Chapter 187: Commanders Mackenzie

The next out was Bob, whose warrior mark was glowing a faint gold, barely illuminating the mark.

"It seems that it was a close thing, but you too have passed the trials. Congratulations on your success, Commander Robert Mackenzie." The Matron greeted him.

"Thank you Matron. It got very touch and go there for a bit, but I am glad that I managed to satisfy the Gods that I was worthy of the Rank." He replied.

Then he turned to Karl, and gestured to where he had left his backpack.

"I have the loot split. If you don't mind, the mages were quite interested in the crystals for crafting, but they have offered a ring of Giant Strength and a magic sword in exchange. The values are equal, according to the church auditor." Bob informed him.

Karl nodded. "That works well enough for me. If they know someone who can make good use of them, then they are welcome to the gems. Has the cash been deposited into the account? I don't know how to check my card balance away from the Academy."

Bob nodded. "You can check it at the supply counter here at the Seminary Academy, or at any money machine in the towns. But yes, the money should be deposited already. It's a rather substantial amount, so try not to act shocked when you see it."

Alice gave Karl a curious look, and he shrugged. "We brought back two backpacks half loaded with coins from the Giants and Ogres. Even split five ways, it should be a fairly substantial amount, as Bob called it."

Bob handed over the ring and the sword, which Karl recognized as the dagger that they had gotten from one of the Giants, which Bob had been using himself as an improvement on the other sword he owned.

Karl slipped the ring on his finger, and strapped the blade to his pack until he could get a scabbard made for it. It wouldn't fit into the one for the sword he already owned, and he didn't have another way to carry it, like the metal loop that Bob used as a sword hanger.

The supply room should have something for him, though. They had all sorts of gear made by the church, and it was usually reasonably priced, from what he had heard. Even many of the items at the Golden Divine Academy were made here.

The influx of power from the Ring of Giant Strength was impressive, and Karl wondered if he could do like Thor and flip an armoured car from a standstill. His own strength was improving, but with the odd tests of the trial instance, he couldn't say how well it compared to warriors at the same entry to Ascended Rank level.

The twins came out at the same time, as perfectly as if they had planned it, and both showing off the golden wand marks on their hands.

"Congratulations Commanders, you have both done a wonderful job today. We will be updating your registration in just a few minutes, would you like some family alone time before you are pulled away by those eager to celebrate your advancement?" The Matron asked.

"A few minutes at least would be appreciated." Doug replied with a smile, right before he pulled his sisters into a group hug.

Karl nodded to Bob, who gave him a happy soldier's salute, then went to join the others.

"Alright, I think we're finished. Do you two need anything, or should I just go grab the last items I need before we head out?" Karl asked.

"Grab what you need and meet us back at the front gates in fifteen minutes. That's when the clerics will be arriving." Alice agreed.

Karl ran off to the supply counter and handed his card to the clerk, who did a double take as he noticed it wasn't a Seminary Academy card, but hadn't noticed that Karl wasn't one of them while he was wearing the generic hassock.

"Can I get a scabbard to fit this blade and two sets of black training mission fatigues if you have them?" He asked.

The man punched in the request without a word, then tapped Karl's card against the reader and nodded. "We've got them. Just allow me a minute to grab a few scabbards and see what fits best. That looks like it was taken from a monster, so it's probably not a standard size."

True to his word, he returned in just over a minute, with an armload of clothes and scabbards, then proceeded to test the fit of the sword until he found one that he was satisfied with.

"Is it hanging on that belt?" He asked dubiously, looking at the rope tie of Karl's hassock.

"No, I have a sword belt, Academy standard issue, but everything was in the laundry this morning." Karl explained.

He hoped it would all be clean and ready, but last time he was here, he hadn't returned to his room for quite a while.

But the supply chief was prepared for that, and he pulled out a plain black leather sword belt, intended to be wrapped twice around the waist, to adjust the hanging height of your blade.

"No charge. It can replace the standard belts that come with the fatigue sets. Do you need new boots?" He asked.

Karl shook his head. The plain black ones he had on were already broken in and comfortable, and after a short cleaning, they were good as new.

"Thanks, I've got to run up and get packed, we're supposed to leave in fifteen minutes." Karl informed the supply chief, who smiled and waved for him to get running.

When Karl got back to his room, his school mission uniforms were all freshly laundered and waiting for him, along with a set of fresh Bronze badges. That had to be from either Alice or Rita, as they were Golden Divine Academy badges, not something that you would expect to see at the Seminary Academy, but were all freshly laundered and waiting for him, along with a set of fresh Bronze badges. That had to be from either Alice or Rita, Karl appreciated the gesture.

If they were here now, then they had been dropped off before his trial was complete, anticipating him succeeding.

With well practised motions, Karl tucked everything back in his pack the way that he liked the balance best, and then headed back downstairs to inquire about the fact that all the consumables from his last mission were already depleted, and he didn't have an opportunity to restock them.

The clerics were just getting down to the courtyard when he arrived, and there were stacks of supplies being loaded into the white bus convoy, in preparation to head back out again.

"This time it will just be us and the convoy guards with the supplies. The other missions only last for a week before they return to the Academy, so they bus team will wait for them there after we deliver the supplies." Sergeant Rita explained.

"Alright. I will need to restock as well, I returned here with nothing but loot in my pack." Karl replied with a laugh.

Lotus giggled and wiggled her fingers in the universal children's symbol for casting a magic spell.

"Don't worry about it. We've got all those sorts of supplies taken care of. Tessa can also use her magic to repair metal, so if you've got damaged gear, we can take care of that as well once we're in the field." The tiny cleric explained.

"It sounds like we're ready for almost anything then. Alright, I will let Thor out for a few minutes because he might not forgive me if he doesn't get to play with the clerics for a bit, and then we can go."

Those were magic words for Lotus, and Karl wasn't sure who was more excited to meet the other for the first time, her or Thor. There was a lot of happy squealing and rough affection from both sides, to the point that the other clerics were hesitant to join in until the two had calmed down a little bit.

Tessa smiled at Karl. "See what I mean? She's a bit too in tune with her animalistic side. But she's a good cleric, and you can always count on her to have your back."

Karl smiled at the War Priestess. "That's the only part that really matters, isn't it? If you can't count on them to have your back, it doesn't matter what else they can do or how their personality is."