Taeral Miavalur's superiors had estimated what the Hopeless Wanderer hoped to achieve with the lockdown he had been denied, and the most likely reason was to hunt for fugitives while using the ensuing chaos to detect hidden players and later deal with them. Likewise, he was likely to use his Exemplary Brigade to make things even more chaotic and force the secret forces to move.

Though Taeral hadn't been originally deployed to Samir to spy on First Lieutenant Shen, he had been told to analyze him if he got the chance and didn't interfere with his primary mission. Accepting the standing offer to switch Brigades for money and fight for the Resistance was done swiftly. No one should suspect anything, least of all a newcomer like Shen.

Taeral was glad he had come to look at the soon-to-be newest SpecOps Vindicator.

‎ ‎

| Shen (C) — First Lieutenant — 7th Exemplary Brigade Commander

| Raising Star

| Race: Human (Earth) | Drow

| Clearances: Leadership 2, Elite Combat 3 (UNK), Advanced Anti-Void Tactics 2 (UNK), Domain Secrets 2 (UNK)

| Temporary Clearances: Leadership 3 (partial)

| Active Clearance Proposals: BLOCKED BY SPECOPS CANDIDACY

| Dropped Clearance Proposals: [INSUFICIENT AUTHORITY]

| Commendations: 247 (23)

| Demerits: 12 (0)

| Current Deployment Location: Samir

| - - -

| HP: 6,000/6,000 | Stamina: 2,998 / 3,000 | Qi: 99%

| Strength C- | Agility C- | Resistance C-

| Laws: 7 | Mastered: 0

| Domain: Related to Denial

| Combat Ability: C 7- (8-)

‎ ‎

The Calamity had made it easier for strong Guardians to rake up Commendations, but the human was still a work of art. So much so that he had only been informed of 23 of his 247 Commendations and didn't know the true level of the clearances he had received before he attracted SpecOps interest in Elite Combat Training, thus blocking him from more. His ignorance would ensure he didn't become too arrogant.

Elite Combat 3, Advanced Anti-Void Tactics 2, and Domain Secrets 2 were the maximum clearance levels available for C-ranks in those subjects. Each already included techniques a C-rank would only use in the distant future if they ever reached B-rank.

The fact that Taeral couldn't see the dropped clearance proposals evidenced that the boy had likely already had many active recommendations when SpecOps blocked it. Anyone in SpecOps was a finely crafted tool with a specific purpose. There was no reason to let the boy wander aimlessly. Moreover, some clearances required expensive investments, like elite combat training, and investing in SpecOps operatives was usually considered a waste.

Listeners like Taeral lived long, but he was an exception. Vindicators were like falling stars, burning bright but shortly—ironic, considering Shen's Racial Title.

Shen had also not been informed about his 12 Demerits to prevent his performance from dropping. They were minor and might become a leash. No one wanted that, especially considering he would eventually receive the final punishment after joining SpecOps.

Taeral was one of the three people who stepped aside as long as Shen appeared. As much as his assignment could see his traitor status erased if it happened for such a minor offense while undercover, becoming a traitor would allow Shen to attack him. That would be counterproductive.

Then, he watched with fake fear as Shen killed everyone in his way.

Deep down, he had to admit he was impressed. The Recognition Interface revealed Shen's baseline combat ability had been evaluated at the lower end of tier 7. He also had a special ability that allowed him to barely reach tier 8. Low tier 7 was technically correct, but while a mid tier 7 could defeat Shen, no one at low tier 7 should be able to resist what Taeral was witnessing.

If Shen wielded mana instead, he would have been able to improve his stats already. He certainly could reach baseline tier 8 with C+ stats. Then, he would be beyond SpecOps' grasp. Such people were too important to waste.

But that was neither here nor there. Taeral analyzed the boy and concluded he could become a good Vindicator, though Taeral believed he could be better employed as a Destroyer. Such people lived even shorter than Vindicators, though, so maybe Taeral's superiors simply meant to use Shen a little more before he inevitably faded.

Shen reached the end of the enemy line, killing the Brigade Commander, and then just stopped.

Taeral frowned. That was ineffective. Worse, he felt something break inside the boy—he didn't know what, but Listeners knew to trust their instincts. As if to add insult to injury, Shen decided now of all times was a good moment to improve his Path. He reached for Reality and started growing stronger at a languid pace.

Over 50 C-ranks lay dead on the floor, and the survivors were frozen in fear after the display. Most were too weak to notice the stupid C-rank trying to grow stronger while surrounded by enemies, but six felt it. They hesitated for longer than Taeral expected, almost five seconds, before deciding they wouldn't have another chance like this.

Three ran away, and three chose to attack.

They were too late.

In those seconds, something had clicked anew inside Shen. Taeral recognized it for what it was: a new domain had been born. In hindsight, the thing that broke earlier should've been Shen's previous domain.

People swapping domains were extremely rare but not unheard of. Doing so at C-rank, though? Now, that made Taeral afraid.

His report would make it crystal clear how Shen had to become a Destroyer. He couldn't be given the chance to survive long enough to learn how SpecOps had blocked his development. If he reached peak B-rank with that talent and came to seek revenge... Worse, if he got to A-rank... He would die in the end, but he could kill a lot of people before then if he timed things right.

Taeral didn't move as Laws materialized inside Shen's aura and pinned the rebellious C-ranks down.

First Lieutenant Shen never even moved.

‎ ‎

‎ ‎

Shen hadn't thought twice about connecting with Reality once his domain shattered because doing anything, including running to safety, would have hastened his True Self's deterioration. First, he had to survive his internal turmoil. Then, he could worry about external threats.

A lot had gone through Shen's mind after he killed the traitor, but everything afterward happened almost instantly.

So, when the six C-ranks tried to do something, he activated his Aura-Material Suppression. One-yard-thick high-pressure water jets surrounded the fools, pinning them in place. At first, they all stopped out of surprise, but three—one runner and two attackers—concluded it was a bluff and resumed moving.

That's when they met lightning and spears.

Shen's Aura-Material Suppression was the final form of the simple technique he had used against Uya. Unlike when he faced her, his honed willpower and ability allowed him to impart all his Laws into the materialization of any other with less than a tenth of his focus.

Each water drop could be only Stream or something more.

They could take the shape and power of Shaft and Gentle Breeze—which looked like steam—to keep the enemy suppressed.

They could become Killing Weapon—a spear-shaped drop—Extremity—an atomic-sized needle—and Conductivity—Shen used actual lightning for this—to attack them.

They could become Truly Boundless—taking random shapes—with a unique perspective: the water's expansion was being limited by the foe's body; thus, True Boundlessness pushed hard against it.

One of those three people was simultaneously so weak and stupid that they died with only that. When they realized their subpar armor and skin were disintegrating, they had no time to stop and were quite literally grounded to death.

The other two stopped in time and accepted their fate as prisoners, just like the other three who hadn't tested the waters and learned from the other Guardians' mistakes. Well, they were cautious at first, at least. However, one decided to analyze his cage with a bit of mana.

Shen wouldn't have that. His qi struck against the single mana particle, which the Guardian returned to his body on time. He would've tried to kill the offender if their minds had connected.

The Aura-Material Suppression could kill anyone with C defense, whether from armor, the resistance stat, mana, qi, or all of them. C+ defense could resist it, but the target would also need C strength to push against the materialized Laws going against them. None of those with the qualifications dared to try, increasing their chance of survival.

These people had already been branded traitors by not getting out of his way quickly enough. They had only sidestepped after he killed the first perpetrator. Whether he would execute them after trial remained to be seen, but until then, they were imprisoned betrayers. Resistance would lead to summary death.

Shen had made his peace with his previous misgivings about his situation. He would one day break the machine he was a cog in, but to do that, he needed to survive. Survival meant a certain amount of obedience. He would ignore all the rules he deemed unfair that he could ignore without dying, but he had no qualms about following the ones he agreed with.

He would die if he believed in a cause enough to justify outright betrayal, but it didn't mean he had to be accepting of all traitors. An unknown traitor's motivation might be just, but Shen would only exchange his life for theirs—as in letting them live and thus betraying the military—if he decided the cause was worth dying for. That was very unlikely to happen.

As simple as his solution sounded, such adaptability that bordered on moral ambiguity was hard for most people from C-rank onwards to have unless their Path was about schemes and ploys. It was even more challenging for someone with a True Self, if not outright impossible. That went to show how his Domain of Infinite Improvement had broadened his horizons. In fact, the domain was almost too close to True Boundlessness but was different enough to encompass his Will of Absolute Power and his Truth of Limits without conflicts.

Really, the more Shen thought of it, the more perfect the domain felt for him!

The trouble in the corridor barely took his focus away from improving his Laws. He had been paranoid when he cultivated in the Void Farm, and his mind had been so pressured that he lost awareness of his surroundings while improving, but he was safe and aware enough here. At worst, he would be forced to stop evolving his Path for now and finish the job later.

Actually, he could stop now, but he simply... didn't feel like it.

What use was Absolute Power if he was always using it for others, always pursuing goals not his own, always delaying his own matters for a supposedly greater good he didn't even fully believe in?

Shen had started improving, so he might as well push until he at least finished testing the things he was absolutely sure were part of each Law.

He firmly grabbed the threads that connected him to the cosmos and added to them; each was a Law. He waved his knowledge into thin, ethereal strings that he placed on top of each thread. One by one, he set the strings down, and they were filled with the Law-thread they surrounded, becoming part of the whole, proving he had made the right assumptions about what the Law was.

The string-layered thread was obviously thicker closer to him and extended beyond sight. The thicker part was the part of the Law that he had mastered.

By the time Shen finished testing his most certain assumptions against Reality, only one string had been filled with his soul instead of a Law. That happened because the guesses he used to make the string weren't part of the Law. It was as if he was trying to add to a Law, but his soul was just too weak to support such an addition to the fabric of Reality. Thus, the string gave as if he overextended a muscle that couldn't hold any more weight, almost like snapping but not quite. His soul wasn't directly damaged, but it hurt and stretched it.

The backlash made him slightly dizzy, and his soul was mostly alright.

Shen opened his eyes and stopped there instead of testing his other guesses. Using his Path exclusively to benefit others didn't sit well with him, but what use was Absolute Power if he didn't live long enough to use it? He had a mission to accomplish, and dereliction of duty while deployed was a grave offense. In an Exemplary Brigade, it might be grounds for execution. He had pushed things enough.

His soul had been only barely pressured and stretched by this session. He could improve his mastery over his Laws again in a month.

Although the process had been brief and the progress minor relative to Shen's last session, he was satisfied. It was hard to evaluate his mastery over his Laws, but he was confident he would reach one-fourth of the way to mastering them in his next attempt. And that was assuming it only improved half as much as he did in the Void Farm.

Sure, improving became harder the closer to mastering a Law a Guardian was, but he still felt proud of his progress in the early stages.

At long last, he looked at his forty-four prisoners. Or rather, forty-one. He turned to three of them. "You three who didn't interfere, you're free to go. Everyone else, follow me. I'll kill any who resist, but I promise a fair trial if you don't."

His orders were to investigate, find, and judge every fugitive in Samir with the full force of the law. He was to be merciless to any who harbored them. Any who resisted should be given no quarters.

Well, Shen had just concluded that he wouldn't follow orders and rules he disagreed with. While the Acting General had the authority to demand a purge considering the circumstances, people harboring fugitives were usually not executed outright if found in usual cases.

On the other hand, Shen did agree with the rule that anyone who willingly got in the way of a deployed troop was betraying the military, which ensured the Alliance could keep existing. Or at least that this Sector could keep going for a while longer. He couldn't withstand the idea that anyone would dabble in politics when so much was at stake.

The issue was that he didn't know if his orders were just. These people were harboring fugitives, not convicts. In a way, Long Hei was asking Shen to blindly believe his good intentions. Shen refused to do that after the way the lockdown had happened.

Shen would determine if the fugitives were traitors first. Then, he would decide if the ones harboring them deserved to die. They probably did because they had tried to hinder someone deployed to find those fugitives, but he wanted to make sure there wasn't some grander conspiracy here.

He was stretching his orders a little but felt he was acting in enough good faith. He was also touching on things that might come to bite him later, but this was his Path. After talking for so long about being honorable but acting like a mindless dog, it was finally time to behave as he believed he should.

Shen wouldn't hesitate to execute these people if they deserved it, but it would be with as much fairness as he could give them.