Chapter 238: What Comes Next

Chapter 238: What Comes Next

The holding room started to empty once the instructors began calling groups. One instructor read names from a relay while another waited near the door. As each group stood, they were checked off and led into the corridor. Some trainees went left once they stepped outside, while others followed different instructors to the right.

Noah stayed seated with Daniel, Claire, and Ethan near the middle rows. More seats opened around them as the room slowly cleared.

Daniel watched another group leave before turning toward Noah.

"You were pretty calm when the commander started talking about the First Threshold," he said. "Have you heard about it before?"

"A little," Noah replied. "My father mentioned the next stage of advancement before I came here."

Claire turned toward him. "What did he tell you?"

"He said I’d need Faith Points and comprehension of a Law before I could reach the First Ring."

Daniel frowned. "First Ring? That’s not what the commander called it."

"No. He called it the First Threshold."

Ethan looked at Noah. "Then they might not mean the same thing."

"Maybe," Noah said. "I don’t know enough yet to say for sure. I’ll ask when they explain the next stage."

Claire nodded. "Fair. What about the Law part? Did your father tell you how that works?"

"Not really. He said I needed to comprehend one before advancing, but he didn’t tell me how you actually do that."

Daniel leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Nothing about training for it?"

"No."

"Studying?"

"He didn’t say."

Daniel gave him a look. "That would bother me."

"It bothered me too," Noah said. "But he wasn’t trying to teach me the whole process. He was just telling me what I’d need later."

Claire looked thoughtful. "Did he at least tell you what happens once you comprehend one?"

"He said the Law adds a characteristic to the planet and the species after advancement."

Daniel sat back slightly. "That sounds like something you’d want to understand before choosing anything."

"If we even get to choose," Noah replied. "I don’t know how that part works."

Ethan glanced toward the front. "Then there’s not much point thinking about which Law is best yet. We don’t know what the choices are."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. We’d just be guessing."

Another instructor called six names from the front rows. The trainees stood, gathered their things, and followed him out. Through the open doorway, Noah saw two officers waiting in the corridor. One took four trainees to the left, while the other led the remaining two in the opposite direction.

Claire watched until the door closed again. "They’re splitting people up outside."

"Probably for the evaluations," Ethan said.

Daniel looked toward the front. "So we won’t stay together once they call us."

Claire pulled out her relay and opened a blank note.

Daniel noticed. "What are you writing?"

"The questions we actually need answered."

He gave her a suspicious look. "You think we need a list?"

"I think we’ve already asked Noah three things he can’t answer."

"That doesn’t mean the questions were bad."

"No. It means we should keep track of them instead of circling back to the same thing."

Ethan gave a small smile. "She has a point."

Daniel looked between them. "Fine. Make the list."

Claire looked at Noah. "Start with what you know for sure."

"My father said Faith Points and Law comprehension are part of reaching the First Ring," Noah said. "The commander said the First Threshold comes before species advancement."

Claire typed both down.

Daniel added, "And we don’t know whether the First Ring and First Threshold are the same."

"How much Faith we need," Ethan said.

"How Law comprehension starts," Noah added.

Daniel pointed toward Claire’s relay. "And whether we choose the Law ourselves."

Claire typed each one, then looked at Noah. "Anything else?"

"I want to know what the Law actually changes. My father said it affects the planet and the species, but that could mean a lot of things."

Claire added that too.

Daniel leaned closer to look at the list. "That’s better. At least now we know what we’re missing."

"The Law part still worries me more," Ethan said.

Daniel looked at him. "Same. Faith Points are easy to understand. We don’t know the amount, but at least we know where they come from."

Noah nodded. "With Law comprehension, we don’t even know what the first step is."

"And if it takes years?" Daniel said. "I’d rather find that out now."

Claire looked up from the relay. "That’s probably the first practical question. How do you start, and how do you know if you’re making progress?"

Ethan nodded. "Exactly. If there’s no clear way to measure it, then you could waste a lot of time."

Claire added that to the note.

Daniel looked toward Noah. "Are you going to start saving all your Faith Points now?"

"No. Eldrath still uses them."

"I thought you’d hold everything until you knew the requirement."

"That could hurt more than it helps. I’ll keep a bigger reserve, but I’m not going to stop useful projects because of a number I don’t know yet."

Ethan nodded. "That sounds better. Save more, spend less on things that can wait, but don’t stall the planet."

Daniel thought about it for a moment. "I can probably do the same. There are things I’ve been spending on that aren’t urgent."

Claire typed one more line. "Keep a reserve. Cut unnecessary spending."

Daniel glanced at her. "You really are turning this into a plan."

"We’re sitting here waiting. We might as well leave with something useful."

"That’s fair."

Another section was called from the left side of the room. The trainees stood and followed an instructor out.

Noah watched them go, then looked across the empty seats they left behind.

His thoughts went back to Eldrath.

The goblins had built most of their civilization through their own efforts. Their rulers handled the continents. Scholars and engineers pushed technology forward. Officers trained armies and developed new ways to fight. Noah still influenced major decisions, but Eldrath did not need him for every step.

Species advancement was different.

If Noah had to reach a certain stage first, then there was something the goblins simply could not do until he moved forward.

Claire noticed that he had gone quiet again.

"You’re thinking about Eldrath."

Noah looked at her. "Yeah. I was thinking about how much they can keep doing on their own."

Daniel glanced over. "But not this part."

"That’s the difference. They can keep improving their cities, their technology, their government, everything else. But if species advancement depends on me, then that part waits."

Ethan leaned forward slightly. "So your own advancement stops being just about you."

"Exactly."

Daniel leaned back against the wall. "That’s probably where I’ve been messing up."

Claire looked at him. "How?"

"I keep putting my own advancement behind whatever problem is happening on my planet. There’s always something that feels more urgent."

"Like what?" Ethan asked.

"Food shortages in one region. Local disputes. Production problems. Things I can see and fix right away." Daniel shrugged. "Compared to that, working on myself always felt like something I could do later."

Ethan nodded. "I get that."

"So do I," Noah said. "There’s always something on Eldrath that looks more immediate."

Claire closed the note for a moment. "Then maybe that’s the real change after today. We stop treating our own advancement like it can wait forever."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. I think that’s it."

Another group near the far wall was called. They stood and followed an instructor toward the door.

Daniel watched them leave. "I heard room numbers that time."

Claire nodded. "They’re definitely splitting people into separate evaluations."

Daniel looked toward Ethan. "We should compare what they tell us afterward."

Ethan considered it. "That could be useful. The instructors might focus on different mistakes."

Claire agreed. "Especially since our missions didn’t fail for the same reasons."

Daniel smiled. "Good. One of my ideas finally got approved."

"One," Claire said.

Daniel looked at her. "You really had to add that?"

"Yes."

He shook his head but smiled.

Claire opened the note again. "Before we get called, we should decide which questions matter first when they finally explain the threshold."

Ethan answered first. "First Ring and First Threshold. We need to know if they’re the same thing."

Noah nodded. "Then the actual requirements."

Daniel added, "Then Law comprehension. How you start, how long it usually takes, and how you know you’re getting somewhere."

Claire typed the order. "What about the species advancement choices?"

"Later," Noah said. "There’s no point asking which path is best before we know how to reach the stage that gives us access to it."

Ethan nodded. "One step at a time."

Daniel looked at the note. "That should be enough. If we start asking about every possible species change, we’ll never get through the basics."

Claire saved the file. "I’ll send this to you three after the evaluations."

Daniel nodded. "Good. I’ll probably forget half of it by then."

"I know."

He looked at her. "You could’ve stopped at ’good.’"

Claire smiled and put the relay away.

Noah looked toward the front again. Another group was already moving toward the door. Only three sections remained after they left.

His thoughts shifted to Alaric.

"I’m going to ask my father about his own advancement when I get the chance," Noah said.

Daniel turned toward him. "About his Law?"

"About all of it. How he started understanding it, whether he chose it, and what changed afterward."

Claire nodded. "That would give you something real to compare with what the instructors teach."

"Yeah. But I’m not going to assume his path works the same way for everyone."

Ethan agreed. "It’s one example. Still useful, but not enough to build everything around."

Daniel looked at Noah. "If he tells you anything you can share, send it to us."

"I will."

The group nearest the wall was called next. Their section stood and left.

Claire looked around the room. "Two groups left."

Daniel opened his mouth, then stopped.

Ethan caught it. "You were about to say we’re next again."

"I was, but I’m trying something new."

"What?"

"Keeping quiet."

Claire smiled. "Keep practicing."

Daniel leaned back. "This is harder than it looks."

The smaller group was called a few minutes later. Once they left, Noah’s section was the only one still seated.

Claire glanced toward Daniel. "Now you can say it."

Daniel looked around at the empty rows. "There’s no point. We’re obviously next."

Ethan nodded. "That’s better."

Daniel looked at him. "Was that praise?"

"No. I said it was better."

"That’s close enough."

The others smiled, but the conversation ended there.

Noah looked toward the instructors near the front.

The wait had been useful. They now had a short list of questions, a simple plan for Faith Points, and a better idea of what they needed to pay attention to once the First Threshold lessons began.

For Noah, the biggest change was simpler than any of that.

He could not keep treating his own advancement as something separate from Eldrath.

His attention shifted to the evaluation.

He already knew his independent challenge had failed after he accepted outside support. What he did not know was how the instructors judged the choices he made before and after that decision.

He wanted to know what they thought of his handling of the landing, his response to the Astragoths, the decision to ask for help, and the withdrawal after Darian Vale’s mammoths took over.

Those were things he could use the next time he commanded the goblins in a real battle.

Daniel straightened beside him. "I’m done thinking about the threshold for now. I’d rather hear what they say about the mission."

Claire nodded. "Same. We already know what we need to ask later."

Ethan looked toward the front. "Then the evaluation comes first."

Noah nodded. "That’s what matters right now."

An instructor picked up a relay and walked toward the center aisle. He checked the screen, then looked over the remaining trainees.

"Daniel, Claire, Ethan, Noah, and the rest of Section Four. Gather your things and follow me."

The four stood with the rest of their section. Claire slipped her relay into her pocket, Daniel rolled his shoulders once, and Ethan stepped into the aisle.

Noah joined them as the instructor headed toward the exit.

The questions about the First Threshold could wait. Right now, Noah wanted to hear what the instructors thought about his mission.