With every step, Keynes grew warier of his surroundings. At the face value, everything he’d seen so far in the palace looked perfectly ordinary.

And that wasn’t normal.

The Capital was supposed to have more rifts than the First Tribe but where were all their rift materials? Why almost everyone they passed by was Level 1? The guards were an exception, though they were only Level 2 at best.

It wasn’t all that itched Keynes. The vines were present in every corridor and room. After a silent debate with Alice—she also found them suspicious and in her opinion, they were likely to be a product of a Talent, like the First Tribe’s grove—Keynes decided to absorb an [Inspect Plant] skill. His control over his spiritual aura was still sketchy and an attempt at investigating the vines would likely alert the servant and guards who escorted them to the royal feast.

New Skill acquired!

Inspect Plant (active)

Inspect Plant (active)

Gain knowledge about a plant. The depth of knowledge depends on the mastery of the skill, the Level of the inspected plant and the inspecting ascender, and other factors.

Cooldown: None. Mana cost: 5.

The skill was very light on the Spirit which convinced Keynes to absorb other inspect skills later on. He immediately inspected the vines.

King’s Vine (-)

-

[Plant]

Level 3

Do you see this, Alice? Keynes asked. The plant was Level 3! It seemed to have no properties but as [Inspect Plant]’s description said, the depth of knowledge was dependent on many factors.

I do, master, and I stand by my earlier suggestion. The vine appears to be a product of a Talent.

Any clue if the vines can have a hidden property? Keynes inquired.

Alice’s spiritual presence faded for a fraction of a second then she replied.

I cannot be certain as Talent-grade creations are not subject to the same laws as spells but I would say it is likely the vine possesses hidden properties.

Keynes thanked her for the insight. The whole discussion about Talent-grade stuff was something he’d need to get back to as it spurred many questions, especially the comment about the laws. Obviously, Alice as a spiritual companion was bound by the System’s restrictions on what and how much knowledge she was able to share with him but with the Rapid Learning buff, Keynes had a better chance of discovering something important like the fact that he’d brought Vivena into a dangerous situation.

If the vines were indeed a product of a Talent then the name of the vines gave him a clue as to whose Talent it was.

The King’s Talent.

This, coupled with everything he’d learned about the Capital so far, painted a dire picture. Yes, Keynes was walking into a trap or he already was inside a trap and he didn’t just know it yet. Either way, if something happened to Vivena, it would be on him. He was stubborn about coming here against all odds. As Haruka pointed out, there were many different places to hunt monsters.

It doesn’t matter. I’m here for a reason. But there must be something to convince Vivena to leave… no, she won’t do it. Hmm.

There was something he could do to mitigate the risk though. Keynes’s hand brushed Vivena’s hand and she squinted at him. Then he placed [Flight] in her hand. Her eyes widened and Keynes gently shook his head. He didn’t want others to know that she had this. It’d be her trump card. Haruka, and likely others, knew about Vivena’s Talent but [Flight] was something they couldn’t expect from her.

Keynes didn’t try to look at her after that, keeping his eye fixed on what was ahead.

***

After twenty minutes, they approached the largest double doors Keynes had seen. The double doors were easily ten metres tall and made out of yellow and white gold. Like everything else they were non-rift.

To his disappointment, the servant didn’t use them and instead opened a small side door.

“The large door is only for special occasions,” Hawthrone explained.

“Like?” Keynes asked.

Before Hawthorne managed to answer, the guide servant turned around and asked, “Are you aware of the royal code of conduct?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Hawthorne and Vivena glanced at Keynes who shrugged. How was he supposed to know something like this? If Keynes had his way, he wouldn’t even be here.

The servant’s eyes fixed on Hawthorne. Neither man was in the Elevated stage so spiritual communication was out of the question. It was some other non-verbal way of exchanging meaning.

“I am going to warn the King and the Queen about your arrival. Use this time to explain to this young man the most important rules. Now, wait here until I return to fetch you.”

***

The King dismissed his first servant and Afran went back to bring the outsiders in. Leaving them alone with Bonolo’s first servant was a ruse to create a ‘safe space’ and observe the two outsiders before they entered the feast.

Getting a better feel of what Khan was dealing with was always his first step. Him learning about a Perfect State ascender inside the Capital after the ascender’s arrival, warranted a death sentence for the offender. Luckily for Bonolo, Khan decided to postpone his judgement.

Khan hated situations like this when he had to balance the perception of his authority and the important assets as the outsider boy. Knowing that neither outsider would follow through with the proper royal code of conduct irked Khan but for a moment Khan couldn’t order the arrest for them as it would throw Bonolo’s plan off the rail.

The Chamber of Feasts was designed with perception in mind though. Multilayered floors, with many thick pillars and adjacent open rooms were there to silently tell what was on a king’s mind or simply to avoid situations where a king would have to choose between being humbled or ordering a punishment.

Only one-third of the chamber was occupied, most of Khan’s court was his family, Khan’s children and their spouses, and Khan’s grandchildren. Over the years, their number swelled to over a hundred members. Some of the less important and more distant relatives, Khan’s cousins and their children were seated farther away, mostly to facilitate the situation like this.

Afran and Bonolo’s first servant entered the chamber and were escorted to one of the tables that didn’t have eye contact with the king’s spot. Everyone in the chamber understood what happened although not why. What Bonolo and Venarys had told him was a secret.

While the tribes were docile and easily managed, the royal family was a different beast. One that Khan had to cultivate carefully which sometimes required trimming toxic offshoots. Killing members of a family was never pleasant but being a ruler wasn’t about pleasure. It was a duty, hard and cold.

“You look thoughtful,” his wife said.

The feast was in full swing, servants moved like spectres between tables, fulfilling the wishes of the gathered royals, wild conversations erupted and died, and yet, there were eyes on him. His wife couldn’t choose a worse moment to utter a comment like this.

Bonolo be damned with his plan. Khan growled in his mind.

“It’s nothing,” Khan replied softly with a smile that never reached his eyes. Afran appeared by his side the next moment. Outwardly, the King’s first servant looked no different than normal and yet his body language was subtly conveying a message that only Khan understood.

The outsiders posed the highest threat level to the Capital.

***

Webster sighed, closing his notebook. His research on formations frustrated him. The subject couldn’t feel so remote and difficult and yet within his grasp. The knowledge brought from the rifts was insane but only a trickle got into the Web and part of that was fake, requiring Webster to separate the wheat from the chaff. It was time-consuming and the Saels grew irritated by the absence of results.

But aren’t these perfectly valid and important results? Webster thought to himself as looked at the closed notebook. Maybe the source of frustration wasn’t the formations but the Saels and their inability to see the importance of his work? Yes, that sounds about right.

It hadn’t been that bad when Sirian worked alongside Webster as the other man had an inquisitive mind and saw further than the rest of his family. But Sirian was gone, left to grieve the death of his son.

Webster remembered the heartbreaking moment quite vividly. It struck Webster to see how defeated the Level 5 looked when he learned that his son had been killed in Scotland. It wasn’t that Webster expected Sirian to shrug off the death of his son but Mind attribute granted mental resilience and it looked like Sirian had none at that moment.

The door sharply opened and red-haired Lorelai walked in. She no longer wore green, switching to black. Her face was one of cold indifference and yet it wasn’t her usual expression which had been a mix of arrogance and pride.

It was a warning sign for Webster to tread carefully, there were still three levels of difference between them, enough for her to kill Webster with ease.

“You wanted to see me,” she said, stone cold. “I hope it isn’t another of your expensive requests.”

“Yes, Mrs Sael, no, I mean, it isn’t an expensive request. It’s something else. My research has reached the point where it cannot move further without…” Webster trailed off, seeing the woman’s unchanged expression. His plan suddenly didn’t sound smart.

“What is it?” she asked flatly. “What do you need?”

“Keynes Kid.”

Finally, her mask cracked, although a short laugh wasn’t something Webster was keen to hear in response to his words.

“Why do you need Keynes Kid?”

Webster grimaced.

“The formations, Mrs Sael, have baffling complexity. Before the first outbreak, my understanding of the formations was very simple. You activated them and they worked perpetually or until you turned them off. Obviously, most of the formations I had—"

“To the point, Frog. I don’t mind science, but I don’t have time for this.”

“My apologies, Mrs Sael. What I wanted to say is that I have learned a few important facts about the formations since the outbreak. Technically, formations are single-function magical constructs that don’t require fuel to work but they are expensive to activate and without a schematic, creating a formation is nearly impossible.”

“Mr Frog, you aren’t telling me anything new. All of these are long-established facts. Is that what we are paying you for?”

Webster raised his hands.

“Please, allow me to continue, Mrs Sael.”

She nodded reluctantly.

“The recent discoveries brought to light new types of formations. Some have a subset of variables that can be modified. A heating formation which allows to adjust temperature…” He once again trailed off, seeing impatience on Lorelai Sael’s face. He needed to cut to the chase. “What you desire seems impossible.”

“Why is that and what Keynes Kid has anything to do with this?”

When I try to explain it you are getting impatient, woman! Webster thought frustrated.

“Your formation that affects the affinity of a not-yet developed Talent cannot be changed because it would be like asking a rock to behave like water. All the new evidence points in that direction. It cannot be done. To make a formation that affects the potency of a Talent, you would need a completely new schematic.”

“And where is Keynes Kid’s role in this?”

“As we established, the formation you had used on him couldn’t have affected him in any way as it always affected a Talent affinity in favour of poison. However, in his case, something else occurred.

“An error in the formation. This skewed the purpose of the formation and though it wasn’t what you’d desired it shows us an untapped potential of errors in the System.” Webster quieted down for a second then resumed. “Unfortunately, I do not have the tools to force a formation to make an error but Keynes Kid has. I believe his affinity is Error. All we need is to replicate an error in a formation. From there I should be able to force a formation to go beyond its stated purpose.”

Lorelai Sael blinked.

“And is Keynes Kid all that you need?”

“Yes!” Webster replied enthusiastically, not sensing sarcasm in her voice.

“My father-in-law, one of the most powerful people in the world, cannot secure a meeting with this boy for weeks and you expect me to go and bring the boy here?” She half turned away from Webster. He sagged hearing her words but she wasn’t finished. “It’s rather unlikely but I may give it a shot. After all, you did the ceremony for him.”