75 Lost?
The lecture continued on as the soft snoring of a relaxed Dustan made a background ambient noise in the atmosphere. Debauchery seniors were reveling in the rare moment of indulgence while the juniors were keeping their full attention on the lecture.
"The levels are much easier to understand it is basically a divergent series like the one you count only with a base of 10 instead of 1, it goes like this: level 1 peaks at 10 points, level 2 peaks at 30 points, peak level 3 is 60, peak level 4 is 100, level 5 is 150, level 6 is 210 and so on and so forth. For example to be a certified level 1 you need 2 attributes with minimum of 10 points each, to be level 2 you need between 11 and 30 points, a level 3 needs 31-60 points in two attributes."
"That is the basic premise of the levels according to the guild, but we Debauchery prefers to only mention the peak of the level. Because anyone with only 11 points will have a hard time in level 2 but with 30 points one can go unchallenged in level 2, and can head to level 3 for better experience. This type of exponentially growing need for attribute points is what holds most adventurers at level 10, the huge number of 550 points is really daunting yet easy to get within 3 -5 years for diligent people, the rest can take decades to reach it thus the stagnation"
"But those who are diligent in fighting and challenging themselves inside Tartarus would be able to have higher constitution than the others, allowing them to resist longer and advance further. As for aging, it can be easily calculated, for example a normal adult with a peaceful life would reach 10 points in constitution almost always and they could live up to 100 years if there was no damages to the body, like sickness or poison, stress and the like, after the first 100 years every 1 point corresponds to one year. However due to the damages one accumulates while pushing themselves, the life expectancy can be shortened down to half, that is why there are remedies to relieve some of the stress on the body after a long period of time in the dungeon, or you can just have a cheat like the spirit heart which will guarantee no hidden dangers from the training period, thus when you guys reach level 2 you would be able to live 120 years no matter how much stress your body takes."
The lecture then became a question and answer session about silly things like how to recognize the really old ones or if eating the monsters inside the dungeon is beneficial, things that would attract the minds of children now that the gates to Tartarus were open for them to ask about and study. When the questions were answered and there was nothing much to discuss or explain for now, Leader sent away the massage therapists and led Debauchery into a hot spring to soak and get some privacy.
Leader started the planning meeting when everyone was settled in. "Bai and Lucian have chosen a target for us, an academy in a smaller town south west of the lonely mountain, the town according to the records is both an academy as well as a resting spot for the agents, so we will target it as our first mark in the dismantling of the cult. You juniors are to raid the academy while we clean up the town, we will take care of the teachers in the academy as well as anyone who might be a threat to you kids, but you have to apprehend every last student in that academy, you can choose to kill, maim or just incapacitate them but you are not allowed to miss anyone, as for us we will deal with the rest of town and clean up."
"According to the looting rules we have in Debauchery You keep what you kill or in this case, you keep what you apprehend, only the vault will be shared by everyone, the rest goes to who ever got his hands on it first. Point of order, the juniors must never step out of the academy unless we take you out ourselves, that is all, we move first thing in the morning. any changes to the plan will be done after the initial scouting or during the mission itself".
Leader ended the meating then and there and sent everyone to sleep. Yunan, Reina, Leol and Lili were given a newly married room with a bed big enough for 10 people. The kids did not take separate locations but strangely huddled together, it was the first time they all shared a bed and the first time everyone stuck so close together. Reina was first to start this huddle, she sandwiched herself between Yunan and Leol pulling both of them closer as though she was starved for warmth.
Lili just stood there for a moment before she threw herself on Yunan's chest with tears streaming down her face. She thought he was the most mature of them, since he acted and thought the most adult-like in the whole of Debauchery, even the adults did not give her that feeling. Lili looked up when she felt Yunan's hand pat her hair, she found tears streaming out of everyone.
It was not fear or rage or hurt that caused them to drop tears but grief, for the first time they felt their humanity under threat. It was the very bad feeling you have when you know you might have to do something that will destroy the precious little thing you kept safe deep inside your heart.
Debauchery juniors also had that feeling, it was like a heavy cloud that darkened their usually happy and peaceful hearts. Killing was another part of Tartarus, that is inevitable, an indisputable truth, but they never thought about doing it themselves, and so when Leader told them to handle those in the academy, it meant they had to kill, even if they chose to not kill anyone, the amount of harm they must do is beyond dislocating joints or swollen faces and it broke their hearts.
They might have grown more callus emotionally thanks to hunting monsters or witnessing torture or Debauchery seniors clean out thousands of people like ants. they were only watching, detached and untouched. But now it was their turn to do all the things they thought they were detached from.
Reina was the first to ask the bitter questions like always. She inquired from Yunan's with a sobbing voice "Will you kill tomorrow?". Yunan hugged the little fox closer to his chest and kissed her forehead " i don't know, it is a battle and i don't plan to die yet, if it comes to it i might end up killing but if i had the choice, i would only disable or knockout, you all need to do the same, we are a party, we stay together and fight together, if killing is a must, i will take care of it."