The Plan

"I'm done with turning rocks into wood."

Genken looked at the stopwatch.

"Very good. Now you can turn them back."

"Alright."

The moment Locus touched the wood, it turned back into the rock it originated from.

"It changes so fast."

"And what's the comparison I always use?"

Locus sighted.

"You always say, 'It's a little bit like provisionally building something and then destroying it. Building it takes much more time because you have to think about your next step.' just after you rolled your eyes because I asked you about something that you already explained to me."

Genken snapped his fingers.

"Very good."

Locus had spent the past year with training under Genken's guidance. If Locus hadn't learned that much, he would have revolted. That's how exhausting it was, physically and mentally.

"So what's next? Aura control training?"

Genken smiled and changed his position in the armchair that he had brought to the training site a whole while ago.

"I think that I have taught you enough to proceed to the next step."

Locus paused.

"You're telling me that after all of this, there is another step?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten the reason we're doing all of this."

How could Locus ever forget?

"The next step is dealing with the man who hurt you."

"The Mastermind?"

"Well, to get in reach of the Mastermind, you probably have to build up an impressive reputation. Let's start with the High Commander and shoot for the moon before you aim at the stars."

Genken stood up.

"And that brings us to the plan we need. How do we start planning?"

Locus looked annoyed.

"Step one is looking at your goal."

"Correct. The Mastermind would be a very high goal, so let's set the High Commander as our goal for now. What's step two?"

"Listing the approaches for a goal."

Genken held two fingers up.

"There are two rather easy ways to achieve our goal. I suppose you want to take him head-on, so we just need you to meet him."

"So far, so good."

"The first approach would be joining the Mastermind Guild and working your way up until you meet the High Commander."

"No way!"

Genken mumbled something.

"Are you sure? To reach your goal, you first need to know the guy's identity. That would be no problem if you joined."

"I won't join the Mastermind Guild."

Genken sighted.

"The more difficult approach would be to just fight your way up. They'll probably send stronger opponents if you beat someone, so you'll reach the Commanders eventually."

"Then I would weaken the guild while working my way up. I like that."

"Well, if you actually manage to beat the Mastermind, then weakening the guild won't matter."

"I don't care. I'll fight my way up."

"In that case, there is another problem we need to take care of."

"Yes?"

"You don't know who attacked your village. Collecting intelligence while fighting is more complicated than collecting it while working."

"It'll work out just fine."

"Fine."

"So how do we proceed?"

"Well, there is a big guild office in the capital, but if you were to walk through the door of that guild and ask for a fight, you'd get completely obliterated."

"So what are we going to do?"

"As you have seen, the higher ranks have their own subordinates. Sometimes, they set out and go somewhere. That's when you can show up and attack.

When you become known for your strength, they'll probably send someone to get rid of you. That's when you can fight your way up until you find the guy who destroyed your village."

"And what do we do now?"

"The first step should be moving to the territory of the Mastermind Guild. I recommend you transfer your progress as an adventurer."

"Why? If I'm going rogue, then I'll probably get expelled."

Genken shook his head.

"They're actually not allowed to do that. There is no rule about criminals being forbidden to work as adventurers. After all, in other guilds, you might not be a criminal."

Locus laughed.

"In that case, how do I transfer my progress?"

Genken touched Locus' shoulder.

"Follow me."