Athelei was fascinated by his rapid jump into Rank 1 Dictator. It was simply absurd for him to have reached a level that took average humans until adulthood to reach. That is of course if they started training at around the age of twelve.
This fascination of his drove him to narrow down his guesses as he bathed and prepared for dinner. It helped that he found a relevant resource that he could reference as well.
'My Tangible Will has taken on a more vibrant gold hue...' Athelei played around with a stream of his Will. He was moving it around his fingers and feeling its gentle touch.
'...It seems like I earned more than I thought from invading Irene's soul. The simple acquisition of a Tangible Will was not the only thing... could this be because of her Spirit Lotus?'
Athelei hummed as he glanced at a book he found in his room's mini library. It was a book entitled, "Penmanship, Colours, and Muscle" by Scholar Vill.
Its contents were about the varying abilities between practitioners of the same class. And although there were a few holes in his reading, given that his studies of the Illyas language were not comprehensive enough, he still learned a lot:
Different Artists who would draw the same Mystic Patterns inevitably displayed different effects with said patterns. The smallest uniquenesses between their styles or strokes create those variations, and the significance of those variations increase the more complex the pattern.
For Evolvers, it was more about their talents and compatibility. Different human bodies usually suited different techniques more. Even their natures as a person would align with different fighting styles. As such, some Evolvers could naturally perform certain techniques better than their peers. All while exerting less effort in both their practice and execution.
As for Dictators, their differences were perhaps the clearest. Every Dictator had their own colour, and rarely did it change. The colour of a Dictator's Tangible Will was usually affected by their desires and minds, thus the differences between Dictators come from what they wanted. Their Wills would exert less power whenever they acted against the things they liked to do, and more power when their task aligns with their goals.
When Athelei read through the part about Dictators, he was almost certain that his rank leapfrogging was thanks to Irene. It was just a delayed effect after the initial bestowal of ability. His Tangible Will being so gold was a token to that. The Vistas daughter's vibrant golden Will was incredibly pure, after all.
'If only the humans of Oxhor weren't so scared of orange Users...' Athelei pursed his lips as he closed "Penmanship, Colours, and Muscle" and placed it back in the mini library. The Information Network lacked these scholarly articles and complete books. If he wanted to learn something, he had to piece things together and then confirm it all himself through experience. It was a tedious task for something that could be so simple.
On top of that, the more that Athelei learned of the world, the less he was totally trusting Oxhor's Information Network. It was a great guide, but his growing human intuition told him that it was risky to base all his decisions off of its suggestions.
Since Athelei was already near the mini library, he scanned the titles of the other books. He spotted titles such as "Northern Beasts," "Legends of Our World," and "Hymns and Praises," among the dozen or so available.
'...I hope I can stay here for a few weeks,' Athelei thought to himself. If he read through all those books, then that would be an achievement marking his proficiency in the Illyasian tongue.
For now though, he had a dinner to attend.
.
.
.
Dressed in a new set of fancy clothes that Sir Xiu had gifted to him, Athelei walked lightly through the wide hallways of the mansion. In his hands was a map with his room and destination clearly marked.
He turned a few corners and ogled a few paintings as he made his way to the dining hall. The night was tranquil up here on the hilltop. It was a stark contrast with the different night environments he had experienced on his first night in Avina.
Athelei continued to walk, greeting the servants he came across. When he rounded his final corner, he was surprised to see the family of three at the other side of the corridor.
"Ah, Orien," Sir Xiu displayed a smile on his face as he carried his daughter in his arms, "You've come at the most perfect time. Truly a token for your Blessed status."
He then let his daughter down and gestured in Athelei's direction, "Say hello to Orien, Aria."
"G-good evening, Orien." The little girl successfully made her greeting with a small curtsy on her part.
"Good evening, Young Lady Aria," Athelei smiled and bowed, "Good evening Sir Xiu, Lady Karire. Thank you for your invitation."
"Mm, pleasant evening it is." Lady Karire replied with a nod, "Come, we will talk over food and drink."
Lady Karire moved through the double doors guarded by knights and glided towards her seat. Sir Xiu and Aria followed after her, while Athelei tailed their footsteps.
The family of three each took a seat around a crescent-shaped table. They sat on the outer rim, where they could easily adore the night lights of Avina in the distance and the wide sea behind it.
Athelei found himself seated beside Aria, at the very right of the crescent table.
Servants, with a balanced number of males and females, swiftly began serving a seven-course meal.
Athelei helped himself to the peanuts served with the aperitif as Sir Xiu broke the silence, "Orien, do you know what a phantom is?"
"...From what I've heard, phantoms were unseen abominations that appeared during the monster surge. They usually invaded people's dreams and ate their souls after a night of nightmares." Athelei answered as he placed another peanut in his mouth, "What about them, Sir Xiu?"
Lady Karire's brows scrunched when she heard that. "Those are stories told to children and written in storybooks. Real phantoms are almost human-like shadows, capable of drawing Mystic Patterns. They're elusive and cunning, and their favourite way to kill is through swindling."
Lady Karire paused as she took a sip from a glass of light alcohol, "Among those Mystic Patterns they can draw, there is a special one called Doppelganger."
"Doppelganger?" Athelei replied. The word was unfamiliar to him.
"It means body double or clone." Sir Xiu answered his queries, "Doppelganger is a word special to those phantoms. They speak in a strange tongue, and it took a lot for us humans to learn of their ways."
"...I see," Athelei began connecting the dots, "Are you going to be turning me into a monster, Lady Karire?"
"...No, child," Lady Karire answered, as she narrowed her eyes, "Don't play with me. You should have guesses as to what you'll be doing, yes?"
Athelei put on an apologetic expression that was meek and innocent, "Yes, my lady. I will be acting as Young Lady Aria to lure our enemies, right?"
Lady Karire nodded, "Well pieced together, but I cannot give you a perfect score."
"You would be acting in her place for any public appearances, parties, and more." Sir Xiu elucidated what Athelei had guessed wrong, "Of course, there would be some form of what you mentioned, but that's a worst-case scenario that we hope would not come to pass."
Athelei opened his mouth to ask another question, but Lady Karire spoke faster, "I know what you're going to ask next. Yes, I am capable of drawing the Mystic Pattern, Doppelganger, and that's how you will act as my daughter. Do note that, when under the effects of Doppelganger, your body would be put in a special state wherein access to your Nebula Gem would be cut off, and your physical abilities would be that of Aria's."
"...I see," Athelei nodded as the servants served the appetizer for the night.
'Basing off of what Lady Karire has said, my Artist abilities would mimic that of Young Lady Aria's, which is basically nonexistent. My Tangible Will, however, should work just fine.' He thought to himself, 'I will also be unable to use single-coloured Cosmic Interfaces since my access to my Nebula Gems would be cut off... Which wouldn't be an issue since acting as a noble with an orange Cosmic Interface is just asking for trouble.'
Thinking of this, Athelei's eyes suddenly sparkled as an irrelevant idea crossed his mind out of nowhere, 'Aren't works of art by famous artists considered treasures? Is it possible for me to gain experience for Inspect using them?'
Slurp!
"...Aria, dear, please do not make a sound when you partake of your soup." Sir Xiu piped up when he heard the sound.
It wrenched Athelei out of his thoughts when he saw the pouty expression on Aria's face. He knew that look.
Slurp!
Athelei performed some foul manners as well, and he noticed Lady Karire's face twitch at the sound. Sir Xiu on the other hand, sighed in resignation.
Aria was slightly stunned when she heard that sound come from someone that was not her. She always found it difficult not to slurp on her soup because it was just too hot, and she was chided for it every time.
She looked to her right and saw Athelei's mischievous smile. Their eyes met for a moment, and then the two kids broke out in a few giggles.
"Alright, alright," Sir Xiu spoke up when he noticed that the kids were about to slurp on their soup once again, "I can forgive those transgressions, you two. But please, if the soup is too hot, then blow on it first. People find the sound unpleasant, especially in a proper gathering."
Those words made Aria and Athelei pause. They glanced over and noticed Lady Karire had an eyebrow raised and narrowed eyes.
"...Yes, Father,"
"...Yes, Sir Xiu,"
The pair conceded with their heads hung low.
"I'm sorry."
"My sincerest apologies."