Chapter 37: Bypassing The Rules
Richard had already formed the plan before Celeste finished laughing.
He couldn’t deny what his Divine Instinct was telling him now.
Winston was unprecedented. When his divine instinct had stayed quiet earlier, Richard had dismissed the reports as exaggeration.
Now that the truth had corrected itself, there was no question, this was the kind of talent that appeared once in a generation, if that.
The Valerian family had absorbed talents like this before. Not through blood after all there were other methods.
Adoption into the family was an honor that had been extended to exceptional individuals throughout the Valerians’ history, and it came with resources and protection that neither the Association nor the Lunar Wolves could realistically match.
’He has no family. The invitation alone would be significant.’
Richard’s eyes moved to Freya with the quiet calculation of someone working through logistics.
She had spent three days with Winston in circumstances that forged more genuine familiarity than months of formal introduction could produce.
She would know what mattered to him, what would make the offer land rather than simply impress.
Richard had an edge neither Celeste nor Markus could replicate, and they didn’t even know it existed yet.
He kept the satisfaction internal and began to speak.
However Winston got there first.
"I appreciate both offers." He looked between Celeste and Markus without any particular hurry. "But I can’t make a decision on something like this until after the Crucible. I’d rather give it the consideration it deserves."
The smiles on Celeste and Markus evaporated at the same moment. Richard’s forming expression went with them.
All three demigods looked at the initiate who had just declined to be immediately recruited by any of the three most powerful figures in Key City, and who had done it with the pleasant, unhurried tone of someone turning down an offer for dessert.
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The Crucible was an annual event held after every First Entry cycle.
It served as the formal stage where new initiates demonstrated their strength to the wider class holder world — agencies, guilds, independent contractors, and major families all sent representatives to observe and scout.
For most new class holders, participation in the Crucible was the fastest path to a meaningful affiliation.
The resources, the fame, the connections — all of it flowed from performing well on that stage.
Which was exactly why Markus’s expression had gone flat the moment Winston said it.
A talent who entered the Crucible was a talent the Association had to compete for publicly, on equal footing with every agency present.
The Association’s recruitment advantage had always been early access — catching exceptional holders before they had a platform to be seen by anyone else. Winston had just closed that window deliberately.
’We cannot afford to lose someone like this to an agency.’
The tension between the Association and the independent agencies had been running for decades.
The agencies pulled talent through fame and visible reward. The Association pulled talent through access and structure.
Most young class holders, given the choice between the two, leaned toward whatever made them feel like they mattered to the world.
The Association’s classified operation model consistently lost that particular competition.
Markus understood the appeal. He just considered it shortsighted.
He turned to Winston and kept his voice even.
"Alright. But keep the offer in mind."
Winston bowed. "I will, my lord."
Markus stepped back without further comment.
Celeste moved forward.
"Since you’re entering the Crucible, the recruitment rules prevent me from making any formal approach before then."
She studied him for a moment. "But make sure you pick the Lunar Wolves when it’s done."
Winston said nothing. Celeste didn’t seem to require a response. She turned instead toward the figure who had been standing quietly behind Winston since the conversation began.
Zelda blinked as the guild master’s attention landed on her directly — a demigod had noticed her.
"You as well, I imagine you’re entering the Crucible?"
Zelda bowed quickly.
"Yes, my lord."
Celeste studied her for a moment. Zelda was an outlier too — a Fortunate who had awakened a Sacred class, organized a survival camp that kept ninety-five percent of the gate’s occupants alive, and had done it at eighteen years old with three days of class holder experience.
Under any other circumstances, that would have been the most remarkable story of the First Entry season.
Winston existed in the same conversation. And Winston had defeated a Tier Four guardian.
Zelda understood, without needing it explained, exactly where she stood in terms of the attention in this particular crowd.
She had understood it since they stepped through the gate.
As for Freya she felt her father’s gaze on her and her mind went somewhere it shouldn’t have.
’Is he disappointed?’
She looked at Winston and Zelda standing beside her and the thought built on itself before she could stop it.
Winston had defeated a Tier Four guardian solo. Zelda had organized a survival operation that kept ninety-five percent of the gate’s population alive with three days of class holder experience and no prior preparation.
Freya had fought well. She had contributed. But standing next to what these two had accomplished, her role in the gate felt closer to supporting cast than protagonist.
She clenched her fist slightly and kept her face still.
She was overthinking. She knew that. But knowing it didn’t make it stop.
Richard, for his part, wasn’t thinking about disappointment at all. He had been working through the logistics of a different problem, and Freya had just handed him the solution without realizing it.
He turned to Winston.
"Given that you and my daughter spent three days working together, you’re already familiar with each other’s capabilities. Training together ahead of the Crucible would be mutually beneficial." A brief pause. "You’re welcome to use Valerian facilities."
Winston looked at him and bowed.
"Thank you for the offer. I’d like to accept...but I’d ask that one more person be included."
Richard’s eyes moved to Zelda. He smiled — the first genuine expression he’d produced since the conversation started. "Of course."
Markus and Celeste both went very still.
The Crucible rules were specific.
No agency or organization could approach a participating initiate for formal recruitment purposes during the pre-Crucible period.
It was designed to keep the stage level. Neither of them could use training arrangements as a bridge to Winston without violating the spirit of those rules.
Richard had an excuse they didn’t. His daughter. A pre-existing relationship that gave him legitimate reason for proximity.
It wasn’t recruitment, it was family hospitality extended to his daughter’s associates.
The gap between the three demigods had just opened considerably, and both Celeste and Markus knew it.
