Aenon stared at the two women standing across from him. The Nurse seemed indifferent, while Thalindra appeared to be in complete agreement with the wild statement. He eyed each woman in turn, but neither had a change in expression. He closed his eyes and pinched his nose.

"First you tell me to be a patriarch of a new noble house," Aenon said while barely containing his frustration. "And now you want me to rule the entire universe. Which part of me preferring solitude didn't you understand?"

"The main reason we recommended a patriarchy was to allow you to maintain some autonomy," Thalindra clarified. "You will be a figurehead, a symbol of our power. Besides that, you will have no governing responsibilities. That will fall onto the Grand Elder and Elders of your faction. You can still get involved if you so wished, but it is not uncommon for the patriarch of a faction to into secluded training for centuries."

"Besides, the choice is still yours," the Nurse shrugged. "It's a System quest with no penalty. Not to mention you aren't the only one with it. That Velcodirust brat also has it, among others. Although for him, it is a follow up quest. His primary quest was to attain the rank of a Monarch. Once he succeeded, he got a follow up to be a Sovereign. There are a total of five hundred twenty-six candidates for the role. The thing that is unique in your case is that you got assigned the Sovereign quest from the get-go."

Something about that statement stuck him. "So wait, what will be my follow up quest then?"

"No one knows what happens once the Sovereign title is claimed," Thalindra responded, while the Nurse merely smiled.

"Got it," Aenon said flatly. It was obvious the Nurse was withholding information. But he didn't see a point in worrying about something that was way ahead in the future.

"This is a good thing, Lord Fenrast," Thalindra continued. "In more ways than you realize. First, it will give us some political leverage to deter any heavy-handed response once the tutorial ends. Candidates for nobility ranks are frankly rare. Not to mention, if you manage to set up a Domain, your area of control will be insulated from outright elimination. The System grants some basic protections for anyone with a nobility title."

"What she is trying to say is," the Nurse interjected, "that Velcodirust can't just erase this planet from existence once the tutorial ends."

"You mean the safeguards will extend beyond the one-year time period?" Aenon asked.

Thalindra smiled as she shook her head. "It is a bit more complicated than that. The safeguards will be in place against anyone who is several evolution grades higher. But it will not stop those who are a level above your own."

Aenon's eyes widened in realization.

"You will still need to fight your way to the top," the Nurse confirmed. "But at least you will have a fighting chance. Your enemies can't throw an armada of level 500s against your tiny Domain."

If true, this really sounded like a safety net they desperately needed. But it still sounded too good to be true.

"Then why doesn't everyone go for it? Aenon asked. "I am pretty sure there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates for such roles."

"It's not that they don't," Thalindra explained. "But most people either swear allegiance to the established powers or fall under the relentless assault after the tutorial ends. You need enough strength to hold on to your position. And the people at the top have significantly more resources at their disposal. This Lightbringer character is one such example. Once the planet is open to all, she will have a lot more support. As will every other established noble house. The illegal smuggling she somehow accomplished was just to get a leg up."

That made more sense to Aenon. It would take someone extraordinary to face off against organizations like the Solaria Dominion, or the Elves of Glendwyr. For example, someone with the ability to cause Awakenings en mass.

"Then why the sudden outburst?" Aenon asked, still not seeing what Thalindra planned to do with this new information. The behavior of those who left the room still puzzled him.

"Ah, that's because the evolution ceremony for someone with a nobility quest requires a bit more…oomph," Thalindra replied with a mysterious smile.

"What?"

"Before I get into that, let me give you a bit more context about how nobility actually works," Thalindra suddenly became serious. "You must know by now that System's goal is to encourage the development of strong life forms. Well, a strong shepherd is needed for the task. A leader for people to follow. When someone gains significant accomplishments in terms of leadership, the System marks them as a viable candidate and tests their worth with a quest. Your quest is titled Birth of a Sovereign. Others might get something like Birth of a King. It is not clear how the System chooses the rank but suffice to say that it is a qualification test."

Aenon nodded along, trying to make a note of the key points. The fact that his test was for the topmost role must have to do with his unique abilities and direct involvement with the System Admin. Even though everyone involved would vehemently deny it, Aenon was certain the enigmatic blonde played a role. Not to mention the shard that was floating in his inner soul space, and his extra evolution apart from the standard seven.

"Once the candidate achieves that role—which will be sequentially by the way—the System considers them worthy of a follow up quest," Thalindra lectured. "But the follow up will also be handed out based on performance. Taking our King nobility quest as an example, if the candidate sets up their kingdom quickly and efficiently enough, the System will assign them a nobility upgrade quest to be a Monarch or even an Overseer."

"But I thought the requirement to be an Overseer was to have all seven evolutions at A-grade or higher?" Aenon asked, remembering the info that Harley had once mentioned.

"That is one of the requirements, yes," the Nurse was the one to answer. "But what do you think an Overseer is? The title itself gives a hint, doesn't it? They must oversee their area of control, which is at the galaxy cluster level for that rank."

"So Velcodirust—"

"Controls a galaxy cluster, so to speak," the Nurse finished his sentence. "Though your planet was hidden away at the edges of what is known in your universe. Despite the seemingly infinite power of those old monsters, much of your universe is unexplored."

"And he hasn't managed to qualify for the Sovereign role in all this time?" Aenon asked.

The Nurse sighed before raising her hand and snapping her fingers. The world froze as time stopped for everyone except Aenon.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Look here kid," the Nurse got a bit more candid. "This is way above your paygrade right now. How about you focus on what is in front of you? You are still a Mayor of a city. We can talk about this once you have become an Emperor. Which requires you to control an entire solar system, by the way. Take it one step at a time."

The Nurse snapped her fingers again, freeing Thalindra from the Spell. The woman looked at the Nurse, probably expecting an answer. When none came, she shook her head and turned to Aenon.

"Anyway Lord Fenrast, this changes everything. Till this point on, we were playing defensive," Thalindra spoke in an almost feverish tone. "But now it is time to strike back. But with a bit more tact and finesse than those brutes. Please follow me."

The Nurse simply shrugged and dissolved into thin air. Seeing no other choice, Aenon decided to follow his second in command. Thalindra led him down the winding corridors of the palace. Even now people tensed up when they saw him approach, but no one actively tried to avoid him. And the tension was more out of respect than fear.

As they made their way to a remote corner of the palace, Thalindra withdrew a strange key—featureless with no teeth or markings.

"I know you have no interest in these things," Thalindra explained as she inserted the object into a solid wall. "Which is why Henry was taking care of it in your stead. In recent times, he has passed it on to me for safe keeping."

The unassuming wall dematerialized to give way to a small chamber. It was hardly three and half meters—twelve feet—across and only housed one pedestal. On top of it was a maroon-colored crystal that was giving off dense mana. It had several wisp types, but space was the dominant one. Aenon cast Identify.

City Totem | Type: Fort City | Name: Pinespire | Owner: Aenon Fenrast | A symbolic construct anchoring your settlement. Maintains a defensive barrier to deter monsters and serves as a beacon for resurrected souls.

"This is what resurrection token are keyed into," Thalindra said. "And also, what deters most monsters from attacking its walls. Won't stop hordes though. There are other functions too, such as a marker for your teleportation portals, and protecting non-combatants from death while within the city. You lose this, and the city falls."

Aenon ran a hand along the smooth crystal, feeling electricity jump to his fingertips. The thing practically radiated power, as was evident from the thousands of micro runes.

"Jadefall also had one?" Aenon asked, mesmerized by the stone.

"It did, but my guess is that Nocthrya has absorbed it. He must have used that, along with his link to you, to convert the village into the misty forest around his true body," Thalindra spoke in a reverent tone. "World Trees are unique entities. He will keep growing till his roots encompass the entire planet. Just based on that, your takeover of this tutorial planet is all but assured."

"I don't control—," Aenon began to argue.

"You don't control him, Lord Fenrast," Thalindra cut him off apologetically. "But your partnership is undeniable. Which means you both share everything equally. I do not know what formation you have used to forge your bond, but it is unlike any that I have seen. Most World Trees are burdened with bonds of servitude. Yours seems more like that of equals. The Tree, much like your wolves, will grow with you."

Aenon nodded, not wanting to get into the details of the formation he had hijacked to save Nocthrya.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked, finally removing his hand from the totem crystal.

"You must have learned in your orientation that the planet will be named at the end of the tutorial," Thalindra said. "Well, this here also functions like a communication crystal of sorts. Every settlement on the planet has one of these, and they are all connected."

"So?" Aenon shrugged, still not understanding.

Thalindra smiled. "A tutorial planet is to give a newly integrated world an opportunity to take control of their lives. Which means the System wants Players from Earth to gain nobility ranks."

Aenon's eyes widened, finally understanding what she was getting at. "You want to announce to the whole world that I have been granted a nobility rank."

"Yes, and no," Thalindra replied. "If you access this now, you will see dozens, if not hundreds, of such notifications. I am pretty sure that you aren't the first to achieve a nobility quest. Earthlings are resourceful enough to have banded together and attained the feat. But it at least gets you on the same playing field as the other leaders. What I want you to do is join that group, but hide the upper limit of your quest. Just say that you have a quest for a Duke or something. Nothing that will make others feel threatened, but enough to get them to take you seriously."

"Why though?"

"Just trust me on this," Thalindra said confidently. "Politics is a lot more complicated than merely butting heads together. This Lightbringer woman is sure to be forging connections and what not. Her end goal is no doubt to either win over or eliminate the competition to one day rule this planet. A worthy goal, even if her tactics are hateful."

"So, you mean to say—," Aenon trailed off.

"Yes," Thalindra replied with a devious smile. "It's time to beat her at her own game. Our city wasn't connected to the others before this, which must be why she tried to destroy us before others could learn about us. But your quest opens an entirely new avenue of attack. One that I am a master of." Her eyes gave off an eerie light as she added, "No one beats a soul mage at politics and mind games."

Aenon smirked, pitying the poor soul that had kicked the hornet's nest that was his city. He turned back to the crystal and placed his hand on it, willing it to acknowledge him.

Owner soul signature accepted.

Scanning.

Nobility quest acknowledged: Birth of a Sovereign. Display true rank?

Nobility quest update: Birth of a Duke.

Access granted.

Welcome Aenon Fenrast.

Secondary name detected: Ashryn Fenrast. Use this instead?

Welcome Ashryn Fenrast.

Would you like to assign a representative?

Aenon quickly selected yes and handed the controls over to Thalindra. There was a separate window that was added to his interface, one that he didn't care to even check out. Thalindra on the other hand was practically glowing with excitement. Like an innocent child with a brand new toy.

"Ahem. I am assuming you got it from here?" Aenon said with a cheeky smile.

Thalindra jumped back in alarm. She replied with a deep bow. "Uh, yes, Lord Fenrast. I can take care of the rest."

Aenon could feel the restlessness in her soul. Her hunger for political battles it seemed was far greater than her lust for bloody duels.

"Alright then," Aenon said with a chuckle. "You have fun. I will go find something to occupy myself with."

"Wait," Thalindra said before Aenon could walk away. "You are not done yet. I will be setting up a formal meeting with the other newly minted nobles. The gathering will happen after we have played some of our hidden cards of course, but your presence will be needed when the time comes."

"Why?" Aenon asked uneasily. He was not looking forward to sharing the same breathing air as some sniveling politicians. Well, apart from Thalindra, who didn't really fall in that category.

"Despite my strength, which may be close to rivaling yours, I know that I am lacking," Thalindra spoke honestly. "I don't know why, but I feel you have some kind of seal on you. Something that is keeping your true power in check. You have revealed your race to me: Ascended Human. Which means none of us has seen you at your best."

Thalindra, of course, was guessing about his sealed stat multiplier. Something he didn't deny. "The unsealing comes at a great cost, Thalindra."

"I see," Thalindra said softly, her awe barely hidden. "In that case, your presence will be of utmost importance. Political games are worthless without actual power to back it up. So, while I handle this, please find a way to undo your seal safely."

Aenon considered that statement, unsure of how he could go about it. The unsealing of his was a problem since his physical body couldn't handle his soul. Just the short duration during the Ant Monarch fight had shredded his body. He didn't know anything about forging an unbreakable body—

His thoughts were interrupted as an insane idea took root. Thalindra must have picked up on his eureka moment, as she smiled.

"Well, go do what you do best—breaking the limits of impossibility," Thalindra remarked as she turned towards the crystal. "I will prepare the stage for your debut."

The two soul mages conversed without looking at each other. Each heading off into an arena in which they excelled.

The Alliance had been attacking from the shadows, rooting out competition before it had a chance to bloom.

But now, it was time to take the fight to them.

And unlike them, Aenon's pack would strike from the front.

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