Looking at his confused expression, Faneia said, "Well, Strength is divided into Tiers. Each Tier has three subsequent divisions—A, B, and C."
She explained further, "A newborn human baby is at Tier 0-A. A strong, fit, and athletic human is at Tier 0-C. When one becomes an Ascendant, they advance to Tier 1-A if they are able to wield Spirit Energy properly."
After stabilizing his breathing, Kole stood up from the ground and nodded, urging Faneia to continue, "After that, the number of Creation Seeds you have taken will determine your strength. The higher the number of Creation Seeds you consume, the higher the concentration of your Spirit Energy which in turn increases your strength."
"Kole, in order to reach Tier 1-B, and increase the concentration of Spirit Energy in your body, you will have to consume two more Creation Seeds."
"For Tier 1-C, one must consume four more Creation Seeds... And so on..."
Kole's eyes shined curiously, "Then what is the Final Tier?"
It was a stupid question; Kole believed so. For that to happen, one must consume infinite Creation Seeds, right?
Seeing Kole almost facepalming for asking such a question, Faneia smirked slightly, "After you reach a certain level of concentration in your body, one doesn't need to consume Creation Seeds but follow a different process to increase their strength."
So it wasn't a useless question!
Before Kole could ask, Faneia answered in a neutral tone, "As for the Final Tier—You'll have to ask the Tempest Goddess herself."
Kole's hope squashed.
But then another question appeared in his mind, as he asked with a smile, "Then what Tier are you at, mother?"
"Me?" Faneia chuckled lightly, "Tier 0."
Kole grumbled inwardly as he felt his mother was randomly saying it and didn't wish to reveal her actual power level.
Saying so, she smiled, and it was a big smile.
For the first time, Kole had seen her smile properly… and, Gosh… It was so beautiful!
Kole was stunned for a moment. His angry dragon hardened…
"!!!"
<
Immediately, Kole felt an imminent danger looming over his crotch.
Oh no! Not my poor babies!
In a moment of fluster, Kole just followed his instincts to "escape".
And he vanished.
"Hmph!" A cold-looking Faneia appeared on the spot where Kole was, with one of her legs raised.
She glanced at the impassive-looking Faneia as she said with a slight frown etched over her face, "His instincts are good for his Tier, but he needs to learn how to leave the Subspace, otherwise he'd be devoured by the 'Them' someday."
The Veto Bearer(Impassive), sighed as her shadows stretched, covering the other Faneia, "You can't seem to take your hands away from him, do you? Stop attacking him randomly."
"You didn't notice that?" The cold-looking Faneia cocked an eyebrow in amusement, "Or are you pretending to not see?"
"Hmph! weren't you the one peeping on him when he was with Alice yesterday?" Veto Bearer retorted.
"…" The cold-looking Faneia froze like a deer caught in headlights. Soon she vanished as Veto Bearer stretched her hand and pulled a terrified-looking Kole.
"We need to train your Spirit Energy and Skills, and teach you how to make use of Subspace to a certain extent."
Kole nodded vigorously.
…
West Grovebourne, Stormwatch.
This was the region where most aristocrats lived.
It had beautiful scenery, lavish villas, lush gardens, and clean streets, and unlike the burning factories, and poverty-stricken South Grovebourne, the air was fresh and suitable for breathing.
In the distance, when one looked toward the south, one could see the stark contrast of white and black.
On one side, the air was clean; on the other, factories were constantly churning never-ending smoke, turning the sky dark.
Apparently, the authorities had implied some magical means to stop the air from getting polluted in West Grovebourne.
However, since these means weren't cheap, they could only be applied to the rich who could afford to pay taxes for these amenities.
Akerses' Manor, was in the far North, in the periphery of Stormwatch itself. As such, they didn't need any of these measures to keep the air quality in check.
While Viscount Turners' Manor, was situated in the heart of West Grovebourne.
…
In the opulent Viscount Turners' manor.
Inside the dining hall.
A middle-aged man, who had emerald eyes and blonde hair, just like Alice's, was sitting at the head of the table, wearing a dark green suit while calmly having a delicious and abundant breakfast.
Across from him sat Alice in an olive-green frilly dress, nibbling on various dishes elegantly.
"He will take responsibility. Yes?" Morris Turner broke the silence with a small smile as he looked at his daughter with a loving gaze.
Alice's expression tightened. Her fingers clenched and dug into her own skin, as even her knuckles turned pale.
Clearly, she was upset when she was reminded of last night's events, or maybe she was irritated at the results of her coin toss.
It wasn't easy to discern, even for the author.
Exhaling slightly to calm herself, Alice relaxed her expression as she questioned instead of answering, "Father, this is between me and him. I trust him, but I don't understand why you are so concerned."
Morris chuckled with a bitter smile, "Frankly, I never wished there would come a day where, instead of your mother, I would be doing the 'talk', but alas… Goddess had different plans for your mother."
Seeing him talk about her mother, Alice didn't say anything as she pursed her lips. Her expressions remained indifferent because she had no recollection of her mother.
Apparently, her mother had died in the Epileptic Blizzard two decades ago, just a few months after Alice was born.
Soon, Morris's expression returned to normal as he laughed, "I am concerned because I genuinely care for your happiness, my baby girl. I don't wish for you to get hurt.
"Well, things have already gone beyond my control, and I can only hope Heir Akerse is as trustful as you say."
"Then why did you want me to marry Count Moore's son, whom I have never even met before if you really wished for my happiness?" Alice knitted her brows.
"Well, for how long would you choose to remain unmarried? For Goddess's sake, you are already 20. Women, at your age, would've given birth to two cute little babies by now, and you are planning to explore the world?"
Morris sighed, looking into the distance, staring at nothing in particular, "I should be cradling my grandchildren in my arms by now. After all, you never know when something happens to you or your belove—"
"Father!!" Alice yelled angrily; she didn't want to hear the last part.
Her emerald eyes turned extremely dark and hollow just thinking about something happening to her beloved, "I get that you've been lamenting over the death of mother for so many years because you loved her dearly, but at least watch what you are speaking!"
Alice pouted sullenly as she stood up and left the hall, in a fit of anger.
After Alice left, Morris's expression became neutral. He calmly finished his breakfast and fished out a coin from his pockets.
After a brief moment of deliberation, he tossed it in the air.
Click!
The coin fell on the table; it stumbled for a few moments before coming to a halt.
"Hah. If one wants to walk on the road of life, circumstance, disguised as traffic, would push one to weave their way accordingly and make decisions that they normally wouldn't," Morris sighed, as he muttered to himself, " And sacrifices are always necessary to keep moving forward."