Early Morning, 33rd of Trian Month.
The two suns of the solar system shone upon a misty valley. The sunlight dispersed the mists and reached the body of a young man sitting on a stone platform.
Blink!
Charles opened his eyes and a green light flashed through them for a second.
"Took way longer than expected." He felt his body's condition and muttered in a complicated voice.
"It's still very fast, young master!" A voice came from nowhere. It was the level 9 protector with Charles.
And he didn't say those words to comfort him. He was being completely honest.
Advancing to level 7 was originally a time-taking affair. Stabilizing the divine path after advancement also took a significant amount of time.
Even geniuses took a week or so before they were comfortable with their new power.
Of course, they didn't sit still for a whole week. But spent the major part of the day adapting to the newfound strength.
If they tried to use their powers before this consolidation, they were likely to lose control of their powers and end up injuring themselves.
Fighting in that state was too dangerous.
Thus, humans spent a couple of days in advancing to level 7, and almost a week adapting to their power.
Charles broke both these rules.
He went directly from peak level 6 to high level 7. It was ridiculous. Even though the treasure he used was also ridiculous, what he did was simply astounding.
Then, he didn't even adjust his powers and fought a couple of high level 7 princes.
Perhaps he too knew about his condition, so he only fought them after they were injured.
So, despite him struggling to exhibit his full power, he was able to overpower and win them. Their prize—the key, also fell into his hands.
Of course, he didn't need to get a key by himself. He would have gotten one easily.
"The fight with those princes for the key," Charles looked at his hands and said. "I was only able to control 70% of my strength."
"…" The protector standing guard far away in a cave was dumbfounded at Charles' words.
A feeling of envy rose in his heart before it was quickly replaced by admiration.
Envy worked when the gap was bridgable. But when it's too high, it'd turn into either hate or admiration.
"Just to control that extra 30%, I took a day!" Charles shook his head and sighed. Even he couldn't believe he took so much time.
Considering his lightning-quick speed in other things, this should take only a few hours. But—
"Young Master, you are forgetting something. You aren't a low level 7, but a high level 7. The difference in strength is very significant.
If you simply advanced to low level 7 like everyone else, you would be able to adjust your strength almost instantly.
The additional advancements are what took your time. To be honest, you are doing very well.
I hope to see your achievements…when you stand at the peak." The protector spoke with a mix of admiration and anticipation.
It was weird. Those words came from the man who crossed a hundred years to a young fellow who was only one-fifth of his age.
But Charles was certainly pleased by those well-intented words.
"I promise you." He said and looked at the horizon.
The wind blew softly and ruffled his blonde hair. It flowed down his shoulders and reached his waist.
He didn't cut his hair since Narcis died.
As the hair shook with the air, Charles' eyes turned hazy.
'Hey Charles, it's my business.'
'Hey Charles, c-can you talk to father about this girl…'
'Hey Charles, there is a cadet in my class called Varian. Teach him a lesson.'
Narcis' voice rang in his mind. In the distant past, he called him 'Brother'.
Then something happened.
Perhaps it was the bad influence or maybe the upbringing and lenience from his father, but Narcis changed at some point.
He grew arrogant, but also envious.
He was proud but increasingly insecure.
He was popular but mostly alone.
Charles closed his eyes and lowered his head.
With a sincere heart, he wished for Narcis' to find peace. Even though souls weren't widely mainstream, he wished for them to exist.
'I will send them all to hell.' He vowed.
In his mind's vision, the image of a woman in a white coat appeared. Her face had a kind smile and just by seeing her, Charles felt a lot better.
'Aunt. Even though what you did to Sia was wrong, the power that I wield is your gift. I will avenge you too. May your soul find peace.'
He looked at the sky and sighed.
After a few minutes, he turned to the protector.
"Let's go. I need to make good use of this last day." Saying those words, his feet morphed into white paws and he kicked the ground.
Whoosh!
Like a bullet tearing through the air, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Shuaa!
A man's footsteps lightly touched the ground as he followed Charles while maintaining a suitable distance.
His eyes were fixed on Charles as he crossed dozens of miles with each passing second.
'Even with young master's strength, the travel needs eleven days.'
The Ruler's Abode was the new region that was to be unlocked by the keys. But the abode itself was present inside a partially explored region.
This region was difficult to travel and helping others wasn't possible due to the constraints.
Since the abode would open on the forty-fifth, Charles had to travel from 34th to 44th.
So, today was his last day to explore the ruins.
And the region he picked was a notorious ghost house.
It adjusted the challenges according to the levels, but it wasn't very famous.
The reason was the prize.
After so much hard work in navigating through the chaos of ghosts, spirits, and mazes, they would be rewarded with a treasure.
The better your performance, the stronger the treasure.
But it was only a specific type of treasure.
A treasure to see through the disguise.