Sakshi smiled and stretched out her hand, "Happy co-operation Mr. Asura."
Saksham also stretched out his hands and shook it with Sakshi. He said in his usual rough voice, "Happy Cooperation Ms. Sakshi."
Then, the elevator turned silent once again. Not long after, Saksham suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Ms, Sakshi, although I am joining the partnership program with IOEA, I still have several doubts I would like to clear."
Sakshi nodded and said, "Go ahead, Mr. Asura. I will try my best to clear all your doubts."
Saksham heard this and asked, "You said that people can get stronger by using that..uhm.."
"[Aura Stones]." Sakshi said.
"Yeah, those. How is that possible? And if someone doesn't have [Aura Stones], would their powers not grow at all?" Saksham asked.
"Well, many things are still a mystery to us about the powers, such as why did people suddenly begin to awaken? Why are those mysterious wormholes opening? We have not been able to understand all these things yet. We have been looking for answers to these questions for many years. Although we are still unable to answer these, our efforts are also not without any fruits. We have found out that an awakened is able to use the powers because there is something called Aura inside them. This Aura runs inside them in an illusory track, which the people are able to harness with their thoughts and use it show inhuman strength."
"The nature of this Aura is different for every power system, but in the end, they are the same thing. Elemental power users have different types of Aura inside them than physical users. And as for the Spirit Power users, they harness the power of their souls and that's why [Aura Stones] have no effect on them. They need [Soul Crystals]. As for how the [Aura Stones] and [Soul Crystal] works, as I said, [Aura Stones] have pure Aura inside them, which can be absorbed by the [Physical Power] and [Elemental Power] users. Similarly, [Soul Crystals] also contain [Spiritual QI] inside them which is absorbed by the [Soul Power] users."
"Now, let's come to the question that, can people not grow stronger without [Aura Stones] and [Soul Crystals]. Well yes, they can. But that depends upon their own talent as well as the place they are in. Actually, people can actually absorb the Aura and Spiritual Qi from the air. Yes, you heard it right. They are all present in the air we breathe in. But now comes the problem. How can we absorb something out of the air we breathe in? Well, that is possible due to certain breathing methods."
The more Saksham heard, the weirder his expression became. Why did it all sound like a fantasy novel? Is this a novel or something? Who the hell wrote such garbage? (Hmmmmm…not me).
Sakshi continued, "These methods are not available to everyone easily. They have to first register with the IOEA and then they have to purchase it on their own. But all they get is the lowest level methods. At the same time, the people who are in the PTP(Partnership Program) with IOEA, they are given a little discount."
"And if you are thinking about what I meant when I said that for a person to get stronger, it also depends upon the place they are in, then that would literally mean what you heard. People can absorb the Aura and Spiritual Qi in the air, but that doesn't mean that the air is rich with these two things everywhere."
"In some places, you might find these two things in thick layers, but at the same time, you might not even find these in the air at some places. Maybe it is due to pollution, or maybe some other reasons, the distribution of Aura and Spiritual Qi is very uneven. Generally, the places that are untouched by humans are rich in these two resources."
Saksham nodded as he heard this. He paused a little to digest all this information. After a while, he once again opened his mouth and asked, "You said that the Tier II weapons are made using some rare metals. If I didn't guess wrong, those metals should be obtained from the other side of the wormhole, right?"
Sakshi smiled and nodded. She said, "You are right on point, Mr. Asura. We do get all those materials from the other side of the Wormhole. You can say that these wormholes bring disaster and fortunes together. If you ignore the monstrous beast that comes from the other side, the other side is rich in many minerals and metals that can't be found on earth."
"This is also a reason for major disputes between many countries sometimes," Sakshi snorted, "Everyone wants a piece of these things and that's why whenever these wormholes open, every major country sends their elites as a 'helping hand' and plunders the resources inside the wormhole."
Saksham didn't speak and listened quietly. He knew that this was unavoidable. Although every country has been working together to solve the problem of those monstrous beasts and the wormhole, they were also secretly trying to get stronger. They can't just wait and watch a country get stronger after getting all the resources from the other side of the wormhole and that's why they jump in to stop a single country from hogging all the resources.
Sakshi continued, "When the first wormhole appeared in India not too long ago, all the major countries jumped up like cats in heat and told us that they are going to send their 'helping hands' to check how the situation is. They have already stationed their troops and Awakened people there."
"As soon as the Wormhole opens up, they will send information straight to their respective countries and ask for backups in case a monster appears through the wormhole. We can't really deny the help we are getting, so we have no other choice but to accept. Though, there is a limit to what they can take. You can say that it is like a deal with them. They send people, and we share the resources."
Saksham noticed something weird and asked, "So, you mean the wormholes just appear first and then open later?"
Sakshi nodded and replied, "Yes. Wormholes first appear at different places and then they all open up together. Sometimes monsters come out from those wormholes. And sometimes, not. Then the countries send in their latest technological robots to enter those wormholes to scout inside for them. Only when the soil composition, air composition, and atmospheric composition are tested, are the people allowed to enter those wormholes for further investigations.
Saksham nodded once again and digested the information slowly. Human hearts are greedy. They can't see others get ahead of them easily. So, such a tactic from the major countries of the world is not surprising. If it was a smaller country where the wormhole had opened and not India, that country wouldn't even have gotten a single bit of the resource from the wormhole. That's how the world works.
After Sakshi was done answering, silence once again fell upon the elevator. Both of them remained silent till the elevator reached the upper 3rd floor where Sakshi got Saksham to sign the contract with his blood. According to what Sakshi said, it was a [Blood Contract]. It is more advanced for signing a contract. This contract is used for the Awakened who doesn't want to sign or leave a thumbprint on the contract.
After signing the contract, Sakshi also handed Saksham a Phone. Saksham looked at the phone which resembled none of the brands he had seen before and then looked at Sakshi for answers. Sakshi also smiled and said, "The tasks and the items that you can redeem can be seen in this unique mobile phone specially designed by our R&D department. You don't have to come to IOEA again and again in the future. If you want to contact us, you can do it with the help of the phone too. If there is a wormhole that opens near you, you will be warned quickly through this phone. And also, the breathing methods I was talking about can be downloaded from here."
Saksham heard this and looked at the phone doubtfully. He thought about it for a second and asked, "Is there any sort of GPS device in this?"
Saksham didn't want anyone to know his actual position and identity. And he doesn't believe that a phone like this doesn't have some sort of GPS installed in it because Sakshi herself said it that if a wormhole opens up near him, he will be informed quickly. IOEA can't notify people if a wormhole opened up near them unless they have their correct position in their database. The phone has to be the device telling them the position, right?
Sakshi heard this and shook her head. She said, "Your worries are superfluous, Mr. Asura. Although there is indeed a GPS-like device installed in it, I give you my word that it is not something we use to track down people. It is only used for notifying people, that's it."
Saksham heard this and looked directly in Sakshi's eyes for a while. After a while, Saksham nodded and put the phone in his pocket. He nodded lightly to Sakshi and then took the elevator to the ground floor and strode out of the IOEA HQ lightly. He had to go back home and once again review everything that had happened today in his head. The amount of information he got coupled with the soul-shocking visuals he saw; his head was a little dizzy. He needed a serious break.