"What?!"
"Please don't joke about that"
The statements made by Frederick and Selina were different. But the shock and disbelief contained in them were well and properly conveyed. Mane did not look bothered by their disbelief, and neither did his team members. Jake had placed his attention on his nails, the bite marks on them the evidence of their suffering. John had his attention robbed by a statue at the corner of the room. As for what he saw in that figurine, no one knew. For it wasn't anything unique. Abe, perhaps the only attentive listener on the team, had his eyes shut. One who didn't know the Prince would have assumed he wasn't listening. An assumption that was very wrong.
"Well Hidden Cloak isn't a single individual. It is an organisation. One that I founded three years ago."
Mane ignored their surprise and continued with his explanation, gently sipping the glass of water that was before him.
"So what you trying to tell us is that you founded Hidden Cloak when you were just 7 years old?"
Selina's twitching brow was a good enough conveyor of her emotions. It was common knowledge in Zandor that the path of wielders could only be embarked upon by people who had awakened their bloodlines and had acquired a suitable wielding technique. A person typically went through their awakening between the ages of nine and ten. What she drew from Mane's words were, "Okay so I was only 7 and hadn't awakened yet. But I didn't need to, because I am already strong enough to bring dread to the Dark Kingdom."
Let us ignore strength for a moment here. How did 7 year olds get so much information on the Dark Kingdom that, they always seemed to be two or three steps ahead of their opponents? It wasn't just Selina, even Frederick had a hard time believing what he was being told. And these were people who had a fair idea of Mane's strength. Plus, Jake had surprised them with his a few moments ago. That alone was enough to show that the strength of the other team members was greater than it was rumored to be. Supposing it was someone else, there was no way they would believe it either.
"That is correct", Mane nonchalantly answered Selina, the glass of water still in his hands. Mane did not give the President and his Vice time to digest the information given thus far, proceeding to explain.
"I know what you are thinking and you couldn't be more wrong. That belief that one can only become a wielder after awakening their bloodline is but a superstition. In the myriad of realms, many legends and powerhouses are without bloodlines, yet their stories inspire the young and send chills down the spines of their enemies. One only requires a wielding technique that can support an individual without a bloodline. And their level of talent would do the rest", Mane paused at this juncture. Finally Frederick and Selina had time to digest the information they had just received. And boy did they need that break.
Everything Mane had told them was a direct opposition to all that they believed in. It was a contradiction to what was paraded as truth on the Planet of Zandor. They wished they could argue it out, but the evidence of Mane's words were overwhelming. What is the evidence you ask? Well it was sitting right in front of them. The four ten year olds with immeasurable strength that sat opposite them.
Upon seeing that the two had calmed down, Mane went on with his explanations.
"You see in Zandor, you are told that the SSS-grade is the peak. With some Zandorians striding past the SSS-grade and reaching the L-grade. This information is false. The L-grade is merely the peak of the mortal realm which has ten levels. After the mortal realm are six other realms. Jake, John, and Abe wield energy belonging to the above-mortal realm, the second of the wielding realms. I possess strength belonging to the profound realm, the third among these seven realms."
Just when the two had calmed down sufficiently, another mind blowing piece of information was delivered to them. A spectator might argue that Mane was doing this on purpose, hoping the Student Council Heads break down.
NAME: Mane
AGE: 10
RACE: Supreme
LEVEL: Profound Stage 7 (Level 47.95)
SPECIALTY: Strength, Intelligence, and Speed
Selina had a bitter smile on her pretty face. Her beautiful eyes were slightly lost, as she reflected on the bombshell that had been dropped nonchalantly by the young child before her. She was regarded a prodigy. A fifteen year old who had the strength of a B-grade wielder. Yet there were children who had strength several times greater than hers. Her accomplishments paled in comparison. Her achievements were a child's play compared to theirs. She was just at the fifth level of the mortal realm. Whereas every single member of the Silver Wolves team was at least an entire realm above her.
Frederick wasn't any better. He was a noble but his title held very little power. Luckily for him, he was blessed with good talent. Talent that had seen him stride into the fourth level of the mortal stage- or C-grade as he had referred to it for a greater portion of his life- before he was fifteen. This had given him confidence. The belief that his birth origins mattered not, only his life achievements. And from the looks of things, his life was going to be a pretty awesome one. That was until what he had just heard. Before, he was satisfied with his talent. But now after hearing he was merely at the beginning, he was filled with bitterness. He used to think his talent was among the top. But before these freaks, his talent was barely passable.
Mane smiled at their bitter expressions. All the emotions he wanted to see were clearly displayed before his eyes. He had gradually told them all this, revealed such sensitive information, and dropped one bombshell after another just to invoke the feeling of helplessness. If he had given them the time to think they would have realised that they didn't have it bad at all. After all, they belonged to Zandor, a planet that didn't even have any known Above-Mortal Realm experts. If Mane had told them this, with only his strength being greater, it would not have worked out so well. In a way, Jake's loss of control had been of great benefit.
It had allowed Selina and Frederick to realise that among the six in the room, their strength was at the bottom. The pride of geniuses made accepting such a scenario difficult to swallow. It would make them eager to change that- by any means necessary. Mane had tossed in the bait and the prey had swallowed it whole- hook and line as well. It was now time to reel in the fish.
"I didn't say this just to discourage you. I am here to give you a choice. A chance to get out of the well you're trapped in and explore the starry skies with us. A chance to see what lies beyond Zandor. A chance to rid yourselves of your mediocrity. So, would you join Hidden Cloak?"