The next morning was a mix of thrilled excitement and suppressed nerves with the base full of frantic activity. The rebels were going to war.

  Planning officers organized everyone into crews, squads and platoons to deploy. The committee had been more than happy to keep Pax together with his friends, assigning both Titus and Langley’s crews to stay with them and keep them alive at all costs.

  His two mage mentors, Incedis and Eldan, would join them along with Tomis and the rest of the awakened Viper littles who had formed their own fledgling squad, too.

  The older members of their new platoon had all agreed to help train the young crew up to a level where they could defend themselves or at least escape if they got into trouble. They were already pretty skilled in survival skills after their initial trek across the Wilds. Now that they had their classes, they would progress even faster.

  As for ranks, the committee had given both Incedis and Eldan the rank of major, with Incedis being senior and given command of their platoon.

  Pax had felt just the tiniest bit of irritation to not receive any kind of rank in the rebellion other than his position as an advisory committee member. On the other hand, being out of the line of command had a lot more perks than he wanted to give up.

  After Eldan, Titus was the next most senior captain, just above Captain Langley. To everyone’s relief, Langley didn’t seem to have a problem with that. He’d spent the last few days sequestered with various committee members reporting on as many of the empire’s strengths and secrets as he could, proving himself to be an extremely valuable asset.

  Reports from rebels with Inquisitor skills said the captain and his people had fully committed to switching sides. Even Mage Lyndara had changed her attitude when Pax had unlocked her inner water mana. Their other mages had quickly followed suit, ecstatic at the power boost, and feeling a lot happier about their changed circumstances.

  The rest of Langley’s crew were waiting impatiently for the chance to gain Tamed companions. There had been too many other rebels ahead of them in line to take care of it before they left.

  They had collectively decided to watch for beasts that could also double as mounts, considering how valuable mobility was going to be in the coming war. Pax planned to help all of his friends get companions soon, which should push him last of the way to Taming level 5, hopefully before completing that part of the quest, so he could instantly get Taming level 6 from the reward.

  “Tyrodon better hurry before they send us all out.” Dahni aimed a worried glance back toward the inner base. “What’s keeping him?”

  “Don’t worry.” Amil patted him on the shoulder. “He’ll be here. And you know anything he’s grabbing at the last minute will come in handy out in the Wilds.”

  Pax nodded his agreement, smiling as he imagined the useful toys and devices Tyrodon might be collecting. Then he looked around at the scrambling bustle of personnel and the base that had quickly become their new home. He felt bemused that they were actually leaving to fight in the war. As soon as dawn’s light broke and ensured the beasts outside had settled for the day, they’d deploy.

  “It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Rin moved up to stand next to him, her expression looking as nostalgic as he felt. “Did you ever imagine we’d get to this point? All our new levels. Companions ready to fight by our sides. Not to mention crews like Titus’ and Langley’s committed to fight by our sides and topple the empire, so all of us have a chance at a future.”

  “I know I hoped we’d make it to this point.” Pax shook his head. “But I hardly imagined what it would be like to actually get here.”

  “How does it feel to be the first of us to reach level 4?” Amil leaned in from Pax’s other side to get close enough to be heard over the thrum of voices filling the packed staging area just inside the base’s outer doors.

  Pax’s face split into a grin. “Hold on. Let me read over those last notifications again so I can tell you.” This was one time Pax didn’t mind scanning over his progress again, including the notification for his new level and the boosts it had gained him.

  ***

  Congratulations! You have increased Intelligence from 17 to 18

  Skill Boost: +22 to Ascendant Mana Integration Level 2 (Legendary-evolved) - 124/200

  Skill Boost: +21 to Elemental Meditation Level 3 (Common) - 175/300

  Spell Boost: +18 to Extrasensory Sphere Level 2 (Legendary-evolved) - 155/200

  Skill Boost: +28 to Altar Interface Level 1 (Epic) - 64/100

  Improvement to your Path of Understanding Flame: +53. Level 4 - 234/400

  Improvement to your Path of Understanding Air: +42. Level 4 - 201/400

  Improvement to your Path of Understanding Water: +61. Level 4 - 201/400

  Improvement to your Path of Understanding Earth: +49. Level 4 - 219/400

  Crew Quest: Part 2: Help rebel mages and warriors Tame adult beast companions - 81/100 (+19)

  Reward: +1 level for each crew companion and +1 to the Taming level for each crew member who aids in this process, along with a bonus choice from all possible system evolutions for the skill.

  Skill Boost: +53 to Universal Beast Tamer Level 4 (Rare) - 324/400

  Spell Boost: +20 to Haste Level 3 (Common) - 310/300

  Congratulations! Haste is now Level 3

  You’ve earned 4 Leveling Points and 4 Evolution Points

  Mage Leveling Points: 47/45

  Class Evolution Points Unused: 18

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Congratulations, Mage Pax Vipersworn! For leveling multiple mage skills and spells, you have advanced to Mage Level 4 and gained boosts to both your health and mana. The range, duration and versatility of all your mage skills and spells have improved as well, though mana cost can increase, depending on improvements.

  You will unlock another foundational spell slot at level 10 and again at every tenth level after that. Unlocking minor and secondary elements will earn additional spell slots.

  Continue your hard work and effort to reach even greater heights in the future. Your next level requires advancing enough skills and spells to earn 80 leveling points. May Vitur guide your path.

  Health: 138 (+25)

  Mana: 182 (+32)

  Inventory: 28/31 (+1)

  ***

  He gave Amil a triumphant look, ignoring the flicker of disappointment that his inventory slots only went up by 1 with this level instead of 5. With a quick glance around to ensure no one was paying them much attention, he activated his sound shield before sharing a few of the details. “Yep, I’m a few points away from 200 mana, not counting my storage reserves. And I need 80 leveling points to get to mage level 5. But, as soon as we finish checking off the last two parts of the quest, I’ll jump another level again. So, yeah, level 4 feels pretty good.”

  Dahni gave him an incredulous look while Amil scrunched up his face. “That’ll give you a base of fifty for your mana, plus six times your intelligence? Plus, your extra mana storages? How much will that be altogether? Never mind. I’ll let Rin do the math. Let’s just say you might actually have enough mana to use all those spells you keep accumulating.”

  “Don’t forget the mana bonuses he gets for each of the extra elements he’s unlocked and advanced.” Rin gave a small, disbelieving shake of her head.

  Amil groaned and rubbed at his forehead. “Like I said, let’s just say a lot.”

  Pax’s grin still hadn’t faded at the amazing numbers he now had in his menu. Even worry about his mother joining the main rebel expedition wasn’t enough to ruin it. Harkness had found someone to take over her own kitchen duties at the base so she could accompany Kindra and keep her safe on the supply train that would travel toward Brightgate.

  The larger supply caravan would be much slower than the platoons, consisting solely of fighters. The plan was for the faster elements to forge ahead, fighting any empire forces they encountered before regrouping to take on Brightgate itself. Depending on how successful they were, the support caravan would adjust its destination to the safest location.

  If the rebellion could defend their cities and then take the empire’s staging city, they crippled the empire’s forces and set the stage for winning the war. The last step would be to take the fight directly to the seat of the empire’s true power, Salman.

  Pax shook his head, knowing that idea was getting far ahead of themselves. Now, they just needed to focus on their own course across the Wilds and the objectives the committee assigned them.

  “How long do you think before we face off against real empire troops?” Dahni aimed a thoughtful look at the doors leading out of the base. “And will we have enough time to get everything done we need to do beforehand?”

  Dahni’s question pulled Pax out of his thoughts about their overarching goals and made him think about what they needed to get done first. “Well, we need to focus on leveling and completing all the quest stuff as quickly as possible. Those rewards will give us all a major power boost that could save our lives if we run into high-level empire troops.”

  “True. Though we’ve got them for that, too.” Rin tipped her head toward the older, more experienced members of their new platoon. Then she pulled out a documents folder from her inventory and withdrew a piece of parchment containing what looked like an extensive list.

  “Is that your to-do list?” Pax leaned over to get a closer look and noticed that the rest of the crew had noticed their interaction, crowding in closer to pay attention, too.

  She nodded. “Want to hear what I’ve got?”

  “Go for it. But maybe over our—” He gave her a pointed look and tapped his ear. If we switch to Echoes, then I can let my barrier down and people will stop wondering what secret stuff we’re discussing.

  Good idea. Rin gave him a smile before looking back down at her list. In broad strokes, I have down that we need to finish the quest like you said. That also includes Taming groups of transportation beasts for our own crew and for as many of our friends as possible. We all know moving quickly through the Wilds is going to become critical.

  If only Pax would hurry and level his Tamer skill so he can get a new companion slot. Amil aimed a teasing look Pax’s way.

  Hey, as soon as we get away from the base to where there are more beasts available, I’ll be helping with more Taming to get me to the next level in no time.

  We know. Rin aimed an annoyed look at Amil. Which is why I only brought up the general goal of finishing the quest. We all know the details about what we need to do.

  Sorry. Amil gave her a chagrined look. What else is on the list?

  She narrowed her eyes at him and, when he continued to look apologetic, she looked appeased. We need to coordinate our travel with as many other platoons as possible, so during breaks and night camps, we can help them with new elements and Taming while we cross the Wilds. Incedis and Eldan are on top of coordinating the logistics for that. Rin looked over at Bryn and Tasar. You two are in charge of the next item.

  I’m assuming you mean training together with all the crews in our new platoon while we travel? Bryn raised her brows in question.

  When Rin nodded, she continued. We need to cram in as much practice together as possible to mesh our fighting skills, and any new abilities and spells we or our companions have gained. And there are the newly awakened littles with their brand-new classes and abilities. Without a lot of work and better coordination, we’ll be vulnerable when we encounter our first empire forces.

  We start with escape strategies. Tasar’s words caught Pax by surprise. In the Wilds, being able to run, hide and ambush from protective cover will serve us well against the typically trained empire troops.

  Exactly. Bryn gave him an approving look that the others echoed.

  Rin glanced back over her list and gave them all a shrug. The rest of my items are basically just details on how all of us can get stronger while we travel and then help as many rebels do the same. Everything else depends on how the empire’s attack on our towns plays out. The current plan is a mix of ambushing the empire troops in the Wilds and possibly evacuating our town ahead of the attacks. That means we’ll need to adapt depending on exactly how things play out.

  So, your list basically says get stronger, get the rebels stronger and then beat the empire, right? Amil gave them all a cheeky grin.

  Rin snorted and then shrugged. You’re not wrong.

  “Excuse me. Let me through. Excuse me.”

  The familiar voice from nearby drew their attention as Pax looked over and caught sight of a harried Tyrodon pushing his way through the crowd toward them. He emerged with a relieved look to see them.

  “About time.” Amil gave him a teasing backhand. “We almost left without you.”

  “Well, good thing you didn’t, because Magesecond Fenix and Solani 2-nine would have been pretty upset, especially since they’re coming with us.”

  Surprised, Pax looked down to see Tyrodon holding two of the manager’s power crystals in his hands. “Coming with us?”

  “We can discuss that later.” Tyrodon brushed aside his question. “Right now, they want to tell you about the surprise they’ve been working on as a going away present.”

  On cue, the two managers’ heads popped into view, Fenix, with a superior smirk and 2-nine, looking excited enough to burst.

  “What surprise?” Pax couldn’t resist, though he quickly engaged his sound barrier again. Discussions with the managers could contain sensitive information.

  “Now that we have some privacy, it’s funny you should ask.” Solani 2-nine gave Pax a pleased nod, cutting off Fenix before he could speak. “We decided our favorite students needed another power boost before they leave to take on the empire.” Her eyes went out of focus for a moment, and then she gave them all an eager look. “You might want to check your menus.”

  “Hurry up. We promised Solani 4-five and Fenix 3-one that we’d do this before you left, so they could see your reaction too.”

  Bemused, Pax accessed the newly flashing notification. His heart skipped a beat with excitement.

  ***

  Congratulations! You have successfully restored critical sections of the headquarters to minimal function. You have completed part 4 of your Crew Quest and earned the full reward.

  You’ve received a Map of Knowledge skill scroll, which shows friends and foes in your vicinity with a cost and cooldown that improves as the skill levels.

  Complete the other parts of the quest to receive additional rewards and the final reward once you successfully complete all parts.

  ***

  Pax wasn’t the only one with a broad grin as he heard the sergeants by the gates calling out the first marching orders.