Kyrion left his dungeon only to come face to face with Minah. Her expression was irritated, and both of her fists were balled. She seemed angry for some apparent reason. Her golden armor’s runes radiated in a way that spoke of violence.

“Need something?” Kyrion asked innocently.

“Where is my brother? And what have you done to him?”

“Which brother? “Kyrion tilted his head to the side, preparing an emergency teleport just in case she didn’t like his answer. A fight with her now would be inconvenient for what he had planned.

“Do I need to tell you? It should be obvious. Given recent news, apparently I only have one.”

“I mean…I guess Marigold would be your sister, although, there is no blood connecting you.”

“Who the abyss is Marigold?”

“Midas. Do you know what happens when you try to possess a body that’s already being possessed?”

“I don’t care about him. My real brother, where is he?”

“One that’s quite rude. Two…” Kyrion spent a solid ten seconds in real time pretending to think as he locked down his escape location a few miles away.

“Where. Is. He?” Minah was clearly in a punchy mood.

“Well. You. See… I don’t know?” Kyrion had partially known that Karl was up to something and was feeding his friend high-quality resources to see how they affected him. He also felt the massive shift in time dilation that he’d known he’d be penalized for later, as it wasn’t his choice but the choice of a spirit acting without the owner’s consent. The further he got from all this, the better.

Minah, who had punched Kyrion as hard as she could with enough power to send a boulder from the base of a mountain to the peak, stood agape as a shield of woodlike triangles appeared to block the strike. Consuming the now-expended mana and taking twice as much from Kyrion as payment.

Kyrie and Kira shot to attention the moment that power activated as it was unlike anything he had used previously.

Kyrikon clicked his tongue as a portal appeared behind him in a murky purple circle.

“How?” Minah muttered as she could no longer feel the vast difference in power. It was like he had reached a level of power far beyond her comprehension.

“Do you want to increase your punching power or keep following Cecil’s schedule? I have a core for you to look at if it’s the former. Either way, put this strange and suspicious purple coin in your mouth. Max is likely training and if you can’t keep up, he’ll surpass you quickly.”

“I thought he’d be sulking.”

“Max? Sulking? Your brother isn’t a little kid anymore, he’s like a man now. Now where exactly is your father? We need to have a talk. I’m not going to kill him any time soon. It’s not like I’m dumb enough to challenge the current rank four before reaching the true expert rank.”

“You shouldn’t be trying to kill him at all. Rank four?”

“I mean. He could try, but I can almost guarantee that he’ll be disappointed and confused as I take one limb with me.”

“You think you can injure an expert? A high ranking expert.”

“Shouldn’t matter. Now where is he?” Kyrion tilted his head to the side.

“He’s in the Embassy, with all the other rulers attending. Save the Beast Blood Emperor as they are at war with the rest of the continent.”

“Oh. He’s here, hiding. Guess I’ll ask Lin where the Embassy is.” Kyrion flicked Minah a purple coin and stepped back into the portal he had opened while she was distracted.

Minah recognized the color and feeling it gave off but hadn’t recognized its purpose. Her father had a few of them in his crown, resembling jewels. She then saw a crude attempt at the headmaster’s son’s face on one side.

“Where did he get these?” Minah muttered before a second thought entered her mind. How would he know that the Beast Blood Emperor was here hiding under everyone's nose?

“Get moving.” Ander seemingly appeared out of nowhere and entered the dungeon. Only the young man seemed taller. How did he get taller than her so quickly?

Then Brion passed her as well. Which made Minah wonder just what kind of place this was. If someone like Brion was excited to enter.

As it turned out, the Embassy wasn’t hard to find. It took him two seconds to locate a large amount of power gathered in one building. There were multiple powerful monsters in that place. Each of them was capable of killing him quickly.

Well, they would have been if he was actually in his body. No Kyrion had decided to play a game of diplomacy, using a clone body made of plant fibers that he poured a lot of mana into to act as a vessel. The tricky bit was getting his affinities to work correctly so that he could always return to his body should worse come to pass. If they killed him on the spot, then he’d just be sure to avoid them going forward. They would also get themselves on Kyrion’s list of enemies. It was a small list, but Kyrion had the power to literally shake Imala to her core if he needed to. Well, it wasn’t his power, per se. Dropping an island enhanced by D.E. on a person should be lethal to most, and he needed the space for other purposes.

Two guards stood outside the door, clearly meant to keep assassins, thieves, and rabble out. Rion, of course, fell into the rabble category. His country was gone, his noble line minor at best, and his only redeeming quality was that he was the headmaster’s current direct disciple through Gamodren.

“Stop, state your name and purpose, if you are wasting our time, then you will regret it.”

Kyrion could sense that the guards were early experts. While he could fight them, he wouldn’t be able to knock them out, and he wasn’t willing to kill guards doing their job.

“Rion, Captain of Drisil’s team, and the Headmaster’s Direct Disciple, I need to speak with the king of Etravonia about personal matters. If I waste his time, chances are I’d be killed on the spot, but if you keep me out here too long instead of informing him of my presence, you may be punished.”

“We are neutral guards. They wouldn’t dare kill us.”

“I mean. I bet he could kill early experts like you two, just by considering it. He is the oldest expert in recorded history after all.”

The guards looked at each other and then scowled at something in the middle distance. Their expressions morphed into a relieved expression moments later.

“You may go in.” They informed Rion. “Don’t be wasting any time. We don’t want to pick up the pieces. Room 601D.”

Rion smiled. “I’m certain there won’t be any pieces left if that happens. I can clean up my own messes.”

The guards didn’t say anything as Kyrion entered the area with a cocky expression as he strutted down the hall like a rooster in a hen house. He even had his head moving back and forth like one. Everything about him oozed confidence as Rion cranked things to eleven.

601D was located on the sixth floor and encompassed the entire floor as there was only one other door inside, and he had to wait before entering. The door was made of solid gold.

“You know. I think I’m starting to prefer bronze and copper.” Kyrion muttered as he knocked softly on the door.

The door swung open on its own, revealing a room covered in gold. Everything from the furniture to the candles was covered in gold. While the room was lit by golden flames. An elderly man with silver hair, golden eyes, and a curious expression stood in the middle of the room.

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“You look just like that young sea bastard. Well, more like his homicidal daughter now that I get a good look at you..”

Kyrion raised an eyebrow as he felt about his face. The bone structure was still altered, and his hair wasn’t its usual color.

“My eyes can see the shape of your soul, in a way. It allows me to see through physical and magical changes to one’s appearance. Strange for someone of your tier to have such a well defined soul. You have absorbed at least two of your shards, curious.”

Kyrion’s eyes sharpened. “So you knew Midas wasn’t your child, as well as that they were possessed?”

“Yes and no. I was informed that Imala’s daughter had been kidnaped and was being used as a puppet by one of the families trying to gain power. I was also told that I shouldn’t interfere and let things play out as they will fix themselves. The false heir also pushed the twins to work harder as well. Am I correct?”

“Possibly. Why do you have so many kids?”

“Says the boy with four siblings and a father that hasn’t touched a century.”

Kyrion would argue that his family wasn’t that big, but considering his dad’s likely age… “Fair enough. Now I would like to make a trade.”

“What do you have that I could use?”

“A gift for your son and daughter.” Kyrion pulled out a core belonging to Bealsquilla and a giant tortoise.

“Aren’t you their captain? Why are you trying to trade cores that would be better suited being handed to them?”

“Can you tell how powerful they are?”

“I can sense the power inside.”

“I see. Well Minah is skeptical of everything I give her. So a gift from you would be better accepted.”

“What do you want from the trade?” The king wisely avoided the landmine he almost admitted. Since he was on that same sinking ship. He would not admit how angry his daughter got when he bought her a dress. Of all his daughters, she was the one who hated dresses and expensive gifts.

“Access to your monolith of course. As you are the oldest expert, you should be one of the strongest. Correct?” Kyrion asked with a cherry tone.

“You must have divine coins. What from my list do you wish to purchase?”

“Two of every extinct animal you can find, one of each gender, one of every plant seedling on the list, all of the land from Drisil and westward within your kingdom…”

“That’s not going to be cheap.”

“Also not done, One dimensional tether, eight reawakening tokens to give out as I see fit, a book of deity tier runes and an oath remover.”

“Would you like divine spirits with your order?”

“No. But you can throw in the other main continents as well. I know that they’re all desert. I might as well claim them.”

“How do you expect to pay for all that? It’s quite insane to suggest that, no matter how much gold you have…”

Kyrion tore a powerful sack from his domain. It radiated enough D.E. to cause every enchantment present to go haywire while the area was infused with power.

“I’ll let you keep my change if you make these purchases in the name of Kyrion, from Drisil.”

“You expect me to give up half my country? I’m an old king. Why would I let my kingdom split?”

“One, you finally have an heir to sit on your throne.”

“Minah isn’t king material. She isn’t much for subtlety or decorum .She deems it unnecessary.”

“I mean Midas. I’ve been informed that he managed to gain access to his spirit. I thought he already had a spirit. But that doesn’t matter. He immediately jumped into the practitioner tier. I also thought he was already a practitioner. Do all of your supposed children lie so often or am I just unlucky? You don’t have to answer that…I smell bloodlust.” Kyrion’s head turned towards a door to the right, where an inky power had been stockpiling when he mentioned Midas.

The king’s eyebrows furrowed briefly before relaxing. The man in front of him seemed wide open but was anything but.

“Anyway, Max seems to have inherited a powerful spirit from you, so I must ask. Why is there a rumor that says all your previous male heirs have died?”

“Oh. It’s an ancient bloodcurse left behind by my first lover. Not quite wife material as she tried to have me killed in a coup. While the details aren’t something I’ll tell a kid, I was essentially cursed in a way that would prevent my heirs from properly inheriting my power. I have lost daughters as well, but my sons were the ones who died every time. There has been no exception until Midas. Who wasn’t quite my son to begin with.”

“What are you going on about? Max shares most of your DNA, and facial structure..”

“Yes and no. I can tell you how shards work. A woman who looked exactly like his mother, pregnant with twins. She had been teleported here through mysterious means and told the tale of a green-eyed traitor with hair as red as blood. The twins were born at the cost of their mother’s life, and I had two sets of each child, a full year apart. My Max managed to live until he was two before the curse began to claim him. Against my better judgment, I fused the souls into one, hoping to prolong his life. He had been sickly and weak because of it and even shrunk in size as though he was de-aged, but he survived. Minah’s shard fused while they were playing together in the garden. This led to confusion for a while, but I guess it was better they got that done earlier. Less hate and vitriol when souls willingly merge. If you’ve noticed, their main powers work differently; training them is the only way to grow them.

“So his ruler class power is separate from his spirit.”

The king stopped and turned his full attention to the bizarre practitioner who had paid him a visit. Ruler class abilities rely on having a large following or group beneath them. While weaker in instant effectiveness than on a smaller scale, a standard leadership power will have. The scale for a ruler was determined by their number of followers and subordinates. Max could raise the natural ability of creatures he contracted past their maximum ability. While strong, it was also quite limited for a tamer as it didn’t instill loyalty and obedience. “As most creatures follow power, no creature in their right mind would follow a weak ruler.”

“You did the thing. Why did you do the thing Cecil does when he figures something out but only says bits and pieces aloud?” Kyrion’s eyes were focused. He’d seen people like this old man before…

“Shut it.” Whispered the white stoat around Kyrion’s neck, causing his eyes to fog over briefly. The kid’s thoughts tended to raise his mental defenses, which would be very inconvenient. The creature then proceeded to continue procuring food from Kyrion’s domain. Mostly stuff Kyrion couldn’t remember picking up, like the stasis coffins full of nothing but hamburgers. He wouldn’t mind if a few went missing since his memory of obtaining them was gone.

“Hmm? Right. If that’s the case then I can’t just give you half my country.” The king stated.

“Talked myself right out of that.”

“That you did. But, better I find out now than find out you kept something like that hidden.”

“Do you pay attention to your kids at all?”

“Comes and goes. This is a good day, as you’re a healer, you should know that there is an upper limit to our ages. We aren’t immortal, well most of us aren’t immortals. The longest most experts can live is a millenia, usually by then, their aging begins to rapidly accelerate. A ranker in the top five, like me, has lived for three. I have forgotten more than most on this moon could remember. I was there when the orc Gosak split the continent in half to slay a great evil. I remember traveling across the continents back when they still held life, before the cataclysms of magitech from the other moons. The fall of the empire of Greed, the annihilation of the Feltap, and the erasing of Belatrophis. That is to say that I am probably the oldest mortal you know.”

“I mean…Technically yes. But can you truly still be a mortal?”

“I have yet to let go of my small pond. I don’t actually wish to reach the next tier of power and be remade. I’m just tired now.”

Kyrion understood that stance. “I see. What is your proposal.”

“I want to see what Maximus can do in this tournament. I want to see a glimmer of his potential. If he does well enough I will surrender the western half of my kingdom on Goskin to him. I’ll give you the continent of Greed, as a consolation. No life has been able to flourish there for a long time; I’m sure you can figure something out, though.”

“I feel like I’m getting cheated. I want a second teleportation anchor there as well.”

“Great… So you know, winning the tournament at this point would just be greedy.”

“Oh I know. I also know that I’m still not experienced enough to take out my foes with power alone. Everything is training.”

“I’ll have a servant of mine deliver your items shortly.”

“Great…” Kyrion bowed and left the room. He could now cure his mother, but first, he would have to find her.

Standing out in the open, Kyrion withdrew a note from his domain and stared.

Please place the extra reawakening chip in this paper's center.

And be quick about those cookie recipes.

“Huh? Why did they use please twice?” Kyrion raised an eyebrow and sighed, placing the reawakening chit in the center of the paper.

The white slip paper was up in smoke as it disappeared, leaving behind a smokey skull and crossbones before dispersing.

“Huh. I didn’t know you could put temporary portals on items. I wonder if I can alter a protective enchantment to summon me when conditions are met.”

After briefly explaining Milo’s powers to Cecil, the bespectacled boy seemed to figure something out and used a workroom in the dungeon to prepare for his fight with the Endbringer hybrid. He was building a radiation-canceling device that went far over Rion’s head.

Rion had eventually been shooed out of the workstation. So he spent the afternoon touring the shopping districts with Lin before dinner at the restaurant where the chef treated them to lasagna. One of the recipes the Elf seemed to want to add to his repertoire was it used a familiar ingredient list.

And thus, for the first time in a long time, the day ended, and the semifinals of the solo tournament began.