198 Competition 1 (1/2)
”Then when I leave, the contingent would be set to zero?”
”No. The contingent is independent of you being here or away. Once you have become a member of the sect, even if it is only in-name, then you will be a member until you die and you will always have the things available that you are entitled to according to your rank and position.”
”So they would go to waste when I'm not here?”
”Not really. They just will be used somewhere else.”
”So can't you use them?”
”That wouldn't be a good idea. These things are prepared for the disciples and if they were used by the servants it would be seen as a waste. Eating together and eating the leftovers is fine, but especially preparing stuff for us servants would lead to problems.”
”Oh.”, although Ivan was slightly disappointed, he accepted it as being the standard here. If not, he would have given all these things to her, after all, he couldn't use them.
They continued eating their food before Clara went and did the dishes, while Ivan once again started reading. There was still a lot left for him to read through.
The following days were spent just like that. He continued trying to reduce the amount of Qi he could control, he read through the information he had acquired from the library, and he practiced his pill refining. He would also eat the delicious food Clara made and use the opportunity during the meals to talk with her.
Through these talks, he could collect a lot of knowledge that wasn't contained inside the library information, since it had a different viewpoint. The library information was mostly from the point of a disciple or cultivator. It didn't really look at things from a mortal perspective. After all, everyone who would read them would be a cultivator.
His preferred place for reading was in the comfortable chair in the garden. And after a few days, Clara started to copy him. It seemed like now, that she had become his personal maid, she didn't have as much to do as before anymore. And in order to always be ready to serve him, she had decided to use her free time to either research new dishes or to read entertainment literature.
They leisurely spent their time together, only interrupted by the lessons given by Miss. Klein to Ivan and Serge. Until finally, it was time for the competition to be held.
That morning, Ivan woke up as usual. This was followed by the usual breakfast and then he got ready to leave to meet with Miss. Klein and Serge.
”I don't know when I'll be back, so you don't have to wait for me.”, Ivan told Clara who nodded in response.
MIss. Klein hadn't told him the complete format of the competition but it seemed like it might last a long time, depending on how far he could come.
Miss. Klein had told them to meet at the entrance to the place, so he waited for her there. He had arrived first, but it didn't take long for Serge to arrive as well.
After a casual greeting, the two of them stood in silence beside each other, waiting for their master.
They had to wait until the meeting time had already passed for more than half an hour when finally their master appeared.
”Sorry guys, my master delayed me.”, she apologized, while looking exasperated.
Both of them nodded in understanding. During their stay, this had happened more than once. Their grandmaster seemed to really love their master's companionship and always delayed her from coming to their lessons.
”Alright, let's get going. I have already registered you, Ivan, so later you will automatically enter the competition.”, she told them while starting to walk towards the center of the sect. She then continued on, ”During the competition, you will enter a virtual room, where you have to solve the problems presented to you on a display. There will also be detailed instructions on how it works, so if you don't have to worry about the formal stuff.”