Darius spent the rest of the day in the library instead of heading out again. He changed his mind not because of Portia, but because of the wealth of knowledge Shanks possessed in the form of books.

In truth, Darius had been clumsy. He had assumed that since Shanks was a soldier, he would be a meathead with little education or interest in knowledge, but he was wrong to have stereotyped the man.

He had everything, from geography to history, modern literature, sociology, mathematics, and even some books on magical theory and combat theory!

Darius had surprisingly chosen to pick up the books on history first, rather than magical theory. He then spent the rest of the day parsing through them quickly with Portia watching on with shock.

When Darius explained that he had an eidetic memory and could memorize it on a single glance, she gazed at him with respect and envy. Darius was just the perfect scholar and mage type!

Darius was excited the more he read. So much of the information he slowly acquired filled up the holes in the small Infoblock he received about the Andrato Kingdom and its history.

All he had known was that it had existed for about 300 years and had about 5 rulers, but he finally discovered how and why it was formed, as well as what recognition it received to be called a state.

Now, he discovered that the Andrato Kingdom was a subsidiary state of a larger and more powerful kingdom called Fraterina. It was a kingdom that was matriarchal in nature due to the founding mother being an ex-valkyrie.

It had existed for more than 5,000 years, after a divine war between the various churches and demonic factions. Darius was intrigued by this tidbit, but it was not storied in the history book since it wasn't the direct reason for the formulation of the Andrato Kingdom.

However, it confirmed a few things for Darius. There were deities in this world and they, unlike on Earth, made themselves known. This was something he had suspected to exist after hearing Caesar speak of Dragons and whatnot, so he wasn't too jilted.

It did make Darius wonder though, how did the 'Supreme' stage fit in all this? Was it a level above deities? One step below them? Or an intermediary?

According to Caesar, the highest stage currently achievable was Grandmaster. Since this was between level 80 to 100, could the world have mistaken Grandmasters for deities since they were the highest point of power?

After all, if Darius reached level 80, his stats and skill would be a whole different level from right now. It was likely he would be able to fly, crush mountains with a punch, and call thunderstorms to destroy an entire city.

What else could that be but a God to the weak? Especially to the lesser educated masses of Faust who were still in the heavy religious/superstitious phase which earth had long shed away.

Then again, these were speculations. He would have to endeavor to learn more about the deities and the churches, and thankfully he had Portia for that. However, Darius didn't want to go on a tangent just yet.

By the time it was 9 pm, he had already discovered that the first queen of Andrato Kingdom had been only of the princesses of Fraterina Kingdom sent here to subdue the Plains of Death as punishment.

It was a form of exile for a sin she had committed… which was trying to advocate for more rights for men.

When Darius read this, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. It seemed Fraterina was a spitting example of a sexist state, where the dominant sex - male or female - treated the other as a subordinate sex.

If there was a Fraterina, there would definitely be a Fraterino, where the opposite dynamic existed.

However, ever since the first founder, named Julietta, settled down with her allies to form the Andrato Kingdom, the power balance between both sexes had been neutralized.

Darius saw a note from either Shanks or Portia that stated: "The Royal Court is still split into two; those who want to adopt the traditions of the mother kingdom then return to her fold and those who want to adhere to the wishes of the founder."

Darius rubbed his face with frustration. So before he had even entered the noble circles, he had already been hamfisted into a faction, which was obviously the one that supported the founder.

Supporting the other one would be shooting himself in the foot unless he could find a way to change his gender, which, even if it was possible, he had no interest in doing.

After reading this far, he was a bit tired and decided to go to bed. Portia escorted him to his room, once again hoping for something more, only for Darius to bid her goodnight.

As such, the young lass could only slink away with her head lowered and her expression downcast.

Darius plopped into bed and sorted all the knowledge he had acquired today. The one thing he was most interested in now wasn't even the divine war from the ages past that led to the formation of Fraterina, but the Plains of Death.

Exactly what secrets did that place hold that made it imperative for the Fraterina Kingdom to send one of their princesses here? Was it a figurative or literal goldmine? A growing threat?

Perhaps a mix of both? Darius would have to research more on it either through books or when he got to a larger place of civilization.

Whatever the case, he found his eyes drooping the more he thought. Today, he had battled a Blue Troll and come out on top, climbing a whopping 8 levels in one go.

The power boost it had given him was not a joke, but it had also tired him out and made him feel strange in his empowered body. Darius's last thoughts before he fell asleep were of the Conversion Points he would be receiving tomorrow and how to best allocate them.

After all, tomorrow was the day he would have to choose a new spell to add to his repertoire.