By the time Zara returned with fresh supplies for dinner, Hector had an argument prepared.

Everyone gathered to eat a rich stew of pot roast and root vegetables in sullen silence. The meal was hearty and delicious and filling, but the mood stubbornly refused to improve. That might work in his favor, though.

"I have an idea on how we can harvest cores a lot faster."

Zara studied him. "Does this involve unconventional methods?"

"Unconventional for this world."

The Lord turned towards the others. "This must be a unanimous decision. Though we are not within the territory of Amarat or Zing, adopting foreign means should not be done lightly."

"We are all going to die if we keep fighting as we have been," Isabel said.

Dorian nodded at Hector. "His unconventional methods have worked in the past."

Mei gave a sharp nod of assent.

"Then it appears we are willing to consider your ideas, Hector."

He took a moment to compose himself. "I think we are isolated enough from other people that we can get away with bringing foreign allies here."

To his surprise, no one immediately objected to the idea. There were a lot of thoughtful expressions. Then came the questions. Isabel began. "Why would foreigners help us?"

"We would need to barter our services in exchange for theirs. There are many powerful Arahants and Jinn among the Aes Reconquest. I'm certain we could get their help if we agreed to serve on Aes for a time."

Zara went next. "What makes you believe your allies would be capable of assisting us?"

"I can't promise anything, but Sages have impressive abilities. It's worth investigating. If we can't find someone able to help us, then we don't sign up for a tour of duty." And silence. Hector resisted the urge to speak more. He knew that anything he said was likely to undermine the impression of reasonableness he'd given.

His actual intentions weren't entirely in line with how he'd presented them. The real plan was to get the four of them to spend a few days or a week on Union Central, enjoying the safety and comfort. From there, he could demonstrate how easy it was to earn credits on Aes. It seemed quite unrealistic to expect any of the patriots of the Reconquest to volunteer their efforts to help a Lord achieve a dangerous objective on Tian.

Glances were exchanged. Dorian cleared his throat. "Aunt Zara? It couldn't hurt, right?"

"At most, it wastes our time," Zara said. "We are due for a break, anyway."

Hector suppressed the smile trying to form. "Should we go now?"

"In the morning," Zara said. "Today was… eventful."

The others agreed with the sentiment and drifted back to their tents. That left just Hector and Zara. "Isabel thinks you wouldn't let her back out of the deal you made." He made it a statement, but in truth he was asking a question.

Zara scowled. "I would not go into battle with unwilling allies."

"So you wouldn't retaliate against the Azure Spear Maidens?"

"I would relocate them to a far more remote island to ensure they could not reveal my position to my pursuers. They might never find civilization again."

That seemed a lot less generous. Still, Zara would not kill them. That eased one of the concerns plaguing him. Hector sighed. "Your father suggested I made a drastic mistake with my cultivation."

Her stern features softened. "Such blunt conversations are typically reserved for after advancement to level nine. It's considered bad form to blunt the ambitions of loyal subordinates prematurely. Even if you cultivated to perfection from now on, you will never be able to survive a Tribulation and become a Lord."

"So you let everyone believe they have a chance?"

Zara offered a sad smile. "It's a kindness. Most never progress far enough to discover the roadblocks presented by past decisions. Only the talented will eventually require disillusionment."

Hector let his shoulders sink. "I advanced too quickly."

"Most do. It's not a moral failure, Hector. It is ignorance of cultivation secrets."

"I had the potential to go all the way, Zara. And now my path ends at level nine. Unless the purity of my cosmic energy can make enough of a difference."

Stolen novel; please report.

Zara's eyes fixed on him. "Do you want truth or comfort at the moment?"

"Truth. I'm only in this situation because it was withheld from me."

"You cannot make up for the blessing in other ways. No matter how pure the cosmic energy you deal with is, the fundamental problem cannot be corrected." Zara took a seat by the fire pit and gestured for him to join her. "Allow me to educate you on the failure states of a Tribulation. They can be sorted into three categories. First, soul collapse. If a soul is insufficiently sturdy, then the pressure of a Tribulation causes a catastrophic failure. You can image the outcome, I am certain."

"Instant death," Hector said.

"Correct. The individual might have a split second to realize the problem before they cease to live. There is nothing to be done to remediate this risk. Your soul is either inherently sturdy or it isn't. Someone with a powerful mental sense can determine your characteristics."

Hector recalled a staff sergeant from Stronghold Gamma telling him that his soul was built like a fortress. Apparently he had what it took in this one area.

"The second category of failure is an aperture tear. This is when the material of an aperture is ripped apart by the force of the Tribulation. If it happens to the body aperture, you leave quite a valuable core behind. If the aura, domain, or mind fail instead, nothing will be left of you. Everyone receives minor aperture damage during a Tribulation, but an actual tear is death. The risk can be mitigated by reaching the peak of level nine in all apertures prior to advancement. It's a lot of work to do so, but it should be within the reach of any true candidate.

"It's the third failure category that catches those with great ambitions but lacking educations. An aperture detachment happens when the anchoring connections are insufficient. You see, during every advancement, when the excess energy burns off, the seam between the aperture material and the soul itself is strengthened by the blessing.

"This strengthening does not happen any other way. Noble children are expected to receive every blessing for every aperture starting at advancement to level two. It doesn't always work out at those early levels, of course. Noble children are still children, after all. But reaching the true peak isn't the point. Whatever aperture material is present in the aperture receives a blessing and is more tightly anchored to the soul.

"At our first meeting, I determined that your domain and aura were insufficient considering your overall soul level. I would of course never volunteer such dire analysis without being asked, but I have known your limit since our first encounter. You will never be a Lord, Hector.

"Do not allow that unfortunate news to undermine your ambitions. Level nine is still achievable. You can grow exceedingly powerful and cease aging. All that is precluded is the final achievement. And I can tell you from experience that ascension is not so world-changing as you imagine. At the end of the day, the only real difference is that the dictates of reality become optional."

"No offense, Zara, but that in no way sounds like a minor difference."

The Lord shrugged. "It is still only a single difference. Mostly you gain new enemies when you ascend."

It was obvious to Hector that she was trying to soothe his frustrations. Since he'd first inherited Volithur's insight, it had been a foregone conclusion in Hector's mind that he would one day become a Lord – providing he didn't meet a violent end. Realizing that he'd failed in that endeavor before he even left Earth stirred up all sorts of feelings. Anger at the secretiveness of the nobles. Disappointment for his reduced future prospects. Guilt because he should be content having traded the potential of Lord power for a saved Earth.

"Why wait until level nine to educate your subordinates on their mistakes?" His path could have been very different if someone told Volithur up front about why rushing ahead for soul levels was so frowned upon. Or not, given his need to find allies….

Zara offered a sad smile. "You mean to ask why a Lord would prefer having a powerful level nine subordinate over creating a potential rival? At the assembly of Lords there are individuals who share tips for dealing with this situation. They say to advise subordinates from early on to train their apertures before every advancement, while also offering rewards based on soul level. The result is that your level nines blame themselves for not taking the good advice offered and rushing ahead.

"The foundation of a Lord's power is their personal might, but the reach and impact of their power is based on their subordinates. A Lord needs as many level nines as possible. Part of the formula for success is building the wealth to raise up talented people. The other part is making sure they can't leave your service. Lords are not in the business of charity, Hector. The memories you inherited were of a man who was supposed to be eternally a servant of the Lord General."

Though he understood the reasoning, Hector could not bring himself to ever approve of it. In a moment of pettiness, he said something he immediately regretted. "Forcing him into servitude didn't work out for anyone, now did it?"

Zara bristled. "His investigators judged him at risk of fleeing before the mission. No one suspected the cowardly drunk capable of betrayal. Certainly not my son when he vouched for the character of the man who would cause his death."

"Sorry," Hector said.

"We will speak in the morning."

Then, left alone, Hector restored the energy he'd expended during the day. He didn't understand how the others were enhancing their bodies if they had many experiences like what he'd gone through with them. Most of what they earned in cores would have to be spent to restore what they expended. Though maybe his confusion arose from his unique situation. Other people struggled mightily to gain enough energy to enhance their bodies. Hector used resources to drastically speed up the process, but he didn't actually need them.

He did a session with the Reverse Priming Technique to strengthen his aura, but otherwise his efforts were focused entirely on cultivation. The night passed slowly, with his mind turning to other matters. He'd wasted several months on the side quest to find Zara – first waiting at the Lord General's estate, then on the abbreviated tour with the Coalition Army, and now in Oceania.

Perhaps 'wasted' was a bit harsh. Though he hadn't done much to advance the cause of humanity, he had collected a number of valuable techniques. The Sweaty Fire Technique alone would be easily worth all of his time. Even if the Miasma Mitigation Project held a lot of promise, he wasn't truly essential to the Reconquest. Besides, as everyone like to point out, Aes was a lost cause.

Even thinking that felt dirty. Losing any world was a tragedy. He'd been willing to sacrifice everything for his own. According to the System, losing a true world meant losing every single unempowered world at once.

Hector scowled into the night. He'd need to do his best to pull his comrades from Oceania into the Reconquest. Otherwise they would need to fend for themselves. He could not justify staying away from Aes any longer.

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