It was a risk, but Garet defeated the blue wolf. It wasn't the only monster serving the Remnant, but this Remnant had been working with the Iron Gate's Thonspire for a long time, so Garet had nothing to worry about, especially with Xir here.
If it were a weaker Remnant, with only one Spirit, Garet would get something special, but he'll experience that another time, in the future.
Unlike monsters, when an Awakened defeated a Remnant, some kind of reward was guaranteed.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow claps echoed from the side, reverberating off the bare walls to Garet.
At first, he heard nothing, but when his heart returned to its normal pace, he glanced around.
"Good job, kid." Xir approached him. "A few bruises and..."
Thump.
Garet collapsed to the ground, right in front of Xir's feet.
In a panic, Melisa rushed forward. If something happened to the new Awakened during the test, it would be major trouble for her because she was the curator.
"Commander Xir! We have to help him!" She exclaimed.
Xir bent down and turned Garet over, who was already asleep with a satisfied smile.
"Nah, he's fine. Look at that grin. Hah, even when I saved him from the monster, he didn't look that happy."
"So... is he okay?"
Xir nodded and threw Garet over his shoulder. "Yeah, as we saw, he uses up his energy very quickly. But I think his fatigue played a part in this. After all, just yesterday he was forced to flee his home and fight for his life. That drains not only the body, but also the mind."
"I see. In that case, it's good that he'll get some proper rest, but... Commander Xir, I wanted to talk to you about..."
"The dark crystal, right?"
She bit her lip, cautiously confirming. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Well, what can I say. His Zenith is the sun, at least in appearance, and his energy is enormous. Either it's a talent our city has never seen before, or it's his feature, and without it, he wouldn't be able to fight normally."
"Doesn't that mean his ability has tremendous destructive power?"
Xir shrugged carelessly.
"In theory, yes, but you know better than anyone that theory never applies to practice one-to-one. There are always some changes or just broken dreams."
...
Crunch.
A loud crunch woke Garet.
He slowly opened his eyes to see a white, light sheet covering him and bandages wrapped around his stomach.
Another crunch made Garet turn to his left to find Xir eating an apple while reading a book.
"You're awake already?" he said without taking his eyes off the page. "Quick. I thought you'd need more time."
"Where am I?"
Crunch.
"Isn't it obvious? You're in the infirmary. Every Thronspire has at least one, at least I hope so." He closed the book, glancing at Garet. "Don't worry, there are no internal injuries, but the bruise on your stomach will take at least a week to heal."
"Hah, I can feel that, but..." Garet's eyes lit up. "I hurt that wolf a lot worse, didn't I?"
Xir nodded. "Sure. I'm sure you're curious about what you got for passing the test and the fight?"
"Melisa said something about missions, didn't she?"
"Yeah, you did well. Not everyone can defeat a Spirit of that Remnant. Many either lose or get more wounds than you. Well, there are certainly those who did better than you, I won't lie."
Then, he pulled an emblem out of his pocket and tossed it to Garet.
Garet caught it. After all, it was now his Awakened Emblem, with his signature and record stored at the Thornspire of Iron Gate.
However, Garet immediately noticed a small change.
On the front of the shield, the lower corner was no longer empty, it was filled with a thin, bronze plate, the size of a fingernail, but it was enough to be noticeable even from a great distance.
"What does this mean?" Garet asked.
"When we first arrived at the Thornspire, you turned your attention to the mission board right away. That's the Thorn Board, and if a mission is too difficult for you, you simply won't be allowed to take it. Sure, no one will stop you from going and doing it anyway, but then you're risking everything for nothing. If you don't get a mission, you won't get a reward either."
Garet nodded. The system was simple and easy to understand, except for the plate on his emblem.
"And how good is that?"
"Since you defeated that wolf, Melisa gave you a Bronze Tier. There are quite a few Tiers in total: Copper, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Golden, and Special. Also, there is the Wooden Tier, which comes before Copper, but that's for complete beginners who aren't even ready for the easiest missions involving potential combat."
"Hmm? Are there such missions?" Garet raised an eyebrow.
Xit spread his arms.
"Of course. Even if an Awakened is not ready to fight monsters, he can still be useful thanks to his abilities and superior physical strength. The point of the missions is to do what ordinary people either cannot do or would find too difficult."
At the same time, Garet muttered all the listed tiers to himself.
"Ahem... If you count the Wooden One, that makes seven tiers, and bronze is the third of seven. I guess that's pretty good, right?"
"Hah, are you asking for praise? But, yeah. That's a decent result. The best Melisa can give a newbie is the Iron Tier. Sorry, but your victory wasn't convincing enough to give you immediate access to such dangerous missions."
Garet clenched his emblem tightly.
He wasn't angry that someone else was better than him. He understood that Xir was right and that the Thornspire did this primarily for the safety of the Awakened.
The more dangerous the mission, the higher the risk of death, which meant that the strength of the Awakened had to be appropriate.
"Alright, what do we do next? I can take a mission from the Thorn Board now, can't I?"
Xir nodded in confirmation as a sly smile played across his face.
"Sure, but what were you going to use to fight the monsters?"
He put the book aside, got up, and headed for the exit.
"Since you're awake, let's go."
"W-Where?" Garet asked, confused.
Xir looked at him over his shoulder, and a gleam ran through his eyes.
"To the forge, of course! You need a weapon!"