to exhaustion by expending all his aura and testing out all of his skills after his usual training just to see how much stronger he had become. Now exhausted while lying down on the ground Joshua pulled up his stats just to see how much they had changed.

Level 91

Job – Aura User

Soul Beast – Fenrir

Stats (parenthesis number is the bonus stats from levels and Job) [Bracket numbers are skill modifiers]

Strength: 2580(252) = 2832 x [1.3] = 3681.6

Vitality: 2580 (252) = 2832 x [1.3] = 3681.6(7929.6 with aura hardening)

Dexterity: 2580(252) = 2832 x [1.3] = 3681.6

Intelligence: 2580(252) = 2832 x [1.3] = 3681.6

Wisdom: 2580 (252) = 2832 x [1.3] = 3681.6

Will: 4200 (414) = 4614 x [1.3] = 5998.2

Luck 109 (0) = 111

The stats took a pretty decent leap forward but even more importantly if his exploration group came across a boss monster that was level ninety in the upcoming expedition then Joshua wouldn't even feel a hint of level suppression. Hell he should have no problem drawing all the agro either since his own presence would get higher level creatures' attention now. Joshua was looking forward to the next time they went out on an expedition so that he could test his new strength. He still had five days before the time that the group designated as when they would go on their next expedition since everyone wanted to be in the hub city when the new store opened up.

No one knew exactly what the store would have to offer, but considering the big deal that Sarah and the system made of the currency it was clear that was going to be something worthwhile. Joshua was just wondering what exactly the rates would be like since the amount of currency gained was so drastically different depending on where you finished in the tournament. He still couldn't tell if the amount he was given would be considered a lot or if he'd be better of saving up for something more useful well down the line. Joshua put the thought aside since he would be finding out soon enough. Instead he turned his attention to towards the log cabin in his training ground since he could hear that someone had just arrived.

Joshua picked himself off the ground and looked towards the log cabin to see three people coming into view. Thoren, Ysildea, and Garlin all made their way out of the log cabin with Ysildea glaring at the other two while they tried their best to avert their eyes. "I can't believe I caught you two trying to sneak off again. At least finish your job before you come here to your little get away." Ysildea said with a calm tone that was even more terrifying than if she were to yell at them. "You can come here and congratulate Joshua without leaving a complete mess behind."

"Hey don't lump me in with him." Garlin said while casually pointing at Thoren. "I know I'm not good at all that legislation crap. That's why I pick out people to do it for me. After all my race picks its leader based on strength and nothing else. I can help when it comes to things in that regard, but your everyday paper work isn't my cup of tea. What's his excuse?"

"I don't need an excuse. I'm just old. It's time for the next generation to start handling our races affair. I'm just guiding them along from time to time." Thoren said after taking a sip from a drink he had in hand. Knowing the dwarf it was definitely alcoholic.

"Oh please. Any excuse will do when it comes to you." Ysildea said with a sigh before turning to Joshua who had made his way over while they were in their little tirade. "It's good to see you again Joshua and I believe congratulations are in order."

"Yeah you did great. Couldn't have expected anything better." Thoren said before looking towards Ysildea and pointing towards the ground. She rolled her eyes before with a wave of her hands roots shot out of the ground and started forming a table and chairs for them all to sit in. The way she was casually able to do something that took such skill just reminded Joshua of the gap between them. "It was a fun tournament to watch even if it was a bit like watching kids fight in a playground."

"It was a good competition and I'm sure several other people took an interest in it besides just the three of us. Some of your friends should expect some visitors that want to offer tutelage." Garlin said with a shrug. "The first tournaments always grab attention, but this time around the fight between you and Dmitry really got people interested."

"I've already had to cast away several nosy people trying to get involved with you. The last thing you need right now is distractions from people that know nothing about how to train an aura user in the slightest." Thoren said with annoyed huff. "They're vultures just trying to get good disciples to make a name for themselves."

"Wait a minute disciples? How many people are actually paying attention to what's going on here to be looking for disciples?" Joshua asked after sitting down with the rest of them.

"Our alliance is wide spread and one of the largest groups in the system. Every time there is a new wave of planets that undergo the evolution process we find ourselves being the ones to take care of them when they fall under our jurisdiction. Among us there are ten different races that over the years came together to lead smaller groups that are just making their way into the new world of the system. It should come as no surprise that among so many explorers over the thousands of years there are several that wish to take on disciples." Ysildea explained.

"There are still many things we can't talk to you about just yet, but anyone that's coming to look for a disciple has to go through a program to make sure they are qualified to do so in the first place. So you don't have to worry about any of your friends getting lead on by someone that doesn't have their best interest at heart. Hell you have all of us to give you guidance and look how well that has gone for you." Thoren said.

"What about other planets that went through the evolution process around the same time as ours? Are they progressing at the same rate as us?" Joshua asked curious about how they stacked up with the other planets that were in their jurisdiction. He knew that earth wasn't the only planet that was going through the evolution process and he knew that Thoren and the rest were in charge of handling all of these planets for the most part.

"Well at this point your planet is definitely ahead of the curve. Which should come as no surprise with how you and the rest of your group have been pushing things." Ysildea responded with a slight smile. "The system will only introduce new things depending on the rate of growth of the main group of intelligent life on that planet. At this point there aren't any other planets in our jurisdiction that has progressed as quickly as yours, but that was something we were expecting, especially after seeing your progress."

"Although we should warn you not to try to run before you can walk. Right now your planet is still changing and you haven't even finished learning everything there is to learn about your current circumstances." Thoren said with a frown. "Even if you yourself are ready for somethings, it doesn't mean that all of the other explorers on earth are. Luckily I did spot some other powerful explorers in other hub city tournaments, so it might just be you humans as a whole that develop so quickly."

"Well when you're a species that's use to only living to ninety as a norm, then rapid change isn't all that surprising." Joshua said with a grin. "You should see where we were just a hundred years ago. That might seem like a drop in the ocean of time when it comes to a dwarf or an elf, but to us it's a long time."

"Well whatever's making you humans get accustomed to the system so quickly it's definitely a blessing." Garlin said with a shrug. "However it's time we get back on topic and start discussing what we came here to talk about in the first place. What comes next."