A strange fruit
[Years 23 : Back on your father's land, your welcome is mixed. The Baron, although irritated by your failure, recognizes that you have surpassed your elder brother, who had not even managed to reach the second year at the royal academy. The latter, once so quick to intimidate you, now avoids meeting your eyes].
[Years 24: You start training alongside the baronial soldiers. Although they have no jewels, their discipline and experience in handling weapons inspire you. You begin to perfect your hybrid fighting style, using your flames to strengthen your sword strokes or create openings].
[Years 25 : You begin to consider a future outside the royal academy. You realize that the world is a vast place and that official recognition is not the only path to becoming a great jewel master].
[Years 26 : Your decision is made: you leave the barony to go on a discreet adventure while bidding farewell to your mother].
[Years 27 : Your journey takes you to lands unknown to you. You begin by joining a renowned group of mercenaries, "The Pitbulls", renowned for their dangerous but lucrative missions. Several jewel masters without diplomas are part of this group, including jewel masters with 2 and 3 jewels! In all, there are a dozen jewel masters with just one jewel, 5 jewel masters with two jewels and two jewel masters with three jewels. During the test, you easily beat the examiner, surprising many people. After that, a jewel master with just one jewel took you on. You also beat him easily. Jewel masters with 2 jewels started to get interested, but they were directly stopped by a man with an imposing build].
"So the number of jewels more or less corresponds to the level of power achieved," thought Adam.
"A bit like the difference between a first-rank warrior apprentice and a second-rank warrior apprentice."
"Except that in this world, the difference of a single jewel looks a lot more significant than the difference of a rank between apprentice warriors."
The notifications continued to appear before Adam as he stood quietly at his bedroom window, the dazzling stars hanging in the sky as his landscape.
[Years 27 (end): Indeed, the leader of the mercenary group named Gorath, a jewel master with 3 earth jewels, stopped them and took to the stage himself to test you. The duel was extremely fierce, and for a while no winner was revealed. It was only when Gorath began to use his third jewel that the duel turned against you, and you ended up losing the duel. But everyone looks at you with a smile, and you're accepted into the mercenary group].
[Years 28: Under the tutelage of Gorath and the other mercenaries, you progress rapidly. You learn not only advanced fighting techniques, but also group strategies and the importance of discipline in a mercenary group].
[Years 28 (end): You follow Les Pitbull through the missions, these missions becoming increasingly perilous, from protecting caravans to eliminating monsters in remote territories. Although each mission is a challenge, they forge your experience and strengthen your mastery of fire magic. You learn that the Pitbulls are an (A)-rank mercenary group, while Les Loups Endiablés is a (D)-rank mercenary group].
"Oh, Les Loups Endiablés! My first mercenary group in simulations!"
"I've come a long way since then!"
[Years 29 : You're starting to ask questions. Indeed, you're under the impression that you're doing the empire's missions, i.e. securing and protecting its inhabitants. Yet in all your missions, you've never seen a single soldier of the empire, nor their jewel masters. Where had all those jewel masters trained at the royal academy gone? On your way, you come across only those who failed at the academy, but never those who had succeeded].
"Indeed, it's strange. In the last simulation, it said that Oriana had joined an elite unit, but ended up dead."
"And when I tried to investigate, I encountered all kinds of resistance."
"That's my only information on academy graduates..."
Adam also began to wonder about this.
As if his questions were reflected in the simulator, the next notification called out to him.
[Years 30: Your curiosity gnaws at you, and you address this point with your fellow mercenaries. However, these warriors didn't understand either, and instead began to dream up all sorts of strange theories].
[Years 31 : You temporarily give up trying to understand anything about the graduate jewel masters].
[Years 31 (continued): On a particularly dangerous mission, you're sent to protect a village besieged by a band of orcs. Together with Les Pitbulls, you lead a heroic defense. Your presence is particularly noticed thanks to your extraordinary strength].
[Years 31 (end): Even the orcs are easily repelled by you, while your short-range fire spells are devastatingly powerful, killing at least one orc with every cast! This victory earns you not only a great reward, but also local recognition. The locals start calling you "Ursula", in reference to a local legend that said Ursula was the god of war and fire].
[Years 32 : Your fame as "Ursula" begins to spread beyond the village you've protected. Many guilds and independent groups seek to recruit you, but you remain loyal to the Pitbulls, regarding Gorath and your comrades as a true family. However, this recognition also attracts jealousies and enemies. Several competing mercenary groups begin plotting against you, attempting to tarnish your reputation or publicly defy you].
[Years 32 (end): On a mission to escort a noble merchant through bandit-infested territories, you are ambushed by a rival guild. Although outnumbered, your mastery of fire and coordination with the Pitbulls enable you to turn the situation in your favor. This crushing victory reinforces the Pitbulls' reputation].
[Years 33: Your mercenary group stumbles across a strange fruit in a forest. Gorath tells you that if you eat it, you'll be able to significantly improve your power as a jewel master. The other members of your mercenary group also beckon you to eat it, expressing their agreement].