Before they moved on onto the topic of imbalance, Keynes had had to acknowledge again that Kora’s insight could be incorrect. He suspected that there must be a story behind the odd insistence. But these thoughts barely skimmed the surface of his mind. He was still excited by the revelation regarding the attributes. Only now he began wondering about the relation between the attributes, techniques and training.

How long did the adjustment take? When did precision stop being relevant?

He forced his mind to shut up and with heightened Will, it did so with startling ease. His Will, indeed, felt powerful. In itself it wasn’t an issue but without finer control it appeared like playing a football with a cannon ball. It would score a goal but at what cost?

Kora’s words pulled him out of his mind.

“I only know about the imbalance because of equipment we received in the first week of our training. It boosted our Strength and Dexterity by twelve points each. Other attributes remained untouched. Once we started fighting, our bodies took damage from our movement alone. I realised that Vitality was too low to counterbalance tremendous pressure caused by increased Strength and Dexterity. The damage from the lack of Vitality wasn’t the worst though. Each time we tried to utilise the full extent of our Strength and Dexterity, our low Perception became a liability and we not only damaged ourselves more but our coordination dropped dramatically. Once it was all over, we’d get headaches, which I think was the consequence of an overloaded Mind attribute. I don’t know how it affected our Will attribute though.”

This was more than Keynes had expected. He hadn’t experienced anything like this even though had been boosting his attributes with two shortswords. Why?

You cannot compare yourself to her. You are a Perfect State ascender, master. It alone provides a protective buffer that keeps the pesky imbalance at bay. But there is more. Strength of your Spirit is also taken into account as much as the general ratio of attributes. Your body can also get accustomed to this sort of imbalance overtime.

Alice’s unprompted insight was shocking but welcome. Nonetheless, one thing didn’t add up here. If the consequences of imbalance could be so severe then what about people with only one or two maxed out attributes? Over time the imbalance would widen. He didn’t know the numbers as it’d have to be calculated but the compounding increase meant drastic growth at higher Levels. What did it mean? Did these ascenders cripple themselves?

Pretty much, Alice replied matter-of-factly.

Why… didn’t you warn me? I could…

I am sorry, master, she said as Keynes trailed off. The System would not allow me to warn others.

What has changed? Keynes asked.

You have figured it out.

It didn’t feel like it but he didn’t continue the conversation as Kora stared at him with a worried expression.

“You okay?”

He was about to nod but stopped himself. Was he alright? Things he just learned were revolutionary; precision, imbalance. What else did the System hide in plain sight?

“I’m not sure,” he replied.

“You’re worried about your maxed out Perception?”

“Not that.” He shook his head, feeling Alice’s attention through the bond. Fair enough. “I’m a Perfect State ascender. All my attributes have been maxed out.”

He saw her frown but due to his spiritual equilibrium he couldn’t read her aura. She must be doing calculations in her head.

“The only way to achieve thirty-five points per attribute at Level 4 is to max them out at each Level.”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

“I… can’t say I know much about maxing out attributes. Natalia said I shouldn’t bother myself with it and focus on training and planning. So what is this Perfect State?”

Keynes’s body shivered as a sudden fear cut through it. He wasn’t comfortable sharing his personal information with others. Only Vivena had known the full extent of his power but things changed since they’d parted their ways.

The founders knew a lot but no details and the devil was in the details. His previous talk with Kora had painted her as someone who was obsessed with knowledge and loved to break things apart to learn about their inner workings. With her inquisitive attitude he would have a hard time keeping his secrets away from her. And so he was back to the same issue he’d discussed with Esopp: trust.

Without it, Keynes was alone; and though he didn’t mind the loneliness, he understood that it wasn’t the way to go forward. I’ve decided to change things around. This is why I’ve hired a personal assistant and invited Kora to this rift. I have to start trusting others, he reminded himself. He still didn’t decide what to do about her. He didn’t even know what her Talent was.

Despite doubts he roughly explained what Perfect State was. Kora wasn’t as inquisitive as he’d expected her to be, at least, until she asked about the link between the Perfect State and Spirit. Though her questions were off the mark they were well thought and had Keynes thinking.

What did a level-up look like for a normal ascender? Another thought that hadn’t crossed his mind until she asked him about it. From what she revealed, there wasn’t much beyond improved spiritual aura. It was somewhat disappointing…

Oh my, master, Perfect State ascenders are… she trailed off and Keynes that would all she had to say on the topic but then he felt a surge of spiritual energy and she continued although sounding rough and exhausted. Perfect State ascenders are a big deal. You may not feel it yet but maxing out attributes and levelling up will become vastly harder with each degree. It is a steep curve that lays ahead. There was a reason why Perfect State ascenders were revered…

This time her voice faded away and didn’t return. Through their bond, he sensed her presence become muted and distant; the System intervened. The fragment about the ascenders like himself being revered had been too much information, he guessed.

His conversation with Kora oscillated around maxing out attributes, advancing spiritual stages and training. They agreed that having all three things at the same time was nearly impossible. But they both believed that getting stronger was a priority for the company, though they came up from different places.

Keynes’s view had more to do with his traumatic past. He didn’t want to be imprisoned by another Windsor Freeman and experimented on. He was aware of Talents, at least in history, that could copy or steal a Talent of others. He didn’t know if such a Talent existed at that moment but his worries were ever present at the periphery of his mind. He had to become the strongest person in the world to feel safe.

Kora also saw things through the prism of her past; she and Natalia came from the Kingdom that lay between two superpowers - Russia and European Alliance. Even after founding the World Government, these two forces had sought to dismantle the Kingdom’s influence and its strategic position. Kora had learned the hard lesson and had experienced the world where the weak were eaten by predators. She didn’t want to be weak.

But that wasn't all. She also looked to the future. She wished for the company to grow, not for her sake but for the sake of others. She and Natalia felt happy when they helped others level up. An image of grumpy Natalia looking happy was a difficult to swallow pill.

“It isn’t that. Natalia is misunderstood,” Kora defended her. “And she’s also a little obsessed with order.”

“Why?” Keynes asked even though he didn’t mean to pry into Natalia’s personal stuff. It just came out of him and he was too late to take his words back.

“Because this is how our parents died. People who were responsible didn’t stick to the safety regulations and plans and there were consequences.”

“Your parents? You mean she’s your sister?”

“That’s what you’re taking out of this?” she asked, a bit amused. Keynes immediately realised his misstep and apologised but Kora didn’t mind it. She had come to terms with their deaths, Natalia was the one who hadn’t.

***

Jedd was rarely nervous and when he was he never showed it. His jobs demanded absolute professionalism and he’d always delivered what was expected of him. He understood the hiring practices of the top corporations and even though he didn’t like dealing with long chains of proxies, it was necessary. Talent’s uniqueness made some individuals extremely desired and companies went to crazy heights to acquire them.

It wasn’t something the public was aware of but the hiring business was one of the most ruthless practices in the world. It still sucked travelling from one random location to another until green light was given and Jedd was taken on an advanced technological aircraft.

For the first time in his life, he watched a plane go invisible. Whoever had access to this kind of magic and technology was clearly running one of top ten companies in the solar system. The plane wasn’t his first cue though, terms of his contract were. He’d been given a salary that would allow him to retire after a year of work. It wasn’t yet outrageous but nothing prepared him for the additional benefits he received after he’d signed the contract.

A Level 3 spell of his choice, rift items, being levelled up to at least Level 5.

Now these things stepped firmly beyond what most companies could afford let alone offer to a personal assistant. He’d re-read his contract over a dozen times trying to find the catch.

There was none.

What kind of organisation could throw this much wealth on a personal assistant? The hiring company hadn’t even negotiated, they just handed him the contract and asked if he wanted more. Who did such things?

It was frustrating to not know. His contract didn’t have the name of his new employer and no one was willing to tell him anything. The hiring company had told him to not worry and that everything would be explained to him by his employer.

And so he was currently on a ship heading towards an unnamed island. He’d stopped asking others about the name of the destination and enjoyed the trip. There would be time for hard work very soon.

***

Eventually, the ship docked in a small port. Jedd’s relaxed attitude vanished without trace as he expected his new employer to show up here. He stepped onto the pier with several other people he hadn’t seen during his trip. There were over twenty people.

They were told to go to the white building and wait. Jedd could see frustration and anger on some faces but no one argued. They did as they’d been told and found themselves in a room with a man seemingly being in charge of this whole thing.

“Welcome,” he said. “And let me apologise for the heightened degree of secrecy but it is necessary. I’m sure you have plenty of questions and rest assured, they are going to be answered.”

The next fifteen minutes went on about the rules they had to follow. Still not a single mention of the organisation that hired them. For a while, Jedd had expected Artefact Exchange as they were considered one of the richest companies in the world, but with the arrival at the island Jedd discarded the idea. Jedd had some vague understanding of Artefact Exchange’s operations and this seemed out of their scope.

His thoughts crossed the World Government but their hiring practices didn’t involve proxies. The only other company rich enough to throw more wealth than a CEO of the top 500 companies earned was Untainted Paradise. Jedd had obviously studied Untainted Paradise as part of his job but things made no sense when it came to this company. They had a monopoly in potions and magical plants markets, and had close ties to the rebel army. That was it. No other declared source of income.

“Mr Eldin.” A man entered the room and beckoned Jedd to follow him out. Others watched Jedd with annoyed stares but no one complained after the man in charge unfolded his spiritual aura that had almost knocked Jedd out. “The person who hired you is waiting.”