Under the gentle sunrays, Kole stood with his hands tied behind his back. His toes were tied together as he looked at Faneia standing before him. From a certain perspective, this looked like a bondage situation…
Is she an S?... Kole thought, hoping no one else saw him in this embarrassing situation.
However, his doubts were unfounded when Faneia said, "The ropes are strong enough that any Tier 10-A can't break through.
"If you wish to escape—you need to use your Spirit Energy.
"You have the entire day to figure out how to do that. If you can't break these ropes by the end of the day, I'll put you in the underground dungeon to fight abominations—that'd certainly ignite your instincts for survival—resulting in you learning how to use Spirit Energy." Nodding to herself, Faneia turned around and walked away from the training grounds.
"Wait!" Kole tried to raise his hands like an obedient student but he couldn't—they were tied!
Luckily, Faneia stopped and turned to look at him, urging him to state his question.
"What is Tier 10-A? And how do I use Spirit Energy?"
After thinking for a moment, Faneia replied lightly, "Whether you know or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is whether you can escape or not?"
Faneia was about to turn…
"Wait!"
But she stopped again.
"W-where is Little Faneia?"
Faneia raised an eyebrow; Kole felt his heart skip a beat. Did I cross the limit? Is it finally time to become food for the shark?
"I am her… what is the difference?" A slightly puzzled expression appeared on her face.
"No… It's just that… Ugh. It's hard to explain. Can you leave her here? I want to talk with her." Kole tried hard to explain with an embarrassed smile.
Faneia's shadow extended as a little girl in a gothic dress, riding a tricycle, and chewing on a red candy appeared. Without saying anything, Faneia left the place.
"Hehe… Did you miss Mommy?" The little girl squealed.
"Ah, yes! Little Faneia. Tell me, what did she mean by Tiers? And how should I escape my predicament?" Helpless, Kole could only ask the experienced person to start the info du… Cough! Knowledge exchange.
A frown appeared on the little girl's face as if she was thinking hard about something, "Tiers… Ah yes.
"Strength of Creatures is categorized into different Tiers. Theoretically, there are 11 Tiers. Each Tier has subsequent divisions—C, B, and A. Sometimes there could be further categorization into High and Low.
Kole raised his hands like an obedient student—but he couldn't, so he used his mouth instead, "Example!"
Little Faneia nodded and continued her info dump, "Like take Tier 10, for example. Humans are innately born with enough strength to put them into this Tier. However, not all humans have equal strength, leading to further division into 10-C, 10-B, and 10-A!
"On the other hand, my son, since your body is already very athletic, you could be placed in Tier 10-A—The top of Tier 10!"
Kole nodded in understanding, "Then what do you mean by high and low?"
Little Faneia chewed on her red candy in thought, "For example, sometimes there could be creatures that would be stronger than Tier 8-C but weaker than Tier 8-B. Such creatures are put in a separate Tier—Tier High 8-C!"
"Hum. Hum." Little Faneia nodded to herself, approvingly. She cutely nibbled on the candy.
Although Kole didn't understand everything, he didn't want to make this chapter too boring. As such, he switched the topic.
"Then how do I get out of these ropes?"
"Use your Spirit Energy... because any human, no matter how strong they are, can't get out these ropes with pure raw strength." Little Faneia explained as a matter of fact.
A vein popped on Kole's head, but he controlled himself and asked with a smile, "How do I use Spirit Energy? Wasn't mom supposed to teach me to do that exactly?"
The little girl tilted her head in confusion, "Didn't she tell you already? Just make use of your Spirit Energy."
Kole felt his reasoning snap. He finally understood; even the Little Faneia didn't know it.
With a bitter sigh, he focused on himself to try to find a way to use this so-called Spirit Energy.
Meanwhile, Little Faneia explained a few more things, sat on her tricycle, and went back inside the manor while licking the candy.
Hours passed, and it was already dinner time. However, Kole just sat under the gentle moonlight with his hands and legs tied. It felt like he was being punished… like back in his old school days.
Several red marks appeared on his wrist and toes because of repeated attempts to break the ropes. Although he didn't feel much hunger, his lips were already very dry.
Ignoring the dissonance of noises in his head, Kole stared in no particular direction as his thoughts churned.
"After intaking The Creation Seed, I should already be at Tier 9-C. But I need to learn how to utilize my strength.
"It's similar to how, even if an ordinary person is handed a gun, they wouldn't be able to use it… unless they are from Ameri... Cough!"
Maybe I should use the power of Love and Friendship... Kole ridiculed himself internally.
With a light smile, Kole relaxed and tried hard to think of a way.
[I can give you all the power you need…]
Kole's eyes narrowed as an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning!
"Alright," He muttered as his smile extended.