The clerical worker was naturally envious. She too was a noble's daughter, but her family lacked influence, and she had an older sister. The resources left over were only enough to get her a job in the Inspecting Knights Order—at the very least, it was stable.
Even full-fledged knights of the Inspecting Knights Order, even mere apprentices, had exceedingly bright futures.
Even setting aside the children of great nobles, most apprentices truly selected to enter were young, sharp talents from all over. First Energy Level practitioners under eighteen were far from rare.
Simply put, it was like a gifted class... not because geniuses were common, but because too many geniuses from across the country had gathered in the Imperial Capital, making them seem utterly ordinary within the Inspecting Knights Order.
Apprentices, or squad captains who had long failed to see any hope of a breakthrough, often left the Inspecting Knights Order to become minor local lords, or were taken in by great nobles as retainers or personal guards.
Teres had reached the First Energy Level at around eighteen. No matter where he went, he would count as a local genius, valued by the local lord and cultivated as a trusted confidant.
But with such talent, he could not stand out at all in the Inspecting Knights Order... it was far too ordinary. People with talent equal to his but other advantages could not merely be said to be plentiful—they were everywhere.
And he had no backing, either. He could only choose to become an undercover agent, striving through merit and time while drawing on resources from both sides.
He had succeeded, becoming a Second Energy Level practitioner and a squad captain envied by all. But how many had failed? Put another way, someone like Teres, who could withstand the gap