[MA] 269. Engaged (Patreon)

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[Chapters this week: 2/3

Delayed chapters: 2 

Next release: Tomorrow (Friday) ]

The Queen of Spring and Autumn's most pitiful son never asked her for anything despite her repeated attempts to get closer to him. Luthdel was one of the very few of her children who learned of their ancestry before B-rank, yet he resented it. She still recalled his refusal to accept his heritage. He had said that he owed it to all first-class talents before him, all of which were irrelevant people, to not live longer than them—not unless it was on his own power.

So it was with great surprise that another of his children, Tathdel, reported that Luthdel had asked something of him in the First-Class Talent Summit. She agreed to help at once, and she was glad she did.

Saelihn Herfiel had pierced space in the multiverse to Baptize someone. It was an old ritual from before the system she had discovered and used on all her C-rank children to prove their mettle. Well, almost all of them; she didn't think Luthdel would survive. Without a strong heart and a solid will, one's mind would simply shatter when faced with the reality of their innermost self. The little drow had gotten close to dying, but he survived, as Tathdel had assured her he would.

The Queen couldn't see perfectly that far, even with her Realization inside Luthdel. She was currently undergoing Winter, and while it gave her excellent combat power, it decreased some of her more supportive abilities.

Yet, she had seen well enough to identify the Human Rising Star.

Tathdel, her B-rank son, didn't know about her interest in the human boy, but he should've reported the drow was human anyway. She would have to talk to Tathdel about it later—currently, bypassing the Summit's anti-communication protections consumed too much energy to be worth a reminder. She couldn't spare extra power while on the front. If he had reported it, she would never accept touching such an important drow.

The dark elves claimed to protect their own equally, but she knew the truth. Some were more equal than others. For instance, Saelihn had never plotted against the previous Maiden despite the high elves being superior to the drow in every conceivable way. The risks weren't worth the potential gains.

Likewise, they seemed to be investing heavily in the human. Less than they had on the previous Maiden when she was C-rank, but more than they would a random elite. The Queen hadn't figured out if it was because of the forbidden love between the previous Maiden and the boy or because the Triarchy could see something in him that she couldn't.

Yet, when the time came for the Baptism, and she figured out the human identity, she went on with it. She chose her child over the risks of touching that important drow. Luthdel would die soon enough, as all first-class talents did. He deserved a moment of glory: using an A-rank to help his most recent plaything.

The Queen would never have guessed that one day, there would be a love triangle between Luthdel, the previous Drow Maiden, and a random boy from a new race. Yet, she knew better than believe Tathdel's report that the human had legitimately befriended Luthdel. No one could withstand Luthdel without hidden intentions. No one. Not even her. But for all of her stupid child's naivety, Luthdel could see through hidden intentions well enough. Surprisingly, he only got interested in people with pure hearts—well, pure enough. And he always got interested in them romantically.

Luthdel didn't have friends. Tathdel had displayed incompetence in his lacking report and in misinterpreting Luthdel's interest. She would have to get Luthdel a new mentor.

As for the human... Well, his Self was intriguing. Omnipotence, was it? And as her Baptiser, she had also seen deep into him and knew how to gain the most out of this gift.

She wouldn't scheme against him at all. Never. She might end up at a loss—the Baptism of Self cost her more than a C-rank could imagine, and she had paid an even lofter sum to do it over such distance. Yet, the gains if she let him come and thank her on his own accord would be much more significant.

She had barely felt his suspicions after the Baptism, but she also knew the best way to prove her good intentions was not to do anything about it. He would seek the truth and figure it out eventually. She was glad the truth was so convenient; indeed, she only cared about helping her son when she Baptized the human.

And if the human was A-rank when he decided to pursue it and repay her... Oh, there was so much to gain there! Especially if he understood how much she had paid—which she would never tell him unless asked. It would look better that way.

To give her a chance and such wonderful rewards... Luthdel was really her dearest son. It was a shame he was so annoying and would live so little.

The Queen's line of thought broke when she felt her aide approaching her room. The Void should've done something again. And right when Alufar Sint had left to heed High Command's summons, too. Without an S-rank present, it would fall to her to protect some strategically important position or something.

She sighed.

The human had no idea how tiring being powerful could be!

= - = - =

Shen's head and chest regenerated while he lay on the ground. He was still alive and conscious but couldn't move well without both vital organs. It was like swimming uphill. It was still an advantage over Liya, who had required at least one intact vital organ—brain or heart—to survive at C-rank. It was also still annoying.

"That's it," Liya said. "You need opponents at your level to improve further. Or getting insights into your Path, I suppose. We have half an hour remaining. Are you feeling well enough to talk, or would you rather keep fighting?"

Shen used Gentle Breeze to whisper, "Talk. In a moment. Difficult now."

Liya shrugged. "Talking like this is good practice, too."

The cultivator guessed she had a point. He used Gentle Breeze to whisper again. "Three questions. One, second-class talents."

"What about them?"

"Missing. You said they could use favor to buy..." he had to pause after such a long sentence. "...entry into First-Class Summit."

"Ah, that. They should be able to, but this time, Dusk Horizon removed that option. My best guess is that he wanted as few people interacting with Discontinuity as possible to prevent exactly what happened."

Shen used Conductivity and his aura to produce a face made of Lightning. The Law wasn't the best for that, but he had enough control to manage it with some difficulty. Then, he nodded with that face and made its mouth move while using Gentle Breeze to reply, "Makes sense. How is the S-rank meeting going?"

"Poorly. I can't say anymore. I shouldn't know about it either."

Shen nodded again. "Second question. Admin. Can we talk about her?"

"Ah. You're probably wondering why I mentioned that she cut through my mind's defenses in a way that resembled my talk with the Void."

"Yes."

"I talked to Propriety about it—and that's about everything I call tell you. It involves some secrets. Suffice to say, there's a reasonable explanation for that. I don't suspect her of anything treasonous."

"Alright. Last question. Luthdel's Path was a mess. How is Path potential determined?"

Liya smiled. "That boy is a mess. But a mess with friends in high places. I suggest never betraying him."

"I don't betray people," Shen said, feeling offended.

"I know, and I suggest you don't change. As for your question... To understand a Path's potential, you need to understand what a Path is. It's easier to explain after your Baptism of Self. Everyone is Will, Space, and Time. Your Self is that Will, the most basic part of your existence, your origin, the thing that drives you forward. As far as anyone can tell, that initial spark of Will is the closest thing to a spark of creation. The moment it appears, you can exist.

"When I say you are Time, I mean you exist in continuity beyond your present self. A Path connects your past to your future according to your Will. How far you need to go to accomplish your Will affects how powerful you need to be. While having more Concepts or Laws in your Path doesn't make you stronger, you can think of it as having a sturdier road to walk further, hence the name potential. Think of how mana needs a certain amount of Laws to support it at B-rank. It's similar to that.

"You have seven Laws in your Path. That means your ultimate goal, the one that you were born of, your driving Will, isn't easy to accomplish. That's your Path potential.

"But as I said, more Laws don't mean more power. It means versatility, which has some uses in all areas of life, including combat—but only if you know what to do with it. You can lose to someone with a single Law in their Path, just like you could lose to someone with, say, fifteen. As you know, someone with two swords won't always triumph over someone with one. It's not the amount of tools you have that matters but how well you use them. And their strength, of course. Anyone with a single mastered Law should have an easy way defeating you unless they are as useless as Luthdel was."

Shen made his Lightning face frown in thought. "So, the more Laws someone... has, the greater their innermost ambition?"

"You could see it like that. Also, I'm not sure I could've Realized my Path without a True Path. As you know, you can only walk a True Path if you pull as many Laws into your Path as you can. Yet, I never heard anything about it. I suppose it's a secret to keep weaker races weak, though clearly not as important as mastering all Laws to reach B-rank. Either way, fulfilling your Path potential is of some importance. How important it is, I don't know."

Shen thought deeply about that. So, one's Path potential was determined the moment one started existing. "But how about the specific... Concepts and Laws in a Path? Are they predetermined?"

Liya shook her head. "No. I don't know about you, with your Idealized Path, but even B-ranks without a Realization can destroy their Path, start over, take different Concepts and Laws into their Path, and reach B-rank again. It has been done—and with a different number of Laws, at that. Path potential has nothing to do with identity. It's about your goal and the road you build to reach it. And how that road is you and changes you."

Shen opened his Lightning mouth to say something else when he suddenly knew something new.

'Propriety says we don't have time. He came to give me my reward for tying in fifth in the second demonstration. I should receive a B-rank token, but because I helped someone else, he has made it B+ instead.'

| Item received: System Store Token — Any Item (B+)

'Now, he says Liya must come with him. They have little time to plan. He also says I should not go to Samir-33 because the Queen of Spring and Autumn is there, and we should not see each other yet. My Self is still vulnerable to my Baptiser.'

Shen had no time to answer. He was completely healed in an instant, and Liya disappeared the next.

He looked around, confused. That had been too abrupt. Something big should be about to happen.

Shen looked at himself. He was human, with perfectly defined muscles that made him look like a beginner bodybuilder, all fulfilling a purpose. He looked and felt powerful. The C+ spear was still on him, and he removed the C- drow armor from his ring. It was the best he had, and he put it on.

He looked at the horizon and readied himself for whatever was coming. He felt as ready as he could be to pursue his ultimate goal in life. Shen didn't even wonder if pursuing power for the sake of power was morally correct, as he had done before; that was him, and he accepted himself. He would make it work without ethical issues because he would be omnipotent, and thus, that would be within his power.

Power corrupts, but ultimate power can break free from all its limitations, too.

As expected, less than a Standard minute later, something big happened in the form of red notifications.

| The End of All Things (S) has declared war on the Dusk Horizon and the Rainbow Tornado (S)

By context, he guessed those were two titled S-ranks.

| The Union of the Ancients (S) has declared war on the Endless Freedom Association (S), the Lovebound Spirit Group (A), the Azure Malediction (A), and all associate B-tier organizations and lower

| The Union of the Ancients (S) has asked the Primordial Bridge (S) for help

| The Primordial Bridge (S) has joined the Union of the Ancients (S)

Those sounded like organizations, not individuals. And it sounded like, as Alicia would say, shit was hitting the fan. Hard.

And then, he got a last red notification.

| Calamity Protocols Engaged

[A/N: And this is the abrupt ending for the Summit Arc! I feel like there was enough foreshadowing that Discontinuity's meddling was making people upset. This arc took longer than expected and went slightly differently from planned, but we're finally ready to move on.]

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